Lessons from a Chin

Life Lessons from a slightly grumpy Chinchilla:

1.) Always make as big of a mess as possible. 
2.) Always chew on the metal bars-the humans hate that!
3.) Kick up your heels every now and then.
4.) Don't take yourself too seriously-everyone trips at times!
5.) IF you don't like someone, bark at 'em! (Works every time, and you don't have to put their icky skin in your mouth!)
6.) If the human is in the room, just show off your belly for treats.

Be a second Alarm clock!

Remember to Chillax!

Always sleep funny!

*Thanks to my two boys-RIP Chip, you are missed! (The one laying down with his belly up)
*The other two pictures are of the Chinnie I have now-Roy

Paws

Running, even from something, always gave her a sense of freedom and control. The physicality of running, the rhythmic breathing, the footfalls and swinging arms created a cadence. And then there was the exhilarating sense of running together in a pack that was so different from running alone.

Ever since Ethan had been bitten and had accepted the change, she had loved taking him out with her on her own runs. Running for her, was the best remedy, and best way to control the urges and instincts of her kind. When you were physically exhausted, one rarely thinks of ripping out someone else’s throat. 

‘Wait up!’ Ethans voice ran through her mind. She glanced back, her pink tongue lolling out of her muzzle. Her paws dug into the soft loamy ground as she stopped to wait for her mate.

The scent of a squirrel in the trees above her made her pause. She sniffed the air delicately. This was the farthest they had run together. From the slightly wet and salty tinge to the air, she thought they were pretty close to Lake Superior.

With Ethan getting stronger, they could go farther. They had to avoid the cities, of course, and stick to the unpopulated areas. But thanks to the popular culture “rediscovering” nature there were more nature parks and trails they could follow or even cut through. However, when they did come near people, mostly by chance, they managed to avoid detection just because they were moving so fast; and the fact that most people didn’t want to admit to seeing a chest high wolf running around.

The crunching of leaves and twigs underfoot announced that he had finally caught up. She turned as a deep brown, almost black wolf padded up beside her. He was only a little taller than her, but he was broader than her as he came to stand next to her.

‘You really need to work on being silent.’ All she had to do to communicate with him was think. It was as easy as breathing. Because of their pair bonding, and the fact that she was the alpha female in the pack, she could project her thoughts into the minds of the other pack members. Most mated pairs could only do so with each other, but she was a new breed altogether.

‘Oh stop, you’ve been doing this wolf thing for a lot longer than me!’ The voice that rang through her mind sounded like the man Ethan was when he wasn’t a wolf. It was deep, and smooth with a little twinge of humor to it.

‘Yes, but there is something to be said for “natural instincts”.’ She gave him as much of a smile as a wolf can give. Her white canines were in stark contrast to her light reddish brown fur. His brown eyes were the same as when he was human, and she could see them laughing in response.

Again...Write it Out!

Once back in the little cabin, she hardly looked over to where Wreke sat slumped over in his chair by the fire. She crawled up the ladder quickly and dropped the trap door softly as she turned to lie on the straw mattress. She could feel her brothers steady breathing and was lulled into an almost sleep state next to his warm body until she felt something tug on her skirt. Still in a dream like state she batted at the edges of her skirts.

The cold edge of a knife at her throat forced her blue eyes to open and search the darkness. Adelaide suddenly knew why Margaret had told her to lock herself away at night. She realized that he was breathing heavy and that his pants were unbuckled and draped down around his ankles. Her eyes widened as he continued to run his hand up her leg. She tried to squirm away but the knife pushed against her neck, and she went completely still.

She tried to slow her breathing, but she failed. She was sure that her brother would wake up from her moving so much. All she could do was watch in horror as Wreke moved over her, and pulled against her undergarments with his free hand. He was not coordinated, and his breath smelled of whiskey as he breathed into her face. Her eyes flitted to her sleeping brother, and a tear slid down her cheek.

“Don’t…move…wouldn’t want…to hurt…either …of you.” Adelaide couldn’t see his eyes in the dark, but she thought that he sounded serious.

She tried to think of anything but what was happening. Of home, of the fields surrounding their house, of the animals outside in the barn, or the sun over—

Wreke was abruptly pulled off of her. She hadn’t realized how much he had actually been lying on her. She gasped for breath, and heard her brothers grunts as he moved to get between her and Wreke.

“Go Adelaide.” His voice was urgent in the dark.

“James, he’s—“ Wreke had recovered from his disorienting fall when James had pulled him off of Adelaide and was moving towards them in the dark.

“I know.” She could see a little light coming from the fire on the floor below them. “Get out Adelaide.” His voice had steel to it, the same tone that their fathers had when he wanted them to listen, and listen right then.

She slowly backed towards the floor door but stopped short as Wreke lunged for her brother. James bowled into her, and she felt his chest collapse as the breath was knocked out of him. Suddenly her dress was wet where he had fallen and the metallic scent of copper filled her nostrils.

“Adelaide…get out…” her brothers voice came in little breathless spurts. Her cheeks were wet as she felt her brother trying to push her onto the ladder with one hand and the other held to his side. Her hands slipped on the rungs of the railing and she fell the last few feet to the wooden floor. She looked up to her brother falling from the attic, and she just barely moved to avoid being flattened. She crawled over to his side. His chest was barely moving and the knife that had been pressed to her neck was now sheathed in his abdomen.

His dark blue eyes were dimming as he gave their secret sign for ‘run’ to her. He managed to pull out the knife, and handed it to her. Their hands were covered in his blood and she dropped the knife before getting a grasp on the handle.

A thud from above them caused her to look up. Wrekes booted feet appeared on the top rungs of the ladder. Adelaide glanced back at her brother and saw that his jaw was set in a harsh line, and he tried to prop himself up on one elbow.

“Adelaide, RUN!”

So she did. With tears streaming down her face she ran into the woods around the small cabin. She didn’t know where she was going, but she had to get away from that cabin and the horrible scene of her brother trying to stand after being stabbed twice to keep her safe. His blood was all over her. It was staining her dress and she wondered vaguely if it would ever wash off of her hands.

Storm

Describing a Storm using only action words:

                Drip, drip, drip

                Drop, Drip, Pitter

Pitter pat, pitter pat

                Pitter pat, PAT PAT, Pitter pat

                Rumble, bumble, CRASH

                Pat, pat, pat

                Drrrrumm, CRASH

                FLASH

                Drip, drip, splat

                Slap, Slap, Drip

Word Association

Word association:   Fiction

                Falsity, a story, account, explanation, invention of the human mind, figment, fable, tale, anecdote, tall tale, myth, creative process, fun, genre, category, imagination, drafts, make believe, muse, different, in depth look at interrelationships, genus, ingenuity

Quick/Flash

                Adelaide didn’t feel like eating, so she stayed moving around the small space. Picking up an object or two and then putting them back. She could walk thirty steps between the far wall with the fireplace and the kitchen table. It was another twenty steps from the back wall by the ladder to the loft to the front door.

                “Tomorrow starts the real work.” Wreke tried to speak around mouthfuls of food, and Adelaide just turned to observe out of the corner of her eye. “I need that tobacco crop to be real nice and big for the harvest. So I needs you, little missy, to make the plot bigger and to sow the seeds tomorrow.” Food dribbled down his scraggly chin as she watched.

                “Sounds like a fine idea, Mr. Wreke.” She smoothed her dress down in the front and stared at the floorboards beneath her small shoes. “Well then I suppose I should be heading to my bed.” She turned towards Wreke and her brother, “James I trust you will clean up after supper and then come up to the loft.” James looked at her, and then to Wreke, and then his eyes slid knowingly to his sisters hands.

                To anyone else looking at the two they might have been just standing there and taking every word at face value, but James and Adelaide had long since come up with a shorthanded sign language for use when they wanted to say something without being disturbed. His eyes grew wide as his sister signed the words for ‘Lock the door when you come up’.

 Adelaide climbed the ladder to the loft and settled down on the stiff mattress. Closing her eyes she tried her best to fall asleep. But sleep evaded her, at least until she felt the weight and familiar smell of her brother lying next to her. The last thing she remembered was his reassuring bulk lying next to her.