---
"I bet Three silver on Hollowback dropping in two minutes!" Tib shouted, waving a stubby ticket.
"Put a sock in it, Grel!" Talla whooped back, brandishing her own slip. "That baby Hollowback got more heart than you've got hair down there!"
They glared, then started trading mock kung-fu slaps, each missing by silly margins, earning laughter from those nearby.
Below, Zephyr's vision pulsed crimson. The shared pain of Star's wounds. Too slow … need distance.
"Vertical! Up!" Zep command.
Star beat his wings, each flap a quiet cry, rising just enough to dodge the pangolin's second burrow surge. Gouts of sand geysered beneath him, peppering spectators in the cheap seats.
From the judge's mezzanine, Judge Varis leaned forward, pale eyes bright. "Good aerial read for a Rank-F," he murmured to Magistrate Rhun.
Judge Bragg snorted. "Aerial read? The tiny Hollowback is half crippled. The kid should've scratched."
