Slippers and more fabulous slippers...

Evening yowls, my turkey-stuffed and snoozily-comfy Big Felines... the Kougaress rarely does the Black Friday madness shopping thing... mewing frankly, it’s a turn off... course, online, the crowds aren’t at crushing size... so, she actually took a peek at Amazon’s ad, being in the mood to purchase a few things, one of them being slippers. Moi’s are worn and developing holes... so, omymeowgod... talk about a fab-tastic selection... even though, price-wise, most of them are beyond this Big Cat’s means... still, yum and thoughts of feet-paw warmth... who needs sugarplums dancing in your head... no, make it lovely slippers and more keep-your-toes-comfy slippers and moccasins... the problem, what fits? Which one feels the best? ... sigh... no, this Big Cat couldn’t decide... not yet...
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Another strange jet... a couple of days ago, around eleven in the morning, the Kougaress heard it, zooming low from west to east at a rate of speed that sounded like it parted the sky’s atmosphere... there was this jet-type whine, along with an eerie enormous rush of noise that sounds like no normal jet and it sounded as though it flew not that far above the house... so, black ops and secret project people, what the hell was that?
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Happy Thanksgiving Day from Sedona & Volcano

Thanksgiving Day, 2012

~ Prelude Scene to WHEN A GOOD ANGEL FALLS ~

Sedona clutched her knees, and willed herself to stop trembling inside. Beneath her, the ground trembled with wave after wave of aftershocks from the massive earthquake along part of the New Madris fault. It felt like the land had been transformed into a new type of mud-sliding ocean. Sighing, she suppressed her fear and shoved away the sadness threatening to overwhelm her.
At least, she had one thing to be thankful for. The weather hadn’t turned cold yet, whether by manipulation or not. The few blankets she wrapped around herself, at night, kept her warm enough. For now.
Thanksgiving...she’d heard it was Thanksgiving day on the crystal-run shortwave radio she carried with her. Given her situation, Sedona had laughed at the grisly joke, as loud as she dared. Who knew where the monitoring micro waves for sound, were aimed.
Resting her chin on top of her knees, she tightened her arms, and rocked herself, an automatic motion. At least, if she gained no comfort, it kept her blood circulation going. Glancing at her long-expired canister of raisins, she ignored her hunger pangs. She’d found someone’s stash of food, a few items still salvageable. That someone had probably died, already. She’d blessed them, and traveled on, driving her old van on the back roads. Fortunately, she’d found enough water for her converted engine to run on. Staying in one place was never a good idea these days.
Except now, she had no choice. When the earthquake tremors shook the ground viciously, splitting and shredding the road like so much ribbon, she’d crept around the pockets of devastation, searching for a place to hide and hunker down in, until the worst was over. If it was ever over.
Unexpectedly, the taste of past Thanksgiving day dinners filled her mouth. She savored the rare moment of bliss, asking no questions. Closing her eyes, she indulged in the flavors of turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy. Green beans with bits of bacon. Pumpkin pie topped with generous amounts of real whipped cream. And french silk pie, a family favorite. With the memories flooding her mind, tears gathered in the corner of her eyes at the loss of her family. Still, they resided in a far better place than she did, now. Heaven.
The strong taste of buttered yeasty rolls distracted her, and halted her tears. Even though it was the same as a desert mirage, her mouth watered ridiculously. As she remembered the good times at Thanksgiving, Sedona sent her gratitude back in time. Why not pile on her gratefulness? Since everything existed simultaneously in time, maybe she would enjoy that part of her life even more. Then.
The delicious taste fading, she opened her eyes. A split second later, Sedona shivered as the small, out of the way house she’d discovered, creaked and rattled around her. The ground rocked from another aftershock, moving like a drunken sailor, as the old saying went. Or, for all she knew, another earthquake. Hell, if it collapsed on her, so what! The only thing she anguished over was how long she’d be in pain.
“Damn!” Sedona tossed off the worn ragged blanket. Her hot flash burned horribly. Seizing her body, it was a wildfire completely out of control, for long torturing minutes. She cursed again. “I might as well be in hell. Straight to hell. No trial. No get-of-jail-free card. Just the devil, his fiery pitchfork pointing the way. Well hell, it’s better than a FEMA-stalag camp.”
You’re not going to hell yet...wait, a familiar voice whispered, then chuckled as if everything was just fine.
Thoroughly annoyed, Sedona scowled, not knowing if whoever had been speaking to her for the past few weeks, similar to a spirit from the Other Side, was divine friend or evil foe. She couldn’t tell, her psychic sense of it, remained clear as an acre of mud. Common now.
“Go away,” she commanded.
For now, the voice answered.
Sedona shook herself, attempting to shake away ‘the voice’. She trembled violently. If she was lucky, an earthquake would rip the ground apart beneath her right now, and she’d be swallowed up whole. If she was lucky...okay, hell, that wouldn’t happen.
Eyeing the raisin canister again, she decided to wait, since her hunger hadn’t caused a headache yet. The longer she put off eating anything, the longer her little food stash would last. Unbidden, a loud sigh burst from between her severely chapped lips, and she wondered for the zillionth time why she was still alive.
Noticing the aftershock tremors seemed to have ceased, for awhile...maybe...who knew...Sedona shrugged a shoulder, and yawned. If she could fall asleep, that would be better than anything. However, a thin stream of color caught her eye, cutting through the dusty air and the dimness of the room.
Entranced by the rose-pink neon ray, shooting through the tiny dirty window, she pretended for a moment that life was okay, again–that everything was going to be all right. That, once again, she would see sunsets instead of hideous skies, overcast with ugly chemical clouds, and a haze of volcanic ash. That flaming asteroids would no longer pierce the soupy-looking mass.
Rising from the bare mattress, one that had been over-used, Sedona crept forward, her knees creaking from age, and staying in the same position too long. As she dared a peek through the grime-covered window, her heart pounded to beat any band.
Still, sunlight, a real ray from the setting sun, beyond priceless.
Glimpsing the rim of the sun, sheer giddiness danced through Sedona. Well over the murky barely-seen horizon, the rim gleamed weakly, a sliver of yellowish white light. She smiled.
Damn though, if any of the aerial drone cameras caught her, even her reflection, only God knew how fast a team of black-coated Bounty Hunters would arrive. Collecting people like her was good money in these times.
Telling herself to move away, Sedona stared at the lone brazen shaft of light, originating from the sun, then striking the window pane. Tears gathered in her throat at the remarkable site, choking her for an instant. Good Lord, the rose-hued shaft looked like an invitation from heaven. If only...
Forcing herself to take a step back, Sedona knew her only chance for escape would be the van, and out-running the fuel capacity of the Bounty Hunters. For some reason she didn’t understand, their transport vehicles hadn’t been converted to use water, and spent power quickly. True, good water wasn’t all that plentiful in a lot of areas. Whatever...she shrugged, thankful she possessed that advantage. At least.
Sedona took another step back, pivoting toward the interior of the dank room, before she was tempted to stay at the window. Feeling enchanted, she followed the ray with her eyes. A gasp escaped her. Magically, the tiny beam shimmered more brightly, and changed to an amazing rose-pink color.
“My God,” she whispered.
Not daring to move, Sedona watched the sun ray slowly expand. Soon, the entire room glowed, bathed in a deep rose luminosity. Her heart tripped rapidly at the sheer beauty of the light, then soared on ephemeral wings.
The feeling of dread always with her, Sedona hoped like hell, this was a mystical event–one not seen by the ubiquitous monitoring grid of the New World Order.
This is your future, the unknown voice interrupted her thought, gentle as a caress.
“Yeah, yeah,” she murmured, disbelieving.
Even as she spoke the words, an image formed. A shadow-like figure of a man gradually emerged. Yet, not a shadow. It was a jet black transparency of color. As the shape of the man’s wings became more clearly outlined, her jaw dropped.
“Omygod.”
Utterly captivated, with hardly a breath left in her body, Sedona stared at the man’s gorgeous, languidly flapping wings.
Moments later, darkness claimed the room again, as if the black angel, hovering in the halo of rosefire light, had never existed.
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Thanksgiving Day, 2013 ~ after Winter 2012 in WHEN A GOOD ANGEL FALLS

Her gaze riveted by the serene beauty, Sedona stood in front of the rustic lodge’s old-fashioned pane window. Blankets of snow covered most of the high elevation terrain, rising and falling majestically around them. The white frosting of snow had already melted from the trees, the stubbornly clinging leaves fluttering a dance in the brisk winds. Where the sun shone directly, piles of leaves and dried stems looked like the autumn she remembered from living in the midwest.
Feeling the touch of Aru’s wet nose on the back of her calf, she turned, looking down at her doggie baby, almost grown up now. His dark eyes asked, yet were bright with expectation. “Come on,” she sang lovingly to him, and offered her open arms. Instantly, Aru leapt straight up, and landed perfectly in her arms. “Do you want to see? Or do you just want a cuddle?”
Sedona hugged him to her bosom, nuzzling the slick silky fur of his neck as he snuggled against her. After she pressed a smooch on the elegant curve of his neck, he settled in her embrace, and pricked his ears watching the tiny brown birds flit and forage for food.
“It doesn’t feel totally real, does it?” she murmured. “Being here now. After everything I’ve been through in my life.”
Aru answered with a little whine.
“Last year I was cold and hungry and so horribly desperate I couldn’t even describe it. You were probably just born.” Sedona brushed her lips on the top of Aru’s head. “How did you survive? Yes, I know you had angelic help too.”
As she remembered the previous year’s Thanksgiving day, a tide of emotions overwhelmed her, and tears pricked at her eyes. She’d been able to stay in the rundown isolated house for longer than she’d anticipated, before intuitively knowing she had to leave or be captured by the Nazerazzi forces. That, and her food supply had dwindled down to a few raw shriveled potatoes.
Rocking Aru, she listened to the tiny flames crackling in the cozy fireplace behind her. Volcano had just started it with a point of his finger. Then he had possessively swept her against him, gazed into her eyes with an intensity that always made her become molten desire for him. “Rest,” he had ordered, his lips a breath away from her own. “I’ll whip up our Thanksgiving day dinner.”
“You’ll put too much cloud in it,” she’d teased him.
“How can there be too much cloud?” His eyes had glittered like a thousand purple jewels, while his hands passionately roved over her body.
“But I want to cook,” she’d protested, feeling the need to do what she hadn’t been able to enjoy doing for several years. And to make up for what she’d lost, even though she knew it wasn’t possible. It would never be possible.
“I’ll make egg nog with so much cloud in it, you’ll be intoxicated enough to kiss me wherever I want.”
“I already kiss you wherever you want, you bad decadent cherub.”
“Not the way you’ll kiss me after extra helpings of cloud in your pumpkin pie and whipped cream.”
Before she could protest again, he had claimed her mouth, kissing her senseless. Ultimately, he had embraced her tightly against him, and fused their mouths, then brought them both to a heady bliss. Their prolonged pleasure had swirled around them like fiery golden sequins.
Once they both descended, and she could understand his words, he’d whispered in her ear that it was time for him to leave briefly. He’d already told her he’d been divinely instructed to meet another carnal cherub, arriving direct from the heavenly ethers. Kissing the tip of her nose, he’d gradually changed his body to smoke and mist, then vanished.
“Warm,” she murmured down to Aru, feeling the hearth’s flames on her back. “I never thought I’d be this warm again during winter.” Just as her emotions had surged remembering the year before, now the strength of her gratitude soared beyond the thin layer of clouds stretched over the distant mountaintops.
In truth, Sedona was fearful about knowing the depth of her gratitude. What if it was all a dream...and she woke up surrounded by the horror of her past existence? What if she lost everyone and everything again? She squeezed her eyelids closed for a moment, then squeezed Aru tenderly. She’d come a long way toward healing...still, it wasn’t long enough.
Opening her eyes, she nearly let go of Aru. A small puffy cloud scudded toward her in the part of the hazy blue sky she could see. It’s underside gleamed with a rosy pink color. Feeling like an enchanted princess, she watched the fairytale cloud sail closer and closer, and slowly lower to the tree tops.
“Oh, Aru, how could I forget?”
“You were supposed to forget, my angel woman.”
She whirled around. At the same time Aru leapt from her arms to greet Volcano.
“That was you.” She moved toward him, her feet cushioned by air, or so it felt. She glanced downward, seeing only the floor. “I thought it was just an incredible magical dream.”
Scooping Aru up, Volcano woggled him for a few moments, his face radiant with love and affection. Then he set him down, and gazed at her, his expression more radiant. The love glowing in his eyes seared her down to her soul.
She ached to touch him. Yet, she didn’t reach out, but merely waited for him to come to her.
“I look good in rosefire light, don’t I?” A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Mr. Cocky Cherub, what don’t you look good in?”
His eyes darkened to utter passion entrancing her as he stepped closer and closer. He didn’t touch her. His gaze touched her. Sedona’s breath deserted her and her heart thumped wildly. She let her head drop back, her face beneath his.
“I look best in you...Sedona, my woman.”
~~~~~~

Now ~ FIRST! just for the big cool cats ~

Happy Courtship on another Earth

X-Serial Flash in Two Hundred ~ Sylva and Zeke’s story continues...

Part 334 ~

Sylva swooned inside. “I like that, saying what we’re grateful for... then kissing. But, to be honest, cowboy, if I’m really, really ticked at you... feeling what I call the ‘red hot prickles’ I won’t be talking about gratitude.” Gazing into her eyes, her husband brushed his thumb over her lips in a way that brought on another swoon, this one heady desire. “Red hot prickles,” he purred. “That could be downright passionate.” Melty inside, Sylva murmured, “Not if I’m hurling things at you.” He smiled, a purely sexy smile that promised what he’d already delivered. “Throw whatever you want.”

Zeke figured he had a new built-in furnace by the way his loins heated up over his Sylva. Her gaze had become sultry. Still, reserve still darkened her gorgeous eyes. “You say that now, handsome. But, if it’s one thing I learned on my Earth, men change. In fact, I decided men are generally more fickle than women. Plus, talk about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde... one minute their hot as humping dogs... the next they’re cold as a body in a morgue...” She halted, as if she’d said too much. Yet, it was her wary gaze that troubled him.
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TO BE CONTINUED...
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Part 1 - 15 ~ see blog ~ January 15th Cometh, then Part 15... and before...
Part 16 ~ 333 ~ see the Kougar’s prior bloggies... or the Passionate Ink forum, the FREE READS page ~ http://passionateink.org/forum ~ OR! Now available on The Romance Studio Forum, January through October 2009 flashes ~ http://theromancestudio.com ~ Click on the FORUMS
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Have a Splendid Holiday Season...
May your most romantic dreams come true...

Romantic holiday kisses from the Kougar...