Kevin noticed the time on the clock near his bed. "Mom will be home soon," he said and grabbed Shaggy's collar.
Charlie stopped scratching behind the dog's ears. "I've got to get him back outside before Mom gets home," Kevin explained. "She doesn't allow him in the house."
Jared felt himself pulled from a pleasant slumber. "C'mon, boy," Kevin coaxed the dog off the bed. "Good, boy."
Kevin led him downstairs. The steep stairs looked a little scary, but his young master led the way and he followed. They passed through the kitchen quickly, but Jared smelled bacon treats, although to his disappointment Kevin didn't stop to grab one of the meaty strips.
Kevin fastened the sheepdog to the lead. "Stay, boy," Kevin said and walked back to the house to work with Charlie on their science project.
Jared sat. He was always careful to obey his young master.
He heard the back door close. He might have gone looking for the squirrel, but a whiff of brimstone and lemony furniture polish betrayed a dark presence.
"Oh my," Wepwawet said in a voice that grated on Jared's ears. "Look how far the not so mighty have fallen."
Jared growled fearfully and tried not to cringe in front of the taunting being. He didn't trust this thing. His sense of smell told him that Wepwawet wasn't human. He was... something different.
"How different you can not appreciate, dog," the entity invaded Jared's inner thoughts and responded accordingly.
"Not dog," Jared burst out with a pair of "woofs."
"How stubborn you are," Wepwawet observed. "Oh, well, perhaps that's your last, lingering human trait."
A glimpse of a small furry form racing through the grass distracted Jared, who turned his head from Wepwawet to follow the movements of the squirrel.
"If I am boring you, I should go," the being teased.
Jared snapped back to attention. "No go. Please."
"That's better, dog," it pleased Wepwawet to say. "Not too proud to beg, I see."
Jared cringed again. "No dog. Please."
"Oh, you call that begging," Wepwawet said. "To humble yourself as a beastly supplicant for my mercy you will have to do better than that."
Most of the words dropped out of Jared's understanding. "Please. Make boy again."
"How monosyllabic you've become in your newfound dogness," Wepwawet said.
"No fair. Me boy. Not dog."
"Oh, do you regret your hasty agreement?" The entity asked scornfully. "Have you fully appreciated your stupidity?"
"Me stupid. Yes." Jared agreed willingly.
"As you should be," Wepwawet said. "Alas, it changes nothing. What is it they call it? Buyer's remorse? Your agreement was not with me, dog."
Jared stared at the prospect of a lifetime of having his shits cleaned up by his former family members.
Dog and Wepwawet heard the creak as someone opened the gate.
"Ah," Wepwawet turned and saw a tall, handsome lad of seventeen stroll into the back yard. "Now returns the dog who became a human."
The impostor looked floored as he tried to focus on the shimmering, shadowy shape that seemed to disappear and reappear as it stood next to Shaggy.
"Not me. Not me!" Jared tried desperately to communicate.
"Shut up, dog," Wepwawet ordered brusquely.
Jared, although he had his next thoughts at the ready, found them denied him.
"Here's someone worthy of my attention," Wepwawet said, manifesting his corporeal form for the benefit of the impostor.
The god's wolfish features formed a predatory smile as he waited for the impostor to respond.