(M to Dog - Tibetan Mastiff)

It started with Mike’s hands. Kayla knew that was his favorite part of her magic. ‘Magic.’ Mentally, he chided himself for thinking of that word. It described her powers so perfectly, but she was very adamant that there was nothing mystical at all about her ability to shape reality.

And really, what was he going to do about it? He was lucky that she’d decided to take him to meet her parents… Albeit in an unconventional manner.

Mike looked down to his hands with a wondrous smile, watching as his fingers slowly bulged, one at a time. Heavy, thick, soft pads that were velvety to the touch ballooned out from his palms. He rubbed them against his cheeks with an eager smile, even as his fingers twitched as they reshaped.

“Now, let’s run over this real quick while you can still talk,” Kayla rubbed her thumbs against the backs of his hands, bringing him back to the present.

“You’re inviting me to Thanksgiving dinner, because you think me eating alone is sad and unhealthy,” he said with a small smile.

His reward came in the form of a scratch along his collar. Thick, dense fur followed the trail of her motion. Mike shook it out with a blush, pressing his heavy paws against it and biting his lip.

“You are such a dork,” she chuckled. “But yes. And the reason you’re coming on four legs instead of on two is…”

Mike shuddered as she pressed her warm hands against his hips. They’d gone over this motion enough times by now to know what she wanted. He pressed his paws around her neck in a half-hug, in time for her to strip the ability to walk on two feet from him.

It wasn’t painful, just unnatural. One second, it was right to look her in the eyes. The next, his body felt strange upright, and he sagged against her, pressing his weight against her, reminding her that she was totally in control of him.

Kayla pressed her fingers against the base of his spine, looking to his eyes with a curious smile. “Well? Be a good boy and speak.”

“Because you broke up with Chuck last month, and you know they’ll judge me if I look like a rebound from him.”

The pressure against the base of his spine grew, and Mike huffed as a heavy, strong tail wagged its way out from himself. It had to be strong, given all the fur it was swaying around. The thing was basically an oversized duster, its brown hairs visibly swaying with each motion.

“Good boy! And, just for me…” Kayla ran her slender fingers down his sides, tickling them as a dense, heavy coat of fur burst from the rest of his body. The fur that already existed around his collar grew thicker still, until it hung heavily around his head like lion’s mane. “What did I do to Chuck?”

Mike looked to their dresser, gulping. “Since you caught him… Ah… Enjoying… Your underwear, you decided to let him hold it forever.”

“Your heart raced again. That’s cute,” Kayla smiled. She curled her arms up and tapped Mike’s shoulders, and he slipped them off, thumping onto all fours. He was a big dog, they both loved Tibetans. But still, he didn’t come up much past her waist. “Don’t worry. You know I like you more.”

He did. He could literally smell it from her, this close to her body. He found himself distracted from the pleasing sight of her thighs by a pressure in his face. It was going to be a snout, his snout. Eagerly, he started to move his jaw back and forth, letting him feel the subtle sagging of his cheeks as they drooped into the breed’s distinctive jowls. Fluff raced to cover them, tickling his darkening, rubbery lips.

“And since you’re a good, good boy, you’re going to make sure that they don’t know they gave birth to a Reality Shifter, got it?”

“WHUFF!” Mike barked, his tongue bulging in his mouth as the sound left his lips. “WROOF! RUFF!” Each bark swelled it more and more, until he could let it comfortably hang past his chin, wetly flopping as he cooled his body in the only way it knew how.

“Good boy. Now, I’ll let you keep your name, pretend you’re a friend’s dog that I’m pupsitting, and we’ll get you a big, full plate of food for that sexy fluffy tummy. What do you say?” Kayla clearly knew the answer, but Mike knew she loved to see him excited.

“WROOF!”

xXx

Two hours into the visit, Mike still hadn’t been fed. He had to watch as they brought out some of Kayla’s delicious potato salad, snacking on it as they commented on today’s game and how they wanted New England to win. That was aggravating enough, nobody in their right mind wanted New England to win. But worse, he’d also been sat in the corner as they carved the turkey, ladling delicious portions of gravy and stuffing into a bowl.

Now he was waiting at the table, looking up miserably at Kayla. She could easily magic away some of the food for him, except for the fact that she hated to use it around her parents. As a result, he was left with nothing but the promise of cold leftovers.

“Khayy-ruh,” Mike whined, looking at her plate hungrily. His belly rumbled for good measure.

“Oh, how sweet! Mikey-wikey made it sound like he said your name!” Kayla’s mother clapped her hands excitedly.

“Yeah… Weird…” Her father narrowed his eyes. “Honey, you sure your friend picked him up from a breeder? I hear an awful lot these days about those Reality Shaper fellows.”

“Reality Shifter,” Kayla quietly corrected him; then fixed her good-boyfriend with a stern glare. “And no begging for scraps, do you understand?”

‘Huhn-gree’ was what Mike intended to say. “Duhwoof” escaped his mouth instead, followed soon by his tongue and a copious amount of drool. He blinked, surprise. He flexed his muzzle curiously, but couldn’t quite remember the motions to form words.

That little minx! She’d taken his ability to talk. And for what? Asking for his plate of food? She was the one who invited him along on this trip, darn it!

“He can’t understand you, he’s a dog,” her mother laughed.

“Unless he can…” Her dad narrowed his eyes. “You’re really sure this dog didn’t used to be a man? I swear I see something in his eyes.”

A faint pressure built in Mike’s head. His eyes glazed, then unfocused. He could feel it happening, feel his thoughts draining away. With a small whine, he put his paws on his head. No matter how much he pressed against his floppy ears, he couldn’t keep himself from thinking slower and slower; needing to focus a little more on each thought.

But the food smelled so good! He pressed his large head against Kayla’s thighs, whining hungrily.

“Now, now. You’ll get your food after dinner,” she tutted, tapping his dark nose.

“Ha! I knew you’d never be able teach a dog. I told you, didn’t I? They’re big responsibilities.”

Kayla’s eyes narrowed, and Mike began to feel something dangerous in the air. Even if he didn’t know why.

“Roll over!”

Immediately, Mike dropped down onto his belly, eyes wide as years of performing that trick replaced years of college education. He easily rolled onto his back, tucking his paws under his chin, letting his jowls flop back a little towards his ears.

“You were saying?” Kayla smirked smugly.

“C’mon, that’s just a coincidence!”

“Roomba!” Kayla commanded.

It didn’t make sense, even to Mike’s human mind. Apparently his body knew what to do, because he rolled back onto his belly, pressing it as low to the floor as he could. He pressed his face down against the tile, then started to wriggle back and forth, sweeping it with his fluffy jowls.

At the same time, he lost the rest of his higher education—but he was well beyond being able to even worry about that.

“Oh, I’ve never seen that one before, what a good boy!” Kayla’s mother clapped eagerly.

It seemed that was enough to win over her parents into thinking that her dog had never been a human—though it came at the cost of her boyfriend forgetting this as well. By time time he was done with his trick, Mike could barely remember his name. But he knew when his owner said that “My-key” sound, it meant he’d done well, and he eagerly bounced back onto his haunches, waiting for his treat.

This one finally came in the form of a scrap of turkey, covered in extra gravy. He was much too dimwitted to know what the tasty sauce was, only that he liked it, and he licked his owner’s fingers happily as a reply, receiving a pet on the head as a reward.

Perhaps there was some small, diminutive part of him that wondered of Kayla would ever let him be a human again. But that part was very easy to ignore thanks to the promise of more food. Whatever his doubts were, they could wait until later.