[Jackpot stars Aerhai.]

I watched our ship rise into the butterscotch-colored sky, my shalkra gauzily protecting my eyes from the miniature sandstorm caused by the lift-off.

I'd wised up; every bit of my paws, except where my claws poked through the tips of my toes, was wrapped in heavy white cloth, guarding my pads from the scalding sand. Similarly, there was a thin white sheet looped around my neck and draped over my back, reflecting the harshest rays from the local star. And I'd gotten a spare mane-tie to hold the mass of longer fur out of my eyes.

Mech grunted, once our ship had dwindled to a shiny speck in the ugly sky. I dropped my gaze and turned towards the gate of the city.

"You'll need to sleep soon," I informed him. All I got was another noncommittal grunt in response, which surprised me. Him not arguing about physical needs was unusual; the two-day session spent in my lab must have really drained him.

We passed through the open gates, a wind from behind ruffling the stretch of cloth I'd tied to neck and haunches.

"First thing we need to do is find a map," I remarked to Mech, "and then see if there are any zirs left here."

Mech poked me in the haunch with a tailtip, then tossed his head to his left and upwards. I looked.

"...oh, hey, look, a zir."

The six-legged snake was wrapped around one of the thin rails that stretched high above the streets, connecting buildings. Airwalks, they'd been called? Something like that. But the zir wasn't moving, and either that meant it was dead, or feeling endangered.

Mech sniffed. "Smells alive," he rumbled impassively.

"Good to know we're on the same step," I grinned at him, then trotted forward until I was directly under the zir'ken. I sat.

The zir uncoiled and looked down at me through a small shalkra, wide-eyed. "Aaerhaai?!" it exclaimed in a hiss, slender snout zipping between me and Mech. Within about two seconds, it had dropped from the highest airwalk to lower ones, then landed rather lightly in front of me. I stood again.

"Morning, zir-friend," I greeted amiably. "I'm Am, Xenospeaker of a nearby ship. This is Mech." Some part of me wondered how many Aerhai had given those names.

"I am pleassed to ssee you both!" the little snake exclaimed, practically wriggling. "My name iss Rhee'ssto. I did not know Aaerhaa knew of thiss world!"

Mech's nod sufficed for a 'hi how do you do,' and I continued smiling without emphasizing my teeth. The zirs were prey back on their homeworld, and any accidental sign of meat-eating tendencies would put them very on edge. "We only just now found it. Good to see you, Rhee'sto. How are you faring here?"

The zir wasn't stupid. It lowered its sibilant voice. "If you jusst now found thiss world, you will want to know all I know about it. I fare well enough! Come with me." It twisted over itself and began scurrying down a smaller street. With a glance to Mech, we both followed.

Title-- Jackpot
Rating and Warnings-- G; no real warnings.
Species and Characters-- Species is Aerha, a new one. Chars are Am (narrator), Med, Sci, Pilot, and Mech, plus a random Nila.
Summary and Notes-- I found a species. =3 And this is what happened when I tuned in.

( The ship rattled... )

Title-- Professional
Rating and Warnings-- PG-13 for concept; no violence and no sexual content. However, use of the concept and word "whore" happens.
Species and Characters-- Satyrnas, a brown Tarok female, and Meilta, a grey Nila male.
Summary and Notes-- I blame both Firefly and Kitty's Gameworld for this. Also, Satyrnas is FUN.

( Satyrnas had always been a personal fan of Terole... )

The Renegades of Terole

Join us in the battle. Come again and fight for the freedom of a now-dead planet.

We fight for justice. For honor. For memory.

And most importantly, for revenge.

Title-- Just Like Old Times
Rating and Warnings-- PG for implied violence and explicit gore. Yay gore!
Species and Characters-- Species = Korat and Kumayaki, the latter of which is copyright tageera and used with her permission. Chars = Redwood & TFD, who is also Kay's.
Summary and Notes-- I owed Kay a shidbit with Redwood and TFD. This is it. XD!

( 'You could feel it...' )

Title-- Sleepless
Rating and Warnings-- PG for angst and implied slash. ^^;; Warning: Jan-bashing.
Species and Characters-- Two species--Tarok and Tokathe. Taroks are bipedal Korats; Tokathe (the spawn creation of poetrywolf) are bipedal spacers with wolf/raptor heads, six-fingered handpaws, bladed tails, and a love for peace (mostly). Characters are Myk, a tan Tarok with a bad history and a gun for one of his arms (technically making him a cyborg); Skavan, a young grey Tokathe rebel-pilot with a bad history; and Januya, a black Tarok assassin with, you guessed it, a bad history. Ph33r teh angst. The setting is Etreus, one of poetrywolf's planets, which can be found here--it's been decimated by alien invasion/infestation, governmental incompetency, and now plague. Not a happy place--not happy chars. (Not sane chars.)
Summary and Notes-- This was requested by poetrywolf--she mentioned that I could play with the complex web of relationships as much as I wanted, including potential slash between Myk and Skavan. I couldn't resist. And, due to [insert excuse here], the writing quality isn't really up to snuff. Sowwy. If you want me to try again, mri'sai, just tell me an' I will.

( Myk didn't often wake up groggy; he was a naturally light sleeper, having been a pilot, a warrior, and, most recently, a mercenary for too long... )

Title-- The Look
Rating and Warnings-- G; no warnings.
Species and Characters-- Species is Korat--characters are Akartis, tan male, and his mate Ayrist, black female. (Ayrist is copyright to poetrywolf. Sh'ain't mine. =^^=) Also making cameos are their cubs--red male Shula, white female Yoshi, tan female Tasiri, black male Redan. Oh, and some Chitters show up--they're fluffy housecat-sized demi-felines who travel in huge herds.
Summary and Notes-- This is in response to xxxdevousxxx's request/challenge to write a humorous short story with Akartis. Tee hee. =D Hope you like it, Devous!

( Eyes of the most beautiful shade of violet, half-lidded with dark lashes, settled with deliberate slowness upon the sleep-lax face of one thin, scarred male. )

Title-- Forever Unredeemed
Rating and Warnings-- G; major angst warning.
Species and Characters-- Januya, female black Tarok. Taroks are basically bipedal Korats--same breeds, same paws, tails, heads, etc. Two differences--they can have a longclaw on either, both, or neither hand, and their necks, while long and arched, aren't so tightly furled. Also mentioned is Kahni, male Olashi. Olashi are vaguely feline bipeds with wings.
Summary and Notes-- Written for 15minuteficlets and this prompt--took me 13 minutes for 691 words. This is basically Januya ... uhm... angsting/reminiscing...

( 'Warrior, please, pause a moment so that a poor artist can pay homage to those who keep him alive!' )

...damn... =-_-=

Title-- I Remember
Rating and Warnings-- G; angst and nostalgia warnings.
Species and Characters-- Narrator is a tan male Korat, Akartis.
Summary and Notes-- Written in response to daily15's 73rd prompt--831 words done in 14.5 minutes. This is basically a character reminiscing angstily about his home--those who never role-played in The World of Terole or who haven't ever "met" Akartis probably won't get this. *sweatdrop* But really, I wrote it as a sort of memorial...

( Sharp bronzed sand has settled permanently in my mind, dusty with indelible memories and rusted with the scent of home... )