A snow leopard

Lick. The little leopard tickled John’s nose. It was small, it was fluffy, and it was licking him.

Arnold was standing over them as he asked John, “You okay?” a chuckle in his voice as John pulled himself to a sitting position. During his out of body experience, he seemed to have collapsed and was laying on the floor face first.

“Yeah, I’m fine, just met Artemis actually,” John said while rubbing his face.

“John, you did what?” Arnold asked, his jaw almost hitting the floor.

“Met Artemis. She put my mind into animals, then I woke up to getting licked.”

Arnold sighed, running a hand through his hair. John was basically a walking miracle at this point. He shook his head, shaking off the feeling of amazement.

The little leopard hissed at Arnold, then jumped on top of John’s chest, knocking the air out of him.

John looked at the leopard that was obviously trying to get his attention. John raised his hand to pet it, only to have the leopard pounce on his hand, nibbling on his index finger before licking it again.

“It seems he likes you,” Arnold mentioned with a wink. “I think it’s time I show you a few tricks related to pets. I am, after all, a master in this field,” Arnold spoke with no small hint of pride.

“Sure. I mean, Sure!” John grinned, scratching the little fluffball between its ears. “Wait, you called it a him just now?” John asked mortified, images of sexy catgirls going up in flames in his mind.

Arnold nodded, pointing at the legs of the little leopard. “I can see two small nuts, which means it’s a male,” he stated simply.

“Well, alright then,” John shrugged, slowly getting up which earned him a sad little meow from the little leopard. As John bend forward to take the little creature into his arms, he cast Observe as well.

Unnamed
Lesser Snow Leopard
lvl 5
Reputation: +100 He likes you and licks you. Apparently you are tasty.
Owner: John Newman

As John pet the unnamed feline, it yawned slightly, a small ice crystal forming between its teeth. John, seeing this looked up at Arnold. “Ice?”

Arnold simply beckoned for John to follow him, and a few moments later, they entered the petting zoo like area of the camp. Marco flew straight for Arnold the moment he saw his master, happily rubbing his head against Arnold’s cheek as he let out little screeches.

Around them a few hunters were tending to smaller and larger creatures,

The snow leopard had fallen asleep in John’s arms at that point, letting out soft purring sounds as he nestled his little head against John’s chest.

“Animals granted to us by Artemis are what you could call nature spirits. Some would call them elementals, others would call them evolved animals. In essence both are right and both are wrong. Our pets are close to halflings between elementals and animals. They, over time, can learn to control their innate gifts.Though they do not develop the fine control that elementals have, they have something to make up for that. Sheer power, due to their animal physiques, they have a raw muscular power that makes them perfect hunting companions. Long story short? Consider them animals with a bit of magic mixed in,” Arnold explained. His hand softly petting Marco as a few of his feathers let loose, falling to the ground.

Seeing John looking at the feathers, Arnold smiled. “Just like people, animals have their own little quirks. Marco here is a bit of a bad luck bird, he sheds feathers every now and then, but me and him have decided to turn bad luck into good luck,” Arnold bend forward, picking up the feathers, little sparks of electricity appearing on the metallic feathers now and then. Marco pulled open one of the pouches on Arnold’s shoulder with his beak and Arnold deftly placed the feathers in it. After Marco closed it again, Arnold turned to face John once more. “You see, my boy, I don’t use a bow and arrow like most of the hunters; I have always had a flair for the dramatic… So I have used throwing weapons from an early age. When me and Marco bonded and we discovered his shedding problem, I decided to study the feathers, and lo and behold, I have found a way to turn them into a weapon perfectly fitting my taste.”

With a swipe of his hand, a feather slightly different than the ones just shed appeared in his hand. The feather was straightened out further, and the edges seemed to have been sharpened, the shaft even sharpened to the point of being a needle. Arnold handed it to John, the boy feeling his fingers go numb the moment he touched it. Almost dropping it in the process.

”Pretty good right?” Arnold asked with a smirk.

John nodded, quickly giving the feather back. “Very nice.”

“Okay, back to pet stuff.” Arnold, realizing they had gone off topic gestured at John’s pet. “What you have here is the cub of a snow leopard, a feline with traits of an ice elemental. As he is now, he can basically chase red dots from a laser pen and create small quantities of ice. As he gets older, he will become a formidable hunter, I am sure of it. You have been blessed John, and that on your second day…” Arnold could not hide a bit of envy, though it was quickly replaced with pride. John was one of the Hunters after all; any increase in his power would be an increase to their faction’s chance of winning the tournament.

John smiled at him thankfully. “So, for now he is not that great as a hunting companion?” the boy asked while still petting the little ball of fluff in his arms. A loud purring coming from the fluff in question.

“Well, you can play with him with general cat toys, but no, until he gets older or more powerful, I would not have him actively join in your hunts. On the other hand, it can be a good idea to have him stay with you during your expeditions; at least like that, he will learn from a young age what it’s like to be a hunter, to go with you while you carry out our Lady's will.”

John scratched the little fella between his ears, never having had a pet, and now he had gotten quite the cool one. It was no dragon, that was true, but it was his, and it was cute.

“John, you will need to give him a name. I called mine Marco, after a phoenix in some anime; yes, I like anime, sue me,” Arnold quipped.

John thought for a bit, thinking of a name. “Blizzard? Nah, not blizzard, I am not SUCH a big fanboy. Neko? No, not a furry either. Snowball? Spot? Boris?” John pondered, his desire to make a pun as big as his desire to find a fitting name. “I have it!”

“I will call him…