Ambrose was shaking back and forth in his chair, nervous about the outcome that could fall upon him. The list was being read out to the entire team, the rookies being paired off with the veterans for initiation. Each rookie, whether they were a predator or not had to eat a random member of the city. It didn’t matter who, it just mattered that they did it. This isn’t what bothered the deer, instead, what was really getting him going was that only about half them even make it back alive, the others either failing or being eaten by their supposed ‘mentor’.
 
 
He was hoping to get one of the other deer, as he could relate to them in some way, but the list kept getting shorter, and the ones he hoped to get were being paired off fast. The green dragon, Score, who was the captain of the team finally got to him. “Ambrose?” He called out, looking for him.
 
 
The deer timidly raised his hand, but still rose it high enough for Score to see. “Ah! The deer over there.” He yelled, motioning yo him, “You got Kyle. He’ll take good care of you, don’t worry.” A laughter from the other remaining veterans was heard from the crowd, not helping Ambrose in his confidence that he made the correct decision joining the team. The deer looked at the front of the room, but none of the guys were moving up to get him. The recruit had heard stories about the voracious veteran, but nothing indicating what he looked like. He kept moving his head back and forth before he felt a strong hand on his shoulder, making him jump.
 
 
“Don’t worry runt, it’s just me.” Kyle said, placing a hand on his rookie’s back. “I’ll make sure you come back in one piece, I’m not too fond of eating the newbies. As long as they don’t piss me off or go against my rules.”
 
 
Ambrose let out a sigh of relief, happy for that to be the case. However, the second he looked at who touched him, his fears were back. The person that stood before him was a gigantic eagle, the star linebacker of the team. The deer stood in awe of the beast, he figured that Kyle had already ate, considering the bulging in his protruding stomach. Ambrose shook his head rapidly, taking him out of the stupor he was just in. Nervously, he reached a hand out, “He- Hey Kyle, I’m Ambrose. I… I’m glad you’re my mentor for the team.”
 
 
Kyle harshly grabbed Ambrose’s hand, almost crushing it with his grip. The poor deer had to stifle a whimper that almost certainly would’ve been heard by the entire team. “Glad to meet you runt.” The eagle said, his whole body shimmering with crimson, a terrifying sight for friend and foe. “I’m glad you’re my recruit, I’ll be able to fatten you up real nice. You wanted to be a linebacker just like me, right?”
 
 
Still shaking in his hooves, Ambrose was able to let out a weak “ye-yea…” as his hand finally released from the strong clamp.
 
 
Kyle motioned him out of the room, leading the pair to a quieter location, but still in the visible eye. Ambrose still didn’t know how to feel about him, but he knew that he would’ve been eat by now if he didn’t show some promise. The scared deer just hoped he could keep it up.
 
 
“So,” started the eagle, leaning up against the wall and resting his hands behind his head. “The coaches here have said that you show some potential to be a good linebacker. I don’t see it though.” Ambrose did his best to control his body, his flight response kicking in when he heard the disapproval in his mentor’s voice. “But,” he continued. “I already told you, I’m not too fond of eating rookies that haven’t gotten a chance to prove themselves.”
 
 
Clamping his beak shut, Kyle started to look over the freshman’s body, mostly looking at his stomach, being a bit disapproving of how small and frail it appeared to be. “I’m not going to lie to you Ambrose.” he said, his voice moving to a more serious tone. “You are not going to have a good time if you don’t fatten up. You’ll be eaten alive by the other team if we don’t do it first. I’ll give you a chance to leave now, go and transfer, you don’t belong here.”
 
 
Those last words hurt, but Ambrose had to stay strong. He clenched his fists tight, “No.” he said, looking right at his mentor, “I’ll do whatever I need, just help me.”
 
 
A smile broke across Kyle’s face, “Let’s head out on the town then. We’ll grab a meal for the both of us.” Kyle stretched a bit, starting to leave the building with Ambrose close behind.
 
 
It wasn’t until the sun set before the pair spotted a decent snack. Two male zebras, who appeared to be on a date of some sorts, holding hands and walking down an unlit sidewalk. The pair stalked the two potential meals for a bit, Kyle telling Ambrose some tips he picked up through the years. “This will also be your first practice at tackling.” Kyle said, “Use a good form to knock them to the ground.”
 
 
Even though he would never admit it, Ambrose was nervous. He never had eaten someone else before, this stuff only being allowed once you break 18 and head off out of high school. Kyle assured him everything would be fine, but the first-time jitters were ever present. He had to stay focused, he only had this one shot.
 
 
The two of them kept stalking the pair, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Kyle knew the layout of the city very well. He had too, just to get the meals he did. The eagle saw them approaching a spot they could be easily pushed into, away from the eyes of anyone that would want to stop them. Only a few feet away, Kyle tapped the deer’s shoulder, holding three fingers up.
 
 
Then two.
 
 
Then one.
 
 
The second his fist closed the athletes were off, Kyle being very agile for his weight and keeping up with Ambrose. The two zebras didn’t have a chance to react, both of them being slammed into and driven to the concrete. Kyle got to work right away, using his body weight and sitting on top of his meal, using his meaty hands and clamping them tight over his prey’s face.
 
 
For a second Ambrose froze up, the zebra under him started to squirm and get loose. Ambrose had to muster his strength and grab him by the muzzle, shutting him up and shorting his breath. The zebra started to reach for his face, trying to move Ambrose’s hands and breathe again. The deer used this to his advantage, opening his own maw and forcefully putting it over the muzzle and squirming hands of his prey.
 
 
He felt the zebra’s hands flip, now pressing against the side of his cheeks and prying more of his mouth open, a desperate endeavor to free himself. The misguided attempt only allowed Ambrose to slide his face further down, swallowing and getting the point of the prey’s muzzle right up against his throat. He took another gulp, forcing the nose deeper down his maw, pushing his throat apart as it filled with the exotic meat.
 
 
The light that the zebra once saw completely vanished with Ambrose’s next swallow. His head bulged out through the pred’s throat, a look of agony and fear racked across it. The zebra wasn’t the smartest and tried to struggle, trying to gain control of his arm’s once more. He pushed against the inner walls of his captor’s throat, but that only helped him in sliding his body deeper and making his escape less likely.
 
 
Kyle watched as Ambrose worked on his meal, moving his own meal’s head to the side, forcing him to watch. He was able to easily subdue his own food, but was very interested in what the rookie had to offer. The first meal of a coming of age pred was something to treasure.
 
 
Ambrose didn’t notice that Kyle was watching him, all his focus was on being successful here. He took another big gulp, forcing the prey’s shoulders to lock up in the tight space. He braced himself and swallowed again, getting a large amount of the zebra’s upper body down. The deer soon felt his belly expanding as he kept moving the meal deeper and deeper, a new sensation for him, but one he was learning to love.
 
 
Once the deer got to the zebra’s torso, he lifted him up into the air and shook the flailing body around. The prey was getting tired, and his energy drained. In one last attempt, he kicked his legs about in a flurry. All this did was move Ambrose’s throat around, loosening it and letting him get a better grip. Ambrose closed his eyes and tried to control every muscle in his throat, stretching his mouth over the wide hips. He swallowed down once more and left the dangling pair of legs to slide down on their own.
 
 
Soon, they too left his throat and dropped to meet the rest of his struggling belly. The lifelike bulges pressing up against his tight skin showed just how helpless it would be for the Zebra to escape.
 
 
“Good job kid.” Kyle said, startling Ambrose as he was lying on the floor. “Get up and watch how a real pro does it.”
 
 
Ambrose had to muster all his strength to sit upright, his full belly already churning and sapping energy. Once he was able to see his mentor, a grin went over the eagle’s face. His large hands covered the zebra’s face as he lifted him into the air. Kyle opened his mouth wide, stretching his watering jaw further than Ambrose ever thought was possible. Kyle then pulled the prey down and swallowed, taking in his legs and torso in a single gulp. The zebra didn’t even seem to make a dent on the linebacker’s exterior as he greedily gobbled the meal up in minimal time.
 
 
He released his grip on the zebra’s face as he swallowed up to his neck. The look of panic was clear, and he let out a weak cry for help before he was put away for good. The rest of the zebra worked through his throat before dropping down into Kyle’s stomach, barely making a mark on his deep crimson belly. This meal had a more spacious place churn to than the one inhabiting Ambrose’s stomach.
 
 
The two preds kept their places in the alley for a while, Kyle letting his rookie get to digest his meal before heading back, now with a slightly larger gut. Right before they went their separate ways, Kyle patted Ambrose on the back. “You know kid,” he said, a look of pride on his face, “if you would’ve took me up on that offer to leave, you would’ve been my meal for the night. I was pretty disappointed when you didn’t take that offer, but I still got one, and you seem to be a good trainee. I’ll see you on the field at 6 for sprints tomorrow morning. Don’t be late.”
 
 
And like just that, Kyle left. Walking back to his housing as Ambrose stood there on the sidewalk, shocked at how close he came to being food. He snapped out of it pretty quickly, taking his phone out and setting many alarms for the next day.