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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

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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.

\u201cSafety first,\u201d 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. \u201cIs that a bird?\u201d

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What\u2019s the Word (that inspired the story)?
Velutinous: having a soft, velvety surface, as certain plants. From the Latin \u201cvelutinus,\u201d meaning \u201cvelvety\u201d (source: dictionary.com)

The story was also inspired by an adorable little creature called the \u201cNamaqua rain frog.\u201d When I entered the little guy\u2019s 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.\xa0 It\u2019s tiny, about 5cm, or under 2 inches. Here is just one 30-second video where you can see and hear the frog\u2019s behavior when distressed, a puffed up body, and a squeaky call.

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Follow my Fictioneering Mischief
The 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

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T-shirts, mugs, stickers, notebooks, baby onesies, and more featuring artwork from stories and art challenges
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CREDITS
Story: \u201cVelutinus\u201d Copyright \xa9 2019 by Nila L. Patel
Narration, Episode Art, Editing, and Production:\xa0 Nila L. Patel

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Music:
\u201cTrip-Hop Lounge Abstract Background\u201d by Digital Emotions (Intro/Outro)

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Music by ANDREW SITKOV (MuzStation Game Music)*
\u201cCasual Theme #1\u201d
\u201cDark Side\u201d
\u201cCasual Theme #2\u201d
\u201cUnknown Terrain\u201d
\u201cCasual Theme #6 (Triumph)\u201d
\u201cFreedom\u201d
\u201cFunny Horror\u201d

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Music by ALBERT FERNANDEZ (Audio Alchemist, Potion Studio)*
\u201cHumorous_Exploration (loop)\u201d
\u201cCue_Nature\u201d
\u201cExploration_Cave (loop)\u201d
\u201cHumorous_Stealth (loop)\u201d

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*These tracks were part of a music and sound effects bundles I purchased from Humble Bundle and sourced from GameDev Market.

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Music by Andrew Sitkov and Albert Fernandez is licensed from GameDev Market
Sound effects from AudioJungle and GameDevMarket

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Find more music by Digital_Emotions at\xa0audiojungle.net
Find more music by Albert Fernandez and Andrew Sitkov at gamedevmarket.net
Find more stories by Nila at storyfeather.com

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Episode Art Description: Digital drawing. On a surface, standing on a folded up newspaper is a creature. The creature, in three-quarters profile facing left, has the body of a frog and frog-like eyes extending to the sides on stalks. Frog-like fore limbs wrap around a corner of the newspaper. A set of four crab legs or spider legs are visible on the left side. Two legs are visible on the right side. Six glowing translucent feathers protrude from the creature\u2019s backside. Under the legs, part of a headline is visible. The visible part reads \u201cFreak storm hits.\u201d The dim silhouettes of four human figures surround the creature.

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