Scott stared dumbfounded into his reflection. The room began to lose its luster as the human eyes behind his mask shifted into pure canine pupils. Somehow John’s dog costume had managed to turn him into an actual dog…!
“Arf!” He barked at his roommate. Clearly that was obvious, right!? How was he being so blasé!?
Scott started to try and get the costume off. His paws weren’t dexterous enough to grab the zipper though, and he couldn’t seem to brush the mask off either. Arf! He could feel his paw brush up against the fur on his muzzle…! This felt so weird!
“Arf arf! Ruff!” Stop standing there and help! Scott felt an anxious whine starting to escape his lips.
“Sorry boy, I don’t speak dog,” John grinned. He set the mirror down and turned to one of the boxes they had brought from uncle Jack’s storage unit, “I think I can whip something up to help though.”
John popped the lid off of one of the boxes. He reached inside and pulled out- Eep! A dog collar! It looked like it was brand new off of a pet store rack. How was that supposed to help!?
“Alright, let’s see…” John reached for the magic wand in his robe’s pocket. He… wasn’t serious, was he? Suddenly the wand started glowing though…! Was there an LED in the end or… or… Holy crap.
John’s entire hand started to glow as he hovered the wand over the collar. He tapped it gently, watching the blue nylon strands start to weather and fray. The collar lost its pristine shine but gained a metal tag.
“Spot, Property of Uncle Jack’s Costume Shop.” Underneath the inscription was John’s address and phone number. It wasn’t a collar anymore. It was his collar.
“There we go. One straightforward translation spell,” John pocketed the wand, “Let’e try this on for size.”
He leaned down and adjusted the strap around Scott’s neck. The collar brushed up against his fur, creating a matted ring that suddenly had years worth of wear.
The collar’s clasp snapped into place with a loud click. The sound burrowed into Scott’s subconscious. He felt the room spin for a bit as his Master stood back up.
His… Master? Scott shook his head. John was his owner, not his Master. Err, no, he was his roommate! Still, something about being in his presence immediately made Spot feel more at ease.
Made Scott feel more at ease. He- he wasn’t actually a dog! He was supposed to be a human! Arf, but- It felt so nice to have his owner by his side smiling down at him.
His head was spinning. He was… He was Scott the roommate and Spot the dog! The new identity layered itself on top of him just as much as the costume itself had. Scott felt a swirling of thoughts and instincts bounce around in his head. It was all so overwhelming until his Master’s voice easily cut through it.
“How are you feeling boy?” John grinned, leaning down over him again.
“I think that collar did a number on me,” Spot sat on his haunches and scratched at the nylon with a hind paw.
His ears immediately shot up.
“Arf! I can talk again!” He scurried back onto all fours, “You turned me into a fucking dog!”
“Pretty cool, right?” John grinned, “I told you we’d have a fun time with these costumes.”
“Pretty cool!? Master! I don’t have thumbs!” Spot started to growl.
“Woah, down boy.” John held up his arms.
To Spot’s surprise, he found himself lowering back down onto the floor. The gesture was automatic. He didn’t feel fully in control of himself until his chest was lying on the floor.
“Huh,” his owner blinked, “Did I do that?”
“Yes? I- Don’t give me orders…!” Spot started growling again, “Turn me back Master!”
“You’re calling me Master. This is incredible,” John beamed, “Relax Spot, we just need to pull down the zipper on your chest.”
The zipper? Arf! This was still a costume! Spot sat up and quickly started pawing out of his chest. He could see the claps bounce back and forth but he couldn’t manage to grab on to it!
“Ruff! Don’t just stand there…! Get me out of this thing!” Spot barked.
John grinned, “You need to relax boy. My family’s old dog knew this one. Let’s see if you can… Settle.”
The word rang out through their living room. Spot knew exactly what he was supposed to be doing. His body laid back down on the floor again automatically, but it went further than just a simple ‘Down’. His Master needed him to calm down. Dogs with too much energy could get into trouble.
Master knew best.
Spot kicked out his hind legs and got into a more relaxed position on the floor. His breathing became more even, and his heart rate started to slow down. Master wanted him to settle… and so he was finally finding himself relaxing in his strange new body.
“That better?” John smiled, bending down to pet his head.
“Yeah actually,” Spot looked up. “How’d you do that?”
“Old obedience school trick,” John laughed, “You can get back up if you want.”
“Arf, uh, thank you sir?” Spot got back onto all fours. It felt weird being given permission for basic actions.
He pawed less frantically at his chest. He could see now that the zipper was indeed still hidden in all his chest fur. It was just a tiny hard to see strip of metal. There was no way his paws would be able to pinch the clasp at the top. He wasn’t even sure he could move his forelegs properly enough to do it.
“So are you going to let me out of here or what…?” Spot barked nervously.