King of the Jungle 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐤

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Hawk was the first son of Anza born in his pride. Usually the king was excited about the births of all his cubs, but when Hawk was born he looked... Sad.
He wanted to treat all his cubs equally, but he knew that his sons, unlike his daughters, will leave his pride when they'll grow up. Because of that, Anza didn't want to get attached to Hawk. He didn't want to get hurt when his time to leave will come.
Unfortunately, Hawk wasn't aware of that. He didn't know why his father wouldn't play with him. Wasn't he good enough? Anza was Hawk's idol, so the cub was really dissaponted when the king was ignoring him. He was hurt by the way his father was acting, but he didn't blame him. The poor cub thought that it's his fault.
When Hawk grew up, his insecurities only grew with him. When his mane began to grow, it turned out to be short and sparse. Again, dissapointing...
Snake, Anza's heir, noticed Hawk's problems. He decided to take care of the insecure young lion, maybe not like a father, but like an older brother.
With Snake, Hawk began to gain more confidence, even with his short mane. Snake convinced him that it makes him original and special!
When Hawk's time to leave came, Snake objected. He demanded to mentor Hawk, just like Anza mentored him. Anza wasn't sure about this idea, but Snake somehow convinced him to agree.
And that's how Snake began to train Hawk to take over his role as Anza's heir.

Snake once asked Heather to train Hawk. He wanted the young lion to be a good fighter, but his training methods weren't really working in Hawk's case. Heather accepted Snake's request and they began the training.
After their first lesson, Heather already knew that it's going to take a while... He was an awful fighter. Heather's youngest apprentices were able to take him down!
It took months, but in the end she managed to make Hawk into a decent fighter. Of course, he still was no match for her, but he was able to win a fight against Snake, and that was already an achievement.
During their training Hawk and Heather got pretty close. After all, they spent lots of time together, and they didn't spent it all training. Sometimes they just needed a little rest at the lake, or a walk to clear their mind.
They both weren't sure when that happened, but they found themselves being in love. Heather was the first to confess. Hawk was a little surprised, but he happily accepted her confession and they became mates.

Hawk's training continued, and his confidence and self-esteem kept increasing. With Snake's, Heather's and the whole pride's love and constant praise he began to believe that he must be the most handsome, skilled, intelligent and talented lion in all the lands. No one really knew when it happened, but Hawk grew to be a self-righteous, egotistical narcissist. No one realised that until Hawk became a king...
After Anza's death Snake, despite being his heir, refused to become the new ruler and asked Hawk to do it instead. The younger lion, of course, "humbly" agreed.
His former mentor soon realised his mistake, but it was too late.
Hawk wasn't a good king. He expected everyone to respect and worship him while not giving anything in return.
Snake decided to take care of it and began guiding Hawk.
Hawk trusted his mentor and believed that he knows what he's doing, so he just agreed to whatever Snake suggested.
With Snake's guidance and suggestions, Hawk reorganized the pride. He created new roles and hierarchy, changed the education system.
Later he also created The Council of the Wise, a group of the most trusted and experienced lions in the pride.

Unlike Anza, Hawk wasn't welcoming everyone into his pride. He wanted only the strongest lionesses in it. He even thought about banishing some members who had been in the pride for a long time, but luckily Snake dissuaded him from the idea.
When Hawk's first cubs were born, everyone was surprised by the way he treated them. The king wasn't really interested in his cubs, he just wanted to make sure that they are worth keeping alive. He was absolutely ready to abandon any cubs that wouldn't be good enough.
With each new litter, Hawk shocked everyone more and more. When his sons were born for the first time, the king ordered them to be the last to be fed. If they survived, they were later abandoned at The Giving Tree. Lionesses were much more useful to the pride, so caring for them was a priority.
Each litter was treated the same. Snake tried to intervene again, but this time the King did not listen to him.
At first lionesses tried to protest, but in the end most of them got used to it. Only the older members of the pride seemed to still be disturbed by Hawk's actions.
When one young lioness, Luna, tried to stop Hawk from abandoning their cubs by attacking him she was almost banished from the Pride. In the end Snake and Heather managed to calm Hawk down, but Luna still got punished.
The lioness's attack left a scar on the king's muzzle.
To avoid more rebellions, Hawk agreed to be softer on his cubs.

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