There were way too many people. 

Kit squeezed Darah's hand with both of his as he nervously inched his way forward, doing his best to keep up with the other man... but failing miserable. 

The mall was reasonably busy, and an uncomfortable amount of people were stealing glances at him as they walked by, setting off his instincts to flee down the nearest burrow. 

Unfortunately, there were no burrows, and while Darah had said that he could shift any time he needed a break, he didn't want to appear weak already. They had just arrived!

He had even gone through the trouble of picking up a few old outfits from one of his friends that reasonably fit Kit's smaller human form. He didn't want to seem rude by shifting again so soon. 

"Here, hun," Darah said as he gently tugged up the hood on the sweatshirt he'd given him. 

It hid a large amount of the stares he was getting, allowing Kit to slowly relax a little. 

"Better?" 

Kit smiled and nodded as they stepped into a much quieter store. 

He wasn't a big fan of the scent inside, as it was quite strong, but the further they went in, the more he got used to it. 

"Sorry, it's probably a bit smelly in here to you, right?" Darah said as he led him to the back of the store. 

They stopped in a big area labeled clearance. 

"You don't have to get stuff specifically from here, but if you find anything you like, feel free to grab it to try on," Darah said as he began looking through the racks of clothing. 

To be completely honest, as much as he wanted to make his new friend happy, Kit was already overstimulated with the sheer amount of items, on top of the strong scent. 

"Shift for me, sweetheart?" 

Kit's human form immediately vanished, leaving a wiggling ferret beneath the pile of clothing. 

He was soon dug out of his little cave and situated in the pocket of Darah's hoodie. 

My safe place.

He quickly settled down, then poked his head out just in time to see Darah slipping his borrowed clothing into a bag he was handed by an employee. 

"You two take your time. The dressing rooms are right in the back and if no one is in one, it'll be unlocked," the employee said with a smile that had Kit tilting his head. 

She seemed very excited to see him for some reason. 

"So cute," she whispered to herself before hurrying off to help another customer. 

She thinks I'm cute? 

"She does, bud. Because you are," Darah replied as he continued looking through the clothing racks. 

That's two people who think I'm cute. 

He perked up a bit at the thought, then saw something in front of him that immediately caught his eye. Since the lady had walked away and no one else was in the area, he hesitantly climbed out of his safety pocket and hurried down Darah's pantleg. 

After a quick scurry across the floor and a curious squeak, he sat down in front of a small display. 

"Oh, you like that tie?"

Glancing over his shoulder, Kit squeaked his agreement. He had seen some important people come in and out of the place he used to live, and all of the men had been wearing the extra piece of clothing. 

After another look at the tie, Kit looked up to where Darah had stopped beside him. 

Will I be special if I wear one of them? Like the people who used to come to where I lived? 

The young man standing beside him frowned, but quickly covered up the expression with a smile as he reached forward to take the bright red tie, then squatted down next to him. 

"I think it would look great on you. Oh, look," Darah said as he flipped the tie over, then unclipped something tiny from the back of it. 

"They even come with little ties in case their intended wearer has a shift." 

Before Kit could comprehend how incredible that was, he had the tiny tie clipped to the fur just beneath his chin. 

"Look over here," Darah said as he squatted down next to a large mirror. 

Kit quickly bounded over, then straightened up a bit in order to look at his new accessory. 

Oh wow!

"You look very handsome, bud."

Kit looked up at him and gave a happy little squeak. He wasn't sure what words to say, but he was overjoyed that he looked handsome! He remembered that it was a good word, and as he returned his attention to the mirror, his little ears wiggled with excitement at how handsome he looked!

"It looks like there's a whole collection of items that have shift versions," Darah said as he held up a black suit that looked to be around Kit's size, then unclipped a tiny suit from the back of it to show him. 

Soon, his little ferret had a partial black suit on to go with its red tie. 

He liked the look. 

He liked it a lot!

"Want to try it on in your human form, too?" Darah asked as he walked over to one of the empty changing rooms after grabbing a few pairs of boxers from a nearby rack. 

Kit considered his request, then decided to try. They walked into the changing room, then closed the door before he shifted back to his human form after wiggling out of his tiny suitcoat. 

The boxers went on first, since they were going to buy them anyways, then with Darah's help, Kit stepped into the pants. They were easy enough to fasten with two simple snap buttons, and actually seemed to fit perfectly. 

Darah had grabbed a few shirts that might match and helped him into a long-sleeved, blood-red one. It had a collar and fancy buttons at the cuffs, but Darah took care of everything. 

Pretty soon Kit was standing in front of the dressing room mirror, his expression one of intrigued surprise. 

Is this really me? He questioned innocently as he looked over his shoulder, then back to the mirror. 

"Yep! You and your ferret are both very handsome."

Kit smiled at the person staring back at him in the mirror. 

I look good!

Turning around, he looked up at the young man watching him with his own calm smile. 

Mr. Darah, can I get this?

Darah nodded without hesitation. 

"Of course. I think it looks great. Would you like to see what other things they have?" 

For the first time in his life, Kit nodded to such a question. He wanted to see what else his human form would look good in. 

Since he was more comfortable shopping in his new outfit, Darah paid for it before they continued looking for things. By the time they were done in the store, they had two huge bags of brand new clothes. 

Most of them had come from the clearance section, but he was perfectly okay with that! And actually, he was happy that what he liked hadn't been expensive, since Darah had to pay for it for the time being. 

"Alright, now that that's done... what would you like to eat?" 

We aren't going home to eat? 

Darah had gone grocery shopping recently, so they had plenty at home. 

"Have you ever gone out to eat, Kit?" Darah asked as they walked towards a busier part of the mall. 

No sir.

The louder it got, the more nervous he became, but instead of shifting and hiding in Darah's hoodie pocket like he wanted to, Kit carefully took the bag the man had in his left hand and put it in his own, then took Darah's left hand in his right one. 

He felt Darah squeeze it gently in response. The silent reassurance was appreciated. 

"These are all restaurants. Is there any specific kind of food you like to eat?" Darah asked, then added, "besides prairie dogs and pizza." 

Looking towards all the stores in front of them, Kit frowned and shifted from foot to foot. He had liked the rice and eggs Darah had made for him before, as well as everything else, but he wasn't familiar with much other human food yet. 

I'm okay with anything, Mr. Darah. 

"Alright, we'll try my favorite place, okay?" He said as he calmly led Kit through the crowds of people until they stopped in front of a little restaurant. 

Mex... ican? 

He repeated the word in his head twice, then realized what it was. 

Mexican food? 

Darah nodded. 

"Sound good? It's not as heavy as the other options here, so if you aren't used to it, your stomach shouldn't hurt to much." 

Kit nodded, then looked back at all the food laid out in front of them behind the display case glass. 

"Do you see some things you remember liking?" 

After a few moments of silence, Kit nodded. 

"Perfect. Just tell me what you'd like and I'll get it for you."

They stepped up to order, and after Kit watched Darah choose his ingredients, he chose nearly the same thing. Their final choices were two burrito bowls with a shared chips and queso dip.  

Their bowls consisted of tomatoes, black beans, avocado, sour cream, shredded cheese, lettuce, and jalapenos. Kit had some chicken added to his, while Darah decided on grilled vegetables over meat. 

There were thankfully a few spots away from the noisier area to sit, and they happily settled down in the quietest spot. Unlike everyone else around them, they ate in silence. 

It was also just that good!

The jalapenos were a bit hard to handle at first, but he quickly grew used to them and absolutely loved the flavor that they added!

"I think you're going to grow to love spicy foods," Darah said as he reached over and wiped a bit of sour cream from his nose, then licked it from his finger before nonchalantly going back to his food. 

Kit blinked. 

Darah continued to eat. 

Kit blinked again. 

Darah was rather enjoying his food. 

"Those peppers getting to you, bud?" Darah asked after a literal minute of silence. 

"Your face looks a bit red."

Frowning, Kit set his fork down, then pressed a hand to the side of his face. 

My mouth doesn't feel that hot. 

He pondered the situation for a few moments, but he just wasn't a very deep thinker and simply ended up nudging the remainder of his jalapenos to the now-empty side of his food tray.

They finished eating in a comfortable silence, then threw out their trash and, after taking Darah's hand again, walked back through the mall and out the door. 

The moment they were back in the young man's car, however, Kit shifted back to his ferret form and immediately passed out in Darah's hoodie pocket.  

He had intended to wake up the moment they got home to help carry things in and put them away properly, but he ended up sleeping through all of that. 

Instead, he was tucked into his little bed under the sink with his bat stuffed animal and left alone to sleep off his full belly while Darah quietly took care of everything. 

He did remember hearing one thing as he was snuggling in for his nap, though... 

"You did very well. Get some rest, sweetheart." 

His little ferret's lips tilted up the slightest fraction at the praise. 

He had done well.