{"id":307,"date":"2014-08-06T11:48:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-06T18:48:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/?p=307"},"modified":"2014-08-06T12:05:43","modified_gmt":"2014-08-06T19:05:43","slug":"werecorgi-via-the-worst-muse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/?p=307","title":{"rendered":"Werecorgi via The Worst Muse"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Worst Muse (\u00a0https:\/\/twitter.com\/worstmuse \u00a0– HIGHLY\u00a0<\/strong>recommended reading, by the way) posted an entry (\u00a0https:\/\/twitter.com\/WorstMuse\/status\/486180374242811906 ) regarding were-corgis. \u00a0I couldn’t help myself. \u00a0I\u00a0had<\/strong> to try writing something. \u00a0I mean, when the hook is: \u00a0“Corgis are hot these days, right? What about, like, werecorgis? Edgy, urban werecorgis looking for love in all the wrong places.” then what else can you do?<\/em><\/p>\n

Below is my attempt :)<\/em><\/p>\n

Credit goes to the lovely, Ms. Payne for pushing me to write this story so all thanks and kudos and awards and Nobel Prizes should go to her. \u00a0I just came up with everything else and spent the time writing it. \u00a0*She* was the one that said, “Hey, asshole, write a story about that.” \u00a0So, I did. \u00a0I had the easy part. \u00a0Okay, okay, she did help with some of the concepts. \u00a0I<\/em>\u00a0guess. \u00a0<\/strong>*goes away in an overdramatic writer’s huff*<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The cool, crisp morning air still held the weight of the storm from the night before.\u00a0 Steven pedaled idly, his mind wandering over old poetry.\u00a0 Her smile was as the morning sun<\/em>, he thought to himself.\u00a0 Lazy and slow and, as it dawned, it set her cheeks aglow.<\/em>\u00a0 He smiled to himself, lips pursing slightly at the corners.\u00a0 Oh.\u00a0 That’s good.\u00a0 I need to remember that one.\u00a0 It even rhymes.\u00a0 But, like, in the same sentence.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Hey, asshole!\u00a0 Get the fuck off the street!” screamed a driver behind him.\u00a0 The single lane road wound through the heart of the city.\u00a0 Fourteen cars crawled slowly behind Steven.\u00a0 Occasionally a driver would threaten or plead with Steven to move to the side but the young man barely noticed.<\/p>\n

What’s another word for cheeks?\u00a0 It sounds so pedestrian,<\/em> Steven mused.\u00a0 The swell of her… face?\u00a0 No.\u00a0 That’s worse.\u00a0 <\/em>The constant clatter of the hard plastic case attached to the side of his fixed gear bike kept beat with the horns blaring from angry drivers.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Finally, Steven swerved his little bicycle to the side, ignoring the creative death threats from passing cars.\u00a0 His feet bumped over the cobblestones showing through the ill-repaired pavement.\u00a0 He had no brakes on his bicycle and so his feet slowed him down.\u00a0 The road secretly pleased him.\u00a0 He often thought of it as the deconstruction of society.\u00a0 Cracks showing through humanity, exposing the inner, true behavior.<\/p>\n

Steven leaned his bicycle against a small, nondescript gray building.\u00a0 The store was sandwiched between an old bookstore and a small caf\u00e9.\u00a0 Unhooking the hard case at the side of his bicycle, he hefted it with a grunt and walked inside.\u00a0 A young, thin man stood behind a low counter.\u00a0 Steven lurched to the counter and waited, silently.\u00a0 He knew the other man’s name because he’d once overheard another patron use it and explain it to a friend:\u00a0 Cherry, only the ‘ch’ was a hard ‘k’ sound.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Steven had been incredibly jealous and ashamed of his own name after that.\u00a0 He’d occasionally thought of changing his name but it just wasn’t the same.\u00a0 Eventually, the other man looked up at Steven.<\/p>\n

“Coffee.\u00a0 Black,” Cherry (with the hard ‘k’ sound) said.\u00a0 You didn’t order your own coffee here.\u00a0 Cherry (with the hard ‘k’) looked into you, judging your appearance, mental and emotional states and told<\/em><\/strong> you what you needed.\u00a0 Only, sometimes, Steven wished he’d needed a cappuccino instead of the coffee he was given every single time.\u00a0 Cherry (with a ‘k’) vanished into the back room, returning with a small paper cup.\u00a0 Steven passed the man a five dollar bill and received no change in return.\u00a0 No prices were ever listed or mentioned.<\/p>\n

Coffee cup in one hand, hard case in another, Steven made his way to one of three small tables.\u00a0 The case, placed in the center of the table, unlatched to reveal an old style typewriter.\u00a0 Sleek black lines and gold lettered keys gleamed dully in the morning sun.\u00a0 Steven lowered himself into the large stuffed chair facing the table.\u00a0 He rested his arms on the chair and sipped at his coffee while mentally preparing himself for the morning.\u00a0 He felt cheered when he barely winced at the predictably bitter coffee.\u00a0 Cherry (‘k’, not ‘ch’) closed his store the last two weeks of each month to fly down to South America to pick his own beans.\u00a0 The bitterness was authentic.<\/p>\n

Steven fed a piece of paper carefully into the typewriter.\u00a0 The paper was the color of dirty cream, all handmade valleys and ridges rather than the smooth pure white of commercially produced paper.\u00a0 He’d traded ten sheets of it for a jar of orange juice he’d squeezed himself.<\/p>\n

A young couple walked by the store, pausing to look in before continuing their walk.\u00a0 Steven watched them go before pushing at his glasses in righteous indignation.\u00a0 A faint blush crept up his cheeks as he realized he wasn’t wearing his glasses yet.\u00a0 Stealing a glance at Cherry (not pronounced with a ‘ch’ sound), he pulled a pair of glasses and a small book from the threadbare inner pocket of his jacket.\u00a0 Settling the glasses on his nose and the book open on the side of the table, he began slowly typing.<\/p>\n

Halfway through typing out Anne Waldman’s ‘Matriot Acts, Act I [History of Mankind]’ an irregularity caught his eye.\u00a0 Looking down, he noticed a small black notebook wedged between the leg of the chair and the wall.\u00a0 The notebook fell open to a quick circular sketch that covered half of a page.\u00a0 Handwritten notes filled the rest of the page.<\/p>\n

“So it looks like the circle needs to be big enough to just contain the person.\u00a0 Couldn’t really see anything else that matched the whole ‘three and three and three again’ rule.\u00a0 I think just the author sticking by the whole ‘three’ thing again.\u00a0 Simple, otherwise.\u00a0 Salt for the circle, skin of the animal and the incantation.\u00a0 Naked, naturally, except for the skin.\u00a0 Where the fuck am I going to find an animal skin?\u00a0 eBay?\u00a0 Pinterest, maybe.\u00a0 Should check the thrift stores first.\u00a0 Jesus, this coffee is the worst.\u00a0 Next time I walk to Starbucks.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Further down, two simple sentences were carefully scrawled in what Steven thought must be Latin.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The young man continued reading, finally understanding that what the other person was describing was a spell.\u00a0 A spell used to merge the animal’s spirit from the skin and fur into the person casting the spell.\u00a0 That thought tickled Steven’s imagination.\u00a0 How amazing would that be?<\/em> He thought.\u00a0 Part animal.\u00a0 Free of the materialistic needs of man.\u00a0 And women.\u00a0 Any gender.\u00a0 Just the ritual itself would be cleansing.\u00a0 A way to reconnect with nature.<\/em><\/p>\n

Steven closed the notebook, finished his coffee and put away his typewriter.\u00a0 Nodding minutely to Cherry (‘k’), who didn’t look up from the book he was reading, Steven hooked the typewriter’s case to his bike and pedaled off.\u00a0 The local thrift store was nearby and he had time to stop in before going to work.<\/p>\n

The old woman that ran the second-hand store smiled as Steven entered.\u00a0 “You’re in early, sweetie.\u00a0 I won’t get anything in until tomorrow afternoon.”<\/p>\n

“Actually,” Steven replied.\u00a0 “I’m looking for fur this time.\u00a0 Like, animal fur?\u00a0 Something perhaps from a local farm where the animal wasn’t killed or mistreated for its fur?\u00a0 Something like that?”<\/p>\n

Hester, the old lady that ran the store, looked dubious.\u00a0 “Well, I don’t know, honey.\u00a0 You know I don’t like fur.\u00a0 It’s just not right for- Oh!\u00a0 How could I have forgotten?\u00a0 Silly me.\u00a0 Someone else came in for the same thing.\u00a0 They brought it back yesterday, even.\u00a0 Is it for an event?\u00a0 A protest?\u00a0 I have a fur coat this woman brought in years and years back.\u00a0 You can imagine I gave her all kinds of fuss over it but she said it was handmade from leftover fur.\u00a0 She swore it wasn’t from some poor caged animal.\u00a0 It was her mother’s, she’d said.\u00a0 Or her grandmother’s coat.\u00a0 They kept passing it down but the poor woman couldn’t bear to wear it or keep handing it down.\u00a0 She was such a sweet gal.\u00a0 What was her name?”<\/p>\n

“You still have it?” Steven asked.<\/p>\n

“Oh, yes,” Hester answered.\u00a0 “I haven’t even put it away yet after it was brought back.\u00a0 That’s it right there.”\u00a0 The old woman pointed at a rack of clothes near her register.\u00a0 “That brown long coat on the end.”<\/p>\n

Steven looked at the coat.\u00a0 It was a light, golden brown with a few small white spots scattered throughout.\u00a0 Unlike the rest of the clothes he bought from Hester, there was a faint hint of sweet perfume clinging to the coat.\u00a0 He picked it up and noted the weight of it.\u00a0 The lining was dark brown and cool to the touch.\u00a0 The sleeves were too short and it was tight in the shoulders but otherwise perfect.\u00a0 The fur itself was pleasant to touch.<\/p>\n

“It’s perfect, Hester.”<\/p>\n

Steven left the store with the store’s bag slung over his shoulder.\u00a0 The small graphic design firm he worked at was six blocks away so the young man walked his bike along the sidewalk.\u00a0 She wore her hair like fur,<\/em> he composed mentally.\u00a0 Beast-like, snarling.\u00a0 Stalking.\u00a0 Free of the paternalistic yoke of the shepherd.\u00a0 Saddened by the bleats of her fellow women.<\/em>\u00a0 He frowned.\u00a0 Maybe not ‘women’.\u00a0 Too gender specific.\u00a0 Maybe-<\/em><\/p>\n

He lost himself in thought as he walked through the doors to his building.\u00a0 The day passed quickly while Steven worked and his thoughts strayed to the notebook.\u00a0 Finally, he excused himself and left for the day.<\/p>\n

Should I do it in the bedroom?<\/em>\u00a0 Steven wondered.\u00a0 The living room?\u00a0 Better lighting in there?\u00a0 Oh, whoa, Steven.\u00a0 Natural.\u00a0 Outside.\u00a0 Just follow the ritual and relax in the outdoors and be at peace with the Earth.<\/em><\/p>\n

Once home, Steven relaxed.\u00a0 He had a little house away from almost everyone else.\u00a0 There were chores to be done and he started with his garden.\u00a0 Nearly all of his food came from the various planters around his house.\u00a0 He’d turned nearly his entire backyard into rows and rows of vegetables and fruits.\u00a0 This year his organic heirloom tomatoes were doing especially<\/strong> well.<\/p>\n

The sun began to set as Steven finished weeding and watering his plants.\u00a0 He carried an armful of vegetables for his dinner – salad with homemade vinaigrette.\u00a0 Chopin played quietly on a record player in the corner while Steven ate.\u00a0 He read poetry, whisperin the passages as he read, listening to the rhythm and the way the words flowed.<\/p>\n

With dinner finished and the dishes cleaned and put away, Steven pulled out the coat he bought earlier.\u00a0 He’d placed the notebook he’d found inside the large pocket on the outside of the coat and he pulled it out again now.<\/p>\n

“All that’s left,” he said out loud.\u00a0 “Is the salt.”\u00a0 Steven opened a small cupboard to the left of his stove.\u00a0 An array of salts lined the bottom shelf.\u00a0 He pursed his lips as he considered them.\u00a0 “Coarse salt?\u00a0 Fleur de Sel?\u00a0 Hawaiian sea salt?\u00a0 Ah, grey salt.”<\/p>\n

Steven grabbed three large jars of grey salt along with the notebook, coat, and a lighter before making his way outside.\u00a0 The air was warm and humid and light breezes tickled the fine blond hairs along his arms as he made his way to the corner of his garden.\u00a0 The moon was full and bright but remote, far away in the sky.<\/p>\n

The young man placed the coat and notebook on the ground next to him.\u00a0 With all three bottles of salt opened, he made a rough circle over dirt and tufts of grass.\u00a0 Facets of the large salt glinted in the moonlight.\u00a0 Looking around shyly, Steven undressed himself, folding his clothes into a meticulous pile.\u00a0 He’d never been completely naked outside and, while a small part of him worried someone would walk by and look through his fence, the rest of him felt free.\u00a0 He wriggled his toes in the loose, riche dark earth.<\/p>\n

The coat was as heavy as he’d expected but the smooth lining felt comfortable against his skin.\u00a0 He closed it around his spare frame and looked down at himself, smiling.\u00a0 He thought he did feel more animalistic as he looked, his body covered in the fur of the coat.\u00a0 Smiling, Steven stepped into the circle and picked up the book.\u00a0 The young man flicked his lighter and found the appropriate page.<\/p>\n

Steven took a deep breath of the cool night air, emptying his thoughts while letting his body relax.<\/p>\n

And then, he spoke the words.<\/p>\n

Laying down the book and lighter, Steven again focused on breathing deeply, in and out.\u00a0 He’d wanted to enjoy the ritual for the formality in bringing himself closer to Mother Earth and he was pleased to find it working.\u00a0 Outside, under the moonlight, dressed in nothing but a fur coat, he felt a bit of energy cycle through his body.\u00a0 A feeling of being alive and connected to the enormous amount of energy circling the globe.<\/p>\n

He just wished the coat didn’t itch so much.<\/p>\n

Steven rolled his shoulders and then reached back to itch about his right shoulder blades.\u00a0 He had to move his arm around to reach and then grew frustrated as he found the spot eluding him.\u00a0 With the moment lost, Steven sighed and shrugged out of the coat.\u00a0 The itch, however, increased, spreading down to his lower back.<\/p>\n

Unseen to the young man, small brown and white hairs were sprouting through his skin, pushing out until a line of fur ran from his right shoulder blade to the base of his spine.\u00a0 Not being able to scratch the itch was maddening.\u00a0 Steven grunted, shifting his position on the ground as the itch spread up to his right shoulder.\u00a0 The young man turned his head and lifted his shoulder to bite into the skin while he uselessly reached for his back.\u00a0 Bones in his jaw cracked as his canine teeth lengthened, pushing at the surrounding teeth.\u00a0 He worried at his shoulder and the relief was overwhelming.<\/p>\n

The fur growing from Steven’s back continued up to his shoulder and it tickled his lips and nose, causing him to turn away and sneeze sloppily.\u00a0 His tongue rolled out of his mouth between four long, sharp canine teeth and he stared at the ground in happiness.\u00a0 Despite the itch, he felt so good.<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 Everything was warm and happy and smelled good.<\/p>\n

The skin along Steven’s nose faded from dark pink to a black pebbled texture. \u00a0He scratched at it and then stopped.\u00a0 His arms were shorter.\u00a0 Noticeably shorter.\u00a0 His long fingers, so used to holding a stylus for his art, were stubby little things how.<\/p>\n

“Oh my god!” he slurred, his long tongue thick and awkward.\u00a0 “The spell was real!”\u00a0 Steven scrambled for the book and lighter, flicking the light on in order to see if something was written on how to stop or reverse the spell.\u00a0 It took five tries for him to ignite the lighter.\u00a0 As he reached for the book, he cried out in pain.<\/p>\n

His right arm cracked.<\/p>\n

The lighter touched the coat.<\/p>\n

Steven scrambled away from the sudden furious fire; he’d never seen something burn so quickly in his life.\u00a0 The young man stood, his mind hazy, dull and confused.\u00a0 Only when the flames licked at the notebook did he realize the danger.\u00a0 He lunged forward and fell as his shins shortened mid-stride.\u00a0 The bones of his thighs broke and reformed, half their original length.<\/p>\n

The small notebook was surrounded by an aura of flames.\u00a0 Steven howled in anger and fear as he watched the little book blacken and curl.\u00a0 Pain shot through his spine as bones and nerves reconnected in his tail bone.\u00a0 The skin at the base of his spine pushed away from his body.\u00a0 Light brown fur spread along his waist and down to his thighs while his tail grew into place.\u00a0 Short and stubby, he could feel it moving as it grew.<\/p>\n

He’d hoped, prayed, that that pain was the worse he’d feel but then his ribs cracked.\u00a0 Steven barked out a bloody cough as his ribcage shrunk before his body could adjust.\u00a0 He writhed on the ground, kicking his stubby legs as his body shrunk around him.\u00a0 Fur grew from his back to both shoulders and then up his neck and face.\u00a0 Steven grimaced, growling against the pain of it.\u00a0 His skull cracked and reformed, pushing away into a muzzle.\u00a0 Sharp teeth cut through the gaps in his gums until his jaw was lined with fangs.<\/p>\n

The skin along Steven’s palms darkened, cracking as it puffed out into proper pads.\u00a0 His arms and legs continued to pull back against his body.\u00a0 Around him, the world loomed.\u00a0 The fence surrounding his back yard appeared to be twelve feet tall while the single apple tree looked like a gigantic, malevolent leafy monster in a horror film. Steven felt sharp pain between his fingers and toes (now barely more than stubs) as the skin broke to admit little black claws.\u00a0 He tried to turn to look at his hands but his body refused to listen to him.<\/p>\n

Steven lay on his side, mouth open with his tongue nearly to the ground.\u00a0 He panted from exertion, as if he’d run for miles.\u00a0 He felt warm and tired but with that same curious energy coursing through his body.\u00a0 There were so many interesting smells and-\u00a0 Steven whined as deep spikes of pain lanced through his ears.\u00a0 The ridges and bumps along the inside of his ears smoothed out, as if a sculptor worked at his flesh.\u00a0 He temporarily lost his hearing as his ears shifted along his scalp, moving while changing.\u00a0 The tips of his ears became more rounded and they stretched, fur growing up to cover the ears that now sat atop his head.\u00a0 Steven’s hearing returned with an explosion of sound and his ears swiveled to track everything. \u00a0Cars roared in the distance while small animals rushed through the trees and bushes outside his property.<\/p>\n

Oh my gosh, what was that?!<\/em> Steven thought.\u00a0 He stood and lurched, unfamiliar with his new body.\u00a0 The large prickly bush just outside his fence rustled again and Steven’s ears swiveled forward.\u00a0 It’s a … a… thing!\u00a0 A thing!\u00a0 Right there!<\/em>\u00a0 But, the… argh… the… what is it called?\u00a0 The … I can’t get out!\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Running on short, stubby legs, Steven reached the fence and pressed his muzzle under the gap at the bottom.\u00a0 Whining in frustration, he dug at the soft dirt and yipped when he made a hole.\u00a0 He arched his back and dug, throwing dirt and bits of grass everywhere.\u00a0 Soon, his light brown and white fur coat was covered in rich, black dirt and compost (which he thought smelled amazing<\/em><\/strong> right now) and he’d made a hole big enough to wriggle through.<\/p>\n

Coming!\u00a0 I’m… ugh…<\/em>\u00a0 Steven compressed himself down, squirming until he fit himself through the hole he’d made.\u00a0 I’m coming thing!\u00a0 Thing!\u00a0 Stay!\u00a0 Stay, thing! <\/em><\/p>\n

Once through the hole, Steven was off, chasing squirrels and barking after a few night birds.\u00a0 The world was huge and new and he didn’t want to stop running.<\/p>\n

And, then, she<\/em> appeared.<\/p>\n

Three blocks from his house, Steven stopped, raising his muzzle while his ears stood at attention. He smelled her before he saw her.\u00a0 She stepped out from between two houses as he watched.\u00a0 Beautiful.\u00a0 Brown with black spots.\u00a0 The little stump of his tail wagged frantically back and forth.\u00a0 Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh,<\/em> he thought, mind buzzing with excitement.<\/p>\n

Hi!\u00a0 Hi!\u00a0 Hi! <\/em>Steven barked.\u00a0 Unable to contain himself, he ran to her, slowing when he came near.\u00a0 They circled each other, sniffing in greeting.\u00a0 She smelled incredible – earthy with a hint of sweetness.\u00a0 Steven’s heart soared when he saw her tail wriggle in response to him.\u00a0 Hey!\u00a0 Hey!<\/em>\u00a0 He barked.\u00a0 Come here!\u00a0 There’s a thing over there!\u00a0 It smells neat and it moves and we can chase it!\u00a0 Hey!\u00a0 I think it’s a mouse!<\/em><\/p>\n

The female barked in return and they ran, toes scrabbling on the sidewalk.\u00a0 The night was glorious.\u00a0 Steven and his companion ran, chasing after small animals while avoiding larger, chained dogs. A furious game of chase happened in the local park with Steven sometimes running after the female and her chasing him.\u00a0 It felt like hours and he still wanted to play. They dug at plants until they were nearly as dark as the night, covered in dirt and planting soil.<\/p>\n

Finally, as morning approached, he found himself growing weary.\u00a0 Not tired, exactly, but a general sense of heaviness settled into his bones.\u00a0 The female perked up beside him, eyes wide with her ears focused.\u00a0 With a quick, almost sad look at Steven, she ran off.\u00a0 Steven stood on trembling legs to try to follow after her but couldn’t and he collapsed in the soil.\u00a0 Sleep took him.<\/p>\n

“… I didn’t pee on it!” Steven shouted, jerking awake.\u00a0 The young man groaned.\u00a0 His entire body ached and his mouth tasted like he’d licked the bottom of an old gym locker and then ate one of the left over socks.<\/p>\n

Groaning, he sat up.\u00a0 The sun was bright and warm above the horizon.\u00a0 He smiled up at it, wriggling where he sat until he realized what he was doing.<\/p>\n

And then the events of the night crashed down upon him.\u00a0 Fragments.\u00a0 Changing.\u00a0 Chasing rats.\u00a0 Digging.\u00a0 The other dog.\u00a0 “Oh Jesus.\u00a0 What did-”<\/p>\n

Half of Steven’s garden was destroyed.\u00a0 Bits and pieces of his plants were strewn about the yard.\u00a0 It looked like a miniature war had taken place behind his house.\u00a0 His clothes were in disarray and he swore he saw bite marks on them.\u00a0 And, yes, wrinkling his nose, he was pretty sure someone had peed on his shoes.\u00a0 Someone.<\/em>\u00a0 He closed his eyes with a sigh when he saw the blackened earth in the corner of his yard.\u00a0 The coat and the notebook,<\/em> he remembered.\u00a0 Is that it?\u00a0 Am I stuck like this now?\u00a0 What if-<\/em><\/p>\n

Steven stood, swaying on shaky legs.\u00a0 With barely a pause, he made his way into the house to get dressed, ignoring the dirt covering him.\u00a0 A small part of his brain enjoyed the smell of the dirt but he ignored that, too.\u00a0 He pulled his bike down from the wall and was off.<\/p>\n

The first car that honked at Steven almost gave him a heart attack.\u00a0 He looked back at it fearfully.\u00a0 It was so loud<\/em><\/strong> and huge <\/em><\/strong>and angry<\/em><\/strong>looking.\u00a0 Steven pulled to the side and stopped to let the cars pass.\u00a0 His heart hammered in his chest.<\/p>\n

“I’ll just walk.\u00a0 That’s fine.\u00a0 I like walking.\u00a0 Walking is good.\u00a0 In the sun,” he reassured himself.\u00a0 As he walked his bike, he found himself looking at everything around him.\u00a0 The shops, the people, the other animals, everything seemed different in some way.\u00a0 And they all smelled.\u00a0 He growled when he caught himself walking to a lamp post – someone (a dog, he corrected, not someone) had marked it and the mixture of scents was fascinating.\u00a0 I’m not a dog, dammit!<\/em><\/p>\n

Steven sped up as he approached the thrift store.\u00a0 He entered with a fast walk and then stopped.<\/p>\n

“No, honey,” Hester was saying.\u00a0 “I’m sorry, I don’t have the coat any more.\u00a0 I sold it yesterday.”<\/p>\n

A young woman dressed in black pants and a black t-shirt was wringing her hands in front of Hester.\u00a0 She had shoulder length black hair and the oversized clothes hid her shape.\u00a0 Her eyes were dark but not from makeup; she looked like she’d slept poorly or not at all.\u00a0 Traces of dirt lined her cheeks.<\/p>\n

She had a light, sweet scent and now Steven knew it wasn’t perfume.\u00a0 It was just her.\u00a0 He wanted to wag a tail that was no longer there.\u00a0 He wanted to race over to her and hug her and run with her and…<\/p>\n

“Are you sure?\u00a0 Can you tell me who?\u00a0 It’s really, really important I get that back.\u00a0 I-”\u00a0 She stopped.\u00a0 Slowly, she turned to look at Steven.\u00a0 “You.\u00a0 You’re.\u00a0 You.”<\/p>\n

Steven’s mind stumbled, desperately trying to come up with a few lines of appropriate poetry.<\/p>\n

“Hi,” he told her.<\/p>\n

“Hey,” she replied.\u00a0 The young woman looked down nervously and then back up again.<\/p>\n

“I, hey, I know this great park a little ways away.\u00a0 Would you?\u00a0 Do you?”\u00a0 Steven fidgeted awkwardly.<\/p>\n

“Yeah.\u00a0 Yeah, I think I would.”<\/p>\n

They met in the middle of the store.\u00a0 The young woman wrapped her arms around Steven, hugging him fiercely.<\/p>\n

“I’m-”\u00a0 Steven started.<\/p>\n

The young woman laughed and ran for the door.\u00a0 “Race you!”<\/p>\n

“Hey!” Steven barked.\u00a0 But, he was smiling and chasing after her before he realized it.<\/p>\n

The world was huge and new and there was so much to explore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Worst Muse (\u00a0https:\/\/twitter.com\/worstmuse \u00a0– HIGHLY\u00a0recommended reading, by the way) posted an entry (\u00a0https:\/\/twitter.com\/WorstMuse\/status\/486180374242811906 ) regarding were-corgis. \u00a0I couldn’t help myself. \u00a0I\u00a0had to try writing something. \u00a0I mean, when the hook is: \u00a0“Corgis are hot these days, right? What about, Continue reading Werecorgi via The Worst Muse<\/span>→<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[237,234,39,9,236,235],"class_list":["post-307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-story","tag-hipster","tag-non-sexual","tag-sfw","tag-transformation","tag-were-corgi","tag-werecorgi"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42NMN-4X","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=307"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":310,"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions\/310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hidden-shelf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}