sons could be birds,
taken broken up to the mountain
taken broken up to the mountain
List of things Nathaniel did not expect to find in his neighborhood:
Nathaniel generally tried not to think about Attuned. He slept better without considering how many animals in the forest might be people at any given time. He was a fur trapper by trade, after all. But, every now and then, a fellow was taking a walk through the neighborhood and he came across something — someone — who reminded him immediately and ruthlessly that attuned were very real and also sort of terrifying when they did that thing where they weren’t really animals and weren’t really people, but some uncomfortable middle ground. Why could Attuned even do that?
“Amalia!” His deep voice broke the morning silence like a peal of lonely thunder. Then Nathaniel paused, as if surprised. He hadn’t meant to call out, really. But he recognized her with her back turned, at first. The long lick of flame that was her hair, maybe something about the way she moved… The baker was practicing drills or something off by herself, and her form was properly intense without the clawed feet or the bushy tail.
“Are you training?” he asked as he approached. Perhaps she wanted to train alone? Nathaniel had never considered her a soldier, but with things going the way they were, it was probably a good idea… He shifted his walking stick from one hand to the other, and glanced over his shoulder to whistle for the dog, who followed him dutifully on their morning rounds. He was suddenly self conscious, and looking at the dog was easier than looking at Amalia.
- Snow Leopards
- Snow Leopards who were actually women.
- Snow Leopards who were actually women he knew.
Nathaniel generally tried not to think about Attuned. He slept better without considering how many animals in the forest might be people at any given time. He was a fur trapper by trade, after all. But, every now and then, a fellow was taking a walk through the neighborhood and he came across something — someone — who reminded him immediately and ruthlessly that attuned were very real and also sort of terrifying when they did that thing where they weren’t really animals and weren’t really people, but some uncomfortable middle ground. Why could Attuned even do that?
“Amalia!” His deep voice broke the morning silence like a peal of lonely thunder. Then Nathaniel paused, as if surprised. He hadn’t meant to call out, really. But he recognized her with her back turned, at first. The long lick of flame that was her hair, maybe something about the way she moved… The baker was practicing drills or something off by herself, and her form was properly intense without the clawed feet or the bushy tail.
“Are you training?” he asked as he approached. Perhaps she wanted to train alone? Nathaniel had never considered her a soldier, but with things going the way they were, it was probably a good idea… He shifted his walking stick from one hand to the other, and glanced over his shoulder to whistle for the dog, who followed him dutifully on their morning rounds. He was suddenly self conscious, and looking at the dog was easier than looking at Amalia.
