A New Challenge?

So today I got just a little bit bored.

Bored enough to decide to switch my keyboard from Qwerty to Dvorak. Apparently this is enough to convince people that I'm crazy!

Granted, it's a bit difficult making the switch, but it's not so hard as I thought it might be! It's actually kind of fun really...

So here's to learning new things "just because"!

Therianmagi: Witch Wolf, Chapter Two

(Last pre-written post for this one.)

“It’s not a vampire.” Marcy leaned forward between the front seats, still shaken and pale.

Adina yelped in surprise, nearly swerving into an oncoming car. “Damn it, Marcy! I thought you were still hiding on the floor.”

Marcy smiled weakly at her.

“Okay then.” Adina took a deep breath and drove past the office to give them time to talk. “What is it then? I’ve never seen you like that before.”

“Don’t lie. Yes, you have.”

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Therianmagi: Witch Wolf, Chapter One

(Book two of Therianmagi.)

Marcy stretched and yawned as the sunlight streaming through the half open curtains woke her up. She blinked a few times at the blank clock before realizing Jackson had unplugged it the night before. Smiling and shaking her head, she pushed the blanket back and sat up, combing her fingers through her hair and inhaling deeply. A human wouldn’t have smelled the subtle vanilla and hazelnut mixed with the strong coffee aroma, but the wolf inside her did, compelling her to get out of bed and scramble into the shower. She scrubbed quickly and pulled on jeans and a sweater without drying her hair and headed downstairs still barefoot, picking up her ring and her necklace from the dresser as she passed it.
She was still settling the gold pentacle under her sweater when she entered the kitchen and snuck up behind Jackson, wrapping her arms around his waist and putting her chin on his shoulder. “Is there breakfast or just coffee this morning?” she asked teasingly, biting lightly at his ear.

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Therianmagi: Silver Nightmares, Chapter Six

(Last pre-written bit of this one.)

“Oh, come on.”

Marcy sighed. She’d always had bad luck dealing with people, and it seemed that Adina wasn’t going to be an exception. “No dog jokes, please, no matter how well meant they are. I get enough of that from Quin and his insistent use of the nickname ‘Little Wolf’. I have told him numerous times that only my father is allowed to call me ‘Little Wolf’, but he doesn’t listen to me. He uses the nickname to annoy me, along with various dog jokes. He thinks that it’s funny, but it’s not.”

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Therianmagi: Silver Nightmares, Chapter Five

(Gosh this thing is long. And nowhere near done either, mind you.)

“Quindarryl asked me to be your new partner. He said something about needing a second fire witch on his staff.” Adina let her hand drop. “And please, do not call me ‘Miss Sheppard’. No one has called me that since sixteen ninety nine. ‘Adina’ is fine. Or ‘Shep’, if you do not like first names.”

“Sixteen ninety nine?” Marcy blinked at her in surprise. “You don’t look three hundred.”

“Just like you do not look forty-four.” Adina smirked at the surprised look Marcy gave her. “Quindarryl gave me your file to read through. I am surprised that he did not give you mine as well.”

Marcy looked down at her desk, which was covered, as usual, in folders and papers. Some pertained to cases, some were prospective new Watchers, and there was one, a red folder, that was new. Smiling sheepishly, she picked it up and read the name off of the front. “Senior Watcher Adina Sheppard, London Division.” Startled and puzzled, she looked back up at Adina. “Wait, he assigned you, a Senior Watcher, under me? Why?”

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Therianmagi: Silver Nightmares, Chapter Four

(I know what you're thinking. Another pre-write. Well you're right.)

“Marcy, I cannot stop in the middle of the–”

She looked at him with wolf eyes, noting with mild pleasure that he recoiled away from her. “Quin, stop the car.”

“Okay. Okay.” Looking puzzled and shaken, Quin turned on the car’s hazard lights and stopped, giving Marcy a puzzled look. “Is something wrong?”

“Not with me.” Marcy unbuckled her seat belt and popped the door open, kicking off her shoes. “Are we inside the Council office glamour?”

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Therianmagi: Silver Nightmares, Chapter Three

(Yep. More pre-written stuff.)

Marcy was out of the car almost before it was completely stopped, looking at the leaping purple flames. Oddly enough, they were not giving off the heat that one would expect to feel so close to a raging fire. Puzzled, Marcy sniffed the air. Her nose was not as sensitive in her human form, but it was still plenty useful for tasks like this. She could smell the ash, the burning wood, and the heavy scent of smoke. “Well. It’s certainly not a glamour.”

Quin gave her a skeptical look. “How do you even know that?”

“Because.” Marcy looked at him, just barely smiling. “A glamour only works on one sense, typically. Even the best scent-screening glamours cannot fool a werewolf’s nose.” She turned her attention back to the strange purple fire, a quizzical expression on her face. “Funny how there’s no heat to it. Definitely not a dragon fire.”

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Therianmagi: Silver Nightmares, Chapter Two

(Yup. Another part of this one. There's a few of these!)

The alarm clock went off, blaring in Marcy’s ear. Groaning quietly, she swatted at it, hitting the snooze button entirely by accident. She yanked the blanket up over her head, trying to pretend that she was still asleep.

When the alarm went off again a few minutes later, Grant prodded her gently in the ribs. “Wake up, sleepy head.”

Marcy growled at him, reaching over and turning the alarm off.

“Come on.” Grant nudged her again, pushing the blanket back. He switched on the lamp next to the bed and yelped in surprise when Marcy smacked him, just hard enough to hurt a little. “Quit being a brat, Marcy.” He poked her again, a bit more roughly this time. “Get up, lazy.”

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Therianmagi: Silver Nightmares, Chapter One

(Silver Nightmares is the first story in the Therianmagi series.)

The red wolf sailed through the open window into the bedroom, landing in a half crouch with a muffled thump. A moment later, the light overhead blazed on. She wagged her tail appeasingly at the man standing over her, holding her head and tail in the dominant “up” position.

Grant Cooper sighed at her. “It’s half past midnight, Marcy. What in the name of hell were you doing out there?”

Marcy just wagged her tail at him again, sitting down with a wolf smile on her face and letting her tongue loll out of her mouth. Maybe if she just stayed as the red wolf he would leave her alone, but she knew that was a reach. Grant was incredibly overprotective these days. After a few tense moments, she heaved a doggy sigh and shifted forms, crouching on the floor and grinning up at him. “Oh, come on. It’s not like I was hunting or anything. I just went for a run.”

“Marcy Xantara Cooper!”

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Short Story: Just An Exam

(Something silly. Again, old. Not one of my personal favorites but meh.)

“So where are you getting the catnip?”

L'sira gave Serys a startled look, not having realized that the Bajoran doctor had run a blood test on her. “Um.” Her tail twitched and her ears flicked back and forth a few times. “From Admiral Kirk,” she admitted finally. “I didn't think you would check for it, honestly.”

Serys sighed, looking up at the ceiling for a moment. “It's a physical, Commander. I'm checking for everything.”

“...oh.” Far from embarrassed, L'sira flashed Serys a toothy grin. “Well, you'll find nothing else, I'm sure.”

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Short Story: Breaking Point

(Bit of an emotionally charged piece. This was the forerunner to this particular character being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.)


Serys stalked into her empty cabin without turning on the lights and flopped onto the couch. She just didn't understand what was going on with her lately. So far it only seemed work related; all of her explosions had happened on duty, and it was a wonder no one had reported her to Jaimie yet. She sighed, trying to find a reason behind her overly dramatic snapping in sickbay that afternoon. She couldn't find one, and it worried her. One of her nurses had been close to tears when Serys disappeared into her office, over a patient's dosing schedule! Still trying to figure things out, she closed her eyes and leaned back into the couch.

She didn't budge when moments later the door hummed open and the lights came up. Rianne's distinctive giggle and Chad's voice didn't get so much as a “hello” from her.

Chad frowned slightly and shushed the toddler. “Shhh, Rianne, mommy's sleeping.”
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Short(er) Story: Temptress

(Quite a bit older than the last piece, and much shorter. But it's cute.)

“Chad, are you sure you don't want to join us tonight? Jaimie promises it'll be fun.” Serys used the mirror to attempt to reattach her earring, which she'd taken off because it got in her way while she was working in sickbay.

“I'm sure, babe.” Chad came up behind her, helping her fasten the obstinate jewelry. He kissed her neck to avoid any chance of smearing her minimal makeup. “You look stunning, and you and Jaimie are great together, but I don't much like dinners with flag officers.”

Serys smiled at him as she turned to peck him lightly on the cheek. “Okay. You can watch Ri tonight then, and I'll give you something special later.” She winked slyly and smoothed the glossy fabric of her deep blue halter dress.

Chad growled at her playfully and gave her a quick but fierce hug. He adored her anyway, but the mid-calm length halter dress was easily his favorite of her outfits. “Here.” He picked up the silver sash Serys had thrown over the back of a chair and looped it around her waist, tying it loosely at her hip. “Perfect.”

Serys laughed at him, giving him a final kiss and hug before picking up her matching handbag. “I'll see you tonight,” she whispered coyly as she left.

Short Story: "Redjac"

(A short story connected to one of my role playing message boards. A bit dark, maybe, but it's a favorite. For some reason.)


Clio sighed as she rang the chime to the office door. If Gazelle hadn't forced her to do this, she might never have done it. And she didn't want to. Not by a long shot.

"Come in," Vel called toward the door. The partition she normally had up was moved to the side, so that she could see the door.

Clio came inside, hesitating before speaking.  "Um...hi. Doctor Girabaldi sent me...to talk to you."

And I thought Gazelle was kidding. Velktra smiled a little. "Have a seat in the sitting area. I'll join you in a second." She wanted Clio to choose her own seat, to make her comfortable. If, that is, the Cervan officer could be comfortable in the presence of a psychiatrist.
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Prelude to War: Winds of Darkness, Chapter Three

(And part three. Last of the pre-written segments. Stay tuned!)

Night fell aboard Fury's Heart. Unlike the night of a Federation starship, with dimmed lighting, the Cervan bioship glowed blue in her corridors. Troya had been relieved by a junior guard for the night; Clio wasn't sure if this was a good or bad thing just yet. The young guard had her back to the cell. Unwise, Clio thought, amused.

Of course, there was still the young officer guarding the door to get out of the brig area itself to deal with, if she could even get the ship to release her from the cell.

Knowing that Adonia shared an intimate connection with Fury's Heart, Clio nonetheless caressed the bulkhead next to the bunk, trying to tap into the ship's conscious mind.

The bioship resisted. No. You cannot come in.

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Prelude to War: Winds of Darkness, Chapter Two

(Part two. You can tell these chapters are already written can't you?)

“The Empress wishes to see you.”

Clio just stared at the female guard on the other side of the force field. Interesting how it's “The Empress” and not “your mother”, “Empress Eneas” or “Empress Adonia”. She didn't even move from where she lounged across the provided bunk, her hand resting lightly on the bulkhead. “I have nothing to say to the Empress. You can tell her that.”

“She said you'd say that.” A second guard moved into Clio's field of vision. “She also said to convince you. If necessary.”

“Really.” Clio raised an eyebrow at them. “And how do you plan to do that?”

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Prelude to War: Winds of Darkness, Chapter One

(Obviously this is the beginning of a story arc that will be posted here over time as it grows and develops.)

Clio groaned quietly and rubbed her head as she sat up from the deck. She didn’t remember what had happened or, more importantly, how she’d gotten there, but she recognized the interior of a Cervan bioship. The ship’s sentient mind tugged at the periphery of Clio’s muted telepathic senses. She’d just gotten her senses in order when she saw someone standing at the brig force field, smirking at her. The Cervan woman seemed oddly familiar, even though Clio was certain that they’d never met. There were several seconds of tense silence between them as Clio tried to figure out what was so familiar about her captor.

“You don’t know who I am,” the other woman remarked, somewhat amused. “What a shame. We could have had such fun together, Clio.”

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Musing On A Whim?

It means just what it says, honest. When the mood strikes, I shall write. Maybe it's a random musing. Maybe it's an excerpt from a story I'm writing. Maybe it's just a random thought I had during the day. I'll try to make it clear what's what, but if there's ever any confusion, just let me know in a comment and I'll clear things up for you!

I'll probably put up some of my old writing here as well. Stuff some people have already seen elsewhere. For...comparison purposes. And for entertainment.

Enjoy!