27 May, 2013

Insight to the Wappenröcke (a snippet)

Part of the fun of editing is deciding upon adding new scenes. In this case, I took the chance to slow the Wappenrock transition from man to beast down and offer the visual and auditory bonus that isn't as important to other scenes.

And for your benefit, I've included the promised special peek. Be sure to click into this post to view it!



. . . The prince flopped the wolf over his back and let the muzzle rest atop his head. He pulled the left leg of the pelt in line with his left arm, and held it in place for her to watch.
            "I'll slow it down for you," he said.
            As she watched, he thought of what made a wolf: keen senses, speed, cunning, loyalty. He'd changed so many times that it was a second nature to him – thinking about it was difficult, nigh impossible at first. But then the change started and he focused upon his left arm, willing it to stagnate. He couldn't stop it completely, but that wasn't his goal. The prince wanted to demonstrate the power of the Wappenröcke for Lady Eleonora.
            He was a boy of ten when he received his first Pelzmantel, and since then he had learned to ignore the discomfort that came with each shift. But this time he focused on it, and felt his flesh pull towards the tanned pelt, felt it draw to him just as eager. The paw was the first to come to him, to slide across his hand and absorb him into it. His fingers cracked, and Lady Eleonora flinched. The prince's fingers bent back like some unseen person was pushing against them, making it feel like the bones underneath were being compacted like coal into diamonds.
            Muscle tingled and wrapped over itself until his hand was the size of the paw, then it disappeared into it. The sensation climbed his arm, compacting the bones and muscles to the equivalent size for a wolf's leg.
            It was like fighting against an ocean wave, and he could no longer hold it back. He gave into it, slipping through the fur and dropping to the floor with his muzzle parallel to the table. Fredderick opened his mouth and tried to speak. It came out as "Aaawwrghf."

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Ash Litton

Ash Litton is a writer and lover of sci-fi, fantasy, and all things fictional. She is the author of Thoroughbred, Evening Hallow, Comeuppance, and Cabover Cabaret, and works on other Appalachian Dream Tales between her ongoing novel projects. She's also written No Diet, No Surgery, No Sweat, an ebook chronicling her weight-loss journey.

When she's not writing, she's drawing, and when she's not doing either of those, she's dreaming up new projects to work on. Born and raised in rural West Virginia, Ash has always wondered what things lay hidden in the hills around her. She attended West Virginia University, where she studied the English language before returning home to her family in rural West Virginia.