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A LEOPARD'S TAIL

1. Part Eight

Peter sighed happily as he flopped down onto his sofa a week later. It was Wednesday evening after a hard day at work and he laid on the sofa for a few minutes, looking up at the ceiling, smiling to himself. It was turning out to be a great week. His date with Karen last Tuesday had gone off without a hitch. And they had gone out a few more times over the past couple of nights. Peter sighed happily again. Things were going so well he could almost forget about all his leopard related problems. Almost.

Peter chuckled slightly to himself. He'd been so nervous last week while at the movies, he was sure he had started to grow fur on his face. Thankfully it had been too dark for anyone to notice, and he'd eventually relaxed and just enjoyed the movie and Karen's company. Yep, it's turning out to be a great week indeed...

Peter's thoughts were cut off as the phone rang. Rather than let the machine get it, he sat up on the sofa and reached over to the phone.

"Hello?" Peter said cheerfully.

"Heya Little Brother" Kristy responded with an equally cheerful voice on the other end of the line. Peter's face broke out into a large grin, happy to hear his sister's voice.

"Hiya Sis. Well, this is a surprise. It seems like just last week we were talking to each other..." Peter said with a chuckle. Kristy laughed at the other end of the line.

"It WAS just last week!" She exclaimed in amusement.

"So it was. So, to what do I owe the honor of speaking with you, my dear sister?" Peter asked, his grin becoming even larger.

"Well, you certainly seem to be in a good mood this evening." Kristy replied. Peter nodded, although he knew his sister couldn't see him.

"Yep, I suppose I am."

"Well good, cause I have a bit more good news for you. One of my exhibits is going to be held in an art gallery in your fine city. I guess we'll be seeing each other again a bit sooner than expected!"

"That's, um, great!" Peter said, trying to drum up some of his dampening enthusiasm at the thought of another session of '20 Questions'.

"And, I figured that since my Little Brother lives right there, I'd just sleep over there with you, so we can spend some more time together.." Kristy continued cheerfully.

Peter's face paled slightly at the thought, and he stammered slightly as he tried to think up a response.

"Um.. Well, that sounds like a great idea! But.. Um.. My apartment is really pretty small... I wouldn't want to discomfort you or anything... You'd probably be more comfortable at a hotel..."

"Oh, that's perfectly alright Peter. I can just sleep on the couch. Besides, what's a little less space compared to getting to spend some quality time with my brother, whom I hardly ever get to see anymore? Kristy asked in a sweet voice. "Unless, of course, you don't WANT to spend some time with your sister..." She continued sounding slightly hurt. Peter sighed in resignation.

"No, no.. It's fine for you to sleep over here for a few days... No trouble at all." She must be taking guilt trip lessons from Mom Peter thought to himself. "When are you coming?"

"Oh, I'm coming in on a flight tomorrow night..." She said casually. "The exhibition is only going on Saturday and Sunday, so I'll probably be leaving for my next stop Monday morning.. Well, I've got to go. Seeya tomorrow Peter!"

Peter said his good-byes automatically, and continued to hold the phone up to his ear long after his sister had hung up, his face somewhat pale as he stared out into space.

"I'm doomed." Peter said simply as he flopped down onto the couch.

"It can't be that bad..." Karen replied, watching him.

"My sister is coming here. My nosy sister. My nosy sister who makes it her life's work to keep an eye on her 'Little Brother' and help him out of trouble whether he wants help or not. The same sister who has sworn to figure out why I'm acting so strangely. And she's sleeping over. Here." Peter stood back up, and started pacing nervously back and forth in front of the couch, hands behind his back.

Karen watched him as he paced back and forth. "Well, maybe you should just tell her the truth?" Peter stopped pacing for a moment and twitched before continuing to walk back and forth.

"I... I just can't!" He exclaimed, running a hand over his face and mentally banishing the light coat of fur he felt growing there.

"Buy why not? You told me, after all." Peter shook his head slightly.

"Well, not really... You just kind of stumbled onto the whole thing." He smiled a bit. "Though I'm glad you did..." His face went serious again. "I know I should tell someone, and I know I can trust Kristy, but..." He shrugged helplessly.

Karen sighed and nodded her head. She could understand his reluctance to tell anyone, even if she disagreed with him. "Well, if you're not going to tell her, I don't know what you can do..."

Peter stopped pacing and rubbed his eyes, letting out a deep breath. "I'll think of something... Anyway, let's change the subject... How are things going down at the zoo?"

"Oh, they're going pretty well. Actually, I think I may be getting a raise soon. And all of the animals are doing fine..."

"Well, it's been a while since I've been here..." Kristy said as she entered the apartment behind Peter the Thursday evening. "Hasn't changed much, has it?"

"Nope." Peter responded a bit nervously. "I like it this way." He placed her bags on the floor. "You can sleep in the bedroom, and I'll grab the couch." Karen started to shake her head and disagree, but Peter continued before she could speak. "Don't worry about it. I can curl up and go to sleep just about anywhere..." Yeah, it's easy when you grow your own blanket. Peter thought to himself a bit unhappily

Karen nodded her head after a moment. "Well, okay then I guess." She grinned. "This is going to be great. The two of us haven't spent some time together in quite a while." And this will give me plenty of time to find out exactly what's going on around here. You're in trouble brother, you can't hide it from your own sister!

Peter nodded. "Well then, let me show you your room, Madame..." He said, smiling a bit, as he opened the door to his bedroom. The hinges squeaked horrible as he opened the door, and Kristy twitched slightly.

"That door sure sounds like it could use a bit of oil." Kristy exclaimed as the followed Peter into his bedroom.

"Oh, that. It's nothing. I'll get around to fixing it eventually." It had BETTER squeak after all the work I put into it! Peter thought to himself. He'd spent over an hour on those hinges, drying them, removing any oil, and getting sand and debris stuck in there to make SURE it would squeak. That way if Karen got up in the middle of the night, the sound of the door opening would wake him up, and give him a moment to change back to normal before Kristy saw him. At least that's what he HOPED would happen.

"Well, I wouldn't want to wake you up in the middle of the night if I open the door..." Kristy said.

"Oh, don't worry about that. You know what a heavy sleeper I am." Peter grinned nervously and mentally crossed his fingers. Kristy finally shrugged.

"Well, okay I guess, if you don't think it will bother you."

Peter nodded and breathed a mental sigh of relief. Well, that's one obstacle down. He was just brining his sister's few bags into his room when the phone rang.

"I'll get it Peter!" Kristy called, walking over and picking up the phone, a grin on her face. Peter was standing in the doorway to his room when Kristy brought the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Hello? Oh, you must be Kristy, Peter's sister!" Karen exclaimed from the other end of the line. Kristy smiled slightly.

"Yep. And you must be Peter's friend Karen, right?"

"Yes, that's me. Peter has told me a lot about you."

"Oh really?" Kristy raised an eyebrow in her brother's direction. Peter just stood in the doorway, looking uncomfortable. "I'm afraid I can't say the same about you. Peter can be a bit secretive at times I'm afraid..."

A low laugh came from the other end of the line. "Tell me about it! Well, I was just calling to see how Peter was doing and if you'd arrived yet. But if he's busy I can always call back later..."

"Oh, no. That's okay. He's right here. Here you go Peter." Kristy grinned and handed the phone over to Peter.

"Hi Karen.." Peter said a little self consciously, keeping an eye on his grinning sibling. "What's up?"

"Oh, nothing much. I just thought I'd call and check up on you, see how things were going, that's all."

"Well, things are going pretty well. My sister and I just got back from the airport actually."

"Well then, I guess I'll leave you two to settle in. I'll talk to you later, okay Peter?"

"You bet. Talk to you later Karen." Peter quickly hung the phone back up.

"Well, she certainly sounds nice..." Kristy said, a big grin on her face.

"And what's THAT supposed to mean?" Peter asked suspiciously, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." Kristy replied, still grinning at him. Peter let out a deep breath.

"Look, the last thing I need is another Mom running around trying to get me married off!" Kristy laughed, and Peter followed a few seconds later. "Anyway, I've got to go into work early tomorrow, so I should be out by the afternoon. We can decide what we want to do for the day then, okay? Your exhibition doesn't start until Saturday, right?"

Kristy nodded her head. "Sounds fine with me. And the exhibition starts Saturday evening and ends on Sunday. My work is going to be shown with a bunch of other aspiring artists. I'll probably be leaving Monday morning or afternoon to get to the next stop before my things are moved there. A few more stops and this little tour will be over, and I can get back to doing some serious work."

Peter nodded as he put the last of her bags into his room. "Well, I've got an early day tomorrow, so I'll just grab the couch now. I'll probably be leaving before you get up tomorrow, so just make yourself at home, and I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

"Seeya tomorrow Peter!" Kristy responded, yawning slightly and closing the loudly squeaking bedroom door behind her.

Peter waited, laying on the couch, changed slightly into his hybrid form so he could hear better. He waited until well after the noise of his sister tossing and turning in his bed had ceased before he removed his pajamas and transformed into a leopard in preparation of going to sleep. He continued to lay there for quite some time before finally allowing himself to drift off into a light sleep, a blanket covering most of his body.

After what seemed like a mere moment after he had closed his eyes, Peter was awakened by a loud, irritating screeching sound. It took Peter's mind a moment to recall the importance of that sound, but when he did he came fully awake in an instant. He quickly closed his eyes and frantically concentrated on changing back to his normal human form, adjusting the blanket covering him to make sure it fully hid him from view at the same time.

By the time the door to his bedroom had come fully open, Peter was back to his normal human self, hidden under his blanket. It was another few seconds before he remembered he was supposed to be asleep, and closed his eyes and tried to breath normally. He listened carefully as he heard his sister tread across the living room, pause for a moment to look over and make sure she hadn't woke him up, and then continue into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. A few minutes later the door opened again, and Kristy walked back to the bedroom, opening and closing the door super slowly to try to keep it from squeaking. Peter breathed a deep sigh of relief when the door closed once more.

It was quite a while before Peter was able to fall back asleep.

Kristy looked at the small note taped to the front of the bedroom door the next morning.

Dear Sis,

Left for work. Will be back around two or three. There's food in the

fridge and cereal in the cabinets. Just make yourself at home. I'll see you later.

Peter

Kristy took the message down and headed into the kitchen yawning slightly. She opened the fridge and looked inside. She blinked slightly at all the meat she found on the shelves. Hamburgers, hotdogs, steaks... Since when did Peter eat this much stuff? She asked herself. She shrugged slightly and got some milk to make a bowl of cereal.

Kristy thought to herself as she ate and then cleaned up after herself. I KNOW something is going on here... Besides whatever's going on between Peter and Karen... She thought, chuckling slightly to herself. But really. Peter's been acting really odd lately. Something is definitely up, and if he won't tell me so I can help him, I'll just have to find out myself! Kristy nodded determinedly to herself, and started to poke around the apartment, looking for clues.

A bit over an hour later, Kristy sat down on the couch, a bit frustrated, and no closer to figuring out what was wrong with her little brother. There were lots of odd things around the apartment. She'd noticed a whole bunch of little scratches on the floor by Peter's bed. And then there were the unusual books she'd seen on his bookshelves. Mythology, Medicine, Animal Behavior, Meditation... Not exactly her brother's normal reading material.

And of course there was how weird he was acting, even since their little family reunion last week. He'd been acting all jumpy and nervous, though he'd been trying to hide it.

What IS going on with him? Kristy asked herself, becoming increasingly concerned. It's really not like Peter to keep secrets from his family. I mean, he's always been a bit protective of his private life, but he's never kept anything major from everyone. Especially me...

As children, Kristy and Peter had always been pretty close, and Kristy had always taken car eof her 'Little Brother" when he got into trouble. She certainly wasn't going to stop now. She sighed to herself.

"Well, this isn't getting me anywhere... Guess I'll just keep an eye on him for a while, see if anything turns up... " She sat up from the sofa and stretched. It was still a few hours before Peter got back. Well, no reason to hang around here all day... Might as well get some things done...

She was just standing up when the blanket Peter had been using fell off the sofa onto the floor. She picked it up to put it back when something drew her attention.

Fur? Kristy asked herself, pulling a small yellow tuft from the fabric. But Peter doesn't have any pets... But then where did it come from? Peter was the last one to use this blanket.. Could it have.. Nahhh. She shook her head. But continued to absently rub the bit of fur between her thumb and forefinger as she sat on the sofa and thought.

Peter arrived back at his apartment with a sigh of relief after a long day of work. He opened his door, stepped inside, and was immediately turned around by Kristy.

"Ah, there you are! Let's get going!" she said, grinning.

"Huh? What? Go where?" Peter asked, confused, not even having had a chance get into the living room.

"Well, you said you'd show me around the place when you got back, and this is as good a time as any."

"But.. Where are we going?" Peter asked, still a bit surprised and confused by the situation.

"Well, I thought that a little trip to the zoo might be nice..." She said, grinning hugely.

"The ZOO??" Peter asked, slowing down as Kristy pushed him out the door.

"What, is there a problem?" Kristy asked, grinning at his obvious nervousness. "I thought you'd like to go to the zoo..."

Peter cleared his throat a bit. "Um, sure, I'd love to. But wouldn't you prefer to, um, go shopping or something?" He put on a slight smile.

"Oh, come now Peter. I know how much you hate to go shopping. Besides, I went out and looked through a few stores already while you were out. So, are you coming or not?" She smiled at Peter, watching his reactions.

"Um.. Well then, I guess so..." He sighed and stepped back outside, closing the door to his apartment behind the two of them. Why did I have to end up with such a pushy nosy sister? Peter asked himself. I know she only wants to help, but...

A few minutes later Peter and Kristy arrived at the zoo, parked, and headed towards the tollbooth. Kristy was a bit surprised when Peter showed the man behind the booth his pass, and then paid only for Kristy's ticket.

"What's that?" She asked curiously as Peter put the pass back in his pocket.

"What, the pass? Oh yeah, I guess I kind of forgot to tell you about that. I won it in a raffle a few weeks ago."

"Oh really?" Kristy grinned widely and nudged him. "So, been using it often?" Peter cleared his throat and didn't reply, running a hand over his face reflexively. His sister's needling and questioning was making him nervous enough, and a trip to the zoo wasn't exactly helping. He'd gotten over his fears of going feral, and of the animals, but it still made him a bit nervous...

Peter followed behind Kristy as she wandered through the zoo, looking at all the various animals, mercifully staying away from the cat section for the moment. Peter kept his distance from most of the cages, since the animals usually seemed to back away from him when he got close in the past.

"Come on Peter, why are you hanging back so far?" Kristy asked, looking at a cage full of monkeys."Oh, that's okay. I've been here before, and seen most of the animals already." Peter replied nervously.

"Well then, lets move to the next section." Kristy said, walking down the path. Peter recognized the area there were heading for, and started to sweat slightly.

Kristy walked over to the first enclosure she came to, and looked over the railing at a small pride of lions laying around in various poses. "I just love watching animals, don't you Peter?" Kristy looked back to see Peter standing a few feet away, to far away to even see the cats over the wall surrounding the habitat. Kristy chuckled. "What's the matter Peter, don't you like cats?"

"Um..." Peter was just trying to think up a response, resisting the urge to run a hand down his face, when he spotted a familiar figure who waved at him as it approached.

"Hi Karen!" Peter said as he grinned and waved back. Phew! Saved by the bell. Sort of... He watched both Karen and Kristy carefully, to see how they'd react to one another.

"Hi. You must be Peter's brother Kristy." Karen said, smiling, a she reached out her hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Kristy smiled back and shook her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you too."

"Well, this is a bit of a surprise." Karen said, and smiled at Peter. "I didn't expect to run into you two here." Peter pointed to his sister.

"Well, she wanted to see the zoo, so..." Peter shrugged. While Kristy's back was turned to him, he looked over at the lion enclosure, and swallowed a bit nervously. Karen quickly took the hint and smiled a bit more.

"Well, I'm on lunch break right now, so why don't the three of us go get something to eat? The zoo's café is actually pretty good, though it's probably a bit crowded right about now."

Peter nodded in agreement, glad at anything that would get him out of the feline section. "Sounds like a good idea to me." He exclaimed, and looked over at Kristy, who also nodded a moment later.

"Well then, let's go get some lunch!" Kristy grinned and the two siblings followed behind Karen as she led the way. It was a short walk to the café, but Karen and Kristy chatted most of the time, while Peter lagged behind a few steps. He smiled to himself as they talked. They seemed to be hitting it off pretty well, as they leapt from topic to topic in their conversation, discussing their lives and jobs

"Doesn't it worry you a bit though, working with such dangerous animals?" Kristy asked Karen as they walked. Karen chuckled slightly, and glanced over at Peter for a second.

"Oh, I think I'm pretty good at handling cats..." She said with a grin, as Peter cleared his throat slightly, looking a bit embarrassed. Kristy sensed that there was some private joke going on between them, and decided to let the matter drop for now.

"Well, here we are!" Karen said, as they approached a small building surrounded by outdoor tables with umbrellas. It was a bit crowded at the moment, but the three didn't have too much trouble finding a small empty table at the fringes of the area.

"I guess I'll go up and get the food..." Peter said, looking at the long line in front of the counter. "What do you two want?"

Karen and Kristy quickly decided on their orders and gave them to Peter.

"Okay..." Peter said, memorizing what they wanted. "I guess I'll just get a hamburger..."

Karen grinned in amusement. "All that meat in the fridge, and now all your eating is hamburgers... Since when did YOU turn into a carnivore little brother?" She asked jokingly. To he surprise Peter cleared his throat and looked extremely uncomfortable. Even more surprising, Karen looked a bit uncomfortable with that comment too! She watched the two with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. What is this all about? I said SOMETHING...

"Um.. I'll go get the food now..." Peter said nervously, and quickly walked off towards the food counter and leaving the two women behind. Kristy watched him walk off for a moment, thinking, before smiling and turning back towards Karen.

"So... What do you think of Peter?" Kristy asked, grinning.

"Oh, he's a pretty nice guy..." Karen replied simply, smiling.

"You two seem to get along pretty well..." Kristy responded. Karen seemed to blush slightly. "So, when did you two meet anyway?" She asked conversationally.

"We met a few weeks ago, in the zoo here actually." Karen smiled. "We just kind of ran into each other..." She laughed slightly.

Kristy's face turned a bit more serious. "Tell me.... Have you noticed him acting a bit... Odd lately? I know you haven't known him very long or anything..."

Karen laughed a bit. "Well, he's always been a bit odd since I met him..." Kristy laughed along with her for a moment. "But really... You're worried about him, aren't you?"

Kristy didn't speak for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Yeah, well.. He's my younger brother..." She shrugged wordlessly. "It's my job to keep him out of trouble."

"Look, I really can't tell you what's going on... That's Peter's decision. But I can at least tell you this, if it will make you feel better." Kristy raised an eyebrow slightly, surprised that Karen knew something about her brother that Peter wouldn't even tell her. "He's really not in trouble, and he seems to have everything under control. If you ask me, all needs is a little support. But..." Karen shrugged helplessly.

Kristy nodded. "Yeah, I know how Peter is..." She grinned suddenly. "Well, if I can't figure out what's going on, and I can't get any answers from you, I guess I'll just have to wiggle it out of Peter himself!" She smiled. "I always do."

Just then Peter walked back to the table, carrying a large tray. "Your lunch, ladies." He said, making a grandiose gesture as he set the food down. The two women chuckled slightly, and collected their food.

"So, did I miss anything while I was gone?" Peter asked with a grin, in slightly higher spirits with Karen around. Karen and Kristy looked at one another for a moment, and grinned.

"Oh, nothing much..." Kristy said, as they began their meal. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Kristy looked over at Peter and Karen and grinned.

"You know, my exhibit here opens tomorrow. Peter is coming, of course.. Perhaps you'd like to join us Karen?"

Karen smiled and nodded after a moment. "Why sure, I'd love to come. It sounds very interesting. I'm afraid I don't get out to museums and art shows very often."

"That's okay. I don't get out to zoos much either! Of course, neither did Peter..." Kristy grinned and Karen laughed as Peter blushed slightly. "I'll look forward to seeing you there tomorrow."

Karen smiled and nodded, then looked down at her watch. "Well, I'm afraid I've got to leave now. I've got a meeting." She rolled her eyes to show just how highly she thought of meetings. "Talk to you later Kristy, Peter." She said, nodding to each as she got up.

"See you later Karen!" Peter said and waved as she left. He watched her leave for a moment before turning back Kristy, who was grinning again. He cleared his throat and blanked his face. "And what are YOU grinning about?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing..." Kristy said, trying not to laugh. "Just the look on your face. I never thought I'd see the day." She chuckled.

"What day?" Peter asked a bit suspiciously.

"Why, the day my little brother would finally fall in love, of course!" She suddenly broke out laughing, as Peter cleared his throat again and glared at her, trying to keep his face blank."So what if maybe I am?" Peter asked in a controlled tone of voice, which just made Kristy laugh a bit harder.

"Come on..." Kristy said, standing up. "We've gotta go."

"Where?" Peter asked, a bit surprised.

"Why, to get you some clothes for tomorrow night, of course!"

"But I thought it was just semi-formal!" Peter replied.

"It is." Kristy grinned at him. "So?" Before he could come up with a logical reply, Kristy was already up and walking off. Peter sighed and went to catch up with her.

"Siblings..."

Karen walked into her office and sighed slightly. Lauren looked up from her desk.

"Back so soon?" she asked. Karen nodded.

"Yeah. Ran into Peter and his sister."

"Oh." Lauren nodded, and smiled. It was pretty obvious that Karen and Peter were something of a couple. "So, why do you look so glum?" Lauren asked, looking at Karen's face.

"Well, Peter's sister, Kristy, is an artist, and some of her work is going to be displayed at an exhibition tomorrow night, so she invited me to go along."

"Yeah?" Lauren asked and smiled. "That sounds like fun. What's the problem?"

"Oh, you know how I am at parties..." Karen said. "It's supposed to be semi formal, but I have no idea what to wear..."

Lauren grinned hugely. "When we get off work today, you're coming with me." Lauren said simply.

"What?" Karen asked.

Lauren's grin expanded. "Trust me."