Megan wiped her hand across her forehead, brushing away the trickles of sweat from working so hard in the unseasonably hot weather, she looked around in satisfaction. Her farm was coming along beautifully, and she was justifiably proud of her handiwork.

Her house had been renovated and enlarged a few times since she arrived a little more than two years ago. It had been such a mess, it had taken all her willpower to hide her dismay from her Uncle Frank. Fortunately, the local handyman, Ludus, had soon fixed it up for her, making it more habitable. Now it was really quite nice, if still a little small. At least, it often seemed too small for her and her special canine companion, bound to her through the odd ceremony at Inari's shrine that designated him as her "furmiliar". Bear was a gigantic Tibetan mastiff, almost as large as a pony. He was a gentle giant though, especially when it came to children and smaller animals. The kids in all three villages would come running when they saw Bear at her side, eager to bury themselves in his soft, shaggy coat. Yet for all his gentleness, he was fiercely protective of his mistress, and she always felt safe when he was at her side, no matter where they went or how late at night.

After she'd finished her evening chores, she threw together a quick dinner and ate it while Bear ate his own supper close by. After she'd washed up, she called Bear to her side and headed out, thinking it was a fine evening to go on a ramble.

Bear excitedly ran around as she finished a last little chore or two, getting things settled on her farm for the night. Then they headed up the dirt path leading to the Crossroads, thinking to herself that maybe they'd go visit Lulukoko, where the bonfire would be burning bright and all the villagers gathered 'round it, telling stories and singing songs, and where Bear could play with Tototara's mastiff, Parora. And maybe on the way there, they'd stop and pay a call to Inari's shrine. She could feel her cheeks reddening as she recalled the last visit there, a few days ago, when she'd felt something, well, different in Inari. Something... almost electric. If only that fox hadn't startled them and caught Hinata's attention....

Jogging out into the center of the crossroads, she barely had time to register a blur of motion and a peculiar chanting intonation in a wispy, high voice, then there was a flash and a bang, followed by darkness.

Megan opened her eyes, and everything was... different. Bear was standing over her, but somehow he seemed even larger than usual. And the smells—they were suddenly overwhelming, overpowering her senses. She could hear things much more clearly than ever before, too, including a muffled exclamation and... sobbing? She was too confused by the sudden strangeness to say for sure. She tried to stand, but her legs wouldn't work right and she kept falling forward onto her hands. Her body felt strange to her, like some parts had beens stretched and others compressed.

Then she saw her hands.

Or rather, her paws.

Her screams came out as a series of loud, yapping barks, and immediately Bear woofed in reply, "Quiet! Listen!"

Falling backwards onto her hind end as she realized she could actually understand what her dog was saying to her, she fell silent. Yes, muffled tears... and swearing? The voices seemed somehow familiar to her, too. Was that...?

Bear leaped forward, towards the little meadow near the Westown gate, and scrambling to her feet—all four of them—she loped awkwardly after him.

When she caught up, he had Dessie and Witchie cornered. Witchie was simultaneously trying to quiet Dessie, who was sobbing uncontrollably, and pacify the large dog. Spotting Megan, she did a double, then a triple take. "Wow!" she nearly shouted. "Dessie really got you this time, huh?"

Dessie looked over at her, then began to cry four times harder than before.

"Stop it already! I can't stand it when you cry! Augh, fine! You, yeah, you!" she yelled, pointing at Megan. "This is YOUR fault! If you hadn't screwed things up the other day, then Dessie never woulda...."

"Rowf rowf yowrow rrrowf!" Megan barked back (meaning, "Dessie never would have what?").

"Uhh.... N-never you mind! But you, you gotta fix this, you hear?"

Dessie wiped her eyes, tears still streaming down her face as she sniffled. "No, Witchie, please don't. You're such a good friend..." at which Witchie snorted loudly, "but it's all my fault. Not Megan's. But I don't know how to fiiiiiix iiiiiit!" she wailed as she began sobbing again.

"Grooowf yowowow!" Bear snapped ("So go ask your sister!")

"I can't do that!" Dessie gasped between sobs. "You don't know what she'll do to me!"

"Y-yeah, you're right," Witchie agreed, thinking briefly of her aunt, the renowned Witch Princess, with a shudder. "We can't tell. So you gotta just... I dunno, make do, I guess. At least until we get this figured out."

With that, she snapped her fingers and they vanished, leaving Megan and Bear staring in disbelief.

"Well, what now?" Bear barked.

"I... I don't know! I've never been a dog before!" Megan howled.

"Hey, don't cry. I'm a dog every day, it's not so bad!"

"But... how am I going to take care of my farm? And the animals?" she barked, plopping down on the grass with a canine sigh.

"Oh, yeah. Right. That's a toughie. I mean, how would you even milk the cows like this?" Bear plopped down next to her, resting his chin on his paws as he thought. Ahead of them, a pair of young foxes frolicked by the pond.

"I got it!" Bear barked a few minutes later, jumping up to his feet. "The foxes—the fox spirit man! He can talk to foxes, right? Well, dog and fox aren't the same language, but maybe they're close enough! Maybe he can understand you if you ask him for help?"

"Maybe, but what can he do? I'm the only—was the only—human that can see him!" Megan howled.

"Yeah, but didn't he say he can appear in people's dreams? Maybe he can do that to get some of the villagers to help out! Like, I dunno, maybe tell them you got called suddenly away and didn't have time to ask for help? Or that you're in trouble and need help until you can get back?" Bear rumbled, thinking hard.

"Yeah, that might work... it's worth a try!" Megan yapped, jumping up and bolting down the path towards Tsuyukusa village, startling one of the foxes as she darted past with Bear close on her heels.

"See, Ears? What goes around, comes around!" the second fox yipped with laughter as the first picked himself up, staring disgustedly after the dogs as they vanished around a corner.