Darah sat across the small dining room table from his father, freshly clothed and with an aching left nipple that had a band-aid over it. 

They had been staring at each other for a solid five minutes, yet no words have passed between them yet. He honestly had no idea how to explain what his father had seen without writing an entire book about it. 

He didn't think the author would like to deal with another spin-off right then. 

Internally groaning for the fifth time, Darah looked over at Kit, who was peering around the corner of the hallway, too nervous to come formally meet his dad, but too curious to continue hiding from him. 

Of course, he was still in his ferret form, but that was probably for the best. His father wouldn't expect a ferret to talk, but he would expect a human to. 

"It really wasn't what it looked like," he eventually started, then sighed. 

"His ferret likes to play with my toes in the shower, but when I got out, I accidentally shifted into my bat form after teasing him a bit. He's a bit more animal than human right now, so he pounced on my bat..."

It was clear that his father wasn't happy with that explanation, but probably for other reasons besides the nipple biting, at least. 

"If he has so little control over his animal half, I don't know how I feel about him staying here with you," he said. 

Those words were to be expected, since he was his father. And also a police officer. Having his son being attacked by a rabid ferret definitely wasn't a positive. 

"I know that it's not great to hear, but this is the only time it's ever happened. He really has been well behaved."

His father's expression didn't change much, but when he looked over at Kit, who was still barely poking his head out of the hallway entrance, he didn't really seem upset anymore. 

After a long minute of silence, the man's attention returned to him. 

"You're coming to dinner tonight, right?" 

Ah, right. 

The first Friday of each month he went over to his parent's for dinner. 

"Of course, I'll be there," Darah replied without hesitation. 

His father looked back to Kit, then nodded to the ferret. 

"Bring him."

Uh...

"What? Can he not behave enough to come with you to a simple dinner with your family yet?" His father asked, raising an eyebrow as he spoke. 

Damn. I knew he was going to test what I said, but I was hoping he'd give me a bit more time before he did. 

"Hey Kit, would you mind coming to dinner with me tonight? It will just be me and my mom and dad at their house," he said as he turned to look at the little ferret still watching them curiously. 

 He could tell that Kit was nervous, but he didn't hesitate for long before he nodded his little fuzzy head. 

I'll go with Mr. Darah. 

Darah smiled and returned his attention to his father. 

"He'll come along. I hope you don't mind if he's a ferret most of the time? He's not that comfortable as a human yet." 

His dad nodded. 

"That's completely fine. I'm going to head home now and give your mom a hand with the cooking. She's going a bit overboard this time."

Ah, message received. 

He needed to call his mom a bit more. 

"Alright, I'll see you soon, dad." 

Darah followed his father to the door, then immediately turned and slouched back against it once he'd closed it with a quiet click. 

When he slid to the floor, Kit finally ran over and climbed into his lap, feeling like he needed to be there to provide some sort of comfort, most likely. 

It was appreciated. 

Darah gladly picked him up, but before he could snuggle the little ferret, it shifted into a much larger human, who then wrapped their arms around his neck and leaned in close for a hug. 

I'm "sorry."

Hearing Kit speak again had Darah smiling as he returned his hug. 

"It's alright, hun. You didn't do it on purpose, and it was just a nibble. Just wait, dad will be laughing about it at dinner."

It was unfortunate for his embarrassment, but at least Kit won't feel as bad then. 

"Oh, how about you wear one of your new little ties?" he asked as he easily lifted Kit and stood up, then carried him into his bedroom, before setting him down on his feet. 

Darah quickly found one of the little ties they'd bought where he'd hung them up in his closet, then turned to offer it to a now-ferret Kit. The little guy was wiggling all over, excited to wear his new article of clothing. Except, he was wiggling so much that it took Darah nearly five full minutes before he managed to clip it onto the fur beneath his chin correctly!

"You sure are a wiggler when you're excited about something."

Kit dooked for good measure as he ran around a bit, likely burning off the extra energy he'd had from their disrupted shower excitement. By the time he'd calmed down, Darah had gotten changed into some nicer clothes for the dinner, as well as styled his hair, and gotten a load of laundry going. 

"We have about twenty minutes before we need to leave, so I guess we can go over some simple rules. My mom isn't very picky about things, but she doesn't like animal hair on her couches, okay? So let's stay on the floor while in your ferret form."

Kit, who had finally calmed down, nodded dramatically. 

"Try not to chew too loudly, too. She'll understand that you're a ferret, though, so don't worry too much about that." 

Kit opened and closed his mouth, also dramatically, before giving a little hop on his front feet, and another nod. 

There were a few other simple rules, but nothing that was worth worrying too much about. He let Kit know them, then grabbed his keys and headed out. Normally, he drove, but since it was nice and cool out, but not too cold, he decided to just make the thirty minute walk. 

It had been a good idea. Kit was all leaps and bounds as they headed towards his parent's. Darah had to make sure that he didn't get under anyone's feet as he zoomed ahead of him, then back, before circling around him a few times, then repeating the lap again. 

Thankfully, he understood not to go into the street, or bother anyone who was walking their dogs. He wisely avoided any children, too. 

Maybe I should get him one of those ferret leashes, just in case? 

Kit returned to him for the tenth time, seemingly having run out enough energy to walk beside him... for now. 

Mr. Darah, does your mom like prairie dog? 

Darah bit back a chuckle as he smiled down at Kit. 

"She likes them, but I think she prefers watching them, over eating them." 

He could sense Kit's disappointment. 

"How about you go hunt sometime this week? I wouldn't mind trying their blood."

He wasn't exactly a fan of killing one of the furry critters, but there were quite a lot of them, and if Kit had been there for any reasonable amount of time, then the population was likely fine with losing one more to him. 

His words had evidently been exactly what Kit needed to hear, because he was soon pawing at Darah's pants, the tiny pats literally drumming away at the fabric as he tried not to tear it, but still show his overwhelming excitement. 

Really?! I can?! You will?! I'll catch you the best one ever! It will be really juicy and full of blood!

That... didn't exactly sound all that great, but his bat, at least, seemed slightly interested. As long as it didn't get mauled again, that is. 

They finished their walk in relative calm, with Kit hobbling ahead off and on, curiosity drawing his attention in a thousand different directions. 

"Over here, bud," Darah eventually called as he slowed to a stop in front of a large brick house, in a nice, quiet neighborhood. 

Oh wow! Your parents must work at the grocery store! 

Darah raised an eyebrow as he led Kit up the several small sets of stairs that stretched across his mother's beautiful front garden. 

"Why do you say grocery store workers?" he asked, curious. 

Food is really yummy, and those stores must have a lot of it! It must be hard work! 

He... couldn't argue with that logic. 

"Um, my mom is a lawyer, and dad is a police officer. I do definitely appreciate those who work in the grocery stores, though," he said as they stopped at his parent's front door. 

Before he could even knock, it was swinging open to reveal an older woman with a big, warm smile on her face. 

Within seconds Darah was pulled into a strong hug, and several lipstick marks were left on his cheeks. 

"Hi mom," he gasped out as he felt his ribs nearly crack.

His mother might have been older, but she took good care of herself, and was quite fit. 

"Oh my, is this little one your new friend?" she asked as she finally released him in order to look down at the little ferret partially hiding behind his pantleg. 

Darah looked down as Kit hugged his leg, clearly nervous, but trying to be brave. 

"It is. His name is Kit. He's not used to people yet, so he might not come to you for a bit." 

His mom nodded, understanding on her face as she held the door open for them. 

"Not a problem. I love his little tie. He's very handsome. Dinner will be ready in about an hour, so why don't you take him swimming?" 

That's not a bad idea. 

Darah led Kit inside and greeted his father, who was quite busy doing his mother's bidding in the kitchen. He then took Kit to his old room and changed into a swimsuit. 

"Gonna stay in your ferret form for now?" he asked as he removed his little tie to keep it from getting wet. 

Kit nodded. 

I'm nervous. 

"Not a problem. Let's go have some fun before dinner?" 

Kit nodded again, though his enthusiasm was still muted. Darah decided to pick him up, since he had set aside his dress shirt and pants, and now only wore a swimsuit. 

That seemed to bring Kit's mood up quite a bit, as he was carried through the house, then out the back sliding glass doors. 

Oh my gosh! Your parents have a huge pond! 

It was a very big swimming pool. 

Both of his parents had always loved to swim, so when they'd bought the house, the pool was the first thing that they added. It was easily half the size of their backyard, with most of the remaining portion being gardens and fruit trees. 

Darah headed over to the edge, then sat down before setting Kit beside him. He expected him to get closer to the water, since he seemed excited about it, but when he quickly climbed into his lap and looked suspiciously at the surface, Darah raised an eyebrow. 

Are there any alligators in there? 

Darah bit back a chuckle. 

"No, bud. No alligators, I promise." 

Kit glanced up at him, then back to the water. He repeated the action several times before inching his way along Darah's right leg until he came to the knee, then looked over. 

"Go ahead, if you'd like."

Kit needed no more encouragement. He leaped off Darah's knee like someone from the top rope of a wrestling match, then smacked down into the water, flat on his belly, less than a foot away! 

Darah quickly slid into the pool to check on him, but evidently, he hadn't needed to worry. Kit was having quite a good time, zooming around him at an impressive speed for such a little guy. 

While it was clear that he could swim well, Darah made sure to keep up with him, since no person, or ferret, could swim forever. As they moved around the pool, he noticed something small splash into the water in front of them, immediately drawing both their attention. 

Before Darah could even get close enough to see what it was, Kit was on it! He immediately pounced when he was close enough, then began spinning little summersaults in the water as he aggressively tried to take down his prey. 

"It's just one of Wilbur's cat toys. He's gotten a bit lazy recently, so I doubt he'll mind if we borrow it," his mother said as she sat down in a lounge chair near the edge of the pool. 

Ah, that makes sense. 

Well, Kit was definitely enjoying it, but Darah quickly realized that he might be going overboard when he felt Kit's excitement mix with discomfort in his mind. 

"Alright, time to get out for a minute," he said as he easily swam over and scooped his little ferret out of the water. 

Since Kit was still gnawing and clawing at the ball, he didn't hold him for long. Instead, he hurried to the edge of the pool and set him on the pavement. That's when Kit really went after the ball!

He rolled around like one of those battery powered ball toys connected to a fake raccoon tail. Over and over and over again, he flipped, spun, and ran about with the soaked cat toy, having the time of his life. 

"I think we have a winner. I've bought him a few small stuffed animal toys, but I didn't really think about a ball," Darah said as he walked through the water to the ledge closest to where his mom was sitting, since Kit seemed perfectly happy playing with his ball outside of the—A little splash had Darah realizing that, perhaps, his little friend still needed looked after a bit. 

He watched and waited, letting kit play until he felt him get nervous through their bond again. 

"Alright, another rest break," he said as he scooped the spinning ferret from the water, then set him back out on dry land again. 

Kit immediately ran off into the bushes, his new red fuzzy ball held high within his mouth. He was making little stifled duking sounds the entire time, though the ball muffled a good bit of them. 

"When your father told me about what he'd seen earlier, I was a little nervous about this new friend you found," his mother finally said as they listened to Kit play in the bushes. He was likely getting dirty from head to tail, but if his mother didn't mind, then he wouldn't bother him about it. 

It was nothing a quick rinse-off wouldn't solve. 

"Uh, yeah... That really was just a big misunderstanding. He's a very sweet guy. He just lost control a bit when we were messing around, and I shifted by accident."

His mother nodded as they both watched a muddy Kit bound out of the bushes, and immediately head straight towards the pool!

"H-hang on!" Darah said as he swam hurried over, stopping Kit right before he could jump head-first into the clean water. 

The little ferret shuffled from foot to foot as he made little crying sounds, clearly wanting to get back in the water. 

"You're all dirty now, bud. I don't think mom wants her pool to get dirty, too." 

Kit looked up at his mom, though the dirty cat ball probably blocked most of his view. When he didn't get an immediate response, he returned his attention Darah and squeaked out another cry. 

When Darah just shook his head, Kit turned in a little circle, then abruptly shook his coat out! Little bits of mud and dirt went flying, but it did little to rid him of the majority.

"Darah, why not rinse him off with the hose? Then he can get back in."   

Oh, right!

He was just getting out of the pool to go do that when his mother got up. 

"Actually, I bought a new sprinkler for my plants. Maybe he'd like that more?" she said as she went to retrieve it, then got it running in the grass a few feet away from the pool. 

Kit was hesitant, at first, but as he watched the lines of water spray forward and back, forward and back, he hesitantly took a step closer. 

"Wanna play with me?" Darah asked as he walked over to the sprinkler, then jumped over the streams of water. 

It was definitely childish, and if his friends on his game ever saw him doing it, he'd never hear the end of it, but... Kit soon joined him, the dirty ball still in his mouth as he bounded over water, squeaked from surprise, then did it again a moment later. 

Pretty soon, they were running around like little kids, though Kit was definitely doing the majority of the running. Either way, it got him cleaned off enough to go back in the pool. Except, he seemed to prefer the sprinkler now, and by the time his dad called them for dinner, Kit was well and truly exhausted. And thankfully, clean. 

Darah quickly got himself dried off with one of the towels his dad brought out for them, then wrapped it around his waist. He intended to take care of Kit, next, but to his surprise, his mother already had the sleeping ferret wrapped in a soft towel in her arms. Of course, his new ball was there, too, settled right next to his nose. 

"Um, I can get him..." he offered, a bit shocked that Kit was sleeping so soundly in her arms. 

His mom smiled at him and headed back towards the house. 

"Go ahead and get yourself changed. I've got him," she whispered as they stepped inside.

Darah was at a bit of a loss, but since Kit seemed fine, and his mom appeared quite happy with her new little one, he decided to just go do as told. 

I guess I'll just have to pack up his portion of dinner. 

He doubted that he'd be up before they finished eating, but he'd make sure that he got to taste some of everything. Heck, considering how much his mom seemed to like him already, he didn't doubt that she was already planning to send him home with a tupperware full of food... and strict rules for him, to fatten the poor boy up a bit.