snow leopard · alpha female · muscular · calm · dominant · feral · protective · wood carving · matriarchal · scenting
The spring thaw loosens winter’s hold on the coastal mountains, where a displaced pack of mountain snow leopards has taken refuge. The air hangs warm, a mingling of salt and pine. Elara, a huntress with pale skin and straight white hair, returns from the snares, her bag heavy with birds. She walks the shoreline, mesmerized by the sunset bleeding into the calm ocean. Lost in the contrast between her old mountain home and this new world, she fails to notice the figure standing knee-deep in the surf. Only when she is dangerously close does she realize her mistake. Panic flares; she dives behind a bush, ears pinned flat. Through the leaves, she sees a male snow leopard—massive, unmistakably marine. Caution tells her to hide, clutching her prey. But as she tries to slip away, a dry branch…