anthropomorphic

Episode 3: The Storm

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Thermal Array – 3: Research Drilling Station, High Arctic
❄️ The Storm: Day One

At 06:03 precisely, it hit.

There was no polite prelude and there was no gentle build-up. The storm hit with a ferocity that no-one expected.

The first impact came not as a sound, but as force, roaring in like a freight train, a wall of moving air slamming into the camp hard enough to make the tents shudder violently against their anchors. The wind was immediately accompanied by thick snow, driven sideways in dense, blinding sheets.

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Episode 2: Ancient Biomass

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TA-3 Research Drilling Station: Shower and Sanitation Facility

A short, stubby tail gave a faint, irritated twitch. Attached to the tail was a stocky behind, a pair of hind legs, and a pair of arctic boots that completed the view.

General Marvin Huxley was down on all fours, gently tapping his way along a frost-covered pipe with a hammer. His remaining tools were laid out in a neat, deliberate line beside him.

Tap, tap… crack! A lump of ice and biomass gave way somewhere inside the pipe.

Huxley muttered to himself in quiet satisfaction.

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Episode 1: Well Preserved

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Hundeerde: Part One — The Arctic Incident

Earth, High Arctic: Thermal Array – 3, Research Drilling Station

The drill core bit cleanly through the ice, deep into the permafrost and the rock below. A low, steady vibration ran up through the frame as Matthias leaned into the rig, boots braced, gloved paws firmly on the controls. The sound was constant, a controlled deep mechanical hum cutting into the frozen ground beneath them.

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Grandpa Snow — Winter Fire

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The Valleys: Winter Fire Circle

This short story takes place during a winter fire circle gathering, under the full moon.

Tonight the fire was not right.

It was burning — but only just.

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Grandpa Snow — Fire Circle Tales

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This short story takes place on the same night, directly at the end of: Episode 50 – Full Circle

The Valleys: The Last Fire Circle Gathering of Summer

The fire had burned lower now.

The great stacks of wood laid earlier in the evening had settled into a deep bed of glowing coals. Smaller flames licked quietly between the larger logs.

The heat was now soft, steady, and even. Marshmallows had begun to appear on the ends of sharpened sticks and sweet campfire tea from an ancient blackened cauldron had been ladled into mugs.

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Meet Dieter

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Dieter

Age: 14
Full Name: Dieter — Warrior of the People
Family: Son of Ambassador Schönheit & Anna, brother of Hanne
Species: Hunde, German Shepherd
Role: The Courage — bold, loyal, humorous, protective, direct, pack-driven; main protagonist

Best line: Come here, buddy. Sleep with me — I’m a bit scared too.

Funniest line: So what you’re saying is that we’re gonna fire a buzzy-bug straight up that bug ship’s whizz-stick?

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Meet Tag

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Cyanos Character Profile

Tag

Age: 12
Species: Neko-Human snow-leopard
Full Name: Taqqiq — Snow on Ice
Family: Son of Gazza & Tag’s Mammy
Species: Neko-Human, Snow Leopard
Note: Will only wear a shirt when his mammy makes him

Role: The Heart, emotional courage, empathy, instinctive trust, compassion, moral compass, main protagonist

Best line: The stones have protected us so far.
I reckon the stones are on our side. They won’t let us down.

Funniest line: I ain’t gonna lie — this whole thing just about has me packing darkies in my under-jocks.

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Meet Jaak

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Cyanos Character Profile

Jaak

Age: 13
Full Name: Pukajaak — Sugar Snow
Family: Son of Altai & Eliza
Species: Neko-Human, Snow Leopard
Role: The Mind, thinker, observer, narrative centre, anchor, interpreter of events, main protagonist

Best line: Dad… do you think we could get a flush toilet installed at our cabin now?

Funniest line: Half past sparrow’s fart, I reckon.

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Learning the Line

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On the Eight by Four Railway — with extensions — early morning mist curled around the sleepy steam engines and mingled with the first wisps of steam as the firemen coaxed their fires into life for a new day’s work.

One by one, the engines gently woke on their sidings at Caerphilly Yard, their boilers bubbling as they stirred from sleep.

Pickle, a small green tank engine with a bright brass dome, yawned a cloud of steam. Today was his first day pulling the milk tankers to the Cheese and Gate Creamery, and his wheels quivered with excitement.

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Friends or Rivals

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Sunlight gleamed on the rails of Ddraig Goch station, polished by the passing of countless wheels. Two engines stood side by side, looking very important.

One was Mallard, an A4 class engine, large, proud and blue. His streamlined casing and nameplates shone and sparkled in the bright morning sky. From buffer to buffer he stood eager and ready at the station, steam drifting from his valves in impatient sighs.

Beside him stood King Edward VIII, a hardworking King class engine painted a deep, dignified green. He was broader and heavier, built for strength, and his brass snifting valve glowed warmly in the morning sun. He too was ready to start the day’s work.

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