Hazel Quickpaw's Arc

Chapter 1 of 5

Hazel didn't wait to see what came next. He kicked his chair backward into the hawk-kin's legs and bolted for the door. Shouts erupted behind him. A mug shattered against the wall near his head. He ducked through the doorway and into the street, his chest tight with the familiar feeling of running out of time. The weighted dice were still in his pocket, burning like evidence. He should have ditched them the second the ox-kin squinted at his hand. Should have walked away three rounds earlier when his luck turned too perfect. But walking away always felt like losing, and losing meant the debt won. He spotted a cart up ahead with travelers loading supplies. A huge badger-kin stood beside it, arms crossed, watching the tavern door. Hazel ran straight for them. The badger-kin's shadow was big enough to hide in, and right now, hiding was the only bet that mattered. But the badger-kin didn't move. He just stood there like a wall made of muscle and fur, watching Hazel sprint toward him. Behind them, someone shouted about money owed. Someone else yelled about cheating. Hazel skidded to a stop next to the cart, breathing hard, and looked up at the badger-kin. The traveler beside him — a lean mouse-kin with tired eyes — glanced between Hazel and the angry crowd spilling from the tavern. The mouse-kin sighed. He said something quiet to the badger-kin, who finally uncrossed his arms and stepped forward, placing himself between Hazel and the mob. The crowd slowed. Then stopped. Nobody wanted to argue with a badger-kin who looked like he could uproot trees. The mouse-kin looked at Hazel and said, "You're with us now. Don't make me regret it." Hazel nodded, pulse still hammering, and for the first time in years, someone else was standing between him and the consequences.