Jaguars Quotes

“He rested his head on top of mine and whispered, "I'm warning you now. I'm a horrible patient."
I smiled in spite of myself and pulled back. "Of course you are. That's why you're a doctor.”
― Lisa Kessler, Harvest Moon

“The wolf demands her mate. But the woman loathes the man.”
― Lisa Kessler, New Moon

“I could shoot you in the foot."
"Please do. At least then I wouldn't have to endure this sock humiliation any longer.”
― Lisa Kessler, New Moon

“You should've mentioned you were bringing a beautiful woman. I would've combed my hair.”
― Lisa Kessler, New Moon

“He brought up both hands to hold my face. "I would die for you, Isabelle."
"No." I shook my head. "Live for me.”
― Lisa Kessler, New Moon

“She heated parts of me I hadn't realized were lost.
And I wanted more.”
― Lisa Kessler, New Moon

“I never dreamed redemption would be this good.”
― Lisa Kessler, New Moon

“There isn't another person I'd be more willing to walk into hell with than you.”
― Lisa Kessler, New Moon

“I never saw true beauty till this night.”
― Lisa Kessler, New Moon

“You're glowing." He chuckled, taming his hair. "Forgive me for being proud instead of embarrassed.”
― Lisa Kessler, New Moon

“Feliz is our lone jaguar. The last jaguar we had before him died of despair. That wasn't the official cause of death, of course not, but we all knew it. The rumor goes that the zoo's owners, the Pinkton family, paid an obscene amount to acquire another jaguar, probably the only one on Earth, given the state of the countries in which the creature's natural habitat once existed. Feliz was plucked out of the last few acres of the Amazon as the bulldozers waited, like customers impatiently hovering while a buffet is prepared. So Feliz is kind of a big deal. He doesn't appear cognizant of this fact, however. If anything, he looks to be on a mission to wear away the floor of his enclosure until he drops right through the earth and out of this life. He paces without cease. His nails are worn to stubs and his mouth hangs open in a perpetual rictus that wrecks your heart. He longs to forget all this, and to be forgotten.”
― Emma Sloley, The Island of Last Things

“Now she could smell what the jaguar could smell, odors deeper and richer than anything she had experienced before, layers of smell she could read like Fray Tomás had read the words in her father’s book: the wet decay of leaves, the death fear of a mouse, the poisonous cloy of datura, water and mud and insects, the wind carrying the smell of other animals, the wind itself, and the girl, of course, always the girl with her juicy flesh. The girl smelled incredibly good. Should the jaguar do this? Should Teresa eat herself?”
― Sharman Apt Russell, Teresa of the New World

“The High Priest was sitting on a small wooden stool, his golden bracelet glinting as he waved his right hand to urge me to join him. At his feet lay a large feline, its eyes closed and a sleepy expression.
A jaguar!
As soon as he noticed me, he lazily raised his head, staring at me with very green, pupil-less eyes; the thick gold band around his neck resembled the High Priest's bracelet. When he let out a soft roar, his master's hand reached out to caress him between the ears, and the temperature in the room seemed to suddenly drop.
'No, it's a shapeshifting spirit
We called them uay, underworld spirits capable of changing appearance, like the great white-boned Centipede that would accompany us to Xibalba. The lesser uay loved to leave the Underworld at sunset and take on the appearance of all kinds of animals to wander the land of the living. No one knew exactly why; some said they sought souls to lead to Xibalba like the alebrijes, others that they were the splendors of the Jade Men, but the elders of my village all agreed that if we spotted one we would have been wise to run away and run away had been had always met some when, in the past, it happened to me.
"Be brave," the High Priest urged me again, noticing my worried look. "He won't harm you. This uay has been with me a long time and is accustomed to humans. His name is Nalu."
He even gave it a name.'
“I didn’t think uay could be tamed,” I replied impulsively, advancing slowly.
"Let's just say 'tame' isn't the word I'd use. In any case, we priests need a spiritual power amplifier to establish contact with the Spirits. Especially with the Oracle. And what better amplifier could be than a uay jaguar?" He smiled, motioning for me to look around.
What the servant had called the Jaguar Room was a large room, and as soon as my eyes fell on the walls, I understood its name: the effigy of the Jaguar was everywhere. A nocturnal and netherworldly representation of the sun god, the Beast had been depicted either clawing at a deer or descending into Xibalba at sunset.
There was no doubt that the Jaguar that dwelt in Yersin and Yuga was the most powerful of all the Spirits. According to Uzu-bah, it was especially at night that he acquired some of the strength that, in the Underworld, guaranteed him the greatest chance of survival.
Staring at the jaguar-like uay, I walked under the vaulted ceiling, painted with representations of the celestial constellations. The High Priest motioned for me to sit opposite him, on a stool slightly lower than his. I obeyed, rather uncomfortably: I was so close that our knees almost touched, and the uay's whiskers tickled my ankles.
"May the heavenly gods always turn their gaze upon you," I muttered through a dry throat, trying to ignore the shapeshifter's muzzle resting on my right foot. It felt unnatural to be in that room with the High Priest standing over me He observed in a relaxed position, wearing only a few pieces of jewelry typical of the upper caste. Even more unnatural was the feeling of the icy breath of a simple white loincloth and that of the uay on his feet.”
― Krisha Skies, La ragazza colibrì (Libri)