Velutinus

A group of friends recruits one of their dads, a biology teacher, to help them identify a strange creature they discovered after a freak storm hits their town. Genre: Science Fiction   Excerpt: Dani, Jon, Ameena and I had volunteered to help clean up the school after the flash storm hit our town a few days ago. We would get our community service requirement done for that quarter. And we would have been hanging out anyway. “Safety first,” Dani said. And we all smiled and started working. Above the sounds of my friends rummaging through the trashed lab and chattering with each other, I kept hearing a sound repeating, a high-pitched sound like cheeping. I frowned. “Is that a bird?”    What’s the Word (that inspired the story)?Velutinous: having a soft, velvety surface, as certain plants. From the Latin “velutinus,” meaning “velvety” (source: dictionary.com) The story was also inspired by an adorable little creature called the “Namaqua rain frog.” When I entered the little guy’s name in a search bar, some common information from the articles that came up is that the frog is found in South Africa, and possibly a few other places.  It’s tiny, about 5cm, or under 2 inches. Here is just one 30-second video where you can see and hear the frog’s behavior when distressed, a puffed up body, and a squeaky call.   Follow my Fictioneering MischiefThe Storyfeather Gazette is a monthly round-up of my recent podcast episodes, short stories, trailers, news, recommendations, and more sent by email. Follow the link to look through old issues and to Sign Up: STORYFEATHER GAZETTE   Storyfeather-themed merchandiseT-shirts, mugs, stickers, notebooks, baby onesies, and more featuring artwork from stories and art challenges STORYFEATHER TEEPUBLIC STORE     CREDITSStory: “Velutinus” Copyright © 2019 by Nila L. Patel Narration, Episode Art, Editing, and Production:  Nila L. Patel   Music: “Trip-Hop Lounge Abstract Background” by Digital Emotions (Intro/Outro)   Music by ANDREW SITKOV (MuzStation Game Music)* “Casual Theme #1” “Dark Side” “Casual Theme #2” “Unknown Terrain” “Casual Theme #6 (Triumph)” “Freedom” “Funny Horror”   Music by ALBERT FERNANDEZ (Audio Alchemist, Potion Studio)* “Humorous_Exploration (loop)” “Cue_Nature” “Exploration_Cave (loop)” “Humorous_Stealth (loop)”   *These tracks were part of a music and sound effects bundles I purchased from Humble Bundle and sourced from GameDev Market.   Music by Andrew Sitkov and Albert Fernandez is licensed from GameDev Market Sound effects from AudioJungle and GameDevMarket   Find more music by Digital_Emotions at audiojungle.netFind more music by Albert Fernandez and Andr