Although initially concerned about his grandma's friend, they begin The Nutcracker and Sam begins to gradually warm up to her.

More often than not, upon graduating from high school, a Familiar is faced with two choices.

Giving up their Artifact or Fragment, or continuing to use it.

If they choose to continue mastering or unlocking their Fragment, they can proceed down a number of avenues.

One of those avenues leads to tertiary education, or employment by their affiliated Pride. Alternatively, they can attend tertiary studies while being employed by the Pride.

Not all Artifacts were the same.

Some were weapons and some were not.

Within this separation, they were classified into classes and types.

For example, there are Artifacts that fall into the Ruler Class.

Then there are those that fall into the Celestial Class.

Others belong to the Pantheon Class.

Within a class, they are further distinguished by types, and sometimes the classifications become messy. One example of this are the Valkyries.

Looking for a new Andrej. Part 3 of 3
Avril in public

How does Avril cope in the clutches of the Fashion World ? Can Mike keep dressing up only as role-play? How tempted is he?

The Prides called them Artifacts.

To the people of Pharos and the colonized systems under the control of the Prides, these Artifacts were powerful and mysterious devices found after the Cataclysm had torn our little corner of the galaxy apart. That is indeed true, since the Artifacts were fished out of the thick cloud of the Hurakan Nebula by numerous starships built for this kind of salvage.

Artifacts were also referred to as Fragments.

This is because Artifacts came in two packages.

The gentle knocking of the maid on the door eventually roused me from my slumbers.

I didn’t want to move so I shouted out,

“Please. Come back later.”

The knocking stopped and all was quiet once more apart from the muted traffic noise coming from the world outside the Hotel.

I relaxed back onto the bed and closed my eyes once more.

Looking for a new Andrej

The arrival of Avril

If there's one Andrej Pejic who looks sometimes like girl and sometimes like a boy - then there must be others.

When the Cataclysm ripped the galaxy apart for a radius of fifty three light years, it left behind the Hurakan Nebula.

Basically, the nebula formed from the remains of numerous planets, moons, and stars blown to bits by the trans-light shockwave.

That was more than two centuries ago.

Two hundred and thirty seven years to be exact.

Twenty years later, humanity had picked up the pieces and put together two spheres of political influence.

Class 1-D at Sanderson High School for Regulars.

Pharos Colony. Island Two. Habitat One.

Semester One – School Week Twenty.

Friday morning Homeroom Period.

Today was the big day – the final day of the school semester.

The mid-year break would start tomorrow, Saturday.

Needless to say my classmates and I were all looking forward to our measly five week break before starting Semester Two.

I got to know Doug so quickly in fact that it felt like I knew him my whole life. Nothing seemed out of bounds, except my dark secret. And even there Doug got to know me better than I know myself. The real me.

Copyright © 2017 by AuP reviner

I'd just finished combing our daughter Cherry's hair, parting her hair on her left side, and now I stood back from her, hands on her shoulders. "You make a handsome, elegant picture," I told Cherry, with all the pride of a father. My wife, Brianna, was making the finishing touches on her hair, tucking it under to give it a light androgynous impression.

“Mama…”

She doesn’t say the words, but you still hear them: “not now, sweetie. Mama’s busy.”

You know better than to reach out for her. Your hands are already stinging. Better to keep them by your side where they can’t annoy anybody.

Still, the need aches at you.

“I told you, I’m busy,” she doesn’t say.

You try to be a good girl and pull away, but your heart doesn’t listen; it still reaches out despite knowing it’s not allowed.

The yelling gets louder. “Didn’t you hear me? I said I was busy. Stop being a bother.”

Kyle was walking down the street, heading toward a mall that allowed people to play music with little or no hassle. It was just another city somewhere in the United States, much like many other fairly big cities, with people walking or driving by without saying anything.

He wasn't really paying attention to where he was going until he had to stop at a street light to wait for it to turn green. Across the street was a small area where the city allowed musicians, comics, etc., to do their acts. Something pulled Kyle over to the almost empty square.

The Other Woman – Part One

There are two women in his life and its finally time for them to meet.

- - -

This story is dedicated to my friend and fellow author Warm Hearted, who has called me his cheerleader. We have become good friends and confidants, sharing comments and ideas on our stories as well as messaging and e mailing each other regularly.

- - -