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Barely able to suppress a sigh, I pulled out my phone, staring, frustrated, at the lack of a signal. Fuck. Stuck here in this shit show of a circus was one thing, but I didn't even have the usual joys of Facebook to distract me. Lovely.

Of all the things to do for a first date, I'd been invited to the circus. Like, the actual fucking circus! Can you believe it? I don't know which was weirder; getting asked to go to the circus for a date, or me actually saying yes!

My constant hours of internet searching had not yielded much in the way of dateable candidates. At least, none that warranted a second date with. Dating sites were not made with the guy's best interest at heart. Hell, I wasn't even looking for a hookup or anything. I really did want things to go well, with the right woman. Sex was nice, of course. But I was 35 and single. It was time to find a nice woman and settle down. Someone with the same interests as me. And hell, I'll say it. I wanted someone with a nice ass!

This one woman, Kelly, or at least who I assumed was named Kelly, who really knows with the internet, finally asked me out. And my dumbass self said yes. I mean, I hadn't been on a date in a couple of years now, so who was I to turn this down? I could get over her weird choice of it being the circus. Hell, some of the tricks that people did were pretty damn impressive. At least, I'd figured they would be.

At first, I just assumed that she was late. I mean, I guess I hoped that was all it was. I didn't want to think I would be stood up. But the odds that was the case were getting higher and higher the longer I sat there. I had her cell number. I figured she would have answered by now if she was really coming. It wasn't the first time I'd ever been stood up in my life, of course. But it was certainly not the best feeling, after waiting so long to have a damn date in the first place!

By the time the curtain rose, I figured that I wasn't going to be having any company for the show. She wasn't even answering her cell phone, so I figured I was shit out of luck, so to speak. I mean, I didn't want to think ill of her if something had come up last minute. There was every chance her phone had died, or she'd lost the address, or gotten hit by a deer on the way here... yeah, no. She stood me up. Didn't even have the decency to tell me. The nerve!

I mean, I could have left at any time. I didn't have to sit through the damn show if I didn't want to. I was an adult, after all. But, I had a stubborn streak. Plus, there was a slim chance that she would show up, as unlikely as it was.

The first part of the show was pretty interesting, I had to say. A man came out with 5 dogs, all show poodles from the looks of it. He got them to do a series of elaborate tricks, making them jump through hoops and a myriad of mazes and such. It wasn't a bad show, all things considered. I recalled that most circus shows weren't allowed to use actual animals. Rights about the way they were treated, and all that. But I figured domesticated animals like dogs would be exempt from stuff like that. And they apparently liked being put through their paces for their owners, provided they were well treated of course!

The show went on for about five minutes, the dogs jumping around like trained acrobats. It was pretty good, I had to admit. I started to feel relaxed as I watched, thinking it wasn't too bad of a night. I mean, I was still pissed and hurt that I was stood up, but...

The second show was even better than the first. A woman came out on a horse, slowly trotting around the ring as she got up on the animal's back and stood there, reins in hand. She then proceeded to have the horse move faster, all while hanging off the side in an impressive display of acrobatics. It was rather neat to see how in sync she was with her horse as they put on a well-practiced routine for our enjoyment.

It was the third act that did me in. A man came out wearing an elaborate cape, brandishing a wand and a long black hat. Was he supposed to be a magician or something? It seemed out of place for the circus. But then again, I didn't come up with the program, so who was I to judge?

I started feeling a little judgy when it was ten minutes of hat tricks, pulling a stuffed rabbit out of a hat, 'endlessly handkerchiefs', etc. You know what I mean. Stuff that any childhood magician could throw on for a backyard birthday party. Hardly worth ten seconds of a sixty-dollar show, let alone more than ten minutes!

Not that my phone was getting any signal so I could time the show, mind you. It was really weird. I recalled it was working before the show started. Now, I wasn't getting even a single bar, and the clock wasn't even moving. That or my perception of time after being so bored out of my mind was messed up!

"Alright, for my next trick, I'll need a volunteer from the audience!" announced a loud voice. I sighed audibly as I looked up. I didn't mean to, not really. I mean, I was bored, certainly. But it was rude of me to say so out loud.

Still, I was not expecting the few rows around me to be giving me a dirty look. I was almost tempted to say something to them as they all raised their fingers to shush me. What was I, a little kid? Geez. The show wasn't worth paying attention to!

"How about you, sir?" the magician asked, and I met his gaze, only then noticing that he was pointing at me. A few of the other audience members who had been glaring at me annoyed all looked at me with an expression of expectancy.

"W-wait? Me? No, I'm good..." I said though the magician's gaze had not left me for a reason that I couldn't quite place. Why wasn't he stopping? I said no, didn't I?

I was about to speak out again, more forcefully this time, but the magician beat me to the punch. "You do want to come down and be my assistant for this part of the show, don't you?" he asked, the words leaving me stunned. He was talking down to me like a child. Or, like I was being hypnotized. That shit wasn't real. What was he up to, anyway?

Yet, I felt myself stand up and start walking down towards the stage, as though I was being hypnotized. It wasn't the same, not at all as I would have imagined the sensation to be. It was more of a sudden compulsion like I didn't want to say no or deny the guy. All the anger I had felt previously seemed to wash away at his words. He really did seem nice, after all. And I had no right just to blow him off when he was asking me to come up on the stage...

"Alright, what's your name, son?" the man asked although he couldn't have been more than in his mid-thirties, the same age as me. Still, I didn't question his choice of words, Instead, I opened my mouth and answered.

"Adrian," I said, feeling proud of myself as I did so. I had this strange compulsion to make the man happy by doing what he asked me. It was a weird sensation, but I couldn't quite bring myself to reflect on it too much with how much joy it seemed to bring me.

"Well, everyone, let's give it up for Adrian!" said the man, as the audience erupted in a series of cheers. I felt myself smiling weakly at that. I didn't want to be here, but the man had asked me to come up here, right? I couldn't leave him now.

I found myself wondering what he was going to have me assist with. I didn't know anything about magic tricks. Usually, they had someone step into a box and had swords put through it or something of the like. That, or had me disappear under one of those trap doors on the bottom things. That, or he'd ask me to pull something out of a hat. Or maybe he would...

Yet, before I could think on it further, the man looked me in the eyes, lowering his voice like he was just speaking to me. With his microphone, I was sure everyone in the audience could hear. But, in the moment he made it seem as though he was talking to me and me alone.

There was something in his eyes that made me uncomfortable. The same thing I realized that I had seen when he had looked at me the first time. To my surprise, I hadn't noticed it before now. It was almost like they had a bizarre shade to them, somehow. Like they were almost... purple?

Before I had time to question it, the man's mouth was open again, that look in his eyes keeping me silent just long enough to hear his words.

"Now tell me, my boy, do you like horses? I would normally give you a choice, but our dog trainer is full up, and there are strict laws against using non-domesticated animals. Unless you really like pigs, but that trainer isn't ready yet! And, you like horses, don't you, son?" the man asked as though there was only one answer.

In truth, I didn't really care for horses. They were too big, too intimidating, too... smelly. I'd never really been around them all that much, save for childhood trips to barns and seeing them on parade and the like. I really wasn't that all into animals at all, if I was being honest.

But, when asked the question, I felt a little like a child knowing that I could only answer one way so that a parent would be happy. And, from the way the guy was talking down to me, that analogy was apt. I had no choice but to open my mouth and say "Yeah, I love horses."

That was it. No question as to why he was asking. No profanities or witty comebacks. It was strange. I wanted to say something else, anything else. I was starting to feel an annoyance at the process that was making me mad. What was he doing to me? And why couldn't I just say what I wanted to?

"That's the answer I was looking for! That's my boy!" the magician said as he came over and put his arm on me. To my determinant, I looked up to see him staring at me. That bizarre quality in his eyes was still there, but I couldn't quite place what it was. And no matter how much I wanted to deep down, I just couldn't quite pull away.

"Well, son, today's your lucky day! You get to work with the horses you love so much! You just gotta say so, and I've got the perfect job for you! Give this lucky young man a hand!" the magician said, and everyone burst out into thunderous applause. I felt more than a little pissed off at this point, and unfortunately embarrassed.

Yet, before I could really stop myself, the words were out of my mouth. "Yeah, I'd love to work with the horses!" came the reply, much more enthusiastically than I had intended. Hell, I hadn't even intended to say that at all!

Yet, the more I reflected on the words, the more sense they made to me. It was surreal. There was no way I would want the words to ring true for me. But there was no denying that they did on some fundamental level. It was almost like, I wanted them to be true because it made the man happy? Again, a very juvenile thing. But I couldn't deny that was where the feelings were coming from.

"Well, then, son, we have to get you ready! Why don't you show us your love for horses by whining for me? Whinny for your new Master!" asked the magician, as though it was the most normal request in the world.

I just stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded. Whinny? Really? He didn't expect me to try to mimic a horse, did he? What kind of juvenile prank was that?

Yet, before I could stop myself, my lips opened and I felt a sudden compulsion to cry out. I couldn't help myself. I practically screamed, all the while wanting, deep down, to appease the man's request.

Yet, the sound that escaped my lips was not one I had ever heard before. It wasn't even anything that I should have been able to make. I didn't recognize it at first. Yet, the more I cried out, the more the source of the noises I was making started to dawn on me. I sounded just like a horse!

"Aww, listen, everyone! Adrian here is super excited to start working with the horses! What a good boy!" the magician declared, to the cheers of the gathered audience.

I knew, deep down, that I should have been offended by the term 'boy'. It was a little offensive, after all. But, I couldn't help but feel a sense of elation at the words. He was so happy with the sounds I was making. But then, why did that make me so happy in return?

Yet, before I had the chance to think on it any further, the urge struck me again and I raised my head and whinnied loudly, to the eruption of more cheers. Never before was I so excited to be getting cheered on for anything!

"That's a good horsey! So excited! We better get you ready for your new job! Alright, boy, you're going to have to take orders for this position. That means you're going to need to be able to hear really well, especially for your new Master! Let's give him a nice pair of ears so that he won't miss a sound!"

I was a little confused at that. I already had a pair of ears, didn't I? But I did want to hear well, after all. Missing an order would be bad. Wait, order? I thought I was just supposed to be a magician's assistant for a little while. What was this about a job?

Yet, before I could reflect on it further, a tingling in my ears caught my attention. Lifting my hands to my head, a soft, velvety texture greeted me, and from further up than it should have been. I was frightened for a moment, feeling the skin turning warm and seeming to expand under my touch.

In my panic, I hardly noticed that the magician's arms were on my shoulders as he looked me in the eyes. "That's a lovely pair of ears you have there! I bet you can hear all sorts of things with them now! And they look so good on your head!"

I didn't even have the chance to respond to him as he lifted his hands and started rubbing the growths that were once my ears. I should have backed away from the foreign contact. But something about the way he was touching me helped me to relax. I didn't mind his presence so much, not when he was making me feel this good. And it was so hard to think of what was wrong with the ears when he was so adamant I had them!

As he rubbed my new extensions, I felt them twitch suddenly, flicking this way and that. As they did, the whispers of conversation from the audience became clear. Though I couldn't make out the words, the tone was one of confusion. Did they not like my new ears? Wait... ears... I shouldn't have...

"Don't you all love his new ears? Give it up for our new horsey!" the magician said, making a wide sweep of the room with his eyes. Everyone started cheering at that, drowning out any of the mutterings that had me confused.

Yet, there was still something that I couldn't quite shake about the whole experience. It was wrong for me to have long, pointed, velvety, moving ears, right? I mean, I was a horsey, right? Wait, I was supposed to work with horses, not be...

"Already, my good horsey! Let's get you down on all fours where you belong! Get down on your hands and knees for your Master!" the magician said, removing some of the fog that was weighing me down. I didn't need to focus on any of that if all he wanted me to do was just to get down on my hands and knees, right?

I lowered myself, getting on my hands and knees and looking up at the man expectantly. The position was a little bit awkward, but I stayed down there, assuming I had obeyed the command diligently. Why he wanted me down here, I wasn't sure, but I was here now, wasn't I? Down on all fours like a...

"Let's let our good horsey have a treat, now, for being so obedient!" announced the man, brandishing a wand into the hat he was holding. Looking inside, I was shocked when he pulled out a carrot, still earthy with dirt on the stem, as though it was plucked fresh from a garden.

I stared, dumbfounded for a few moments as he held the thing out to me. I didn't even like carrots! How was this a treat? It was like he was giving me something meant for a horse. But wait, he had called me a... hadn't he?

Before I could reflect on it further, the scent of the carrot wafted into my nostrils, eliciting a rumble in my belly. I walked forward, opened my mouth, saliva dripping as I stared at his offering in reverence, Never before had I been so hungry, and never before had something looked so absolutely mouthwatering!

Reflectively, I bit down on the carrot, carefully so as to not hurt my incisors. Yet, the teeth that went into the carrot cut through with barely an inconvenience. I bit down again, pulling the carrot deeper as I ate. My larger teeth seemed to make short work of it, and my thicker, numb lips pulled it into the stem, not caring about the dirt that was on it. At the time, I was just so hungry!

The strange numbness in my mouth did not abate even after I'd finished my meal. It was as though my teeth were far too big, my lips numb and rubbery as I chewed the last of the carrot. I wanted to reach up and touch them, but I wasn't sure if I could. I was supposed to stay down on all fours, right? But what was wrong with my face?

"That's a hungry horsey! Well, if you keep being a good horsey like you are, there will plenty of treats for you before the night is out!" the magician said, gazing around at the audience.