art by  3waycrash and story by  LurkingWolf

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The retreat was a smashing success. Claire and her mother managed to do some networking to help improve her future prospects within the Fellowship. That was the necessary business side of things, but the real highlights of the trip were the sightseeing ventures that Claire was able to enjoy around the venue. It would have been a lot of fun to explore the city and the beaches on any old trip, but it was only that much more special to spend the time with her boyfriend.

Jason made for a very natural doberman. The magic certainly helped with that, of course, but he helped it along with just how deeply he sank into the role. The surge of unfamiliar sensations was nearly overwhelming, and Claire had to pull his attention away from more than a few distractions that threatened to derail their adventures. Her voice was the one thing that could grab his attention, at least, and so they were able to enjoy themselves even so.

The highlight of the trip was their day at the beach. They played fetch until Claire's arm was tired, and then Jason crashed a game of beach volleyball by trying to steal the ball between volleys! The players were good sports about it at least, and Claire was even able to connect with one of the ladies in the group, and the two ended up discovering that they lived in the same town! They barely had time to exchange numbers before Jason ran off after a seagull, but the young woman couldn't stay mad at her let's antics.

At last, however, it was the last day of her vacation, and Claire was getting her bags packed back at the hotel room. Her doberman watched her with big, sad eyes, evidently realizing what this meant.

"Aww… Sorry, boy, but it's time to head back."

He whined and lowered his head. Claire could only manage to chuckle and shake her head before kneeling down on the floor in front of him.

"Hey." She took the dog's head in her hands and planted a kiss between his eyes. "Everything will be fine. Tell you what: I do have one last surprise for you."

Jason perked up and tilted his head in curiosity. He watched with intense focus as she pulled something out of her bag, whimpering with confusion as she revealed a small, red strand of cloth. She returned to him and wrapped it around his throat, taking advantage of his good behavior to tie it into a fancy bow around his neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned close, whispering in his ear.

"Take me to dinner, boy?"

"Ruff! Ru– Wha…?"

Jason blinked as his mind came back up from the haze of instincts, and he realized with surprise that he had hands, feet, a human face… a human voice.

"What did you do?" he asked, sounding very disappointed.

"Oh, just a surprise for the last day," she replied. Standing up, she helped him back to two feet himself. As he stood, he realized that he no longer had a coat of fur, but instead wore a fine formal suit. The key piece to the ensemble was the red bowtie, the one that Claire had twisted around his throat.

"Take you to dinner?" Jason asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

His girlfriend nodded. "You're a very good boy," she complimented, sending a shiver of excitement up his spine, "but there's a restaurant that seemed like the perfect place for a special dinner for two, just by the shoreline." She glanced over to her luggage, and Jason realized that a dress was laid out alongside her bags, the perfect thing for a special date.

"I'll go get ready," she said with a grin. "Oh, and by the way…"

She stepped close and placed her hand against his chest. Where her hand landed, Jason realized that the tags were still there, just hidden within his clothing. The twinkle in Claire's eye was hard to miss.

"You're still under mom's spell. I just weakened it for a while. That means you'll change back sometime tonight." She couldn't help the smile that spread across her features. "I don't know exactly when. I thought it would be a fun surprise to cap off the night."

The thought was certainly exciting to Jason. He so wanted to wag his tail…

"I'll go get dressed."

Now it was Jason's turn to be mischievous. "Take you time," he encouraged. "No rush."

Tonight would be a date to remember!