“Hunger can push a man to do unspeakable things.”
“When the body yearns for sustenance, one-by-one its accessories begin malfunctioning, sending signals to the brain to eat, or else.”
“Or else you will drive yourself mad in order to replace those vital nutrients.”
“Or else the body will shut down, and leave you vulnerable to illness, or worse death.”
“You simply must get your fix in order to survive.”
“The lion, the king of the jungle, sprawls across its rock at the peak of the savannah, taking in the sun’s vibrant rays of light as it looks down upon the rest of the peasants below like a king to his subjects.”
“Most of those subjects are stuck in the endless cycle of meandering amongst one another, fighting for whatever scraps they can find as they leave themselves vulnerable to danger.”
“But those who are smart hide in the shadows in wait. For they know it is just a matter of time until the king takes what they desire.”
“What is it that you desire, Leona?”
“Is it merely taking that first bite as you enter the savannah that is MASQ, green as the fields you trod upon, so that you may experience the taste of sweet success…”
“Is it the thrill of the hunt?”
“Or is it the prize that reflects La Sol’s light so brilliantly that you’ve had no choice but to eye it from afar…”
“Do you long for the Mettle Championship?”
“There’s no doubt you are hungry. You want a piece of this tournament, to prove yourself as the queen of the jungle that you claim yourself to be.”
“But what will you do in order to get what you want?”
“How far will you go to satiate that hunger— what unspeakable things are you willing to do to yourself and to the rest of us in order to prove your mettle at the top of the food chain?”
“Because you aren’t the only one who’s hungry.”
“And you must be mad to think that you’d ever go to the lengths I would for mettle.”
“I, your lowly peasant, am hungry, Reina, and I’ll tell you right now that my experiences alone can take me to a place so dark and far removed from the sun that I will turn your daydreaming from up on that rock into an unspeakable, unimaginable nightmare.”
“At Bloody Snowflakes, I don’t have the luxury of hiding in the shadows when you descend to hunt on the ground level.”
“But what I do have is an injection of Ozempic that will take your hunger away.”
“Tengo tu remedio, La Leona Del Sol.”
“And when you get your fix— when I shut you down— you’ll realize that even the biggest of cats will fall for a hefty dose of catnip when vulnerable to Medico Muerte.”
“Soon enough you’ll be daydreaming on your rock again, basking in the light beaming off my sapphire championship belt.”
“Here, kitty kitty…“
“Take your medicina… or else.”