Jack had a real problem. He didn’t know whether to register his new ‘girlfriend’ with a doctor, or a veterinarian. He suspected that he might need both…!

Maeve was a real enigma. They’d met at a costume party in town. He’d been really impressed by the attention to detail in her costume. His hadn’t been cheap, but hers must have cost a bomb…

They hit it off straight away and were soon dancing together. She then started rubbing up against him, sniffing him, and gently head butting him.

“Like… you…”, she said, in that weird hesitant way of hers. “But… smell… wrong…”

Maeve had started pawing, gently, against his back. She had found the zipper, hooked a claw in it and gently pulled it down a bit. Jack giggled as she stuck her wet nose through the zip.

“That… better…”, she said. “Now… know… you… human…”

She gently pulled the zip back up again. She then smiled, showing her beautiful teeth, and her pointed canines. She had way too many teeth…

With a ‘see you later’ wiggle, Maeve had then vanished into the crowd…

Maeve had been ‘dressed’ as a gorgeous black panther woman. As such, she could disappear in darkness easily, except for the glow of her yellow eyes…

Jack tried to follow her but soon lost her. Smiling, he headed back to the bar and ordered a drink.

“Mine’s… milk…”, came a voice. Maeve was back…

Chuckling, Jack ordered the drinks and put an arm round Maeve, who purred…

Jack and Maeve then enjoyed the rest of the evening together; just talking. However, when he got up to go, he knew as little about her as when they had first met; Maeve was being very secretive and evasive. When asked where she had come from, she said she ‘didn’t remember, it was around here somewhere.’ Who was this enigmatic woman, and why was she turning him on so much?

Jack would have kissed her but, somehow, it didn’t feel right. He stroked her instead; gently at first, then a little harder, scratching her behind the ears. The purr turned into a loud rumble…

Maeve gave Jack a playful ‘nip’ on the ear, then gently headbutted him. Jack then started gently rubbing his thumb up the bridge of her nose…

Maeve was in heaven. Finally, she had found a human that knew how to treat her properly! When Jack got up to go, she stuck to him like glue. She wasn’t losing him…!

Outside the club, Jack signalled for his car, just as it started to rain. With a small screech, Maeve darted back inside, cowering. She hated water…!

Jack got to his car, then held the passenger door open. Maeve sprang straight from the door of the club into the car, not even touching the ground once. Jack strapped her in, then shut the door, walking round to the driver’s seat.

“Hate… water…!”, Maeve squeaked.

“I noticed”, chuckled Jack. “I bet you’re a real problem at bathtime…” Maeve glared at him, her yellow eyes flashing.

Jack carried on chuckling as he drove away…

Back at his home, Jack parked the car, and he and Maeve headed into the house through a covered passage. He marvelled at the way Maeve was slinking about, sometimes on two feet, sometimes on all fours. He took Maeve on a ‘tour’ through the house, showing her around. Maeve loved it all, except the bathroom, where she refused to go in and just hissed. “Too… much… water…!”

Finally, Jack got back to his bedroom, and he started taking off his costume. He was then able to cuddle Maeve properly for the first time…

Jack gently ‘inspected’ Maeve all over. She loved it as he gently pawed through her fur… “How… you… know…?”, she asked?

“I’ve had cats for company for years”, Jack replied. “My last companion, Ariel, died only recently. At the same time, I know what cats like. You, my dear, are just a larger version of the same thing, with a bit of human thrown into the mix.”

“Hanther…”, said Maeve, quietly. “They… call… me… Hanther…” She seemed to be recalling a memory.

“A Hanther?”, Jack replied. “That means you’re a cross between a human and a black panther. I should have guessed; your agility, yellow eyes and your beautiful fur…”

“Me… beautiful…?”, said Maeve. “People… called… me… freak…!” A tear formed.

“No way!”, said Jack, hugging her. He then headbutted her, gently, under the chin, then nuzzled her. Maeve couldn’t help it. She coiled her tail round him, then pulled him over to the bed…

Jack awoke the next morning to a weight on his chest. Maeve was staring down at him, purring.

“Morning…”, she said. “Sleep… Well…?”

“Oh yes!”, Jack said. “What time we did spend sleeping…!”

He giggled and Maeve’s purr got louder. They then went off in search of breakfast.

Maeve’s breakfast was easy; as soon as Jack opened the door, Maeve snatched a fresh steak from a shelf, ripped off the wrapping, and ate it. Jack realised that his food bill for the week had just tripled…

Suddenly, Maeve shot off to one side. There was a squeak, followed by some crunching noises…

“Mouse…”, explained Maeve, back at the fridge.

“You’ve got a tail hanging from your mouth”, said Jack, with a laugh. He fished the tail out of Maeve’s jaws and waggled it in front of her. Maeve made a ‘chuffing’ noise, her version of a laugh, then she headbutted him playfully.

Jack then decided to shower and get dressed. He didn’t realise how traumatic it was going to be for Maeve…

Maeve thought he was drowning. She wailed, screeched, tried to dig under the bathroom door, ripping the carpet. Water was evil! Dangerous!

Jack tried to get her to calm down but failed completely. In the end, all he could do was dry himself and come out. Maeve then inspected him all over, thoroughly.

“Don’t… do… again…!”, she said, worriedly. It took a lot of stroking and cuddling to calm her down…

Jack explained it was a humans way of grooming, as their tongues were too short to do it like cats, and they couldn’t bend far enough round anyway.

“Let… me… do…”, said Maeve. She then started licking Jack, all over, and combing his hair with her paws…

One thing led to another, and the pair ended up back in bed.

“I can see it’s going to take a long time to get up, this morning”, Jack said, smiling. Maeve just headbutted him, playfully…

Jack eventually got dressed and headed into the office to work from home as a web designer. He was mid-way through an online meeting with his latest client when he noticed her mouth was dropped open in amazement…

“Who is that…?”, Amy said. “That costume is incredible…!”

Amy, a fashion designer, was getting Jack to build her a new online shop. All her planning had gone out of the window, however. Maeve, interested in all the ‘flashing lights’, had perched her chin on Jack’s shoulder, enraptured.

“Oh, this is Maeve”, Jack said, offhandedly. “Maeve, say hi to Amy.”

“Hi…”, said Maeve, headbutting Jack. “Maeve, I’m trying to work…!”, Jack said, gently getting her to get off. “Go find some more mice, or something…!”

“No… fun…”, said Maeve, slinking off dejectedly.

Jack carried on with his meeting, carefully dealing with any questions about Maeve that Amy raised. He was just getting up to make a drink when there was a crash from the kitchen…

Jack came into the kitchen, looking at the broken cup on the floor. Maeve had knocked it off of the draining board.

“Got… bored…”, she said, dejectedly. “No… more… mice…”.

She looked so miserable that Jack just held his arms out, and she pounced onto him. After a fair bit of rubbing and rib tickling, Maeve felt better. Jack was just beginning to realise how high maintenance his girlfriend was but, at the same time, he wouldn’t change anything for the world…!

In a compromise, Jack let Maeve keep him company while in meetings, as long as she promised not to get in view of the camera.

This worked quite well and, eventually, Jack got all his work done for the day. He then got up, Maeve following, and they went out to the car. Jack felt that Maeve could do with some exercise…

Jack drove up to the local public park, which was hardly ever used, and parked the car. He then let Maeve out and told her to enjoy herself, but she was not to attack or eat anything, then sat back in the driver seat and rested, sipping from a bottle of water.

Maeve took off like a rocket. She bounded and bounced, racing back and forth. Speed wise, she was more like a cheetah than a panther; she could run as fast as most cars…

Suddenly, Maeve heard a scream. A man’s dog had slipped its lead, and it was attacking a young girl. Maeve didn’t even stop to think; she came barrelling down the hill and rammed the dog in the side as hard as she could.

With a yelp, the dog took off, leaving the girl. Maeve, protecting the girl, just screeched for help…

Jack was already running. He’d seen it all, as he’d been following Maeve with a pair of binoculars. So, unfortunately, had the dog’s owner…

Completely ignoring the fact that his dog had attacked the girl, he hit Maeve.

“What have you done to my dog?”, he said.

“Protect… girl…!”, said Maeve, still putting herself between the man and the girl, hissing.

At the same time the girl’s mother rushed over. The man tried to blame Maeve for the attack, not realising that the mother had seen everything, too…

“You leave her alone!”, she shouted. “She’s only trying to help. It’s your damn dog that’s the problem…!”

The woman came closer. Then she saw Maeve for the first time. “What are you…?”

“Hanther…”, said Maeve, simply.

“Whatever you are”, she said, “you saved my daughter’s life. I’ll forever be grateful.”

Jack appeared, out of breath from running. He turned to the man.

“You hit my girlfriend again, and we’re going to have a real problem”, he said.

The man took another swing at Maeve, still complaining about his dog. It never connected. Jack grabbed his hand, twisted his arm behind his back, and shoved. The man went down.

“Leave her alone!”, Jack said. “I won’t ask nicely again…!”

“I’ve called the police and reported the dog”, the woman said. “Your ‘girlfriend’ saved my daughter’s life.”

The daughter was now on her feet, shaky. She did giggle, however, as Maeve wrapped her tail round her…

“Your fur is really soft”, she said.

“Good… grooming…!”, said Maeve, with a meaningful look at Jack.

Jack offered the woman and her daughter a lift to hospital, to get the daughter checked out, and they accepted graciously. They were both fascinated with Maeve. So were the hospital staff when the four walked in, Maeve on her back legs for a change.

After the A&E staff had treated the girl, they gathered around Maeve, who loved the attention. They had all thought it was an elaborate costume to start with; they were only now beginning to realise that Maeve was real…

Once they had made sure that the girl was unharmed, just shaken up, Jack and Maeve left, Maeve’s tail upright with joy. She had managed to save someone’s life, and people weren’t scared of her anymore, or thought she was weird. That was a real result…!

There were still questions to be answered, but she wasn’t scared any more. She had someone to share her life with, someone that really understood her.

“Hanther…”, she said again, quietly, as they left to go home…