Feral Dust Bunnies

Feral Dust Bunnies (2017) Angel Martinez

This is one of my favorite stories in the collection.

Alex Wolf is a member of the 77th. His partner is a giant lizard of unknown origin, but his own origin might be odder.

“Are you all right, sweetheart?” Mom stopped on her way past his room with a new book in hand.

“I can’t remember how to human,” Wolf said with a frustrated snarl.

“Oh? You’re still using your words. That’s good. What part of humaning is causing the problem?”

That’s the first thing I love about this story–the relationship between Alex and his mother. She obviously loves him, but she is more in this story than just someone who loves Alex. She is a scientist and a widow and Alex worries about how sad she is sometimes.

And she also gets frustrated with Alex at times, but he knows she loves him anyway.

I hv her. Srry.

You took her to WORK?

“Damn it.”

I have all her stuff. It’s OK, Mom. She has peeps watching her.

Mom typed for a long time, then finally sent—

They better not be peeps. Marshmallow chicks should not watch kittens.

I adore that passage–how you can sense her typing and deleting and retyping until she’s a but more under control

Plus, she gives wonderful advice.

What if I screw this up, Mom?”

“Then you screw it up.” She shrugged and stood on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “It’s either going to work or it won’t. Even if it does, he might just want something casual. Be kind, be honest, and if you’re not sure, ask.

I also like how Alex sees things differently from other characters in the story. He is (unsurprisingly) deeply rooted in scent, but he also notices things others might not, such as how houses sometimes look like creatures, and how animals are just as important to him as humans.

It’s such a lovely story, and I adore it so very much.

Publisher: Pride Publishing
Rating: 9/10

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