I tried to follow the girl home too. She kept saying something, something that I didn't quite understand, and she kept making these sort of pushing motions towards me when she realized that I didn't understand. It took me quite a while, but by the time she had reached the doors of the building I had caught on to what she meant.

She wanted me to stay behind at the brick building.

Hurt, my floating wavered and then I dropped out of the air, landing on my feet. She didn't want me to come along? Why not? Didn't she like me? Wasn't her ear-petting and head-scratching a sign that she liked my company? Bewildered beyond belief, I stepped back a little when Dani made the pushing motion again, though it was hesitant now.

My blue eyes dropped to the floor and I then decided that no, she didn't like me. I shuffled away from her and, tail dragging, began to slink away back through the building. If she didn't like me, then I would just go and-

"Oh, alright, you can come! Just stop acting like a kicked kitten!"

Moments later, I was happily trotting along behind her, a silly grin on my face as she led me towards her home. She had warned me that I was to act like a human; meaning, no powers allowed. That undermined my confidence slightly, as I now had no way of protecting myself, but she told me her parents were something called "ghost hunters" and that they'd shoot me no matter what.

Weren't their names something like Maddie and Jack?

***line break***

Dani had discovered, with despair, that my mask did not in fact come off. I patiently allowed her to try, though I hissed at her when she attempted to use something shiny, hard, cold, and long to try to pry it off. I believed she called it a "screwdriver"? Something like that. I didn't let that get near my face, uh-uh. She eventually had to accept that my broken-in-half mask did not come off.

When she walked into a big, extravagant-looking building, I immediately followed her. After all, my human couldn't be allowed to enter somewhere so dangerous! My extra ghost senses were blaring in my face even as I eagerly followed the girl into the downstairs area of the den.

"Mom! Dad! I have a- uh- new friend! Yeah, a new friend, and I want you to meet him!" she called as she kept going down the steps. Like a lost puppy, I tagged along behind here even though the downstairs area smelled suspiciously like ectoplasmic remains. Apparently, the brick building had a ghost mouse problem that they had mistaken as a rat infestation. If I'd known, I would have been cleaning that place out for a long time. Good food source.

"Oh, Dani honey!" a woman in blue exclaimed loudly. I winced and touched my hand to my mask's ear. There was a large crack stretching from the tip of the ear to about an inch from the nick in the ear. It would heal, but loud noises tended to disrupt my mask.

I looked over the woman, taking in her green-stained blue pelt. The funny thing about humans is that they change their fur everyday! This one, however, appeared to have not changed her fur for several years.

There was a man too, a big male in orange and black. He, too, looked as though his fur hadn't been cleaned in a few years. He noticed me and lit up, but as the pair began to close in I felt panic creep into my throat and I backed away up the stairs partway.

"He's wild," Dani explained calmly. "He hangs out near the school all the time, and today he managed to slip in. Dad, yes, he actually is a ghost- but if you lay a hand on him with the intent to hurt then you will have me to answer to!" she snarled in warning.

I placidly looked on.

"Are- are you sure it's not tricking you, dear?" the woman tried. While that was something I would do, I particularly liked this human. I'd preferred her trust to her delusions.

"Him, Mom. Illusion is a boy." Dani was firm. "And no, he hasn't tricked me. Or anyone. He's just a bit of a troublemaker. And he's fairly curious about everything- I think it has something to do with that broken mask."

A bit of a troublemaker? I was highly offended. I was a troublemaker through and through, not just a bit of one! However, I sighed and decided to ignore that little bit of an insult.

"And if he agrees to tests?" the orange man said hopefully?

"Then he's an idiot and I can't do anything about that," Dani said darkly. "But if you're going to try to convince him to let you run tests, then you have to tell him every- ILLUSION WHAT ARE DOING?!"

I had wandered through the talking humans and now I was free in the room. I took advantage of that to touch absolutely everything I could. She was right about one thing; I was curious. I picked up shiny things, pleasantly ignoring the two adult humans.

"Illusion."

I flinched and looked down the room at the angry girl.

"Illusion, you put that down right this instant and get your furry butt over here before I hit you."

I stared at her with big eyes, but when she didn't budge I muttered in angry Esperanto under my breath and placed the shiny 90-degree-angle thing (look, I had learned something at the brick building today!) back on the table and skittered back towards her mutinously. When I got back to her, head bowed, she sighed and scratched me on the top of the head.

I would have melted if I could. I did the next best thing and purred, thumping right down and pressing myself against her leg. Even sitting, I was more than half the size of her standing. She had no trouble with keeping her hand on my head, and that was enough for me.

"As I was saying," Dani continued in an exasperated voice, "if you want him to agree to testing then you have to tell him everything about it. Whether it has a possibility of hurting him, what that percentage is- he did pay attention in math today, he's not an idiot- and if it involves dissection." I flinched at that last word but crooned when her hand pressed more insistently upon my head.

The adults' gazes flickered between me, purring on the floor and completely harmless (at that moment, anyway), and between Dani, who had a firm look on her face. Then the woman sighed and placed her fingertips upon her head on the space above her eyes.

"Oh alright. But if he comes down here and shoots himself with one of the ectoguns by mistake-"

"Then he's an idiot and I can't do anything about it," Dani quoted herself.

***line break***

The boy lookalike of Dani was absolutely mortified to find me positively bouncing around the "kitchen" as Dani made herself something to eat. He stared flabbergasted (wow, I learned words from the fat man too) at me, checking out everything in the room, to Dani, calmly making herself cereal and placidly telling me when not to touch something.

I didn't often listen to her warnings and I got myself a nasty burn when I touched the "stove" when the pretty blue-and-red "flame" was dancing on it.

"Dani, you can't keep him. He's not an animal- and if he was, he's wild."

"I know, Danny. I know."