Second Chances & New Beginnings: Chapter Two

Story by Chakat_Shadowstripe on SoFurry

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#3 of Second Chances & New Beginings

Daren comes into his new home, he has a lot to learn.


The ride to the house that Jack owned took over an hour, since the clinic was located towards the center of the city and Jack lived in a gated community on the Southwestern edge of the city. As he drove Jack would occasionally tell me something of note, though to be honest I wasn't really paying much attention to him since I was dealing with my own emotions over what had happened to me.

"What's gonna happen to me now sir?" I finally asked as Jack pulled off of a major road and into a residential community.

He smiled softly, "Now you don't have to worry about your future, it is safe and secure."

"What if my dad...?" I started before Jack shook his head.

"I wouldn't worry about him kitten. For one if he ever does show his face around you again I know, beyond a shadow of a reasonable doubt, that I have enough evidence to ensure that he'd spend the rest of his miserable life in a jail cell. Furthermore, I doubt that he is all that concerned about what has happened to you at this point, most alcoholics are more concerned about where they are going to get their next bottle from."

"Okay, what about when you get too old, or tired of me? Mom got tired of me, Karen, an' Dad so she left." I asked as I thought about that horrible day when the three of us had come home. I couldn't remember much of that day, I'd only been six years old, but I still remember the aching hole in my life where my mom had used to live.

"Kitten that won't ever happen to you again, I promise you that much. I've been treated with anti aging serums and I know that I won't ever get tired of having a happy child at home to make light of my day." He said, his voice almost tripping over itself with emotion. "I will treasure every moment that I have to live with you." He finished as he pulled up to the large black metal gates of the community where my new home was located. "We're almost home, though I suspect that Vivian is still at work."

"Who's she Jack?" I asked, worried that I would have to share his attention with somebody else.

"Don't worry kitten, I know for a fact that she will come to love you as much as I already have. To answer your question, she's my mate and has been my mate for the past six years. You'll meet here when she gets home from work." He said pulling into the driveway of what I thought of as a rather oversized house with at least four garages.

"This is home? I mean it looks enormous. I'm gonna get lost in there."

Jack chuckled, "It may seem that way kitten, but in time you'll get used to it and soon you will learn to love it." He told me before pulling into one of the garages before turning off the engine and leaning back in his seat. "I will help you to make sure that you don't get lost at first."

Jack gave me a guided tour of the house, though it was a captive tour for me since I was perched in his arms, before walking into a large room upstairs and asked my opinion of it. I looked around and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't too immature looking, I mean some of the furniture was definitely set up for a fairly young child, though the general décor was pretty restrained.

"Looks comfy Jack, I mean it isn' too over the top." I told him, as he walked over to the bed and set me down near the head, where the rails on the side of the didn't reach.

"Glad you approve kitten, this is your new room. I had hoped you'd approve." He replied with a smile before gently leaning down and slipping two fingers down the front of my pants. "A bit damp, but it can last a bit longer."

I felt my face and ears heat up slightly and I made a small noise. "I didn' notice it Jack. Sorry, I can try harder ta realize that..."

"Don't worry about it Kitten, that's why you're wearing those, besides right now what good would it do you since your mobility is rather restricted right now?" He said softly while he gently rubbed my back.

"I know, but it's embarrassing ta not be able to control it Jack. I was a grown man before and from what I've seen in the mirror I look old enough ta control it." I told him softly while he hugged me warmly.

"Kitten this is your new reality." He said smoothly before gently standing up with me in his arms. "I'm afraid you can't go back either. Your old body was a mess too."

I bowed my head, because I was well aware of my bad habits. Ever since I'd left my home at 14 I done everything I could to keep the nightmares of my childhood at bay, and those methods hadn't done my body any good.

"Why did you have all that nasty stuff in your body kitten? I know why some people resort to drugs and alcohol, but you had so much that you could have done with your life once you escaped from your father."

I looked up at him and felt a tickle of pain in my chest at the thought of what I had face, though it wasn't as bad as before. "Sir the thing is that I never really did escape him, I may not have lived in the same house but every night in my dreams he was still there, making my life hell."

Jack nodded softly, "So you're telling me that the drugs were your way of coping with your father's abuse, the disappearance of your mother, and the death of your older sister?"

I felt my ears flick back slightly. "Yeah, they kept the nightmares from tormenting me in my sleep."

"I see; however, they were doing terrible things to your body kitten. The doctor who transferred your mind said that once your mind was transferred he couldn't really use your old body because of how much damage those drugs had done to it."

I found myself whimpering and crying softly as Jack hugged me against his chest. The thought that I could never go back to being human again scared me, but what really scared me was the fact that tonight I wouldn't have anything to keep the dreams at bay. "Don' want the dreams again, but now..."

"Kitten we'll do what we can to keep them at bay, though it may take some time to completely banish them. Trust me, Vivian and I can make those nasty memories go away, though the first part of making them go away has already been performed."

"How are you going to make them go away, when I can' never forget what happened?" I asked still crying though for some reason the memories of those events seemed, somehow, less vivid than they normally were.

"I think you're discovering one of the reasons already for yourself. Where before you were human, now you aren't and your human memories don't quite mesh with your new body because the way your body processing information differently than your human body."

I looked up at him through my tears and cocked my head slightly. "What do you mean?"

Jack didn't say anything at first, he simply petted the top of my head, between my ears and listened as I soon found myself making a soft growling noise in my throat. "No human makes that kind of sound kitten. That sound is exclusive to felines, though as a morph of a great cat you can't do it the same way a lesser cat can."

I tried to stop making the sound, and succeeded, for a moment as I took a breath, before continuing. "I'm making a loud purr?"

"That's correct, and there are many other differences between the way you are now, and the way you were before." He stated softly before smiling slightly and standing up to head for the door of the bedroom. "Now how about we go downstairs and get something into that growly tummy."

I made another noise, this time it was a kind of a yelp as my stomach made a rather noisy grinding noise. I looked up at him and then tried my best to smile, though I didn't grin so much as my new tail-tip wiggled... happily?

"That's better I have a happy cub." Jack said softly before turning and heading for the door.