ORIGIN

He needed to prepare.

For many things, really. He had heard rumors of a fight- a deathmatch- that many in the caves would be attending. It sounded like a great place to both recruit 'friends' and gain a reputation. But he needed more than what he was naturally given- sharp teeth and singular horn wouldn't be anywhere near enough, not if he couldn't use magic to assist him.

And, of course, he needed supplies for other reasons. Armor and weapons were good to have in general, deathmatch or no, and backups would be even better to have around. Shiny bits and bobs could also be useful, to bribe those interested in them- although they weren't anywhere near a top priority.

So, he roamed among the blisteringly-hot underforge in Leo, looking for anything of use for him. With so many weapons and armor- big and small, rusted and intact- there had to be SOMETHING that would fit his needs, right?

He came across am armguard, about the right size to fit on his own forearm. It was made of copper- heavily oxidized at this point, with chips and cracks in places. The straps were rotted away leather, just barely intact. Overall, it was really only marginally better than nothing at all. He was sure he could find better, but in case he COULDN'T, he set in aside in spot where he planned to put the rest of his findings.

And then he was off, searching through the junk for the gold in it's midst. It wasn't fun by any means. You could even say it was boring. But it was necessary if he was going to fight, and useful even if he wasn't. So he searched among long-abandoned benches and tables for anything that may still lay atop them.

In a pile of ruined weapons and broken armor, he found something that looked to be in nearly mint condition. A slingshot, with a nice padded grip and a sling that was still nice and elastic. He would need to find something to actually shoot from it somehow, but otherwise.. a pretty great find. A ranged weapon was VASTLY preferable to a close-ranged one. Both would be ideal, however, just in case he ran out of ammo for the slingshot.

He put it next to the ruined armguard, before going back to the pile he'd retrieved the slingshot from. Maybe there was more good stuff hiding in there? It'd be worth checking out, in any case.

He was digging through scrapped bits of metal when a pair of furious orange eyes appeared, attached to a scraggly orange-furred body still half-hidden within the pile. The lava rat screeched at him furiously, calling more rats from the surrounding area to the scene. A lone rat would've almost certainly fled, but now with about half a dozen of them? It was a lot more of a risky scenario.

He let out a soft hiss in return. Most of the rats stayed a safe distance away, but the rat he'd uncovered just gnashed it's teeth, and Slinky knew that it was just a matter of time for a fight to break out. So he beat them to it, lunging at the rat's throat with his mouthful of tiny, but sharp teeth. If he killed this one quick enough, then maybe he could scare off the rest of them?

The rat backed up, dodging his snapping teeth, before rushing forward and sinking it's teeth in his ear. Slinky shrieked in pain. That was definitely not how he has planned this.