The Royal Secret part 2: Dinner with a Princess
"Remind me, who is this aristocrat again?" Rachel whispered to the attendant sitting with her in the carriage. "The esteemed inheritor to the most profitable law firm in Cabalton, your highness," the leopard replied curtly as he watched the Financial...
The Clockwork Falcon - part 17: Week 5
_Week 5_ It had all just been a hopeful dream, Jim realized as he looked around his interminably cold cell..._plit_...He saw the wrought iron bars and felt the chill of the concrete. There was his useless calendar..._plit_...There was his wooden...
The Clockwork Falcon - part 16: an Unlikely Rescue
"What am I doin' 'ere?" Tuck whispered to himself as he approached the gates to the Black Prison. But he knew his purpose. The last month had been a haze of agonizing guilt, and the hyena had tried everything to make it stop. Even his past thieving...
The Clockwork Falcon - part 15: Weeks 1 through 4
_Week 1_ Jim couldn't remember how exactly they had reached the prison; fragmented images flicked through his mind in a loose interpretation of the events. A surgeon stitching his wound and saying that his eye would be sewn shut and I hope you go...
The Clockwork Falcon - part 14: the Black Prison
It had to be a nightmare, the worst nightmare of all time. Jim couldn't think of any other explanation as he gripped the hollowed body of the Professor. The loss undulated over him in tremulous horror as he gently laid the corpse down and stood. He...
The Clockwork Falcon - part 13: the Inferno of Hell
The hound's knees buckled and he grabbed at Jim's narrow shoulder as he fell forward, "I'm undone...my work...all that I had...Emma was in those things...it was everything...everything I had left of her," he whispered at the inferno, "Jim...Jim, I'm...
The Clockwork Falcon - part 12: Wind of the Heavens
News of the Lowtack invasion broke through Cabalton like a virus. It spread long before word from the battle lines brought stories of hellish machines soaring through the air and pummeling the Imperial army. The royal advisers made statements that the...
The Clockwork Falcon - part 11: a Backwards Job
_Jenny's bakery, some weeks ago... _ "Give 'er another for me, eh squire?" the hyena chuckled as he left the bakery. Humor had often played a pivotal role in Tuck's business, or rather his self-appointed business. He was roguish in every sense of the...
The Clockwork Falcon - part 10: Conspiracy?
Jenny seemed eager to meet with the Professor the next day, and Jim was certain that because of the situation, the old hound would have insisted on an earlier introduction as well. He was just sad that the first time Jenny would be meeting his beloved...
The Clockwork Falcon - part 7: An Awkward Introduction
Suddenly, Jim heard the front door of the flat opening, and a tinkling call came from outside of the bedroom, "Jennifer! I caught an early train, dearie! You're not still sleeping, surely-- OOOF!" the owner of the voice threw open the bedroom door and...
The Clockwork Falcon - part 5: Return Flight
"Steady on, lad! Don't forget to compensate for the angular drag when you dip the wings!" The Professor shouted over the roar of rushing wind, "Easy now, not so fast!" But as much as the old hound tried to maintain an irritated tone as he coached Jim...
The Clockwork Falcon - part 4: Maiden Voyage
"Your interpretation of 'bright and early,' is decidedly lax," the old Professor frowned at Jim as he came into the workshop. "Oh, go on, Professor. I did my best, didn't I?" Jim returned sheepishly as he wound his way past the ticking mechanisms...