Poor Private Perkins

As any sane human could tell you, the southern jungles are a treacherous place. Even if there weren't bipedal beasts hiding in the trees, waiting to pounce on intruders and tear them to shreds, there were plenty of other dangers that lurked in the woods. Malaria had killed just as many men as tribal blades, venomous snakes lay invisible in the underbrush, and the smallest bite from a wandering spider would be more than enough to bring the strongest of soldiers to a blubbering end. And beyond the physical dangers, the shifting, dappled shadows could conjure up all manner of unsightly terrors in a fearful mind, driving those unfortunate enough to enter straight into death's waiting jaws.

It was in this jungle that the Fairweather Trading Company was stubbornly fighting a losing battle against a bunch of humanoid jaguars, hoping to drive the creatures out and claim whatever riches they were obviously guarding. Two years and millions of gold coins hadn't gotten them a single inch into the jungle; any camps they lay down wound up slaughtered within days, and the precarious rivers prevented a sizable force from forming fast enough to attack. It seemed like the savages knew every move they would make, always two steps ahead with an ambush or three set in just the right spots. Three thousand and seventy-four soldiers had died in the drawn-out conflict, and for one poor soul in particular, that number seemed about ready to become three thousand and seventy-five.

Private Thomas Perkins had been running headlong through the slapping leaves and tripping roots of the jungle for what seemed like hours, desperately trying to reach the distant sound of gunfire while fleeing the sight of the rest of his squad. Before he even knew what was happening, two men had been skewered with arrows while his sergeant had gotten pounced; the horrid gurgling sound of the man's throat being cut still haunted his memory, and the emerald glare of the savage that did it had driven him to flee. Thomas didn't know if he was being chased, and if he was being chased, how close he was to getting his own neck opened up, all he knew was there were more humans ahead, there had to be... until the guns of whoever it was out there went quiet.

Realizing that he might be the only human left, the young private frantically put his rifle to his shoulder and turned to face whatever might be giving chase, hoping he'd catch a glimpse of spotted pelt before something came crashing down through the tree canopy and-SNAP.

The human turned toward the sound and fired off a shot in a fit of blind panic, then reloaded, half-aimed, and fired again at what sort of looked like a crouching creature. When the smoke cleared, he realized neither bullet had come remotely close to hitting anything, and after a moment's intense listening, he heard... nothing. The entire jungle was eerily quiet, with nothing but the sound of wind moving through the trees to make him think he wasn't deaf. Of course, that didn't mean he was safe, but since there wasn't anything attacking him at that moment, the private had a chance to re-orient himself.

"Okay, ah... home base should be west, and I'm facing... east? South?" After slipping another cartridge into his gun, he briefly dug around in his pockets for his standard-issue compass, but it didn't take long to realize he'd left it back at base. Damnit. "Well, the sun's over there, and it's morning, so..." Wait, was it more to the left than usual? It was hard to tell with the leaves in the way... maybe he could climb a tree? No, he thought, looking down at his stiff, bright red uniform coat; there's no way he'd be able to make it to the top, and even if it was possible, he'd have to leave his rifle behind. He couldn't just sit there and wait for a rescue party either... "Guess the only way is forward."

Thomas quickly started off in the direction he guessed was west, tromping through the underbrush with little care for quiet. All that mattered was getting back to base, just do that and-click!

He hardly had time to register the noise before a rope yanked up under his armpits, hoisting him up into the sprawling tree branches as some weight came crashing down beside him. In less than a second, he was hanging fifteen feet off the ground, his rifle lying back in the underbrush and far out of reach; a quick assessment of the situation told him he was caught in a trap, and moreover that something would be along shortly to check on it. Thomas immediately tried to reach for his belt, but the cord under his arm combined with his own weight to make it nigh impossible. Try as he might, the hilt of his knife remained just a few inches out of reach, but it still seemed like a winnable situation... until a feminine voice rung out through the air.

"Mmmm... mira lo que he encontrado..." The young private looked up to see a pair of jade eyes staring back at him from a shadow-dappled silhouette, a shape whose tail and pointed ears marked it as dangerous. It was crouched on a branch a few feet from him, and as he redoubled his efforts to get at his knife, Thomas heard a slight chuckle from the creature. "A bit stuck, conejito?" it giggled, "Maybe I could help with that..." The thing reached down and pulled something from its waist, something that glinted in the sun and reminded the boy of his own infantry knife. Part of him began wondering if it had killed someone to get it, and another part grew curious as to where it had learned English. "...or maybe I'll just gut you while you hang there... decisions, decisions..."

The shadowy figure suddenly hopped forward, moving with eerie grace to a branch closer to where Thomas was hanging. As he resumed clawing at his knife, the private briefly glanced at the creature again, and this time, he could make out quite a bit more. It had the same spotted hide that all the jaguars had, and it was dressed in the same savage manner with revealing hide clothing, but it looked almost... feminine. There were two bulges on its chest, too, and the leather strip covering them left a bit of a furry cleavage. His eyes lingered just long enough for the creature to notice, and it let out another small chuckle while slowly creeping toward him. As he continued to struggle, Thomas finally grabbed the hilt of his knife and yanked it free, and had just raised it to the rope holding him up when that dreadful voice spoke again from behind him.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that if I were you, conejito, it's such a long way down... I'd probably survive, but you..." Thomas refused to listen and began furiously sawing at the rope, quickly finding it to be more robust than expected, but he still managed to cut halfway through in record time. A surge of victorious glee flowed through him as the last few fibers gave way, but it quickly turned to panicked fear once he began hurtling toward the ground. The poor human tried his best to soften the fall by rolling like they always did in adventure novels, but wound up just slamming side-first into the underbrush; the impact knocked the breath out of him, keeping him down for a half a minute as he tried to get air back into his lungs. It took a few more precious seconds to scrabble to his feet and grab his gun, and by the time he'd begun sweeping the barrel around the treetops, the jaguar was already gone.

"Alright, get it together. Base camp's that way... or is it?" All the trees looked the same as Thomas spun around, and trying to figure out which way he'd been heading seemed harder and harder the more he looked. "Damnit, where was I going?" Eventually, he decided on heading left, but instead of running, he took the time to keep his gun aimed at the treetops. That thing wasn't going to get the drop on him again, he thought, and when it reared its ugly head, he'd blow the damn thing off. Well, it actually wasn't that ugly, now that he thought about it... it almost had a kind of exotic beauty... pretty shapely, too...

A brief flicker of young lust caught in his mind, a fantasy of bringing the jaguar woman back as a living trophy, which distracted him just enough to mask the sound of something dropping out of the tree canopy. The jaguar landed on top of him with practiced precision, knocking the private to the ground on his belly and putting a knife to his throat. Before he knew it, Thomas was disarmed and at his enemy's mercy, and all he could do was close his eyes and wait. It was going to butcher him the same way they slaughtered his squad, then chop him up, mount his head on a spike, then serve the rest of him up for dinner. Oh god, he didn't want to end up as a meal for these things, he didn't want to die, he didn't even want to kill his way out of this, he just wanted to go home...

In that moment of pure fear and regret, a single tear ran down his cheek, and he would have been ashamed had he not been a few seconds from dying. Just a flick of the knife across his throat, a few seconds of pain, and he'd be safe on the other side...

Only the killing blow never came. Thomas could still feel the creature's furry bulk on top of him, and its stolen knife was still pressed to his throat, almost like it was waiting for something. After a few more seconds of tense silence, it shifted its weight forward, bringing its teeth inches from his neck. "Aren't you going to beg?" it whispered into his ear, still sickeningly cheerful even on the verge of killing him.

"Like you'd let me go," he murmured, resigned to his fate. There wasn't any way he could get this thing off him before it opened up an artery, so instead of struggling, he just lay motionless. "Just get it over with..."

"Aww, but that's no fun. I've got all sorts of things I want to do to you, conejito, most of which you won't like..." The jaguar smoothly brought the tip of her knife up from his neck to his cheekbone, the cold steel tip scraping against his skin. "Maybe I'll pluck out your eyes, watch you stumble around blind for a while..." It gradually brought the blade closer to his eye socket, seeming to enjoy stretching out the moment, but when Thomas didn't react beyond closing his eyes, the creature seemed to almost give up. "Hmph," it growled, moving the knife away from his face before slipping it back into its sheath.

The private then felt it lift up a bit and grab him by the shoulder, roughly flipping him over before laying back down on top of him. Now that he was face to face with the creature, he could clearly see both its feline and feminine features. It's soft, dappled fur looked positively luxurious, complemented by the lithe, amazonian frame of a woman. He couldn't help but glance at its chest again as a corner of his mind turned to indecent thoughts, and the jaguar seemed to notice his interest, raising one eyebrow as its smile returned. "Maybe there's something else I could use you for," it purred, "If you want to be so... passivo..."

Thomas watched as it took something from a pouch on its belt, a few vibrant purple berries that it crushed in one paw. It then spread the mashed substance onto the front of its muzzle almost like lipstick, looking him in the eyes all the while. "Mmmm... eres lindo para un humano," it murmured, and as the boy tried to figure out what it meant, the jaguar grabbed either side of his head and pressed its muzzle to his lips. Thomas was shocked by the sudden affection, his eyes growing wide as the creature continued to kiss him; without really thinking, he grabbed onto its hips, but he was too shocked to even recognize the knife sheath he'd touched. He just lay there in stunned silence, and as the jaguar finally pulled back, his mouth just hung open.

"Wha... what are-"

"What am I doing? Oh, it won't take long to figure out." The creature subtly slid its hips back on top of him, putting the opening of her skirt right above his... wait... was she really... "Just lay back, relax, and let the lujuritas work."

Was she talking about the berries? Were they poison? He'd heard that word before, somewhere... wait, he could feel something, a tingling on his lips, slowly spreading throughout his whole body. That, coupled with the feeling of her furry bulk rubbing up against him, especially on his groin, caused confusion to spread through his mind like a murky cloud. First she'd seemed like she wanted to kill him, and now she was acting like she couldn't get enough of him. She... something about the way the jaguar almost lustily began kissing and licking his neck made him start thinking of her as more feminine, more like a woman than a remorseless killer.

That, in turn, made her frisky advances seem far less suspicious, and he could even feel his pants beginning to tighten. She was so beautiful, more so than most humans he'd seen, and as the tingling reached all the way to his toes, Thomas began touching her back without really thinking. His hand quickly found their way to the rear of her clothes, and as she pulled back a bit, he darted in and returned her kiss on the lips. All of his fear was somehow gone, replaced by the tingly sensation of heated arousal; he didn't think for a minute that the jaguar would hurt him, and when she flexed one bladed digit and hooked under the front of his uniform's collar, he didn't even flinch. "Mmmm, that was quick," she purred, slowly slicing through the silver buttons one by one with her razor-like claw. Her eyes gleamed with the same arousal Thomas felt, and somewhere in the back of his hazy mind, he realized she had tasted the berries too. "I take it you're not so scared stiff anymore?"

"Well, something's stiff," he replied with a blissful grin, "But I think it's more to do with your chest..." His hands searched for a knot or something on the back of her hide top, and as she popped his coat all the way open, he undid the part holding it all together before tossing the garment aside.

The jaguar swiftly did the same to his jacket, then began hastily plucking at his undershirt buttons. "Aren't you afraid I'm going to gobble you up?" she giggled, "You're looking pretty delicious right about now..."

"That sounds fun," Thomas replied, a tinge of drunkenness evident in his voice. He then reached up and grabbed onto her breasts, relishing in the squishy, furry texture as he felt her up. "You could kill me right now, and I wouldn't have a single regret..."

Both of them let out another round of tipsy-sounding giggles, after which the jaguar seemed to get lost in thought for a moment. When she came back, she didn't hesitate to reach down and open up his mouth, inspecting his tongue for a moment before cracking an even bigger smile. "What would you say to doing a bit of gobbling yourself, conejito? I think I've got the perfect spot for that smooth tongue of yours..."

Before Thomas could reply, she reached back and undid the knot holding up her skirt before slipping it off. The young private had never even seen a woman naked before, and his eyes became locked on what he saw between her legs. "I-is that your... ah..."

"What, you've never been with a jaguar before?" she jokingly asked, but after a moment, a tinge of concern crept across her expression. "No, you haven't been with anyone, have you? Supongo que tendré que mostrarte qué hacer..." Suddenly, the jaguar rolled off him, turning ninety degrees before laying on her back. When Thomas looked over, he saw her spreading both her legs and the furry area around her nethers, giving him an inviting view of her soft, pink insides. "C' mere," she purred, "I'm gonna teach you how to please a woman."

The private quickly complied, trying to figure out what to do with each part. There was a half- hooded nub at the top, a small opening almost in the middle, and a much bigger hole below that, all of it just barely coated in a glistening sheen. His old aspirations of saving himself for marriage like a good Christian boy were out the window, replaced by equal parts giddy excitement and nervous confusion. His Victorian education made sure he had no clue what to do, and the primal part of his brain wasn't giving him any hints either; luckily, the jaguar only put up with a few seconds of his gawking before grabbing his wrist and pulling his hand close.

"Here, stick two in... no, lower... mmmm, just like that." It felt so weird, having his fingers inside her, it was just so warm and soft and squishy; it felt almost ribbed on the inside, and he thought he could feel a little nub on the upper wall. "Now curl your fingers... mmhmm, perfecto." Thomas began using a beckoning motion to rub at the small spot inside her, and from the way she relaxed and murmured, it was precisely what he was supposed to do. Each little stroke made the jaguar's nethers pulse around his fingers, and as he continued to finger her, he thought he could feel things getting looser and wetter.

"Alright, next, I want you to start licking the top. Don't stop with the fingers, just lean down and put that pretty tongue of yours to work." After a moment's hesitation, Thomas did as she asked, lying down in front of her groin and putting his mouth right by her snatch. Inhaling revealed a musky scent that wasn't really unpleasant, and as he gently stuck his tongue out, he got a taste of her acidic juices. Eventually, he worked up the courage to start lapping at the little nub on top, and once he got into a rhythm, the jaguar let out a long, satisfied groan."Ohhh, there's a good boy," she purred, "Just keep doing that and I won't have to eat you."

The private took her statement in stride as he continued to lick at her clit, massaging her g-spot at the same time to make her sigh with pleasure. Her whole groin was getting slick with her slippery secretions, making it easier to move his fingers around inside her and getting his chin a little bit soaked. Part of his brain was a bit grossed out by the squishy warmth, the exotic taste, and the musky smell, but he found those same attributes to be just what was turning him on. The jaguar had begun squirming under him, moaning a few tips in between foreign sounding words. "Ah, foyame...," she groaned, "Keep going, conejito... mmmmmph..."

From his view between her legs, Thomas watched her begin to grope her own breasts, almost mesmerizing him with their squishiness and soft fur and... god, it would be so much fun to just bury his face in them. As he diligently continued eating her out, the private could feel his member throbbing inside his pants, begging for friction and straining for some kind of stimulation. Without really thinking, he began subtly grinding against the ground, fantasizing about doing the same to the creature in front of him. Wait, maybe he could stick it inside her... she seemed to like it with his finger, so perhaps she'd let him...

His attention turned back to reality just in time to notice the jaguar tensing up beneath him, squirming and moaning... almost like he did when he was jerking off. Wait, did girls have the same thing happen as boys, that rush of pleasure after stroking for long enough? Well, it seemed like he was about to find out; his unorthodox partner appeared to be nearing some kind of climax, and the young private prepared for a spurt of something sticky.

"Oh Dios, mierda... voy a eyacular..." She punctuated the sentence with a startling yowl of pleasure, a sound that made Thomas wonder whether she was having the best time of her life or was in horrible, horrible pain. Thankfully, nothing but a bit of vaginal fluid squirted out of her, but to his surprise, her thighs suddenly clamped on either side of his head like a muscular, furry vice. She put one paw on the back of his head, too, pressing his face into her crotch as her claws flexed into his scalp. Not wanting to disappoint, the private continued pleasuring her for almost half a minute more, only stopping when her legs went limp and she gently pushed him back. "Santa mierda," the jaguar murmured to herself, "No he eyaculado tan fuerte en meses..." After a minute of relaxation, she looked up to see Thomas kneeling in front of her, looking alert and eager to please. Her eyes quickly noticed the massive tent in his pants, and after a moment of thought, she raised one paw and beckoned him closer. "Come, conejito, you deserve a reward... why don't you take that thing off and enjoy yourself?"