Paws for Effect -

Chapter 7 - Nature Calls

*****

Max woke up on the couch under a blanket the next morning. He must've had fallen asleep in Thiago's arms, who had probably left him there so as not to disturb his sleep. Warm light streaming in the window gave the promise of a warm day.

He stretched his fore and hind legs, feeling the joints crack as they extended forward. Getting up, he hopped onto the floor; his legs felt more stable this morning. He moved about the floor, padding around. The limbs were more comfortable, as if they had adjusted to being used for walking on all fours. Confidence grew within Max, and he adopted a slight swagger was as he walked on all fours.

"I'm a good boy," he smiled to himself, happy at how he was adapting to his life as a dog and achieving his place on all fours on the floor. His tongue lolled in pleasure. "What am I saying?" he had to stop himself. "Of course it's ok to feel more comfortable, but its not a good thing. I shouldn't be happy that I'm getting used to being on all fours. Keep your head together. You're a man, not a dog," he repeated to himself.

He looked at his body. The arms had now fully morphed into the fore legs of a dog's. Brown fur had spread all the way up to his armpits and the limbs were thin, having lost the muscles of his human biceps. His head lowered in disappointed. He was losing his buff body. Similarly, his legs were now the hind legs of a dog's, fully covered in fur up to his waist. He could no longer see his cute bubble butt or his thick thighs that he had worked so long in developing at the gym. They were now the hairy hindquarters of a dog, his tail now looking at home swishing there. His torso and head were largely unchanged, thankfully.

Max was going to check his body more but a delicious smell wafted in from the kitchen. His mouth watered and he couldn't help but run out, his legs much more powerful, and he felt quite steady on his legs. The natural feeling was unsettling to say the least.

Thiago was frying bacon and sausages at the stove. It was their usual weekend breakfast, but it smelled even more delicious to Max's heightened senses.

Max was practically slobbering. He moved towards Thiago who was standing in his short pants by the stove. As Steve stood next to him on all fours, he was taken aback by how tall Thiago was looming above him. Sure, he had always been tall, even when Max had been standing on two legs, but now Thiago looked like a giant from the floor. Max nuzzled his face against Thiago's leg, feeling the warm skin and leg hair bristle across his cheek. It gave him pleasure to feel Thiago close to him. His boyfriend's musk was inviting.

Thiago finally noticed Max. The sound of meat frying had drowned out the pitter patter of Max's claws across the tiled floor. "Good morning," he reached down and petted his boyfriend on the head, giving his hair a ruffle.

"Morning," Max rolled his eyes, lolled his tongue, and wagged his tail at the pleasure of Thiago scratching his head. They continued for a few seconds until they both caught themselves, embarrassment coming over them. They were acting like owner and pet, man and dog. Both reminded themselves they needed to remember who they were, and what they were: boyfriends of equal standing.

"You were all tuckered out last night. I didn't want to move you. Did you sleep ok?"

"Yeah, I slept well," Max sat on his haunches and peered up at his boyfriend. It was strange having a conversation with your boyfriend from the floor as they looked down at you. The perspective was all off. He'd have to get used to it if his body kept progressive to that of a dog's. Max shook his head of the thought.

"Doesn't look like too much of you has changed," Thiago looked down at Max.

"Yeah, thankfully," Max wagged his tail. "My appetite is crazy though, I'm starved," Max licked his lips, his long tongue slurping his mouth.

"Just about done now," Thiago plated up the food and brought their breakfast to the table.

Max stared up at the table from the floor. There was no way he was going to be able to sit on a chair and eat like a human.

"Oh, shit, I forgot," Thiago slapped his forehead. "Ummm... will I put it on the floor for you?"

"Yeah, I guess that's the best way to do things," Max sighed.

Thiago cut up the sausages and bacon for Max. Max's teeth were sharp enough but he didn't have a full set of canine teeth and didn't want to choke on a piece of meat (not that kind of meat anyway). Thiago placed the plate on the floor beside the table and sat himself down to tuck into his own breakfast.

Max started gobbling his breakfast, forgetting his inhibitions due to his hunger. He stood on all fours, head lowered as he used his mouth to pick up some of the piece to chomp. The new position began to feel more natural from yesterday. He used his paws to move some of his breakfast around and to hold the plate steady as he picked up pieces of his food with his mouth. The strangeness the scene was lost to him: standing on all fours on their kitchen floor as he ate his breakfast off a plate on the floor while his boyfriend sat next to him at the table eating his own breakfast. Any other time, he would've been shocked by the situation.

Thiago sat there transfixed at the sight of his boyfriend: Max was still there but he had taken on all the mannerisms and behaviours of a dog. He had completely forgotten any etiquette and social manners as he was lost in his food, acting like a pure animal. It was both fascinating and horrifying to Thiago. The instinctual behaviour that had taken over Max was a wonder to behold. It was like looking at an animal feeding in the wild. But he also had to remind himself that that was his boyfriend. There was a human in there, somewhere.

"Max, calm down, or you'll choke," Thiago reprimanded, snapping out of his reverie.

"Sorry," Max said between chomps, his mouth all greasy, "it's just so good." He titled his head and closed his eyes in approval.

Thiago couldn't help but smile. He had to admit, his boyfriend was a cute dog, human dog, whatever he was. The cuteness won him over in the midst of the tragic situation.

They chatted over breakfast, Max from the floor, Thiago from his chair. Their conversations were about everyday things, normal, nothing out of the blue, like two equal boyfriends, but they couldn't help but accept that their new positions were unequal. One was clearly above the other, one was the human, one was the animal, one was the owner and one was the pet. They couldn't help but slowly accept these new positions as they descended into their roles. Max laid on the floor dozing as Thiago read his newspaper at the table. Max lapped up some tea from a bowl and Thiago drank from a mug. Max sniffed the ground and ate stray pieces of food while Thiago reprimanded him for being gross. Each time, Max felt like a naughty dog, tucked his tail between his legs and lowered his head, a quiet whine escaping his mouth. They held on to their identities but the dog bubbling up within Max was making it hard to ignore the new hierarchical roles.

As Thiago was cleaning up, something struck Max. "Uhh, I kinda have to go to the bathroom," Max tapped a paw across Thiago's leg.

Thiago put down a cloth he had been using to dry the dishes and inhaled. "Ok, don't get mad, but you're going to have to go outside."

"What?" Max nearly barked, his tail standing straight out.

"Max, calm down," Thiago looked down sternly at Max and held up his hands.

Max lowered his head in response, feeling guilty at his sudden outburst.

"I'm sorry but you made a real mess yesterday. It will just be easier if you do it outside."

"But I have to do a... number two," Max went red, feeling bashful.

"You can just do it behind a bush like other dogs," Thiago said before he realised.

"But I'm not a dog... well..." Max sighed, feeling the truth and weight of Thiago's words hammer home.

"No, of course you're not, I didn't mean that," Thiago lowered himself to Max's height and hugged him. "I just think for now, while you're in this situation, it makes the most sense, ok?"

"Fine," Max sighed.

"Ok," Thiago caressed Max's face. "I'll give you some privacy," he cracked the door open and went back to cleaning.

Max went outside, tentatively stepping onto the grass. He was thankful the bushes and fences along the garden periphery gave some privacy. The grass felt wonderfully cool beneath his feet. "God dammit, that feels good," he sighed. His new touch gave new sensations to his body. He trotted over to a tree, circling it. He sniffed the bark, taking in the woody aromas mixing with the earthy scents of the ground. What he was doing, he had no idea, it was completely instinctual, the dog behaviours taking over. He just let his dog curiosity take over, enjoying the exploration through his sniffing.

Once he was satisfied, he stood beside the tree and lifted a hind leg, easing his bladder to relax and letting a stream of pee arch its way from his dick down onto the bark. The sound of pee splashing the tree echoed throughout the garden. It sounded like a hose watering flowers. Max's head tilted and he lolled his tongue at the pleasure of releasing the urine.

As the last few drops were dripping out, Max looked back and yelped at the sight of his genitals. How had he not noticed before? His cock had disappeared and been replaced by a furry sheath. Similarly, his balls were covered in brown fur. He whined at the loss of his manhood. Losing his hands and feet had been one thing, he could deal with walking on all fours, but his dick held greater symbolism. Losing his genitals to that of a dog's made him more animal than human. Was he even human anymore? "I'm a freak," Max started to cry, howling softly as he laid on the grass.

He would've spent more time feeling sorry for himself, but he remembered he had to finish emptying out his bowels. Walking over behind a bush, he found a spot hidden from view, perfect for privacy. Again, he sniffed the ground and turned in circles a few times, not knowing exactly why he kept rotating, it just felt right. Finally satisfied, he squatted, releasing the contents of his bowels onto the ground. The relief felt good. He turned and looked at his work. The sight and smell filled him with a mixture of disgust and curiosity. He knew it was completely gross to be transfixed by his droppings but his dog-self found it comforting to know that part of the garden was marked by his own scent. He walked away before he threw up, rubbing his butt across the grass to clean himself.

"Max, where are you? Are you done?" Thiago yelled from the kitchen door.

"Coming," Max yelled back, pelting out from beneath the brush and into the clearing of the garden. He was about to head back inside when he heard the tinny jingling of an ice cream van in the distance. His head turned towards the sound, concentrating on the oncoming van. He couldn't help but move towards the sound, his dog instincts taking over his rational human thoughts. The sound came from down the road. He ran over to the fence, tapping his paws on wooden structure. A growl grumbled in his throat, unable to control himself. He needed to go towards the noise. Why? He had no idea.

There was a gap in the fence that he managed the squeeze through, the loose wood scraping his back. But he didn't care, he was free. He tore down the alleyway and turned onto another street, running along the pavement. The concrete felt different from the grass and indoor surfaces. It was tough but provided better grip. He flew past people who looked at him aghast. Cars beeped at the sight of a strange looking fleshy-torsoed dog with a human head. He lost all inhibitions at being sighted naked by strangers. All that filled his head was the sound of the ice cream van.

He came to a corner and stopped, peering around, his ears pointing straight up. They searched for the direction of the sound. While he struggled to track the sound, something grabbed him from behind. A rope encircled his throat and pulled him backwards. The struggle was quick and before he knew it he was thrown into the back of a dark van, blackness surrounding him.