Hazael had no idea what was happening. It was all unfolding far too quickly for him to keep track, especially over the noise that came with Bracha’s barking. Luckily, it seemed to be that this was quickly resolved by that strange Egyptian woman as she tossed the Saluki a piece of meat that had been fetched at a local stall. However, even that simple action was now unfolding into chaos as the merchant had decided that he had been stiffed of his due of coins and was intent on badgering Kesi until he got it back. Then others were approaching as well as this all happened. More foreigners and one other Judean who seemed to be speaking another language which did not help Hazael’s confusion in the slightest. He was about to make some quipped comment about how he didn’t have any clue what was going on either as half of this mess was occurring in a language he did not understand… when suddenly everything took a terrible turn for the worse.

A snake was released. The meat merchant found his cousin. The cousin found his sons. The sons found oil.

Now the entire circus was quite literally a candle that was one moment away from being lit. If the merchants did not get their money right that instant, this calm waterfront market was going to turn into the scene of a horrible crime.

Hazael didn’t know what in the name of Yahweh anyone was going to be able to do to fix this mess.

Hazael was at a crossroads over what to do in the face of such a terrible situation beginning to unfold before him. As he watched the oil merchant and his sons pour their ware upon the foreigners, Hazael wanted to do nothing more than take Bracha away from this mess and hide somewhere. He knew he was a coward at heart and even though he would likely later feel great shame when the rumors of the circus going up in flames -- quite literally-- that was the thing his mind told him was best. As far as the merchants were concerned this one Judean boy was not caught up in this mess even though it had been his dog who ate the meat. He should run while he still could and save his own skin.

However, he knew in his heart that this was the wrong thing to do. Yes, Hazael might not think kindly of these outsiders due mostly to the rhetoric he had been raised in -- but that did not mean he should idly stand by as they all were burned to death. That was not the sort of thing that Yahweh would approve of and if Hazael did nothing -- there would never be a way of cleansing himself from this evil. It would have to be something he carries for the rest of his life and like a coward, Hazael was not prepared to have this misdeed lingering over his shoulder for the rest of his life. So, knowing that his god would not approve of him walking away, the boy was left with only one option… as much as he hated it.

He was going to have to stand up for these outsiders.

“That’s enough!” He called out in as strong of a tone as he could muster. Granted, it did not convey much power in his words, but it was enough at least to have the merchants take their eyes off of their quarry long enough to turn to Hazael as he stepped forward. With Bracha in tow, the young Israeli fished around in his pockets and pulled out a small stack of coins. This had been the payment he had received for the last puppy he had sold and something he desperately needed if he wanted to make sure his dogs had a comfortable life. It might not seem like much at this moment, but his canines were going to grow leaner in the coming year because of this. Fishing out a silver piece, a coin that everyone knew was worth so much more than the meat that had been bought.

Hazael knew that he wasn’t thinking clearly when he thrust the coin into the hand of the meat merchant, his mind growing fuzzy from the rush of adrenaline that he never really experienced in his day to day life of taking the easiest route at every turn. The move from the boy was so unexpected that the older man nearly dropped the coin, having been caught completely off-guard by the notion that someone would actually pay the clearly inflated price he was demanding from these outsiders he figured wouldn’t know any better. “You have your coin! Now get both your hounds and your yetzer hara in line before Yahweh turns his back on you!” The words were bitter and sharp in his mouth as he scolded the merchant for what he had done and for a brief moment Hazael had thought that he had shamed the merchant into coming to his senses over this whole ordeal… but he had forgotten that it was not just one merchant involved in this mess.

Hazael had failed to remember that there were four young men just like his abusive elder brother Tiras that were involved in this nightmare.

They did not take kindly to the fact that they were called hounds and angry shouts of outrage filled the floating dock, making things so much worse as now barely anyone could understand each other. The meat merchant might now have shame in his eyes and might be trying to speak to the oil merchant, but there was really no stopping an angry man with a lit oil lamp in his hand. He was waving it around almost violently as he raved about the insolence of this teen boy and the misdeeds of this circus --including a list of crimes that likely did not belong to them.

With the chaos unfolding so quickly, Hazael knew that this was likely going to end in an all-out war on the floating dock if the circus did not get out of here soon. That’s why Hazael turned back to the one member of this group who knew the same language as him and hissed at the girl. “If you do not want you and friends to be burned alive, you all need to leave now.” He hoped that Miri could get some sense into the circus and remind them all that this was not a conflict they wanted to involve themselves in, but her actually being able to do it was a different story indeed, wasn’t it?

Things were escalating, and Azarion had no idea what the Judeans were saying, but he could taste the tension in the air, and when the oil was tossed, a wicked grin came across his face. His hyenas got a little lower to the ground, sensing their masters excitement at the idea of an impending battle, they too were ready to strike should he lash out. Azarion was excited, he hadn’t been expecting a fight that day but it seemed like things were looking up, and he was certainly ready for one.

The prospect of being lit on fire didn’t scare him, Azarion was not a man who feared pain or death, but a man who loved to shed blood and wreak havoc when ever possible. He was hoping that the Judeans would make the first fully aggressive move, that they would give him an excuse to show them what true fear and pain meant. They might be acting tough now, but when a hyena was ripping their arm off, they would scream and cry just like everyone else.

Despite his eagerness, despite the look of pure insanity and joy in his eyes at the idea of killing today, he didn’t move. He was ready to strike should it come to that, but he knew that he could not shed blood so publicly without true cause, which had not been given yet. Nem would not be please if they were to attack first.

One way or another, Azarion planned on seeing the oil merchant pay in blood for inserting himself in the situation which had already been resolved until he escalated it. Azarion was not a fan of sneaking around, but he would. The oil merchant had best make himself right with what ever God he prayed to, for tonight he would find himself far from home and at the mercy of a man who took joy in making others suffer. Especially if they deserved it.

For now, in the daylight, with eyes on them, Azarion just waited. Either for the merchants to become violent and give him an excuse to kill them then and there, or for a command from Kesi to attack. Nem wasn’t here. Kesi was Nem’s sister, she would act on his will in his absence. If she said to attack, he would take it the same as he would a command from his leader.

This wasn’t always the case, there were certainly times when Azarion didn’t follow Kesi’s orders, but at this time he would. This situation had turned volatile quickly, and if it had been up to Azarion, they would have started killing a long time ago. Which is why he was happy to admit that he was not a leader in most situations.

What was it Nem had called him? Unpredictable. Barbaric.

Both were true. Azarion had never wanted to lead anyone other than his animals, he was happy to follow a man like Nem, a man who was a true leader and would some day take everything over.