"Let's see, revenues, rent, utility bills..."
Thomas, the owner of the cafe, was busy managing the business as usual. He was making calls, keeping track of finances, and ensuring everything was running smoothly. As he looked at the financial statements, he was surprised to see a significant increase in profits. It seemed like the coffee shop was doing better than ever before. Of course, it had always been a popular place for breakfast in the area, but never on this scale.
Lost in his thoughts, Thomas suddenly felt a strange, tingling sensation all over his body. He looked down and saw fur sprouting from his skin, covering his arms and chest in a thick layer of brown. Even his face was not spared, as a white coating of fur began to form around his cheeks and chin, giving way to brown fur around his eyes. He gasped in shock as his fingers elongated, and his toenails turned into sharp claws. His shoes slipped off as his feet transformed into paws, and a fluffy tail grew from under him. Thomas began to decrease in mass, the fat around his body seemingly shrinking into him as he took on a slimmed-down appearance.
Thomas tried to shake off the sensation, but it was too powerful. He felt like he was losing himself as if someone else was taking over. His mind began to warp, and he struggled to remember who he was. As he looked around the coffee shop, everything seemed different, but somehow familiar.
Then, a memory surfaced. He remembered Alex, the happy-go-lucky ferret who worked at the coffee shop. Customers loved him, and many said he was the reason they came to the shop. He remembered raising him as a baby, teaching him the ropes of everything in the cafe as a child, and offering him a job at the family business, eventually letting him take it over once he retired. Thomas felt a surge of warmth in his heart as he realized that he was Alex's dad, and that he had a ferret family that ran the coffee shop with him.
The transformation continued, as he felt his face push out to form a short muzzle, as wiry whiskers emerged, and his nose pinkened and reshaped. Finally, his ears rounded out and migrated upwards, to the top of his head, leaving him fully a ferret.
Tommy could hear the chattering of customers from outside, and he could smell the scent of coffee and tea throughout the cafe. He walked out to find his son making drinks for customers with a grin along his muzzle. The warmth in his heart swelled as he thought about all the possibilities and opportunities that lay ahead for Alex. He knew in his heart that he was going to do great things. He then saw two more newly-minted ferrets, his wife, Cassandra, and his daughter, Amber, who all worked at the now-family business. After all, it takes a business to run a business, and any ferret family is a business in its own right. Most of the people in the coffee shop were still human, the only other anthros were a pair of badgers sitting at one of the tables. One was older, more gruff, and could probably pass for someone Tommy’s age. He had mostly brown and cream fur with a distinctive white stripe on his face. The other was younger, and had different markings, being black stripes along his white fur running from his ears, through his eyes, down to his muzzle.
Tommy's eyes met the smiling faces of his customers, and he walked over to their table with a beaming grin. "Good morning, you two! Are we having a good time this morning?" he asked warmly, with a grin.
Felix, an older badger with a gruff exterior, took a sip of his coffee and spoke up. “That kid sure knows what he's doing. Is that your boy over there?” he asked, nodding towards Alex behind the counter.
Pride swelled in Tommy's chest at the mention of his son. “He sure is. He's been working here for a while now and he's taken on a lot of responsibility,” he replied, feeling grateful for Alex's hard work and dedication to the family business.
Asher, Felix's nephew, chimed in. “You've raised him to be a proper gentleman, I must say. And this place? It's a local favorite of mine now,” he said, glancing around at the cozy atmosphere of the cafe.
Tommy nodded, taking a moment to appreciate the kind words. “Thank you, Asher. It's been a labor of love for us. And we couldn't do it without customers like you,” he said with a small chuckle.
He glanced over his shoulder and saw that the backroom door was ajar, reminding him of the financial reports that needed his attention. “Well, I better get back to work. Hope you two enjoy your drinks. Thank you for stopping by!” he concluded before heading back to the office to crunch some numbers…