Watching the rest of the magic show was a truly surreal experience. Kevin got to hear, smell, and somewhat see more than a dozen transformations analogous to his own. Some people changed gender, size, age, or species. Some people became mythical creatures that no one in the audience had ever seen before. He couldn't really understand anything they said, but he was amazed at what became of them. At least with this increasingly familiar-smelling human nearby, Kevin felt safe. He wasn't sure what else he could possibly have to lose, now that his humanity had been stolen in the most public way possible, but somehow being a dog was just better when sitting next to the right kind of human.
Getting away from the crowd after the show felt nice. It was really overwhelming for Kevin's new canine senses to be surrounded by all that. Walking down the dirt path (toward the rural farm Kevin would be living on) turned out to be an adventure. There were birds he could hear, breezes he could feel in his fur, and small animals he could chase. Kevin found that he really enjoyed sniffing things now. Every other bush, tree stump, or patch of grass seemed to hold an entire Internet of scents that Kevin could scroll through just by sniffing. Part of him resented the fact that he was giving into dog urges already, but they were his urges now, and he might as well let his new body give him the experiences it was designed for.
Somewhat embarrassingly, Kevin found that one of the most interesting things he could smell now was urine, especially dog urine. It was so much more intricate and informative than the simple, unpleasant stink he would have passed it off as if he were still human. Somehow the many distinct odors in each layer triggered instincts in his brain, and he could piece together various details about almost any animal that had peed there in the vaguely recent past. He could instantly know things about strange dogs that he would never dare ask about some of his close human friends. It was like an Internet forum with no rules and no mods. Well, on second thought, maybe there were "moderators", of a sort: some of the animals smelled very dominant, and many others would be submissive to them. There were also some scattered claims of ownership here and there, and Kevin got the impression that some of the bigger dogs often fought over certain stretches of road and certain patches of nearby forest.
The first ever doggy piss that Kevin took was an experience he didn't think he was ever going to forget. He hadn't visited a human restroom since before he'd changed, long before the show was over. He knew he wasn't going to be able to hold it in for much longer. He also felt increasingly out of the conversation his doggy nose had been detecting throughout the walk. Knowing he couldn't talk or write with humans anymore, he was itching to leave a post on this animal forum and maybe introduce himself. About halfway through his first walk with his master, he finally built up his nerve and did it. He accepted the fact that he couldn't expect any privacy from now on, that he really didn't need any, and that this was his new line of of communication with the lowly creatures that had become his peers. He found an especially active thread on the roots of a maple tree, sniffed through as many messages as he could, angled his leg up to get his sheath aligned just right, and relieved his aching bladder. His own scent reached his nose almost instantly, amazing him with the amount of information it contained. And so it was that Kevin sent out his first pee-mail:
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TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
Hey, everybody! I'm the new dog in these parts: medium-large, male, and most definitely not neutered, at least not yet. I'm young, but not like puppy-young or anything. I've read a bunch of your messages, but I'm still really new to what's going on. Some of you sound like tough-customer's, and I believe you: I'm not looking for any trouble just yet! I'm feeling okay all things considered, just a little freaked out that things have really changed a lot for me recently. I'm definitely not looking for a relationship right now, but I am a bit sexually curious and possibly a bit inexperienced right now. Some of you do smell really hot, but I also don't really want to admit that yet. It's been a bloody weird evening, and I'm still shaken up, but it didn't turn out as bad as I expected.
Can you tell I've been bottling all this up for over an hour? It's so good to finally get it all out! I think it's nasty that some of you have pissed and shit on, like, every square inch of this roadside, no offense. I'm totally gonna join in, at least to some extent, so keep an eye out for new messages. Oh, and my owner's totally stopped walking and is watching me do this, which is kinda freaking me out, so imma wrap this up for now. Tata!
SIGNED: KEVIN ROOSTE, 0 MINUTES AGO
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Okay, so it's not like Kevin was thinking in complete sentences or leaving his literal human name in the urine. But it totally contained a bunch of pheromones and olfactory signals that made Kevin feel like he'd just written a blog. He finished up, felt the last few drops soak into his sheath, and ran up wagging his tail to catch up with Farmer Callif. They both started walking more down the road, with lights in the distance, anxious but optimistic about whatever awaited them at the farmhouse up ahead. Kevin could smell food in the distance, and he couldn't help but wonder if any of it was for him.