Tonight was the Beast’s Night. The moon had been waxing gibbous for the past few days, and the full moon was expected to last two nights. The Beast almost always chose the second night, but there was always the chance that the first night would bring the terror out. The year Jordan was born had been a first-nighter, and one of the few in the records where there had been two deaths. They had been a husband and wife, and the police had found a variety of bone fragments -nearly all human -buried under their foundation.
Month: September 2025
Cerunnos
He did not walk in. Ethne didn’t even get the sense that he had arrived. He simply was where he had always been, and would always be, but now Ethne was there as well. A great stag, larger than one of the stone roundhouses that lay scattered across the land, sat with his legs folded under him. Great statues of serpents stood before and behind Ethne. Slowly, Cernunnos turned his antlered head.
Brother?
The tavern was nearly empty. Gragnar, in the dark back corner, shuffled his feet awkwardly. His face scars were itching, but to scratch was to show weakness, and to show weakness was to court death. The younger man-orc in front
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The Cost
Well, I suppose the whole thing is my fault, in the end. I was the one who took her out for drinks, and I was the one she got into a flaming row with over whether healing or battle magics were the more powerful. I suppose there was the weather witch who got into it a bit, but I told her to bug out, so she did. I was the one she had to prove it to.
Biography of a Cat
The Great Lord Merlin was brought into this world a pauper, shivering and alone, save the Queen Mother who bore him. Little did the Queen know what a great, swaggering Tom he would become when first he opened his eyes!
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Stormy Hearts
Kaitlynn grabbed Jesse’s wrist. “Leaving, now!” Jesse could only scream as the twelve foot wave that had capsized Vaya’s boat came crashing towards them on the rocky shore. As it slammed into her, she felt Kaitlynn’s grip slipping. Her mouth filled with seawater, and as the air was forced out of her she took a reflexive breath. She regretted it. Everything was dark; little stars flashed in front of her eyes. A memory struck her -a swimming class, breathing exercises, and the rule of three -three minutes without air, three days without water, three weeks without food. She had already sucked water into her lungs. How long did she have? One Mississippi….
Anthropologie
It had been a domestication case that had initiated Xrgl’l’s interest in the communication habits of these odd bipedal creatures. Breeding programs experienced low success, not least because of the low rate of sexual dimorphism in the species, which made it difficult to determine which humans belonged to what sex. Interestingly enough, while studies had shown at least five different sexes apparent in human biology, most humans appeared to sexually react to only two or three, and not always in a pro-reproductive manner. Thus, it was considered a resounding success when a breeding pair, under the care of a planet-bound family, produced a whole two infants from the same egg-sperm unit. Enough was known about the biology to allow for a healthy birthing, but what happened afterwards had shocked the scientific community.
Replacements
The documents were all there, laid out in front of Piana. Self-generated -why would they do such a thing? The images scrolled past -diagrams, chemical syntheses, photos of Piana’s mothers from every angle. The bastards had duplicated everything -even the little scar on Mom’s fingers, where Piana had once bitten her, and the freckling on Momma’s cheeks. Every dot in place.
Even the Callous and Unemotional Need Friends
After the door had shut, Dr. G examined the picture on the table. It was the same basic figure as all the rest. A little more detailed, with some flourishes the doctor was sure the other kids hadn’t put on, but still. The same. Dr. G sighed, and opened up the laptop to compose an email.
Slipskin
Tay was… well, heavenly. It wasn’t usually this good. Usually there was a distant part, a separation, a wall that observed and jotted down every detail. But Tay’s scent, sweat and dirt and lavender soap, made xem more real. Xir
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