"Daniel." Mr. B says and it's the tone in his voice that makes her snap her head up and just look at him. She's never heard that tone from him before. "You know what to do. Take Tamara, and wait." Wait? Wait for what? She doesn't have time to really wonder though as the canine boy salutes and leaps down tugging on her hand.
Leading her out of the main room. Into the hall, Daniel looks back to the glass door at the end of the hall, a quick glance. Her gaze follows, there's no one at the door. Still the boy has a frown on his muzzle and he hurries her down the hall to the side room at the end. He pulls it open, just barely able to reach the handle. He waves her in and she rolls her eyes.
She hesitates for a moment before walking in. Obi on the other hand bounds ahead into the room.
It's... it's a lot bigger than she expects and she can't help but gasp. She's never actually been in this room, with it's soft brown carpet, the plain grey painted walls and the large piano off to the right. Sure she's peered into it once or twice, but she's never really been inside. Daniel sits on the piano's stall and smirks at her. She spins around and stops.
On the back of the door is a poster.
Photos are pinned up on the poster. Every music student. Some of the pictures are circled, others are crossed out and there are a few with extra notes in marker beside them. All are with their instruments and it's a shock. Many of them are also people who've already graduated, or even quit the program.
Her photo is up near the top right corner. Circled and with a couple of notes, likely fire type. She frowns and wants to ask Daniel but he holds a hand up to his muzzle. A single finger at his lips, the sign for silence. It's easy enough to tell why, footsteps and voices, though muffled through the door. She turns with a frown and Obi stiffens before snarling at the door.
Daniel moves quickly, curling one hand around the canine's muzzle. She bristles at the boy's action, he looks at her with a slightly arched brow and she can actually see fur creeping up his face. It makes her blink, because she's able to see it growing. In fact, a closer inspection of the hand he's got curled around her dog's muzzle shows another difference. His fingers are beginning to fuse together. Making his hand more of a paw, except that it lacks fur.
It's startling and she actually jolts backwards. And into one of the spare music stands in the room. There's no stopping the chain reaction that causes as every stand falls over and some of them land on the piano... making it complain with jarring out of tune(and order) notes.
"Sorry..." she says hands half curling defensively in front of her body. The word feels strange in her mouth though and she can feel the sharpness of her canines.
"Hey! I heard something!" Both teens and the single dog turn to face the door. Daniel palms(paws?) his face before ducking down and crawling beneath the piano. "I'm going to check it out!" she looks around desperately as Obi ducks behind the fallen stands. In a flash of clarity she figures it out. Pulling one of the chairs up right and fixing on of the stands she clicks open her Saxophone case.
Just barely in time as the door swings open. She blinks up at the man in the doorway, the perfect picture of innocent confusion. Good thing she was in drama classes, willingly. A better thing that her extras are well hidden under her beret.
"Do you need something?" she asks. The man blinks and looks around the room, finally he glares at her clearly suspicious. She simply decides to act as if she's ignoring him, taking out the pieces of the saxophone and carefully slotting them together.
"I'm watching you!" he growls slamming the door shut behind him. "Nothing but one of the students!" she hears him call and blows out a relieved breath. Daniel pokes his head out from under the piano and looks up at her. The angle that it's done on makes her blink. It's adorable, ears that flop over his head, paw hands on either side of his muzzle and big bright red eyes.
"Aww..." her cooing makes him scowl at her. He wriggles the rest of his way out from under the piano and shakes himself free of the dust that's gathered in his fur. She covers her mouth with one hand, amused before he huffs and sits back on all fours. Obi makes her own way out from behind the fallen stands and sits down by him. Looking at them side by side she's amused to note that Daniel is the exact same size as Obi.
"Anyway... they should leave soon enough..." he says rolling his eyes and determinedly looking away from her. "And then we'll use the passageway!" a smile curls across his muzzle and she tilts her head. "I'll finally be getting out of here!"
"Right..." she mutters and shifts her position. She takes several deep breaths and then places the mouthpiece to her lips and gently blows into it. Daniel's ears both twitch and he turns back to face her. "And I'm sure it'll be great. But what about my lesson? What about school?"
"Don't you miss it all the time anyway?" he asks blinking in confusion and she huffs, a scowl crossing her face.
"Yeah... sure... But that's not the point." She grumbles, glaring at the instrument in her hands. "and 'sides, it's not like I want to miss out on schooling..." stupid issues with her health and everything attached to it. A small buzz of pain in the chest, but it's not enough to mess with her music lesson. Not enough to prevent her from practicing. Not today.
Daniel makes a confused noise before turning to the door. It's pulled open again, this time Mr. B pokes his head in. She ignores him, and instead focuses on her instrument. She's annoyed and upset.
"[Tamara?]" Obi asks unsure. Mr. B frowns before joining them in the room and gently closing the door behind him.
She ignores him as well. Instead scrunching up her face and closing her eyes. The sting and bite of tears at the edge of her eyes makes her sniff. She doesn't want this, everything is moving way too fast. She's getting overwhelmed and it feels like she's drowning. A paw touches the side of her leg and she jolts opening her eyes to meet the gaze of her canine companion.
"Are you okay?" Mr. B asks and she sniffs again. She lowers her saxophone and wipes one sleeve over her face.
"No... I'm not okay... I-I don't know what's happening and everything is just... it's all moving so fast..." tears trail their way down her cheeks and suddenly everything burns up. Sadness flows red hot into anger and she bares her teeth. "I'M NOT OKAY! Nobody's asking me if I want to go anywhere... No one's asking my opinion. You just already have a plan, and now I'm part of it just because!" she glares at both of the boys in front of her, teeth flashing and a growl in the back of her throat. "Well guess what, I don't agree with it. I don't want to just go off to some strange location simply because something is happening. I get that I'm changing but that's life, and I'm allowed to say no. I'm allowed to choose for myself." she slumps a bit and sets down her saxophone. She doesn't want to break it. "I may not have chosen the transformation... but... can't I at least choose where to go from here. Without being forced one way or another in any direction?"
Daniel and Mr. B both blink as she wipes a hand over her eyes again. She slowly takes a deep breath, both to calm down but also to ease the tightening in her chest. It hitches and she grimaces before blowing it out and trying again. There's a sort of click in the back of her head before she allows herself to breath normally again. Without the pain.
Daniel frowns and one of his hind legs comes up to scratch the back of his head. He's clearly unsure, but the action causes her to blink in confusion. It's not exactly what she's expecting since they're still humans inside, aren't they?
We're still human where it counts right?
The thought isn't as comforting as it should be and she shivers faintly before ignoring it. She picks her sax back up and looks towards Mr. B. He smiles softly at her before grabbing a seat of his own. Daniel huffs before jumping up on the piano's stall, seating himself ready to listen to her practice. She feels a faint burn in her cheeks before huffing.
The lesson proceeds as they all do. She plays a couple of songs from the book. When the Saints and Old Macdonald. Afterwards she's feeling much better and smiles at both the teacher and Daniel. Daniel however frowns back at her. His paws are now fully covered in fur, and there's only a small portion of his face that has yet to be covered.
"You're hair is yellow..." he says and she blinks. At some point she'd removed her beret, it's sitting on the back of the chair. "Well mostly, it's also black." he says and she frowns. A hand raises up and she pulls a bit of her hair around where she can see it. He's not wrong. It's black, and yellow. Except the yellow stops much higher than where the black begins, and touching it. The areas that are yellow feel stiffer than the rest.
Firmer. She frowns, because that's weird. Her hair has always been kind of soft and bouncy, with a lot of poof. So why's this part course and firm? If this is truly puberty then she's not sure how much she actually likes it. Of course, it was bad enough with one other little detail. Her repeating cycle every month. She's going to have to find someone on this side of things to double check the details about that isn't she. Because animal biology is weird.
She really doesn't want to know if she'll be experiencing it as a 'heat' the way animals do, or if it'll be continuing like normal. Either way it'll be awkward.
Also, she wonders what kind of fur she'll have. Daniel's is long and somewhat shaggy, perfect for the colder weather that's beginning to creep in. Though, he'll probably have to deal with shedding as well, if it's just a winter long coat. Her ears twitch in some amusement at the thought before she looks over at Mr. B.
The man is frowning. Considering the saxophone case, and considering her. A tight frown, and a furrowed brow. He looks at her and back to the case. One hand begins tapping against his leg and her ears twitch and perk up as he begins to hum a little tune. Before he abruptly cuts off and growls.
"Nothing... there's not enough indicators yet?"
"Mr. B?" she tilts her head bewildered. What does that mean. The man simply shakes his head and walks out of the room, grumbling to himself. Daniel on the other hand sighs and paws his face.
"He's talking about your relative size. The size you'll end up once fully transformed." the boy explains, and that does absolutely nothing for her confusion. If anything it makes it worse, since why would her size change. It abruptly clicks in her mind and she groans.
"Right... that!" she grumbles feeling her ears half flatten. Also there's a tingling on the side of her head, where her human ears are. Or where they should be. Raising her hands up and placing them over the areas indicates that they're missing. "I... I actually think that I might be becoming a Houndour though." Daniel blinks and peers at her.
She rolls her eyes and Obi barks a laugh before lying down. She doesn't respond to his appraising look. It's not worth it. Eventually Daniel jumps up and he trots around her. She blinks and spins slightly to try and follow him. He sits back, on his haunches and raises one paw up to what serves as his chin. Frowning with his ears tilted ever so slightly he finally nods.
"Yeah, I can see that. The ears certainly fit at this point, and the slight shimmer around your hands!" He decides. Mr. B comes back into the room and blinks at them both. The man smiles at them before he pulls out two small packs from behind his back. She takes her pack with a small frown. Daniel on the other hand quickly opens the pack and peers inside. The boy's eyes both widen and she arches a brow.
Daniel flashes her a wide grin before reaching into the pack and pulling out several books, a clarinet case(in his size, clarinet included), a drink bottle, lunch pack, what looks like an iPhone, and a watch. He tucks most of the stuff back into the pack before fastening the watch around one paw.
"Check what's in yours!" he says tail swishing eagerly behind him. Obi trots over and joins her in peering into the bag. The first thing that she notices is that it seems much bigger on the inside. More spacious than it would seem. Much like Daniel, it has the necessities, a lunch pack and bottle. Books, several of them just for reading in her spare time, others clearly for self teaching, including one Chinese for Dummies book. She gives Mr. B a dull look holding the book up for that.
Daniel snickers in the background and she rolls her eyes.
Another iPhone, and an instrument case. Small, too small for her as she is. But it would be the perfect size for a Houndour, although she would likely have to get a new one if she evolved. It's amazing though, and must have cost Mr. B a small fortune to get custom made. She doesn't have a watch in the pack, instead there's a couple of cans of dog food and a special electronic collar which Obi happily allows her to click around her neck.
"[Special! I won't lose!]" Obi says and she sighs before straightening up. She looks from Daniel to Mr. B and takes a deep breath.
There's only really one option here. Unless they want to attract attention. She's not an idiot, no matter how idiotic she can act. But the problem is, would those people have replaced her or not really. She's technically slipped through, hasn't she? A knock at the door answers that. Mr. B holds a finger to his lips and walks back out of the room closing the door behind him.
"A little late aren't you Tamara?" his voice carries well through the door and she stiffens. Especially when she hears her own voice laugh lightly as it responds.
"I'm here at least aren't I?"
The next half hour is filled with the sound of Saxophone music and confusion. She can't believe it, doesn't want to believe it. They actually cloned her, even though they technically can't be sure that she's actually one of them... It's impossible, it's strange and she's stuck sitting down and blankly staring. Obi hops up into her lap and paws at her chest trying to get her to respond.
Daniel also looks at her with worry on his face. He's fully transformed by this point, and she's able to tell what he is. Dark grey fur marking his face and paws, light grey fur everywhere else. Messy long somewhat shaggy fur, a pointed muzzle with a small fang poking out and bright red eyes. He's a textbook Poochyena.
"Tamara?" he asks and she half leans back as Obi looks her in the face.
"I'm nothing now..." she mutters. "I don't even have my own life anymore." she hears the door swing shut and a cheerful farewell from her counterpart. It's so funny in an unfunny way that she starts laughing.
This is her life now.
