kbois

This is going to be a tough week. Mom went to the hospital yesterday. She wasn't eating or drinking. She refused to get out of bed and her mental status was altered from her usual dementia. This normally indicates a UTI. Sure enough, that's what the culture showed. However, she also tested positive for Covid, which I'm pretty sure she got from my SIL. I was supposed to stay with her 2 Sundays ago but my brother canceled because SIL was congested and had a fever. My brothers and I are in agreement that at 91, there aren’t many options that are feasible for someone her age. She's on antibiotics for the UTI and an antiviral for the Covid. She needs a little bit of oxygen occasionally via nasal cannula. There is a small area on her lungs that they are going to monitor for pneumonia. With her dementia there is a lot of risk with putting her on steroids and even more risk with anticoagulants, which are the other treatment possibilites. So we've said no to the blood thinners and are going to wait to see how she responds to the antivirals before trying steroids. We're just going to take it one day at a time.

While I believe in the reward system, my mind has been elsewhere today. My mom has been in the hospital since yesterday afternoon. She's tested positive for Covid. So far she's stable, but at 91 it's serious enough that we have to consider what treatment route to go. So far it's going to be one day at a time.

Would you think less of me if my birthday was on the 13th?

Someone besides me has to be 300.

All things to take into consideration. You know I won't comment on Elijah's role, or possible role in the next story. It wouldn't be fair. I need to get him through however long he has in this story. As far as shock value goes, I can't guarantee I won't shock anyone again and honestly, this is the first major character I've killed off in all of my stories. Have I maimed and mentally/emotionally/physically tortured? Yes. (Sorry Nash and Lyssa!) Kage's death was necessary. We all hate it, but what's done is done. I can promise a few more twists and turns in this story with another cliffie or two. I know you guys are invested and will see thus through. I promise it will make more sense.

I would classify all of you as "special". As in short bus special.

You've never heard of a Korner Kick?

No... Chris is jumping the gun. Isn't there a penalty for a false start?

Check your watch. It's a little more than that.

What? Like antidisestablishmentarianism? I made it work.

Oh, but making the readers go the extra mile or two to figure out the meaning of a word is half the fun! (Sent you 19 btw)

Honestly, who the hell ever knows what really goes on in my loveable geek's head?

If I did that I'd probably be accused of padding the word count by @astone2292. 🤣🤣 He would've called me out for sure!

If all else fails:

I wouldn't be doing my due diligence as an author if I didn't piss off my readers by killing off a main character. Kage's death was predestined. Period. I've said it before and I'll say it again... As an author I want to get feedback when my readers have strong reactions to a chapter. I want to hear if they think something is funny, if they're angry or enraged, if they cried tears of joy or tears of sadness. If I can make a few readers cry and laugh in the same chapter... bonus. One of the biggest compliments an author can get is to know his/her readers have been provoked into commenting because of a strong emotional response. I absolutely hated sacrificing Kage, but for the sake of the story, it had to happen. All I can do is ask my readers to trust me, to trust the process. Just like Spirit Wolves this story won't get tied up in a neat little bow. That's what the next story will do. I promise. ❤

Where do I even start with this? Knocking off Kage was in the cards from day one. Same as Nash losing his foot. It wasn't something I could compromise on. So no, not cruel and unusual punishment. More like an obstacle my readers must deal with. I am soooooo not a biker from So. Florida 🤣🤣🤣. Ex-band mom is more like it. @Danilo Syrtis knows me by now and @Howzat should too. They just have to deal with all the unanswered questions. Animal shifters have pretty quick healing capabilities. Shadow shifters abd shapeshifters, not so much. Writer's prerogative. The poison hindered the already slower healing process which in turn aided Kage’s demise (I'm throwing @Mrsgnomie under the bus on this one-I warned her I would if anyone mentioned it) No recreation is in the forecast unfortunately. Kage will live on in everyone's memory. He left behind a piece of his energy, yes, but it will play a different role eventually.

Those pesky voices can be quite insistent sometimes.

Seeing how I can't run worth a damn... I've learned how to hide quite well.

Well said. Valid excuse. No banishment to a far reaching corner in the multiverse.

I cleared out my notifications when I got up. All 12 of them. Went out for breakfast and came back to 99. (Thanks @Howzat!!)

Where is @raven1 anyway? Did you smother him by accident. There are so many of you I'd hate to see anyone trampled. Or did you banish him to the farthest reaches of the multiverse and he's lost?

I didn't give any thought to the genealogy behind the name. I chose it for the word association. Kasar comes from Sanskrit, meaning 'resembling a lion'. Huntington, obviously is derived from hunter. @Danilo Syrtis is good at figuring out the connections to my name choices. It's part of his geekiness.

I'll go out on a limb and say this. The ending to this story is happy-ish.

In Florida it's mid-August to the end of May or the 1st week of June for most counties. They started thus past Wednesday in my county. They get two weeks off at Christmas and Spring break is the 2nd or 3rd week of March. Growing up in Massachusetts we went back the Wednesday after Labor Day and got out in June. We got a week off at Christmas, in February and in April.