Fledgling Novels & Stories

Final Binding — FY‑nul BYN‑ding The last and most difficult Binding that can break and rebuild a child to reveal their final gift. Flutterflies — FLUT‑er‑flies Translucent, colorful winged insects that frequent the Gardens and are associated with change and beauty. Gilly — GIL‑ee The protagonist; a child in the Middle who has not yet bloomed a major gift and whose Markings are a thin lines and a broken triangle. Mini-Gopher / Gophers — GOH‑fer / GOH‑fers Machines (and small repair models) used throughout the complex; larger versions exist in the Upper, and Gophers are also general utility vehicles.

The rolling. The reaching with the specific intentional quality of someone practicing a skill rather than discovering a reflex. The sounds which had multiplied and diversified in the past month, a growing vocabulary of expression that was not yet language and was already clearly headed somewhere. The power flickered occasionally. Not dramatically the specific, occasional flicker of something that was there and was learning its own edges. A candle going out and returning.

A soft knock at the door had her pulling away and in came a young nurse. “Are you two ready to see your fledgling?” she asked with a warm smile. I’ve been calling my pup a kin, or pup, but the correct term is fledgling. The more you know... Felicity leaned back on the table as the nurse squirted jelly on her exposed belly. I grasped Felicity’s hand, squeezing it tightly. My eyes never left the little screen as she placed the wand into the sticky substance. A wiggly bean appeared on the screen causing my eyes to instantly well with tears.

It was there in the bathing pools where Michael taught me how to raise my wings off the floor, so they didn't drag. I learned how to open and close the wings and how to prepare for take-off. He gave me the basic knowledge of how to work my wings. All I had to do was apply it in real life. When he felt confident that I could keep my wings raised off the ground without tiring. Michael stood in front of me and placed his hands on my waist. We took off into the air. “Spread your wings, I’m going to let go.” I did as he instructed, he let go, and I dived down towards the ground. I struggled to use the new muscles in my back attached to my wings and forced the primary and secondary into the correc

“They were quite clear that they wished to meet your fledgling.” I felt a jolt at the word ‘fledgling.’ That’s what I was to them, wasn’t I? A baby vampire. Something to be inspected, judged, measured. My excitement tampered down instantly, replaced by a lot of nerves that just hit me all of a sudden. “Ian,” I whispered, tugging on his sleeve. “It’s okay. I can handle it.” He shook his head, his expression hardening. “No, you don’t have to handle anything.”

Lexi reached over and stuck a flower in her honey blonde hair. People milled all around the park. Flyers around them read: "Swift, a Representative with a human heart." She smiled when she saw him. He was striding across the grass towards her. His steel-blue eyes sparkled in the pseudo-sunlight. She couldn't help but smile. Everything was going right for once in her life. She was finally in control. She was finally free.

What in the world? Ten minutes later, precisely a colossal email with all the details I was to be expecting arrived into my inbox. I bit my nails while I sat there reading the terrifying events I was to be accompanying my boss as his plus one. He had left out that it was an opening for a resort, and he had been one of the most prominent investors. Our flight to the Caribbean was in first class. Not only I had never been in my first class, but I had never been on an airplane before; buses and trains had been the limit. Good thing I did have a passport kept deep inside on my underwear drawer, with one more year of use, thank God.

"He isn't bad. I'd love to help him somehow." "That's good, we'll tell the council." Lyle kissed the top of my head. I kissed his cheek then and purred before I looked towards Jack. "You're okay with that, right?" I purred at him, giving him a sweet smile. "Becoming my very first fledgling?" "I don't understand what that means," Jack whispered to me. "It's okay Jack. We'll explain in good time." I looked towards Lyle as he said that and then nodded before I looked towards Jack.

It was a testament to their unwavering commitment to each other—a testament that no matter the challenges they had faced, they had found their forever home. One bright morning, as the sunbeams cascaded through the leaves, they watched as their hatchlings, Pearl and Sky, took their first tentative flights. Their small wings fluttered nervously, their feathers ruffling with excitement. Maya and Oliver stood side by side, their hearts bursting with pride as they witnessed their offspring embark on their own journeys of discovery. Pearl, with her downy white feathers and curious eyes, soared gracefully into the azure sky, her tiny wings beating in perfect harmony. Sky, bold and adventurous, chas

"If you don't like them, we'll swap them out. Today is just about what you like." My nose stung with the sudden urge to cry. So, this was what it felt like to be cherished. It wasn't constant rushing, dismissive brush-offs, or settling for just "good enough". It was having someone truly remember a passing remark you made and quietly lock it away in their heart. By the time I finished trying on the third wedding gown, the manager walked over with a wedding venue registration form. "This is the list of available venues open for booking next week, Ms. Coleman. You and Mr. Alderson can browse through them first."