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Of course he didn’t expect it to work. Sure, a magic spell to summon someone to make his life better would be nice, but… Kris didn’t really believe it. It was just something to do. Maybe the act of doing it would help him feel a little better about his exhausting job, or his friends turning on him, or anything else going wrong in his life. Maybe it was just nice to put together something small, that gave a little bit of hope. Better than doing nothing and stewing in it all. So why not try it? So long as he didn’t put too much stock into it, he didn’t even have to be disappointed about it not working. He could just… have something to work towards.

And so he’d put together the silly ritual from the book, tossing together whatever he happened to have on hand that was close enough to the precise materials it had called for. A few scented candles to substitute for the particular setup of candles it had asked for, some table salt forming the right shape instead of sea salt, it all looked… close enough.

It would be nice if the spell worked. To have a familiar, someone linked to his soul, someone to rely on and fall back on. To not feel quite as alone. He had just the person in mind for it, a thought that had sparked in the past, his design fresh in his mind. Bruce was the name he’d come up with for him. A gruff and tough dog, with a soft side he preferred to hide. He’d imagined his story, the world he lived in, and it was a nice place to escape to in his mind when things were a little too rough.

Flipping that old book to the dog-eared page, he looked at the actual components of the ritual. He just needed to focus on the one he wanted to summon, envision them in his mind, and reach into the center of the circle. He knew the canine’s appearance by heart, of course. His design was scribbled into his notebooks, and he had a few commissions of him too. White fur, blue hair, a scar on the top of his muzzle. Pierced ears, casual clothes, even the thought of his paws, which made him feel a little fuzzy to focus on. His snarl fading into a smile as he chuckled, the roll of his eyes as he brushed off some distracting feelings.

He could see him in his mind as he focused, a tingling in his chest as he slowly reached out to the circle. He reached down, down towards the center of the magic circle… his hand moving further down than he thought it should. His eyes were closed as he focused on the image in his mind, but it was like his hand had moved through a hole in the floor where the ritual circle once was. He tried to stay focused, not wanting to let himself get too excited too quickly. As he slowly moved his hand around… he felt it brush something. Something soft, like fur…

And the paw grasped his hand back.

Heart beating rapidly, Kris tried to pull his hand slowly back out of the circle, not opening his eyes out of the fear that it might all fade away as soon as he did… but as he tugged, he wasn’t making any progress. The paw’s grasp on his hand was much stronger, and after a few failed tugs, he felt a gentle tug back… followed by a much stronger one. Caught off guard, Kris toppled forward, letting out a yelp as he fell towards the ritual circle he’d carefully set up, only to keep falling further and further, feeling like he was tumbling wildly through the air. His eyes opened in a panic, though the mass of swirling colors surrounding him as he tumbled wildly through nothingness only made him panic more and more, growing brighter and brighter until—

THUD.

Kris let out a groan as he felt his body suddenly come to an abrupt halt, leaving him face down in the… dirt? He could feel the grass against his skin, and even with his eyes closed, he could tell from the sunlight against them that he was outside somewhere. The smell agreed… even with his nose down in the grass.

“What do we have here?” a gravely voice asked from above him, breaking him out of his stupor for a moment. Slowly opening his eyes as they adjusted to the light, Kris looked up to see…

Bruce. Exactly how he’d envisioned him. The canine was staring down at him with a raised eyebrow, a bemused and yet sarcastic expression on his face. The human on the ground was left in complete shock and confusion, unsure how to process exactly what he was seeing.

“What, are you able to talk or not?” Bruce asked, Kris still finding himself near speechless as he tried to figure out what to even say. After a moment more of silence, the canine scoffed, unfolding his arms and reaching a paw down towards the human on the ground. Kris… stared at it for a bit, having to take in that it was real – the pawpads, the fur running along the back, the claws… before he shook himself out of it, reaching up with a hand to grab it.

Bruce helped him off of the ground, the stunned and confused human dusting himself off as he looked around himself. Outdoors, mid-evening, warm with a gentle, blowing wind. He was on the lawn of a house on the edge of a town… Bruce’s house, maybe? The dog was standing under the shade of a tree, just in front of a lawn chair that he’d presumably been sitting in before Kris dropped out of… whatever that was, and into this place.

“Where… am I?” he asked, looking confused and dazed, earning a groan from the canine, who seemed already annoyed by him.

“My lawn, dumbass. But if you want something more general than that? Probably another world than the one you were just in.” He seemed… remarkably relaxed about the stranger that had just appeared on his lawn, seemingly not particularly bothered by it, which only made Kris even more confused about the entire situation. “Can’t say I’m sure how exactly you got here, but you’re here now.” He paused for a second, before letting out a sigh, apparently not a fan of introductions. “The name’s Bruce.”

He… really was here, then. In a world he’d lived in only in his head, before. Dreaming of a different life to the one he was stuck in. And yet it was real, right before his eyes. Kris breathed heavily as he tried to keep his footing, still feeling unsteady from... whatever forces had just been exerted on his body during what was seemingly an interdimensional trip. He reached up to rub his head, already feeling out-of-it, and he'd only just started talking to the canine in front of him. "So... you're really Bruce?" he asked. He already knew the dog's name; he knew everything about him. He'd come up with his whole design in his head... and yet here he was, right in front of him, in the flesh. Or rather, here he was, in a world he'd only thought about in his imagination. "It's nice to meet you then, I guess. I'm Kris."

"Yeah, I already know, human. Came up with that name a while back," the canine shot back, scattering Kris's perception of the situation, leaving him a little bit confused. "But anyways, welcome to my world, I suppose." He seemed... strangely relaxed about the entire situation, aside from the gruffness of how he naturally talked. “Now, mind letting me know exactly what just left you tumbling out of a colorful hole in reality and into my yard?”

Kris steadied himself for a moment, trying to figure out how exactly to explain what he’d just been through… especially without it sounding crazy. But something told him Bruce wouldn’t exactly care how outlandish it sounded. “Well… I was trying to do a ritual to… summon a familiar? Like, taking a character from my imagination and making them real. I didn’t exactly think it would work… but it definitely wasn’t meant to take me somewhere else like this…” His eyes wandered as he talked, looking around him, glancing back at the canine after he’d finished talking, seeing him with a curious expression on his face – one that quickly faded away.

“Huh. Well alright then, guess that’s good enough.” His response was surprisingly collected for how ridiculous the entire premise sounded, leaving Kris almost more confused than before.

"So are you not... worried about the situation, or anything?" the human inquired, feeling a bit worried himself. After all, he was the one in an entirely new world, one he didn't know very much about.

"Nah, you tried to do weird magic to drag me into your world, and you got pulled in on your own after I decided I'd rather stay put. Goddamn humans... I guess you can stay with me for now, and we'll see about getting you back to your home if you decide you wanna head out." That was... a kind offer? It was still so strange to be talking to his fursona, but he didn't have much of a choice to start getting used to it... plus, Kris could feel some kind of... connection to Bruce, though he couldn't quite place what it was yet.

Kris still felt himself struggling with everything he was seeing, everything he was experiencing right now… but he didn’t know what to say or do about it. He felt like he had a million questions for the dog in front of him – how he knew who he was, what just happened, how he understood… whatever magic took place that brought him here. But at the same time… even if it wasn’t exactly what he’d planned, his wish had still come true here, hadn’t it? He wanted to get to know Bruce, to talk to him and get to know him! To just… throw out all those worries and let himself relax with him.

“Now how about you stop standing in the sun and come inside? I’ll grab you something to drink… you look a little shellshocked, just standing there with your trap open.” Kris hadn’t even realized that his mouth had been hanging open as he stood there, and he quickly closed it, watching as Bruce walked towards the front door of his house. As he saw the canine walking away, he could almost feel a little tug pulling him towards him, wanting him to follow, even though he already wanted to follow on his own. It didn’t take any convincing for him to follow that pull.

Relaxing on Bruce’s couch, the two of them talked for a bit, at first over the ritual Kris had performed, the canine laughing at how careless he’d been when working with magic… though he seemed surprised when the human explained that it wasn’t exactly meant to do anything. Kris knew that the world he’d imagined was one where magic was actually real… though it was strange to think of that as being Bruce’s normal, and that a world without it would be just as weird to him as it was the other way around.

Despite his gruffness, Kris could feel a bit of that kindness deep down peeking through. In the drink he offered, in the quick check to make sure he hadn’t hurt himself in the tumble, in making sure he was comfortable… it gave him a warm feeling, being shown a bit of genuine care, though he made sure not to say anything about it.

As time wore on and conversation turned to simpler, more mundane topics, Kris could feel his energy somewhat dwindling. It had been late at night in his own world when he’d tumbled through that ritual circle, so despite the sunlight shining through the blinds, he was starting to grow tired. After what was probably the fifth yawn, Bruce stood up without a word, grabbing a pillow and blanket and tossing it at Kris. “Take a nap already, before you fall asleep mid-sentence. I’ve got some work to get done in my garage anyways,” the dog said with a roll of his eyes, Kris not able to help but let out a quick laugh.

He didn’t exactly want to go to sleep right now, he just wanted to spend more time with Bruce… but he couldn’t deny that the allure of sleep was drawing him in quickly. With a sigh, he nodded and rolled his eyes himself, earning a chuckle and a quick headpat from the canine standing next to him. Kris tried to hide the blush on his face by turning away quickly.

“Alright, just head to the garage if you need anything from me. Hope the couch is comfy enough for ya.” With a quick chuckle and a wave, Bruce made his way out of the room, leaving the human alone on the couch. He still felt so strangely disoriented, like his entire world had been flipped out from under him. And yet… he almost felt hopeful at the same time? …It was too difficult to parse his emotions right now, so hard to know exactly what he was feeling. But even in the short time they’d spent interacting, it had felt more warm and fulfilling than Kris had felt from anything in his world for quite a while.

He drifted off to those thoughts of comfort and warmth.

And awoke to the feeling of empty cold.

It was dark… the sun had set in the time he’d been out. But despite the blanket covering his body, he felt a chill… not from outside, but from somewhere deep inside of himself. As Kris glanced around the room, he had to remind himself exactly where he was… feeling a little bit of joy somewhere inside that it hadn’t been some kind of dream or hallucination. And yet that cold gnawed at him, feeling a shiver run through his soul.

As his consciousness returned, he could feel it again – that tug he’d felt earlier, pulling him… somewhere. He’d barely woken up, but Kris found himself standing up to follow it, somewhere deeper into the house, to a particular door. He could almost feel the cold beginning to recede as he followed that pull, but as he was about to just open the door, he stopped himself, instead knocking.

He heard some shuffling inside, and after a few moments, the door began to open, revealing Bruce on the other side… and the cold disappeared, replaced with a filling warmth. As Kris looked at him in the dim light, he could almost see the canine’s shoulders relax at the same time his own did, the two of them looking at each other wordlessly for a moment… before Bruce broke the silence once more.

“Goddamnit, really?” he asked in a sarcastic voice that made Kris laugh… something about just being next to him made him feel so much more relaxed. “I know you don’t exactly know what you’re doing with magic, but soulbinding? You’ve gotta be a little more careful about that kinda stuff…” Kris’s confused expression was more than enough to show that he had no clue what the dog was talking about, earning a groan and an eye roll.

“Whatever, I’ll explain it in the morning. It’s too late at night to get into it all… just know that unless you wanna drain all your energy and feel like you’re freezing, we’ll be pretty close for a while.” …Soulbinding? That’s what had happened? Sure, he was trying to summon a familiar, and the book said it was soul stuff, but he didn’t pay all too much attention to everything it had to say about it. He wasn’t sure at first what exactly Bruce meant by being close, but as the larger dog’s paw reached for his hand and pulled him into the room, he started to piece it together.

“Wait… do you really…?” Kris stuttered, still feeling half-asleep and surprised as he was walked over to the canine’s bed – messy and unkempt… but it looked much more comfy than the old couch had been.

“Hey, you’re the one who was planning on soulbinding us in the first place apparently, this comes part n’ parcel with it. And considering I just spent an hour trying to sleep just getting colder and colder, I’m not gonna keep you out on the couch. Hope you’re alright with sharing a bed for a while, until I figure out how to undo whatever magic you did.” Bruce climbed into the bed and nearly pulled Kris in with him, the human feeling his heart beating rapidly as his sleep-addled mind struggled to process everything that was happening. However his day had started, he didn’t think it was going to end sharing a bed with his fursona… and yet here he was, adjusting the blanket covering him as he laid down in the bed.

That warmth was back, here. It felt so nice, like an extra layer of comfort on top of him as he got comfy, occasionally feeling his skin brush against fur. His mind and heart were racing, and yet his soul felt peaceful and comfortable… gradually drawing his thoughts and heartbeat to slow down to its pace. It had been a hectic and strange day… but he could feel deep down inside that there was nowhere he wanted to be right now more than he wanted to be here. Not sleeping in his bed at home, and not out on the couch… this place felt right.

With a bit of hesitation, Kris gently moved closer, feeling the contact between them, and the comfort that flowed through that brief touch. He… wanted more, and felt like he couldn’t help but move just a little bit closer in the bed as he turned on his side, back to back with the canine. As much as a part of him wanted to turn towards him and wrap his arms around him, hugging him close to never let go… he didn’t feel like that was the right thing to do on his first night here. As nice as it would feel, and as much as his heart wanted it, he just couldn’t work up the courage so quickly.

But… he had time, didn’t he? Time before Bruce did whatever magic he did to fix that soulbinding stuff and send him home… however long it might be. Even just a few hours had already felt so nice, like he’d finally come home, another day was something he’d give almost anything for… but he hoped it might just be longer. A week, maybe even a few… maybe even longer. Time to spend with Bruce, to get to know him, to be with him and feel this comfort he’d never felt anywhere before… time to work up the courage to cuddle up to him, to hug him, to feel like he was home right here in his bed.

It wasn’t just this place that felt right, the person next to him made it feel right. There was a lot to process, and a lot to do… and Bruce would probably work to help him get back home and fix whatever magical mess he’d managed to get the two of them into.

But as he drifted off to sleep, he knew deep down that he didn’t want to be anywhere but here.