Once again this year I am privileged to have a story in the science fiction romance anthology Pets in Space.  In this guest post, fellow PISA3 author Kyndra Hatch introduces us to her pets.

Meet H’tch and K’mi, the curious fun-loving pets from my Pets In Space 3 story, “After The Fall.” H’tch and K’mi are moghas, which form a one-time lifetime bond with a Korthan biped. H’tch already has a master companion, but K’mi is still waiting for one at the start of the story.

If it were possible to get a cross between a wolf and a fox of Earth, that’s what they generally look like, except that they have long antennae sticking up from the tips of their ears with feather-like tufts on the ends. It is thought that these antennae help facilitate their bonds with their alphas, pinpointing frequencies to help them communicate with their master companions through the mind.

Moghas have retractable fingers in their front paws that help them dig for ground-dwelling creatures to eat. They also use these fingers when climbing the numerous trees that cover their home world. There are some Korthan accountings of seeing moghas swinging from vines between the trees, but these claims cannot be substantiated.

The following snippet features K’mi. Lyra, the heroine of the story, has a thought about the mogha being a hellhound. Moghas got the nickname “Hellhounds of Korth” during the long war between the Korthans and humans of Earth.

***

Soft snoring sounded from the end of the raised ice platform. Curled like a housecat, whiskers and paws twitching, soft feather-like fur caressing her toes, the blue and white mogha was asleep at her feet.

Lyra could see where the fingers would extend from the paws and she remembered a drawing from a veteran of the war, an image of a ferocious hellhound standing over its victim, its fingers around his throat, blood dripping from its fangs. She never experienced the deadly impulses of a hellhound first hand, but it was hard to see this snoring, cuddly housecat harming even a fly.

She resisted the urge to curl her toes into its fur while simultaneously resisting the urge to rub its ears. Feeling a strange sort of kinship with this creature, she felt responsible for it, the need to help and protect it winding through her heart.

Had to be the bond. Why else would she want a sentient creature she just met to follow her everywhere she went?

***

Kyndra Hatch writes action-packed paranormal, science fiction, and fantasy romance stories when she’s not watching for falling stars and avoiding mischievous raccoons at her cabin in the woods.

http://kyndrahatch.blogspot.com/