“So terribly sorry, ma’am. I hope we didn’t upset you?” Asher says calmly once you are out of the room. He pauses for a moment, knowing this would be a difficult job, but even after expending so much focus reshaping you into his ideal mate he was confident he could remained focused long enough to take care of things properly. ‘Proper’ being his favorite word in the whole world, of course.
“Look, I’d like you to leave, and take your friend with you…” your mother Whitney said nervously as she took a step backward, but Asher just put his paws up soothingly and started at his task.
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(Swapping back to a 3rd person POV for now, since the main character isn’t present)
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Without an explanation or fanfare, over the past few months anthropomorphic animals like Asher and Felix had begun to appear all around the world. None of them were quite sure why, some of them suspecting a inter-dimensional rift or fold or something similar that pulled them from one world and firmly planted them in the ordinary human world. But, it didn’t really matter, did it? What did matter was the fact that just by being in close proximity to ordinary humans, these anthropomorphic creatures soon discovered they could gently push the humans into accepting their existence and then become more like themselves though careful focus. Asher, with his polite manner and unassuming appearance, quickly learned that the best way for him to keep his focus was flattery. A few kind words here and there and the young badger found that he could turn situations in his favor, giving him the advantage he needed to mold the humans he met into his (admittedly rather old-fashioned) ideals.
And so, as he smiled pleasantly at Whitney, he carefully chose his words to settle her down and set her down a proper path like her son.
“Pardon me, this is such a lovely home. I’m afraid I just couldn’t help myself from coming inside,” Asher said, the sound of his gentle accent immediately having the desired effect on the nervous woman. Her posture relaxed and a slightly dazed smile spread across her face.
“Oh… Thank you, young man. I try my best, I suppose, but with four kids it’s a hassle sometimes…” she replied, feeling a strange fog descend upon her as Asher’s words sunk deeper into her mind.
“I’m sure a proper hardworking woman like you has no trouble handling it. Of course, we are a hardworking sort, aren’t we?” Asher asked rhetorically, leaving Whitney a bit confused as to who exactly he meant by ‘we’. Still, she felt herself nodding along idly to the charming badger’s words. She did work hard to keep a tidy, proper home, didn’t she?
Meanwhile, Asher was stroking his chin and trying to decide his next move. ‘A proper English animal, I think, but which one… Another badger? Hmm, I suppose it could work, but…’ he thought to himself. 'A red squirrel, or a deer? Hedgehog… No, no, no.'
“Aha! I have it,” he finally said cheerfully, making Whitney raise an eyebrow at the sudden outburst. But before she could ask what exactly he meant by it, he looked her deeply in the eyes and said, “Terribly sorry, ma’am. I only meant to say that your fur is looking ever so silky tonight? Perhaps I may need to ask your secret to such smooth fur? And such a vibrant colour, too!”
Whitney frowned for a moment, not quite understanding what the young badger meant by 'fur'. She felt a flush going through her body, but she chalked it up to the badger’s flattering words making her feel self-conscious. But she didn’t notice as tiny hairs began to poke up from beneath the skin on her arms, her legs, and indeed all across her body, and soon enough there was a thin coating of fuzzy fur covering nearly every inch of her. Its color deepened to a dark reddish-orange, at least on most of her body; bright, cream-coloured streaks blossomed up along the underside of her arms, across her chest and neck, and all down the insides of her legs. Without even thinking about it, Whitney absentminded kicked off her shoes, which barely fit anymore as her feet narrowed into delicate canine paws, each tipped with black claws that made quick work of her stockings as they tore their way into the open air.
“Oh, my fur? Asher, you know a lady never tells her secrets, even to such a proper gentleman like yourself,” Whitney laughed quietly, her voice beginning to take on a bit of an accent just like her son’s as she stroked the fur on her cheeks, which thickened into long and fluffy tufts of bright orange fur. “But, I’m sure you of all people know that good fur and good grooming runs in the family… Heaven's, I suppose Benjamin takes just as long to preen his fur as I do each morning, hmm?”
Asher smiled at that, satisfied that he’d helped Benjamin’s mother start out on the right path toward proper British motherhood. He glanced over at a large, framed photograph of Benjamin’s family on the wall, showing Benjamin, his mother and now-deceased father, and his three sisters together smiling happily in casual outfits. For a moment, the photo blurred and warped, but once the image became clear he saw not six smiling humans, but instead two proud and handsomely rotund European badgers and a beautiful vixen, all three wearing their finest clothes. The only humans that remained in the photo were the three sisters, but Asher noticed their images already starting to waver in the frame as well.
“Shouldn’t be too long until we’ve got a right proper piece of jolly of England here,” Asher chuckled cheerfully, smiling when he saw a colorful teapot already sitting upon the kitchen counter where none had been there before...