A Bad Dream It was nearly midnight when Natalie woke from her slumber. The room was saved from pitch blackness by the dim light that filtered through the dark curtains. She propped herself up on one arm before she looked down at her bed partner, a slender machka she'd met earlier that night in a bar. He had gray tabby fur, black hair, and fluffy black tufts on the end of his ears that she'd teased after he was too exhausted to continue her preferred activities. She was tempted to wake him up to see if he was ready to go again, but decided against it and instead quietly slipped out of bed to exercise a little in hopes of becoming tired again. She didn't bother dressing while she did her routine, clothes just got in the way anyway. The indigo-haired mercenary stretched every muscle and joint in her body to ensure she could maintain her cat-like flexibility and grace. Natalie was about halfway through her squats when a voice made her stop cold. "I never thought I'd get a chance to see
Snowfall
Another day, another one-sided fight Icicle had to make look good for the crowd of thousands. When she passed through the entry gate, the deafening roar of the crowd filled the air as the king of Alzakam announced her presence. She didn’t pay any attention to the king, however. Her icy blue eyes were trained on the arena’s south entry gate, where her opponent came from. The king announced his name and the crime he’d committed to wind up in the arena in the first place; a few people in the crowd booed the other fighter.
He was a tall, stoutly built Alza man, probably an ex-soldier or something of the kind. He c
No Apologies
I live on the streets, an outcast, judged by humans to be inferior, but they cannot be further from the truth. They are inferior to me… and to a certain extent, inferior to their own kind as well. I watch the world quietly from the alleyway, just out of sight to all but the most trained eye, often appearing as a sack of potatoes.
Humans disgust me… they are monsters and mistreat their own kind just as much as they do others. Machka, jezka, elf… we’re all inferior in their eyes. Jezka know best how humans treat those they view as inferior… after all, they were pushed to the brink of extinction b
Exodus
A red-haired machka lay on her back on the single cot in her tent. Her clan had grown tired of the oppressive human laws and rulings. She looked up at the ceiling and sighed heavily. Why do the humans have to try and rule over everything? I’m going to take my clan out of here and find a place without humans! she thought angrily. The sound of footsteps outside her tent caused her to sit up.
“Lady Bloodstone?” The question was tentative, even fearful.
She rose from her cot and pulled her tent’s flap aside. “Can I help you?” she answered. A machka with black fur and the garb of a messenger st
A Typical Day
Mercer High School on a Monday morning was a decidedly quiet place, everyone still had to recover from partying all weekend. Most students were unhappy about the return to classes, but some took it in stride. Razlyn Patterson and her friend, Elisa Tanner, stood near one corner of a T-intersection in the hall. The neon-haired teen glanced over her shoulder from time to time and eventually stuck her foot into the path of a pink-haired girl with goggles on her forehead. She fiddled with a neon blue holographic display that hovered about her left wrist while she walked and, Raz hoped anyway, that she didn’t see her black
"The queen of the dead shall rise..." she muttered, rising up from the open grave and gripping a staff of bone handed to her by a skeleton. "Thank you, my dear disciple..." she purred, stepping from the grave and slowly crossing the graveyard. "My death was not in vain... for I am the one who rules now..." she giggled sinisterly.