Spot yawned. A sunbeam had passed through the living room’s window, stirring him from his sleep. Arf, just five more minutes…
He stretched his paws out on the sofa and slowly started to sit up. Wait, sofa? Right, hadn’t he been watching a movie with his Master?
It seemed to be morning now. He let out another yawn, watching his muzzle block his vision. Oh man, he was Spot. It was always hard to shake grogginess when he was like this. He hadn’t figured out a good way to make coffee as a dog yet, and he probably shouldn’t drink caffeine as one either.
Wait.
Arf! He was Spot! Oh man, he had fallen asleep on his costume! Spot sprang to his hind paws. Master had told him not to do that! It… it was going to be fine, right? His zipper was just going to be shorter again and… and…
And then he saw it. Dangling off his chest was half of the zipper. It had started to peel off his fur like an old book finally losing its adhesive.
“Arf! Oh bark! Oh arf oh bark oh arf…!” Spot did the canine equivalent of cursing up a storm.
He reached down and tried to push the zipper back up against his chest. It just… wouldn’t stick! Arf, there was a little bit at the base that was still attached, but it was starting to pop off the more he played with it!
Ruff! The clasp started to slide down the detached piece of the zipper. It easily split into two dangling halves. Spot held out hope that the clasp would at least create a tiny two inch hole in his fur, but the gravity of freshly split zipper was pulling things down even further.
Spot watched as the zipper unceremoniously dropped to the floor. He started to whine as he rubbed his chest. There… there was nothing but dog fur! Smooth skin and… dog fur!
With his zipper gone, Spot didn’t have any need to stand on his hind legs anymore. He plopped down onto all fours, awkwardly staring down at the zipper. He was stuck as a dog! What was he supposed to do now!?
Jack was woken up by the vibrations of an Australian shepherd jumping on his bed. Spot barked frantically, “Master, wake up wake up!”
Jack shook his head, “Woah, down boy. What hour is it?”
Spot sat down, “Quarter till seven.”
“What are you doing in my bed Spot?” Jack was honestly still waking up. As Spot got onto his haunches, he finally noticed it. Or rather, the lack of it.
“My zipper fell off!” Spot barked, “Can you fix it?”
“What- Oh hey, did you sleep like that boy?” Jack sat up.
“Arf! It was an accident!” The dog reached down. One of his paws had just enough of a thumb to hold out the broken metal clasp.
“Oh wow,” Jack took the zipper, “I did warn you boy.”
John clicked the lights on and walked over to his desk. He scooted a spell book over and started to examine the zipper with a small hand glass. He already knew all the magic in it was gone. In his early morning haze, Jack was mostly picking up on a slightly new wrinkle to Spot’s changes. Or maybe this.
It was an unseasonably warm October. Jack had gone to sleep in his boxers. He was sitting there nearly naked, and he wasn’t particularly shy around Spot. Huh.
“It looks like all the magic in the zipper drained out,” Jack turned it over, “You did wear it for almost twenty four hours straight.
“Arf, yeah, but…!” Spot started to whine again.
“I’ll see if I can’t give it a recharge,” he reached into a desk and pulled out a small set of runes. (That he apparently owned now?) He draped the zipper over two of the carved rocks and watched their symbols begin to faintly glow.
This was mostly for show. But he really would need to juice the zipper up if he was going to turn Spot back.
“We’ll have to check back after we get home from the office,” Jack leaned down and patted him on the head.
“After work!?” Spot’s eyes went wide. “Can’t we work from home today sir…?”
“It’ll take all day regardless,” Jack said. He started making his way towards the kitchen. They were up now, he might as well start getting ready.
“But-“ Spot wagged bashfully.
“Technically I’ll be the one working. You’ll just be laying around,” Jack chuckled.
“Arf? Can’t I take my collar off and at least pretend I’m wearing a costume again?” Spot asked.
“Hmm…” Jack stopped, “Let’s see.”
His owner reached down and unclipped his collar. Spot waited for the familiar rush of humanity to flow back in. Any second now his chew toys would pop back into his belongings, and he could at least be a bit more civilized while they figured all this out.
Instead, he just felt a very canine whine escape his lips.
Jack looked out at the living room. Absolutely nothing had changed. “You feel any different boy?”
“Arf arf ruff!” Spot responded.
“Right,” Jack laughed. He leaned down and clicked the collar back around Spot’s neck. “Say that again?”
“Sir, nothing changed back!” Spot barked anxiously as the translation spell kicked back in.
“You’re a dog now boy, I don’t think there’s a human reality to shift you back to,” Jack patted his head, “You turned yourself into Spot boy.”
With that, he started to make his way back into the kitchen. Spot bounded after him on all fours. It was fun to indulge in this ground-level animal posture, but it was another thing when he was stuck like this!
“I’m really sorry sir,” Spot barked, “I really didn’t mean to…!”
“It’s fine boy, I don’t mind,” Jack ruffled his fur, “Just think of it like an extended vacation. You were trying to duck out of work this week anyways.”
“Arf!” Spot’s ears perked, “You’re… not mad?”
“No? I mean- We both knew this could happen? I like having a dog,” Jack grinned.
“But… I’m the dog!” Spot protested.
“Yeah, well I like you too,” Jack rubbed his ear.
Spot felt his tail start to wag. He had been expecting Jack to be giving him a lecture on responsibility right now, or talking his ear of about how he abused his costumes. “Arf! But… You can’t just keep me as your pet, right?”
“That’s what you are right now Spot,” Jack was unceremoniously making coffee. “I’m serious, I don’t mind looking after you.”
“But all my things are gone! What about, you know, rent and stuff?” Spot couldn’t believe how calmly his Master was taking all this!
“I’ll manage. I made a pretty good amount selling costumes this week,” Jack smiled reassuringly.
“Arf! Oh man, umm… Are you going to want me to be your guard dog again today?” Spot watched Jack get a bowl of kibble ready.
“Now that sounds like a marvelous idea boy,” his Master put the bowl on the floor. “That should keep you busy.”