A shiver passed from the base of my spine to the top of my skull.

A howl in a place where animals were rarer than hen's teeth. Could it be? It sounded far from here likely miles away, and by the time I tracked it down, whatever had called out would be long gone.

Yet a small fire burned in my gut. Hope reared it's head.

"Mith, please be okay." I whispered.

A heard a sharper more piercing howl, much closer now. The beast would have to be moving faster than a car.

A keening whine ripped through the air as a tear formed in the air in front of me.

Before I had time to register what was going on I was buried in fur and driven into the ground as a huge shaggy form pinned me. A whine filled my ears. Followed by continuous yips and yelps of joy

'I found you! I found you! I found you!'

A tongue fully bigger that my body, tried to drowned me in endless slobber. I couldn't have gotten more soaked by falling in a river.

While I was joyous at the return of my friend, I was about to die of suffocation. I struggled a bit before resorting to psychic communication.

'Mith, let me up. I need to breathe.'

He bounced back, covered dozens of yards in a simple motion. He performed a play bow while making a "Rururururururu" noise. Then bounced around some more.

'Sorry, Sorry. So happy!'

He had gotten so much larger than he was before. Nearly double his original size. From horse-like to elephantine. Yet for all of his mass, he moved with an enviable gracefulness. It was an awe inspiring sight.

I managed to get back to my feet and stumbled over to him, and had to reach upwards to give him a hug.

"You've gotten huge, you're like a Doggosaurus!" He was still as fluffy as before.

'Yes, I'm big now. I can Dance, now.' He bobbed his head. His tongue lolled out in a dog grin.

"Dance?"

'From place to place. Step through and between. Dance.' He jiggled in place.

Ah, the tear in the air before he ran over me.

"Wait you can teleport?"

'Yes, Dance, here and there. Everywhere.' His tail was wagging so fast that it was generating storm like winds behind him.

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I stepped back while keeping a hand as close to his ear as possible, sadly it was out of scritching distance. Folks were staring in disbelief at the giant canine. Yeah that was going to be a real problem.

"Ah, people's reactions are going to be a problem." I considered shooting everyone nearby to keep information about Mith from spreading.

'It's okay. Worked on trick with others. Hold on.' His happy mental voice jumped a bit.

He chuffed and began to circle. I could felt mana being drawn into him. After the third roundabout he was smaller by half, and by the sixth circle he was half of that size. Soon he was the size of a very big dog, though well within the realm of normal.

I placed my hand on his head, it felt like his real fur. Shapeshifting as opposed to some form of illusion. That was really cool.

Soon enough folks mostly went back to ignoring us. A few glances now and then, merited by the uniqueness of a hound roaming the streets. Who knows what they thought about before, if their brains could even hold a thought that long anymore.

"Nice! You'll still stand way the fuck out, but nobody should call the cops about you. Oh, buddy I've missed you!" I knelt down to hug him again as he began a relaxed pant. He got all the scritches.

'Couldn't find you, very sad. Then felt you again, came to find. Happy! Happy!' His body wiggled so much it was hard to hold him.

I cast Purify on myself and checked Mith over. He was in excellent health, someone presumably the Nomads had been taking care of him. I'd have to find a way to properly thank them later. There were not words to describe what this meant to me.

As I talked to Mith about what happened to me, I realized that things were looking up. This was a great first step on this new path.

We spent a while just talking and sharing space. I felt no need to rush and it was good to take the time to relax.

After a time we both walked the last few hundred feet to Lizzie's.

Despite being god awful early in the morning, their business was booming. I queued up behind a few partygoers as they were being looked over by none other than Rita herself. Mith stayed plastered to my leg but otherwise seemed comfortable even with all the excitement and noise.

When it got to be my turn Rita didn't recognize me, no surprise there. She stare a few seconds at Mith and then shrugged.

"You're new. You... "

I whispered, "I'm Ryan." Interesting fact, Ryan isn't such a common name in Night City these days.

Her eyes narrowed as her brain did some calculations. "Prove it."

I offered her my hand, "Sure."

Now her eyes widened as she slapped her hand in mine. Rita was mostly chrome, I knew that from before. This didn't stop me from gently stimulating her brain into feeling pleasure, not much, just enough to verify my identity.

She let out a small little gasp. "Ryan it's good to see you, we all thought you might have been flatlined. Look at you all squeaky new. 100% 'Ganic, again huh? Who's the fuzzy?"

"It's been some trouble, but I'm getting a handle on it." I gestured to my doggo, "This is Mith, the best boy. Treat him well."

She snorted, "Of course, any friend of yours is welcome here."

"Mateo in? Need some advise and info." I heard some impatient noises from the crowd waiting to get in.

"Yup. He's doing his thing at the bar. Just watch out, a lot of the girls feel they own you from before. And no one has forgotten how your 'special touch' feels, you might get mobbed." She grinned.

"It's a blessing and a curse." I managed to get it out with a straight face, but we both started cracking up.

"Hey get a move on!" Someone had lost their cool. Bad move.

Rita glared over my shoulder. Her bat started tapping her shoulder.

"You can shove off, Gonk. We don't need you tonight. Maybe you can come back some other night, when you learn to behave." She made a 'Buzz off' gesture.

She looked back to me. "Head on in Ryan, and have a good time."

"See you later, Rita."

Mith and I entered Lizzie's. Maybe I'd get lucky and find the right Toy.