Dick had been adjusting to life at the Manor well. He had learned the layout, no longer getting lost. His tail was finally clump free and fluffier than ever, as well as gaining a healthy gleam. He wasn't as shy around people, although basements scared him.
He'd learned about his past. There had been a chip in his neck, placed there by the auction, which kept any memory from before the auction from surfacing again. Dick had been able to name many of the auction workers, and they had been arrested. Dick found out that the auction was illegal, which surprised him.
Dick was normally very laid back. Even around doctors with needles, he was alright. Wally found that when Dick slept he purred, which nearly killed him the first time he heard it. Dick had been laying on his chest and purring, and Wally had to control himself before he accidentally woke Dick and ended the purrs.
Recently, however, Dick had been on edge. Every little noise made him nervous, and his tail swished around him. His ears flicked in different directions, as if he was trying to listen for something. He was jumpy, and everyone was worried for the young cat.
Bruce was considering going to a specialist. Someone who knew Neko behavior better than he did. He'd been talking to Alfred about it, trying to get the older man's opinion before he asked Dick. Alfred always was better at making these decisions than he was.
Dick ended up agreeing to go, deciding that the specialist would most likely be able to help. Someone who studied the behavior of his kind would know what was going on. He didn't even know what was going on, which scared him. Why was he acting like this if he didn't know why.
Wally had come with them, to be emotional support for his boyfriend. Dick was terrified of what was happening to him, and Wally couldn't blame him. He was practically paranoid at this point.
Dick was brought to the back alone. His skin crawled, and his heart was racing. Something felt wrong. He was sweating buckets, and he felt weak. He felt like he could collapse.
Dick did collapse. He was a few feet from the couch, and he just felt too horrible to continue. The specialist had knelt down, gently feeling his forehead. Her hand was freezing, and he shivered.
She picked him up, carrying him to the couch. He groaned as she laid him down, feeling his body spasm in pain. "Open your mouth." She said gently, cupping his face. He did so, too tired to try and resist. She cursed. "What's wrong?" Dick panted. "You were defanged. Your body is trying to build fangs. I need to get your family back here."
A nurse was called in, and the specialist left. Dick barely remembered the door closing before it was open again, his family by his side. "What's going on?" "Some fool defanged him. It's a procedure used in auction work that drills the points down until they look like regular teeth. A few years later the body will start to rebel, and will create new fangs quickly. However, it's a very painful process. It starts with faint paranoia, which gets worse the closer the body gets to rebuilding the fangs."
"Can we lessen the pain?" "No. This is something he has to go through." "For how long?" "Until the process is done. That could take anywhere from an hour to a day. The best thing for him is to have his family there."
Dick writhed on the couch for hours. He started coughing up blood at one point, and a box of tissues was brought over. His hands were held onto tightly, and someone started petting him behind the ears. Everyone wondered who would be cruel enough to defang the young boy.
It took seven hours for the refanging to end. Dick had coughed up enough blood to make the trash can look like a horror film. He could also see two dull teeth, which had been pushed out by the new fangs. His mouth hurt.
