Troy took a deep breath as he went back to the living room. Dustin had happily waited for him on the couch. His body instantly perked up as 'master' entered again. "Okay," Troy said. "I think I've made up my mind. You have to go back to Amy."
"But--"
"No buts," Troy repeated what Dustin had said to him. "You have to act human and try to resolve things. Okay?"
Dustin's face looked down as he pouted. The command was obviously working, but apparently the spell knew how much Troy wasn't dictating what he wanted. "Okay," Dustin muttered. "But I want ears and a tail."
"Wha--!?"
"PUH-LEEZE!" Dustin dropped to the floor. "I'll be a good boy if you let me have my ears and tail. Promise. I'll make sure to make Amy happy. Really!"
Troy felt himself take a heavy breath. "Okay," he agreed. "But you need to try to smooth things over with Amy as best you can. And then do your best to be your old human self as well."
"Of course!" Dustin stood up straight, puffed out his chest and cleared his throat. "I'm a real human man," he said. Then broke his nonplussed face with a smile as he could see Troy holding back his. "See? How was that?"
"Fine... I guess. But you also have to wear clothes." Troy saw the devious smile on Dustin's face and made sure to add, "Correctly." That smile instantly turned to a frown. Troy didn't want to have any issues with him coming with pants on backwards or his shirt inside out just to make him laugh.
"Deal," Dustin said. "But when I'm here I don't have to wear them."
"When you're here and no one else is around, you don't have to wear them," Troy corrected. Again, he watched Dustin pout, but eventually he nodded. "Okay. I'll be right back." He headed into the kitchen, making sure he was out of hearing distance. "Half," Troy said, pointing in Dustin's general direction. First, he focused on his ears. They would reach up and form into large points. Brown and black fur would cover the top of his head and ears. Then the tail. Dustin's spine would rapidly lengthen, growing far out behind him. The same black and brown fur would quickly cover it up. He'd wag it whenever he was happy and it'd go under him if he were sad.
But then Troy thought about his paws. Dustin should have big paws to help hold up his weight. The other man started to stand on his tiptoes as his feet shifted and changed. The thin bones in his feet grew thicker and wider. His toes scrunched up close to his feet as long black nails grew out from them. Thick paw pads would give him another inch in height and then help him from slipping too much on wooden floors. But the same was true for his hands. Instead of his fingers shrinking, dark nails jutted from his finger tips as paw pads grew under each of his fingers and palm. The same brown and black fur filled his hands and feet.
Still Troy didn't stop himself. He wondered about Dustin's tongue. It lolled out of his mouth whenever he was too hot or tired. The long thin tongue never quite fit right in his mouth. That's why he needed a snout. "Shit!" Troy caught himself. He was about to give his friend a full furry make over. "Damn it..." he felt his body nearly fall against his wall. The spells were starting to take a toll on him again. He could feel his energy drained. "Keep it together..." he told himself as he headed back into the living room. He looked over the other man, not realizing what all he'd actually changed.
There stood Dustin with German Shepard ears, tail, paws and tongue. Just as he'd thought, it lolled out of his mouth. "Are you going to do it?!" Dustin asked. His tail started wagging.
"I already did," Troy told him. "I gave you ears and a tail."
"Nuh-uh! That's not what we agreed on. I wanted a full face and fur all over my body. Why would I ask for something I've always had?"
"No way. That's what we agreed on," Troy shot back.
"But that's what I always had!" Dustin pulled out Troy's phone and pulled up a picture of them together. Sure enough, there were his big puppy dog ears and tongue hanging out of his mouth as he smiled happily holding onto him.
Troy stared at the photo. The realization was really starting to hit him. Somehow, he'd only thought it'd changed everyone's memories, not that it literally changed the world. 'So, if no one hears, the whole world is changed...' Troy thought to himself. He felt his body wobble. 'And I can't change myself because it can't rewrite my history... This is so annoying...'
Seeing Troy so upset, Dustin went over to comfort him. He nudged his head against Troy's body and hugged him. "It's okay. I can wait a little bit. You seem really tired. I'll go make sure Amy's alright and then we can talk about it on Monday. Okay?"
"Okay..." Troy leaned more into the one side hug, pressing his head against Dustin's chest. "Wait... Can you do it?" he held up the book. "Hold this and say, 'shape.' Then think of an animal you want me to turn into."
"It won't work."
"What do you mean it won't work? It's real simple. Just say shape and think... of... an..." Troy suddenly felt a strange presence. One that he hadn't noticed. When he pulled his face back out of Dustin's chest, there was another man there. By the looks of it a bit of an older gentlemen in a suit and black bolo hat. When Troy looked at him, he raised his cane and tipped the hat.
"How do you do?" he smiled. "I see you've been having quite a bit of fun. But I'm afraid the tournament is also about to start."
"Tournament?" Troy twisted his head slightly as he looked at the other man. "WAIT! How'd you even get in here! What the fuck! Dustin get him!"
Dustin wandered over to the man and sniffed him. "Sit," the man said and instantly Dustin dropped to all fours, looking up at him. "You know most people use 'familiar' when they want to control their animals. To think you'd use something like 'control,'" the man let out a bit of a snort as he rubbed the top of Dustin's head making sure to scratch behind his ear. "And to answer your question, magic. If you have something that can change a human into an animal, is it so hard to believe that I have something that allows me to teleport into your house? Hmmm?" His white mustache raised as he smiled devilishly at Troy. "Oh! And don't bother trying to use those spells on me. I know them all and if you want to have a sudden shock like that man who owns the book of transmutation then I suggest you keep your wits about you."
Troy stiffened up. "But... Okay... But what do you mean by tournament? I thought the books were stolen?"
"They were my boy!" the man let out a glorious laugh. "By none other than me. You must be as silly as that pompously pious woman to think that magic should be locked away. It's meant to be used! To have fun! To get what you want out of life! Just look at how much fun you've had and how well the book has bonded with you."
"But--!"
"But nothing my boy! You've clearly been having your fun! Just be a complete degenerate and indulge in your fetish!" the man raised his hands into the air.
Troy was taken aback. "Ru-rude," he glared.
"Is it not true? Once I heard someone in one of the other timelines say it, I haven't gotten it out of my mind. It fits so perfectly. You chose the book and the book chose you. Do you really think that wouldn't be true for every single one of you? Hmmm?" The man asked.
"Okay..." Troy nodded. "But what's the tournament?"
"Oh! Right! The tournament!" The man shuffled through his pockets and pulled out a slip of paper. He faked a trumpet horn with his mouth as though to add some pomp and circumstance. "You have been chosen to participate in a grand tournament to decide the fate of the world. You along with six other individuals have been given a great and mighty power. Steal the powers from others, use their powers on them and become stronger. Gather all the powers to win!" He folds the paper and sets in his pocket. All his enthusiasm went back to Troy. "Sounds fun, right!"
"I--I don't know..." Troy stood there a bit confused.
"Come now boy, you can't say that you're not having at least a little bit of fun. The number of times you've used that book already have done quite a number on some people," the man wagged a finger. "Regardless, you have the book and are part of the tournament. All I came here to do was tell you that some of your opponents are nearby. And good luck." He waved his hand around him and a circular puff of smoke surrounded him. Slowly it dispersed and he was gone. Only an echo of his voice remained, "Oh! And as long as you're touching the book and know the spell, you can use it in any form you take..."
Troy felt his stomach sink. It was almost like the man had called out his exact fear of why he hadn't used shape on himself yet. Sure, Troy wanted to try to be an animal, but he never wanted to get stuck as one. He shook his head as Dustin stood back up. "Feeling alright? Or do you want me to make it better?" his clawed hand reached a bit lower than Troy was expecting.
Instantly, Troy jumped back. Deep red filled his face. "No!" he touched his body awkwardly as though he didn't know what to do. But he could already feel the blood flowing straight back into his dick. "I mean no," he said a bit more calmly. "You need to go back to Amy. Act as human as you were and then we'll meet again at work. Okay?"
Dustin's lips went into a bit of a snarl. "Fine..." he grumbled. His clothes were still on the ground, hole for his tail and all. "I'll be a good boy..."
"Thank you," Troy said as he watched the other man dress himself. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow," Dustin snuck in a kiss on the cheek then sprinted to the front door. He made sure to get out before Troy could start yelling at him.
Troy plopped down on the couch. Now with the house to himself again, it felt oddly lonely. Even if 'Rosco' wasn't really his pet, it was nice to have something else around to talk to. He shook his head. This was how it was. Dustin was human. Not a dog. Even if right now, he was probably closer than he'd ever been. A pang of jealousy shot through him. He wanted to have that. He wanted to be all furry and have a tail and ears and paws and claws and a snout. "Damn it..." he cursed as he looked at the book.
"Well, if I can't do it outside, I can still have a bit of fun inside..."
Grabbing the book he said, "Shape," then thought about a black bear. He couldn't help but let out a bit of a laugh as he watched the deep black fur start to grown on the back of his hands. The fur spread quickly up his arms, covering them completely. It wasn't until he felt the tightness of his shirt that he'd realized what he'd forgotten to do. 'Oh shit!' but his nails had already turned into sharp black claws. All they could do was tear the fabric to shreds.
"Oh--" he tried to muttered, but only dull animal grunts came out of his mouth. He could feel his teeth sharpening in his mouth. They were growing in size, but so was his snout as it pushed further and further out from his face. His nostrils pointed forward while his nose turned black and wet. He could feel his tongue growing significantly longer.
'So weird,' Troy thought to himself as he felt his bones reshaping. His hips grew wider to accommodate the extra weight, but to his surprise, he didn't grow much taller. Instead, he could feel his back lengthening while his legs stayed close to the same length. It wasn't until his belly started to grow that the couch he was sitting on began to creak. He smiled stupidly at the extra weight, shifting his position to better suite it.
'I'm a big ole teddy bear!' he smiled to himself. But he still wanted to see it. He stood up, but then felt how awkward it was and fell down onto all four paws. Slowly he lumbered a few steps towards the bathroom, then fell asleep. A dull rumble, shaking a bit of the house came from him as he snored while he slept.