____________________________________________________________________________________
Vulcan raised his eyebrows at the beastly feline who was put in the cage just a few doors down from his own. "We'll see about that, old timer." The spotted hyena cackled, flicking his short tail at his haunches. Blowing a huff from his nostrils and shaking his head, he turned away and took a few walking laps around his cage, anxious to get in the ring soon. As he paced he exchanged glances with the other two felines who seemed to glance over at him. By now he was quite used to getting stares- being one of the only non-feline being held here currently. His broad jaws parting wide in a yawn, Vulcan stalked towards the front of his large cage and stuck his dark muzzle between the bars- taking in a long whiff of the air just outside it. Before too long it became clear the crowd outside was becoming louder, indicating the prisoners must have been recently brought out. The door to the cage room slid open, allowing another shaft of dim light pierce the darkness of the room as the human caretakers entered and halted in front of the hyena's cage. Vulcan chuffed in glee, backing up to stare up at the humans, his thin haired tail arched high to indicate his state of excitement. He allowed the man to slip a heavy link chain around his neck, and instantly darted forward, tugging on the chain lead. Maybe it was his gnawing hunger spurring him to want to kill quicker this round, or maybe it was just his desire to be admired by the crowd as he fulfilled his wild, natural urges to slaughter his opponents. On the way out, he didn't even bother to shoot a glance at one of the felines as he passed by their cages.
Vulcan's eyelids narrowed and he blinked rapidly as his pupils dilated to adjust to the suddenly bright sunlight as he stepped onto the sandy dirt ground of the arena. Immediately his nostrils were overwhelmed with the scent of blood as well as sweaty humans- and his round ears were filled with the ecstatic screaming of the spectators, as well as the begging prisoners at the center of the Colosseum. The second he saw his new targets- three men- the brute lunged forward, only to be yanked back and in turn choked by the chain around his neck that was held at the end of a chain leash. Panting and yapping in anticipation, he continued to tug like a dog longing to chase a squirrel. The prisoners were unarmed, but were allowed free range to run and fight with what they had- their hands. Vulcan snapped his ominous jaws together with a loud clack, teeth bared while he snarled, neck mane standing on end. With word from the spectating Emperor, the soldiers unhooked the chain-link leash, sending the hyena barreling towards the criminals like a police dog after a suspect. In an instant, he was upon one man, jaws already clamped firmly upon his forearm. The sheer weight and force of the full grown spotted hyena slamming into the man was enough to trip him off his feet and knock him to the ground. The man screamed and struggled beneath the weight of the hyena, vigorously bashing and tugging at the animal's head with his free hand in a vain attempt at getting his jaws off his arm.
The more the prisoner fought back, the harder Vulcan adjusted his grip. Tighter and tighter- until Snap! His well tuned jaws- made for crushing bone- had snapped the man's two forearm bones in half like a toothpick, drawing blood-curdling shrieks from the man. The screaming made Vulcan release the now limp, floppy arm and raise his head to glance at the crying human. A moment of unintentional hesitation that did not last long. He lunged his jaws forward again, this time clasping them tight around the man's throat, and with one hard upward thrash of his head, silence him by extracting his esophagus altogether. He thought about consuming the fleshy tube now hanging from his bloody jaws, but his attention was quickly diverted to the other two prisoners to be executed, both fleeing. Snarling, Vulcan dropped the muscle and stepped off the bloody corpse. With a menacing clack of his jaws, he careened towards his next victim. This one had a running start, and running behind him spurred Vulcan's predatory instinct even more. He adjusted his gait to a carefree lope, using his endurance to wear this one down instead of wasting all the energy to chase him down at high speeds. Once he'd rested enough by adjusting his pace, he slowly began to speed up, eyes firmly fixed upon the tiring man before him. Once he was close enough, he lurched his head forward, snapping at the man's ankles with a couple barks. With one more stride, his snapping teeth made their mark on the man's calf muscle. As soon as his canines were buried in the muscle, Vulcan gave his head a sideways thrash, tugging his victim off his feet.
Collapsing in a heap upon the ground, the man desperately scrambled to get up, wriggling in the hyena's firm hold on his calf. With his free foot, he quickly brought it up, catching Vulcan on the side of the head with a strong kick, making him lose his grip for a moment. Shaking his cranium, he got his head back in the game and pounced on the man's back as he tried to crawl away and possibly regain his feet, pinning him with his standing body weight. With no more hesitation, he brought those bone-crushing jaws down upon the back of hte man's neck, severing his upper spinal cord with one hard crunch. This prisoner dispatched, Vulcan now turned his attention to the last one. Quickly this time, he sprang for the other man, who was standing in the center of the ring facing him. Letting out a sharp snapping bark, the hyena lunged for him head-on. This man fought back. With his strong hands, he grasped Vulcan by the thick fur and muscle on the sides of his neck, deterring his attack as he held him back, leaning backwards to avoid the snapping jaws at his face. The man suddenly brought up his knee, nailing Vulcan in the stomach. That blow almost knocked the breath out of him, making him pull away and put all four paws on the ground to catch his breath. He quickly recovered and snapped his glare back to the man. Huffing, he suddenly hopped into an easy lope, circling the man- all the while with his head low and tail high, letting out a high pitched cackling sound. All at once, he lunged for the man's side, this time catching him the way he'd previously planned. With his momentum and weight, he shoved the man to the ground. After a bit more struggling, Vulcan managed to get his jaws around the throat of the man, piercing the jugular with his canines. This one he decided to let bleed out. The crowd was on their feet by now, screaming and cheering in approval of the underestimated hyena who stood atop another lifeless carcass he'd made. He always loved execution matches. Easy meal for little price.