Facepaw

Guys shouldn't be babysitters. I mean, really, its a girl thing, surely, right? Who would want some dumb high-schooler jock to babysit their kiddo's? And what guy would want to babysit someone's kids? Even for money. Ew. That's almost...creepy. Especially if that jock is a werewolf.

Ha, yeah, well, I guess these particular parents don't know about that. Well, that, and the fact that they are my cousins means that me being a male babysitter to them isn't so weird. Just means that if they knew my furry little secret, then they'd probably hunt me down and shotgun my muzzle instead of leaving me alone with their kids. Not that their kids mind...in fact, they really love me and my “doggie” side. Little kids are so easy to entertain. Just go full “fluff mode”, tell them its a secret, give them candy, and then do silly stuff with them and they love it.

Maybe I'm taking a huge risk by showing them my wolf side? I guess they'll grow up with memories of a babysitter who can transform into a gigantic anthropomorphic wolf, but then again, most children have “magical” memories from childhood, right? As long as I don't bite them, then I don't see any real harm. Most that can happen is they let slip something to their parents who wouldn't believe them anyway. I mean, really, come on, hearing “Uncle John can transform into a wolfy!” isn't the most convincing thing to come out of a four year old's mouth.

Sighing, I hopped out of my truck and landed in the snow. I hugged my jacket close to me, even though the cold doesn't really phase me, just to look normal. Most humans would be freezing out here in this weather. But me? Haha, my body is built for negative forty degrees or below. My advanced sense of hearing picked out the loud sound of my Vans crunching in the snow and the muffled voices from inside. The house is a cute little country house with a porch and fenced-in yard. My sensitive nose can already pick up the smells of mac'n'cheese, play-dough, dog food, and that general “stink” of little kids as I walk up their driveway.

When I reach the door, I ring the doorbell and laugh at the immediate response from their two huskies. Loud and excited barking echoes through the house, and I hear clawed paws scrapping excitedly across their tiled entryway. When they reach the door and jump up to the window, I can tell they can smell who it is, since their barking changes from that general “bark at something' sound to a more frantic and “I know this person” type of sound. I grin widely as I hear my younger cousins following their dogs to the door screaming “Uncle John is here, its Uncle John!”. While I'd rather be on a hot date or playing basketball, I always end up enjoying my time with these guys.

Aunt Ann and Uncle Bradley were good parents. He was an accountant for a large law firm and she was a part-time employee for a local bookstore. She was my Mom's older sister and I'd known both of them for my whole life, living only a few blocks down the road. But just then, a loud crashing noise woke me from my reminiscing and I shuffled my feet, bracing myself for the imminent attack of small bodies. Ha, here we go!

My fast reflexes are what really saved me. One of the little kids had been able to turn the doorknob enough for the weight of their two huskies and the youngest kid to slam the door open, nearly smashing it into me before I moved. The two dogs whined and yowled as they jumped up to greet me with their little follower just behind. I spread my arms out and brace one leg back to catch the dogs who greeted me with floppy tongues and cold noses, jumping up to shove their muzzles in my face. Trixie was the grey furred female husky who wanted to lick my face off, and Blizzard was the black furred male who thought of me as his “alpha”. I laughed and and rubbed at them as the youngest little girl ran between them to hug my legs. I could feel the warmth of their home and that strong mixture of smells wash over me, and I knew I was “home”.

“JOHNNY” Screamed the other three kids as they spilled out onto the porch. I laughed, still fighting off the huskies, and said “Hey guys!” as they all ran to me and hugged me. So many different smells and sounds flooded my senses and I just kept laughing at how silly it all was. Little Katie was still wrapped around my legs, little Justin was tugging on my jacket from the side, Mary was jumping up and down as she held one of my arms, and their oldest, Jake had grabbed the black husky and was trying to calm him down. I waved to them and growled playfully, making them all laugh and giggle.

“There is our favorite wolfaboo! About time you showed up, kid,” said Uncle Bradley, looking out at the comical scene on the porch. I started forward, taking the four rascals and the two furballs with me like some silly parade.

“Hey Bradley, “ I chuckled over the screaming and barking. Stepping inside the house was like walking into a chaotic childrens paradise. Toys, puzzles, legos, and stuffed animals lay strewn across the ground. There were messy bookshelves, cleaning supplies at the ready, and both food and fur particles coating everything in sight. The house was a disaster, but the best kind of disaster. It felt good, safe, and fun. I've spent many hours here just helping them with chores, yard-work, the dogs, and babysitting.

With two kids hanging from my arms, the other two blabbing incoherently about things they wanted to tell me about, and the two dogs still jumping up to try and lick my face off, I finally made it past the doorway and into the home. I chuckled again, shaking the kids and dogs off onto the carpet and take my jacket off too, and threw it down, which the dogs run over to and sniff and rub their muzzles against it, apparently enthralled with my scent. Taking off my shoes, I see that Bradly has grabbed his youngest, little Katie, and was kneeling down to whisper to her. Ann walked in just then with a loud “Wolf-boy, looks like you finally made it!” thrown my way.

“Yeah, Aunt Ann, roads are pretty dang icy so be careful” I warned, knowing my large truck was better suited for this weather than their family van was. I had to say that around a mouthful of husky tongue as Trixie stood on her hind-paws and slobbered all over my freaking face.

“Alright, thanks for the heads up kiddo, remember, emergency numbers are on the table, food is in the fridge, Katie is allergic to peanuts, and the dogs have already had their walk today, so we'll pay you when we get back, okay?” Bradly finished talking to little Katie and walked over with Ann to the front door, ready to go out on their date. I was momentarily forgotten as the house realized their parents were leaving, and even the dogs ran over to the door whimpering as they sniffed and licked at their owners. Man, I wish my own family was as entertaining, maybe then we wouldn't need netflix and xbox, ha.

“Alright kids, be good for your 'wolf-buddy,” and then, under her breath to Bradley, “lets see what crazy things they come up with this time.” We'll be home in a few hours so don't break anything, or else! No allowance this week! Love ya!” Ann and Bradley said their goodbyes and walked out into the cold, leaving me to deal with four demon spawn and two hell hounds. There was a moment straight out of a film where all four kids were left staring at the door silently and the two dogs flicking their ears and tails as they too stared at the door, as if silently waiting for some unknown event. Then, hilariously, after a few seconds, everyone seemed to remember me, and with barks and screams, the rest of the house tackled me to the floor. “WE WANT WOLFY, GO WOLFY, JONNY!!!”

Laughing, and trying not to be smothered under little hands and paws, I manage to choke out, “ha ha, alright, alright, let me change and ya'll can play with your wolfy”, and barely untangle myself enough to escape to the bathroom. Once inside, I take my clothes off and store them in the cupboard above the sink where I normally do, and then mentally prepare myself. The smell of the bathroom is horrible to my more than sensitive nose, but I resist the gag reflex, and concentrate, trying to ignore the shouts and barks from the other side of the door. I shake my head and and chuckle again, knowing full well what will happen when I next leave this small room. Carefully, while fully undressed, I close my eyes and search within me for my wolf. I wander the inside of my consciousness, looking for that other part of me, the part that allows me to become something more than human. My wolf spirit. My awesomeness.

A few seconds pass where all I find is darkness, but then, as I block out the sounds from my cousins, I reach deep inside and find a light. There he is, or I am, or, er... its kinda confusing. He stands tall, taller than I do, almost eight feet tall, majestic, anthropomorphic, white-and-gray furred, and ridiculously majestic. Yeah, I'm freaking awesome. Once I greet “other-me”, I hold my hand out to him (in my mind's eye) and he holds out a huge paw. We touch, then, push, and watch as our limbs move into each other like we were ghosts until we are no longer separate. Then, I feel the change happen.

A fiery warmth spreads throughout my body, scorching every part of me, building up tight pressure. Suddenly, fur ripples across every inch of skin, spreading from my head down to my feet. Even before the fur finishes spreading, my body shifts into something between a wolf and man, but far more at once. It is quick, painless, and exhilarating. New nerves are generated and new body parts are given life and feeling. Feet and hands are replaced with paws, complete with long, semi-sharp claws. My face elongates into a massive canine muzzle, a tail sprouts above my rear, and my limbs are morphed into canine-human hybrid limbs. The already small bathroom is now uncomfortably tiny, forcing me to haunch over and be careful not to break anything with my huge furred arms and legs.

Oh man, this is sick! There is truly nothing like this. This feeling of absolute physical power. Of control. Of energy. Far better than the best adrenaline rush, drugs, or even kiss, this body is incredible. Each sinuous limb is muscled and furred, made for physical dominance. I can feel and taste the sharp canine fangs that line my muzzle; my claws feel oh soooo good to flex and clench. I smile, and see my reflection in the mirror. Wow, haha, I look kinda dumb actually. My ears flatten a bit as I see my hunched over wolf face crowded into the too small bathroom. Trying to look scary while in this cranny hole only makes me look silly. Don't get me wrong, in the right stetting, I can scare off a grizzly bear. But in this tiny box? I look like some too-big puppy. I slap a paw up to my muzzle, and chuckle, which, as usual, sounds odd in this form, as it is much more deep and animalistic.

The two huskies hear my voice and immediately panic-bark on the other side of the door, and I can hear their claws scraping mercilessly at the wood. I “WOOF: loudly at them, instantly causing them to whine and whimper. The kids all hear my bark and scream in delight, causing the dogs to restart their braying. Ugh, these kids are ridiculous. I mean, shouldn't they be afraid of a 8 foot werewolf? No? I mean, really, whats wrong with them? All they want to do is throw stuff at me, climb on me, and pull my tail. I guess I know what their dogs feel like now, ha.

Alright, game time, broski! I grip the too small doorknob with my right paw, twist, and push gently. The dogs back out of the way and instantly lower their posture, curling their tails down and ears flattening in submission to the awesomeness that stands before them. I flash my fangs to which they whine and shake their heads, both of them at once.

I love that! The kids scream and flail around, excited to see their “'wolfy” again. But also, even though they've seen me like this a dozen times, they are still shocked into silence when I finally emerge from the bathroom to stand at full height in the hallway. Little Katie even wails, which makes my own tail swish nervously and my ears flatten to my skull.

“Awww, Katie, don't cry” I try to comfort her, but then she wails like a banshee at seeing my teeth. Oh gosh....

Crap! I slap a paw to my muzzle and shake my head. This is the first night I've babysat here where Katie wasn't either sleeping in her bedroom, or staying with my parents. So...great, the lil 3 year old is freaking out now cuz she's never seen a friggin 8 foot monster. The other kids are too awestruck by my coolness to do anything about poor lil Katie; so, using my anthropomorphic digitigrade (lol, I know, too many fancy words for a high school football/basketball jock, right?) legs, I lower myself down onto “all fours” and then down to my stomach and inch forward trying to look as cute and innocent as I can make my wolfish self get.

The three other kids all simultaneously go “awww” and rush over to pet my thick fur while the two dogs whine and yowl at me before darting in close to sniff at me and paw at me playfully. I shoo them off with a much larger paw, and turn back to the little girl. Katie, herself, is still just standing there on the hallway carpet, wailing into her tiny blue blankey and watching me with tear-streaming eyes. Inching forward with one paw at a time, my ears flat, my tail straight out behind me, and my tongue licking my chops constantly like a dog does when its excited, I make sure I look as puppyish as possible. The things you do for family, lol...

I finally reach Katie, who, thankfully, hasn't run away. When I crawl forward and gently place a frontpaw on her foot, and nuzzle her blankey with my muzzle, she sniffles and asks “Wulfy?” with a small gurgle, to which I nod my head and lick her horribly tasting hand. Ugh. Even with me basically flat on the ground, she doesn't stand any taller than the tips of my ears, and she only barely has to look down at me. She goes completely still after my nod and lick, and the entire room grows silent. Somehow, the other kids know whats going on. Even the dogs are oddly quiet. Huh, like they all want to remember this moment, as if it was the turning point in an intense ball game.

Katie sniffles once more, then, as quiet as an ant, reaches a tiny hand out to my massive muzzle, and rests it on my nose. I breathe out gently at her touch. Her cute but smelly lil hand can't even span the whole width of my squishy black nose. Her eyes light up, and she stares at my eyes, while rubbing her hand softly across my furred snout. I nuzzle forward and flick my ears back upright, and wag my tail quickly, so as to let her know I'm just a big ole doggy, and not a big bad wolf. Ha. The amount of adorableness going on right now is going to give me cancer, I swear, if any of my friends at school could see me now, I'd lose my “man card” forever and be called a teddy bear. Then again, if they ever saw me in this form, they'd never want to leave me out of their sight, and/or shoot me. Oh well, this is actually really special.

But cute lil Katie just smiles and stares at me. The other kids are still miraculously quiet, as if they can sense how important this is for her. I've felt both Trixie and Blizzard sniff and pull at my tail a few times, but, otherwise, they've been good too. Well, I huff once to tickle her with my warm wolf breath and then shake myself and playfully paw at Katie's legs once or twice, careful not to scratch her with my claws. No more cuteness! Must have PLAY! I back away from Katie, and rise up on all fours, tail swishing, ears lowered, and a low growl in my throat.

The dogs immediately pick up on my body language and start barking, which makes my ears flicker towards them. I turn, menacingly, fangs bared and snarling, hackles raised, and in full-on “big bad wolf mode”! Heck ya! The dogs lower their ears, haunch down partly out of submission and partly out of eagerness to play, dodging back and forth between the kids and I. Knowing whats coming, the kids all vacate the hallway, the oldest boy grabbing Katie since she just kept saying “woofy” over and over and staring at me. Too freaking adorable for her own good, I swear. So glad that these guys are my family and that none of my friends can see this.

Once our bizarre procession enters the living room, the kids split and run around screaming and grabbing blankets and pillows from the sofa, getting ready. Trixie, the female dog keeps nipping at my tail, then dodging back into the hallway or a corner of the living room. Blizzard just bawls and brays, shouting his doggish excitement in that husky accent, with pronounced “r” sounds and a more wolfish drawn out howl style of barking. Alright, this is where things get crazy.

POOF

I seem to have grown a pillow all over my muzzle, into which I half growl and half chuckle. Dang it, my reflexes only help when I'm focused, haha, I'll get Jake for that. Lil dirtbag. Feeling teeth digging into my tail, I ignore it as I reach up with a paw to grab the pillow while spinning around, and flinging Trixie into the nearest couch, while gathering momentum to launch the pillow back at the oldest boy, who is plastered across the chest with it, laughing hysterically. The other kids, both emboldened by Jake's lead, and excited by watching Trixie get up barking at me, run up and pelt me with all sorts of deadly torture devices.

Feeling soft collisions across my furred body, I roar and flail around (careful not to actually hurt anyone) and pretend to be dragged down under the weight of cheese-smelling blankets and slobbery pillows. Now on my back, I hold up all four paws cutely, pretending to be unable to fight, and just make small grunting and growling noises to entertain the kids. Then my ears pick up on the most terrifying set of words a werewolf can hear:

“DOG PILE” Shouts Jake as he backs up and sprints across the carpet towards my innocent and victimized form.

I squirm on the ground, helpless to under the weight of 2 dogs nosing into the blankets across me, and see my fate sealed as each other kid squeals in delight and they all leap up too.. My advanced reflexes unfortunately allow me to see the entire scene in slow-mo like some dumb action movie, giving me an HD look as each sweaty, smelly body flies through the air and compacts into my blanket and pillow covered form.

“Arrooo--uhmph!”, I howl, as Jake himself lands on top of the other kids and dogs, and I feel like I'm some silly hybrid between a teddy bear and a punching bag as everyone in the room hits and hugs me at once.

“I thought I was the monster!”, I growl, making the kids laugh again. Dang it, these rascals, they think they can handle me? Well they got another thing coming, heh.

I wriggle out from under the mess, dragging Blizzard and a single blanket from the ironically named pile, and raise myself on all fours. I snarl and then roar at the slowly disentangling kids who scream. Ha! That'll make them shu'up! Its not much different from basketball practice where coach just yells at dumb players.

Trixie is so excited at this point that her tail could hit a home run in a baseball game, and I snarl at her as she jumps on top of me and bites and “woofs” into my side, playfully annoying me. Blizzard is more manly, which is to say he growls and snarls at me, trying to out-do me, while pawing close to me when he thinks I'm not about to swipe at him. The kids are just laughing now, watching the mega-wolf play with the doggies. I facepaw at Trixie’s attempts, then snap around to nom her muzzle, wish makes her snort and whine, but I know just how much pressure to apply. Her still wagging tail lets me know she's okay. Blizzard tries to come to her rescue at first, jumping on me and biting my ears, but then, gangs up on Trixie, and noms her tail.

Trixie pulls out from me, and snaps on Blizzard, which causes him to let go, all while another pillow is launched across the room from Jake. Blizzard takes it full in the muzzle, which knocks him into me allowing me to grab him in a fierce hug. The dog instantly goes full on puppy mode, ears down and tail curled, nuzzling into my hug, almost acting afraid, but, as I can tell, just letting me know he realizes that I'm the “alpha” here. I just wish Trixie would learn the same. I facepaw just before another pillow glues my paw to my muzzle, allowing Blizzard to squirm away.  Little Katie jumps on Trixie and rides her around while still squealing “woofy” loudly, and the other kids alternate between pushing blizzard into me and throwing more pillows around the place.

Endless entertainment for them, while I get a good workout! Its a win-win! Except its so ridiculous. I think the cure for depression is a room full of kids, dogs, toys, and a big harmless werewolf. Two more hours filled with wolfish fun pass us by, and soon, know its time to start dinner. I walk to the kitchen, feeling a slight pull on my tail, and open the freezer with my huge paw to grab a pizza, and then walk across the hardwood floor to the microwave. It was then that I heard the sounds of Trixies paws dragging across the floor, and little Katie's feet too. The dog had clamped her muzzle on the upper part of my tail,and Katie had one hand around my tail and the other on Trixie's right ear. Looking behind me as I walk, I facepaw with my free-paw, and huff down at them.

Kids, huh? More like little demons. And those blasted dogs! Though, I have to admit, I love 'em all. I put the pizza in the oven, which is thankfully a large meat-lovers, and then go back to playing “smack da woofy”, a game recently invented and coined by the kids, until the timer goes off again. Finally, both the kids and the dogs are getting tired out, and I easily sheppeard them to the table.

I sit at the head of the long kitchen table and the four kids crowd onto the two benches on either side, while the dogs run around between the chairs and under the table. As I begin slicing the pizza  I hear their whines, and can even smell their drool, while I feel my own muzzle fill up with saliva. I finish cutting it, then place a slice on each kid's plate, and cut up lil Katie's slice into really small chunks for her. Finally, I can “wolf” out! I sit down for a sec, and look across the table to see Katie just staring at me. I wink at her, then pick my own slice up, and nibble the end of it carefully. Katie watches curiously.

I can't blame her though. Watching me eat has got to be pretty funny. Imagine picking up a slice of pizza, and bringing it up to your mouth, only thing is, your mouth is a freaking dog's muzzle. I could totally eat it like the dogs would, as in, mainly chomping on it as I move it further into my maw, chunking it a bit, then just swallowing the chunks whole. But that's dumb, cause, I'm not a dog, despite my doggish appearance and recent actions. So I just use my smaller front teeth, and sorta flea-bite into the pizza, using my long and flexible tongue to move the bits further in, and munching them. I even close my eyes, enjoying the multilayered tastes that my sensitive canine taste-buds can detect. Makes normal food taste gourmet, and bad food taste far worse, oddly.

Just as I could feel my tail thumping against the chair cause of how good this pizza is, I smelled something foul near my nose, causing me to sniff. Then something actually reaches into my muzzle. I instantly stop mid-chew, open my eyes and look at a tiny hand reaching into my muzzle, from Katie. She had miraculously climbed up onto the table and had the goofiest dumb expression of “I'm dong something BAD and I think its funny” look. Yanno, that look that 4 year-olds get when they think they're being silly. Resisting the urge to facepaw, I quickly swallow the food and spit her hand out, and then grab it with my paws and look and sniff it over, panicked, actually. If she even received the slightest nick from any of my teeth, she could go fuzzball supreme on me. And that would be astronomically bad for my life. As if my girlfriend isn’t enough drama. Ugh.

Looking her tiny hand over, its hard to see or even smell any hint of blood,scratches, or cuts of any kind. Its smothered in pizza sauce and wolf slobber. Yikes, and of course, she can't stop giggling and looking at me, using her other hand to try to reach up and into my mouth again. The other kids finally notice something's up, and the table grows quiet, allowing me to hear their little mouths chewing their pizza, and the dogs' claws clicking across the hardwood floor. I stand, pick Katie up, and pad on over to the sink to set her down on the counter to wash her hand off.

I inspect her hand carefully, mouth closed firmly so she can't muddle around in it again, and sniff and stare across her now clean hand. Nothing...I can't see anything that would suggest a cut or scrape. Well, she's a little kid, and she does have a few small scars...oh...crap. There is a chance that, if she did scrape across a fang of mine, that it would have already infected her and caused the wound to heal over like a scar.

I slap a paw up to my muzzle, and breathe out deeply, forgetting that my nose was so close to her, and she laughs, tickled by my exhale. This is freaking fantastic. What to do, what to do, what to do.

“Wulfy!” Katie smiles, and I un-paw my face to look at her...and freeze.

Golden eyes stare back at me, and her smile has gotten bigger.

I feel my ears lower, my tail curl between my legs, and my shoulder slump. This can't be happening! This is a horrible nightmare! I just fell asleep in my truck, and am having a night-terror.

“Woof!! WOOF!! Heheheh, wooooo! Awwwooooo!!!” Great, just great. Now she is freaking howling, and getting the dog's attention!

I turn around and roar back at the dogs and kids, which shuts them all up immediately, except for Trixie who dodges around to the other side of the island to stare and sniff at Katie. I just facepaw, again, while Katie jumps off the counter, no longer a girl, and flails around on the kitchen floor, growling like a puppy.

Then, little Justin comes over and pokes her, causing her to squeal in delight and hop up on him, and then bite his ear! Aw, freaking heck! I grab the both of them up in my arms, trying to contain the breakout, but not before Jake runs over and tries to punch my muzzle, yelling “Uncle Johnny! You morphed Katie!” I dodge his fist, but in doing so, let my grip on Katie slip, who howls and runs for Trixie who is half-panicked and half-curious about her. Jake tries to wrestle Justin from me, but obviously can't cause I'm awesome and huge, but Justin bites his hand before I can pull away from Jake.

Katie explodes into fur! And now a little demon anthro puppy is hopping around the room, high on life. Jake and Justin are changing too, and only Mary is left, looking around at the madness surrounding her. The two dogs couldn't be more hysterical. Their loud barks and mini-howls deafen my ears, as the kitchen falls apart under the destroying paws of three newborn werewolves. Mary runs to me and cries into my side, and I can't do a thing. Like watching that last ball fly through the air right before the final buzzer sounds, and you have that sinking feeling in your gut that its gonna make it through and win the game for the opposite team.

It was just then that Aunt Ann and Uncle Bradley opened the front door and walk straight into the kitchen, to see the ruckus.

Uncle Bradley took one look at his messed up kitchen and the fuzzballs running around like chimps, and went stiff as a board. Ann screamed, staring at me, and points a finger of accusation at my sad, sorry, less-awesome wolf self, and fainted. I ran over and caught her before she hit the ground, but that didn't impress Bradly like I’d hoped it would. I smiled innocently at him, trying to look as cute and harmless as possible, while holding Ann.

Raising a paw, I wave it gently. “Uh, heh heh, hey Uncle Bradley”.

Despite being a foot shorter than me right now, and weighing less than half my weight, he didn't hesitate to punch me like his son had tried earlier. I didn't stop him. But I should have, cause his punch collided with my muzzle, and lifted my soft and squishy muzzle skin, parting my lips, and had just enough force to cause me to react by opening up slightly by instinct, which caused him to scrape his fist on my fangs.

He looked up at me, down at his bloody fist, then around him once more, then seemed to experience an epiphany. “So wait, this is why my kids always say those crazy things about you...” he went to slap his face in exasperation, but what hit his face wasn't his hand.

It was a paw.