(Untitled)

[hbc_dresden]

When I was a kid, I tried to convince my dad to turn a lady into a tiger. I'd seen one of my dad's (considerably more successful) magician friends do it in a show, and afterward we'd gone backstage and he'd let me pet the tiger. I was really young; this was before I found out about real magic, and it was the coolest thing to me. Not because of

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[adamant_command]

One of the most irritating effects of Adora Belle Dearheart's disappearance, Lord Asriel had found, was that it left him with an obligation to care for her oversized and thoroughly misbehaved mutt. The thing had no hope of learning any real discipline, and so Asriel endured its incessant keening for attention by ignoring it.

Most of the time, this seemed to work.

However, when the animal spotted another man and dog, her excitement flared up again and she launched herself at the cage, bounding around it and wriggling from nose to tail.

"Down!" scolded Asriel sharply, but the dog paid no mind whatsoever.

[hbc_dresden]

Still in a bit of shock from finding the caged dog there in the first place, I nearly jumped out of my skin when another one appeared out of nowhere and rattled the cage. The air was suddenly filled with the sounds of two barking dogs, one trying to get into the cage and the other trying to get out.

I looked up at the man (the other dog's owner, I guessed) helplessly. "I'm not sure if it would be better or worse to let him out."

[adamant_command]

Stelmaria rounded Lord Asriel's legs and sat down at his feet when they came to a stop, evidently more amused by the situation than her human counterpart. The monstrous puppy, meanwhile, continued bounding around the cage, sticking her snout through the bars and attempting to squeeze inside, but to no avail.

"I apologize," said Lord Asriel gruffly as he eyed his unmanageable burden. "She seems taken with your animal. If you think letting him out might satisfy her curiosity, please do so."

[hbc_dresden]

My animal? I scratched the back of my neck. I guessed he (or she, I couldn't exactly tell from this angle) was. "Well, be on your guard," I said. "I haven't exactly met this guy yet, so for all I know he could be a biter." Of course, I doubted it, not if he was anything like Mouse.

I managed to squeeze in between the other dog and the cage to unlatch it, and the huge dog came bounding out.

It was only then that I noticed the other animal standing beside the man. I blinked. "Ironically, it's usually the big cat in the cage..."

[adamant_command]

Lifting a less than impressed gaze from the bounding pup, Lord Asriel turned a questioning look on the stranger. "How do you mean?"

His dæmon looked distinctly uncomfortable at the suggestion of cages.

[hbc_dresden]

The giant dog ran around in circle for a bit and then regarded the leopard curiously. Since it didn't seem like there was going to be any animal trouble, I turned my attention back to the man and said, "Oh - well..."

I crouched down next to the cage and pulled up the false bottom, the underside of which was covered with the exact same fabric as the cloth that had been covering the entire thing. "It's a vanishing cage," I said. "For an illusion... the magician's assistant goes into the cage and then voila, there's an animal instead. A magic trick. It works with any animal, really, but the most common is turning a lady into a tiger."