[ Ben opens his mouth to say no, to refuse automatically. Sure, he thinks the little thing is cute, but he doesn't do small mammals and they both know why and there's the thing itself and knowing Klaus knows all of it, and worrying how he might react...
But he catches himself. A small part of him, he finds, wants to give the little critter the beef jerky. Why not let himself try? If he is so afraid of having a bad reaction and ends up avoiding even the possibility, isn't that just as bad in some ways? How is he ever going to make any kind of progress if he doesn't force himself to risk a little discomfort, now and then?
So he nods, says: ]
Okay.
[ Then he holds out his hand, palm-up, the morsel of meat cupped in it. The little glowing ferret sniffs avidly and quickly finds the treat. Ben can feel her whiskers brushing his skin as she tentatively picks up the piece and chomps away, making little noises of appreciation even as she chews.
And Ben feels triumphant. There had been no crisis. No freakout, not even a huge spike in his adrenaline or any bad feelings. Tentatively, he reaches out and tries to scritch at her head even as Klaus holds her. She doesn't move away, and her fur is warm and nice-feeling under his fingertips.
The ferret twists away, not out of anxiety it seems, but just so she can go back to nibbling at Klaus's ear, and Ben laughs: ]
Wow, you're right, she's obsessed.
[ But he keeps petting at her, running his hand down her little long body now, tentative pets that the ferret doesn't seem to mind in the slightest. ]
She's not afraid of me.
[ Many years ago, Ben had told Klaus that the worst part of those experiments their father would do, training him to harm and kill, were the frightened noises the test animals would make. And in all likelihood, even with his boldness right now, petting this little thing by choice, if she were ever scared or hurt, Ben would be pretty well useless to help her or help Klaus help her. But for now, with her wriggly and unafraid and friendly... Ben is doing okay. Better than expected. ]
cw mentions of past animal harm
But he catches himself. A small part of him, he finds, wants to give the little critter the beef jerky. Why not let himself try? If he is so afraid of having a bad reaction and ends up avoiding even the possibility, isn't that just as bad in some ways? How is he ever going to make any kind of progress if he doesn't force himself to risk a little discomfort, now and then?
So he nods, says: ]
Okay.
[ Then he holds out his hand, palm-up, the morsel of meat cupped in it. The little glowing ferret sniffs avidly and quickly finds the treat. Ben can feel her whiskers brushing his skin as she tentatively picks up the piece and chomps away, making little noises of appreciation even as she chews.
And Ben feels triumphant. There had been no crisis. No freakout, not even a huge spike in his adrenaline or any bad feelings. Tentatively, he reaches out and tries to scritch at her head even as Klaus holds her. She doesn't move away, and her fur is warm and nice-feeling under his fingertips.
The ferret twists away, not out of anxiety it seems, but just so she can go back to nibbling at Klaus's ear, and Ben laughs: ]
Wow, you're right, she's obsessed.
[ But he keeps petting at her, running his hand down her little long body now, tentative pets that the ferret doesn't seem to mind in the slightest. ]
She's not afraid of me.
[ Many years ago, Ben had told Klaus that the worst part of those experiments their father would do, training him to harm and kill, were the frightened noises the test animals would make. And in all likelihood, even with his boldness right now, petting this little thing by choice, if she were ever scared or hurt, Ben would be pretty well useless to help her or help Klaus help her. But for now, with her wriggly and unafraid and friendly... Ben is doing okay. Better than expected. ]