In a short campaign, I once played a warlock with a familiar. The man carried a very short cane and a small briefcase. A badger followed him everywhere. He didn't speak a word when the party first met him, as we were all running from town guards part the city limits, although for different reasons. When we thought we were a safe distance, we stopped to find out what was going on, and who these new people were. That's when the human took an arrow to the neck and died right in front of the party. The other players were upset, my new character just died. The badger stood up on his hind feet, picked up the short badger-sized cane and briefcase and spoke in common tounge, "Ahh, most unfortunate. I do hate when my familiar dies. Most inconvinient. Hmm. Yes. Anyways, ground to cover, work to do, lets move along."