Troy took a breath. He could feel the fur around his neck had ruffled up, a strange feeling that forced him to pat it down. His tail thrashed in agitation at his legs-another weird feeling. Another set back. In order to properly alter reality, he had to be unaware of his own transformation.
“Dammit.” He growled.
“You okay in there, Troy?” Clint called from the front of the yard.
Troy heaved a sigh in a deep, annoyed rumble. He gave one last look past his bewhiskered muzzle and the valley between his furry pecs. Time to go back to boring old human.
“Half.” He mumbled.
The changes receded in a smooth flow, and he quickly stood in very loose and torn clothes. Human again. He jiggled his small belly. Couldn't get rid of it even in Tigerman form. Weird, Troy thought. Why is that?
"Troy!" Clint's shout cut off Troy's train of thought, "You okay in there?"
“Yeah, a minute,” Troy yelled back through the closed door. He stumbled back into his room. The door to his bathroom stood open and even with his human nose, Troy could smell the cloying scent of musk and cum. He snagged a can of Axe and hosed himself down and put on some clean gym clothes before he walked outside.
Clint stared at him with his muscled arms folded across his sizeable chest. Rosco’s head shifted from Clint to Troy, the look on his doggy face clearly one of concern.
Troy feigned embarrassment. “Stubbed my toes opening the door jamb. Second time today.”
Clint slowly lowered his arms. “Oh. Don’t have toes so I can’t sympathize. And maybe, uh,” His rubbery lips wrinkled, "Lay off the body spray, eh?"
“Sorry, got sweaty on the walk. Forgot how sensitive your nose was. So you've never had foot pain?” Troy sauntered casually out to Clint.
“Nah-well,” Clint hedged, “When I was young I tried metal horseshoes. Rebellious phase and all that. Took a nail straight to my frog. Oof, pain didn’t go away for a month!”
Troy winced. “Frog?”
“Horse hooves aren’t all keratin, you know.” He made a kind of claw with his hooflets, “There’s a soft fleshy inner pad. You have to keep it cleaned out or it gets infected. Also, the hook is like a big fingernail. It’s mostly dead, no nerves…unless you put a nail in too close to the nail bed.”
“Oh.” Troy hadn’t realized how reality had shifted. The man had a completely different life experience, being a horseman. “Rebellious phase?”
“Right. Ma had hardwood floors. Metal horseshoes. Do the math.”
“Ah.” Troy glanced at Clint’s feet. A kind of rubber padding covered them like a shoes.
“Obviously I’m not wearing them anymore, Donna’d kill me. Farrier comes around once a month, trims my hooves, glues these rubber pads to the bottom of my feet. Saves on re-flooring.” Clint winked.
Rosco licked Troy’s hand. Troy looked down at him.
“Ouch,” Troy pretended to stumble a bit, “Ah, my toe kinda throbs. Can you watch him for another minute while I get some ice?”
Clint grinned his goofy horse grin, “Of course! It’s not like he runs away you know. Gotta be the most well-trained dog I’ve ever seen.” He gestured to the grill. The steaks were on a covered plate and now cobs of corn lay on the grill. “Steaks gotta rest so I’m roasting the corn a bit. Donna loves the smokey flavor.”
Troy nodded, putting a pained expression on his face. “I-I’ll be right back.”
“Take care!”
Troy hobbled his way to the door and closed it. As soon as he shut the door, he relaxed. One catastrophe averted. He took a deep breath and organized his thoughts.
A peek out the window revealed Rosco panting lazily as he lay on the lawn next to Clint. The horseman busily flipped corn cobs. If there was a good time to alter reality, it would be now. Though, the more he stared, the more he realized Rosco wasn’t just lazying about-he was clearly enraptured with the steaks. Probably hoping Clint would toss him some bits.
“I suppose it’s time.” Troy mumbled and concentrated on Rosco. “Time to eat human food again, Dustin.” He adjust his grip on the Book of Beasts, hands slick with sweat.
Reality would change…and he’s awfully close to me. Troy’s mind raced. My dog. My friend since childhood. Troy’s pulse quickened as he became aware of how much his life would be affected by the reality change. He lives in my apartment, he thought.
Fuck it, I wanna be a Tigerman. He’s the key to that reality. Troy took a breath and steadied his resolve.
“Half!”