What began as a little story written to make a friend happy has grown into a multi-part adventure with an astonishing fan-base. Now, by popular demand, Nekobe, the gentle leonine from Kenya, has been given his own page where his stories can be told, his picture can be seen, and more people can get to know him as I do.

How Nekobe came to be.

Why there are not more stories.

Nekobe

Written for Rogue's friend Lyon, and considered by some to be his best work. How would you react if you found out that the same fantastic, furry anthropoid you had dreamed about for years was not only real, but working in the same building as you?

Nekobe's Birthday

The response to Nekobe was incredible. This little bit, more of a day-in-the-life study than an actual story, was put together for all the folks who wanted to see more of Nekobe.

Nekobe: At the Gym

As promised, the stories continue. Here, Nekobe decides he wants to get a membership at the local gym, despite Shawn's misgivings.

Dear Lyell...

Much was revealed of Vincent van Gogh's inner thoughts in his many letters to his brother Theo. Here we try to do the same by presenting a collection of letters written by Nekobe to his sister Lyell.

A Letter, Delayed

On the heels of Dear Lyell comes one more letter. This one, however, is from rural Kenya, where it can often take weeks, or even months, for a piece of mail to be delivered. Such was the case with this letter. It is short, but the message it carries is one that Nekobe will remember for the rest of his life.

What Lurks Beyond Our Sight?

A silly little vignette that was written for Halloween several years ago and which was believed to have been lost, but recently resurfaced on a long-forgotten corner of a hard drive. If your boyfriend was a predator, wouldn't you be just a little bit nervous at times?

March Comes In Like a Lion

All good things must come to an end. There is a time when to even our most precious loved ones, we must face saying goodbye for the last time.

(This file was sent to me years ago by Lionus. The artists who made it have vanished. If it was you and you'd rather not have it posted, let me know. Otherwise...well, the file was just too good not to share.)

These pictures are copyrighted images. They may not be downloaded or reproduced, and under no circumstances are they to be uploaded to any other site or newsgroup without the express permission of the artist(s).

Without Lyon, there would be no Nekobe. He was lamenting to me one day that there were no stories on the net that really touched on his innermost fantasies. I said to him, "Tell me your dreams. I'll write you a story."

Nekobe was the result. According to Lyon, I managed to capture his dreams pretty well...and those of a lot of other people in the process, judging from the very nice mail I get.

Lyon, it just so happens, is himself an artist of some renown in the furry community, as well as a noted expert on great cats. With his permission, I am including here some of the drawings he created shortly after I sent him the story. Each is as faithful an image of Nekobe as you are going to find.

Note that these pictures are older, dating back to a time when the main character of this story spelled his name a bit differently. That old spelling, now, is reserved for an honest-to-goodness African lion that Lyon may tell you about sometime if you are nice to him.

Myka is a relatively new fan who recently sent a me a shy little email offering a picture that he said was from someone who was "not a very good artist yet."

I disagree. The art, of course, is derivative of the "Final Fantasy 8" logo, but it is a clever choice as the image conveys a lot of emotion in its simple lines. The more I looked at it, the more I liked it -- so much so, in fact, that you'll find it at the top of this page.

What can I say about Krahnos, other than that he is one of the most talented artists I know? The depth of stories he can tell with a few simple lines is simply phenomenal. Here is a very quick drawing he did of himself and Nekobe, based on a little roleplay that the two engaged in once on FurryMuck. A lion who has a sliding glass door in his bedroom should not leave said door open in the summertime. One never knows quite what might come slithering in.

Jax (JamesPokmn@aol.com) did this drawing to go along with Nekobe's Birthday. He sent it to a friend who sent it to me along with some nice fan mail. I rather adore the picture, particularly because it is easy for me to imagine the subject being about 100 feet tall. That's how my mind works, though. Here's to Jax for granting me leave to share it.

Lionus Goldenmane sent me these drawings of Nekobe -- all right, I asked him to. I am fond of his art, since he manages to convey a certain warmth and feeling in the faces of his characters. I think the first picture captures Nekobe's personality quite well, while the second effectively captures his other attributes.

I bumped into Nakira (known to many as Wookiee) at a convention and proceeded to slobber very shamefully over him. He is one of the best artists I have ever encountered. I asked him if he cared to read my story and perhaps draw some inspiration from it for a picture. He agreed, and I sent it to him. I understand that he enjoyed it immensely and did indeed find the inspiration for an illustration or two.

First he sent along a few rough sketches he'd done (and which are provided here by his kind permission). He asked, "Which do you like best?" Naturally, all I could say was, "All of them!" He finally settled on his own pose, inspired by the scene in the first story where Nekobe models for Shawn for the first time. What Wookie has created is precisely what I imagine Shawn would have drawn that day.

DarkHammer, or "Darkie" for short, sent me this drawing. I thought it was very clever to depict Nekobe superimposed against the outline of his native continent. Or maybe I just like to think of him being that big. What a view the people in Zaire would have. Thank you, Darkie!

A charming and very talented young artist named Dook, a ferret I met on FurryMuck, has drawn a number of fine images. I highly recommend checking out his complete collection, though he has asked me to caution that it contains some decidedly adult material. Nothing wrong with that, if you ask me. I am both pleased and honored that he thought to draw Nekobe.

If you are not familiar with the works of Scott Eldred, you really should be. He sent me the most moving picture of Komatsu to go along with my September 11 commemoration Dies Irae and I have been a regular visitor to his site ever since. His style is quite impressive. OK, I admit, I like the way he draws paws, but he also drew this very touching picture of Nekobe and Shawn enjoying a quiet evening together. How many artists do you know who are so good at capturing emotion with just a few simple lines?

This showed up out of the blue, a very nice coloring job that Lyonus kindly sent to me. It's a new take on an older picture above, done with the blessing of the original artist.