All three stared wide-eyed at the coyote seated behind the desk.
"Is something wrong?" Dr. C asked, a brow lifted part way.
"Uhh, no," Dale replied, offering what he knew must look like a fake smile as
he reached over to clamp Alan's slack jaw shut.
"We uh, we uhh, just.." Mitch stumbled over his words while trying to search
for an excuse.
"They're probably here for the same reason as I am," another voice piped up,
and a border collie bitch stepped out from the shadows; a book and folder
clutched close to her chest. She turned to look at Dr. C, trying to draw his
attention away from the trio to give them a chance to recover. "I told you
that assignment was difficult," she said, casting a sideways glance at Dale as
he offered a nod of agreement.
"Very well," Dr. C sighed. "If you will all visit me later this afternoon,
we'll discuss it then." He stood and began to usher them all out the door,
locking it behind him. "If you'll excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be." And after gazing suspiciously at the three friends he turned and disappeared
up the stairs.
Everyone stood silently for several moments, watching as if half expecting the
professor to return. The bitch finally broke the silence and all three
jumped.
"What is it with you three?" she asked, brows knitting together in
disapproval. "Why did you want to talk to Dr. C? It certainly wasn't for the
assignment." She frowned. "And you acted so shocked when he turned around. As if he were the last dog you expected to see."
Mitch lifted a paw to scratch at his neck in his discomfort as Alan made a
hasty reply. "I'll explain later, Stacy," he began, recognizing their friend
in the border collie, "but we've gotta go somewhere." He glanced at Dale, who
nodded, and added, "Now."
Alan turned and walked between his two silent friends, doing his best to act
as a casual dog would. He lightly swished his tail for effect as Dale and
Mitch joined him, and the three of them headed up the stairs. Stacy watched
them leave with a half-cocked ear and a frown, remaining behind for several
moments, a thoughtful expression on her canine face.
* * * * * * * * * *
"Who -is- it..?" Dale demanded for the hundredth time. He was pacing the room
back and forth, head down, the brushy fur of his face obscuring his vision
enough that he'd almost tripped over dog toys more than once.
"Calm down, Dale," Alan lightly growled from where he lay sprawled across one
of the dog beds.
They had been back in the room for a little over an hour, having come here
immediately after leaving the basement, and Dale had been on the case ever
since.
The sheepdog lifted his paws, ineffectually brushing away thick strands of fur
from his eyes. "Not until I figure this out," he said in a frustrated tone. "I can't even think how exactly one professor became a coyote when everyone
else became dogs." He paused, turning to look at Alan and then to Mitch, who
was looking thoughtfully at a chew toy. "All I know is that it has something
to do with that leg bone of yours, Alan. Perhaps the reaction of the two
magics when mixed, were enough that a stray beam which contained more of the
magic of the bone, managed to isolate itself to one person."
He sighed heavily and sank to the floor next to Mitch. The golden retriever
handed him the chew toy he'd been examining, then offered his friend a scratch
behind one brushy ear. Dale smiled as he accepted the toy, his stump of a
tail wagging. "Thanks," he said.
There was a moment of silence and then Mitch spoke up. "Well, we do know one
thing." Both pairs of eyes focused on him. "Why we didn't recognize the
name. If he truly is the only coyote on campus, that would make him unique
and earn him a nickname. 'C' doesn't stand for the first letter of a name. It stands for coyote."
"You're right," Dale said, slamming a fist into the palm of his paw, and Alan
nodded his agreement. "I don't know -why- I didn't see it," he said, peering
at Mitch through his veil of fur.
"Maybe because you don't see much of anything?" Mitch offered, lolling his
tongue in a canid grin. Alan laughed out loud and all three wagged happy
tails.
After the light moment passed, Dale looked thoughtful again. "So perhaps this
professor isn't as mysterious as I originally thought. If we could just
recognize him like we do everyone else.." he sighed. "If he -is- a professor
we know, that must have been another side effect of the magic." He lightly
shook his head. "Without finding a real name, we might get no-where. If the
spell was powerful enough to make his appearance unrecognizable, it could have
changed his personality, too."
"But that's still assuming he's even a professor we should know," Alan
reminded him.
Right then there was a knock at the door. Dale stood and walked over to open
it and Stacy peeked her muzzle inside.
"Okay, guys," she said, pushing her way past Dale and into the room. She
looked to each in turn. "I knew you didn't really have somewhere to be." She
crossed her arms. "It's time to fess up."
The three friends looked at each other.