# HNTBL 87: Don’t Linger

By: TheDragonBoy

## Content

How Not To Become Lunch: 87 - Don’t Linger

Potion-filled thermos in one hand, and magic wand in the other, Ozzy proceeded carefully down the halls, eyeing the other students as he went. What little attention he spared from his surroundings was spent on scolding himself for falling behind his group.

So worried about A.P.E.; I should be more worried about not even making it there cause I was dumb enough to walk alone and get nommed in the hallway.

His eyes flicked over another boy, about his age, nervous frown so prominent below his glasses that Ozzy thought the guy might start visibly sweating. The kid had backed himself into a little nook by a door, visibly unsure of himself, his motionlessness standing out in the sea of hurrying schoolmates.

Guess I could be doing worse, the advanced mage told himself, actually feeling a touch better knowing he wasn’t the obviously least proficient human in the hall when it came to basic safety. But then came a pang of sympathy, maybe even guilt. I couldn’t help Alexander. Maybe…

Ozzy shifted course a bit; the nervous kid noticed quickly, studying him suspiciously. He didn’t take it personally; you never know who could be a mage-pred-in-training.

“You miss your group?” the weary advanced mage asked, making an educated guess.

“Y-yeah,” the bespectacled boy admitted.

“Which way’s your next class?”

The cornered kid pointed in response. His face read that worn, unsurprised and all-to-familiar look of ‘just another stressful day in highschool’. Ozzy returned a similar, understanding glance; he knew the feeling.

“Mine too. Wanna come along?”

“…Yeah, sure. Thanks.”

The advanced mage felt the relief as he watched his schoolmate finally accept, deciding correctly that Ozzy was not a hungry mage-pred on the prowl. He felt a bit of that relief himself. Two wasn’t much, but it was twice as safe compared to one. Maybe he’d get to A.P.E. intact after all.

“So, uh, what’s your name?” came the friendly if still nervous question.

“Ozzy,” came the casual reply.

“Harry.”

“…Wait…” He looked back for a moment as they walked. That kid had seemed just a little familiar… “You the kid that got swallowed by a panda and lived?”

“Yeah,” sighed the ex-bear-barf uncomfortably.

“Sorry, word got around,” Ozzy apologized. Duh, I wouldn’t want to be reminded of that either. He tried to salvage the moment by finding something in common. “But, um, you also made it through Sarabeth’s birthday party, didn’t you? You must be a great mage.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t say I’m great. Honestly, I’m not sure how I made it through either of those things,” Harry admitted. “Mostly it just felt like luck.”

He thought about mentioning Jack and Fiona, and the help they’d been, but even having lived through it the story still seemed too wild. Saved by a werewolf from the advanced pred class and her marked best friend at a vampire’s birthday party? If he let that one slip, the next rumor about him would probably be that he was a huge liar.

“What about you? You good with spells?” Harry asked.

Ozzy paused reluctantly. He’d been expecting common ground, but now he’d set himself up to look like a braggart. Better the truth than lying, though.

“I guess so. I mean, they put me in the advanced class.”

“You’re in advanced magic?” There was a hint of admiration.

“Yeah,” Ozzy replied, currently anything but proud about it. “…On my way there right now.”

“Wow, so-” The boy caught himself and adjusted his glasses along with his tone. “You… don’t seem thrilled about that… Wait, is today one of those days that you have to go up against the advanced preds?”

“Advanced physical education, yeah…”

Harry had heard about that. The best mages and preds of their grade going head to head to hone their naturally opposed skills. He felt his breath shortening just thinking about it. For a moment, he felt lucky he wasn’t ‘great’ at magic. He was pretty sure he’d just pass out if he ever had to do that, let alone on a regular basis. He thanked his good judgment that he hadn’t brought up Fiona a moment ago; after all, she was one of the predators he’d be in there with. Harry had seen the wolf in action up close, and this kid next to him might very well be the next human to fill her belly…

“But, hey, you’ve done it before, right?” Harry asked encouragingly, going out on a limb with the assumption.

“Yeah, twice…”

Twice, the meeker mage thought. Enough experience to know all too well what he’s in for, but not enough to know whether he’d make it out alive.

“Third time’s the charm?” Harry nearly cringed as he heard himself. What was that even supposed to mean!?

“Yeah, well, hopefully I can get a bit of your luck.”

“My luck gets me swallowed by bears and sleeping in vampire mansions.”

“Fair.” That did seem to be the way, didn’t it? The survivors always had enough good fortune to make it out, but not enough to avoid getting one step from death in the first place. Over and over again.

Ozzy realized he’d started to think of Jack and shook the thought from his head, but not before glancing at the thermos still in his hand.

“What’s that for?” Harry asked.

“Just… something to help calm me down, hopefully.”

“Yeah? Like a potion? You have a recipe for that on you?”

“Sorry, it was actually my f-” Ozzy stopped to correct himself, “fellow classmate who made it.”

“Oh, okay… Always good to have help, huh?” Harry thought once again to the unlikely duo who had shepherded him through Sarabeth’s sleepover. Not that he thought this kid from the advanced magic class was getting his help from someone as strange as a marked kid and his werewolf buddy- that would just be ridiculous- but still, the sentiment rang true.

“Yeah…” the advanced mage agreed, sounding just a touch reluctant.

“Oh, um, this is me.” Harry pointed to a door coming up on the left. “Nice meeting you. Hope I see you around.”

“You too.”

“And thanks for helping me get here.”

“Don’t mention it.” Ozzy even managed a small parting smile. It even lasted a few seconds after his new acquaintance slipped through the doorway out of sight.

It faded once he looked back down the hall, though. His own classroom wasn’t much further. It was just about time. Continuing forward again, he glanced down once more to the thermos in his hand, filled with warm potion.

Always good to have some help, echoed the thought.

Ozzy unscrewed the cap.

…

Not too much longer now, just keep it together. He was weary, but focused. Practiced. He held his wand firmly in hand, eyes silently scanning the treeline. On better days, he might have been keeping up some kind of obscuring spell, but it was just too much to maintain after this long under these conditions. He’d tucked himself into a small, tight bunch of trees for some form of cover while he caught his breath from the last encounter. Alexa’s over there… I’m pretty sure Ed ended up somewhere that way. He peered around the thick wooden trunks. Knowing where his friends were helped ease the tension- on a number of levels.

*snap*

Ozzy’s head turned so fast it almost hurt, back toward Alexa’s spot. Was that her? Or a-?

Then he felt it. That unmistakable sensation. It wasn’t hardly a fraction of a second later when he consciously registered the blurry motion at the very edge of his vision. By then his arm had already started moving, body turning.

“T…”

His eyes started to focus as the first sound left his mouth, wand not even aimed yet.

“…i…”

White teeth, glinting canines, blood-red gullet, bristling orange fur, hungry eyes. A vixen, in the final stages of a pounce, hardly a few feet away.

“…r…”

There was nothing between them but open air, a gap in his cover. He’d been looking in that direction not three seconds ago. Where did she come from!? How did she get so close!? But simply thinking those questions was all already more than he had time for. In these moments there was no room for thinking, there was only reaction or failure, and there was rarely a second chance.

“…a…”

He briefly considered the incantation he’d begun, having chosen it solely on instinct. It wasn’t the best but there was no time to start a new one now; he’d have to make it work.

“…r…”

Knowing his magic, he pictured in a passing instant the outcome he hoped for, and with his arm now swinging into position, he set his eyes onto the point at which he wanted to aim. He could feel his fingers lagging behind his will as he adjusted his wand.

“… N…”

The vixen had halved the distance, her maw was open wide now, obviously going for the kill, for the meal. Her feet had nearly left the ground now. The next thing they touched would be his body, and then his body would never touch anything else again.

“…a…”

His muscles fought themselves as he slowed his arm’s momentum, he couldn’t afford to overshoot and miss.

“…d…”

Perfectly on target, the tip of his wand hung in the air, the magic within him building. But the incantation was not yet complete. He could only speak the words so fast.

“…i…”

Standing there with nothing but the syllables on his tongue for defense, Ozzy stared fixedly at his target, but the all-to-clear image of a ravenous, canine maw quickly started filling more and more of his view. He could see it getting closer by the millisecond. Too close. Way too close.

“… r!”

The final consonant of the incantation slipped past his teeth, as those of the predator loomed before him. The huntress was practically airborne, having already well committed to her pounce. In the smallest perceivable instant that followed, Ozzy registered no change at all on the part of his combatant. As if his words had been nothing else but.

He felt his magic begin, but even magic had its limits. Physics, momentum, inertia; all things took time, even those that might seem instant. The thoughts crossed his mind.

I was too slow. Too late. This is it.

Though he was still focused on the point which was his target, he saw the vixen’s eyes. The eyes of the predator who was about to consume him. Her… eyes? Not just her maw?

Not even half a heartbeat from his final sound, with feet now shrinking to inches between them, the fox’s paw had started moving sharply downwards. It pulled her leg, pulling her hips, pulling her empty belly and her chest, and finally pulling at her neck and her splayed jaws. All shifted downwards just a touch, the arc of her leap adjusted in midair, just enough that Ozzy was now staring down her eyes instead of her gullet.

There was only one thing he had time left to see before reflex fully took over and his face began to crumple under the threat of imminent impact. He saw the look in those eyes begin to change, as she too realized what was suddenly about to happen.

*SMACK* *thud* *thud* *thud*

Ozzy felt the wind knocked from his chest, felt the hard ground rush up to meet his back, felt her fur and muscle and bone beneath rubbing and knocking against his clothes, skin, and everything within him as force brought their bodies together.

He grunted loudly. She gave a sharp whimper.

And then she tumbled over him, skidding through the dirt.

Still clutching his wand, and clutching at his focus against the panic, he forced his eyes open the second his body began to halt. Using the small remaining momentum from his fall and whatever strength remained in his muscles, he rolled himself over, and aimed in the direction the predator had gone, ready for a followup attempt.

What he saw was a glimpse of orange fur, darting with a slight wobble back off into the brush.

… Silence. Stillness.

Ozzy gasped, finally refilling his lungs with air. His arm quivered a touch as he lowered his wand.

He’d wanted to make the fox trip. That might have thrown off her aim, slowed and weakened her pounce, given him an opening to evade. But he’d been too slow. She’d already leapt at him by the time he managed to cast. One instant more of delay, one more small miscalculation, one little involuntary quiver of his hand, and he’d have already been in her stomach by now. Fox food.

...But even if it wasn’t the cleanest defense, at least he had made it. He remembered the words of his teacher. Every encounter you survive gives you the chance to get better. He’d survived. Next time, he would be-

His racing pulse, only just starting to slow for the past two or three beats, suddenly thundered in his ears once more.

A footstep. Right behind him. A predator’s footstep. A shoe-less, padded paw against the forest floor.

Still lying in the dirt, he rolled frantically away from the noise, tucking in his arm so he could tumble over it and flip onto his other side. As his vision passed over the earth and then began to arc upwards, he saw the distinctly canine feet, the blur of fur, the silhouette of another flat-bellied huntress.

A second predator!

The thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. Had they been working together!? Teaming up on him!? Or had this one just been lurking in order to strike the moment her classmate failed, in hopes of an easy meal?

It didn’t matter. She was already on top of him, he was on the ground with no way to maneuver, no time to move, no time to even cast a spell!

Completing his roll, his eyes reached her head, lengthy canine muzzle already gaping wide as it quickly descended down upon his helpless-

Wait… Her mouth was closed…

Ozzy blinked and took a sharp breath, beginning a shallow pant. Recognition quickly dawned on him.

Looming over him was one of the advanced predator class’s newest students, Fiona Lupella.

She frowned down at him, motionless at first. And when she finally did move, it was slow and deliberate. She reached out a clawed hand in his direction and left it open in the air, offering it.

“Ozzy!”

Fiona shifted her eyes just enough to see the newcomer, but not so much as to lose sight of the mage at her feet. Another human, a girl, had emerged from the greenery, wand pointed in their direction.

Ozzy knew better than to look away, keeping his eyes fixed on the familiar werewolf in front of him, but he felt a surge of relief, hearing Alexa’s voice.

In the silence that followed, Fiona felt a hint of fear prickle the fur on her neck. Revealing herself like this in the middle of A.P.E. was not a smart move. Beyond even the normal humans who would rightly blast first and ask questions later if they saw her, she knew there were mage-preds around with bellies just as deadly as her own. Still, she stayed quiet and unmoving.

Alexa quickly shifted over to Ozzy’s side, glaring at the werewolf and her outstretched claws.

“What are you doing?” the girl questioned distrustingly.

“…I didn’t want anyone to try and eat you while you were down…” she said honestly, knowing she wasn’t likely to be believed.

The newcomer helped her friend up from the ground, eyes and wand still trained on Fiona all the while. Seeing that he no longer needed much assistance, the werewolf slowly lowered her hand, but she continued to stare at Ozzy for a long moment, frown painted across her muzzle.

After a moment, he saw her canine eyes flick over to Alexa. There was maybe a hint of a ‘thank you’ in that gaze, but it didn’t last long. Picking slow and deliberate movements, Fiona took a few steps back.

Alexa raised a brow, suspicious and mildly confused.

They heard footsteps begin to approach, and the werewolf took that as her cue to leave in earnest. Trusting that she’d made her intentions clear, she turned away and dashed off into the trees, out of sight.

“Alexa!? Ozzy!? You guys alright?”

“Yeah, Ed, we’re fine, I think, right Ozzy?”

“...Y-Yeah,” the battered mage replied. “I just got caught a little off guard, sorry…”

“It’s okay, we’ve all been there,” Edmund replied, letting out his breath. “You’re still new, and wolves can be tough.”

“No, it was the fox, actually,” Ozzy corrected.

“There were two of them?” Alexa asked, still trying to piece the situation together. When she’d heard the scuffle and turned to check on him, she’d only seen that werewolf girl, had Ozzy really survived two pred attacks in the two or three seconds it had taken her to spot him?

“Yeah…” And if the second one had been anyone else, I would be dead.

Originally Published: 30-Jul-2025