A Shaggy Night

(Woman to Sheepdog)

Chloe knocked on the door to Sally's house, an uncharacteristic frown on her face. Her best friend had called her up a little bit ago, and she sounded legitimately afraid. That alone would have been cause for Chloe to rush over, but the fact that Sally added “Come as quickly as you can” had left her running at a dead sprint.

Thankfully, the raven-haired girl had been a part of her high school's track team, which meant she wasn't too winded by the run. Even though she was tired, it wouldn't leave her gasping for breath.

Even in emergencies like this, Chloe kept her appearance in mind. The only implication that she wasn't a model woman was the pink dog collar she wore, a joke from her ex that she hadn't quite been able to put away after their break-up. It helped her feel calmer, and right now she needed to be calm to best help Sally out.

The door opened a moment later, the girl in question holding it for Chloe. “Thank God you're okay!” Sally squeaked, her blue eyes watering. “I thought that after you spent last night at my house that...”

“That what? Are you okay?” Chloe hugged her friend gently, stepping past the threshold.

“I am... Well, I'm not. But you're okay, and that's what I really needed to know.” Sally sighed, closing the door to her house then dropping on her couch tiredly.

Chloe followed her a little warily, her brow arched. “Okay... So, how exactly are you not okay? Is it something I can help you with?”

“Well, over the past few nights... You're gonna laugh.” Sally sighed, picking up a throw pillow and hugging it tightly.

“I promise I won't, scout's honor.” Chloe chuckled, glad to see her friend, while distressed, was unhurt.

“You were never a girl scout.” Sally stuck out her tongue.

Chloe blinked, a momentary flash of irritation passing through her. “Hey, you know I sprinted over here after you called me? I didn't drive, I had to even parkour it a little!” She exclaimed, frowning at her friend.

“Ah, sorry!” Sally clapped her hands together, bowing her head. “It's just that... This is something really weird, and...”

“Out with it, already!” Chloe laughed, tossing a pillow at Sally.

Sally caught it with a squeak, adding it to her hugged collection. “F-fine!” She stammered. “I've been changing into a sheepdog at night.”

Chloe blinked in surprise. “Come again?”

“I've been transforming into a shaggy sheepdog, like from that one movie. And I think it might be contagious. My mom's acting funny in the mornings, and I think she's changing too.”

“Oh, yeah. Real original.” Chloe sighed. “You almost got me, you know.”

“N-no, I'm being serious!” Sally squeaked. “Every night for the past three, I've been transforming! I end up on all fours and while I'm still me, I'm also kind of... Not! I’m really worried that this might be changing me, some of my hair is even turning white!”

“Yeah, I bet you’ll end up raiding the fridge at night, devouring as much raw meat as you can.” Chloe chuckled, chiding herself for ever being worried in her friend. Of course there wasn't anything wrong with Sally; it was all just a joke.

“Listen to me!” Sally pleaded. “It always starts the same, with me getting itchy around bedtime. Then I start to bark, and then I end up in my bed the next morning, totally confused! It might have something to do with some statue or piece of furniture, but besides that, I'm worried that you'll catch it, and I just want you to be ready!”

“Yeah, so you're gonna sneak into my house when I'm sleeping and put some makeup on me to look like a dog?” Chloe laughed. “Which, by the way? Awesome prank! That'd totally get me back for the balloon incident... If I was buying it. Which I'm not.”

“B-but!” Sally stammered.

“Listen, this was a good joke, and I'm not mad. But next time you call me for an emergency, make sure it's actually an emergency, okay?” Chloe laughed, standing up and turning to head home.

“Okay...” Sally murmured despondently. “But if you start changing, head over here as soon as possible, okay? We have a dog door in the back.”

“Cute.” Chloe laughed, waving goodbye to her friend.

She was still laughing a few hours later, when it was time to head to bed. “Honestly, Sally has just the best imagination.” Chloe giggled to no-one in particular. She played a little with her pink dog collar, giggling a little more.

“I bet it's all your fault, isn't it?” She looked down to the collar with a smile. “You had to go and put the idea of me changing into a dog into her head...” Chloe smiled fondly, patting the collar as she headed to her bed.

A few steps in, though, and she stumbled. Her feet felt a little uncomfortable. No doubt it had something to do with her sprinting over to Sally's. She should have stretched beforehand, but she'd just been so worried... Still, now Chloe was back home and had no need for the shoes.

She slipped them off, scratch her chest a little as she did so. “Maybe there was a little truth to it... She might be allergic to something in her house.” Chloe said to herself, her skin beginning to itch all over. Sally was probably just having nightmares brought on by an allergic reaction to whatever it was in her house.

Chloe sniggered, clicking on the TV to her room. She had been saving a show to binge-watch, and tonight was a perfect opportunity. However, only a few episodes in she had to peel off her socks. “Funny.” She muttered, sending an idle glance down to her feet. “My soles feel a little itchy… As do the top of my feet.” She wriggled her toes, but paid it no heed until she’d caught up with her show.

But as the last credits rolled, she grew to realize that her body as still itching, the feeling not yet gone. “Lovely.” She muttered to herself, regretting not taking a shower earlier. She’d just need to wash her sheets tomorrow; it was too late to hop in for a quick rinse.

“Stupid itching; I can’t believe Sally thought she was becoming a sheepdog!” Chloe laughed, undressing as she got ready for bed. She clocked off the light a moment later, ignoring the itching as best she could. Unfortunately, ‘as best she could’ wasn’t nearly good enough.

She itched at her face and chest a few moments later, giving into the urge to scratch. Sadly for her, this did barely anything to ease the rampant itching, and she was left to fumble for the lights, clicking them on a moment later to look at her affected skin.

To her horror, it looked like she was covered in peach fuzz: thin white hairs had begun to extend from her forearms and between her breasts, and from the feeling on her face, Chloe knew that there must be hair growing from there as well.

“Okay, calm down. It’s just a dream. It’s just a dream.” Chloe repeated the mantra to herself, closing her eyes and willing her fear to the back of her mind. “It’s just aaarll-arf!”

Chloe stiffened as though she'd been slapped. Her face reddened, paled, and then reddened again. She'd definitely just barked a second ago, but she'd had no intention of doing anything like that.

The girl's hands flew to the collar at her neck and she breathed deeply. It was just nerves, she was just stressed. People didn't really turn into dogs, that was just a joke Sally had tried to pull which apparently had gotten to Chloe. She sighed again, telling herself to calm down.

Well, at least, she intended to tell herself to calm down. Instead, only a loud “Rrr-arf!” Escaped her lips, and Chloe's heart began to hammer in terror. “W-harrrt’s happenin-arf!” Her words were accompanied by what could only be a only a dog's bark. She threw off her sheets and dashed her mirror, a staccato rhythm pounding in her chest as she looked at her reflection.

Chloe didn't know what to expect. A small part of her had hoped that she wouldn't see anything wrong, that this was just some hypnotic trigger Sally had pulled somehow. But her eyes told her otherwise: she could see that her dark black hair was beginning to turn a snow white. Hesitantly, she looked down to her arms and chest, seeing that the fur there wasn’t something she’d dreamed up either. Worse, it had grown longer, making her look like she was wearing a rug.

“Nnrarf!” Chloe gasped, her hands flying to her throat as she barked again. This couldn’t be real, couldn’t be happening! But… Impossible as it was, she was somehow transforming into a dog. Her changed voice alone was testament enough to that, let alone her lightening hair or her floppy ears.

Ears!? Chloe whimpered in horror, her hands leaping from her throat to the sides of her head. Her mirror hadn’t lied to her so far, but it had to be lying now! Unfortunately, her eyes did not deceive. The woman’s ears had grown out, hanging now almost at her chin’s level. “Norrr! I drrn’t wrrn’t to be a sheepdorrg!” She growled, her vocal chords twisting even as she started to speak.

She shivered in fear, looking on in horror at her transforming face. With every passing second, her eyebrows were getting thicker and thicker, her hair beginning to creep down the sides of her face. Before her startled eyes her face grew furrier and furrier until she was looking out through a positively shaggy mane.

That was when Chloe realized that she had to go somewhere. She wasn’t sure where—but anywhere else would be preferable to here. The woman quickly fumbled for her phone, her fingers beginning to blimp up as she swiped to unlock its screen. Paw pads inflated their way into existence as she slapped at the screen, somehow managing to get to the voice-assisted screen. Even if her hands had shifted, maybe she would be able to use her voice before it fully changed.

“Please say a command.” The cell phone’s unemotional tone greeted her ears.

“Arf!” Chloe said confidently, her eloquent attempt to convey her panic dashed to pieces thanks to her transformed vocal chords. Embarrassed, the transforming girl let out a long and loud whine into her speaker.

“I didn’t catch that. Would you like to try again?”

“Carrrll. Srrarrry.” Chloe managed.

“Did you say: Carl sorry?”

“Nnaarrr.” Chloe growled, her lips drawing back around her lengthening canines. She glared daggers at the so-called smartphone, her only hope of escape slipping through her fingers like sand.

“I’m sorry, I don’t recognize that command.” The phone chimed again, remarkably unhelpfully.

“Rrarf!” Chloe shook her head, her ears flopping slightly as she completed the motion. She felt a little silly, but it helped her mentally to shout at the stupid phone, even if she didn’t have a human voice anymore.

Chloe whined plaintively, the sound drawing to a high whimper as her hips and shoulders began to crack and pop loudly. Chloe groaned in distress, her paws fumbling with her phone. Unfortunately, her thumbs had already dwindled away to dewclaws and she could barely work the screen, much less press any buttons.

A few futile scrabbles later, the girl realized just how much of a wasted effort it was. She’d be going through these changes on her own. Worse, as she’d been pawing fruitlessly away at her phone, her arms had begun to lengthen, making it a little easier to stand on all fours. She whimpered in distress and fidgeted, trying to get used to the feeling of standing on her hands and her feet.

Her feet… She whimpered in the realization that these too must begin to change. She rolled onto her back, doing her best to cross her legs as she looked down. The girl breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that the only change to affect them was a full carpet of white fur.

Then she got a second glimpse, terror striking into her heart as she realized that her nails had darkened. Sure enough, it looked like the fur was covering the changes, and as the girl pressed her palms against her feet, she started to feel just how much they were changing.

The basic bone structure of her feet had transformed, her thick and wooly hair obscuring her sight completely. Worse, her skin had changed under her hair, becoming thicker and darker. She whimpered a little in distress, realizing what must come next. Yet, despite her trepidation, she couldn’t help but look at her soles.

Sure enough, the bottoms of her feet had inflated to full-on paw pads. Even worse, the hair hadn’t grown to cover the paw pads. It was like the transformation was leaving her as well-groomed as possible, which had the added effect of leaving this latest change to go uncovered.

Her soles were expanding, mottled black spots flaring their way into existence along her developing soles. She whimpered sadly, her eyes watering with tears as she pressed at the thick leather. They felt so thick and uncomfortable, and she couldn’t help but press at them more and more, curiosity briefly overwhelming the terror.

Then Chloe realized what she was doing, and she let out a loud bark in distress. The girl whined and whimpered, her feet transforming further and further. Her big toes deflated while her other toes swelled, and she could already feel her remaining digits losing their range of motion.

Unwilling to look at the remainder of her changing feet, Chloe rolled back to all fours, huffing slightly. The action had left her a little more winded than she’d anticipated, and the girl began to pant to catch her breath. To her surprise, it also left her feeling pleasantly cool, her fur no lo9nger as stifling as it had been just moments ago.

She kept panting for another half-second before common sense reasserted itself yet again, and the girl whimpered and whined loudly. She slurped her tongue back into her mouth through a supreme effort, but of course her body would choose that moment to heat up, her fur getting itchier and more stifling.

Chloe whimpered again, rolling on her back in distress as she tried to scratch herself using the carpet. Of course, it was to little avail, and the girl only managed to make herself look like a fool, rubbing her shaggy back against her thin rug. She sighed, tiredly crawling to all fours as she gave back into panting.

This time, the cooling rush was accompanied by sensations of change. Her tongue lengthened, drawing longer and longer with each and every breath she took. Small ropes of drool trailed from the longer appendage, and she looked down in distress, her cheeks burning with shame.

It was almost a small mercy when her face pushed out into a muzzle that could contain her tongue. Even though it still lolled out of her mouth, her bigger lower jaw was more than capable of holding in the extra saliva she’d started to produce.

Chloe’s eyes crossed to look at her nose, watching in shock as it began to darken and flatten out on her face. Her longer tongue flicked up to moisten it, and she shivered at its leathery feel. It was turning a shade of black as dark as her hair had been before the changes, and she wondered how much further this change would take her.

Then her breasts tingled, and she whimpered as she found herself distracted once more. This latest change had left her shirt more than uncomfortable. She growled and struggled with it, working her paws to try and slip the offending garment over her head.

To her surprise, it took less time than she’d anticipated, and in just minutes she was free of her top and her uncomfy bra. Her pants, on the other hand, were a completely different story. They were denim, and fought hard against her paws as she rolled on the ground, growling at them and snapping her jaws irritably.

This time, the transformation provided Chloe with an unlikely savior: her tail. Her lengthening spine pushed back against her jean-shorts, the fabric slowly pushed off through her whole body’s efforts. Of course, the tail’s assistance didn’t endear itself any more to her. She was just using it as a means to an end: freeing her rear end, to be precise.

She wagged her tail, flicking off the last of her pants. And just like that, her change was complete and she was left naked. Well, except for her collar. It might not be ironic, but it was certainly coincidental that the pink band was suddenly a good deal more apropos.

Not that she could see pink anymore… Her eyes must have changed to be just like any other dog’s, because the whole world seemed less colorful. Chloe huffed, padding her way to her door. Then she froze, staring at it. Too late, the sheepdog realized her mistake: she had no way of unlocking it!

B-but why should she want to go outside? No, even though outside was good, it was… Bad? Good? She shook her head irritably, instead bounding to her bathroom to pop open the loose window. It gave way without a moment’s hesitation, and just like that the changed sheepdog let go of her inhibitions and her humanity alike.

The next morning, Chloe awoke, her heart hammering in her chest. “Jesus!” She breathed, running a hand through her dark hair. “That was… Intense.” She settled on, unable to think of a better word to describe how completely gone she was that last night. It had to be one hell of a dream, too!

Chloe laughed, leaning past her bed to grab her phone and call Sally. Her friend would certainly love to hear that her little prank had given Chloe nightmares. However, on the way down she froze, catching sight of her palm. It was caked in dirt and blades of grass.

“N-no way…” She breathed, tossing off her covers. Sure enough, her sheets were positively filthy, looking just like… “Like a dog slept in them.” Chloe muttered to herself, her pulse racing. Her fingers trembled as she reached for her phone again. As she did, some devilish part in the back of her mind warned her that this was only the beginning. She brushed some of her hair behind her ear nervously, the new white band in her locks going unnoticed for now…