While his mother Frances was seeing to the emotional needs of her wife Samantha*, Ben Twist was plying his own therapeutic paw to helping his friends.
Ben and his werepanthress girlfriend Kenya Adaeze had been on their nightly rendezvous when Ben's fellow werewolves Nate Anderson and Alex Ramsey had stumbled upon them.
After chatting for a bit, Kenya thought maybe the two of them might get back to some private time together before they had to part company for the night, but her boyfriend realized otherwise.**
Picking up on their hesitation, Ben looked at his friends and asked, "What's really bothering you guys?"
Alex looked at Nate, the couple holding paws. Then Nate turned to Ben and said, "Well, maybe I'm imagining things, or maybe I'm just more sensitive to the situation because I used to be a normal before joining were society as a wolf, but sometimes I just cannot shake this feeling that, despite how wonderful my life has become since moving to Moon Lake," he said, before putting an arm around Alex, "that someday I might wake up only to discover all of this was just a beautiful dream or wishful thinking."
Ben simply nodded his furry lupine head in acknowledgment when Kenya spoke.
"I am a naturally born werepanthress, but being a recent arrival to Moon Lake myself, sometimes I feel that way too," she admitted. "Our time together so far has been wonderful, my beloved werewolf," said Kenya, before hugging Ben, "and I anxiously look forward to our future together, but sometimes..."
"I see," said Ben, thinking over his girlfriend's revelation. "If Mom Frances were here, she'd say something profound like This is just a natural reaction to happiness after a period of stressful time or something like that. Kenya, you told me being a were in New York City wasn't easy; because the were community isn't as coordinated there as it is here, and weres have to stay more hidden than they do here in Moon Lake," he pointed out, to which Kenya simply nodded in agreement.
"And Nate, I know your back story stemming from your time in Minnesota until now," Ben told his friend and next door neighbor, to which the oldest son of William and Martha Anderson simply nodded affirmatively.
"I've got to admit," began Alex, "despite being a naturally born werewolf and a citizen of Moon Lake all my life, sometimes I wonder too. I mean, it isn't easy being both a were and gay. It took me time to accept and adjust once I realized where I was in my life. Yet my biggest dream was just finding that special someone and sharing the rest of my life with him. I never once thought that whoever it turned out to be wasn't even in Moon Lake yet, or that I'd be the one to usher him into were society." Alex remained silent on the fact that when he turned a willing Nate Anderson into a werewolf, he was also taking his future boyfriend's virginity, for that was a private matter between them.
"You know what we need?" asked Ben, to which the others had no answer. "A celebration of life!" he declared. "Kenya, for you it will probably be a growl but the rest of us, when I count to 3, I want all of us to howl for joy. We're alive and we're happy! Ready?" he asked, holding up one digit of his right paw.
Kenya looked at her boyfriend, who returned her stare, while Nate and Alex smiled at each other.
Ben held up a second digit as he took a deep breath.
The others followed suit before Ben raised a third digit.
With that, the joyous howls of three werewolves might have drowned out the happy growl of a lone werepanthress, but there was no denying the sheer pleasure all expressed at that moment.
The surrounding forest grew still again as each couple embraced and kissed their respective mates.
Then Ben, still holding Kenya in his furry arms, turned to his friends and asked, "Anything else?"
"No. I'm good," said Nate, while holding and smiling at Alex.
"You definitely are Stud," said Alex, using his pet name for his boyfriend.
Then Ben reached back and grabbed his cellphone from where he laid it before he and Kenya began their night. Checking the time, Ben said, "It's a quarter of ten. I've going to walk my lady home and get back in time to beat my moms 11 pm curfew. Anything else?" he asked his friends.
"No. I'm good," said Nate, getting up and using his lupine tail to brush the forest off his rump.
"Me too. Walk you home?" asked Alex, as he copied his boyfriend's actions.
"Sure Handsome," said Nate, wrapping a furry arm around his lover's. "Nice to see you again Kenya. See you tomorrow Ben," promised Nate, as they parted company.
As Ben rose and then helped his girlfriend up, the werepanthress smiled at him and said, "I know you are planning to follow in your biological mother's paw prints and pursue a career in art, but have you ever considered maybe minoring in therapy like your mother Frances?"
"No," admitted Ben, "but it's something to think about. Yet come on beautiful, I want to enjoy your company for as long as I can tonight," he added, before putting an arm around his girlfriend and starting the walk back toward the house she shared with her aunt and uncle.
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*In our previous episode: "You're Stressed, Dear".
**In the episode before that: "Does It Matter?"—tmw.