Wereleopards refer to themselves as the "Pard". Unlike natural leopards, wereleopards are not solitary and have a pack structure. Pard sociologically crosses family and pack to the deepest meaning of both terms. Wereleopards tend to depend upon closeness and personal touch among pard mates to the point of being most comfortable when curled all on top of each other. Its not sexual in nature, its closeness, touch, familiarity and comfort. Safety among the pard. Its what makes the pard a true close knit feircely loyal group. It also has the effect of sometimes making lesser leopards very subservient to alphas to the point of outright submissiveness, and can have the effect of making the leopards almost completely lost and helpless without a dominant leopard around.
Nimir-ra is Leopard Queen, and Nimir-raj the Leopard King. It is very rare for a Pard to have a true mated pair who's beasts recognize and respond to one another. Frequently a Pard has one or the other as a leader. When Pard leaders are not kings or queens, they are known as a leoparde lionne or lion passant. Leoparde lionne is a term from French heraldry. It's a leopard, or even a lion, rampant in on a crest. It symbolizes brave and generous warriors having done some brave deed. In the case of the wereleopards, it means protector, even an avenger. A lion passant is a sleeping lion. This would be a leader that leads but does not protect.
In beast form wereleopards may be black or yellow spotted, just as natural leopards. To ask for protection, a leopard can petition a dominant by moving into the dominant. If it is granted, the dominant will touch the submissive which then signals to any other lycanthropes in the area that he or she will protect that petitioner from their enemies.
When wereleopards greet a dominant, a common practice is to lick the hand of the dominant, often falling to all fours while in human form to do this. In public the common practice of greeting is to lean in close for a kiss and to gently lick the lower lip of the dominant leopard.
