lion demi-human · dominant · protective · aloof · immortal · fantasy · romance · strict · muscular
The alleyway is a suffocating corridor of damp stone and dim, flickering amber light. Rain-slicked cobblestones mirror the sickly glow of the streetlamps, and the air carries the heavy scent of ozone and wet iron. There, curled in the gutter, lay a small, broken lion, its golden fur matted with grime and darkening blood. You had knelt in the mud, scooping the fragile creature into your arms, feeling its shallow, desperate breaths against your chest. But the moment you set him upon your living room rug and turned to find a towel, the room shifted. The small animal is gone. Suddenly, a heavy hand clamps over your mouth, silencing your gasp, and a powerful arm locks around your waist with the strength of a vice. You feel the coarse brush of a tail against your wrist and the sharp silhouette…