“John!” Spot growled. “I think you’re turning into your uncle!”
Jack stared down at his dog né roommate. That was preposterous!
“What? Because of the beard?” He ran his fingers along his chin. Oh wow, it had gotten really bushy lately. Still, this was ludicrous!
“Not just that! You’re acting all weird, and you keep trying to open a costume shop!” Spot barked.
“That’s not- Look, I just had a lot of fun selling costumes again this week,” Jack said defensively.
“Again?” Spot repeated.
“Yeah, I-“ Jack stammered. It had been a lot of fun getting back into the swing of things this week. Uncle Jack’s Costume Shop had been closed for so long, but he hadn’t lost his touch.
Lost his touch?
“Oh jeez…” Jack rubbed his head. He felt like he did when he was casting a spell. It wasn’t learning something new. It was remembering how to perform some rusty skill.
Now that Spot had put the idea in his head, he couldn’t seem to escape it. Jack thought he was turning into a sales wizard. He was. But it wasn’t just that. He was becoming a specific sales wizard. He had given himself his name and everything.
“Sir…?” Spot walked forward with concern.
“I- Shit. You might be right,” Jack bit his lip. The robe had a lifetime of memories about magic within it. He had been so eager to claim them as his own. But there were also memories of running costume shops. Memories about changing people into more suitable forms. Memories about wanting a legacy. And he had crammed that life’s work straight into his noggin.
“Right about what?” Spot asked, “Because I don’t need you to tell me this costume shop stuff is weird.”
“It’s not weird! We’ve been running magic shops for generations!” Jack felt his hackles rise, “I mean- I think you’re right boy. I am becoming my uncle. Well, at least sort of.”
“What do you mean sir?” Spot hopped up on a near by chair so he could get closer.
“I keep remembering things I shouldn’t. Uncle Jack didn’t have any kids. I think… I think that robe was his idea of keeping the family business going,” Jack rubbed his head. “He probably didn’t intend for his robe to sit around for two decades though.”
“Arf…!” Spot’s eyes went wide, “Well take the robe off and-“ Spot noticed Jack was in street clothes for the first time, “-or put the wand down or whatever and get your head on straight.”
“I uh…” Jack gulped, “You remember how I wanted magic so badly? I may have screwed up boy. My wand’s in the bedroom.”
Jack’s face went flush as he held up his hand. He casually summoned a glowing aura for a moment before shaking it out.
“I made this permanent a few days ago. I’m stuck as a wizard,” he but his lip, “I’m stuck as Jack now. Or at least… His successor? I think he wanted someone to hand all this down to.”
“Arf! That’s one hell of an inheritance!” Spot’s ears shot up. “Forget me, do we need to spend som time fixing you?”
“I’ll figure something out boy,” Jack rubbed the back of his head, “I mean- I don’t know if there’s anything to figure out. I’d still like to keep all this magic. It’s weird… But it’s the family business. It feels weird to give up on it now.”
“Even if you’re literally turning into your uncle?” Spot stared.
“Jack’s just a nickname for John. I still feel like myself,” Jack patted his chest, “More or less.”
Spot stared up at him incredulously. He had a million questions running through his head. One of them bubbled to the top though.
“Sir? Did your uncle own a dog?” Spot barked.
“Oh yeah!” Jack smiled, “A bit German shepherd and- Oh.” He glanced down at Spot.
“You weren’t going to turn me back, were you?” Spot growled a bit.
“No…?” Jack smiled nervously, “I was going to see if you got used to it! You were leaning so far into it! I thought you might end up liking it!”
“Sir…” Spot laughed, “Let’s go fix my zipper.”