August watched him pace back and forth, before he sat back up, swinging his legs over the side of the bench.
"Right, a boyfriend to someone"
he shook his head a little
"Look at me, who would want snake boy as a boyfriend?"
he found his pants starting to put them back on
"even when I didn't look like this I was only useful in relationships for one thing"
he sighed a little as his hand pulled up the zipper
"and those weren't even relationships you're thinking of"

With his pants back on, he stood up walking over closer to where Darren was.
"Stop selling yourself short. Even if you are a ferret, you'll be a better father than mine ever was. Even if it's as a ferret you'd be there for your kids. You know if you did have them and a thunderstorm came at night, I'm sure they'd find comfort in petting you"
he said putting his hand on the side of his arm

He closed his eyes as August tried to comfort him, but he shook his head. It was no use. He'd thought of everything. Sure he could comfort his kids when they were little, but they would quickly outgrow that.

"And what about when they're teenagers? What if I have a daughter and she starts coming home late from going out with the wrong guy? How can I scold her when all she'll hear is squeaks and chitters?"

He looked over at August, almost daring/begging him to find a good angle in that scenario. But after a moment, he shook his head and looked down, closing his eyes.

"I couldn't be any kind of real father. Not like this."

He looked up at the sky. It was still early, probably almost 11. He would be late for his job at this rate, but he didn't care. It didn't matter anymore. All August would need to do would be to spend one night seeing Darren's power at work and he'd understand.

"You could always talk to her about it in the morning"
he shrugged a little as he was asked about that daughter scenario
"Half the time when our parents scold us all we hear are squeaks and chitters anyway. It all goes in one ear and out the other."

"You know there's some men out there that don't have your problem and aren't much when it comes to being a father"
he sighed a little
"I mean, you'd probably accept if your son looked like this, wouldn't you?"
he asked the tone in his voice and his expression showing that it hadn't been the case with his

He sighed and closed his eyes. He did have a point. There wasn't much reason to worry about scolding his kids if they never paid attention anyway. He looked over as August asked if he'd accept his son with that appearance and looked away. This guy was making so much sense it almost wasn't fair. He was actually giving Darren hopes.

"I suppose the question now becomes, where do I find a woman who's accepting enough to want a guy who's a foot long and covered in fur half his life?"

He looked over at August, waiting to hear his answer to that. He had a feeling as to what he would suggest, but Darren wasn't sure he'd be able to go to a place like Xavier's and try to talk to women. Aside from that, he doubted there were many there who were even near his age.

"You could always try a pet store"
he chuckled a little
"I'm joking. I'm joking"
he quickly said
"Well I guess you could find one anywhere. I mean there are others out there that are mutants, that would understand. I haven't met any, but they're out there. Like maybe go out with them in the day time and figure out if they are or not. Since I'm sure another mutant would be more accepting to it than a human. Of course you could always adopt if you just wanted the kids"
he shrugged a little
"besides women can be way overrated at times. Not all of them, but some of them"

He sighed and started walking, knowing August would follow. He started towards the parking area where he'd left his car.

"To tell the truth... I'm terrified of being rejected. The first time I changed, it was in front of my best friend. You know, the kind of friend you could have till the end of time if things went well. When he saw me change, he ran away screaming. If I can't even hold on to my friend after one change, how will a woman react?"

He sat on the hood of his car and pulled one leg up to his chest, sighing as he shook his head.

"I've been alone ever since that night. I do small jobs to make money and buy food. I can't do anything more than that and risk staying after sunset or getting called in before sunrise. It's... it's just all so screwed up I don't know what to do."

He started walking behind him and they were soon at Darren's car. This suddenly reminded August that he needed to find his own car. It couldn't be too far from here, there really wasn't that many places one could park before walking to the lake.
"A priest threw holy water on me"
he chuckled a little
"good thing I've lost all faith and religion, so it didn't effect me. It was just a little annoying, though now I find it a little humorous"

He bit his lip a little and crossed his arms over his chest
"Why don't you come to my apartment. It's not much, but at least you wouldn't be alone"

He couldn't help but smile a little as he pictured a priest trying to 'purify' August of his mutation. People never really seemed to get it. I was genetics, a fact of life. They should just accept the future and move on. Sighing, he looked over as he was invited to his new friend's place. He smiled a little and nodded.

"Sounds cool. I think I actually have a job to get to today."

He checked his watch and sighed a bit, nodding.

"I'm actually late. Here."

He got up and pulled a piece of paper out of his glove compartment and a pen, handing it to him.

"Write down your address and I'll stop by after work. That's a promise."

He smiled a bit, wanting to make sure August didn't think that he was just trying to get away from the weird lizard man.

He took the pen and paper, writing down the address to his apartment and his apartment number
"Knock five times"
he told him as he handed the paper back to him
"any more or any less and I don't answer the door"

When Darren had the paper back, he put the hood up over his head
"well I guess I'll see you"
he turned and started in search of his car.

He nodded as August told him how many times to knock. He'd remember that, since he wanted to get in and spend some time with his new friend. He smiled at that thought. He had a friend. He pat August's shoulder as he headed off.

"See you later, Augie."

He got into the driver's seat and tucked the paper away in his pocket before he started off to work, smiling a bit as he did.

~*& Later that day &*~

Darren parked in front of the building and double checked the building number. This was the place alright. He checked the clock and sighed, glad he'd made it. It was about an hour or so before the predicted time for sunset tonight. This was promising to be an interesting evening.

He got out of the car and headed up to August's floor. Finding the door, he knocked five times and waited, a little nervous. He hoped August wouldn't mind having to look after Darren when he changed, because Darren at least knew for sure that he wasn't going home tonight.

The sound of knocking came. One - two - three - four - five. Five that was Darren.
"Be right there"
he shouted as he ran out of the tub. Grabbing his robe he quickly put it on. He could put clothes on once the door was open and Darren was inside.

"Hey"
he smiled as he opened the door and stepped out of the way for Darren to come in
"I guess welcome. You know you're the first person who's ever been in here"
he chuckled a little nervously as he quickly moved around picking up the clothes and towels that were strewn about.

He smiled a little as August opened the door and nodded in greeting as he headed inside. The place was a bit of a mess, but Darren didn't care. He sat down in one of the chairs and smiled a bit.

"I should be honored, then. Oh I brought something."

He pulled his backpack off his shoulder and opened it, pulling out a six pack of beer.

"I wasn't sure what you would like, so I just grabbed the generic favorite."

He chuckled and set the pack on the coffee table. Darren wasn't much of a drinker and hoped this wouldn't upset August or anything, so e silently prayed that August would like it. He took a couple cans off the holder and held one out to August.

"Here you go."

"Wow. Thanks"
he said as Darren presented him the beer and set it on the coffee table. August hadn't mentioned how old he was, but at only 19 he wouldn't have been able to go out and buy beer himself, if he looked normal of course. now he just didn't go out all that much.

"Well I guess make yourself comfortable"
he said taking the beer from him and opening it up to take a swig
"are you hungry? I'm sure I can find something in here if you are"
he said as he started into the kitchen

He smiled as August took the beer and he popped his open, taking a drink. As August asked if he was hungry he shook his head and looked over at him.

"No, I'm good thanks. Um... Augie... I just want to make sure you know... It's almost sunset and that means I'm not going to be going home tonight."

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, almost able to feel the hair getting ready to sprout as the sun slowly fell towards the horizon. He looked over at the clock and swallowed. Just another hour til he'd change. He looked back up at August, hoping he understood.

"Yeah I know it's almost sunset"
he nodded his head at Darren. August had had a feeling that this wasn't going to be a quick visit, but now from Darren's words that was confirmed
"Just tell me if you need me for anything or to do anything"
he told him. Biting his lip he walked over and put his hand on Darren's shoulder
"Why so nervous?"
he asked squeezing his shoulder just a little
"You need to relax. Nothing's going to happen"

He looked up at August as he basically said it was ok. He looked down, relieved that August was ok with the idea. When he asked why he was nervous and stated nothing was going to happen, he gave a short laugh and looked up, watching as the sun kept falling.

"Trust me... plenty is going to happen."

He scratched at the back of his neck, where he was already starting to change. The fur was always the first thing to come. After that... the pain would start soon. He took a drink from the can, dreading what would happen in a short time. This was the first time he was going to change in front of someone willingly.

"Does it hurt?"
he asked as he glanced behind Darren to see the fur beginning to form on his neck. August remembered itching like crazy when his scales came in, but it was different than Darren's. He had gone through this once, well over a period of time, but it wasn't a change he endured every night.

There came the million dollar question. The one he'd been waiting for. Did it hurt... It felt like fire burning his skin, hooks pulling out his insides and replacing them all wrong, his head exploding while his eyes were ripped out. Silently, he nodded as he set the can down. Fur sprouted all over his body, pure white fur that coated him and made him look like a yeti.

"Like you wouldn't believe."

He reached into his backpack and took out a piece of wood. It looked like it came from a piece of furniture and was covered in deep bite marks. This was for when he was somewhere he could anticipate the change, somewhere he could hide and wait till sunrise. He put the stick in his teeth and closed his eyes as his fingernails shifted into claws.

Suddenly, like a hammer to the gut, the rest of the changes started and he screamed, biting down on the stick as his body started to convulse. He slid from the chair and lay on the floor as the changes continued. His ears shrank and rounded out as his nose and mouth thrust outward into a muzzle. His bones cracked and grinded as they changed, his insides gurgled and shifted as he shrank. Even if one couldn't feel his pain, it was obvious in how it sounded.

In moments, Darren disappeared inside his clothes, leaving him under his shirt. As the change completed, he slowly opened his eyes, the pain receding. Carefully, he nosed his way out of the head opening in the shirt and looked around, blinking a bit before he saw a large green shape that could only be August.

So it did hurt. He'd almost expected that, honestly he didn't think going from a human to a ferret would be painless, but he thought he'd ask. When he was completely covered in fur he stifled a laugh, in all honesty at that moment of time Darren did look a little funny and it had been some time since something had made him laugh. However when the other changes started the smile faded as he watched, wishing that there was something he could do for him. Something that could ease the pain, but there wasn't. So stepping back he watched until Darren was no longer standing in front of him.

Suddenly out of the clothes nosed a little ferret, Darren.
"Hey there little guy"
August said kneeling down and picking him up
"Oh geez, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have - "
he said quickly apologizing for referring to him as 'little guy'

He watched as August knelt and reached out, hooking his small claws in the sleeve of his robe and holding on as he was picked up. He could barely understand what was being said, so he didn't react much. Even with all that, he was still a bit dazed from the change. He always was. It took a little bit for the pain to go away.

Ok... you're stuck for the night with a guy you just met, the first person you've ever shown your power to... now what?

He thought a little, trying to decide what to do as he looked around, the entire apartment just one big blur. He looked up at August, wondering how he was taking this. After all, he'd just watched someone, a friend, go through what was possibly one of the more painful experiences a human could have.