WereWednesday 2: An American Weredog in the Kitchen

(contains ferral to anthro TF, muscle growth, size diff)

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Silence fell across the forest, thicker than an autumn fog. Round cheetah ears swiveled in every direction, but there was nothing; no animal calls, still winds, not even sounds of traffic in the distance. It was as if this section of hiking trail lost all its acoustics. It was just like in a horror movie where everything paused a few seconds before the jump scare.

As ridiculously over the top as that awful cliche is, experiencing it in real life left Molly threatening to crap her pants. She jogged this path countless times. To experience it on mute sent the fur on her spotted feline tail puffing. Something spooked the very trees into hiding, waiting for something horrible to pass by.

“Nya!?” Something big and fluffy rubbed against Molly’s legs, nearly sending her into a panicked run before there came a concerned whimper. She placed one hand on her chest, trying to calm the frantic heart beats within. Her other came to rest on the head of the pet akita whose leash she carried. “I know, Yoshi. This is fucking creepy.”

The dog whined again, licking at Molly’s fingers. Their company provided minor comfort for each other. Both could feel the unnatural aura seeping across the forest, driving their animal instincts into a panic.

It was not a jump scare, but Molly sure felt horrified when the brown furry creature came thumping into view several yards of the trail’s east side. At first she thought it might have been a sick bear, but the physique resembled more of a canine. Long gangly limbs and hunched posture also didn’t make it resemble any furry person she ever saw. At least, not one in a healthy state of mind.

The creature seemed just as surprised to find someone in its aimless wanderings. Its head rocked curiously as it made eye contact with Molly, a clear lack of complex intelligence behind the golden slit pupils. Nostrils on its huge black nose flared several times in deep sniffs, trying to figure out the lithe red haired cheetah in spandex clothes.

For several seconds Molly stood still, barely daring to move her whiskers. Not that T-Rex vision applied to this beast, but it remained relaxed, taking in her scent. She had a hope that it might not find her interesting enough to bother with.

“Yoshi!”

Of course, the dog could be counted on to make the situation worse. Before Molly realized it, the akita was between her and the much larger canine thing. Yoshi raised his hunches, ruffling fur to make his snarling more intimidating.

It didn’t work. The beast recoiled from the aggressive act for only a second before dropping to all fours in a similar growling stance. Being larger than Molly didn’t deter Yoshi from standing his ground. When it dared take a step toward them he began throwing out warning barks.

Molly’s grip on her leash instinctively tightened when Yoshi rushed forward, barely stopping his charge. Unfortunately, her forced restraining became an opportunity for the beast to pounce at her. Her scream rang out through the trees, breaking the bubble of silence that had surrounded them. In her trying to run backwards Yoshi leapt forward to meet the attack, this time yanking the leash from the cheetahs hands.

“YOSHI! NO!”

* * *

Google Maps stated it was an eighty-minute drive to the nearest veterinary clinic. Molly shaved twenty off that time while only breaking six traffic laws. It was amazing how enough terror can cause the brain to loop right around and make you numb to a series of deadly events. Hands remained steady on the wheel, eyes focused on every aspect of the road, trying to avoid unwanted collisions. Her pink nose continued to twitch violently while she fought to ignore the scent of blood covering the front of her clothes.

More importantly, she fought back the ominous sense all this risk was already a wasted effort. It was only by the luck of Molly’s scream other hikers came to the rescue. Her attitude against open carry laws suddenly had a viable defense, though shame a few bullets didn’t kill the creature before it ran off. They were still too late for Yoshi to get out of the scuffle unscathed. Molly let her rescuers help carry the injured dog to her car, where she refused to wait for an escort back to town.

After executing a sharp turn, Molly managed a sloppy parking job before killing the engine. Almost immediately she struggled with a rush of tears clouding her vision. Yoshi’s pained whines had stopped a long time ago, and she felt terrified to check through the rearview mirror to see why.

No. It would not be over that easily.

“Come on, boy!” Molly leapt out the driver's seat, flinging open the backdoor in one fluid dash. “Everything is going to be-GAH!”

The last thing Molly expected to find in her backseat was an assault of loving face licks and tail wags. Yoshi gave off a joyous bark while she tried grappling him back in fear of his wounds reopening. It slowly dawned on the cheetah he wasn’t giving any signs of pain at all. She patted along the shoulder where a deep bite nearly broke his neck and then parted fur across the flank that got sliced through by wild claws.

Nothing.

“What the fuck!?” Molly stared dumbfounded at her dog, who tilted his head in that adorable confused way that always melted her heart. She wasn’t going crazy, as Yoshi still showed signs of damage. The poor dog lost most of his left ear and bore a few gashes on his chin. Yet neither wound looked fresh. Hell, they were barely visible scars.

And then there was the fact Molly and Yoshi were covered in the latter's blood, along with the backseat. That didn’t stop her from taking the dog inside for an examination, but now everyone gave them worried looks and a wide berth.

* * *

“This day sure sucked, huh, boy?”

Yoshi raced past Molly’s feet the second she cracked the door open. Eager to be back home, he did his usual laps to check out his territory before settling in for a long drink from his water bowl.

Molly took a bit more time locking the door and slipping her shoes off. That had to have been one of the worst hospital trips of her life. The vet was only good for confirming what her eyes already couldn’t believe. Somehow her dog was perfectly healthy after being mauled. Between her stupefied demeanor and fresh blood, the bastard thought he was under some kind of prank. Even found a few excuses to charge her two-hundred bucks for the trouble Molly gave him.

It was whatever now. Being home safe with Yoshi still alive was the best outcome she could ask for. Too bad there wasn’t a day left to relax in. Washing blood out of dog fur and then a personal shower took a while, especially with the aftermath clean up. It never ceased to impress how much water one dog can shake off.

Once properly blow dried, Yoshi lead their way into the kitchen with tail wagging. The bouncing dork nearly died, and all he’s concerned about is dinner. There was a reason Molly often envied dogs.

“Yeah. Yeah. Give me a minute, dang it.” Molly barely got the kitchen lights on when her dog did an about face and leapt forepaws onto her chest with pleading licks. Pushing him aside, she flicked open the blinds, taking a moment to appreciate the fading orange and red across the horizon. An enormous full moon rose above it, helping keep the neighborhood lit in a majestic glow.

Another strained whine roused Molly from the hypnotic view. Best to get on with the food preparations or else Yoshi might tackle her to the floor. She fished out a typical can of dog gunk for depositing into a glittered plastic bowl. It was only when she set it on the floor that the cheetah’s ears perked.

Absolute silence filled the house. Just the grinding of can opener gears usually sent Yoshi into an excited frenzy. Instead, some unnatural force reduced the volume to the point Molly couldn’t hear her own breathing. Her spotted tail gave a hard shudder, fur rising in an eerie sense of deja vu.

“Yoshi?” she squeaked out, animal instincts stirring with unsure distress.

The dog remained sitting right where she left him, eyes fixed on the moon-lit window. Not even an ear twitched when Molly called for him again. Only the occasional lip quiver or eye blink indicated being alive. Against her better judgement, she inched towards Yoshi just enough to give a shaking pet on the head.

“YIPE!”

Molly tripped over her feet, falling against the kitchen counter. Her mere contact with Yoshi sent the dog leaping two feet through the air with an alarmed bark.

“Whoa! Calm down, boy. It’s okay.”

That couldn’t have been further from the truth, and Molly knew it. Her dog went from a statue to a bundle of lightning, constantly pacing in circles and shaking parts of his body. When she took a step towards Yoshi, he reflexively backpedaled giving off more panicked whines and yowls.

KRACK! CRUNCH!

“O-oh...oh shit…” Molly swallowed a lump watching Yoshi give another hard shake followed by a snarling sneeze. This seemed to cause some kind of release that sent ripples through his grey fur. A moment later, rapid cracks broke the room’s silence as odd protrusions bulged under the dog’s skin. More and more filled him out in a rush until seemingly vanishing again.

It took a second to realize this was because Yoshi’s bones and muscles had grown out disproportionately, but eventually evened out. The akita stood confused at growing nearly double its original size while Molly gawked with hands raised defensively over her chest. Neither had time to process this before Yoshi whined and surged larger still. A third chorus of bone cracks swelled him into the range of a pony. A thought made Molly ponder briefly how cute it might be to ride such a giant canine.

CRUCK! CRRRRRK! CRRIK!

The onset of even more changes broke that daydream fast. A hard cramp in Yoshi’s flanks elicited another worried bark. He tried arching his hips to compensate, only to fall onto his side when a second shift dislocated its joints. Legs kicked involuntarily with growing muscle and shifting sinew. Thighs thickened out while shines stretched incredibly long. Heels gave a really disturbing groan, dropping their arch to become even platforms with the canines’ thick paws.

Her dog had legs, humanoid ones. Molly found it hard to comprehend the fact despite having similar anatomy. It was also hard to deny while watching Yoshi’s pelvis pop wider, developing muscles into a presentable buttock. He rolled onto his back, pawing helplessly at the air with paws already undergoing changes. Toes wiggled on extra joints, extending them out from widening palms. The feeling of dewclaws ballooning into thumbs was especially alien to the afflicted pet, even as his forelegs pumped thicker with newfound strength.

PWOP! BRRRCAKLE!

Strength Yoshi found easier to move with the extension of his shoulders. Biceps rolled into more dexterous sockets while collapsing rib bones flattened his chest into a thick board of pectoral bulges. Molly felt very conflicted about how to feel towards the six-pack of abs rising through her dog’s stomach fur. Nor did it help when Yoshi rolled onto it covering his face with unfamiliar hands, unwittingly showing off the mountains of meat filling out his back.

Molly decided it best to keep a safe distance. In fact, she shuffled a bit towards the kitchen knife rack just in case. It was still interesting to note that whatever was happening only left her dog sounding worried and confused. Bones continued to pop with even denser muscle puffing out a thick fur coat, but didn’t seem to inflict any pain. After another minute of watching Yoshi swell to bigger sizes, the cracks gradually faded like a popcorn bag.

“Um…” Molly’s ears twitched, blushing a bit at the beefy figure on the floor. They were no longer whining, but giving off frantic groans and gasps. Absolutely nothing about this creature’s form resembled a feral canine anymore. “Y-Yoshi?”

The dog creature froze with his one good ear shot up at attention. Slowly its hands moved off its head onto the floor. It seemed to Molly like it was trying to stand on all fours, only to give up at how awkward it’s bent spine made the posture. With a clumsy waving of arms ridged with muscle, he stood on plantigrade feet for the first time.

It took all of Molly’s will not to run when the eight foot akita man turned to face her. Thankfully, the way he tilted his head with a confused blink helped disarm a lot of tension. They still left an awkward fog between them for a lengthy period, staring into intelligent eyes with no concept of how to proceed. Eventually Yoshi worked up the nerve to raise his clawed hand in a meek wave.

“H-hi, Molly?” Yoshi’s first words cracked a bit, his eyes going crossed trying to watch as his muzzle flap loosely a few times. “Whoa! I can talk? This feels too weird.”

“Y-you can talk,” Molly parroted to affirm the absurd fact. “I don’t...this can’t...what the fuck is going on!?”

“I don’t know!” Yoshi squeaked, backing away from the irate cheetah with tail tucked. “I just thought the moon looked pretty and started feeling cramps.”

“The moon?” Molly glanced out the window and then back to Yoshi. Eyes lingered on a fluffy chest bodybuilders could be jealous of and shook disturbing thoughts from her head. “Oh, my god. My dog is a werewolf! This is the stupidest...was that the thing that attacked us this morning? Holy shit. Werewolves exist?”

“I guess,” Yoshi offered, unsure what a werewolf even was. Watching Molly pace around the kitchen fuming about them obviously meant they were a bad thing. “I...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a werewolf.”

“Wait, what?” The words hit Molly in a slight delay, making her stop mid-step. Her tail curled seeing such a large anthro cowering from her barley implied disapproval. It looked like lycanthropy can improve intelligence, but mannerisms stay the same. Throwing caution to the wind, she stepped forward to take Yoshi’s big hand in both of hers. “Hey now. You saved my life today. I couldn’t be more proud of you.”

That got Yoshi’s tail wagging again. The smile that cautiously stretched out his muzzle carried the always doppy joy behind it.

Molly started to add something only for a loud gurgle from behind her dog’s stomach muscles to cut it off. She hung her head, letting out a sigh. Relaxation brought back the notion they still needed to eat.

“I guess I’m going to need to thaw out those steaks I was saving. WHOA!” Molly looked up and received a notice just how close and eye level she stood next to the weredog’s pelvis. She whirled her back to Yoshi, taking a few nervous steps away from a confused canine. “This is going to take a lot of adjusting for both of us. M-maybe we should start by finding you some pants.”