Hounds of Hearts: Urban Fantasy

When a dog shows up on your doorstep with a heart on its nose, you don't have a choice. You have to follow it. Those are the rules of the Hounds of Hearts. No, I'm not talking about a real human heart--don't be gross! And I'm not talking about a tattoo--though some say that there was a serial killer for a little while who'd trained his dog to fetch and given it a nose tattoo. They say that the hounds came for him, and now he's madly in love with the prison warden and eager to be in jail to please her. They say he's happier, in a way. Nobody knows where the Hounds come from, but all agree that they're one of the better manifestations of the Needs.

Inspiration: Flickr photo of a dog with a paper heart on its nose.
Story Potential: Medium.
Notes: I like the worldbuilding that just kind of spins out of this scenario, but while it's intriguing and all, this doesn't have that spark that makes me want to writerightnow!