"okay"
August inhaled looking down at Darren. What was he supposed to do now.
"If you turned into a snake or something like that this would be a lot easier"
he chuckled a little
"I guess we can try to work out a system of some sort. Okay first of all nod if you can understand me?"
he asked waiting to see whether or not Darren would nod

He looked up as August started speaking, perking his ears forward to get the words better. When asked to nod, he did so, exaggerating it so he would know it was a nod. Blinking a little, he looked back up at August. He sighed a little and lay his head down on August's shoulder. This was pretty much what it was like every night. He didn't know what to do with himself at night. What do Ferrets do?

Why am I here again? Why didn't I just go to work and say I'd visit him another time? What's wrong with me?

He sighed and looked up at August, his red eyes showing intelligence and sadness as he stared through them. It was hard for a ferret to show expression, but his overall body language just seemed to scream sadness.

There was a nod, that was good, at least Darren would be able to understand him
"okay, so umm"
he bit his lip not sure himself what to do with Darren
"I guess I can fix you up somewhere to sleep out here."
he sighed a little as he walked over to the counter and placed him on top
"You can go anywhere, just don't go into my room. It's the door on the left down the hall. Niko's in there and I wouldn't want him getting a hold of you"

Bending a little he pet Darren, scratching under his chin a little
"You'll be alright tonight, I promise"

He dug his claws in a little as August started walking, looking around as they walked. He was getting a little dizzy as they went. He wasn't used to moving at human speed in this form. He was set down on the counter as August promised him a place to sleep and he looked up at him, then closed his eyes as he felt August petting him. Then came the scritching under his chin and he leaned into it, opening his yes as August promised he'd be ok.

Gotta admit, he's a nice guy. Not many people would do this for a guy they'd just met.

He blinked at the mention of Niko and came to the conclusion that it must be a snake of some kind. He nodded a little enthusiastically and started wandering, looking around as he wandered the counter. He sniffed a little, trying to make sure that he didn't fall or anything. He reached the sink and paused a moment, sniffing to try and find the edge. He could see it, but he couldn't tell how far away it was. He stepped forward, then slipped and tumbled into the sink with a surprised squeak.

August had moved out of the kitchenette area and to the closet pulling out some blankets and such to make a little pile for Darren to sleep in, leaving Darren to wander and explore the counter. He had grabbed a pillow and a blanket from the closet when he heard a thud and a squeak. Dropping everything he ran into the kitchen to find him in the sink
"Geez. You okay?"
he asked as he picked Darren up

He squeaked a little as he was picked up, flailing a little as he found himself suddenly in someone's hand. He sunk his claws into the robe and steadied himself. Shaking his head a little, he looked around, then looked up at August. At the question, he nodded and sighed, closing his eyes and laying his head on August's arm.

Smooth move, fur boy. Now he's going to worry about everything you do.

He climbed up August's arm and curled around his neck, just holding on so he would be ok. He figured it was best to just stick with August at this time. Otherwise, he would be worrying over him all night.

"okay good"
he took a breath to steady his own nerves as the ferret version of Darren assured him he was alright. When he made his way to his neck he laughed a little feeling the tiny claws. They tickled a little. Walking back to the pile he'd dropped he bent down picking it up before going into the small living room area. On the floor he put the blanket and then the pillow
"You can sleep there tonight if you want"
he said turning his head so that he could see Darren

He looked around as they went over to the little area August had made for him. He hopped down off his shoulder and sniffed around, looking around before he curled up and rested his head on the pillow. He didn't sleep that long in this form, but right now he was just exhausted for some reason. He looked up at August, then closed his eyes to try and sleep.

Really... this is nice. It's nice having someone look after me when I change. Wish I wasn't such a burden.

He sighed and slowly drifted off to sleep.

He was glad to see that after inspection, Darren approved of the area he'd made for him. When he was asleep, August went into his room grabbing a pillow and a blanket. Saying goodnight to Niko he walked back to the living room. Putting the pillow on the couch, he curled up, as the couch was obviously too small for him to stretch out on and lay down, keeping an eye on Darren and reading a book.

Hour after hour passed and as the sun was starting to rise again, August lay asleep, half falling off the couch and the book still in his hand, his thumb a marker, as it draped by his body

Darren opened his eyes as the morning drew near. He slowly stood, stretched, and yawned, starting to wander a little. He was trying to find an open place where he could change back to human. As he wandered, he unknowingly started into August's bedroom where Niko was.

Suddenly, he heard a loud hiss and he froze, seeing a large, long shape slithering towards him. He backed up, baring his teeth and hissing back. He'd forgotten about the snake! Crap! Turning, he started running, trying to get away. He squealed loudly, trying to wake August up. He could see the light outside starting to brighten. Stumbling, he fell as he started to grow and change back to his human form.

August hadn't heard the squeal, it had only been a short time ago that he had actually fallen asleep, as he was used to staying up at night and sleeping during the day. In fact when he and Darren had parted ways the day before that's exactly what he'd done, gone home and fell asleep. Falling off the couch the rest of the way and landing with a thud on the floor.
"Darren"
he mumbled in his sleep as he rolled over to his side

Niko struck and grabbed Darren as he started growing, starting to wrap around the growing human. It was a few moments before Darren was finally back to his normal human self, but there was a problem, Niko was wrapped around his neck and was continuing to squeeze.

Darren's head felt like it was going to explode as the snake coiled tighter and tighter, cutting off his air. He pulled at the snake, trying desperately to pry it off. He managed to choke out a scream, trying to wake August up so he could get Niko off.

With this new scream, August was woken up. Shuffling up off the floor he noticed that Darren wasn't in his pile. Neither was a human Darren. Getting up he ran into his room where the scream had come from, finding Niko around Darren's neck.

"Niko get off of him"
he said out loud, while sending a telepathic signal to him to get off as well. Almost immediately Niko unwrapped himself from Darren's neck
"Now get in your cage, you know you aren't supposed to be out if there's guests over"
he said, though no guests ever really were over. Niko started slithering back to the desk that held his glass home and moved up the leg of the desk before going back inside

"Are you okay?"
he asked kneeling down next to Darren
"sorry about Niko, it's been a while since I've been able to get him some decent food."

As Niko unwrapped himself, Darren took a deep, gasping breath and coughed as he held his neck, panting to try and get his breath back. He watched Niko slither back to his cage, a little amazed that it had followed August's command immediately. No he wasn't angry at the snake. It had seen something that looked like dinner and acted accordingly. He just wished he hadn't wandered into the bedroom.

As August knelt and apologized for the snake, he smiled and coughed a little, trying to laugh in response. He sighed as he started to breathe easier, his throat still a little rough. He closed his eyes, swallowing to clear his throat a little bit. His voice was raspy and graty as he spoke.

"I'm ok. My own fault. I started wandering."

He sat up, then jumped a little as he realized he was naked, he curled up a bit, trying to cover himself. He swallowed and looked up at him.

"Can you, um... get my clothes for me?"

He was a little glad that Darren wasn't mad at Niko or mad in general. Though August still felt a little bad about what had with his snake and the man. When Darren realized that he was naked and jumped, Darren couldn't help but laugh a little. It wasn't his first time to see a guy naked, but he knew it could be embarrassing for Darren, in fact he was certain if he had been the one naked he would have been a little embarrassed too.
"Hold on"
he said standing up and going out to the living room before returning with Darren's clothes

He watched as August headed out to grab his clothes and took them, pulling them on quickly. He stood and sighed, rubbing his neck, closing his eyes as he started walking, putting a hand in his pocket.

"Thanks."

He sat down in a chair in the living room, feeling the forming bruise on his neck with a sigh. Looking up at August and smiling a little.

"You didn't really have to dote so much last night. I've fallen from higher things than that."

He pulled his shirt on and sighed, sitting back and closing his eyes as he rubbed his temple. He really was tired of being such a weak creature at night. It wasn't the first time he'd been attacked in Ferret form.

"I actually kind of liked doting"
he looked over at him, biting his lip a little. Moving to the couch he sat down across from Darren
"I mean I don't really have a whole lot of people or things to dote over. Don't have a lot of friends. I mean there's Niko, but he's a snake and while he's good company, sometimes...you know"
he chuckled a little
"I'm sorry if you didn't like it, I'll make sure not to if you spend the night again"

He smiled a little as August said he liked doting.He could understand that. They were both lonely and had no real friends, before yesterday. Darren was sure that if their positions were reversed, he'd be doting over August. He sat back and relaxed, closing his eyes to try and relax.

"It's ok. If you feel better about it, I won't argue."

He stood and went into the living room, looking around for a glass. He opened a cupboard and pulled a glass out, filling it from the sink and taking a long drink, then sighed a little, feeling his throat relax a little. He looked over at August and smiled a little.

"So did you sleep at least?"

He smiled a little and stretched a little, rubbing the back of his neck a little. Closing his eyes, he sat back down in his chair, looking over at August.

"Yeah a little bit"
he said as he noticed the book on the floor
"Maybe about an hour"
he moved off the couch to pick up the book and put it on the coffee table
"Though you can't really tell, my eyes are always this red"
he laughed a little
"So do you have work today?"
he asked as he brought his hand back to scratch behind his neck, bringing his hand back a few flakes from scales on his neck were on his fingers
"gah, I've been itching and shedding like crazy"

He smiled a little as he mentioned his eyes and shrugged a bit. He closed his eyes and took another drink of water. He looked over at August as he asked if he had work. He checked his watch and shook his head a little.

"No, not that I remember. None of my jobs are really solid anyway."

He shook his head a little and shrugged. He looked up as he mentioned shedding. Blinking a little, he stood and walked over to look at the back of his neck. Mainly he was curious, but he also wanted to try and help.

"You shed? Is it a growing thing like snakes or what..."

He picked a couple scales off his neck, then looked back at August.