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He was running, faster, faster, faster, his pursuer was too close.
“Run, run, little bunny, I'll catch you soon enough.” He heard behind him.
He panted out a chuckle, “If you even can!” He called back, nearly cursing as he dodged a few branches.
How had everything gone so wrong, so quickly?
<{~~~}>
Chance had just walked into the saloon, making his way over to the poker table. His signature grin on his face.
“So! What's the gamble for this game?” He called out as he sat in one of the few empty seats.
“High wagers.” Comes the dealer's response.
“Alrighty!” He prepares his coins.
“What should we call you?” One of the other players asks, they're dressed in all black.
He smirks, “Call me… Ace.”
<{~~~}>
The game had gone well, he supposed, although, according to those in charge of the game, when they confronted him the next day, he wasn't supposed to win.
He cursed himself now for not seeing the signs that were so clear at the start, for not seeing the truth.
<{~~~}>
It had been fun playing against that group of people, he decides as he pays for a room for the next week. Might as well stay a few days, he's already in town.
After getting ready, he lays on the bed, and closes his eyes.
<{~~~}>
Silence greets him for just a moment, then- he hears a voice behind him, he turns to look- there's no one there, the voice continues to speak behind him. He can't make out what's being said, but then- silence, completely and utter silence.
<{~~~}>
The next morning he awakens, feeling like he forgot something. He blearily blinks up at the ceiling, trying to remember what it was.
Eventually, he gives up, sluggishly getting to his feet. He gets ready for the day before heading downstairs to see what the breakfast options are. They aren't vast, but there are still options.
After eating, he decides to head out and explore the town.
<{~~~}>
He decides it wasn't the best idea to go out and explore, since he's almost immediately pulled into an alley and slammed against the wall. There's an arm pressed against his throat, the same man, dressed in all black, is the one whose arm is currently crushing his windpipe.
“Hi, w-what do you want-?” He manages to choke out.
“That game yesterday, you weren't supposed to win it.” The man responds.
“W-hat? I-I'm not sur-e what you m-ean?” It's hard to breathe like this.
The man narrows his eyes for a moment at this, before- he drops him to the ground.
Chance gasps for breath a moment before looking up at the man with a questioning look.
The man merely narrows his eyes at him before saying, “I'll collect what is mine in another way, let's just say, your luck just turned for the worse.”
<{~~~}>
And it had, every morning when he woke up from that point forward, for the next five days, he woke up in very incriminating places, with no idea how he got there.
But lady luck hadn't seemed to have abandoned him completely yet, as he always seemed to manage to find a way out without getting caught.
However, every night, he swore he could see that man out of the corner of his eye, it was unsettling, like that man was waiting for him to slip up.
One day though, he had enough, so he walked up to the man to talk to him.
<{~~~}>
“What is your deal, man? Why are you always here at night!” He wasn't sleeping as well anymore, always worried about where he would wake up the next morning.
Not to mention the dreams.
“I'm not sure what you mean?” The man had responded calmly, like he wasn't always watching him when he came back from wherever he had gone in the town that day.
“Why are you always watching me?” Came his exasperated sigh, he was exhausted.
“I am merely sitting, observing the patrons as they pass by, observing their habits, Ace.” He gave a sly smile to Chance at this.
He regarded the man with suspicion, before taking a deep breath, and sliding on his grinning poker face.
“Well! If that's all then I hope you won't mind me joining you for a bit!” He cheerily says, before sliding into the seat next to the man.
“Hm,” The man responds, frowning slightly, “Where are you from?” He eventually asks.
“Around, I mainly hop from town to town, gambling and just enjoying life.” He responds with a grin.
“Do you truly find joy in having no real home?” The man asks with scepticism.
“Yeah! It's fun, although sometimes people give me grief over my good luck.” He gives the man a flat look at that.
“Hm,” The man doesn't take the bait at that, “When your luck embarrasses people, can you really blame them?” He asks.
“What can I say? I'm favored by lady luck herself!” He responds cheerily.
“You should get to bed, it's getting late.” The man says while standing up.
“And where are you going?” The man's sudden decision to depart surprised him.
“Home.” The man responds before turning and walking out of the saloon.
Being a little confused from the entire situation, and quite tired, he decides to try to sleep. Worry keeps him up for another hour, then he finally drifts off to sleep.
<{~~~}>
He finds himself in the same place as the last few nights when he slept. For a moment, it is silent, still, then- he hears the same voice as every other time. He is still unable to make out what is being said, but he can feel his body start to move on its own. This goes on for a while, then stops, then-
<{~~~}>
Waking up quickly, he finds himself sitting at the base of a tree. He looks around quickly in confusion, he's deep in the woods this time. Every other time he was still in the town, he currently has no idea where the town is though.
He hears a voice off to the side, “Well, isn't this a situation?” It's the man from before, and he's grinning.
“Hehe… yeah…” He chuckles nervously, he has no idea what's going on right now or how he got here.
“I'm sure you're wondering what's going on at this point, hm?”
“Uhm… yeah, not, uh, not really sure how I got here.”
“Tell me, have you ever heard of the fae?” The man asks.
He clenches the bark and grass below his hands at this question, tensing up suddenly. “Yeah, who hasn't?” He takes a closer look at the man while saying this- and wonders how he hadn't seen it before? The man was clearly a fae.
He stands up abruptly when the fae takes a step forward, getting ready to bolt.
“Why so jumpy? Hm? You know, that was quite the embarrassment, losing a rigged game to this random newcomer? Tsk.” His blood is starting to run cold at this, especially when the fae takes another step forward.
“How about this, I give you a ten second head start, if I catch you? I will extract your real name from you, if you manage to get to the town before that? The embarrassment you caused will be forgotten and you'll be able to leave town with no fuss, the town is in that direction. Your time starts… now.”
He needs no further words to turn and bolt towards the town, his luck had really turned to shit if one game was all it took to piss a fae off.
<{~~~}>
And now, here he is, running for his life. He really hoped the town was close by now, he was really starting to tire. Gasping for breath, he realizes he can see the edge of the forest, it's still a little ways away, but he has a chance to reach it.
Just then, he feels something hard and heavy hit his back. He falls on his face, when he tries to get up, he feels himself get flipped onto his back, a boot landing on his chest as the fae stares down at him with a grin.
“Well, it seems I caught you.”
“Yeah… Shit.”
“Time for me to collect what I am due.” At this, the fae stabs his right shoulder with a knife. He cries out in pain at this, before he starts to feel his entire body go numb.
He hums in confusion, not entirely aware, but still lucid enough to hear someone ask, “So, what's your name?”
He blinks in confusion a few times, not sure why it's relevant before answering, “Chance.”
“Fitting for a man with so much luck, nevertheless, Chance, it's time for us to go.” At this, he blacks out.