Disclaimer: I don't own Pet Shop of Horrors. Just Erika. Oh, and the insane new characters I introduce in this little fic, the Plummy One and Benny-Boy. Oh, and Confucius the snake. Love that guy (!)

Chapter Three

Leopardess

Business was slow in Count D's Pet Shop, and Erika was bored to the point of dropping into a coma on the floor. She groaned and gave into a very unprofessional urge, falling facedown onto one of her employer's low couches, her blonde hair flopping over her face. D looked up from where he was making tea and smiled. "Aren't you having fun, Erika?" he asked with a little laugh. Erika made a disparaging little noise and turned her head to glare at him with dark grey eyes. She gave up glaring after a few seconds and lapsed back into frustration at the lack of customers, sitting up and bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs. "I'm so very, very, very bored…" she announced in a despairing voice. "I hate it when there's no one to sell pets to."

D walked over and offered her a cup of jasmine tea, which she accepted with a murmur of thanks. "Feet off the furniture," D chided her. "Particularly if you're wearing those things…" This was said with a disapproving glance at the battered steel toed Doc Martens on Erika's feet – D did not share her love of heavy boots. "Sorry, D," Erika said automatically, putting her feet back down on the floor. "I always forget – blame my bad upbringing."

D sat down beside her and Erika felt her heart speed up – she still hadn't gotten over her crush on the Chinese man. Every time he came within a foot of her, she blushed. And now that it was school holidays so she spent almost every single day at the shop, working or just helping D for no pay. She passed out of the couch few times, and, once, she'd made Leon Orcot help her with her maths homework. She'd quickly found out that some of the pets in the shop weren't exactly "normal" – after having a long, confusing philosophical discussion with a python who was convinced he was the reincarnation of Confucius, she'd wandered up to D and asking him if he would please explain…

Back to Erika sitting on a couch next to D, drinking her tea and trying not to melt into a puddle of nerves. D was sympathising with Erika over the hot pink bridesmaid's dress which, unless she came up with a very clever plan, she was probably going to end up wearing to her father's wedding, when the shop door slammed open.

Erika twisted in her seat and glared at the intruder. "And you don't even have the decency to be a customer," she said grouchily to Leon, whom she still didn't really like. "Next time, try opening the door before you attempt to storm into the room. Just for my peace of mind, okay? Sit. I'll get you a cup of tea."

She moved away, knowing that he was probably here to accuse D of selling some exotic animal to someone, with dire (and probably fatal) consequences. She didn't really want to hear about it. She liked working for D and she didn't want any reason to doubt his integrity.

She shoved a tea cup into Leon's hand and wandered off to go have another long discussion about reincarnation with Confucius the python.

Erika was feeding Confucius live mice when D stuck his head around the door. He paused when he saw the two of them and smiled.

"…but that makes no sense," Erika was saying, holding a mouse up by the tail and offering it to Confucius. He took it delicately, breaking its neck with a quick squeeze and swallowing it. "It doesss," the snake replied in a soft, whispery voice. "It'ss not really that hard a concept…"

D turned away from the door and beckoned Leon. "Come look at this," he murmured. Leon walked over, looked around the door… and froze. "Isn't that just sweet?" D said, clasping his hands together.

"D, Erika has a friggin' huge snake wrapped around her," Leon said in a strangled whisper.

Erika seemed to sense that she was being watched and turned around. "Oh, hey guys. This is Confucius, Detective. Confucius, this is Detective Leon Orcot. I have a horrible feeling you're going to be seeing him lurking about quite often. You may as well get acquainted."

"Pleasssure…" the snake murmured, unwrapping one of his coils from around Erika and reaching out to shake Leon's hand. "Um, yeah, same to you," Leon said in a shell shocked voice. He tried to ignore the creeping feeling that the snake's smooth scales instilled in him – he hated snakes! "Look, Erika," he said, shoving away his revulsion at seeing the snake wrapped around the girl and focussing on her face instead. "It's just a suggestion… but you should stay away from the shop for the next few days."

Erika stared at him. "My apologies if I seem rude," she said, a slight smile on her lips, "but are you under the effects of some sort of mind-altering narcotic? Because if you are, I suggest you stop your drug abuse, Leon, now. Just because you are indeed as stupid as you look, if not stupider, there is no need to turn towards the shadowy realm of the user. I could help you with your depression, teach you how to cover up your defects, for I am actually a kind person. I just hide it well. What do you say?"

"Thanks for the offer," Leon said irritably. "But I'm not high. D, can you reason with her? She might actually listen to you."

"And now they're talking about me as though I am a sulky adolescent," Erika observed to Confucius, who was watching the proceedings with interest. "Any thoughts on what I should do with them, Confucius, sweetie?" She gave the snake another mouse.

"I'm afraid not, little ssisster… I don't really understand them myself… And, I'm ssssorry, but you are a little sssulky… Not too bad though."

"Erika," D said, smiling slightly. "The dear detective is probably right this time. Being here, at the shop, for the next week or so would potentially put your life in danger. And if you were hurt… why, I don't know what I'd do. I scarcely understand how I managed the shop before you arrived. You make everything so much easier. I thank you."

Erika blushed at the compliment and bowed, nearly overbalancing with the weight of the large snake wrapped around her. D caught one of her hands and pulled her back upright. He picked up one of Confucius's coils with a delicate hand and tugged him lightly. "Come along, my dear, back into your little home. Erika and I must talk." The snake grumbled but slithered back into the huge glass case that was his "little home". As he did so, Leon muttered, "D, I have to split – paperwork to do back at HQ. Just make sure she understands, will you?"

"Have a little faith, Detective…"

Leon grumbled something and walked out, leaving Erika staring at D's back with a confused expression on her face. "What is it that I have to understand, D?" she asked in a plaintive voice. "And why aren't I allowed near the shop for the next few days? What's so dangerous?"

D closed the glass door of Confucius's enclosure with a little sigh. He turned around and reached for Erika's hand in a completely natural little gesture, tugging her towards the doorway back to the front of the shop. "Let's get something to eat and I'll explain," he suggested. "This must be a little sudden."

Erika nodded dumbly and followed him, cursing herself for getting a crush on her boss. Just the feel of his cool fingers wrapped around hers – ARGH!!

"You see, some people in that same business as myself like to get hold of their pets in a much more… unscrupulous manner than I do… And I have several incredibly rare species here at the shop which others would just die to get their hands on. Confucius the snake, for example…"

Erika looked startled. "Why him? He's just a python who… talks… Oh."

D smiled, taking a sip of his tea. "Yes, oh. Confucius is also quite possibly the reincarnation of his namesake. He is worth thousands. And then there's the eggs. I've already told you how amazing it is to have a breeding pair, and how much money I will end up making from them when they eventually hatch and mature. You saw how many would have taken them from you when you went to collect them."

"What relevance does this have to my being evicted for the next week or so?" Erika asked, trying to keep the truculence out of her voice. She was not just a sulky teenager… (She was a sulky teenager with an attitude problem, hah!!!)

"A great deal, actually," D said, twisting around on the couch and looking straight at Erika, mismatched eyes very serious. "A pair who just scream "hired thugs" have come into town and are asking a number of questions about me. I believe I know who hired them and why they're here – they're going to try and steal the eggs. And if you're here at the shop when that happens then it is incredibly likely that you will be injured or taken hostage or… killed. And I don't think I could bear that." He tucked her long fringe back behind her ear so both eyes were fully visible for the first time in, like, months.

Erika blushed slightly, and reached up to catch his wrist, feeling a bit too on edge for the contact. She needed to be able to think and D was distracting her, big time. "But what about you?" she demanded, when she could think again. "You'll be here, all alone. They'll beat you to a pulp! They'll kill you! And I don't think I could bear that, thanks very much."

"I'll think of something…" D said, not quite meeting her eyes. Erika knew what he was thinking almost immediately and it did not make her happy. "Oh, no, you are not just handing the eggs over," she growled, ducking her head so she could lock eyes with him. "Not after all the trouble I went through to get hold of them. I had to put up with Bethany for you. I did not make that sacrifice for nothing."

D laughed. "And I suppose putting up with Bethany was a huge burden?" he teased.

"You have no idea," Erika muttered darkly, dropping her head down to rest on D's shoulder, without even realising she'd done it. D automatically slipped an arm around her, pulling her a little closer He began to play with a lock of her hair in an absentminded sort of way, his expression distant, which meant he was probably thinking hard. Hopefully he was coming up with a plan.

Erika sat cuddled up to D until the shop closed, trying to think of a way to get the two of them out of this predicament.

It happened while Erika was walking home that night. A huge, spotted golden cat flung itself out of an alleyway and jumped on her, knocking her to the ground. It crouched over her, paws on her shoulder, snarling, and displaying long teeth that were a little to sharp for Erika's peace of mind, considering how they were about three inches away from her face.

"Don't move," an unfamiliar female voice, which could only be described as plummy, called from somewhere a little way away. "And he won't rip your face off. I'll be there in a moment."

Erika held perfectly still, trying to ignore how the leopard's claws had gone through her thin t-shirt and were digging into her shoulders. She could feel warm blood trickling down her shoulders, soaking into her t-shirt. Then she registered a fact that should have been completely unimportant, considering the circumstances:

This was the t-shirt she'd worn to the Evanescence concert last summer.

It had been signed by all the members of the band.

And now it was blood streaked and had large holes in it…

She was going to kill someone.

Erika opened her eyes, which she'd squeezed shut in fear, and glared up at the leopard. "Would you kindly hurry up and get your pet cat off of me?" she snarled to the unseen woman, ignoring the earlier warning not to move. "Oh, he's not my pet, sweetie," the woman's voice said. "He's my partner. Benny-boy? Why don't you show the nice girl?"

The leopard seemed to shirt before her eyes, blurring, and then it was a very naked male human crouched over her. He was good looking, with thick blonde hair, dark golden eyes and a very muscly body. He smiled sleepily at her. "Hey…"

Erika gave him a sweet smile, then shoved him hard. He fell off her with a startled yelp and then Erika was on her feet, examining her t-shirt with a disgusted air. The punctures in the fabric would probably rip even more when she put it through the wash. "Brilliant…" she muttered. Her shoulders hurt.

There was a crack and then a whip wrapped itself lightly around her throat. Erika looked along it to the woman who held it. She was almost definitely the one of the plummy voice. She was small, delicate and wore a leather corset and black leather trousers with spike heels. Her black hair was pulled firmly back from her beautiful face and her dark brown eyes were smug. Erika suppressed hysterical laughter – she looked like she'd randomly selected her clothing from a bag marked "Bondage Gear" and then thrown it one without noticing how it looked on her. She looked like such a wannabe lion tamer, with her little pet leopard.

"You want something?" Erika asked her as politely as she could manage considering how her shirt was ruined. "I have a home to get to." She reached up and pulled the whip away from her throat, hurling it away.

"Well, sweetie, I have a message for your boss," the Lady Plum said plummily.

Erika clicked. "Oh, so you're the crazy thugs hired by some unknown to steal those eggs off D. I should have guessed it when Leopard Boy jumped me. Speaking of whom, could he please put some clothes on?"

The Lady Plum frowned as Benny-Boy started to slide his way into a rubber jumpsuit (and yes, I did say rubber. Oh, gods, how tragic, no?). "How do you know all this? And why aren't you a quivering wreck? A leopard just jumped on you."

"He wrecked my shirt," Erika said flatly. "Now I'm angry. Who the hell are you?"

Plum tried to regain control of the conversation: "I'm the one asking questions here. You will just carry this message to your boss: Bring us the eggs or else there'll be trouble."

Erika waited. When it became apparent that there wasn't any more message after that, she gave a frustrated sigh. "Is that all? One lame remark and we're supposed to fall over ourselves to obey your demands? That's pathetic. Come on, you can do better than that. Promise me something involving white hot spikes and possible Iron-Maiden action…"

The Plummy One had had enough. She snarled something dire and threatening and stalked off, curtly gesturing Benny-Boy to follow her. Erika rolled her eyes and stalked off home.

There were urgent repairs needed upon her favourite shirt.

The next day, she turned up for work as per usual and told D that he needn't worry, that the hired thugs were a pair of useless losers. D made her recount the story of how they'd waylaid her. He went white when she told him about how Benny-Boy had dug his claws into her shoulders.

"Did he draw blood?" he demanded, seizing her hand as though this was a big thing. He looked worried, scared almost. "Um, yes…" Erika admitted. "Wrecked my favourite shirt too and – D, what's the matter?" she demanded urgently as the Chinese man sank down onto the couch, one hand covering his mouth.

"He cut your shoulders open and he infected your with the virus that changes him into a leopard," he said through his fingers, his voice almost dreamy but edged with horror. "What does that mean?" Erika said, sitting beside him and gently tugging his hand away from his mouth, peering up at him. "D, what's going on?"

"You're a wereleopard now."

The words fell into the stillness of the shop like pebbles falling into deep water, sending out ripples of shock and confusion. "What?" Erika whispered, letting go of D's hand. "I'm a what?"

D closed his eyes. "A wereleopard. Wereleopardess. You won't change at full moon like werewolves must do, but if you get scared, or very angry, then you'll begin to pick up leopard like traits. And you'll be able to change completely soon. Oh, Erika, I'm sorry." He hesitantly tugged her into his arms, giving her a hug, his chin on top of her head.

Erika was very still as thoughts raced through her mind. She didn't speak for a long while, just sitting there with D's arms around her as he babbled on about how sorry he was. Suddenly, she murmured, "Why are you so upset?"

D stopped babbling and ducked his head to look her in the eye. "Why? Because of me, a change has been foisted on you which you never asked for, a change you didn't want. I decided when I hired you that I wouldn't let you be irretrievably affected by my work… well, at least, not too much…"

"What makes you think I don't want it?" Erika asked in a strangled sort of voice. She burst out laughing then, hugging D back, hard. "I can change into a leopard!" she yelped happily. "D, that's brilliant!"

"Um, you might not think so later on…" D commented in a slightly bemused voice as she pulled free and started to randomly dance around the room. She smiled at him wildly. "Will I have to hurt anyone?"

"No, I don't think so…"

"Then I don't care. This is so cool!!"

It was quite a while before Erika got control of herself again and then she collapsed back down on the couch next to D. "You know, deciding to take a job here might have been the best thing I ever did," she informed D delightedly. "Tragic weirdos demanding that I pass on inane messages and all."

D smiled, a little uncertainly. "Well, I'm glad that you're happy," he said, his voice tinged with confusion.

"Happy? Try ecstatic! Oh, we have customers!" Erika yelped then, shooting up off the couch and darting the room across to meet the young boy who'd just walked in with his mother. "Welcome to Count D's Pet Shop," she said smoothly, hiding her delight and slipping back into the role of shopkeeper. "I'm the Count's assistant Erika. How may I help you?"

D stared at her, absentmindedly pouring a cup of tea for himself, as she effortlessly chatted with the little boy and helped him pick out a turtle for his older brother, who's birthday was next week or something like that. "I will never understand that girl," he commented to the walls in a numb voice.