His mind ran through all the possible ways of telling her. Show her? Tell her? Both?
She was watching him expectantly, waiting to hear some horrible news that maybe all his family had some mental or physical disorder. Finally, he crouched down and studied the little girl. Rosemarie stared back at him, and ran to her mother, scared of this looming stranger before her. He saw what he expected.
“She’s hairy,” he said, standing up.
“I thought that was from my side of the family,” she said. “My grandfather’s Italian, and you know them.”
He shook his head. “Tha’ ain’ hair. It’s fur.”
“Fur?”
Knight stood up. “I’m a wereleopard.”
Caitlyn stared for a moment, and then started to laugh in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right?”
It was time for show. He pulled his tunic up over his head, and stood before her in only underwear and a pair of boots. He kicked off the boots, and prayed to whatever God there was that no one would walk in on him as he did this. He kept his eyes open, focused on Caitlyn, as he changed from man to beast, hoping that his hybrid form didn’t last long enough to scare her.
“Big kitty!” said Rosemarie, walking toward him, but Caitlyn, with a look of sheer terror on her face, yanked her back.
“It’s a’right,” Knight said, his voice a little more rumbly as he spoke. At least Caitlyn wasn’t screaming. He read this as a good sign.
“Oh, my God,” she finally said. She put the child back in the crib, and slowly went over to Knight in his leopard form. His tail wagged, as he hoped that would give her the message that he was harmless. She slowly put her hand on top of his head, and she jumped back, holding that hand as if it was on fire. “You’re real!”
Knight sat back on his haunches. “Yeah.”
“And she…?”
“She migh’.” He turned back into a human again, sitting crosslegged on the ground, next to his tunic. He pulled his tunic back on over himself and fluidly got up. “Ya won’ know ’til puberty.”
“So I just wait until she’s twelve or so and she’ll turn into a leopard?”
Knight reached over and took her arms, staring deeply into her eyes. “Lis’n to me. I c’n help you wi’ it. I’m part of a pard – ”
She pulled away from him, her eyes dark again, not in pleasure, but in fury. “I don’t want your help. I never did want your help!” She turned from him, and looked down at her daughter, and at that moment, the tent flap parted and a barrel of a man stepped inside. He looked at the two people, standing apart from each other, and boomed, “What’s going on here? And who are you?”
“Just leavin’,” Knight said, gathering his boots as he started to walk out.
“Oh, wait,” said Caitlyn icily, and bent to get something from the ground. “You forgot this–” and she threw his shredded underwear at him.
It hit him in the face, and bounced off, to the ground. He bent and picked up the rags. He said nothing more as he turned on his heel and left the tent. He went back to the common area, and stood there for a moment, looking at his armor, sword, and shield. From the tent he just left, he could hear the voices raised in anger and could make out sobbing.
Maybe he shouldn’t join up with the Kingdom of Atlantia. Hell, maybe he shouldn’t stick around for the War at all. He gathered up his things to go find the man-at-arms to let him know he wouldn’t be fighting after all, when he heard the tent flap snap open and the man come striding toward him, his face set to murder, hands balled into fists.
Knight dropped his armor with a loud clang and stood at the ready. As he half expected, the man swung at him, and he neatly dodged it. Using his own catlike grace – though it was no where near as good as Malcolm’s – he jumped back, over the armor, putting that between them. Soon other men came from seemingly out of no where, to hold the other man back.
“I don’t know what the hell you told my wife, but if I ever see you again I swear to God I’ll kill you.”
Some of the men looked over at Knight, who only nodded and reached for his things. “Tell y’r man’t arms I ain’ stayin’.”
“That’d be wise,” said another man, while someone was talking the other man down. He next did what he normally did in these sorts of situations.
Packed up, and ran away.