Feathered Wings of Fire

Tuesday howls and yowls, shapeshifter lovers. Omy! Am I worn out. I spent most of yesterday writing my three blurbs and filling out the cover art questionnaire for KANDY APPLE AND HER HELLHOUNDS. I don’t know about other authors, but it takes a lot of concentration and focus for me. Sometime, it feels as if I weigh each word, and by the time I make it through, my eyes end up spinning like pinwheels. Although, perusing pics of cover model, Jimmy Thomas, definitely has its sexy rewards.

So, the upshot is, my brain is mush, and I don’t have a blog for today. I’ve been banging the ole memory banks for something that would hopefully be entertaining, or just interesting.... hmmm...

Okay... checked out hellhound pics. Nothing. Checked out a couple of other ideas. Nope.

Ah, after perusing my WIPs and Flash Fiction file, here’s an oldie Flash. It’s always interesting how time and distance gives a better perspective. However, I haven’t altered it. Here it is, warts and all.
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Feather Flash Day ~ July 20, 2008

Feathered Wings of Fire

ONE

Scrambling quickly up the small pile of red desert boulders, she shielded her eyes from the midday sun with one hand. Fascinated, she peered at the immense dark shape in the sky, unable to tell if it was a small plane or a humongous bird. Staring for all she was worth at the odd-looking shape, whatever it was, maybe even some kind of UFO, her breath hitched when it banked suddenly, then powerfully glided over the parched landscape. Wings, definitely giant feathered wings. Her breath jerked again and her heart drummed with wild elation. Probably just an enormous buzzard, though.

TWO

Still, a tiny, tiny thump of hope tingled in her breast as the magnificent bird grew larger, and seemed to head in her direction. Crouching, she fumbled for her camcorder inside her stuffed backpack, but no go, unless she was willing to take her gaze off the...mygawd! She straightened, sucked in a big fat breath, then forgot to breathe. Thunderbird, echoed in her mind. Thunderbird, it banged around like a large bouncing rock falling into a canyon. Thunderbirds, like the ones talked about on late night radio, the crypto sightings, the American Indian myths, the 1800's picture she’d Googled.

THREE

Like the one sighted in Alaska flying beside a Cessna. Of course, the pilot and passengers had freaked out huge time. “God, I hope so. I hope it’s a Thunderbird,” she whispered, thinking if she spoke too loudly, it would frighten the legendary creature away. As the ginorous eagle-looking bird sailed closer and closer, her blood sang with excitement while trepidation curled her toes. “It could want dinner,” she murmured, remembering the tales of monstrous nests containing human bones. Still, she stood her ground on top of the sun-baked boulder, and waited, greedily searching for every detail she could observe.

FOUR

Brown mahogany, the giant wing feathers gleamed beneath the sun. Looking translucent, the tip edges shimmered with gold. As he flew closer his flight feathers streamed a golden flame of light. He. The ginormous eagle had to be a ‘he’. Sailing beneath the sun, he obstructed her view of the sky, and darkened the land around her with his shadow. Mesmerized, she watched his entire body glisten gold as if an ancient sky goddess poured gold dust over his dark feathers. Stunned by his sheer size, his incomparable glorious beauty, still, she couldn’t make herself believe he was a hallucination.

FIVE

Aware her own body entered a state of paralysis, she did not care. Shifting his flight pattern, the Thunderbird creature rose, flying higher. Her heart nearly stopped, stabbed by raw disappointment. Come back, she desperately whispered inside her mind. Majestically he circled directly above her, catching inside his shadow as he languidly spiraled higher. She concentrated, memorizing his every winging movement. “Omygawd.” Her throat closed in awe at what she witnessed. He sparkled with a fiery aurora of colors as he flew in slow motion. His entire body. Unable to take it all in, she dropped her hand, and blinked.

SIX

Then she shut her eyes. Forcing them wide again, she gasped, her breath ripping from her lungs. His tail feathers blazed, rainbows of fire flowing, jets of amazing color that put the brightness of the sky to shame. Thinking, Firebird....she felt her body fall backwards. Her mind blanked. When she emerged back into awareness, she felt strong arms around her. Incredibly strong arms. She blinked, daring her own eyes to open. Starting violently, she wondered how the strange gorgeous man held onto her. “You are here. As we previously arranged.” His unique bold voice fire-stormed over her senses. “What?”
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Wouldn’t a thunderbird-firebird creature be a great addition to Talbot’s Peak?
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From the Kougar’s Writing Den ~ White Fang, Ace Reporter

*Unedited Six Sentence* progress on the latest WIP novella...

Chapter Seven ~ Interview with the Biker Alpha

White Fang followed Dante through the bar’s rudimentary kitchen. The Biker Alpha halted, opening a door storage room door.

Instead, they stepped onto a carpeted platform, and White Fang held his tongue as they moved down a wide, newly installed stairway at a brisk pace. Once they walked along a spacious corridor, atmospherically lit with gaslights, he estimated they were a good twenty-five feet below ground.

Dante stopped before a door at odds with the nineteenth century setting. It could have come from a medieval castle, and White Fang’s brows raised as he read the ornate sign: There Be Shapeshifters of Every Kind. Beware of Fangs, Claws and Tails.
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Note: For a look at the first six chapters ‘six sentence’ openings, check my page.
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Happy Month of May Shapeshifting

Savanna

Savanna Kougar ~ Run on the Wild Side of Romance ~
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