“You said there was a tiger costume around here somewhere, right?” Scott asked curiously as he poked through the collection of costumes they had brought back from the storage unit.
“Yeah, but…” Scott heard John’s voice taper off.
Scott glanced up. John was standing there holding an immaculate looking dog costume. Seriously, where did his uncle get all this realistic looking fur? John was looking up at him with puppy dog eyes, which was a little ironic all things considered.
“You seriously have a thing for dogs, don’t you?” Scott blinked, “Fine, hand it over.”
“Every shop needs its loyal guard dog,” John grinned.
“You don’t have a shop,” Scott gave John a skeptical look. He walked over and took the costume from him anyways.
John rubbed his head a bit as Scott inspected the costume. These quips just kept seeming to leap out of him.
Scott turned the costume over in his hands. It looked like some sort of shepherd? The scruffy fur was white with black spots, along with some cream color on the underbelly. Everything felt so… real. It was like he was petting an actual dog.
He turned the outfit over and looked into the mask. The dog had a square muzzle that flopped open when he poked at it. Front and center on the headpiece were a pair of empty eyeholes. Up on top of the head were two triangle shaped ears that had just the right amount of flop to them.
“Alright, so how do I put this bad boy on?” Scott dangled the costume by its shoulders. It didn’t look nearly his size. The legs came down to his knees maybe.
“There should be a zipper on the chest,” John pointed out the small silver clasp nestled in the chest fur, “I recommend you remove your clothing before trying to get inside.
“Uh huh,” Scott reached down to the zipper. John was able to point it out easily, but he was having trouble finding it even when he knew what to look for, “I’m not sure this thing’s my size John.”
Ah! But all my costumes are form fitting! John bit his lip again. It was important to reassure customers before they discovered the magic though. “I’m sure it’ll fit, just give it a try,” John smiled. Then he quickly blurted out, “All my costumes are form fitting.”
“Right,” Scott rolled his eyes.
He finally managed to find the clasp on the zipper. He pulled the clasp all the way down the seam. It looked big enough for him to climb inside, but maybe just so.
“Here goes nothing,” Scott started to kick off his shoes. He gave John a skeptical look before stripping down to his boxers. He had never known his roommate to be a voyeur, but he was absolutely staring right now.
Scott’s foot slid into the costume without too much trouble. The inside of the outfit seemed to be lined with a slick satin-like material. It felt like it must have gotten a little warmed up when the two dusted them out on the patio. The legging was really tight around his shins, but true to John’s word it seemed to stretch alright.
His foot reached the end of the costumes leg and slipped into the built in “paw” sock. The sensation felt a little strange. There was a lot more… structure down there than he was expecting? He felt like he was being forced to stand on his tip-toes. Something was awkwardly pulling on his big toe too. It was like the sock was trying to curl it back under his foot.
“Uh, this feels kind of weird,” Scott laughed nervously.
“Just prop yourself up on the table,” John ran up. He held out the opening to the costume for Scott to put his other leg in. “You got this Spot.”
“Thanks,” Scott started to push his other leg in. The leggings clung to his skin tightly, and he couldn’t feel a single wrinkle in the material. The fur flowed off his legs naturally and- Hold on. “Did you just call me ‘Spot’?”
“Why do you think I picked this one out? Come on, it rhymes!” John laughed, “Be a good boy, arms up Spot!”
“I’m not- Okay, I’m going to find that tiger costume now,” Scott laughed, “I can’t believe you.”
Scott took a step out from the table as John pulled the “pants” portion up around his waist. He wobbled a bit on his toes, but managed to stay upright. “How am I even supposed to walk on… these…”
His voice trailed off. The costume was perfect. The tip-toe effect made it look like he really was standing on a pair of dog paws. However they were built, they made it look like his feet were longer than they should have been. His ankles were part of the structure of his legs and- His legs! They looked so thin! The fur somehow gave off an illusion that his legs tapered off by his paws. His thighs look thicker in comparison, but wow! This was incredible! He could even see a long fluffy tail arc perfectly between his legs. It seemed to swish a bit as he stood there.
“Oh wow…” Scott wiggled one of his legs, “This costume’s really… Okay, yeah, I’ll be Spot.”
“Arms up then please,” John beamed.
Scott did as he was told. John coaxed the fur up his sides. It seemed to cling to him eagerly despite having nothing to support it. He eventually slid both of his arms into the sleeves, watching the performance on his legs play out all over again.
When his hands got into the “gloves”, Scott stared down at them in confusion. “Uh, I think you forgot fingers on here John.”
Scott was dangling his arms in front of him in the classic, “Shake!” posture. John grabbed onto one of them and wiggled it patronizing, “When’s the last time you saw a dog with thumbs?”
“How am I supposed to get the rest of the costume on?” Scott sounded a little distressed. He could see his paw digits wiggle a bit as he tried to move his fingers.
“That’s what you’ve got me for Spot,” John grinned.
He reached behind Scott’s head. The costume’s mask flipped back like a hoodie. The costume was starting to tighten now, curling up over his shoulders.
“Alright, now hold still,” John teased.
He immediately pulled the mask up over Scott’s head. His roommate let out a startled yelp as his world was momentarily covered in darkness. Eventually John got the eye-holes lined up though. Having the weight of the muzzle in the middle of his face felt odd. He could feel the mask getting tight around his jaw. The opening mimicked his movements when he tried to speak.
“This mask feels kind of weird,” Scott’s voice sounded muffled behind the muzzle. He tried reaching up with his arms. The material kept catching. It was like they only wanted to bend certain ways, “Everything’s super tight. How am I supposed to be able to do anything with these paws?”
“You’re not,” John grinned. He tucked the last of the mask underneath a furry flap to hide the Steam. “You’re supposed to stand on them Spot. You’re a dog.”
John pulled the zipper up Scott’s chest. As it clicked loudly into place, Scott suddenly felt all the fur tighten around him. It… it felt like his entire body was being compressed by the suit! Every wrinkle and fold smoothed out as the fur clung to his body.
Before Scott could protest, John gave him a firm pat on the back. He was already on shaky ground. Scott suddenly found himself tumbling forward towards the floor.
“Arf!” Scott let out a startled bark. He caught himself at the last minute on his paws. The proportion of his arms and legs shifted, leaving his back parallel with the ground. Nothing he was feeling made any sense…! What was- He felt something nervously swishing behind him.
He scrambled around on all fours. What was that for!? “Arf! Arf! Ruff!”
A series of canine barks escaped Scott’s muzzle. His eyes went wide. Those were authentic canine barks. From a dog.
Scott felt a wave of vertigo wash over him. The strange compression feeling hadn’t subsided, and now the room itself was starting to look bigger. John loomed over him, grinning from ear to ear as Scott started to shrink down. The costume was form fitting alright: His form was fitting it!
“What do you think Spot?” John reached behind his back and pulled out a large hand mirror. He held it out to Scott and let him get a good view of his reflection.
The Australian Shepherd let out a startled bark as it stared at the dog in the mirror.