ORIGIN

Usui gently put aside that pebble then brought his paw down upon another and inched it towards him. He would carve the fairer sex onto the pebble now. Makyna appeared in his mind then. For a moment, Usui paused, then got up and padded to the river and looked at his reflection. His features were broader than Makyna's. She was more slender and her eyes curved with greater gentleness. She was less hairy than he was as well. Usui went back to his seat and set to work. He'd carve out the same oblong shape and ears, just that the oblong shape would be more slender. Also, he'd draw two lines that tapered at the ends to illustrate slender, almond-shaped eyes, curves and expression a clear indication of femininity. He brought his claw down now, ready to create the second symbol.

Unfortunately, the curve proved too challenging for the cub. His nail scrapped clumsily past the surface, resulting in a disfigured squiggly line below the eyes. Perhaps, he'd try it another time. Feeling rather guilty for creating such a horrendous figure, Usui swept the pebble into the water where upon it landed with a small splash and landed down, down below perhaps where no one else would find it, or presume it to be the ancient carving of something long gone.

The cub felt rather hungry now. He skipped the rock which bore the image of the male lion into the water as well, letting it sink together with the faulty one. Once drawn, he had the patterns memorized and could replicate it another time. For now, the predator's stomach rumbled and he would very much like to satiate his hunger after exerting mental, phsyical and spiritual, or magical energy. With a soft groan, Usui dug his paws into the ground and pushed himself up, then he attempted to cast gem sense to see if any lesser gembound with a gem might be available for his catching.

His magic sputtered weakly and his gem seemed to glow a weak black colour, but then he saw it - just barely, but it was there, the light blue flickering of something nearby one of the walls. Usui immediately padded over, allowing the fur around his paws to muffle his footfalls. Coming closer to his target now, he could see that it was a juicy cave rat, around 2 feet long with extremely nasty teeth, similar to the one he'd caught last time. It had blue chalcedony on its back but it was a very small spec, not worth keeping on any account. Usui crept closer and closer, hunting strategy forming in his mind.

The rat was silent and exposed by the corner of the wall. Although its grey pelt blended in very well, its gem could not escape Usui's detection. The youth raised his hackles and crouched down as he got nearer, shifting forward slowly after a random few seconds to prevent detection. Front limbs supported his barrel body forward while he kept his head and neck low, paws raised carefully and put down with extra meticulousness to ensure that not a single silent nor rustle would alert the rat to his approach. His tan pelt stuck out in the background and so he was creeping in behind the rat, sticking his body close to the side of the wall, hoping to zone in on the rat undetected so that he could make the easiest and most fuss-free kill.

His furry sides gently slid against the rough rock wall as he sneaked up onto the rat - and he realized that the rat had dozed off! Its stomach was rising and falling contentedly. For some reason it had chosen to fall asleep out in the open. Usui managed to creep right behind it, paws parallel to its tail. He brought his head low to the ground and tilted his ear above its head. It snored, plump little body rising and falling. The lion could hear the breathing patterns of the rat and he managed to suppress a chuckle at the silliness of his prey. Probably was the closest he'd ever get to one of these nasty, biting scratching critters.

He pounced onto the rat then with great ease, bringing one paw high up and then gripping onto the rat. As it woke up with a shriek, Usui flipped it over and then lunged forward with jaws parted, attempting to suffocate its throat. Unfortunately, the critter was very energetic now after a good sleep and thrashed out with sharp paws and gnashed at his nose with sharp, protruding teeth, beady eyes glaring into Usui's with a mixture of revolt and fear. Usui found himself holding that thing away from his face, sustaining scratches and injuries to his paw. He kept his "thumb" close to the rat's throat to prevent it from darting its nasty head forward to bite it, but the sharp scratches were sure tearing away at his skin and fur at a rapid pace.

Usui wrinkled his nose in disgust as the huge critter flailed and thrashed its tail upon the floor. Immediately, he brought his other paw down onto the rat, forcing its jaw and head upwards. Then, he smoothed out the belly of the critter. Although his feline way of killing was by suffocation, he guessed he had no other choice - his stomach rumbled and he really wasn't in the mood to chase this rat around when he already had it in his grasp. He lunged forward and the world the rat saw faded to black.

Some time later, done with his meal, the lion burped and swiped his paw clean with a paw. He was satisfied and felt fitter and more refreshed from his training. It was time to do more exploration then. The cub padded away quietly, leaving the area with the fallen bit of ceiling and two mysterious carved pebbles sunk into the bottom of the crystal river.

-Exit Usui-