Nox gasped awake, pulled out of sleep by his dream.
"Damn mutts never let loose," he muttered, rubbing his face.
Sitting upright on his cranky bed, the rusted springs beneath him squeaked and protested like a grumpy roommate. Nebular sat quietly on the floor beside him in power-saving mode, her glow dormant. Adobe, much to Nox's surprise, hadn't leaked oil overnight. Progress, thanks to the patchwork repairs they'd done yesterday.
He cast a lazy glance toward the kitchen counter, suspicion in his eyes fearing the worst.
"Damn it… I think I'm out of mugs. Hm. I'll meet up with Chet in the city anyway soon. I can just grab a coffee while I'm at it. ... ... Wait... I MEET UP WITH CHET THIS MORNING!"
Nox jumped straight off the bed, kicking over an empty mug in the process. He grabbed his phone.
The mug landed with a soft thumb on the carpet floor, slightly hitting nebular, ending her slumbers in power saving mode early.
10:25 AM.
Chet's message from earlier blinked up at him: 9:21 – "I'll be there at 11. Don't be late again."
"Okay, just enough time to grab my stuff and get going. Damn, I guess I can cut that coffee after all..."
Nebular's glow flickered to life, now glowing green as her voice slid back into the air with dry amusement.
"Good morning, sunshine. Judging from your elevated heartbeat and lack of organization, I'd guess you're running quite low on time to meet up with Chet. Am I right?"
Nox scrambled to throw on his clothes, hasty searching for his hat he had tossed it somewhere before going to bed.
"Well, you Hit the nail on the head!"
Nebular switched her interface over to his phone screen. Her digitized face frowned.
"Great. Time to suffer inside this digital prison you call a phone again."
Nox finally found his hat between a pile of old clothes and slammed it on.
"Hey, I never said it was a good phone, okay? At least you don't have to pay any rent."
Just as he reached the door, Nebular buzzed from his pocket again.
"Aren't you going to take Adobe with you? You were planning to repair him, remember?"
Nox paused and tapped his chin.
"Yeah, we'll come back for him later. I haven't had a decent meal since those delicious dumplings!"
Nebular made a noise of concern.
"You mean the dumplings that had 'food poisoning' spelled into the recipe?"
He rolled his eyes turning the handle of the door. It was stuck. He nudged it lightly – then again and at the third time it busted open.
"Man This place is gonna collapse one day."
He carefully rearmed his homemade alarm system attaching the strings to some rusted tincans. Securing his home he fished in his coat pocket for his earbuds, while descending the creaky stairwell. Each step of the worn-down rusted metal stairs gave its own familiar complaint.
Squeak.
Krrrch.
Quuuiiirk.
Down in the hallway, Mrs. Harrow was deep in gossip with another neighbor. She caught sight of Nox and gave him a venomous sigh, gesturing in his direction with a thumb while whispering something to the other neighbor who didn't seem to be invested in it all that much. Nebular hissed softly,
"I reckon she might talk about you."
Nox grinned, picking up his pace.
"Oh really? I almost didn't notice. Guess it's my fabulous appearance that's got her attention again."
Nebular snorted, vibrating lightly.
"Or maybe it's the fact you broke in through your own window yesterday… and the day before."
Nox shrugged as he walked past them, stepping out of the door and into the city. It was the weekend, and Coreline's streets were alive and chaotic filled with bustling chatter. just the way he liked it. Most of the people were trying to enjoy a day, after, and before yet another soul draining week of work..
Makeshift stalls were crammed into every corner. Vendors hawked everything from bootleg stun guns to the "newest best phones," half of which probably carried a dozen viruses.
The food stalls weren't any better, some of it looked like it had still been alive five minutes ago, or very well might still be breathing. Others sold chips made out of dry algae, Sweets that looked like they'd been fished out of a trashcan, or expired energy bars that would only give you get the energy to run toward the nearest restroom.
But Nox's favorite?
The gambling stalls.
He'd spent years practicing how to beat the tricksters at their own game, letting them underestimate him, play him for a fool, then flipping the script to scoop up the winnings.
A formula always destined to be tested.
Nebular teased him.
"Feel like tempting fate? One quick game or two?"
Nox shook his head in his hasty movement.
"We will see how much time we got left."
After ducking around a few corners and pushing through a crowd of pedestrians that garthered around some street performers singing and dancing, Nox finally reached a familiar storefront.
FOODCORE. Chet's favorite food joint. He peeked through the window, fogging the glass with his breath. It was busy inside, but no Chet in sight yet.
"Neb, what time is it?"
"The current time is Ten fifty-three and forty-seven seconds. Congratulations—you are not late."
"Phew." Nox leaned against the glass front, catching his breath. His gaze was wandering around, people eating talking, Coreline seemed to be particularly peaceful today. Just then, something else caught his eye. A small moldy wooden stall stood on the corner, barely hanging together. A hand-painted sign read: "Gamble hood!" Nox squinted. Then, a slow grin crept across his face.
"Nebular, we've still got five minutes, right?"
"Exactly five minutes and thirty-two seconds. Oh, I see... What's the plan? Classic poker? Rock-paper-scissors? Something intellectual like Cabo?"
"You'll see," Nox said, pulling his scarf tight.
Nox slowed his pace as they neared the moldy stall, his eyes narrowing slightly below the tilt of his hat.
"Wait, Neb," he muttered, keeping his tone light, "do me a quick favor. Track that guy's attention span, yeah? He´s twitchy. And while you are at it, give me some info about him. Something useful not his mother's first name please."
A hum vibrated through his earpiece. "On it. He's shifting weight every five seconds. Constant beak-taps, classic tick. His feathers are ruffled on the right arm, too. Probably favors that wing. Can't really give him the benefit of the doubt, he'll be an easy target."
She paused, then added in a lighter more electronic manner.
"Name's Griz Barlow. Raven. History of scamming locals with rigged stalls or beatings with strangers, honestly just the usual. Blacklisted from multiple districts. Arrested twice… no wait, three times, Woow someone has been buys. Charges dropped each time, lack of evidence or funding. Word is, he got pretty hooked on gambling."
Yet another pause after she replied with a sarcastic yet loving voice.
"Because you asked so nicely I won't tell you that the name of his mother in law is Caroline."
"Thanks neb appreciated."
He approached the stall, flicking off his hat with glamorous flair.
"Good day, stranger! What games are you offering? I love games. All kinds of games."
The stall owner, a black raven with sleek feathers and pitch black eyes, looked up with a grin that felt a little too generous, it was the grin of someone who was a high roller.
"Good morning, friend. Got all sorts, cards, dice, a little blackjack, maybe even a quick round of liar's dice."
Nebular crackled in his earpiece.
"Blackjack odds sit around 42.22%. Dice are closer to 49.3%. Smaller payout, but more favorable odds. Not that you'll listen."
Nox buried his hand inside his pocket in search for something.
"Sounds great. But how about we go simpler?"
He pulled a coin out of his pocket twirling it between his fingers.
"Just toss a coin. Fifty-fifty odds even game, I'm feeling lucky today."
The raven scratched his beak, eyeing Nox's pocket.
"Only play double or nothing, no funny business."
Nebular spoke again,
"Old-fashioned luck or... something else up your sleeve?"
Nox pulled out a stack of credits 50. Just a portion from the deal, and slid them onto the counter.
"Deal. I bet 50 on tails."
They shook on it. Nox kissed the coin, then flipped it high. It spun rapidly, catching flashes of neon from the lights above, red, gold, silver, every twist illuminating it in a different color.
As the coin dropped it felt right in to Nox's palm. The surface of the coin looked ordinary at first glance, but one side was rougher and slightly sharper. Catching the coin Nox felt the textured edge pressing against his palm the rough side was down. With one quick and precise motion Nox slammed it on to the table.He lifted his paw slowly.
Tails.He won. The raven let out a frustrated squawk.
"No, damn it! Lucky idiot. Again!"
Nox shrugged. "Sure. But this time, I bet 100, double or nothing."
Grumbling, the raven pulled out a hundred-credit chip and shoved it forward. Nox repeated the toss. Same coin. Same trick. As the coin thumped into his palm, the rough side faced up.
With a swift, practiced motion, he twisted it just before the slam-down reveal.
without the raven noticing a thing.
Tails … again.
The raven slammed a wing down.
"You're cheating! That coin, give it here!"
Nox quickly pocketed both the coin and the credits.
"Hey now, a game's a game. And today's just my lucky day."
He tipped his hat and strolled off, ignoring the raven muttering curses behind him.
Nebular buzzed in trough his ear her voice sarcastic with a slice of awe and enthusiasm.
"I'm impressed. Judging from my scan and the odds you just defeated, your coin most likely has some additional feature you didn't elaborate the vendor about. Elegant trick, quite smart. But I doubt this would have worked on someone with less of an ego and more of a brain."
"Exactly," Nox murmured. "Always keep it with me in my pocket ."
Nebular purred. "Your second-best companion huh? So what's the magic?"
Nox peeked back at the raven, who was now furiously dialing a number.
"One rough side. One smooth. If I feel the smooth side land in my palm, I twist it fast and press it down. But... only works twice. Third time? People get frustrated."
"Smart," Nebular hummed. "But what if the opponent brings their own coin?"
Nox gave a sly grin. "Then I just say... Nah, I'm good. I only play when I can cheat better than the other guy."
Suddenly Nox spotted Chet emerging from the crowd his huge physique hard to miss between the people. Chet always looked content like nothing could break his balance, perhaps there was nothing that physically could. But emotionally he seemed even stronger.
Nox made his way toward the towering figure and away from the Mad vendor stall. Waving, he greeted the massive bull.
"Chet, over here! Told you I'm not late!"
Chet, who had just now spotted Nox, grinned across both cheeks.
"Not bad, Nox, I'm surprised, but I'm even hungrier!"
They shook hands, or rather, Nox barely managed to hook a few fingers around Chet's palm.
"Good. Let's go inside. I'm starving too, ill invite you, since today is my lucky day you know!"
They pushed open the doors to the diner.
Chet frowned an eyebrow.
"Okay thanks, but i though every day was your lucky day. Found some credits on the floor or what happened?"
The scent of oil, coffee, and pancakes filled Nox's lungs.Walking in they faced a red counter, to the left and right there were seats that were diverse in their size - bigger Medium and small animals.
"One could say."
Nox pointed toward a table.
"So, Nox," Chet said as they took their seats, "you mentioned something about a small adventure?"
They sat down on table built for different-sized animals. One seat was high in the air, while the other looked big enough for a bunny family to live underneath, in other words, Chet-sized.
"Yeah, buddy," Nox said with a grin. "I've got something interesting going on right now."
On the Wall there were posters hanging of good looking food, desserts and happy familys eating.
Nebular whispered through his earplug,
"Interesting indeed. But don't forget to mention smart."
A tired-looking moose waiter approached. His antlers curved back with elegance, but his voice was anything but lively.
"Good morning. Can I take your order?"
Chet, who had long since decided, ordered a Good Morning Coreline Menu for big mammals, but swapped the coffee for a hot chocolate.
The waiter tapped the order onto a digital pad, then slowly turned his sleepy eyes to Nox.
"Oh, come on, Chet, you're leaving out the best part?"
Nox leaned back casually tapping on the menu.
"For me, it'll be a coffee latte and some scrambled eggs."
"Okay," the moose replied in a monotone. "Thank you for your order."
He turned and walked away with a long, deliberate stride, the kind of walk that screamed I am over this shift.
Nox scratched the back of his head a smile forming on his lips "okay, where do I start. Sooo remember that head mast thing we found earlier on the junkyard?"