Okay, maybe she couldn't do it.

"Really…?" Bracken stared at the umpteenth set of numbers on the dice, another losing total. She'd not won a single game and the disappointment was sinking in quick.

"How about a different game?" Min Ti suggested as she reached for some paper and pens from a nearby table. The engineer leaned closer in anticipation.

"I'm listening." Surely she couldn't do worse at this game than she could the last, right?

"This one is called 'Beetle'." The hunter paused as she pushed a few pieces of paper and a pen towards her. "We each take turns rolling the dice. Whatever it lands on, is a body part of an insect. The first one to draw the whole bug wins. Some body parts can't be drawn until others have been though." Bracken nodded as she took a die from her.

"Sounds easy enough." Rolling the die, she let her competitive streak show. A six.

"That's the torso." Bracken nodded at the clarification before beginning to doodle a part of a beetle.

Min Ti rolled a three, a head.

Bracken rolled a two, a leg.

A four… a five… a one… a three…

Bracken narrowed her eyes after the many rolls they'd exchanged. Both of them only one more number away. Min Ti copied the gesture before rolling her die…

A two.

"What?!" Min Ti smirked as she added the final leg to her crudely drawn beetle. "No fair!" The hunter shook her head at her, probably amused or enjoying her victory.

"These aren't trick dice. You just don't seem to have luck on your side today." The, oh so Goldpaw, reason for everything… Darn…

"Can we play another game? Maybe one that doesn't feel rigged?" Bracken pouted as the hunter rolled her eyes. She was about to answer when all of a sudden her ears went flat again and her eyes froze over, glaring at a point over the engineer's shoulder. Before Bracken could turn to see what the problem was, a hand heavily landed on the table next to her, nearly toppling the furniture over.

"Hey there, Min Ti. You finally realise how great this place is?" Glancing up as the dogfolk stepped to the side of the girls, she took note of his tall, scraggly appearance. The man looked as if he hadn't eaten in years, his dark chestnut hair seemed knotted and gnarled, tall pointed ears seemed un-kept and worn away. A pale, sandy coloured patch of fur covered the once white fur of his right eye, his blue gaze seemed dull yet oddly spritely. His clothes seemed strangely rough considering the place they were in, but they otherwise resembled a deep blue version of your typical Goldpaw residence's attire.

"No. I'm here on duty." Min Ti had responded in a stern manner, as if she wanted nothing to do with the man.

"On duty? Then who is this?" He asked in an almost accusatory tone as he turned his attention towards the engineer. Deciding to be like her companion and act professional, she answered casually.

"Min Ti is my temporary guard. For the moment, where I go, she goes." Bracken explained before offering a hand out of politeness. "Bracken Meadows. Engineer." She introduced herself with a friendly smile.

"My name is Fay Va. Though, hopefully Min Ti has mentioned me before?" He tried a charming smile that just revealed his aging teeth that didn't seem at all as pleasant as he clearly hoped it to be.

"Sorry. I've never heard of you." Bracken apologised in as kind a tone she could muster, the sheer amount of daggers being glared her way wasn't helping much.

"Ah. That's okay. One day, Min Ti will talk the world of me." He paused in his almost arrogant tone, clearly lacking any real faith in his words. "That is… after I win big of course." Even without looking at her, Bracken could tell the hunter was trying her hardest to stay cool.

"Even if you win big, I'll still want nothing to do with you." She snarled, words dripping with disdain.

"Oh, please. When I win big, it'll be great! No more of this negativity! Mark my words!" Bracken mentally awarded points for attempted optimism. "Since you're here, how about I show you a few tricks of the trade? I bet if we both chipped in, we could get that bonus prize in no time!"

"Tricks of the trade?" Min Ti spoke in an incredulously low tone. "You mean the ones that have won you nothing but trouble?" Fay Va bristled a little, seemingly offended at her choice of words.

"Trouble? Goldpaw wasn't built in a day!" He announced with sudden surety as he inched closer to the hunter.

"Yeah? Well neither was your duebill." She commented as her eyes narrowed.

"YOU OWE ME!" As if on cue, a giant duebill squawked somewhere behind the man. The only sign that either of them had heard was the slight twitch of their ears.

"Look, these things just take time…" He drawled in what was supposed to be an attempt at persuasion.

"And money that you don't have." She stated with cold irritation.

"But I will! I've had three wins today!" The triumphant claim and the proud stance of his fist over his chest was met with an eye roll.

"And any money you won just goes back to the state, either on more gambling or to pay off your duebill." The elder of the two shrunk away from that criticism.

"But it is progress! Don't you see? The improvements I made to my system are paying off! Once it's perfected, there'll be no loss greater than the states!" A determined gleam in his eyes, he boasted his beliefs. Where had the engineer heard that before…?

Either way, it sounded ridiculous.

"Trust me… Once the money starts rolling in, you'll wanna learn all my tricks and get involved in the best family tradition out there!" Bracken had to hand it to him. His entrepreneurial skills at least existed.

"Family traditions? What would you know about family traditions?" She jumped as Min Ti snapped at him, subconsciously baring her teeth again. "Last I checked, you don't even have a family."

"Don't be like that! If I have no family, how and why are you even here?" Fay Va attempted to defend himself with a threatening snarl of his own.

"It takes more than blood to be a family!" She stood to face him, ears back, tail bristled and teeth snarled.

"Not like you would know anything about that, would you father?"


Author's Note:

Two updates in a few minutes to make up for things.

Min Ti will be seeing some backstory in the next chapter as you could probably guess so there's that. The fun stuff will return at some point. Promise!

Oh and btw, I only recently found the Citizen's Almanac in the game and realised that Min Ti's eyes are in fact blue. Should probably change that at some point too. Oops. Her entry in the almanac is heckin adorable though...

I also have Tumblr now! Hooray! If you care about it, my name is defiant-firefly.