John watched his newly canine roommate awkwardly paw at his costume zipper. He really was the size of a family dog now. This whole afternoon had been so surreal.
“I’ve honestly got half a mind to keep you like this for a bit,” John laughed, “You growled at me boy.”
Spot sat up on his haunches, “Yeah, well… I got turned into a dog! You’d freak out too!”
“Uh huh,” John leaned down, gently rubbing Spot’s ear. His leg started to kick cutely in that way that dogs did.
“Oh yeah… That’s the ticket…” Spot’s leg thumped happily on the floor, “I’ve always wanted to ask a dog how this felt… Hold on, uh, how did you do that little light show to get me talking sir?”
John finally let go, standing back up, “I’m not freaking out because I tried a costume on first.”
He gestured down at himself, straightening out his robe. Be pulled the wand out of its pocket, casting a simple illumination spell on the tip.
“One shop-wizard, at your service,” he beamed.
Spot’s muzzle fell open slightly, “I wouldn’t believe you if I literally didn’t have any thumbs right now.”
“You’re really hung up about this whole thumbs thing, aren’t you?” John laughed.
“I’m stuck as a dog Master…!” He pawed at his chest for emphasis.
“You’re not stuck as a dog. I can unzip you any time I want,” John patted Spot patronizing on the head.
“That’s not the same and you know it,” Spot started to do a play growl.
“If you want thumbs so badly, I think I know just the spell,” John wiggled the wand.
Spot’s eyes went wide, “Now hold on, last time you casted magic I started thinking of you as my owner sir…!”
“Relax. This is the standard magic shop guard dog package. Nothing to get your hackles up,” John tapped his nose with the wand.
Spot felt the fur on the back of his neck rise. He glanced down excitedly at his paws and saw… nothing. Absolutely no change at all. He glanced up at John and… did he feel a little more protective of his roommate? Maybe… Not much more so than usual?
“I think that one was a dud sir,” Spot barked.
“You think so boy?” John grinned, pulling a stray empty water glass off a nearby table, “Can you do me a favor boy? Go take this into the kitchen.”
The command was a bit more complex than what Spot had been told to do before. He didn’t leap into action immediately, but he could feel at the core of his being that he wanted to do as he was told. There was just one problem. He couldn’t exactly hold onto-
“Yessir!” Spot barked eagerly. He reflexively pushed off of his haunches, balanced on two legs, and… stood up?
He was standing! His legs shifted proportions just a tiny bit, finally giving him something that resembled the arms he was used to. His paws grew a little larger… and the dewclaw at the base finally curled out into a nice dexterous thumb.
“Oh wow, thank you sir!” Spot felt his tail start to wag eagerly.
“Thank you boy,” John handed him the class.
Right! The glass! Arf! Woah, this was weird. He took the glass from his Master and started walking into the kitchen. His body wasn’t on autopilot exactly, but he was immediately using his newfound balance with a purpose in mind. He wanted to explore his new changes, but first and foremost he had a job to do.
He almost let out a yelp when he saw the kitchen counter. He was tiny! He might have the posture of a human, but he was still very much just a dog on its hind legs.
This whole experience was so strange. John hadn’t made him human again. He’d made him into some sort of dog-morph that was just human enough to be useful. He had his thumbs back, but somehow felt even further away from his usual self.
Spot had to stretch to get the cup on top of the counter, but he managed it alright. He turned to head back to his owner and-
He immediately dropped back down onto all fours. His task was complete, and he was already back to his canine proportions.
He walked back into the living room on all fours, “Arf! Okay, well… that was weird. Thumbs are gone again.” He held up his forepaw for emphasis.
“You’ve only got ‘em when you need ‘em,” John teased.
“Can I need them again now sir?” Spot let out a soft whine.
“You’re really not going to let this go,” John put his hands on his hips, “Fine. We can change you back.”
He started to bend down, but noticed how messy the living room had got. Half the storage unit was splayed across their living space.
“Err, after we move this stuff to the office. Gotta take advantage of your obedience while I still can,” John smirked.
“Master!” Spot growled.
“Come on Spot, I want you to try and enjoy this,” John patted his head playfully, “Now come help me move these smaller boxes.”
Spot felt things shift again. He hopped up onto his hind legs, but there was also something different going on. He felt a little lightheaded as he tried to make sense of that last order.
“Yes Master, right away sir,” Spot bent down and picked up a carton of costume supplies.
It felt good to be told what to do. His canine mind was primed to obey his superiors, and there was nothing quite like the satisfaction of a job well done. His tail wouldn’t stay still as he finished his first trip into the office.
Master had told him to try and enjoy this. What “this”? Being stuck as a dog? Not having any thumbs? Being some weird magical assistant? All of the above?
Well, he wasn’t stuck as a dog. Master would unzip him eventually. Or he could do it just before this job wrapped up. As much as he had been complaining, it wasn’t that bad? He had always wondered what it would be like to be an animal. Walking around on all fours felt really natural like this. It was… kind of fun once he relaxed.
Spot could feel his perspective shift on the situation play out in real time. All it took was just one simple quip from his owner and he was as eager to change his mind as he was to move these boxes or clean up the water glass.
His owner… It was weird being a pet. His friend’s pet no less! But Master has always dealt with the condo’s lease and paid the bills. He was practically in charge anyways. If he wanted to rename him, well, it was a little weird. But still, it was fine. This was fine.
Scott was enjoying being Spot.
“All done sir!” Spot dropped back down onto all fours.
John looked down at the small pile of boxes Spot had managed to move with his shorter stature. The human had to handle all the garment bags and one of the larger footlockers they had brought. Still, the dog’s tail was wagging a mile a minute.
“Good boy. Now a deal’s a deal,” He wiggled his fingers, leaning down, “Want me to unzip you now?”