Mystique's Lair
 

This is the web home of Mystique, whose full name translates roughly from the psionic as "She Who Walks in the Mystery of the Blessings of Bast."
 

A powerful lioness: muscular, black-furred, lean body. Sharp metallic gold claws; a sun-bright mane braided off with ebony, lapis, and gold; a bright yellow tail tuft. One small gold ring glitters in round black left ear; an Eye of Ra is traced in gold paint in the black fur around each translucent gold, slitted eye. Between her eyes on her dark forehead a large glowing ruby rests, fire from within. Slight smile shows ivory fangs, long dark tail twitches slowly as she looks about. Emerald, lapis, topaz, and ruby beads shimmer on ebony throat, ankles, and wrists; a golden ankh pendant glows on her breast.
 
 
 

Here is the other inspiration for Mystique:

Golden Eyes

Lyrics by Mercedes Lackey
Music by Leslie Fish

A shadow in the bright bazaar;
a glimpse of eyes where none should shine,
A glimpse of eyes translucent gold
and slitted against the sun.
This the clue and this the sign
that sets him on his quarry's line,
But she has seen him in a dream,
and now she's on the run.

Faster than a thought she flees
and seeks the jungle's sheltering trees,
But he is steady on the track
and half a breath behind.
She tastes his scent upon the breeze
and looking past her shoulder sees
He treads upon her shadow.
She fears the hunter's mind.

So now she summons all her wit
and every trick she knows to hide,
To make him lose the twisting track,
to throw him off her trail
In woman form, in leopard hide,
fording, leaping side to side,
She doubles back along her track
-- and sees her efforts fail.

He stands before her, dark and grim.
Her terror now she can't suppress.
He blocks the only pathway out
and will not let her by.
Her gold flanks heaving in distress,
half woman and half leopardess
To either side nowhere to hide,
it's time to fight or die.

But what is this? To her amaze
the man has thrown his gun away,
And quietly he draws near her now,
a smile upon his face.
Before she thinks to run or stay
his body blurs like softened clay
Before her eyes, to her surprise
-- a leopard in his place.

The hunter they have sought in vain
and now the talk of the bazaar
Is of the canny leopard pair,
a sight none will forget
Who once has seen them near or far,
in sunlight or where shadows are
As side by side they hunt and hide.
No one has caught them yet!