Oh, this was *lovely*, and it worked beautifully. How much did I love that John's daemon was a snake? And that Rodney's was a mouse? (also the bit where John told him she could have been a lion, just...I loved that too.) I don't know your specific reasons for choosing these forms, but they worked perfectly, I think.

One of the things I love about daemons is something you really brought to the forefront in this story, which is that they're a way for a character to acknowledge their emotional vulnerability in ways they might not without the outlet of a daemon--and I'm a big sucker for a vulnerable John, so again, this worked perfectly.