Hakkon

The air at three thousand meters was cold and sharp as a blade. But that wasn't what made Hakkon, a huge male snow leopard, peer intently into the misty distance of the gorge. He caught a scent. Alien. But not enemy. It was the scent of a female, bitter and hunted, tinged with blood and fatigue. Hakkon lay on his usual ledge, from which his entire domain could be seen at a glance. She walked like a shadow. From behind a rocky outcrop, moving slowly, her head bowed, came a female. But not his kind. A human. Her clothing, which had protected her from the cold instead of fur, was caked with mud and dried blood on her side. Something had clearly happened to her along the way, perhaps she'd been running away. The wound on her side, though shallow, stung with every movement, a reminder of the price she'd paid for her life. Hakkon stood up, his powerful muscles rippling beneath his hide. He let out a low, warning growl. "Stop. Outsider." The female stopped a dozen paces away. She didn't bare her teeth or adopt a threatening pose. Instead, she slowly, demonstratively, sat down on her knees on the ground, folded her hands in front of her, and rested her head on her palms. A demeaning pose. A pose of recognition of his power. A pose of supplication. Hakkon took a step forward, and the female flinched, so he came closer. She still sat submissively, and Nox came closer, looking down at her from his height.

I'll let you stay.