"A Companion to Wolves"

I'm reading more now that I'm in this house. The light is much better, for one thing. And my daughter has her own room that she likes to be in, so the noise of her games doesn't interfere. I watched a lot of DVD's over the past few years, but for some reason that has less appeal these days. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's as simple as the TV no longer being the focal point of the living room.

Last night I started reading A Companion to Wolves by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear. It's not going to be one of my top-rated books, but it's engrossing enough. The main quibble I have is that the Nordic-flavored names have so many similar-sounding syllables in them that I have a hard time keeping track of which character is a man, which a wolf, and which pairs are bonded.

It wasn't until this morning that I realized the debt these authors owe to Anne McCaffrey's Pern stories. In both mythos there are a group of community halls set apart for those who live with powerful animals. Young humans are taken from the ordinary halls (maybe not in Pern?) to bond with the young beasts at the animal halls, with some being chosen and some rejected. Those who do bond live at the hall and spend much of their time training to battle the danger that threatens their society. In Pern, dragonriders defend against the mysterious thread, which the dragons burn from the sky before it can fall and burn the people and crops below. In the wolf-halls the men and the giant wolves battle trolls and wyvern. And in each society, when the female animals come into season, their bonded partners share the experience of both arousal and battle-passion as the males compete for the right to breed.

( Mating Rituals )

Saturday Morning

Saturday mornings are better than Friday nights, but last night's plunge into the grieving abyss has left me feeling empty and a bit fragile. I want to curl up in a fuzzy blanket on my comfy couch with some soup and my book and just be gentle with myself.

Unfortunately, there are couple of things I need to get at the grocery store, and nothing I actually have on hand appeals for breakfast, so I'm going to need to get myself together and go out, at least briefly.

jillwheezul's Hob is coming over mid-day to run a solo Star Wars one shot for me. I'm looking forward to it, but also worrying that I won't have the energy to fully engage. But I shouldn't worry. Either his presence will be sufficient to lift my mood (he's one of my dearest friends) and we'll play -- or we'll do something else and he won't be upset about not playing. Actually, what's likely to happen is that I'll do a bit more grief processing with him, and then we'll play.

Star Wars was the longest ongoing campaign that our old gaming group had (10 years, off and on), and I loved my character. Today I'll be playing someone entirely new -- which is probably a good thing -- but it will feel strange to go into that universe and not be D. For a complete change of pace, I'm playing an Imperial Intelligence agent. I've never played a spook before, much less an Imperial.

You know: I could use some fun.
I don't have much authentic fun these days.