Lion Head Mesa the serpent goddess

At last.

The snake withered beneath the witch’s embittered scrutiny. Leshen had done wrong – I repent! – and he was starved for her mercy. He crouched, tail wriggling in shame as she threatened him with a looming bounty for his hide. He did not know the word pharaoh, but he did not need to.

It also did not escape him that she had not reviled him as a villain just yet.

Slowly, Leshen used a forepaw to unearth the grave of his offering to the sorcerer goddess. He gestured to the obscured pocket of pellets in the snow, then scampered away many leaps to give her unencumbered reign of the gift. He turned to observe her reception of it from afar, his dark face brightened by a feral captivation.