I Think My Ermine Has Problems

The new ermine - who has an improbably pink nose and a first-rate tail - may have some problems.  Clearly there's an interesting backstory there, only I haven't learned what it is yet.

A lot of the time when you buy a new animal, it arrives with its whiskers taped, so it didn't faze me when I noticed that the ermine's had been taped.  But when I went to take the tape off, I discovered that the tape couldn't be removed without removing a lot of fur with it.  As I was unwilling to remove any of the ermine's fur, the whiskers are still taped.  This implies to me that someone, somewhere, has done something very nasty to the poor guy.

This impression is further borne out by a general consideration of the ermine's demeanour: he's wary and watchful and seems slightly traumatised, and he's the first animal who has taken Sleepyhead's narcolepsy completely in stride (he just seems to appreciate having someone unthreatening to cuddle with).  Possibly he'll be feeling less shell-shocked when he's less jet-lagged, and I do think he'll get along well with Cami, but I'm kind of worried about him all the same, and I'd really like to know what happened. 

All the details are currently obscure.  I'm not even sure whether something happened to him recently or whether it happened a long time ago.  Maybe he's so wary because it was very recent; maybe it was a long time ago and new situations dredge it up.  Whether the ermine's trauma has any connection to his dual citizenship is another point of mystery.  None of this is clear.

I don't think the other members of the Wild Parliamentary Monarchy delegation were in any way responsible; the black panther is clearly dangerous, but I don't think he had anything to do with this.  They all, including the panther, seem very protective of the ermine.  This implies that they know his story, or some of his story, but they haven't said anything about it.  Poor little fellow.

He's in very good hands at the moment, though.  Few things in life are more therapeutic than cuddling with Sleepyhead, and the ermine seems content to do that for the rest of the day.