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A LEOPARD'S TAIL

1. Part Nine

"Are you sure this looks all right?" Peter asked, adjusting the collar on the brand new suit his sister had insisted he buy.

"You look fine! Trust me!" Came the reply through the closed door to his bedroom, where Kristy was getting ready.

I look like an idiot... Peter thought to himself. He looked down at his watch, then straightened his collar again. I haven't been out to a social affair like this in a while... Peter thought anxiously. Heck, I've barely been out of the apartment since this whole thing started, except to get food, go to work, and go out with Karen... The thought of Karen made him check his watch again, and straighten his suit a bit more. I hope I don't make a fool of myself...

Peter looked up from his thoughts at the door to his bedroom opened, and his sister walked out, dressed for the exhibit. She was wearing what almost seemed to be a business suit, but was tailored to present a more casual appearance. The suit helped give her a professional, confident look Peter didn't often see in his usually care-free sibling.

"Well, how do I look?" Kristy asked, turning around. Peter laughed and nodded his head.

"Better than I do in this suit, I'd wager." Peter said with a slight chuckle. Then something suddenly occurred to him. "Um.... Why didn't the door squeak just now?" It was working fine just last night!! He thought to himself, recalling how noisy it had been when Kristy had gone to sleep. Thankfully, she hadn't gotten up last night, so Peter had gotten a good night's sleep.

"Oh, that." Kristy said. "Well, all that noise was really getting on my nerves, so I figured I'd do you a favor and fix it!" She said with a smile. "While you were out shopping before, I asked someone from maintenance come up and look at it. Seems all it really needed was a bit of oil."

"Um, thanks...." Peter said slowly, face paling slightly. What am I going to do tonight?? He asked himself desperately. Kristy noticed the odd tone of his voice, and looked closely at his face. She was about to say something when the doorbell rang.

"That must be Karen..." Peter said quickly, and walked towards the door to answer it. Whew.. saved by the bell...

"Hello Kar..." Peter began warmly as he opened the door, before he got a good look at her. Then he stopped for a second, and blinked, mouth opening a bit. Karen was wearing a long, graceful, light blue evening gown which was cut well enough to look beautiful, but not appear as if she were about to attend a wedding.

"Hi Peter..." Karen said a bit slowly. I knew I shouldn't have let Lauren pick out what clothes to buy. Karen thought self consciously to herself.

"Um, Hi Karen..." Peter began again. "You look.. Wonderful..." He said after a moment, then blinked, smiled a bit sheepishly and stepped aside so that she could come inside.

"Hi Karen." Kristy said and smiled as Karen walked inside. "You look good in that." Kristy gave her somewhat star-struck brother an amused look. "I think Peter likes it too." She said with a slight smirk.

"Thanks.." Karen said, both her and Peter's faces turning a bit red. Kristy smiled and laughed.

"Well, what are we all hanging around here for? We don't want to be late. Unless it's fashionably late, and I still haven't figured out the difference." Kristy said. Peter and Karen both nodded in agreement.

"I'm taking my own car, so I'll meet you two there." Karen said. Peter just nodded and watched her."See you in a little while Karen." Peter said, still a bit slack jawed. Karen and nodded and walked out the door. Kristy walked over to Peter and nudged him in the side.

"I think you can close your mouth now." She said with a laugh, as Peter blinked his eyes and came back to reality. He grinned a bit sheepishly but didn't comment as he and his sister headed out the door themselves.

Peter smiled as Karen walked towards the two siblings, who were waiting in front of the door to the gallery.

"All ready to go?" Kristy asked, as Karen joined them. Peter smiled a bit and offered Karen his arm, which she promptly took. Kristy laughed slightly. "Looks like it. Well then, let's go!"

Karen and Peter followed Kristy through the doors. The inside of the building appeared to be a refurbished warehouse, cleaned and painted white, and cut up into smaller areas rather haphazardly by movable dividing walls that separated each exhibit. There were stands, pedestals, and small glass cases to display the work of various artists, sculptors, and painters.

"My little section is at the other end..." Kristy said, and grinned at Peter and Karen. "I've got a few people I want to talk to, so why don't the two of you just roam around a bit and mingle, and see what you like." She looked from Karen to Peter for a moment, grinned slightly, and walked off

"Well.. I guess it's just you and me then..." Peter said, smiling slightly, Karen's arm locked with his.

"Yeah, looks that way." Karen replied, as the two leisurely walked around, looking at the various works of art. There were pieces from just about every style and type of artistry.

"So, how are you getting along with your sister?" Karen asked. Peter closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath.

"She oiled the door to my room." He said simply. It took a moment for Karen to figure out what he was talking about, but then she cringed slightly in sympathy.

"Ahhh..." Karen said. Peter in nodded agreement.

"She's driving me insane... All of her prying into my life is making me a nervous wreck, and I have no idea what I'm going to do tonight..." He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "But I can worry about that later." He said, smiling slightly. "Let's just enjoy the evening for now." Karen nodded wordlessly and smiled back at him as they walked through the gallery.

After a few minutes, Peter adjusted his suit a bit, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"You know, to be honest, I never really liked these big openings and social occasions and such..." Peter quietly admitted to Karen. To his surprise, Karen smiled and nodded her head.

"Me neither." She replied, and then laughed lightly. "I mean, I was growing up on a farm and learning to milk a cows and tend to injured animals when some of these people were taking etiquette classes!" Peter laughed along with her for a moment, and smiled, losing some of his nervousness and listening to Karen's laughter.

Peter was feeling pretty cheery and relaxed despite his problems by the time they arrived at his sister's exhibit, Karen' arm still around his. Kristy was standing in her small section, which contained a few pedestals, two large glass cases with small pieces of sculpture, and several paintings hung on the walls.

Peter waited a moment for his sister to finish talking to someone, and then grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up. "Looks nice Sis."

"Thanks." Kristy replied, grinning once again. "So, are you two enjoying yourselves?"

"Yes. This is a very interesting gallery." Karen replied. "I can't remember he last time I've seen so many different styles of painting and sculpture in one place."Kristy was drawn away a moment later as a well dressed husband and wife wandered over, and started looking through the display case at some of Kristy's work.

"Hmmm.. This is an interesting piece..." The husband said. Karen, Kristy, and Peter all looked over to see which piece the man was referring too.

"Oh, that one." Kristy said with a smile. "That's a more recent piece... I just finished it a few days ago, actually. I got the image for it from an extremely vivid dream I had one night about a week ago, and then I had an incredible urge to make it."

Karen's eyes opened a bit wide, and had a sudden inhalation of breath. "That looks just like..." She whispered to herself before clamping her mouth shut.

Peter paled slightly as he looked through the glass at the small figure, which was just a bit longer than his hand. It was an exquisitely detailed and painted sculpture of a leopard, laying on a rectangular base of clay, asleep with its eyes closed. But it didn't look like just any leopard. It looked just like HIM, an almost perfect image.

"It must have been a very vivid dream.." The woman commented, and Kristy nodded her head.

"Oh, it was indeed." He looked over at Karen, who was still looking at the figure in surprised. "What were you saying it looks like?" She asked politely.

"Nothing.. It's just.. A very realistic piece.." Karen faked a smile. "I should know, I work with cats all day."

Kristy looked over at Peter, and noticed that he'd taken a step or backwards, away from the display. "Is something wrong Peter?" She asked in concern.

"Um, no!" Peter said quickly, running a hand down his face. Kristy looked at his face for a moment, and blinked.

"That's funny Peter... Didn't you shave before we left...."

"Um.. I'll be right back.. I have to use the bathroom..." Peter said quickly and turned away, walking off at a fast pace towards the rest rooms.

"What was that all about?" Kristy asked, perplexed.

"Um.. I'm not sure.. I'll be back in a few minutes..." Karen said hurriedly, and then walked off to follow Peter. Kristy just watched them walk off and thought to herself as the husband and wife continued to look through her exhibit.

What's going on here???

"Are you okay Peter?" Karen asked, concern filling her voice, as Peter stepped out of the men's room.

"I'm.. fine..." He said, rubbing his hands over his face. "That whole thing just.. took me by surprise..." He rubbed the bridge of his nose a bit, and closed his eyes. "That was too close..."

"Peter, I know how you feel about telling anyone about this, but I really think you should let your sister know..." Karen said in a compassionate voice. "I mean, look at you... Keeping this from her is giving you a nervous breakdown."

"This whole thing is giving me a nervous break down." Peter said in a defeated tone of voice, eyes still closed. He finally opened them and looked up at her, smiling slightly. "Look.. I'll try to work something out, okay?" Karen smiled back at him and nodded her head. Peter sighed again. "We'd better get back before my sister sends a search part after us..."

Karen laughed. "Somehow I get the feeling she'd send a search part after either of us, but not BOTH of us..." After a moment Peter nodded his head in a agreement, and start to laugh along with her. They soon began walking back towards Kristy's exhibit, arm in arm once more.

Peter opened the door to his apartment and stepped aside to let the two women in, feeling slightly nervous. His sister had kept a close eye on him for the rest of the night after that incident with the leopard sculpture, and she had hardly said a word on the return trip. I have a bad feeling about this...

Kristy walked through the door first, and stepped into the center of the living room. She stopped there and spun around to face the door, waiting for Peter to enter. Peter looked around a bit nervously as Karen preceded him in before following her into the apartment.

"All right Peter." She said seriously, arms crossed, staring at him. "I'm starting to get tired of being left in the dark. You've been acting strangely since I saw you last week, and I want to know what's going on!" She paused for a moment before continuing in a lower tone of voice. "Look, I know you like to keep your life private and all, but I'm your sister! If you're in trouble, and with the way you're been acting lately that much is obvious, I want to know! Now will someone PLEASE explain to me what is going on here?"

Peter swallowed hard, and looked over at Karen. Karen looked back at him, but kept her face impassive, leaving the decision up to him. He closed his eyes and started rubbing the bridge of his nose. After a few minutes he finally spoke.

"Okay. Okay!" He sighed and continued the rub his nose, eyes shut. "I give in. I'll tell you."

"I... guess I'd better be going..." Karen said. She turned to Kristy and nodded, then stopped and laid a hand on Peter's shoulder as she walked towards the door. "If you want to talk later... You know my number." Peter opened his eyes and looked at her, smiling faintly for a moment, and nodded. "I guess I'll talk to you later then..." Karen quickly left the apartment, to leave the two sibling to talk.

Kristy watched Karen go, then turned to face Peter, a worried look on her face. Peter sighed loudly once again, and flopped down on the sofa, running his hands over his face.

"It's a bit complicated..." Peter said hesitantly after a moment.

"You're not in trouble with the law or anything, are you?" Kristy asked, sitting down in a chair across from him.

"No, no.. Nothing like that..." Peter quickly assured her. Last I checked there were no laws against turning into a leopard... "It's a bit more of a.. a medical problem I suppose..." Peter continued, trying to think of the right words to say.

"A medical problem?" Kristy asked worriedly. "Not anything too serious I hope? Have you seen a doctor?"

Depends on what you consider "serious". Peter thought to himself. "No, I haven't seen a doctor... Well, I guess maybe I have..." Hey, Karen IS a vet...

"Is it something with your eyes?" Kristy questioned quickly. "I knew they looked a bit odd.. Mom and I should have insisted you go to see an optometrist..."

Peter shook his head back and forth again. "No, no, no, it's nothing like that either!"

"Well then, what IS going on?" Kristy asked in exasperation. "You've been acting oddly since last week, You even admitted something was going on, and now I can't figure it out! I've been running it through my mind over and over and I STILL can't think up a single rational explanation!"

Peter snorted slightly. "Who ever said it was a rational explanation?"

"What?" Karen said, raising an eyebrow slightly. Peter sighed.

"Just.. Trust me. It's nothing you'd have considered... It's nothing I'D have considered a few months ago..." He rubbed his hands along his face once again, noticing the first traces of fur popping up. But rather than concentrate and making it vanish, he simply left it there and sighed. She's going to find out soon enough anyway...

"Well tell me then!!" She demanded, getting increasingly frustrated and worried.

"All right, all right! Just give me some time here! This isn't exactly easy for me you know!" Karen paused and nodded her head, accepting the fact.

"Now how to say this..." Peter asked himself. He paused for a moment and took a deep breath before continuing. "This is.. This is going to sound pretty unbelievable.." Boy is THAT ever an understatement. "But just bear with me, okay?" Kristy nodded her head to show she understood, leaning forward a bit to listen.

"Do you... Do you remember the dream you had when we were at Mom and Dad's last week?" Peter asked slowly, and again Karen nodded her head, not wanting to interrupt him by speaking. "Well.. What if.. What if I told you it wasn't a dream?" Peter finally said, and swallowed nervously.

"Huh? What are you saying?" Kristy asked, giving him an odd look and sitting back into he chair.

"Oh, for God's sake... I'M TURNING INTO A LEOPARD!" Peter exclaimed, hopping up off the sofa and waving his arms around for a moment before collapsing back down. There. That went well...

Kristy just stared at him for a moment, eyes opened wide in surprise. "Wha... What???" She demanded. Peter sighed loudly and rubbed his face with his hand.

"You heard me..." Peter sighed and continued in a calm tone of voice. "I've been changing into a leopard... That wasn't a dream last week. That was ME."

"You have.. You have GOT be kidding me... Now what's REALLY going on?" She asked, a bit uncertain after Peter's outburst. He sure SOUNDED serious.. But come on! Changing into a leopard? That's ridiculous!

"Kidding?" Peter let out a little snort. "I wish! Why don't you take a good, close look at my face..." Kristy paused for a moment, then leaned forward to get a closer look. After a few second examination she leaned back again.

"Yeah.. Yeah, so you need a bit of a shave. So what?" Kristy asked, uncertainty obvious in her voice. Since when did Peter have blond facial hair anyway? she asked herself.

"Why don't you watch a bit closer?" Peter held up one of his hands, facing the back towards Kristy. Kristy blinked for a second, noticing the yellow fur growing on the back of his hand.

But that can't be there... She thought to herself. She watched in wide eyed amazement as the fur thickened, both on the back of Peter's hand, and on his face, slowly forming a yellow and black spotted coat as his eyes steadily gained a significant yellow tint. After a few seconds Peter stopped, unable to change anymore without ruining his suit.

"That's... That's impossible..." Kristy denied, shaking her head to try to clear it. "It.. It CAN'T be real!"

Peter sighed loudly. " You're going to make me go all the way to prove it, aren't you?" Kristy didn't say anything, just continued to stare at him, speechless. Peter sighed again.

"Look... Just.. Just wait right here. I'll be back in a few minutes." Peter closed his eyes and ran a hand down his now fur covered face. "And yes, it WILL be me, so please don't go screaming bloody murder or anything..." He took a deep breath, got up from the couch, and walked into his room, not quite closing the door all the way so he could get more easily. Kristy just watched in shocked silence, still not quite sure what was happening.

He has GOT be kidding, right? Kristy asked herself. I mean, come on! Changing into a leopard? That's ridiculous... But.. That fur on his face... Hair doesn't grow that fast... And it DOES explain his odd behavior... But that's impossible!! Kristy sat in her chair thinking to herself, until the sound of the door to the bedroom opening behind her brought her attention back to the real world. She had a sudden shiver down her spine, and then slowly turned her head around to look at the door.

Halfway through the door , one paw hesitantly out in front of him, was Peter, fully in leopard form. He was watching Karen as she turned around, and started eye to eye with her for a moment. Karen took a large inhalation of breath, and sat up straighter in her chair, unable to believe what she was seeing. Peter hesitated, his paw in mid air, seeming ready to turn and run back into the bedroom. But instead he slowly lowered his head and walked towards Kristy.

Kristy just stared, mouth agape, as Peter walked over and stood in front of her chair, head looking down at the floor. She lifted her feet off the floor a bit and backed away into her chair nervously. She blinked in surprise as the animal before her seemed to twitch when she backed away.

No.. Not an animal... Kristy thought to herself slowly, and lowered her feet back down to the floor. She leaned forward a bit, still shocked and nervous, but oddly enough, not terrified as she knew she should be.

"P.. Peter? Is that.. Really you?" she asked in awe, eyes still opened wide. Peter slowly nodded his head up and down, still looking at the floor. Kristy slowly reached her hand out, and touched Peter's side. She drew her hand back for a second when she touched his fur, then ran her hand along his side. "But... But..." She stammered in shock. Peter just stood there, unmoving, while his sister prodded him.

"You.. You can't really talk like that, can you?" Kristy asked after a moment. Peter shook his head back and forth. "Look... Look at me." Kristy said. Peter slowly raised his eyes up off the floor and looked his sister in the eyes.

Kristy just stared at him for a second, then slowly nodded her head, blinking back her shock. She suddenly leaned forwards out of her chair and wrapped her arms around Peter's neck, giving him a hug. She could feel his muscles quiver with tension for a moment, then relax.

"That's.. That's my brother..." Kristy said assuredly, blinking back a few tears.