Dear Readers,

Comicality affected many more lives with his creativity and joy of life than he ever knew.

He will be sorely missed. Comicality, 1975- 2024 Requiescat in pace,

TSL

Hello Readers,

It's TSL again with hat in hand, yes it is that time of year again when we ask you our loyal readers to help keep our sites up and running. You may well know our sites are run almost entirely on your generous donations! When your donations do not cover all of the cost, the difference comes out of our pockets. We have no ADs on our sites and no Premium Tiers! There is no charge to our authors for hosting their stories nor any charge for you the readers to read them. We would appreciate it if you could find a way to donate any amount to keep our sites AD-free and running. So please check between your couch cushions and under your car seats any amount will be gratefully accepted. No amount is too small. We thank you very much for all of your help over the years.

To sweeten the pot a bit, we are running the following promotion again, simply put, make a $10 USD donation get a free Joel Book.

Have you considered helping to keep these sites up and running? Are you also a fan of Ted Louis' "Joel" series? Well, Ted has informed us that he found a case of assorted Joel books. Yeah, "actual" in print books! He decided that anyone willing to make a $10 or larger donation within the US to the hosting service paying the bills for the Fort Family Community of sites, he is willing to send you your very own copy of a random book in the series, autographed by Ted Louis himself as a thank you!

What to do:

1. Click on https://dsshosting.net/donations/donation-form/ and click on "Donate Now".

2. Make a qualifying donation of $10 or more.

3,. Email your name and mailing address to joel-offer@fortfamilyforums.com

4. Once the donation has been confirmed, Ted Louis will send a random autographed copy of one of his books to you directly.

(One book per donation. This offer will be withdrawn once the limited number of books has been sent. The early bird gets the worm! Unfortunately, only US residents due to expensive international shipping :( We'll take down the offer as soon as we confirm that no copies remain.)

Posted by Fred DeElve

Originally Posted by Fred DeElve

Originally Posted by Fred DeElve

Originally Posted by Fred DeElve

Previously:

"I hope he's okay." Obie said with concern.

"He knows how to get in touch with you if he needs help or has any questions, right?" Cynthia asked gently.

"Yeah. I made sure he knew that." Obie said seriously.

"Then I think that's all you can do." Cynthia said honestly.

Obie slowly nodded as he thought about all the varied happenings since he woke up that morning and finally said, "It's been a good day."

CSU - Camp Little Eagle - 13, has been posted in the Clan Short Universe section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy! MM

Previously:

"What do you think we should be afraid of right now?"

"I don't know what you have to be afraid of, but if I were going to guess, I'd say that you should be afraid of losing your nerve. It's something that's real, that could happen, and that you have complete control over. When it's something like that, you have to own it."

"Yeah. It took a lot of courage for me to say that I'd help run cargo for the Federation fleet on the front line. It's probably the bravest thing that I've ever done. Even if I never do another brave thing in my entire life, I can always look back on this and say 'I did that'."

"Just think about how many people go through their entire lives without ever feeling that even once. You've already outdone each and every one of them. You've proven that you can be brave."

"What about you Vincent? I know that your situation is a lot different from mine. What are you afraid of?"

"Not doing enough."

UA7 - Chapter 57, has been posted in the Universe Alpha 7 section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy! MM

Hi everyone,

As some of you may have noticed, we have been experiencing intermittent outages with a small handful of our story siites as recently as earlier today. These outages are a result of a service that we utilize being hacked, which is affecting some functionality of the sites and triggering malware scanners within our service. It is being addressed but as with any attack of this nature, we can't offer a timeframe of when we are "in the clear" as we are simply reacting when trouble pops up as software needs to be developed to address this new issue moving forward.

For now, be sure you keep copies of everything that is newly posted on your site as an attack could force a site to restore from a recent backup, which 'could' reverse the addition of new material. Site owners, you will be contacted if this action is performed on your site. Get in touch with one of us if you have any questions or concerns.

Together we built The Fort Family and together we defend it!
- Jeff

Previously:

"What is it?" Hunter asked anxiously.

Alana glanced around the room to assess the prevailing mood, then cautiously said, "It wasn't the words so much as it was the underlying intent. On the surface, the voice sounded like a lonely child wanting a companion to play with, but the intonation is off. There's a nuance behind the words that's much older... much darker."

"So you think that this is the spirit of an adult pretending to be a child?" Kerry asked cautiously.

"Possibly. But it could also be an inhuman, a demon, either pretending to be a child or maybe even using an actual child spirit as something like a puppet." Alana said thoughtfully.

"Like bait." Kerry said darkly.

Case Files, Case# 20160127A, Chapter 11, has been posted in the 'Fiction' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy! MM

Previously:

"I've got everything I need for now. I'll be in my office for a while, if you need me for anything."

"I think I'll stay down here with Beau for now. If you run into the boys upstairs, tell Duran to go ahead and make waffles for him and Lane whenever they're ready. Everything's set out for them." Dodger said gently.

"Duran, but not Lane?" Rafe asked to confirm his understanding of the instructions.

"Yes. I'm convinced that Lane could burn the house down making a bowl of cereal."

"If I see Duran, I'll be sure to pass on your message." Rafe said warmly.

As Rafe leaned in to give Dodger a kiss, the young werewolf between them decided that he wanted to get in on the action as well.

Before Rafe could back away, both he and Dodger had received sloppy kisses from Beau.

Rafe couldn't resist the urge and gave Beau a firm kiss on the cheek before standing to leave.

"Let me know if you think of anything else we can do to improve his chances... anything." Dodger reiterated firmly.

"I will. I promise." Rafe assured him before walking with purpose back to the stairs.

Shadeside, Part 6: Chapter 27, has been posted in the 'Brynnhollow' story section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy! -MM

Hi Fort Family!

As many of you may be unaware, on Thursday evening our service provider was one of many who experienced a complete outage that took our entire community down for a short period of time. I won't go into any details but we are not complaining about the speed in which this issue was addressed. The reason for this post is to request that any major site updates or important chapter postings should be postponed to allow for temporary fixes to receive permanent repairs. Where the work continues, I would consider all of our sites "Read Only" for a day or two. I will attempt a current backup as a "Just Incase" but, if we experience DNS issues resulting from the outage, new work could be lost.

So please join us in thanking those involved in such a speedy recovery but to be safe, do some reading and let your readers angrily stare at your newest cliffhanger one or two more days. 🤣

*HUGZ*

Previously (Parvenu 5, Chapter 20, to be not-at-all exact):

"Although I don't know of any significant alignment of the stars, there must be some unique confluence of something to bring you and your family here at this particular time."

"Really? What else is going on?" D asked cautiously.

"Something unprecedented. Let's just say that if you're wanting to introduce your sons to their family, today you're going to have an opportunity that you would not have had yesterday."

"I still don't get it." D said frankly.

"Have you or Emaline ever told Gwayne about his uncle?"

"Grief is here?" D asked with surprise.

The Chronicles of Grief, Chapters 1 & 2, have been posted in the Brynnhollow story section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously:

"Well, I guess instead of standing around talking, I should probably be packing for the trip tomorrow."

"Would you like some help?" Derek cautiously asked.

"No thank you. I fell for that one last night." Pat said with a smirk.

"I thought you said that it never happened." Derek said with a teasing smile at her.

"Regardless, it won't happen again." Pat said firmly.

"Got it. I'll just go gather my things, then check in on the boys." Derek said quietly.

"You do that." Pat said before starting upstairs.

Derek shook his head as he mounted the stairs, much more slowly than his ex-wife.

The Shadow of a Soul, Chapter 19, Has been posted in the 'Fiction' story section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously:

"So Devin's new identity is all set up?" Blake asked with surprise.

"That's right. And I suppose that we should all get into the habit of calling him by his new name."

"What's that?" Ernie asked as he smiled at the teenage werewolf rolled onto his back, begging for belly rubs.

"From here on out we're going to call him Beau, which is short for Beauregard Jonathan Geisel."

Shadeside, Part 6: Chapter 26, Has been posted in the 'Brynnhollow' story section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy! -MM

Previously:

"Agent Roberts, Queen Marimba sent word to Mason that you would be needing a ride into Brynnhollow today. You didn't have to wait too long, did you?" A young man asked pleasantly from a horse-drawn carriage as it slowed to a stop in front of them.

"No. Not at all. You're right on time." Agent Roberts said with surprise, then thought to add, "Rocky, I'd like for you to meet Michael..."

"Call me Bastyan."

Brynnhollow: Book 8 - Cascade, Chapter 2, Has been posted in the 'Brynnhollow' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy! -MM

Previously:

Without any indication of effort, concentration, or even a spell being cast, the cat-like creature bounded out into the open.

"We're going to go do something fun and I thought that you might like to go with us." Lucky said hopefully.

Zah Zah looked around suspiciously. When she spotted Zephyr, she growled a snarling hiss in his direction.

Zephyr turned his head and his eyes briefly glowed red. Without blinking, he slowly exhaled a foul green fog back at the pseudo-cat/demon.

"Play nice, you two." Paul said with a smile.

"They are playing nice. Nobody's died yet." Lucky said frankly.

"He's got a point." Lex said supportively.

Parvenu: Book 5 - Sun & Air, Chapter 23, Has been posted in the 'Brynnhollow' section for you reading pleasure. Enjoy! -MM

Previously:

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you know what?" Cherub asked with an impish grin.

"What?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"I love you." Cherub said with a full glorious smile.

Harry chuckled and said, "I love you too, but I've heard it enough for today. You can tell me again tomorrow."

"No way. I love you and I'm going to keep on telling you until you believe it." Cherub said firmly.

"I believe it!" Harry said defensively.

"Good."

There was a long moment of silence as the pair walked down the hallway until it was broken by Cherub whispering, "I love you."

Harry smiled and whispered, "I love you too."

The Other: Part 6 - Chapter 17, has been posted in the 'FanFiction' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Spider 16 - Merry Christmas!

Preveiously:

"The carnival can make use of people who are so driven. In time, some of them may see past their passions and return to their societies, perhaps with some cautionary tales to tell. Others... are defined by one characteristic and end up becoming that thing to the exclusion of all else." D finished uncomfortably.

"So when they leave, the carnival has to recruit to replace the people who've gone back home or who have stopped being useful?" Paul asked uncertainly.

"Sanguine might be right. You do have a good mindset for this." D said with a note of pride under his words.

"I had always believed that the Autumn Carnival was a scourge that preyed on our weak and vulnerable." Elder Tisthmus said somewhat distantly.

"If by vulnerable you mean cowardly, selfish, and morally bankrupt, then I suppose that you were right."

Parvenu: Book 5 - Son & Heir, Chapter 22, has been posted in the 'Brynnhollow' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously:

"What's going to happen to this list?"

"I'm going to attach it to my report."

"And then it's going to get locked away in a file cabinet somewhere?" Joseph asked slowly, as more of a prompt for more information than actually believing it to be true.

"If you're worried about who's going to see it, everyone has been fairly well checked out."

"This thing is going to be like a take-out menu for every creep who wants our DNA. One slip and it's over for us."

"I'll be sure to emphasize the importance of keeping this information classified."

"Remember, it isn't paranoia if they really are out to get you." Joseph said in his defense.

Revolutions/Paradise, Book 2 - Operation Snowball, Chapter 5, has been posted in the 'Revolutions' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously: 

D pondered what had been said for a long moment, then turned to his companion and asked, "What do you think about it?"

Mr. Sticks faced D for a moment, then slowly turned away to face Lucky, who was joyfully playing with some of the younger Huell children.

D began to slowly nod, then said, "I can't help but think that there must be a reason for him to be here."

Mr. Sticks turned his non-face toward D and waited.

"You might be right. We may be dealing with the reverse, a force that runs in opposition to reason."

Parvenu: Book 5 - Son & Heir, Chapter 21, has been posted in the 'Brynnhollow'' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously:

"Joseph. You do your best and sometimes shit happens. You didn't cause this. It's not your fault." Sergeant Douglas urged him to understand.

"Then whose fault is it?" Joseph asked as he looked Sergeant Douglas in the eyes.

"I've scanned the minds of all the surviving Browns and I haven't found those answers." Sergeant Douglas said simply, then carefully said, "Maybe if you told me about what you've been able to figure out for yourselves, I could turn that over to my superiors and they could put the pieces together."

"Lee, don't pretend like you haven't already read my mind and found all of that out for yourself." Joseph said bitterly.

"I've only looked at the surface of your mind, more as a way of understanding your motivation, than gathering any real information about you." Sergeant Douglas said frankly, then thought to add, "But Zarah gave her permission for me to do a deep scan of her, so I do know pretty much anything that you've told her."

All conversation stopped as the engines throttled up and they all felt the sensation of movement.

Revolutions/Paradise, Book 2 - Operation Snowball, Chapter 4, has been posted in the 'Revolutions' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously: 

"To be honest, I haven't had cause to even consider your realm or your gate since assuming my duties. Recently we detected a disturbance in the continuum that might have occurred near or within your realm, but everything seems to have resolved itself since." Miss Night said seriously.

"That most likely has to do with a project the boys were working on this past week. If that's the case, there shouldn't be any further disruption." D finished with a smile at the boys.

"Would you like to go outside to witness the arrival? It's nearly that time and it really is quite a spectacle." Miss Night asked pleasantly.

"Yes. I think the boys would not only enjoy witnessing the grand event itself, but also appreciate the artistry of such an ancient manipulation." D said with a smile.

"Few get to witness the arrival of the autumn carnival when it blows into town, but to see it from the inside is a rarity to the extreme." Miss Night said as she walked past her guests to lead the way out of her office.

Parvenu: Book 5 - Sun & Air, Chapter 20, has been posted in the 'Brynnhollow' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously:

"We've been ordered to gather the leaders of your group and take them back with us on the first flight out. I'm just not sure... is that going to throw everything into chaos for your people when you leave?"

"I won't be leaving. You need to get with Joseph. He's the leader of the blues and beyond that, he's had the most contact with all the other leaders." Zarah said simply.

"Oh, from the way you automatically took charge, I thought that you were running everything."

"I usually am. I take charge when Joseph's off dealing with other situations... like he is now."

"Do you know where he is?" Sergeant Douglas asked as he looked around.

"I've heard that he made it here, but I haven't seen him yet. Try backtracking the way we came and you'll probably run into him." Zarah said thoughtfully.

"I'm probably going to have to leave with the first plane as soon as we can get everyone loaded. So, just in case I don't see you again, stay safe."

"You too."

Revolutions/Paradise, Book 2 - Operation Snowball, Chapter 3, has been posted in the 'Revolutions' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previoiusly:

"I think she was just trying to freak you out while you were stumbling around in the dark, probably trying to get you to agree to ask for her help." G said frankly.

"It's not fair. I didn't stand a chance. You already had a doppelganger." The poor facsimile of Lex pouted.

"How fair is this?" G asked as he went through the short form version of his self-portrait spell.

When Lex saw what he was doing, he decided to do the same.

Not to be outdone, Lucky did his own unique variation of their self-portrait casting.

The three identical clones didn't move, but each of them were a testament to the skill level of their caster.

"So, what do you guys think? Did we out-mirror the mirror?" G asked as his clown smirk covered his face.

"You're a clown too? Of course you are! Stupid clowns think they're better than everyone else." The poor imitation of Lex pouted.

"That's only because we are."

Previously:

The room was vibrating with the sound of heavy machinery to a degree that walking was difficult.

Airman Greer followed Sergeant Douglas on unsteady feet to the source of the sound just as it stopped.

"What now?" Airman Greer whispered into the suddenly silent room.

"Now we get to be the heroes." Sergeant Douglas said simply, then started walking down the long ramp.

Revolutions/Paradise, Book 2 - Operation Snowball, Chapter 2, has been posted in the 'Revolutions' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously:

"...I was introduced to Frakish Vallum by my father and helped him to maintain and regulate the gate." D said quietly.

"Is that why we have the train?" G asked curiously.

"The train can be used to access the gate, but if we didn't have it, there are other ways." D explained, then thought to add, "And there are times when this realm intersects with ours, all on its own."

"So, what are we doing now?" Paul asked curiously.

"If you're finished eating, get your coats on so that we can go." D said simply.

"If it's so dangerous, why are we doing this?" Paul asked seriously.

"To expand your world, I suppose. Plus, one of these days I'll want to retire, and I'd like it if one of my children would take my place as the protector of Frakish Vallum."

Parvenu: Book 5 - Sun & Air, Chapter 18, has been posted in the 'Brynnhollow' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously:

"Joseph! We found some stretchers. Do you want for us to load up the sedated patients?" Wade asked as he quickly approached with Ryan at his side.

"Sounds good. You can set them down right over there, so they'll be close at hand when the ramp drops down."

"When the ramp drops down? You sound pretty sure about how things are going to turn out." Theodore said with a teasing grin.

"Well, if I'm wrong, who's going to know?"

"Good point."

Revolutions/Paradise, Book 2 - Operation Snowball, Chapter 1, has been posted in the 'Revolutions' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously:

"Freeze."

Within the span of a heartbeat, the 'bullseye' was encased in a thin coating of ice.

It held in place for nearly a full second before dropping to the floor with a resounding 'thud'.

"Nice!" Paul said in appreciation.

"That's what I was trying to do." Lex said expressively.

Zephyr was perched on Lex's shoulder and appeared to be likewise pleased with their accomplishment.

"I guess now we can say, without a doubt, that you can enchant a charm." Paul said with a smile.

"Do you mind if I keep the tablecloth?" Lex asked hopefully.

"It's yours, as far as I'm concerned. And if you ever need another one with a fresh diagram, all you have to do is ask. I won't mind at all." Paul said firmly.

"Once I've gotten a few more things worked out, I'll probably end up making a mat for myself, with all my little secrets and tricks woven into it. But I think this should get me by in the meantime."

Parvenu: Book 5 - Son & Heir, Chapter 17, has been posted in the 'Brynnhollow' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously:

"You're standing on the shoulders of giants. You haven't stolen their work, you've continued it." Lex said simply.

"Yeah. Okay. I can live with that." Paul said with a content smile.

"Let me get the Lapis and the brace out so that we'll be able to see what we're enchanting. I always like to have my target in sight for visualization's sake." Lex said seriously.

"Tell us if you need for us to do anything. Otherwise we're just here for the show." G said frankly.

"If you wouldn't mind, stay handy so I can ask you questions. I might even need one of your famous stone tablets at some point, just to literally spell it out for me." Lex said frankly.

"I don't think I want to be doing stone on a moving train. But I can make a writing surface for you whenever you want." Paul assured him.

"I'm going to see how much I can do before I have to ask for help." Lex said seriously.

"Well, if Lex doesn't need your help right now, I could use your opinion on my illusion for Sorcery class." G said hopefully.

"Are you guys alright for a while?" Paul asked Lex curiously.

"Yeah. I think Zephyr and I will have our hands and hooves full doing it, but we need to do this for ourselves. If we can manage to cobble something together, I may call on you to look it over before we do a test run." Lex said with a smile at the tiny horse on his shoulder.

"Sounds good. Yell if you need us." Paul said as he followed G a few tables away, where they could talk comfortably without having to worry about distracting Lex.

Parvenu: Book 5 - Son & Heir, Chapter 16, has been posted in the 'Brynnhollow' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously:

"What does that leave for me to do?" G asked cautiously.

"You could feed wood into the boiler." D suggested.

"Can't you do that with your magic?" G asked uncertainly.

"I can. But if you don't have anything else to do, it would be a way to pass the time." D said frankly.

"Or..." Paul interjected, "...you could help me and Lex brainstorm his clothing enchantment. To do this right, we're probably going to need one person to be dedicated to the illusion." Paul said seriously.

"He's right. Even though I can do the illusion myself, I might not be able to do my best work while I'm also concentrating on making the charms." Lex reluctantly admitted.

"Good. Now that that's settled, let's head out!" D said cheerfully.

The boys looked at each other, silently asking if there was anything more that any of them needed to do before they left.

Lucky was the first one to move, but his action prompted the others to immediately follow.

Parvenu: Book 5 - Son & Heir, Chapter 15, has been posted in the 'Brynnhollow' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously:

"...I doubt that all of us together at peak magic could do anything to harm it. The closest we can come to destroying it is to leave it where it is and forget about it." Paul said firmly.

"I guess, since we don't know what it is, that we can probably forget it really easily." G said uncertainly.

"Do you think you could put a locking spell on the box so that someone can't come back in here and open it later?" Paul asked anxiously.

"I can. But a lock on a cardboard box is going to be strange for any mundane person who tries to open it and can't." G cautioned.

"I'm guessing that if a mundane person makes it this far into our house, he's already seen stranger things than a box that won't open." Paul said frankly.

"Well, since you seem so freaked out by it, I'll go ahead and put the super-duper lock on it that even Nazzy doesn't know how to crack." G said before enacting his spell.

Once the spell was complete, Paul wilted with relief and quietly said, "Now promise me that if I come to you later and ask, that you won't release the lock for me. I need to know without a doubt that it's completely out of my reach."

"Yeah. I won't open it and I doubt that Dad could crack this lock, either. You'd probably have to have someone who's at least at a senior professor level to get past it." G said seriously.

"Good." Paul said as he walked to G and engulfed him in a hug born from the need for comfort, more than passion.

Parvenu: Book 5 - Son & Heir, Chapter 14, has been posted in the 'Brynnhollow' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously:

"Zah Zah and Zephyr can't leave the classroom with us." Lucky said quietly.

"Oh yeah. Thanks for reminding me. I'm going to have to get used to that." Lex said seriously, then turned to Zephyr and regretfully said, "I'm going to have to let you go for now, but I'll call you back as soon as I get home."

The little horse leapt off his shoulder in slow motion, then began to slowly gallop away as he dissipated.

"Now that you can call on your water, you can bring him back up whenever you want." Lucky said happily.

"Maybe. I might need for you to show me that spell a few more times before I can do it on my own. It's so different, I'm not sure that I can remember it all."

"The water will remember most of it for you. It just has to know what you want to do and it'll help you try to do it." Lucky said with certainty.

Lex shared a concerned look with Mr. Howlen before hurrying to fall in step with Lucky so that they could meet up with G at the classroom door.

Parvenu: Book 5 - Sun & Air, Chapter 13, has been posted in the 'Brynnhollow' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously:

"Well, you're right about one thing. Something's wrong with Zah Zah. If you make her our project, we can get a grade for it and have the time and tools and library and stuff to do it right." Lex said seriously.

"And if I don't?" Mr. Howlen cautiously asked.

"I guess we'll work on some stupid book work thing that none of us really cares about so we can get grades to prove that we can take tests and memorize answers." Lex said frankly.

"Maybe it won't be as bad as you're thinking." Mr. Howlen hesitantly offered.

"And since we won't be doing anything to fix Zah Zah, we'll let you babysit her on the weekends, to give Lucky a break from always having to take care of her." Lex said with a teasing grin.

After a moment to consider, Mr. Howlen slowly said, "If we do this, it will almost certainly stray outside the confines of the Sorcery discipline."

Parvenu: Book 5 - Sun & Air, Chapter 12, has been posted in the 'Brynnhollow' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously:

"Lucky?" A voice cautiously asked from behind them.

"Karras?" Lucky strained to remember.

"What are you doing here?" Karras asked as he joined the group.

"I just started going to school here. This is my first day. I've got to go to Sorcery class right now. I'll talk to you about it later." Lucky said quickly.

"Yeah. Later. It's good to see you again." Karras said with a smile before hurrying away with the others.

G, Lex and Lucky turned in the opposite direction and moved at a deliberate pace to get to their next class before the tardy bell rang.

Parvenu: Book 5 - Sun & Air, Chapter 11, has been posted in the 'Brynnhollow' section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously:

"We can all work on our spells and compare them when we get together again." Lex said decisively.

"What makes you think that you're in charge, little boy?" Erica asked disgustedly.

Without a word, Lex began to grow until he was just a bit taller than she was.

"If you have a better idea, I'll be happy to listen to it. If not, this is a way of getting everything done and getting the grade." Lex said in his considerably more mature voice.

The bell rang before Erica could think of a way to respond.

Lex immediately shrank back down to Lucky's size and quickly asked, "What do we have next?"

After a moment of perusing the schedules, Lucky announced, "Basic magic with Mrs. Cualla."

"C'mon, I can't wait."

Parvenu: Book 5 - Son & Heir, Chapter 10, has been posted in the Brynnhollow section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM

Previously:

"So what are we supposed to do next?" Lex asked uncertainly.

"If you're interested, I could make the change to your records to reflect that both of you are in the 'Witchcraft' specialty, under my direct supervision." Professor Sondheim said with a serene smile.

There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence before Lex realized that she was waiting for a response.

"Yeah, I mean, yes, thank you. I think that we'd both like a chance to try things out and decide what we want to do." Lex said quickly.

"Is that how you feel, Lucky?" Professor Sondheim asked curiously.

"It sounds like what I was going to do anyway, but it'll be nice if Lex can go with me and won't get stuffed into classes that make him be like regular witches. If he's an elemental, then he can probably do things that other witches can't. But he won't want to if he's trained to be just like them." Lucky said seriously.

"You're very insightful for someone so young." Professor Sondheim said cautiously.

"I just know what it feels like when someone tries to make you be like everyone else when you're not. I don't want that for me or for Lex either."

"So, when we've figured out what we want to do, should we come back here to you and let you know?" Lex asked cautiously.

"Yes. I think I'd like that very much." Professor Sondheim said with the beginning of a smile, then she added, "Whatever you decide, be prepared to defend your decisions."

"Yeah. I think I'd like that too." Lex said with a little surprise at the admission.

Lucky nodded his agreement to the arrangement.

Parvenu: Book 5 - Son & Heir, Chapter 9, has been posted in the Brynnhollow section for your reading pleasure. Enjoy -MM