"So, uh, what's it like turning into a shepherd?" Lucky asked Tony at one point after dinner.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, man, I don't really know yet, really. Most of my changes haven't been really breed specific so far. The big patch of black fur on my back is pretty cool, though."
"Oh," Lucky said. The pair went silent again. After a minute or two, Tony offered, "Hey, bro, I'm sorry if my music's been bothering you too much lately. It's just, I always loved hip hop, and I don't know if I'll have the luxury much longer. I'll try not to turn it up too loud on purpose, and you're welcome to come join in if you want."
Lucky perked his ears up, seemingly surprised by the impromptu confession. He flattened them a bit and looked down slightly. "Uh, thanks Tony," he said, adding, "Also, sorry if I was too much of a bitch about it," then caught sight of his own tackle and laughed, "even if I am definitely staying male as a dog, get it?"
Tony laughed, "No clarification needed there, bro. Are you alright, though? You've been next door the whole time, and we haven't even really seen each other except for, well, that."
Lucky drooped his ears and closed his eyes. "I'm scared, Tony. Everything I owned and was last week is gone. I look at myself in the mirror and realize I'm not even going to be here much longer, I'm going to be living and eventually also working somewhere else as an actual animal. At least I'll be alive, but how long is that going to last? I'll be coming nose-to-nose with freaking explosives for a living, Tony. You can see I'm not even gonna be on two legs for much longer. Why did I even sign up for this?"
"I dunno man. You're turning into an awesome looking labrador anyway, for whatever that's worth. Why did you sign up for this, Lucky?"
"It was a woman," he said. "She dumped me for some huge ripped cop and told me she'd been cheating with him for weeks and decided just wasn't gonna spend the rest of her life with some tax accountant. She said I wasn't strong enough or brave enough for a woman like her. I told her I might not be some big hunk of muscle with a badge but at least I had been loyal to her. She said if she'd been looking for loyalty she would have got herself a dog. That's when I got to thinking. Maybe it would show her if I got ripped and became a cop myself, but where would I start? Then I saw the flier for Illusia Kennels and thought maybe this was my chance. If she thought loyalty was for dogs, what would she say if I became a dog, but a frickin sniffing dog with with frickin law enforcement? So here I am. I threw everything else away because it felt like it would somehow spite my ex."
"Well, look on the bright side, it's not like your ever gonna have to deal with her any more," said Tony. "You're not gonna have to deal with any human shit any more like exes, money, clothes, bills, taxes. And accounting. Accounting sounds boring as fuck, no offense."
Lucky laughed. "Yeah, sometimes it was," he agreed. "But I don't know. I used to have stuff, Tony. I had a job. I had a car. I had siblings and parents. I had a masters degree, which took me a few years and quite a bit of money to earn. I guess I did have college loans, which sucked, but still. And yes, I actually had a name, other than Lucky. I even had a girlfriend, until I didn't, and then I just couldn't let that go, or at least I didn't think I could. Now I've fur, floppy ears, a tail, and less and less every day to remind anyone that I was ever a person."
Tony thought about that and didn't know what to say. He had never had half as much as Lucky had, but at least he had been a person, too. Surely there had been at least some chance to make the most of it and make a better living somehow without gi ving up literally everything including his human form. But like Lucky, he'd just assumed there was nothing better to look forward to and committed himself this decision. Now there was no going back. The only career he had to look forward to was using his nose for humans. The main social interaction he had to look forward to was sniffing butts and marking trees. Sure, it was a lot simpler than easier, but was he sacrificing too much in return?
Tony still didn't think so, but Lucky sure had given him a lot to think about. For now, though, he put his long tongue to use and sort of licked the side of Lucky's face, making him laugh and giggle and half-heartedly try to fend him off. He didn't care that Lucky's yellow fur tasted funny. He only cared that Lucky's tail was wagging and the almost-dog didn't seem quite as down-in-the-dumps any more.