Tue 9 Apr 2013

A Mutually Satisfactory Arrangement

Posted by Shurhaian under Dragons
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“Well, you’re not the sort of beast I expected to ensnare.”

The web of force that had stopped Alderian in mid-air, nearly doing a harm to his wings, wasn’t so tight that he couldn’t turn his head to see the one who’d spoken. Human, of course, with a thin queue of brown hair, green eyes, and wrapped in gold-brown cloth. Male, if he reckoned correctly. “Yes, yes, have your laugh, two-legger,” he sighed. “You call my kind greedy and hoarding, yet with so large a flock for so few houses, you spend such force to keep from losing one small sheep.” And not so well that he hadn’t struck the thing before the snare tightened; the smell of the carcass so close by had been maddening on an empty stomach.

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Fri 5 Apr 2013

Turning Point

Posted by Shurhaian under Broken Isles
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Over the past year, Tseraji had grown accustomed to staying aboard ship while in port.

Why not? The motion of the waves, he’d found, was restful and soothing. The brothels that so many of the sailors flocked to didn’t provide anything to interest men like him. The noise of the taverns interested him even less, and as one who spent his days reliant on a clear mind, he had no wish to muddy that mind with liquor. Why waste his coin and his time?

Instead, he could take advantage of the relative peace aboard the Laughing Lass, and the lack of demands upon him, to enjoy some private, restful time in his cabin.

Say, by pulling out a memento of a former lover.

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Sun 17 Mar 2013

The Queen’s Justice

Posted by Shurhaian under Broken Isles
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In the officer’s mess aboard the Bared Fang, the evening meal was just starting to wind down when a young, flaxen haired human stuck his head in the door.

“Pardon the interruption, sirs and mesdames,” the youth said, “but Lieutenant Garn thought this too important to wait. The lookout reports a ship on the eastern horizon.”

The wolf at the right of the table’s head frowned. “Garn wouldn’t have sent you down here without more details than that. Out with it, ensign.”

The junior officer swallowed hard, taking a deep breath before managing, “It’s… the Silver Pennant, sirs, mesdames.”

On those words a heavy silence fell.

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Sun 17 Mar 2013

Bear’s Fury

Posted by Shurhaian under Werecreatures
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In the early days, Bear was the greatest mother of all the wild spirits. Always the strong, steadfast guardian, She was fierce and implacable before any foe; and if She was stern with Her children, it was the sternness of a concerned, protective mother, always conscious of the well-being of those children, past, present, and future. She did not share Her love and Her gifts openly, but always they were there for those who asked Her in the appointed ways.

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Sun 17 Mar 2013

Faux Pas

Posted by Shurhaian under ICQ
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Charlie’s sudden departure left the impromptu picnic feeling somewhat strained. Blake returned after seeing his friend off, but conversation had become decidedly brittle, and the quagga soon excused himself as well.

That just left the girls.

“I wonder what that was about?” Melly said, going over the conversation in her mind.

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Sat 2 Mar 2013

Charity

Posted by Shurhaian under Werecreatures
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The sight of the orchard almost made Jami weep. The branches were heavy with fruit, and even in the moonlight he thought he could see a ripe red gleam. It was more food in one place than he’d seen in days – far more than he’d been able to gather in his mad flight across the grasslands. He was just a city boy, a silversmith’s apprentice. He’d never needed to gather food from farther than the market until now; he knew just enough about it to know he’d been very lucky indeed to not have eaten something dreadful while he was scrounging.

And now he came face to face with this bounty – on the other side of a fence, the sort of thing he’d been well-taught never to cross without permission.

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Sat 23 Feb 2013

Chrysalis

Posted by Shurhaian under One-shot
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As he lay in the quiet and stillness of the sealed chamber, he experienced something new.

He was dreaming.

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Mon 21 Jan 2013

Changing the Self

Posted by Shurhaian under Lives and Times of Elsidar
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Ali gazed up at the Vhendal home with no small amount of trepidation.

As homes went, it was large and imposing; the Vhendal family had been one of means for quite some time. But that wasn’t the issue here; the Arcine family had had its power for just as long, and their family home was more extravagant. A large home was what Ali was used to.

No, the problem was the errand that brought Ali here – and the other matters of recent history between the two families. None of it Ali’s choosing, but convincing anyone else of that was proving to be quite difficult. The tigress had, after all, loomed quite large in her father’s vile plans – never mind that she actually hadn’t been given much of a choice in the matter, nor even advance notice; when Markas Arcine had first suggested a marriage – no, a liaison, a mixing of blood – between his line and the Vhendal, been rebuffed, and then resorted to sorcery in an effort to take the boy’s seed by force…

Well, reasonable people would conclude that he’d gained the cooperation of his only daughter in that plot.

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Sat 8 Dec 2012

The Iron Legion

Posted by Shurhaian under Fanfic, Guild Wars
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“Well, well.” The bass rumble, rough and gravelly as always, cut through the hiss of bellows and the crackle of flames, clear even under the ring of iron and steel. “I hear someone’s moving up in the Citadel.”

“Please. You don’t need to remind me.” The leonine figure remained hunched over the workbench a few moments more, making one last, careful twist, before he laid down his wrench and stood a bit taller. Tugging off one thick leather glove, he reached up to the monocle over his left eye and gave it two twists – once swiftly, to bring his vision back to normal size, and once more carefully, to restore proper focus. “You got business to talk about, Varuk, or did you come all the way to the Canton Factorium just to talk my left ears off?”

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Sun 25 Nov 2012

From the Flames

Posted by Shurhaian under One-shot
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Coming back to consciousness was a struggle – like swimming through tar.

Before he was quite able to make sense of anything around him, Varon remembered the fire – racing through the village, surrounding it. He remembered digging his way into the quarry pit, hoping against hope that there’d be nothing the fire could burn to follow him. He remembered the dizziness, the screams fading…

But now, all was silent and still. Even the weight of his own limbs felt barely-there.

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Mon 24 Sep 2012

Watching the Crowd

Posted by Shurhaian under World Tree
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Selrendarr shifted on the sloping roof, claws poking into view with the stretch of his paws, then relaxing and retreating. He gazed down at the bustle of the city, watching the crowds go about their business. Apart from him – always.

Well, it wasn’t as though he didn’t know the reason for that. Usually it didn’t greatly trouble him. Maybe it was the Sleeth in him that cared little for the opinions and esteem of all the people on the branch. He could consider it critically, and know that one of the reasons people might not care to have him mingling with them was that he did look like a Sleeth, currently – four broad paws, long slender tail, whiskers, emerald eyes, fir-green pelt dappled with a paler brown that gleamed with good health and cleanliness under the guttering sun; all of it. Sleeth. They wanted nothing to do with it, and that was fine; he didn’t want much to do with them, either. Noisy and intrusive, the lot of them.

But part of him did crave a little company now and then, and knew they wouldn’t want much to do with him as a Gormoror, either.

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Fri 14 Sep 2012

Unlikely Partners

Posted by Shurhaian under Dragons
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“Tomas. I wasn’t expecting you today.”

Tomas resisted the urge to lower his gaze. Pride, he told himself. “Y-yes, I know. I’m sorry.” The great creature gazing down at him usually invited him over; he’d not complained when Tomas had shown up unexpected in the past, but that was hospitality that he didn’t want to strain. “I’m sorry, Kalamindrax,” he repeated. “I was just hoping – I could really use some sensible company.”

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Wed 12 Sep 2012

Trial By Fire

Posted by Shurhaian under SLASh
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The lift doors slid open with a hiss. There was just enough time to hear the murmur of hushed activity before a clear voice snapped, “Captain on the bridge!”

“As you were,” Khaele Makrynn called back. Once the doors were fully open, the wolverine ducked through, making her way to the centre of the bridge. Officers who had started to turn towards the lift now turned back to their stations, resuming their briefly-interrupted tasks. Khaele’s gaze sought out one in particular. “Commander Ayesh, I have the bridge.”

“The bridge is yours, Captain,” the exec responded in the formal tones that were his norm. “Everything proceeds on schedule; no incidents demand your attention.”

“Very good, Commander,” said the Captain, settling into her station chair. “Nav, rough time to transition?”

“A bit over five minutes, Captain,” was the reply.

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Tue 11 Sep 2012

Tipping Point

Posted by Shurhaian under One-shot
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“Don’t do it, Kyle.”

The words bounced off the concrete walls, lingering in the air for a time. As they faded into silence, all was still for a moment.

“That… that thing just had me tortured for four days,” a chilly voice replied. “The first time around, she murdered a dozen people and was responsible for ruining who knows how many lives. And what did the courts do? Slapped her on the wrist, gave her housing on the public dime for a year, and then let her go. Now that she’s up to the same things as before and then some, all she has to do is hide behind a half-dozen people and she gets off scot free?”

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Sun 26 Aug 2012

Convalescence

Posted by Shurhaian under SLASh
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Flint remembered the fear.

He was adrift in a dark haze, a flurry of images flickering through his vision, all of them tainted by that sick fear. In time, he focused enough to remember more clearly. The invasion alert. The desperate battle. The lurch of his bomber as it took damage; the blare of alarms as systems failed. Sudden inspiration and one last, desperate plan, keyed into the autopilot. He’d committed the program, hit the eject button, and then…

Then the world had turned to fire.

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