# HNTBL 35: Think On Your Feet

By: TheDragonBoy

## Content

How Not To Become Lunch: 35 - Think On Your Feet

Jack walked down the hall, skittish, nervous, and alone. He’d been having a bit of a rough time recently.

On one hand, there was magic. At first, he’d been really stoked to hear Zach was going to help tutor him. He’d finally be able to learn enough to keep himself out of mouths and away from bellies. But now that they’d worked together a couple times, well, let’s just say it’d become clear to Jack just how far above him Zach was. That’s not to say Zach wasn’t a great new friend whom he could learn a lot from, but there was just so much to learn… He wondered if he’d ever be good enough. Or rather, he wondered if he’d live long enough.

Okay, he wasn’t seriously worried about that last part… much more than usual, it’s just that on the other hand, there was Fiona. She’d been rather… distracted lately. Like: earlier that day in homeroom, where she wouldn’t stop talking about Arthur long enough for him to get out two sentences; or on the way to first period, where she volunteered to walk him to his science class but ran off halfway there because she thought she smelled Arthur, but her nose only led her to a random trashcan, which she then insisted Arthur must have thrown something in recently.

Arthur… there was just something off about that kid. Jack couldn’t explain it, but every time the werewolf was around, he felt uneasy and-

No, he really shouldn’t be thinking like that. Arthur was Fiona’s friend after all, and had never done anything to earn Jack’s distrust. It was probably just the stress and the natural intimidation. He’d grown up with Fiona, so he was used to having her around, but another predator at her level who he didn’t know at all? It made sense that he’d feel a little on edge. He would just have to learn to control his instincts like Fiona controlled hers. Yeah, that’s it. He’d just work harder to teach himself the difference between a predator that was happy to see him, and a predator that was happy to swallow him ali-

Oh no! Buried in thought, those instincts of his had alerted him to some very immediate danger. A fox boy, staring him down with the unmistakable gaze of a predator on the prowl, and Jack had been so distracted that he’d basically walked right up to the hungry hunter. He was way too close! He scrambled to reach for his wand as the fox was already crouching down to pounce. He wasn’t going fast enough! It was all happening too quickly! He ducked down into a cowering ball, pointed the wand somewhere vaguely in the predator’s direction and yelled the first spell he could think of.

…

This time I’ve got him for sure! Wily thought. For too long that marked meal Jack had made a fool out of him. But now the human was finally alone and vulnerable- and even better, inattentive. Walking down the hall towards his prey, the fox boy licked his muzzle, his belly already gurgling in anticipation.

Wait a minute… oh no. No you don’t! There was someone else: a badger. A badger wearing shoes? he noticed curiously. But that wasn’t important! Strange fashion choices aside, what mattered was that said badger was walking behind Jack, getting closer by the second, eyeing the delicious human hungrily. If anyone’s making lunch outta him, it’s me!

Wily picked up the pace. In a stroke of luck, the badger didn’t seem to notice him. This must be it, his time to shine and make up for all those embarrassments. He continued to approach his ever-oblivious meal-to-be.

Almost… almost… now-

Jack had finally noticed him, the human’s hand shooting down towards his wand, but Wily was already fractions of a second away from burying the boy’s face in his hungry maw, it was too late.

Jack ducked down. Wily extended his legs to leap and pounce. Jack cried out a spell.

“Propero!”

There was an exclamation of surprise, the thud of bodies colliding, and the wet squelch of something large lodging itself deep inside a gullet.

Wily tumbled across the floor with much more momentum than he’d expected, uncertain of almost anything except for the firm sensation of something warm and wriggling inside him. He blinked and grunted around his meal as he settled and sat up, feeling the familiar form of a torso half-packed into his stomach, and a pair of legs filling his throat with only the feet still poking out from his maw.

Well, it wasn’t perfect, but at least I got him! …Huh… I expected Jack to taste way better than this. He tastes kinda… furry? Wait…

He turned around as best he could with his half-swallowed meal and saw… Jack. The human was reluctantly uncrouching, nervously looking around.

…But if Jack’s over there, then who do I have…?

Wily crossed his eyes to look down his muzzle at the shoes that were protruding past his nose.

Oh crud! The badger!

The fox instinctively tensed his throat a bit in panic. He was no pred-eater! Pulling himself together, he tried to reverse the natural motions of his gullet and hack the semi-swallowed student back up. But it was such an uncommon task, and the badger was already so far inside, he ended up accidentally swallowing him down a bit further in his efforts to squeeze him back up.

That only caused the badger to struggle even harder, fighting against the slick throat that seemed to struggle to remember how to cough something up rather than gulp it down. Meanwhile, gravity was doing what it always did, pulling the slime-covered student further inside every time his wriggling body slipped against the fleshy walls.

Stop! Quit it! I’m trying to spit you out! STOP!

Wily watched Jack turn and flee as the other pred’s unusual choice of footwear gradually disappeared into the fox boy’s muzzle, his throat squelching and squashing in vain, trying to force the unexpected meal away from its usual destination.

Come on! I can’t help you if you keep moving around like that!

But the badger wasn’t listening, any more than Wily was actually talking. As he felt his classmate’s feet begin to slip over the back of his tongue, he gave one more powerful retch, pushing back as hard as he could manage.

*blech*!

*splat*

A single, saliva-covered shoe landed on the floor in front of him, as he felt the form of the badger boy slip down his esophagus.

“Fine!” Wily yelled in exasperated defeat, finally able to talk as his unwanted meal settled into his belly, and Jack disappeared around a corner. “I was trying to cough you up, but I guess you’re my early lunch now.”

He let his arms flop down and accepted it: he’d failed again and this time he’d even accidentally eaten another pred in Jack’s place. He felt a bit bad about it, but in the end food was food, his belly wouldn’t care in the slightest whether it had fur or not, and he wasn’t in the mood to go through the whole unpleasant process of bringing something his own size all the way up from his stomach.

Well, that’s how it goes sometimes, he thought, looking down at his wriggling belly. At least I got something out of it this time.

“Hey! You!” came an angry voice.

Wily turned around yet again to see a teacher storming towards him: a slender cheetah woman with her teeth poking through her scowl.

“I see that shoe! You cough that badger up right this second! He’s the star of the soccer team!”

“Oh! Sorry! I didn’t actually mean to eat him! I just-”

“Don’t talk, retch. If you digest one ounce of his muscle, I’ll eat you myself.”

“Yes ma’am!” Why me?

…

Why me? Jack asked himself as he walked out of class.

Language arts hadn’t ever been his strong suit, but this was the first time that particular teacher had seemed to consider eating him to put him out of his misery. He just hadn’t been able to pay enough attention, his mind still stuck on what had happened earlier in the hall.

‘Propero’? What was I thinking!? he asked himself again, going over all the mistakes in his head. The predator is going faster than you, so you cast a spell to speed him up!? Nice going!

If one was trying to be fair, one could rightly say that it had been a simple enough mistake to make, especially in such a stressful moment. But Jack couldn’t exactly afford to be fair. It’s not like the fox’s belly would’ve been fair to him.

I’m lucky I even hit him with the way I was aiming. If I’d missed, or his feet had already left the ground, or I hadn’t ducked quick enough, I’d be a melting pile of meat in a stomach right now.

One thing was for sure, Jack wasn’t about to make that mistake again. As he started down the hall, his hand was already firmly on his wand, just in case. He kept his eyes peeled and alert even as the thoughts spun around in his head.

Somewhere in there, a few of those thoughts went to Fiona, hoping she was enjoying herself with her new friends, hoping she’d think to come check on him and relieve some of the stress… Well, even if she didn’t, at least his next period was his all-human P.E. class; not totally pred-free, but mage-preds were pretty rare, so at least it was less likely that he’d be eaten. Still, he did wish she’d stop by, just so they could talk for a little, preferably about something other than-

Something caught Jack’s eye: the form of a familiar werewolf approaching from down the hall. For a split second he felt a bit of joy leap to life, but he quickly realized it wasn’t Fiona…

Arthur…

There was that uneasy feeling again.

Jack glanced around quickly. Fiona didn’t seem to be with him, they must not have met up yet. Out of habit, he noted the predator’s belly: flat and empty. But he quickly scolded himself. It’s not like Arthur was going to eat him.

…Right?

The question burrowed into his mind. And as they stepped closer, he couldn’t help that his heart started to beat a bit harder.

He’s Fiona’s friend. He’s fine.

Lily’s Fiona’s friend too. She tried to hunt me for homework last week. What if he doesn’t even recognize me?

No way. He’d recognize my scent for sure.

The same scent that makes him want to devour me in the first place.

I’m sure he knows how upset Fiona would be.

Would Fiona ever find out? Hard to tell one digesting hunk of meat in a belly from another.

She’d smell me on him for sure.

He could cover it up. Or come up with an excuse. How much would it really take for him to convince her?

The two grew closer together.

He doesn’t look like he’s hunting me. He looks totally casual.

So does Fiona when she’s on the prowl, right up until she shoves her prey’s head down her throat. Hunting is casual for them.

I could tell that fox wanted to eat me.

That fox was an amateur. Arthur’s an advanced predator. Probably the best of the grade, maybe even in the whole school.

They grew even nearer.

…What spell would I use if I needed to defend myself?

What spell could I use against someone like him? If by some miracle he didn’t see it coming, or dodge it, or block it, I’d still probably only make him angrier.

I could just turn around. Walk the other way.

If he hasn’t seen me yet, that would just draw his attention. And if he does want me, he’ll just follow.

I could run.

He’s faster.

I could hide.

He’d sniff me out.

I could hide in the bathroom. I could even hide in the girl’s bathroom.

Right, because getting eaten by an angry girl is so much better. I definitely want the last thing I hear to be the sound of her using the toilet while her stomach melts me alive.

That thought was not helping Jack’s pounding heart. Now they were only a few steps away from each other, and Arthur hadn’t so much as glanced at him. And Jack couldn’t even decide if that was a good sign or a bad one! All he could do was grip his wand so tight his knuckles turned white, and force himself to appear as inconspicuous as he could manage.

Come on! One spell! Think of one spell you can use to defend yourself, just in case.

*step* *step* *step* *step*

His own footfalls rang in his ears.

*step* *step* *step* *step*

His mind was a blur of fear and half-formed incantations, none of which promised any safety even if he could spit them out straight.

Arthur kept walking toward him, and he toward Arthur, too scared to change course, change pace, or even look at the werewolf straight on for fear that it might remind the predator of the human’s status as a walking five-star meal.

Jack took a shallow breath, his chest quivering, every muscle in his body on high alert.

They came within pouncing distance.

*step*

Within arm’s reach.

*step*

The werewolf passed into his peripheral vision; the terrified boy too scared to even shift an eye.

*step*

They left each other’s view completely; Jack’s fear only spiking as he realized the predator was now free to move unseen.

*step*

Jack gasped, his eyes growing wide, almost to the point of tears. He felt fur. Fur against his hand. And a tug at his wand where he clenched it at his side. In an instant, Jack saw the flash of every moment he’d watched Fiona deftly steal her food’s wand, just moments before swallowing them down. He froze in terror, bracing himself for the end.

*step* *step* *step* *step*

The sound of Arthur’s padded feet receded behind him. And the pressure on his wand went as quickly as it had come, just barely moving his arm.

Speechless and silent for a moment, Jack finally remembered to breathe again.

It had just been a little brush. A little knock against his hand where he just happened to be holding his wand. It could have just been an accident. Heck, he could have even imagined the whole thing!

Or: he just wants to make sure I know that he can take me whenever he wants…

Jack started to walk again.

Originally Published: 11-Jul-2021