"I couldn't even tell if you knew what I was." And then he'd shifted, and Daryl had still pounced, and that had made it even more terrifying. "But I've only ever been shifted alone or around my dad, and he's another rat, so it's not like there are any issues there."

And with regular animals he might run into, changing back was enough to turn the tables so he wouldn't need to worry about predator and prey relations.