The boy discovers his magic very early on in life.

He is playing around, as colts are wont to do, exploring his own body and the world he's found himself in. It is not a nice world - Mbwana is astute enough to realise that things have transpired before his birth that makes his very existence rather inconsequential. He is under no illusions of his own importance, so he spends most of his time alone, enjoying his own company.

When he reaches through his mind and discovers an odd nub of something dark, he delves gleefully into it. Pain wracks his body, ripping through him and taking him quite by surprise; he screams, a foal's high-pitched yowl that turns suddenly into a savage growl as his muzzle lengthens and fills itself with razor-sharp teeth. He feels his young bones breaking, his body shrinking, and by the time the abject torture has subsided, he doesn't feel like him any more. He wants to cry for his mother, his sister, his father, but knows they probably have far better things to do than attend to him. Instead he takes a tentative step forwards, glancing down to see paws rather than hooves beneath him. His eyes feel sharper, his nose keener; when he breaks into a run, he feels so agile and powerful that he could surely lope for days. The massive ears on his head detect every sound, even the wingbeats of a gnat that buzzes overhead.

He loves it. Power ripples through the tri-toned body that he now calls his own, and he unleashes a savage series of barks that is quite at odds with the usual childish whinnies and neighs he makes as a foal. The dog-boy begins to run, feeling the raw strength of his new form as it propels him across the landscape; he can smell a familiar scent in the distance and his newfound instincts tell him to head towards it, so he does.

To his surprise, there's a small pack of dogs that look identical to him, albeit adults. A quick sniff of the air tells him there's five; three males and two females, with one of each gender being dominant over the others. Young pups nip at their mother's paws as she leans down to let them suckle, however Mbwana's attention is snatched by a pale ovoid shape that the bitch seems to be guarding. He edges closer, automatically adopting a low, submissive posture with his tail held between his legs and his eyes studiously avoiding contact with the dominant pair. He's almost reached the egg when the alpha male notices him; the big dog shoots towards him, yipping and snarling, and soon he's surrounded by the rest of the pack. Mbwana pins himself to the floor in a vain attempt to deter the dogs from him, but it doesn't work; he's an intruder, and he isn't welcome.

Quickly he grabs for the egg, just managing to fit it between his jaws if he stretches them as wide as he possibly can. Then, he runs, faster than he's ever ran before - he can hear and smell the pack on his heels and a frisson of fear floods through him at the idea of being torn apart by his canine brethren, but eventually the dogs give up and turn back to protect their pups. It leaves an exhausted Mbwana to crawl away, his tongue lolling as he collapses onto the floor. From his aching jaws the egg drops, and he passes out into a dead faint.

_____

He awakens to the sound of cracking, and small snarls and growls. The colt-dog staggers to his feet, his long canine tongue still hanging from his jaws after his exhausting run. The egg is split into two neat halves, and sitting at its centre is a wild dog in miniature; it's a maze of brown, black and white splotches, its eyes bright blue like Mbwana's and its tiny tail wagging as it marches towards the larger dog in front of it. Their eyes meet, and suddenly the colt feels the pup in his head as much as he can see it with his eyes; it's a bizarre sensation that he initially recoils from, before deciding to embrace it as he feels the newborn's vast consciousness against his own.

The pup lunges forwards, biting playfully at Mbwana's paw - it's obviously hungry, and the paw looks like a tasty morsel. Immediately Mbwana bears his teeth, instinct gripping him as he snaps down at the pup with a savage growl, flipping the newborn onto its back then bracing his body above it. "I'm in charge," he snarls, and he thinks it too so it floods into the pup's head through their bond. The newborn bares his own teeth, but it's a wide grin of submission; he - for Mbwana is sure it is a he - curls his tail over his exposed belly and lays still, accepting the larger dog's dominant position.

Feeling rather pleased with himself for his swift demonstration of superiority, the colt releases the pup and steps back to scrutinise him. "You will be Askari," he says, and the pup wags his tail harder. "Warrior."