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A LEOPARD'S TAIL

1. Part Twelve

"Sir? Sir? Are you all right Sir?"

Peter blinked and looked up as Karen tapped his shoulder to get his attention. The stewardess smiled at him as he finally noticed her.

"Would you like something to drink, Sir?" She asked politely. Peter shook his head.

"No thank you." He said, turning away and starting to stare at the seat in front of him again. The stewardess, noticing his anxiety, but misinterpreting its cause, sought to alleviate his fears.

"Flying is a perfectly safe means of travel you know." She said soothingly, smiling. Peter didn't even hear her, already preoccupied with his own thoughts once again. He'd been incredibly nervous all day, and it was taking a conscious effort for him to remain calm and avoid showing any animal characteristics. And, of course, the risk of that happening merely fed the fires of his anxiety.

"It's not the flying that's bothering him." Karen said, smiling at the stewardess, who was looking a bit befuddled by Peter's actions. "We're going to see his parents."

"Oh, I see." The stewardess said in understanding. Her eyes flicked down to Karen's hands for a second, looking for a ring. She smiled and took a step back. "Sorry to bother you. Have a nice flight."

Karen resisted the urge to fidget a bit herself. It's nothing like that. She thought to herself, rubbing her hands slightly. I mean, I don't THINK it's anything like that, at least not yet...

Karen was more than slightly nervous herself, though she was no where near Peter's level of angst. She had been trying to get Peter to relax all week, but he'd been taking the trip harder than she'd expected. He'd been getting more and more jumpy as the week passed, and it was becoming increasingly obvious to her that he wasn't getting quite enough sleep.

Karen sighed slightly. Trying to help Peter had mostly kept her from dwelling on her own fears, but they'd slowly been gnawing at her as the flight approached. She'd never really gone to see anyone's parents like this before. Was there a formula to follow? Some unwritten rules of social etiquette? What if she did something embarrassing?

Karen shook her head, trying to clear her mind, and looked over at Peter. She was slightly surprised to find Peter looking over at her, eyes clear, smiling slightly at her. After a moment she smiled back, and the two leaned back in their seats, both relaxing slightly.

Having taken an early flight, Peter and Karen arrived at their destination in the middle of the afternoon. Kristy hadn't been able to get such an early flight, so she wouldn't be arriving for another few hours. Peter and Karen grabbed their bags, hailed a taxi, and were standing on the front stoop of the Hoffman residence within a few minutes.

"Are you ready?" Peter asked Karen.

"Ready as I'll ever be I guess. How about you?"

"Oh, I'm fine..." Peter said, his face giving that away as a lie. He paused for a moment and sucked in a deep breath, closing his eyes to calm himself. After he exhaled, he put on a large cheery smile, completely at odds with the anxiety he'd been showing the past week. Karen was just marveling at his acting abilities, when he rang the doorbell.

Within a few moments, the door opened, revealing Peter's mother. She grinned hugely when she caught sight of the two."Peter! You're here! Welcome home!" Mrs. Hoffman reached out her arms and Peter obligingly gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Er, Mom, this is Karen..." Peter said, gesturing at his companion.

"Hello Mrs. Hoffman." Karen said, stepping forward and smiling a bit nervously at Peter's mother. Mrs. Hoffman looked at her for a moment, taking stock of her, then smiled back and reached out her hand.

"Please, call me Elizabeth, Dear." She said as she shook Karen's hand. Karen smiled back a bit more surely, relaxing a bit.

"Well, come in, come in you two!" Mrs. Hoffman said after they stood there for a moment. She started to shoo them into the house as she spoke. "You're father's out in the back, probably feeding another stray cat." She said with a tolerant sigh and slight rolling of her eyes, showing exactly what she thought of that. "He'll be back in in a moment or two. Why don't you two head upstairs and get settled into your rooms?"

"Sure Mom." Peter said. He nodded at Karen and headed up the stairs towards the bedrooms up above. It only took a few minutes for him to bring both of their suitcases up and show Karen into the guestroom.

"Well, I think that went well." Karen said as they stood in the hallway for a moment after unpacking some of their luggage. Peter nodded his head slightly.

"Yeah, that seems to have gone well. But you haven't seen anything yet. " Peter grinned a bit. "Just wait till she really gets started. My mother is a master at politely wheedling information out of people. She'll want to know everything, of course..." Peter's face fell suddenly. "I... I guess I'll tell them about.. About everything after dinner." Peter said, anxiety and fear obvious on his face. Karen put her hand on his shoulder to reassure him, and his face relaxed a bit after a moment. He smiled weakly before clearing his throat and forcing his face back to normal.

"Whatever you think is best" Karen said gently.

"Well, I guess we'd better head down. Kristy should be here soon, and then we can start dinner." Peter's mask slipped again for a moment, and he ran his hand over his face to make sure he hadn't let anything else slip. It wouldn't do to spring my little surprise early... Peter thought darkly. He shook his head a bit and sighed, trying to clear his thoughts. He looked back over at Karen, and found her looking back at him with concern. He smiled at her again, and she smiled back, a bit relieved.

"Once more into the breach..." He said humorously, as he headed back towards the stairs.

"So, you two just bumped into each other at the zoo?" Peter's mother asked conversationally, as she took a sip from her cup of tea.

"Yeah, that's pretty much how we met." Karen replied, resisting the urge to fidget slightly. Peter, Karen, and Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman were all sitting in the conversation room while they waited for Kristy to arrive, and dinner to cook. Karen had only been talking to Mrs. Hoffman for a few minutes, but she could already see what Peter and Kristy had been talking about. The woman's friendly, homely demeanor was disarming, and she was a master conversationalist, almost magically moving the conversation in the direction she wanted it to go.

But she and Karen seemed to be getting along relatively well, despite Karen's slight nervousness. Most of her fears about Peter's parents disliking her were put to rest upon meeting them. Of course, that left the other set of worries and fears if they DID like her.

As usual, Mr. Hoffman was mostly remaining silent, allowing his more vociferous wife to carry most of the conversation. He was, however, paying close attention to what was being said. Both parents seemed to be exuding a slight air of approval, which allowed Karen to relax a bit.

Peter on the other hand, seemed to be growing steadily worse. He appeared to be paying little attention to the conversation between Karen and his mother, mostly absorbed in his own thoughts. Both parents would occasionally shoot worried looks in his direction. It was obvious they were completely confused by his odd behavior, and more than a little frightened by it.

Well, they'll understand what's going on soon enough. I just hope they take it well. God I hope they take it well! Karen wished fervently.

"You two must have been very lucky to have run into each other like that." Mrs. Hoffman said with a smile.

"Oh, definitely." Karen replied, nodding her head. She suddenly blushed slightly at her own comment, and Mrs. Hoffman's smile widened a bit. But before anything else could be said, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Peter said, speaking for the first time in several minutes. His voice sounded a bit odd, and both his parents watched as he stood up and walked out of the room, heading for the door. Mrs. Hoffman's eyes followed her son out of the room, staring over Karen's head at Peter's back as he walked off. A worried, fearful look shot across her face, but vanished in an eye blink as her smile returned, and she looked at Karen again.

"So, exactly what do you do down at the zoo?" Mrs. Hoffman asked.

While Karen responded to his mother's question, Peter walked over to the front door and opened it, revealing Kristy, as expected, carrying two small suitcases.

"Heya little bro!" Kristy said enthusiastically, smiling. Her smile sagged a bit as she looked at Peter's serious, almost blank face.

"Hi sis." Peter replied in a toneless voice. "How was your flight in?"

"Oh, it was okay." Kristy replied in a more subdued tone of voice. "Where's Karen?"

"Inside talking with Mom and Dad." Peter replied, voice still leeched of almost all emotion.

"Ow." Kristy said humorously, smiling again. "I pity her. Mom's probably digging at her with a pick axe by now!" Peter smiled slightly in response, but his eyes still a far away look in them.

"You.. Haven't told them yet, right?" Kristy asked a bit hesitantly after a moment of silence. Peter shook his head.

"After dinner." He said simply. Kristy listened to the toneless sound of his voice with concern, recognizing the stress he was under. She made herself smile again, trying to throw off the contagious effects of Peter's fears.

"Well, I guess I had better go say hi to Mom and Dad before I bring my bags up."

"Yeah." Peter said without much energy. "Dinner should be ready in a few minutes too. We were just waiting for you to get here."

Kristy followed her little brother into the conversation room, mental fingers crossed, hoping everything would work out.

Dinner went slowly. And for the most part, silently.

Peter sat at his place at the table, studiously looking down at the contents of his plate, listlessly moving the food around without actually eating anything. His mood seemed to have spread to the rest of the table, as everyone concentrated on eating, leaving an unnatural silence hovering about the room. Even Mrs. Hoffman seemed unable to think of a way to break the pallor that seemed to fill the house. Finally she cleared her throat and spoke.

"You've hardly touched your food Peter. Is something wrong?" She asked. Peter finally looked up and blinked, as if a bit surprised anyone was talking to him

"No, no.. The food is fine. I'm just not very hungry, that's all." Peter replied without much energy. His mother looked over at him, leaning forward a little bit."Did you ever get your eyes checked out Peter? They still look a little yellow to me..." Peter winced slightly at the mention of his eyes.

"It's.. Nothing mom. I'll. Explain it a bit later." Mrs. Hoffman, unable to think of anything else to say, accepted his response and returned to eating.

Once again silence descended on the table. Everyone continued to eat slowly, lost in their own thoughts, until finally Peter's father spoke up.

"Peter..." He said a bit hesitantly, speaking slowly. "You know, if you're ever in trouble or are having problems, your mother an I are always here for you..." He said. Peter seemed to flinch slightly and looked from Karen to Kristy. Both looked back at him unblinkingly, and nodded their heads slightly. This little exchange did not go unnoticed by his parents, who looked at each other in slight confusion before looking back at Peter, their worry obvious. Peter finally looked over at them, then sighed, running his hand over his face.

"I'll.. I'll explain everything after dinner, okay?" He said. His mother and father nodded wordlessly, watching him in concern, as he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. After a moment he opened his eyes and looked back down at his plate. Not having anything else to do, everyone else anxiously finished their food. Peter, however, abandoned all pretext of eating, and simply sat there staring unseeingly at his plate.

He sat there, unmoving, for the rest of dinner.

Peter drew the heavy blinds used to block out the sun while watching TV across the windows and sliding glass door in the living room. Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman were already sitting on the sofa, giving each other worried looks, having no idea what was going on. Kristy and Karen however, knew exactly what was going on, and were giving each other equally anxious looks. Kristy was standing next to the sofa where her parents were sitting, while Karen was standing in the archway that led into the conversation room, trying to give Peter a reassuring smile.

Having satisfied himself that no one outside would be able to see him, Peter began pacing back and forth across the room, a few feet in front of the sofa, trying to figure out exactly how to start. The tension in the room was palatable, weighing down on everyone as if the very air above them had become heavy as lead.

I can't believe I'm doing this! I'm going to give them heart-attacks! Either I'm going to give them heart attacks, or they're going to disown me! Or maybe both!! Peter thought to himself, on the verge of panic. But he forced himself to calm down a bit and breath normally. It's just like jumping into a cold pool. The anticipation is worse than actually hitting the water, right? I just hope I don't do a belly flop... After a moment he stopped pacing, and looked up at Karen. He smiled a bit back at her, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Fortified, he turned back towards his parents, who were quickly growing just as anxious over the situation as he was.

"Okay..." He said, closing his eyes and taking another deep breath. "Okay.... I'm not really sure how to start this..." He ran his hand over his face reflexively, rubbing his eyes. "First off, I'm not in any kind of legal or financial trouble or anything like that. I guess you could say I'm having something of.. of a medical problem..." He said slowly, beginning to pace a bit again, fidgeting. He'd spent the last week trying to think of exactly what to say when this moment came, but he'd never really been able to come up with anything. His mind was a complete blank as he paced back and forth, fear gnawing at his insides.

"And before you ask, no, I haven't really seen a doctor, and I'm not going to." Peter said, seeing his mother open her mouth to speak. He forced himself to press on, his pace slowly increasing, wanting to get through this as quickly as possible. "Whatever you're thinking the problem is, believe me, you're wrong." Peter continued. He grinned a bit in grim humor. "Trust me, there's no way you could be even close to guessing what the problem is...." He closed his eyes and took yet another deep breath to reinforce himself before he continued, both parents watching and listening to him anxiously, faces worried, almost on the edge of their seats.

"What I'm going to tell you is going to sound pretty unbelievable. Well, more like COMPLETELY unbelievable, but trust me, it's the truth. Karen and Kristy can vouch for that..." He said, rubbing his face with both hands.

Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman looked at the two women as they solemnly nodded their heads in support of Peter's statement.

"It's like this..." Peter said, Summoning up his courage and resolve." I.. I keep.. That is, I've been... Well..." He cleared his throat anxiously, almost quivering with tension. "I've been.. changing into a leopard..." He finally said, as slowly and calmly as he could manage.

Peter's parents simply blinked in surprise. They looked at each other, then at Kristy and Karen, who both nodded their heads. The couple was at a total loss, not comprehending what was being said.

"Peter.. I'm afraid we're not quite getting you here..." Mr. Hoffman said after a moment, completely confused by the turn of events. Elizabeth and I know SOMETHING is going on with Peter, but what's THAT supposed to mean? He asked himself, trying to puzzle it out.

"I said I turn into a leopard. A big spotted cat. With fur. And a tail." He said, as calmly and rationally as he could, his stomach feeling like an empty hole in his torso as he waited to see their reactions.

"But.. But that's impossible Honey...." Peter's mother said, looking at Kristy and then back at Peter. She'd been worrying herself half to death since Peter came home acting nervous and depressed, and now he seemed to be babbling about impossible things. And Kristy and Karen were backing him up on it! The possibility that he might really mean what he said never passed her mind, being too ludicrous to consider.

"Mom, look at my hands... Look at my face!" He said, taking a few steps closer and relaxing his mental controls slightly. Fur immediately started growing on the backs of his hands, spreading slowly up his arms.

Peter's mother gasped in surprise at he unexpected growth, and his father just looked in shock for a moment. Then they both looked up to his face, which was rapidly being covered with a light coat of fur as well. His eyes changed to a darker yellow as the characteristic yellow fur and black rosettes became visible. He forced himself to stop transforming a few moments later, lest he change too much and ruin his clothes.

Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman just stared at him in wide eyed wonder and shock, minds unable to quite comprehend what they were seeing.

"T.. That's impossible... " Peter's father stuttered out after a moment, eyes wide. "That can't be real..."

Peter looked over at Kristy a bit desperately. She nodded her head slowly.

"It's real." She said simply to her parents. She swallowed hard, still wondering how they were going to take it. Please don't freak out Mom and Dad. Oh, PLEASE don't freak out...

Peter's mother shook her head in disbelief. "Impossible... No one can do something like that.. It's impossible..." She said, as if trying to convince the rest of the universe as well as herself.

Peter sighed heavily in defeat. "You're going to make me prove this the hard way, aren't you?" He sighed again. "I'll.. Be back in a few minutes.. Mom and Dad, you two just.. Just wait right there... Everything will be fine. Just don't... Don't worry when I come back in. It WILL be me..." He nodded to Kristy and Karen, swallowed heavily, and walked out of the room."Mom? Dad? Are you two okay?" Kristy asked gently, trying to get their attention and calm their fears.

"What.. What happened? How did he.. How did Peter do that..." Mrs. Hoffman asked, obviously shaken up.

"Well... " She said quietly. "Like he said.. He changes into a leopard.."

Karen fidgeted for a moment or two, and looked through the archway leading to the conversation room, awaiting Peter's return. She would have liked to help Kristy calm Peter's parents, but she really didn't know them well enough yet to do anything besides get in the way and confuse them more.

After a few moments Karen spotted Peter, changed into a leopard, walking slowly towards the archway. His ears were half pinned back in unhappiness as he approached. Karen looked over at Kristy, who was still standing next to her parents, and nodded at her, letting her know Peter was coming.

"Okay, here comes Peter now... Now just relax, and remember what I told you okay? Don't worry, it's still Peter, and he's fine, okay? Okay." Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman both nodded their heads mutely, slightly shell shocked expressions on their faces.

At that moment, Peter reached the archway, and cautiously stuck his head through. Karen kneeled down next to him to give him a reassuring hug around the neck before he came into view of his parents. She could feel how tense he was, all his muscles pulled taut as he stepped hesitantly into view.

Both parents gasped in shock at the creature which walked into the room before them. They had never seen a big cat up close before, and their minds were still in disarray from the barrage of impossibilities assaulting their senses.

"P... Peter?" Peter's father asked hesitantly, wide eyed.

Peter slowly nodded his head, and looked down at the floor, unable to meet his parent's eyes. Mrs. Hoffman climbed back into the sofa a bit, mouth agape, looking about ready to pass out.

"Maybe you should go and c.. Change back now P.. Peter...." Mr. Hoffman said slowly, stuttering a bit. "You're un.. Unnerving your mother a bit..." He said, swallowing heavily, still staring.

Peter slowly nodded his head again, not looking up.

"We. We just need a little while to let this.. Let this sink in..." He continued as Peter slowly left, tail dragging on the ground behind him, head down. Mr. Hoffman put an arm around his wide eyes wife and tries to calm her a bit as her breathing quickened, still deep in shock himself.

Karen and Kristy nodded at each other, and Karen followed Peter out of the room, unnoticed by Peter's parents as Kristy tried to relax them.

Well, that went well... Kristy thought to herself as she stepped in front of her parents with a reassuring smile, trying to keep her mother from hyperventilating.

She found herself unable to decide if that thought has been sarcastic or not.

"Well, that went well..." Karen said to Peter with a smile, sitting on the bed in his room next to him after he changed back to normal. Peter snorted, facing slightly away from Karen, trying to hide his unease and inner turmoil.

"Oh, yeah, that went great...But I didn't quite manage to get mom to pass out.. Maybe I should go back and try again..." He said, followed with a bitter laugh, more bitter than he'd intended to sound.

"Now, now.. They're just a bit.. Surprised. They just need a little time to get over the shock you gave them, and accept it." Karen replied with feeling.

"Oh, and I certainly gave them a shock, didn't I?" Peter said, voice sounding somewhat self-condemning. Karen put her hand on his shoulder to lend him some support, and he smiled slightly.

"Well, on the bright side, at least you don't have to worry about them giving you the third degree now. I think they're a bit preoccupied." He said with a frail, worn smile.

Karen nodded her head in agreement. "I'm sure everything will be fine Peter..." She said as confidently as she could manage. She quickly realized Peter wanted to be left alone for a little while to think things through himself. "Maybe we should all go get some sleep now..." She said after a moment. "Everything will work out in the morning."

Peter nodded slightly at her reassurances as she got up and headed for the door. She paused in the doorway for a moment, then turned around.

"Good night Peter." She said quietly. Peter nodded his head at her and tried to smile.

"Good night Karen." Karen looked at him for a moment, then quietly stepped out of the room, and closed the door. She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath once in the privacy off the hallway, and rubbed her eyes.

"Everything will be fine in the morning..." She repeated to herself, a note of uncertainly in her voice. She sighed slightly again as she headed for her room.

Peter snorted to himself as he lay on the floor of his bedroom as a leopard, wide awake. As if I actually thought I would be able to sleep... He thought to himself. He WAS exhausted, both physically and mentally after the day's trials, but he knew sleep was an impossibility.

He lay there, staring up into the quasi darkness, letting his thoughts wander around aimlessly. But they always came back to the same point.

What am I going to do now? What are Mom and Dad going to do? How are they going to take this? I never should have told them... It would have been more humane to just leave them in the dark! Wouldn't it? He groaned mentally in indecision and confusion. Well, I told them already. Nothing to be done about that... Just like jumping into a pool... He thought. Only without checking to see if there's any water in it in the first place...

After laying there in silence for what seemed an eternity, Peter finally decided if he wasn't sleeping, he might as well do something constructive, and go make himself a midnight snack. After all, he hadn't eaten much of his dinner, preoccupied with his thoughts. And it seemed his stomach cared very little about his currently state of agitation, only interested in the fact that it was currently empty.

Peter slowly and quietly changed himself back to normal. He looked around for a moment, barely able to see in the darkness without his feline enhanced night vision. With a small sigh he allowed his body to change slightly, until his eyes adjusted to the darkness well enough to allow him to dress himself without turning on a light. He last thing he wanted to do was disturb someone, or let someone know he was awake by turning on a light. He was in no mood to talk to anyone, wanting to be left alone in his misery. The darkness fit his mood perfectly.

Having redressed himself, he slowly opened his bedroom door, careful not to make a sound. He stepped out into the hallway and looked back and forth, making sure that no one was around to see him. He ran a hand over his head in the darkness to see how far he'd changed. As usual, there was a light coat of fur on his face, and his ears felt distinctly pointy and feline. He imagined that if he were to look into a mirror, he'd be able to see his eyes reflecting the scant light available in the darkness.

Peter paused to think for a moment. It would probably be a bad idea to wander around like this, in case his mother or father saw him. In his current state, he'd probably give them quite a shock. After a moment, he shrugged to himself. He'd given them quite a shock already in any case, and it was dark enough in the hallway that he'd probably risk bumping his shins on something if he relied on his merely human sight. Besides, it was the middle of the night. Any sane person would be asleep in bed.

And so he silently crept down the hallway and began to descent the stairs. He was almost to the bottom when his sensitive ears detected familiar voices in the distance. He stopped and listened carefully, quickly identifying the voices of his parents, obviously sitting in the kitchen, talking. Creeping a bit further down the stairs, he was soon able to discern their words, and sat down for a moment to hear what they had to say.

"I don't know WHAT to think..." Mr. Hoffman said, sounding a bit exasperated. "This whole thing just seems too unbelievable."

"But you saw it too.. Saw Peter changed into that, that... " Peter winced at the sound of his mother's voice as she stopped, unable to continue, sounding frightened and frail.

"Now, now, let's calm down dear, and try to think this through rationally..." Peter's father said, evidently consoling his wife. He sounded quite a bit less than calm and rational himself, but it was obvious from his tone of voice he was trying to be.

"Oh John, this is terrible! What are we going to do?" Peter's mother asked plaintively, sounding on the verge of tears.

"I don't know Elizabeth, I just don't know..." Mr. Hoffman replied, sounding uncertain himself.

Peter closed his eyes and sighed quietly, his mind surprisingly calm. I knew I never should have told them. They probably won't want me around here anymore, and I can't blame them. Maybe it would be best if I just left tomorrow morning and got out of the way...

"But what if he's sick? What if it gets worse or something??" Peter's mother asked, almost sobbing with worry. "I don't want to lose him!"

"Shhhh... Nobody is going to lose anyone Honey... Well talk to him tomorrow morning and get the whole story. I'm sure everything will be fine..."

"But what if it's not? What if he IS sick?"

"Well, then we'll just have to play it by ear and help the best we can." Mr. Hoffman said, sounding a bit more sure. This seemed to calm Peter's mother, who's voice started to regain some of it's usual strength and resolve.

"We'll just have to get him to go see a doctor!" She said firmly. He voice relaxed slightly as she thought to herself. "One of Mrs. Belun's son's is a doctor I think... She's a bit of a gossip, but I've heard her son is very reserved and trustworthy..."

"Yes, but isn't he a foot doctor?"

"Well, you have to start somewhere, don't you? And he still went to medical school..."

Peter slowly stood back up and climbed the stairs back to his room, smiling slightly to himself. On the one hand, it was going to take a lot of work to convince his mother he shouldn't see a doctor. But on the other hand...

Once he got back to his room and undressed, he was asleep almost as soon as he lay down.