Alexander had already stopped paying attention by the time the bird had requested that he try not to get any gore on him. He was already in Hunter Mode, crouched down in the ferns not far from the Jungle Deer. He forced down the growl that wanted to escape his throat, lips pulled back into a snarl, eyes wide and pupils dilated as he focused all of his attention on his prey. He stalked quietly closer and closer, mouth open slightly to help him take in the deer’s scent. Not that he needed to smell the creature to know where it was. He could very clearly see it.

He took another step, then another, until he was close enough for the deer to look up in suspicion, mid-chew. It snorted, and its muscles tensed, but it had no time to flee. Xander charged at it, looking just a bit awkward as he flung his body at his prey, limbs a bit gangly and head that looked too small without a fully-grown mane. The creature cried out in pain and fear and bucked wildly. Xander gritted his teeth and held on for dear life, digging his claws into its flank and pulling it to the ground with his weight.

He killed it with a long bite to the neck, piercing its jugular vein and waiting for it to stop struggling. Finally, it gave a great shudder and its wild eyes went cold and stared unseeing. Alexander, who was famished and still taken by his bloodlust, ripped hungrily at its body without thinking. He swallowed great chunks of flesh, reveling the taste of blood and fresh meat, burying his maw into the dead thing’s side until his face was bright red. When he had eaten his fill, he lounged on his side, satisfied, his little bird friend forgotten for the moment. Unaware of how horrified the Prince must be.

@Adeyemi

Prince Adeyemi

AND THEN THE EARTH AND THE SKY, THEY ALL FIT TOGETHER
AND CARRY ME AWAY AS LIGHT AS A FEATHER

Adeyemi watched as his young charge transformed from a huge, adorable bundle of fluff into a very clear predator, sending him hopping back unsteadily, clicking his beak with narrowed eyes. The attack was brutal, fast as a bullet, the lion latching onto the deer in an almost serpentine way, and the turaco watched, fascinated despite himself.

Unfortunately, his request for "no gore on me please" seemed to have gone ignored, as the prince was quite covered in bloodspray, barely holding back a dry heave as his feathers drip drip dripped quietly. The cub didn't seem to notice, lost in some sort of bloodlust, tearing into the doe, ripping off flesh and muscle down to the bone. Adeyemi swallowed dryly, eyes widened in a mix of pride, awe and core-deep fear.

Slowly, he hopped closer to Alexander, wings rustling, stopping a few feet away, practically dyed red from head to toe. "Well," the prince began, voice soft and just a touch strained, "I suppose we've answered the question of whether you'll be able to hunt for yourself." The humor was weak, but at the least the bird was trying to not freak out the lion with just how freaked out he was, crest and chest feathers rising and settling out of order.

Alexander’s blood-lust was quickly replaced by lethargy, as his full belly told his brain that it was time to sleep. But when his eyes landed on the bird who had saved him from his golden prison, he felt horrified by what he had done. The bird had quite clearly asked him not to get gore on him. But in his need for food, and the strange overwhelming sense that he needed to kill and eat this creature right now, and nobody was going to get in his way he had completely lost touch with his brain. He had become all instinct, and now he felt ashamed of himself.

His eyes traveled slowly back to King Adeyemi, covered in blood and gore – his fault – and then looked down in shame. He quickly got to his paws, so as not to seem rude, languidly sprawled out and covered in deer guts. He lay on his belly, making himself as small as he could. “I – I am so sorry. I…” There were no words that would make himself feel any better. He kept his honey-brown eyes to the floor of Eridanus, wincing at the taste of blood in his mouth…

So ashamed was he, in fact, that he couldn't stand to be here any longer. He glanced at the bird, winced, and then stood up and ran away. Whether his soon-to-be father chose to follow was up to him...

[Exit Xander]

@Adeyemi