"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Archie asked for the fifth time. He was checking himself in the new mirror Zack had installed in his room, making sure he was presentable. In truth, he was dressed in his usual casualwear: jeans that bunched up around his ankles and a graphic tee, with a knit cap pinning his ears to the back of his head. His horn jutted out of the cap through a hole in the front, making it look as much like a part of the ensemble as everything else.

"You've been working hard, you deserve to have a night out. It's not every day you get to take your girlfriend out on a date," Zack reminded him.

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Right, and those anatomical parts you requested last week were just for your own entertainment. Go have fun. I can hold down the fort for a night without you."

"Yes, that's what happened the last time I went out like this," Archie reminded him. "You weren't on fire after being attacked by a human with a mana-starved core."

Archie could feel Zack mentally rolling his eyes. Jean-Claude was likely emoting in kind somewhere in the dungeon.

"This time will be different. Even if I come under attack by something, I have defenses in place. I'm ready for them," Zack assured him.

Archie raised an eyebrow and shot a glance over his shoulder at his dungeon's disembodied awareness. "Zack, if you ask it of me, I won't go out tonight."

"I'll be fine! Stop worrying so much!"

Archie shook his head. "Fine, but if anything bad happens while I'm gone you better be prepared for the harshest I told you so of your life!"

"That won't be necessary, I promise."

Chandra was waiting for Archie outside the dungeon. Like him, she was mostly dressed in casualwear. She was also already in her beast form, her clothing tightly hugging her fur-coated body. She studied him up and down as though determining that Archie was acceptably dressed for what she had planned.

"I didn't want to wear anything too formal," Archie explained as she studied him. "You didn't exactly tell me what we're doing tonight, only that you had plans and wanted my company."

Chandra gave the rabbit a toothy grin. "I think you'll enjoy it. Or at least get a kick out of it. Come on, I've already called us a ride share."

They walked some ways away from the dungeon, where Zack's influence stopped maintaining the road and the pre-Boom pavement lay cracked beneath their paws. They didn't have to stand around for more than five minutes before a blue car pulled up. The driver inside, a small woman, stared at them in fear for a moment before rolling down her windows.

"Ride for Chandra?" she stammered.

"That's me," the werewolf strode over to the passenger side door and pulled it open. Archie followed after and hopped into the seat next to her.

The driver didn't even turn on the radio as she pulled them back onto the highway, leaving the two passengers to sit in uncomfortable silence. In a vain attempt to mitigate some of the discomfort, Chandra pulled out her phone and a pair of wireless earbuds. Archie noticed that the buds had clips on them, and watched as she attached one to her ear and then passed him the other. He copied her and did the same, lifting up his cap to clip the device to his own ear.

With the devices in place, Chandra turned on some music. Archie had no idea who the artist was, but they were rapping in a language he neither recognized nor understood. All the same, he bobbed his head to the beat, tapping a hand against his thigh.

Twenty minutes of awkwardness later, the car finally pulled to a stop in front of an old building. This was an older part of town from the one Archie had previously visited with Chandra, but it was clear that its age hadn't dulled its charm. There was a small corner store open at one end of the street, with a couple restaurants in between it and their destination.

"Where are we, love?" Archie asked, as their ride sped off down the road.

"This little slice of the city often gets the nickname Weretown, for reasons that should become quickly apparent," Chandra chuckled. She slipped his hand into her own and squeezed it tight. "Come on, they should be starting soon."

"They?"

Chandra didn't answer as she pulled him towards the entrance. The door opened automatically for them, revealing a brightly lit room. After studying the environment, Archie quickly realized that Chandra had taken them to a bar and restaurant. There were a few patrons sitting at the tables, with a handful more at the bar sharing drinks. More over, not a single one of them was human.

There were a couple orcs interspersed with guests, but the rest, as far as Archie could tell, were werebeasts of one kind or another. He saw a handful of werewolves and werebears, and even a few more esoteric species like the wereturtle tending the bar.

"Huh. I think I get why this is called Weretown," Archie confessed. He instantly relaxed, realizing that he wouldn't be the most out-of-place patron at this establishment. Even with his horn, he looked like just another werebeast in the crowd. The idea made a smile tug at the corners of his lips.

As a mob, it was difficult for Archie to get any sense of normalcy anywhere but in the dungeon. But here? He was just another face in the crowd.

A black cat-like waitress greeted them at the front podium, but rather than ask for a table, Chandra whispered something to her.

"They're just getting set up in the basement," the waitress said. "You know the way, Chandra?"

"Thanks, Lucky. I've got this," Chandra said. She quickly tugged on Archie's hand to pull him along, guiding him through the tangled maze of tables and diners.

"A black cat named Lucky?" Archie asked, once the waitress was out of earshot. "That seems like a bit of an oxymoron."

"It's pretty common for werebeasts to give themselves a new name once they accept what they've become," Chandra explained. "I've told you before that Bhediya isn't my original last name, right? It means wolf, because I'm extremely uncreative that way."

Archie frowned. "Wait, didn't you tell me once that Chandra means moon? Did you seriously name yourself Moon Wolf?"

"And you just met Lucky the black cat. There's a sense of humour and irony in self-ascribed names when you're a werebeast," Chandra smirked. "It's a way to maintain control in a world that doesn't want to give you any. To say I know what I am. Of taking the labels that other people might give you and owning them. Labels can't hurt you if you control them."

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"I'm not calling myself Archie Cottontail if that's what you're suggesting."

Chandra snorted a laugh and tugged him harder, leading him towards a door at the back of the restaurant. As they walked, Archie got a chance to peek inside the kitchen, and saw various people working hard on food dishes. Surprisingly, none of them were in animal form, though he could smell the beasts within them even from where he stood.

"They have to be human for sanitary reasons," Chandra explained, as he caught the rabbit staring. "Werebeast bar or not, it's still subject to health regulations."

Before Archie could get another word in, Chandra opened the door leading to the basement and ushered him inside. Almost immediately, the atmosphere changed from one of joviality to a more relaxed ambience. The lights were gentler in the hall, leading to an open staircase that led down into the building's depths. Still clutching his hand, Chandra led the way down the steps, and into a large, brightly lit party room.

There weren't any decorations set up to imply a party was starting, but there was an older wereboar tending to a table of refreshments. As they entered, the old pig turned and stared at the couple over custom-fitted glasses.

"Chandra, how are you doing my dear?" he asked in a gentle voice.

"I'm doing fine, Hammond, thank you," Chandra smiled at the old wereboar and tugged Archie over for introductions. "I brought a friend this month. I hope that's okay?"

Hammond adjusted his glasses to give Archie a quick once over. "It's not often we see wererabbits these days. Especially ones that were afflicted by a dire rabbit, of all things. Still, you're always welcome here."

Archie blinked slowly. "Thank you?"

"I have a few more preparations to make before our other guests arrive. Chandra, would you and your friend be a dear and set up the chairs? These old bones aren't what they used to, even with boar vitality backing them up," Hammond chuckled.

"Of course, we'd be happy to help," Chandra agreed.

Hammond nodded gratefully, then waddled slowly back towards the door.

Archie's ears twitched as he listened to the old pig lumber up the stairs, before turning to Chandra and tilting his head curiously. "I'll admit, this isn't quite what I expected when you invited me out this evening."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to trick you," Chandra shuffled nervously, scratching at the fur lining her arm. "I volunteer at Werebeasts Anonymous once a month. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for groups like this helping me get off the street when my parents kicked me out, so it's just something I can do to help repay the community."

"That's very noble of you," Archie said, taking her hands in his. "I'd be delighted to see more of the community that helped you."

"Are you sure? I won't mind if you'd rather spend the evening at the bar upstairs. Our sessions really only run about two hours, so I'll be out by nine—"

"Then we'll be out nine together," Archie winked at her. "Now, where are those chairs?"

Chandra pointed to a stack of folding chairs at the back of the room, then collected a pair of them. Over the next few minutes, the two proceeded to lay out a circle of chairs in the middle of the room, totalling to twenty seats. There was room for more if other people showed up.

Hammond returned not long after they were finished, pushing cart loaded with food. He wasn't alone, either, and was accompanied by a wereshark in a wheelchair.

"Archie, this is Bruce. He's one of our other regular volunteers," Chandra explained, introducing them.

"Pleasure to meet you," Bruce grinned, showing off rows of razor sharp teeth. He offered a hand up to the rabbit, and noticed that Archie was staring at him. "Oh, I bet you're wondering about this whole thing, eh?" The shark chuckled, gesturing at the tail that occupied the space that would normally be taken up by legs. The wheelchair was even specially designed to allow him to comfortably rest without having to bend his tail in an awkward position.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare."

"Nah, it's all good," Bruce chuckled. "I was in a wheelchair long before that flying shark bit me. Childhood accident left me paralyzed from the waist down."

"So your beast form turns your legs into a tail?" Archie asked.

"What? Oh God no! That's not at all how this works," Bruce laughed. "These things right here are where my legs are," he explained, tapping a pair of fins in his pelvic region. "I wouldn't be able to walk in this form even if I wasn't paralyzed, but since the tail is magical in origin I have a greater sense of touch through it than I would in my legs."

"Bruce here is one of what we call a full-time werebeast," Hammond explained, as he and Chandra started setting up the trays of food from his cart. "The benefits to being in his beast form outweigh the downsides."

"I have a giant pool at home that I spend most of my time in," Bruce explained. "Being a shark means I don't have to be sitting all the damn time. It's way easier for me to keep clean this way, too. Seriously, have you tried bathing while paralyzed from the waist down?"

"I can't say that I have," Archie admitted.

"Yeah, I don't recommend it." Bruce gave Archie a brotherly slap on the back, then wheeled his chair over to the others to help them set up.

For twenty minutes, Archie helped Chandra and her friends set up food and prepare the room for others. Before long, more people started trickling in. At first, there were other werebeasts of varying species. A wereotter conversed excitedly with Bruce, while a fellow werewolf shook hands with chandra. Hammond greeted each person in turn with warmth and kindness. As one by one they took their seats, some humans entered the room to join them. A couple of them transformed as soon as they were past the threshold, taking the shape of a duck and a beaver respectively.

The last to join was a human in their late teens, who sheepishly sat between Bruce and the wereotter. One by one, the other werebeasts took their own seats in the circle. Archie nervously sat next to Chandra, with the beaver on his left and Hammond on Chandra's right.

"Since we all gathered here, shall we get started? Let's begin with our names and one thing we were proud to accomplish since our last meeting," Hammond said. "Chandra, dear, would you like to begin introductions?"

The werewolf nodded and rose from her seat. "Hello everyone. My name is Chandra, I'm a werewolf, and this last month I got a new job."

Everyone around the circle clapped for Chandra.

"That's fantastic, dear. I'm happy to know you're doing better for yourself. Last month you mentioned that your art business was struggling," Hammond noted.

"Things are picking up, but my new work is treating me well. And if it wasn't for this job, I wouldn't have met Archie."

The insides of Archie's ears started blushing as she pointed him out.

"Well, on that note, why don't you introduce yourself and offer us an accomplishment of your own?" Hammond said, nodding politely to the rabbit.

Archie chewed his lip for a moment before rising out of his seat. "Hello. My name is Archibald, but you can call me Archie. As you likely surmised, I'm a were-dire-hare. Yes, it's a bit of a mouthful. This month, I…" He paused for a moment before turning to meet Chandra's gaze. "I met someone I'm quite fond of."

Now it was Chandra's turn to blush, as the circle clapped and Archie retook his seat. He casually took her hand in his and squeezed it tight. Unlike Chandra, Hammond had no commentary to add to Archie's statement. The next few people down the line stood up and introduced themselves in turn, leading to Bruce making a joke about not being able to stand. It seemed to be made in good taste, as everyone in the circle laughed with him.

Finally, the human in between Bruce and the otter revealed themselves to be a weremonkey, his beast form being so subtle that Archie hadn't even noticed he was transformed at all.

When they were all done with introductions, Hammond led the group in a discussion about their lives and how they handled various day to day activities while being werebeasts. Chandra revealed that her new job afforded her the chance to be a werewolf in public, and when asked about it revealed that she and Archie worked in the dungeon together.

"That was actually how we met," Chandra continued. "Granted, the first time was a bit of a fight between us."

"I said I was sorry," Archie smirked. "I didn't mean to gore your thigh."

"I got better," Chandra assured the others.

After about an hour of discussion, the circle broke apart and allowed the various werebeasts to eat from the buffet of food Hammond had laid out. Chandra and Bruce went to each of the other attendees and quickly spoke to them, while Hammond took the weremonkey aside and spoke quietly to him.

As Archie sipped from a cup full of lukewarm coffee, he couldn't help but smile. He could see why this community meant so much to Chandra, and he made a note to thank her for bringing him along after they left.