[TF, F->Person Acting Like a Dog, Mental Changes]

[CW: Non-Con/Hypnosis, Public Changes]

Bethany sat down and let out a long sigh. She had worked hard that day, both at her day job and her second job, and she was thankful for the coffee shop even being open right now to give her a much needed caffeine boost. Her phone chimed once, then twice, and again a third time.

Work.

For the second time, Bethany sighed. The petite woman reached into her bag, pulling out her laptop amidst all the paraphernalia in it. Her work demanded she bring samples of pet store products around with her for demonstrations, so her bag was cluttered with leashes and collars, treats and toys. Bethany was dog-tired already, but duty called. She connected to the guest WiFi at the coffee shop, and settled in to get some work done over a cup of hot coffee.

Something flashed on the screen, a strange flicker of light. Bethany, however, was too focused on the notifications piling up on her phone to do anything about it though. By the time she'd turned back to her computer, it was too late - it had gone unnoticed. Her screen flashed a few more times as though pleading for attention, but nothing would come of it. Her phone was too engrossing, and she continued to scroll through the endless deluge of messages waiting for her.

"Miss?" A voice startled Bethany back to reality. A kind person in a coffee shop apron blinked their long lashes, smiling at the startled woman. "I have your coffee for you."

"O-oh! Thank you..." Bethany took a moment to read the worker's name tag, "...Claye!" She accepted the drink from their hands, and Claye hurried off to behind the counter with a smile on their face.

Bethany took a sip of her coffee and smiled as well. She glanced over at her computer when the screen suddenly flashed again as though it had been waiting for her gaze. Blinking awkward, she tried to figure out what it was that happened.

Another flash, and Bethany stared at the display. Something was going on, beyond the obvious disruptive behavior of her computer. Every time her screen went white, something was there. Some kind of image that - despite only being present for a split second - was searing itself into her brain. Her attention was riveted to the computer, despite the incessant vibrating of her phone. Work could wait, she had a mystery to solve first.

There it was again. Was that... a picture of a dog? Bethany shook her head and laughed a little to herself. Work, it seemed, had finally gotten to her. She picked up her coffee. Bethany glanced at it, hesitating.

On a whim, she popped the lid off, looking at the steamy liquid within. She raised it up toward her lips as though to take a sip, when she suddenly flicked out her tongue at the surface. A small splash of the darkness followed her tongue back into her mouth, and filled her senses with warmth and an earthy, bitter taste. It was delicious, but... why had she done that. Bethany set her cup back down next to her and glanced around the cafe discreetly.

No one seemed to notice, thank God. Bethany bit her lip and frowned. Why had she done that? That wasn't like her at all. If anything, that was like--

Her thoughts were interrupted by another flash of her laptop screen. Immediately Bethany's attention was gathered up by it. Another picture of a dog seemed to appear for a split second, but this time there were words with it.

"Good puppy."

For a moment, Bethany wondered if there were words with the previous image that she might have missed, and that made her slightly disappointed. Then, concern took over her thoughts. 'Good puppy'? Someone was praising her. This was wrong. It had to be wrong, and she couldn't let herself think otherwise.

Another flash, another image of a dog, and more words. "OBEY". Yes, dogs should obey, but that wasn't Bethany's immediate thought. Instead, it occurred to her that the dogs all had golden fur. Golden fur that, if one were slightly creative, matched the blonde locks that cascaded down around Bethany's shoulders. This was getting too creepy. She went to close her laptop, solve this problem another day.

Before she could, however, another flash emanated from her screen and she couldn't help but to look at it. Bethany swore that it was of a woman sitting on the floor, with the words "STAY'' superimposed on it. She tried to close the laptop, but found she couldn't. Despite her hand resting on the lid, she couldn't bring herself to shut it and cut off the messages. It was...

It was as though her mind wasn't her own.

Bethany pondered this for a second with far more tranquility than even she thought the situation deserved. She lifted her drink to her lips, lapping at the surface with an extended tongue once again. This time, however, she didn't realize it and continued until she had her share. Once she set it down she blushed, but wasn't sure why she was feeling embarrassed.

With a casual, relaxed air about herself, Bethany reclined back and watched her laptop. Strangely, nothing seemed to happen, at least that she was consciously aware of. She looked around, blinking a few times. Was the cafe always so dull to look at? And the logo... it'd been blue when she walked in earlier. "What the..?"

Bethany held up her hand in front of her face and frowned. It was gray, just like everything else around her. Various shades of the same monochrome palette. She gasped and let out a soft whine, cutting off the animalistic sound as she bit her lip. While she'd figured out that she was suddenly colorblind, she assumed something had gone wrong with her vision. In reality, her eyes were just fine, sending colors signals to her brain. Instead, whatever was affecting her mind had altered her ability to understand those colors, seemingly leaving her in a gray world. The flashed on the computer screen hadn't stopped, they were just now in color, invisibly reprogramming Bethany to their hidden specifications.

Squirming in her chair, Bethany wasn't sure what was going on. It was clear something wasn't right: for starters, her coffee was in a cup, not a bowl! Thankfully she carried one with her all the time in her bag, and she quickly put it on the table to pour her coffee into. A bit more relaxed, she started lapping at the drink more eagerly. The caffeine helped her think more clearly. What else was missing?

She took a look in her bag. Her collar and leash! She held the collar in front of her and looked at it. A part of her, deep down beneath whatever was happening to her, knew it was a bright pink collar, but now it just looked like another shade of gray. She pulled it on and fastened it tightly across her petite throat. The leash awkwardly sat on the table, connecting her to nothing.

The person from the counter, Claye, came back by her table. They were clearly weirded by the woman in front of them lapping at coffee in a small porcelain bowl. Gently, Claye tapped Bethany on the shoulder and she looked up at them wide eyed. It was strange, for a split second Claye could have sworn that Bethany's ears raised up, as though showing that she was paying extra attention to them.

Bethany stared at the person in front of them, their lips moving and sound coming out, but none of it made sense. It was as though Claye was speaking a strange other language that was foreign to Bethany. Didn't they know that when Bethany came in, they both spoke English to each other?

"Grr?" Bethany's head tilted as she was thrown off by the strange sound that just left her throat. She coughed, and tried again. "Rrawr. Grwr?" Bethany quickly covered her mouth and throat with her hands, embarrassment flushing her cheeks. Using short, choppy movements Bethany shooed away the confused barista.

What the hell was happening to her? A soft, anxious whine slipped her lips, as she pondered her situation. She was now in a black and white world, with no way to understand other people or be understood. Her paw wrapped around her leash and tugged. It felt too right to take off, as though it were part of her identity, and besides--

Bethany's conscious mind caught up with her inner monologue, and she gasped out loud. She'd referred to her... her... well, her paws as paws! The actual word escaped her grasp. Sure, she could look at any other person in the cafe - most of whom were desperately trying to avoid looking at her back - and see that they had hands. And her... paws were identical to hands, but they were clearly not hands... right?

Clutching her head, Bethany turned back to her computer where her emails had been left open. There they were, but the words and buttons made no sense. Just like her understanding of spoken language, it seemed written language was similarly faded away. Bethany stared at the glowing screen, tongue lolling casually out of her mouth as she panted idly.

Unbeknownst to her, the final hypnotic programming was being broadcast through her screen. Hungrily, her mind soaked up the alterations, changing and becoming something more simple, more feral. Bethany the human slipped away from her mind, while Biscuit the puppy filled the void and became the dominant personality in her head.

And then, with nothing significant to indicate it, the hypnosis was over. For long moments, Biscuit sat on her chair, before turning to her empty bowl. She dragged her tongue across its bare surface, picking up the final drops of coffee that had been left behind. It was a strange liquid, not one she preferred over her typical water. Awkwardly, Biscuit hopped down from the chair, landing on the smooth floor on all fours. She looked around, taking in the sites and sounds of the strange human world around her, before catching a whiff of something interesting. Something... familiar. Another dog.

Her head whipped around to the entrance of the shop, where she spotted a couple humans walking out with a large hound at their side. It didn't take long for Biscuit's rewritten mind to decide to follow them, bounding her way out the coffee shop with such vigor that her old, formerly human shoes fell off on their own. Biscuit bumped a table on her way out of the cafe, and loud shouting emanated from the owner of the table causing her to scurry away.

The stranger at the disrupted table brushed the coffee off of his oversized hoodie, and turned back to his laptop. Sure, he was two for two when it came to magically hypnotizing victims through unsecured network connections in this coffee shop. Still, that dog girl had nearly destroyed his computer with that coffee spill - and without the computer, his virus would be gone as well.

He sighed, sitting back and taking in the shop. The baristas working the counter discussed with themselves what to do about Biscuit's former human possessions, now abandoned at a distant table, while the patrons mostly occupied themselves watching the girl putting on quite the risque show. A girl who, moments earlier, had been a guy, the first victim of this magical virus.

The stranger chuckled, turning back to their computer. All these devices meant all these people ready and waiting to be hypnotized. Suddenly, an idea sparked: why hypnotize everyone one at a time, when he could instead get everyone's minds subjected at the same time..?