The customer was a younger woman in her mid-twenties named Jamie who ordered a half dozen of the tarts, three chocolate, three meringue. She was planning a surprise for her friend Nate and herself for the weekend. She already knew what these pastries could do and decided to feed one to her friend Nate for a laugh. The two had bonded over their love of animal transformation and she knew he'd get a kick out of it. He preferred canine transformations and she favored feline transformations.
She watched as the wizard baker packed up her selections. Each tart was a single serving and a little larger than hand held size. He also added six bottles into the box, each containing an antidote to the potion baked into each tart. He closed up the white bakery box and brought it over to the counter.
"Here we go, six tarts. Three chocolate, three meringue. Remember, the person becomes the animal of the tart they are last."
"Got it. I hanging out with my friend this weekend and he's always wanted to experience transforming into an animal. This should make for a nice surprise."
"Well, as long as you know he'll be into it, I suppose that'll be ok." The wizard gave her a warm smile. "That'll be $18 even."
"Small price to pay for such an incredible product." Jamie handed him a $20 bill and he rang up the purchase, returning a moment later with her change.
“Have fun!” he said, with an encouraging smile.
“Oh we will!” replied Jamie as she picked up the bakery box and exited the store.
Jamie and Nate lived together in a three bedroom townhouse in the suburbs. It was a quiet and nice neighborhood, just the way they liked it. They each occupied one of the bedrooms with a third being utilized as a guest bedroom/Jamie’s office. Despite common misconceptions, Jamie and Nate were just good friends, not romantic partners. Nate was gay, but single whereas Jamie, after a bad breakup wasn’t sure she wanted a romantic partner of any gender.
When they had moved in, their half of the back yard was fenced in with a nice, high wooden fence and even a large doggy door. They always meant to get a dog, but things kept coming up to prevent that from happening. Jamie smirked as she looked at the doggy door again, thinking now Nate was going to be the dog, part time anyway. She set down her purse and keys next to the bakery box and set about getting ready for her surprise.
Nate soon arrived home, dressed in a simple t-shirt and well worn blue jeans, kicking off his sneakers at the door. He had been out with friends for the afternoon and arrived home to find Jamie cooking one of his favorite meals of hers, homemade meatloaf and mashed potatoes. He also noticed a bakery box on the counter and went to peak.
“No! Those are for after dinner!” she said, pretending to whack his hand.
“Alright, alright, I can wait.” Nate backed off and went to get ready for dinner.
After dinner, Nate leaned back and let out an appreciative sigh. It was delicious as always and it was always fun when the two of them cooked for each other. It was rare as their work schedules only aligned maybe once or twice a week but it sure beat ready to eat meals for one. Jamie cleared the table and Nate was about to get up to help when Jamie motioned for him to remain seated.
“Now, now, I got this.” She took the plates into the kitchen and after quickly rinsing them off placed them in the dishwasher. She then pulled out a small plate and placed one chocolate tart onto it. She walked back into the dining room and placed it in front of him. Nate was confused when he saw she wasn’t also carrying one for herself.
“You’re not having one?” he asked.
“I’m pretty full, I’ll have one later.” Jamie smiled. “Eat up.”
“Um, okay…” Nate was feeling weary about it, but picked up the tart and took a big bite out of it. He chewed it, impressed by the dark chocolate of the filling mixing with the golden, buttery crust. “It’s very good.”
“Yeah, I have a feeling you’re going to love it.” Jamie sat down in the chair across from him and watched as he continued to eat the tart. Soon enough, he was finished and leaned back in the chair again, wiping his mouth with a napkin and then setting it down next to the plate.
“That was delicious, where did you find them?”
“This little bakery I found not too far from here. It’s called Magical Sweets. It’s run by this amazing man, he’s a wizard actually.”
“Yeah, he’s definitely a wizard in the kitchen.”
“No, Nate. He’s an actual wizard. His confections are imbued with transformation magic. The tart you just ate causes anyone one who eats it to turn into a canine.”
“Yeah, right. Sure…” Nate nodded in a mocking tone and rolled his eyes. Except he was suddenly starting to feel a bit itchy. Jamie noticed some white hairs growing out among his normally light brown hair.
“Oh yeah?” Jamie pulled out her smartphone and opened up the camera. She switched it to the front facing camera and turned it to face him. “How do you explain this?”
Nate’s jaw dropped when he saw the image of himself on the screen. His hair was getting grayer, and whiter by the second. His lips were darker and looked thinner. White hairs were growing out from behind his ears as they grew out and started to flop over. Then he noticed something that made him drop the phone on the table. Short white and gray hairs were growing in on his forearms.
“Wha…what is happening to me?” Nate asked, both panicked and excited.
“You’re turning into a dog. A big shaggy dog, it appears to be. Which is fitting, considering how many times you’ve watched those silly movies.”
“Oh my god…” Nate got up and walked to the bathroom. “This can’t be happening…”
“Now, don’t panic, there is an antidote included that will turn you back whenever you want.” Jamie followed him to the bathroom and turned the corner to find him disrobing. “Umm, I think I’ll leave you be for the moment.
Nate pulled off his t-shirt to find his chest and shoulders also covered by the same shaggy fur as the rest of him. His face was quickly becoming covered as well. He reached up and felt it, along with his decidedly more canine looking nose. He smiled with excitement, now that he knew he’d be able to turn back. As he smiled, he noticed his teeth were starting to grow out into fangs. He had actual fangs. He watched in awe as his face slowly began to push out into a canine snout. He felt his ears flop over and reached up to touch them. He felt some cramping as his changes continued, as his feet grew out into digitigrade paws and his hands reformed into forepaws. He fell forward onto them, onto four legs, as his transformation finished.
He tentatively walked out of the bathroom and into the living room where Jamie was waiting on the sofa. She started beaming when she saw him.
“Well, how does it feel?” She asked.
Nate tried to speak but found he couldn’t. Of course he couldn’t. He was a dog now. He instead let out a loud bark and nodded his head.
“Oh good. Now then, let me show you something.”Jamie got up and walked back into the dining room. In one corner, she set out a bowl of kibble and a large bowl of water. “Over here, we have regular dog food and water for you to enjoy if you get hungry.”
She walked over to the opposite corner and gestured to another bowl of food. “This food, I added the antidote to. Whenever you want to change back, just eat the contents of the bowl and you should change back. And there are two more of those pastries in that box over there so you can go back and forth a few times if you’d like.”
Nate nodded again and wondered what the first thing he should do as a dog.