ORIGIN

Reign was hunting.

He was beginning to grow, going through rapid growth spurts. No longer was he short and stubbly, round and fluffy. He had begun to stretch out, all gangly legs and sharp angles. His gem had grown into a true crown, one that could rival King Envy's (and he worried how Envy would react when he saw it, there was a reason Envy went by Envy, after all).

So he wanted to hunt. To try going after something bigger than a little bird, something that wasn't carrion.

The king cheetah lowered his head to the ground, inhaling deeply, but didn't catch any fresh scents.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

The cheetah took another deep breath.

Surely, there had to be Lessers nearby. Polaris seemed to be swarming with them, so all he had to do was look. He began to walk, raising his head and tasting the air.

And, there it was. The faintest scent of a Cave Deer of some sort.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

Reign took a deep breath, committing the scent to memory. There was a touch of old blood to it, so this shouldn't be too hard of a first hunt.

With his head held out before him, he followed the scent. It grew fresher the further he walked, and he found tufts of fur on branches and brambles. This would be easy.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

Reign came to a stand-still as his prey came into sight. It was a jungle deer, long legged and brown. He went still, not moving except for the faintest twitches of his tail.

Slowly, he began to stalk towards the deer. It was grazing, back turned to him. Hunting came instinctively to him, head low, shoulders hunched, each stride rolling.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

He stepped forward, and his paw came down on a twig. It snapped beneath his weight, the sound impossibly loud in his ears.

The deer's head snapped up, twitching this way and that, before turning his way. Her eyes widened, and she whirled about, before bounding away into the foliage. Undeterred, Reign coiled his legs, and gave chase.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

His legs pumped beneath him, and he barreled after the fleeing deer, his blood thrumming in his veins. Oh, he felt alive! A growl rumbled low in his throat, and he picked up speed.

The deer however, seemed to know a few tricks, as it suddenly darted, turning rapidly. Reign twisted, doing the same, skidding and losing a fair amount of his speed in the process.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

His lungs, and legs, burned, but the cheetah ran on, racing after the deer. He panted, eyes bright, and picked up speed again, beginning to approach the deer. She was running as fast as she could, but even she couldn't out-run a cheetah flying at full speed.

Reign bared his teeth, stretching out as much as he could, tail straight out to keep his balance. His eyes locked on the deer's haunches, nothing else on his mind.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

The deer was beginning to slow. With each stride, Reign got closer and closer, approaching leaping distance. His heart thrummed in his ears, all he could hear, and all he could see was the deer ahead of him. Polaris itself could be burning around him, and he wouldn't notice.

The deer stumbled, and he leaped, pouncing onto her back. She screamed, and he dug in his claws to stay on.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

He lunged, attempting to sink his teeth into the back of her neck, but she jerked, attempting to throw her off. He clung to her, digging in his claws, and rumbled an annoyed growl as he struggled to hold on.

Without a second thought, he summoned his magic, static churning from his flesh to hers. The deer shrieked, and stumbled, collapsing to the ground. He jumped free before he could be trapped by her weight, shaking himself to rid himself of the static that clung to his fur.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.

Reign jumped, approaching the doe's throat. She jerked, trembling as the static ran through her system, and he intended on killing her quickly and cleanly. He was no monster, he was kind and fair. Just because she was a Lesser, did not mean she deserved to be treated poorly.

He moved to bite her throat, but a violent tremor ran through her, and she convulsed, pulling her throat out of the way of his fangs, which clinked shut uselessly.

"Speech looks like this."
Thoughts look like this.