YAY!!!!!

Okay, so if anybody has heard of the Whitefish Review, I was in one of them. "Big Brown" was my short story.  And my stepdad Justin is friends with two of the people who do the Whitefish Review, so I got a call from them. And they're going to have an author come and read some of his work, and they were going to invite teens and kids who write to read some of their work. So I was called. And I am so happy! I'm probably going to read my first ever piece on this blog, the one about death. SO I'm really excited!!!!!! :D :D :D

Mason

Venice Faerie, Part 2

I dashed out of the gondola. "No, wait!" the boy begged, grabbing my wrist. Damn. I knew I shouldn't have kissed him. But there was no time to waste. He was instructing the person driving to pull over to the canal. I tugged, but the boy didn't loosen his hold. Luckily for me, there wasn't a spot to pull over except back the way we'd come. "You have to let me go." I instructed the boy. "No, please!" he pleaded, pulling me back into the gondola. I looked over my shoulder. I didn't have time for this. I leaned forward and kissed the boy again. He had stopped in mid-sentence, surprised. With his shock, his hand loosened from my wrist, and I dashed away. The boy's cry of surprise and disappointment startled some tourists, but that was just what I needed to get them to move out of my way. I heard footsteps behind me. I looked behind me. There he was, maneuvering through the crowd as quickly as he could. I looked back in front of me---and skidded to a halt. I'd ran into a cul-de-sac, with a small dock for a boat, and almost ran right into the water. I stared at the water, and then looked up. He was coming for me. The water was exactly what I needed, but only if it was absolutely necessary. I slipped out of my pants and shirt, securing them in my water faerie backpack. I stood there in my tube top and my bikini bottoms, which had a skirt with the left side slit all the way to the top. The cold didn't bother me, so that wouldn't be a problem if I had to be in the water. I grabbed my  water faerie sweater to cover up my wings. There weren't many people around, so that wasn't much of a problem for me. He came to a halt several yards away. "You stay away from me, Jack." I snarled. He narrowed his eyes at me. "Why? So you won't have the urge to kiss me like you did with that stupid boat boy?" he taunted, but there was fury behind those words. "Oh, you would just enjoy that, now wouldn't you?" I snarled. He narrowed his eyes. "Why did you abandon me, Rainy, in London?" He demanded, and I saw all that hurt in his eyes that I knew I would. I looked away, my eyes hardening. "It was for our own good, Jack." I snapped. "How so?" he snapped back. "Listen to me, Jack..." I started, but he just held out a hand. I pursed my lips. Then I spoke again, ignoring his glare. "Jack... it wasn't what I wanted. I didn't want to leave you. But you and me both know that someday, the Hunters were going to recruit you back. And you would have had to kill me. And all my kind. Vampires. Werewolves. Fey. All of them." His face fell in a look of torment. "Rainy, they wouldn't have taken me back. After failing them so hard? No." he shook his head. I narrowed my eyes. "Jack, your father is the Head Hunter. He wouldn't leave you behind. And you know it." He hung his head. "But that doesn't mean you have to leave me. We could have figured something out..." I shook my head. "No, Jack. Until this war is over---" He stared up at me, sadness written all over his face. He pulled out the velvet purse. He tossed it to me. I opened it and drew something out delicately. It was an aquamarine, in the shape of a long staff crystal. It was naturally grown that way; it was a water faerie-grown. I looked up at him in surprise and a sudden sense of sadness. I put it around my neck. I pursed my lips as I stared at it. I looked up to see Jack staring at me adoringly. I felt a pang of sadness again. "Thank you, Jack." I whispered. "So will you come with me?" he asked, almost begging. I stared at the crystal, and then at him. "I... I'm sorry, Jack." I whispered, my eyes tearing up. And then I dove into the water. My wings opened up, allowing me to use them as fins. Webbing grew in between my fingers, and my legs stuck together to make a glorious turquoise fin that drifted into black. The fin was shredded and torn at the ends, or so it looked. I swam to the surface, and stared at the broken face of Jack. A tear rolled down my eye as I waved goodbye. Jack raised a hand in farewell, his face one of a broken heart. "I love you, Rainy! And I always will!" he yelled after me as I disappeared beneath the surface, returning to where I belonged----the water.

A Venice Faerie, Part 1

I slipped in between two market booths, weaving behind them, right along the edge of the canal. I snuck a peek around the corner of one and shot back. There he was. Looking among the glorious jewels and hand-crafted treasures at the Market booths. Damn. Didn't he ever get tired of chasing me? I slid along one of the tents and merged into the beinnale. The beinnale was one of the best times for me in Venice. Not that I couldn't hide in Venice anyway. Venice was a wondrous place for water fey to relax and live. I slid around a large tent and into another by accident. I peeked outside. No, he was still at the Market. I sighed and turned, just to come face-to-face with a woman clad in jewelry. "Welcome to my tent. Do you wish for a reading?" she asked in a heavily accented English. My accent wasn't exactly English, either, I suppose. Somewhere mixed between British, Irish, and Australian. I could put a little more into either one of those, to sound a bit more like a specific one. My accent was an exotic one, only found among fey. I hesitated, and peeked outside. "Whomever you are hiding from shall not find you in here, young one." she assured me. I hesitated again, but then smiled tentatively. "Sure, why not?" I'd heard my voice had a wispy, wind chime-like sound to it, but had never really noticed. I suppose the woman did, because her eyebrows shot way up behind her bangs. "Sit, please." she said, gesturing to a heavily cushioned seat. I took a seat, careful not to crush my wings too hard against the back. "How much?" I asked in Italian. She didn't seem surprised that I knew. "Four coins." she said, and nodded to a velvet bag hanging off the side of the table. I clinked the coins into the bag. She blew out a couple candles in her tent and dimmed the oil lamp. The orb in the center began to glow. We both leaned forward. She closed her eyes and placed her fingertips on the orb. Her brow furrowed. "Hmm.... interesting..." I didn't want to seem like one of those corny people out of the movies who said, "What? What do you see?" but... it didn't seem like I had any other options. "What is it?" I asked. "A boy. He's the one following you. Is it not true?" She peeked open one eye to watch me nod. "His goal is to destroy you. But... something will change his mind." She squeezed her eyes shut tighter in frustration. "Your future is foggy to me. Something... something will go wrong." "What? What will go wrong?" I desperately needed to know. "At dusk...." Her head crashed against the table. I stared at her in alarm. "Hey! Wait!" I cried out, reaching over a hand. Her head rose quickly, and she blinked. She smiled at me. "I'm sorry, only one reading per day. Come back tomorrow to get it again!" "Wait, you said that something was going to go wrong, at dusk! What was it?" I demanded. She looked at me, confused. "I'm sorry. I said no such thing. Goodbye now!" She bustled me out, leaving me bewildered. I sighed, and slipped into a vast crowd. I strained to see over the throng, and saw him pocketing something in a velvet bag. He turned and headed my way. I ducked back down, slipping through the crowd easily, before I saw a gondola. I stepped on. It was a teenager my age, around sixteen. I stepped onto the boat tentatively, my willowy, light frame barely rocking the boat. "Can I get a ride?" I asked the boy softly in Italian. He blinked at me in surprise and awe. Then he held out a velvet bag and nodded to it. I took out a couple coins and showed them to him. He hesitated and shook his head. I pursed my lips and looked over the throng. He was coming closer, trying to look over the crowd for a ride. "Please!" I begged the boy. My aqua marine-blue-green eyes widened as I pleaded. They always looked watery, and not just because of the Caribbean coral reef water-color of my eyes, but just the fact that I was a water faerie gave me the ability to make myself look like I was on the verge of tears if I really wasn't. He hesitated again and shook his head slowly. I had to get out of here. I dumped the original amount of money I'd brought into his bag and leaned forward to kiss him delicately on the lips. His face was lit with surprise, which then changed to awe and dreaminess. "Please?" I asked him, a bit more flirtatious this time. "Of course." he said, blushing, the first time he'd spoken at all. He motioned for me to take a seat. He pushed off, maneuvering us around the many boats and water travel in the canal. "Where to?" he asked. I thought for a moment. Then I asked him to take me to another part of the biennele. He nodded, and took off in the direction, casting glances at me. He licked his lips several times, obviously nervous to be around me. We reached the goal, and he pulled up. I stood, nodding to him. He stared at me longingly. I leaned forward to peck him on the lips again as a sign of gratitude (and so maybe he wouldn't stalk me, but who knows, I was just probably encouraging him), but was interrupted as I heard a breath sucking in sharply. I whipped my head around, leaning away from the boy, who looked angry at whoever had kept away my kiss. It was him. I looked up frantically at the sky. It was dusk. The sun was slowly lowering in the sky. He was in a different gondola, and he looked furious.

Don't Freak Out

Okay, so I know my short stories seem really, really, really long. Don't let 'em freak your beans. Just read. I promise they're not exactly as long as they seem. Thanks. :)

Pack Betrayal, Acceptance Upon Return

I slipped behind the tall building in the ally way, praying that they hadn't seen me. I sucked in my gut as they ran past, the huge great dane/rottwieller/pit bull mixes ran past, the men hot on their paw prints. I waited. Then, when I was positive that they were gone, I dashed around the corner, going back the way I'd come. I dashed behind several parked delivery trucks as a group of the men walked past, muttering into a small earpiece. I dashed ran behind the trucks, following them, trying to figure out what they were saying. "We...within...grasp...disappeared." I cursed silently and took my chances, getting closer. "No, sir. Yes, sir. The Danes were hot on her trail. Gill's men went after her. I don't know. They could still be tracking her. Yes, sir. Of course." He pressed his fingers to the earpiece and he fell silent, scowling. He stalked off towards the direction where the men had ran off. I sighed quietly with relief. But then I heard a growl behind me. I whipped around, prepared for a fight. Behind me, there was a tall, lanky boy with dark sandy-brown hair. He glared at me darkly. My face lit up. "Jace!" I cried, running towards him. He backed away, holding out a hand which I promptly ran into. "Jace!" I said a little bit less enthusiastically. He didn't speak, just that dark glower. "Jace?" I asked. I drooped. My shoulders hunched, my head dipped low. He dropped his hand. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. His voice made my heart sing. I brightened up. "Jace, I---" "Just answer my question, Crow." he snapped. I hung my head submissively. It was the only way to get him to understand. "I'm so sorry, Jace." I whispered. "They caught me and took me away and then I couldn't escape." He narrowed his eyes at me. "You don't just go around getting caught, Crow! I know you better than that!" he snarled. "Well what if I did? What were you going to do about it? You'd gone all macho-dog and dove right into the fight! For what? To have you get captured and leave the pack! How do you think it felt having Rocky the All-Mighty Beta lead the pack, huh? You know how much I hate him!" I snapped back, losing my patience. He snarled. Suddenly there was a howl. We both froze, heads snapping towards the direction that it'd come from. "Damn." I snarled under my breath. "Let's go. We can talk in a safer place." Jace commanded. His shape warped, and suddenly he was a huge dingo-wolf. I felt myself changing, my face elongating, my bones shifting, and suddenly I was a huge black wolf with blue paws and a blue muzzle, with the tip of my tail also blue. This might freak your beans, but I'm a werewolf. Obviously. Jace nipped at my heels to get me moving. We were off in a flash, running down the sidewalks of Port Angeles. There was another howl behind us, and the baying of the Danes began. Jace snarled at me to go faster, that this wasn't just one of our old playful runs. I clicked my teeth together with a snap of annoyance as I replied that I knew that. Jace turned suddenly, surprising me. He knew I wasn't going to expect it, so he grabbed my scruff as he turned. I yelped with surprise as he spun me around. We ran down the ally way, and I saw him jump. He transformed in mid-air, and gripped the edge of the fire escape. I did the same, but scrabbled to get up. He grabbed my wrists and hauled me up, and pulled me inside the dilapidated building. We hid in the shadows, peering through the dirtied windows to see if they were coming. The Danes skidded to a halt at where we'd last touched ground. They sniffed along the walls and up and down and up and down and back again. I could just barely understand them in my human form. So I morphed. "Where? Where? Where?" They all muttered, sniffing down and back and down again. Suddenly the hugest Dane I'd ever seen walked in. He snarled at all of them to sit. They all lined up and sat. "Find the girl!" he snapped, shaking the scruff of one of the other Danes. The Dane yelped and cowered. "Girl is with Wolf-boy." he whimpered. "Silence! Or I'll get the humans to do tests on you!" the Alpha snarled. The Dane rolled over in submission. "Go back! They obviously aren't here. Split up!" he growled, and the Danes filed out of the ally and split up. I turned back to human, and looked at Jace. He was looking bitter. "I'm just glad your safe." I said, hugging him. He shook me off roughly. I glared at him. "What's your problem?" I demanded. "Nothing,  besides the fact that you came after me! After specific orders!" he snarled. "I don't care! You were in trouble, and you knew it! If I hadn't caused a commotion upon escaping, you would never have gotten out of those labs! They would have tested you and tested you and tested you until you died! And you know it!" I yelled, jabbing a finger at him. Jace was the Alpha. My Alpha. He had left our small pack of werewolves, natural werewolves, not the test-tube pups that they made in the labs. But the scientists still wanted us anyway for testing. And Jace had sacrificed himself for the pack. And I had been lonely. "Why can't you just listen to orders like everybody else?" Jace asked me furiously. "Because if I had, your scrawny little ass would be stuck in one of those testing facilities. Oh, don't worry, you can thank me later. When I'll actually accept it." I snarled. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "You have to go home." he growled, eyes closed. "No! Not unless you come with me!" I said defiantly. "Please, Crow. Do me a favor." he begged. I blanched. Jace never begged. Unless something was terribly, terribly wrong. "Jace?" I asked, my voice wavering. I sounded like a small child. "Yes?" he answered, watching me worriedly. "What's going on?" I asked, still sounding helpless. He took another deep breath. "You have to get out of here. Or they'll find you. They'll be here in about five minutes." "What?!" I asked, horrified. "Crow, please listen to me this time. Leave." I shook my head. "No, Jace, not unless---" "Please, Crow! I can't see you being tortured anymore!" he begged me. I stared at him, horrified. "No..." I whispered. "You're one of them." My voice was choked up in my throat. "I'm so sorry. It was the only way I could help you. Now please." he whispered. I backed away, and then stopped. "I'm not leaving you, Jace." His shapes changed. He snarled at me, baring his fangs. I shifted, too, snarling back. "Leave!" he howled at me. "I'm staying with you!" "No!" I was about to retort, but it was too late. People poured into the building. "Good job, Jace." One said, pleased. He scratched behind Jace's ears. Jace made no response, just staring at me, tortured. I backed away and jumped out. "You always have a choice, Jace! Just remember that!" And then I took off into the woods. There was a padding sound behind me. I looked over my shoulder. Jace was running peacefully behind me. "What are you doing?" I asked warily. He smiled a wolfy grin at me. "I'm making my choice."