"Much, much more than a dog, my fellow," Ramis said as he started to morph into his more humanlike form. He was now an adverage-highted teenager body with short fur coving his skin. He kept his ears, his snout, and his tail, but his paws turned to hands and feet with sharp claws and the fur on the top of his head lengthened and darkened. His eyes retained their glowish property as he grinned at the boy. He exposed unusally sharp inscissors as he surveyed the boy. "Well, now, what might a fine catch like you be doing wandering in the forest all alone?" he asked merrily, not letting the boy stand up.