When Aodhan was younger, he vaguely recalled having a plant of his own.

It was a test, his mother would tell him, to see if he could actually take care of something in spite of his young age. After all, he could barely remember to come home on time and brush his teeth before bed. A wild, irresponsible little thing he was. It came as no real surprise when the plant lasted two weeks at best. However, those were times of the past, a period where he was still losing baby teeth and hoping the tooth fairy would spare him change for ice cream.

Nowadays, the boy carried more sense. Far more sense. Perhaps to an extent that drove those around him crazy, since his deliberate actions were often hidden behind a guise of impulsivity. Although the concept of a "limit" was foreign to him, he could still recognize when he was being annoying, could decide when to act stupid for his own amusement, could lie his way through an evening just to put on a show. His main essence? A calculated clown.

So upon first glance, there is the possibility others would claim he couldn't be trusted with anything, much less a fragile life. But he was a calculated clown. Calculated. His psyche was filled to the brim with colors and noise, but it was his safe haven, which meant he often thought first and moved second. And if he could be trusted to head off to a boarding school without issue, with all its classes and lack of parental support, he figured that owning a pet wouldn't end in catastrophe.

That was why he paid a visit to the Magical Menagerie on his off day, and entered the store like he was on a grave mission. It might as well have been the case with his confident strut through the shop, only gracing the owners with a half-hearted wave and a nod. The youth was far too lost in his own world, really, examining the many animals laid out in the open. There were multiple ways he could go about choosing something that fit him. One held an intuitive approach, and the other something far more rational. Or maybe a third path which included both.

Once he eventually settled for the third option, he knew almost instantly what could work: an animal inquisitive enough to keep up with his own desire to explore the world, plus independent enough to not utterly chain him down. His mind initially conjured up the image of a cat, maybe black in appearance, and he began his trek to where he knew they were closest.

That's when he noticed it.

A ferret that couldn't be older than a few weeks (maybe) if its size was anything to go by, with its beady little eyes confidently meeting Aodhan's. The ginger had tilted his head, and the ferret tilted its own head back. He tilted it the other way, and again, the tiny thing followed his actions. Cute. Oh, terribly cute. A part of his heart was already stolen, no doubt.

"Hey—I mean, excuse me!" he exclaimed, successfully getting the attention of one of the shop owners, "Can you tell me more about the animal in front of me?"

It didn't take long for the old woman—who also offered him cookies, bless her soul—to educate him on the ins and outs of ferrets and their usual behaviors. It also didn't take long for him to scoop the little guy up in his arms once he was allowed, and feel his insides melt with how quickly the ferret accepted him. To be honest, the emotion was... overwhelming, as most tended to be for him when they weren't plain excitement or joy. The boy could feel his stomach twist as warmth filled up every inch of his body. Still, he found himself not shying away for once.

This had to be the one for him.