One Shot Previews

Little Coffins
St. Cerveaux

He shuddered. Cold. Not the cold of the frosty winter air, but from the cold that was filling his heart.
He was numb. Hollow. His eyes stared into nothingness, not perceiving the hole in the ground, the people dressed in black that were gathered around him, the coffin that was being lowered into the ground.
The coffin…
Coffins shouldn’t be that small.



Can I Be Strong?
Eriacu St. Cerveaux


“Eriacu! Come here! Look!”
“What is it, Mama?”
Evelyn pulled her little son down into her lap. All around them were flowers, the most beautiful Eriacu had ever seen. Red roses, royal and gold hemerocallis, fiery pink bleeding hearts, dusty white and lilac orchids, the tender blue and pale pink of grape hyacinths: wonder and splendor as far as he could see.
“Look here, Eriacu,” Evelyn said gently, reaching out to the underside of a wide leaf.
Under it’s shade a fragile cacoon, shimmering like chrome, hung precariously.
“Mama, it’s moving,” Eriacu whispered when he saw the cacoon twitch.
“Yes it is.”
“Why is it moving, Mama?” Eriacu asked.
“Wait and see,” she replied.
They waited and watched while the cacoon writhed and shuddered. Then it broke apart. Slowly, two large, brown triangles emerged. Then a long body with a button sized head and four black legs.
Eriacu gasped. Evelyn took his hand and held it just in front of the little creature. It climbed onto his fingers and he giggled as it tickled him.
“It’s a butterfly,” she said, watching Eriacu’s eyes widen in delight. She pointed a little further off, at a butterfly that had just taken flight. It was followed by a second. Then a third. Soon there were quite a few of them flitting about the garden.
“It’s so delegate,” Eriacu said, looking at the butterfly on his hand.
“You mean delicate?”
“Yah, delicate,” he replied. “It could break.”
“It won’t.”
“Why not?”
“Butterflies are stronger than you think, Eriacu.”

Saving Hate

Ciel Norcross

Ciel was breathing. He could feel the air stream into his mouth, and presumably into his lungs, after passing through the cumbersome breathing apparatus attached to his face. He could hear the mechanical sound produced by it. He could feel his chest rise and fall gently with the expansion of his ribcage.
He was breathing. That was a good sign.
He reached up with his hand and touched his face. He could feel the soft, warm skin of his forehead, and then, as he trailed his fingers a little further down, he brushed against the cold metal of the mask. He sighed softly. A mechanical thrum resounded.
He was breathing. He was alive.
He opened his eyes, slowly. First, a small crack, then wider. Assaulted by color and shadow and light, he shut them again. Only to blink and try once more.
His vision spun. He saw darkness again. His heart pounded in his chest. He was in pain.
But he was alive. That was a good sign.
What he noticed next gave him reason for worry. Curled about him was the large, lithe body of a snowy leopard. It reclined in a somewhat laid back pose, its tail flicking near his right arm, its great head resting on its paws by the left arm. It glanced at him, from the corner of its feline, blue eye. It made no moves other than quick blinks every now and then, and the flicks of its tail.
“What do you want?”
The leopards never asked him for anything, yet he always wanted to know what they wanted from him. They were always around. They wanted something didn’t they?
“What do you want?” he asked again. His voice was hoarse and quiet. His throat was dry, and it scathed him when he spoke. It made him cough. It made his throat feel raw.
The leopard brushed his arm with its tail. Comforting him.
“Leave me alone,” he whispered.
The leopard merely blinked at him.
“Just leave me alone…” he was on the verge of begging. “Please.”

These are the previews for the three backstories I have been working on. The preview for Little Coffins might actually be showing up in another story as well. We shall see.

Again, Saving Hate is just the working title and will probably be changed in the near future.

These stories will appear in full on my characters' stories blog. The links will be provided upon completion.

NOTE: Yes, I edited the title and preview for Eriacu's story. It is now finished and shall be posted up soon. The preview is much more fitting since it actually SHOWS Eriacu.