Bella dragged Kai through the city streets at a quick pace, heading toward the coast, and while leaving the house had always made the Oathless feel uncomfortable, he became especially self-conscious as they neared the beach.
Skinny girls in bikinis and ripped dudes in swim trunks were everywhere, and being anywhere near them only served to emphasize Kai's own inadequacies— inadequacies that Vira taught him weren't as inherent as he used to believe. In a way, that just made him feel worse, because if his 'inherent' inadequacies weren't so inherent after all, then he had no choice but to admit that the terrible situation he was in... was his own fault.
Every beautiful person around him was a testament to his failure as a man and as a human being, and every couple he saw made his heart ache. The worst thing was how effortless it seemed for them.
Why do they get to be so happy and normal? His hands clenched into fists. Why can't I be like them?
Everyone was happy at the beach—everyone but him.
***
This train of thought derailed as the exertion of keeping up with Bella under the sun's heat became unbearable, and Kai began to sweat and breathe heavily.
"Stop," he pulled on her leash as they passed under a secluded wooden pier that extended several yards into the sea, hoping to take refuge in its shade. "I—" he bent down to rest on his knees, huffing. "I need some rest."
The dog did as he asked, sitting down, her tongue lolling.
Kai found a rock to sit on and checked the time on his phone—08:23 AM. "You gotta be kidding me."
"Giving up already?" The fairy appeared in a flash as a tiny ball of red light, catching the dog's attention.
"I can't do this every day, Vira. It's too hard."
"I know it's hard, but if you want to become someone worthy of true love, you are going to have to keep at it."
He flipped through his phone, bringing up the selfie he took of his Beautificated self. That image seemed so far away now, unreachable. "It's impossible; I'll never be able to do it."
"Nonsense, of course you will. All you'll need is a good fitness coach to get you through the rough patches," she said, gathering magical power in her star amulet. "And I've got just the one." Her magic shot out, spinning around the German Shepherd, enveloping her with its light and warmth.
The Oathless shielded his eyes from the blinding brightness, feeling the ocean breeze, empowered by the gust of the fairy's spell, push against him for a long moment before dying down. As the light dimmed, he lowered his arm, and his eyes followed the leash, from the end he held in his hand to the other.
It connected to a red collar, fitting loosely around the neck of a tall blonde woman with pointy dog-ears and a fluffy tail. She turned left and right, checking her new body with wonder and curiosity. Her sports bra stretched to capacity to accommodate her bust, and her tight pants hugged her legs close, leaving her finely toned torso exposed.
Kai gulped.
"Hello, Bella," the fairy said. "I am Vira, a Sister of Chivalry, and I require your aid in training my helpless godchild."
The dog-girl's attention wandered, and her tail began wagging merrily as she spotted a couple of guys playing frisbee in the distance.
"In return for your valuable service, I will—"
The girl thumbed the latch of the leash, releasing it from her collar, and bolted out of the pier's shadow toward the two men.
"Hey, wait! I wasn't done—"
"I don't think she was listening…" Kai watched her go, unable to take his eyes off her.
"Well? What are you waiting for? Go after her before she gets herself into trouble."
"Ah… about that, wouldn't they… you know… see the ears and the tail?"
"Don't worry about that; only we can see those. Everyone else will see her as a normal human."
"Then… why have the ears and tail in the first place?"
"So you don't get any funny ideas. Bella, Vermallelia, and whatever other helpers I enchant—at the end of the day, they return to being animals, while you…" She poked his forehead. "Stay human."
Kai grunted and rubbed his forehead.
"And besides," the fairy added, crossing her arms, "I think they look cuter that way."
"Can't argue with that," he said and shuffled off after the dog-girl.
***
Bella ran free, acclimating to the unfamiliar sensations of her new body, enjoying the liberty of being Leashless.
She leapt, catching the frisbee as it overshot the topless guy it was aimed at. He smiled as his eyes fell on her.
"Good catch," he held his hand forward, and she returned the disk. "Wanna join us?"
"Can I?" Her tail wagged.
"Of course, the more, the merrier. I'm Charlie, by the way," he said as another man in a tank top closed the distance. "And this is my brother, Mike."
"Nice to meet you," she replied. "I'm—"
"Bella!" Kai yelled as he finally caught up with her, struggling to catch his breath.
"Eh, Mr. Holloway, these guys invited me to play fetch with them. Would you like to join, too?"
Kai caught a displeased glance passing between the brothers, and he grimaced. "No, we don't have time for that. We need to start heading back."
"Back already? But we only just got here."
"Is… this guy your uncle or something?" Mike asked.
"Him? No, he is…" She hesitated for a moment. "Mr. Holloway is just a friend."
'Just a friend,' Kai lamented. She has been human for all of two seconds, and she already friend-zoned me. He shook his head. What am I thinking? Friend-zoned? She is a dog!
"So you can stay with us if you want, right?" Charlie put his arm around her.
"Yeah," Mike gave Kai a thumbs up. "You've got nothing to worry about, Mr. Holloway; we will make sure she gets home safe."
The dog-girl nodded enthusiastically and looked to the Oathless with hopeful eyes, completely oblivious to whatever less-than-innocent intentions the two brothers might have had for her.
"No, I—" he straightened and clenched his fists. "I can't allow that."
Bella frowned.
"Why not?" the topless brother asked.
"Because! She is my neighbor's do—ah… daughter, my neighbor's daughter."
"And?" Mike asked.
"And… he paid me to watch over her."
"Really?" Charlie scoffed, his arm still hanging around the girl's shoulder. "She seems old enough to make her own decisions, to me. Don't you agree, Bella?"
"I'm not sure…" She cupped her chin, considering. "Is five old enough?"
Mike blinked. "You mean twenty-five?"
"No…" Kai jumped at the opportunity. "She means fifteen."
Charlie looked the girl up and down—the tall, blonde bombshell that she was. "No way this girl is fifteen."
"She is."
"I am?"
"You are."
She cupped her chin again, calculating. "Are you sure? I thought I was—"
"I just remembered," Charlie lifted his arm from her and backed away slowly. "We actually have a thing we gotta do."
"Ahh… yes, how could I forget?" Mike stepped back as well. "So sorry, Bella. It was lovely meeting you."
The two turned and left hastily, leaving Bella alone with the Oathless.
Kai let out a sigh of relief. "Come on, let's head back—hey!" he yelled as the dog-girl took off again.
"I don't think she was listening," Vira said with a cheeky smile.
The Oathless clicked his tongue and dragged himself after her.
Bella ran free… and every time he called her name, she felt a fraction of her freedom wither away.
"Bella—" he breathed. "Stop—" He limped after her, holding his side. "Please," he collapsed onto the sand. "I can't… I can't…" He gasped for air.
The dog-girl ground to a halt.
There were people around them: gossiping girls tanning on folding chairs, laughing youngsters building castles in the sand, stalwart surfers hurrying to catch the ocean waves…
She smiled sadly at them for a long moment, then a chill went through her, and she blushed. "Eh… Mr. Holloway," she turned and crouched beside him with her knees close together. "I need to go."
"Yeah—" he gasped. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. We have to get back to—"
"No, what I mean is… eh…" Her face grew redder. "I need to… go."
He squinted at her, not quite getting it.
"She means go to the bathroom," Vira said.
"Ah." He sat up and looked around. "There's a public restroom over there," he pointed.
She got up and started walking toward it, then looked back when he didn't follow.
"You go ahead," he said, waving her off. "I'll be right there."
She nodded and continued without him.
"You can't move, can you?"
"My everything hurts."
Vira smiled, "and yet you kept running after her, fulfilling your responsibility as a dog-walker, ensuring that she stays out of trouble."
"Making sure that she stays out of trouble?" he scoffed. "Did you hear what Isaacson said? If anything happens to her, I'm doomed."
"Are you seriously going to tell me you did all this just because you were scared you might get into trouble?"
"Why else would I put myself through this torture?"
"So…" she narrowed her eyes. "You weren't even a bit worried about her?"
Kai opened his mouth, then closed it, and Vira crossed her arms in triumph.
***
By the time the dog-girl had left the restroom, Kai had managed to shamble his way to the wooden bench beside it, waiting for her.
"Well?" he asked as she came to stand before him, her tail wagging merrily.
"Well… what?"
"What the hell were you thinking? Running off like that…"
"I—" Her ears drooped down, and her tail went limp. "I'm sorry; I just wanted to stay out a bit longer."
He scoffed. "Guess I can't blame you. If I were Isaacson's pet, I'd have liked to stay out as long as possible too."
"It's not like that! My master is a good person, and he has always been kind to me."
Kai's head spun at hearing her call her owner 'master' with that sweet voice.
"Honestly, I don't understand you humans… you have all this freedom, and you do nothing with it—"
"Freedom?"
"And you are the worst example, Mr. Holloway. You are Leashless—you can go wherever you want, whenever you want, without having to worry about being chased or captured or killed." She shook her head. "And yet you sit at home all day staring at a screen."
"Everything can sound stupid when you put it like that—all you wanna do is eat, poop, and run around like an idiot. See? Doesn't sound any better, does it?"
"I do not eat poop," she growled. "And running around like an idiot is fun."
"Fun?! I've burned every muscle in my body chasing after you today."
"Maybe if you ran more often, it wouldn't hurt so much!"
"Maybe if running didn't hurt so much, I would do it more!"
Enough! Vira used her telepathy to slam the thought into their heads, causing both to wince. "Kai, you have to exercise; if not for looks, then for your health—there is no getting around that," she said through her veil, then turned. "And as for you, Bella—"
"I'm sorry," the dog-girl lowered her head, her tail curling between her legs. "I'm sorry, Mr. Holloway. I didn't mean to bark at you. I just…" She hooked her thumb through her collar, cupping the dog tag in her hand. "I've always wanted to be human, to be Leashless… so when I gained this form, I… I got carried away. I hope you can forgive me."
Kai was taken aback by her apology. "It's alright," he said, then thought for a long, solemn moment, the leash growing heavy in his hand. "It must be hard…" he said eventually. "To be completely dependent on another person… to not be allowed to do anything without them… hell, it must be terrifying… I mean, if anything happens to Mr. Isaacson, there would be no one to take care of you, and—"
Vira rushed in, pushing his lips closed with her tiny hands. "Oh… don't listen to him, Bella. I'm sure Mr. Isaacson—"
"It's fine, Vira. I know my master's health is deteriorating, and that one day, he would… like the mistress…" She shook the troubling thought out of her head. "But that's why I need you to walk me, Mr. Holloway, because if my master does it, his injuries could get even worse." She grabbed him by the shoulders. "Please, Mr. Holloway."
"I—Ah…" He saw the fear hidden behind her hazel eyes and froze.
"Don't worry, he will walk you every day until Mr. Isaacson heals—I'll make sure of that!"
"Really?" the dog-girl asked.
"Really?" the Oathless echoed.
"You have my word!" The fairy puffed her chest.
"Oh, thank you," she hugged the Oathless, her soft curves pressing against his blushing face. "Thank you so much."
"Ah… Yeah, sure, you're welcome."
"Alright, enough of that," Vira pushed her off of the Oathless, "you should get back into the restroom, away from prying eyes, so I can turn you back to your animal-form. Then, we can head back home."
Bella nodded and returned into the public restroom. Once she was out of sight, Vira gave the Oathless a judging glance.
"What?" he asked defensively.
"I said no funny ideas," she said and flew after the dog-girl, not giving him a chance to respond.