The Night Rider

Chapter 37 - Loyalty

His hands were shaking, his breathing barely able to remain steady but the calming flames in front of him helped regulate his Trait. He almost wanted to reach out and touch it but he restrained himself, the realisation that Hazard was acting just as the Sand Wraith had done so many years ago.

"What do we do about the Enforcers? Or Gizmo? He's still out there, we can't-"

"Yes we can. For now, you need to stop and breathe." Hazard said, his voice changing to a much kinder tone.

Hawkins barely heard the wolf lie down beside him, the sudden flash fire that billowed gently downwards as if aware of his struggles. He tried to ignore the hulking wolf's size, going through the exercises Hack taught him to settle his Trait and himself in the process. But he didn't expect the Firestep wolf to include himself in the situation.

"You're just like Rin, y'know? Like a little cub, curious and wobbly but full of ideas. They may be the wrong one's at first but you'll get there eventually. You just need to take a breath and let the flame come to you."

Hazard's advice was a little strange but Hawkins could at least understand that his words had heart to them. The sound of his breath pounded in his ears, attempting to force himself to breathe deeply and steady himself.

Little by little, his breathing and his Trait began to replenish and confine itself back into its slightly erratic and unpredictable nature. The heat of his breath came out in steady puffs of air as Hazard's unsullied flame continued to provide light and warmth to his weary state.

"I should've known he'd be here with that runt Gidget. I can smell his kind a mile away if it wasn't for the smoke. But I know Gizmo would've found a way even without your Trait blocking his scent. It's been useful, I admit." 

Hawkins couldn't help but feel glad that Odi hadn't been here to hear that. After all, her Agar was a Tinker Mole and calling him 'his kind' wouldn't exactly go down well with her. 

But despite Hazard's encouragement he couldn't help but feel bad that he couldn't do anything more to help. The reminder of how he had tried so hard to use his Fire Trait to tirelessly ignite candles with his mother snapping at him. But the memory of his mother being there didn't seem right. 

Shaking his head, Hawkins tried to sit up and focus on what he did know. Moving his feet slowly he tried to pick himself up off the ground but struggled to find his balance.

Quick as a flash, Hazard caught Hawkins as he fell, providing him something to hold on to. His flaming fur was calm and thankfully the fire didn't hurt him. He didn't know whether it was his half Fire Trait ability or that Hazard had lessened his flames to allow him to grab on. 

"Do you know where he went?" Hawkins asked, attempting to stand up while using the Firestep wolf as support.

Hazard grunted, attempting to hold up the extra weight as much as he could before sniffing the air. Hawkins was grateful his Trait wasn't very active so Gizmo's scent had a better chance to travel. 

"No. But the Bewitcher is here, albeit further away than I expected."

Hawkins had to process it twice before he actually registered what Hazard had said. It was like reading a book and jumping straight to the main antagonist instead of spending time to get to know the characters.

It left him stunned for a few seconds, genuinely scared that the wolf could pinpoint her location. But the sudden sense of determination forced him to stop leaning against the oversized wolf, hobbling and swaying with every wheezy breath. He needed to stand on his own.

"Then we need to go to where Cricket is. She probably knows about-"

Hazard growled angrily, narrowing his eyes as he turned to face the Mediator. His pelt was flaring angrily but his eyes were cold, almost making Hawkins stumble backwards in the sudden change of attitude.