You walked aimlessly through the quiet streets, lost in thought. The memories of your old life and the reality of your new life as a badger were conflicting with each other, making it hard for you to focus on anything else. As you walked, you noticed that your house looked different than it used to. The home that was once there now had a brick exterior and seemed more compact to fit the newfound close-knit nature of your family.
“Hello?” you heard someone calling out to you. At first, you couldn't tell who it was, but as the streetlight lit up, you were able to get a better look at the figure. You could see that he had a similar body shape to you, but he wasn’t not a badger like you. In fact, he had markings and features of a raccoon, but you shrugged it off. Raccoons didn't have brown fur, this was actually a tanuki. You walked closer to each other, and you said hello back.
"Hey there. Haven't seen you around here before," he said, extending his furry paw.
“You probably wouldn’t have. This is all still new to me,” Benji replied before introducing himself to the fellow anthro.
The tanuki raised his eyes after hearing the name. “That’s a very familiar name,” he said. “My name’s Masaru. It's a pleasure meeting you, friend.”
Your ears perked up at the mention of your name. "Wait, what do you mean? Do you know someone named Benji?" you asked, feeling a sudden spark of hope that you might find some answers.
Masaru nodded. "Yeah, I used to go to school with him. He was a nice guy, always cracking jokes and making everyone laugh. Haven't seen him in a while though. Why do you ask?"
You felt your heart race, as you still remembered you were friends with a guy named Mason, someone who would say the same things about you, not to mention he had also lived in your neighborhood, but you pass it off as mere coincidence, as you then reply to Masaru. "Because I used to be a human."
Masaru's eyes widened in his furry mask. "And you became a badger? That's quite something. I've only ever known life as a tanuki myself." He paused for a moment, then added, "But you seem to be doing well in your new form. I couldn't imagine someone would be so accepting of such a drastic change."
"I don't know, mate. It's a bloody long story," you said, feeling overwhelmed by the memories flooding your mind. "A pair of badgers moved in next door today, and I wanted to help them move in. Some posh bloke named Asher and his yank uncle.Next thing I know, one of them turned me and my family into this." You looked around at the quiet streets and the houses that surrounded them.
“Wow, I just can’t comprehend why they would do that to somebody. They had to have had a good reason to change a human,” Masaru answered.
“All I can remember is that the younger one said he was lonely or something,” you replied with your clawed fingers on your head. “Don't get me wrong, I’ve always loved badgers, but becoming one myself was not what I expected.”
“I mean, there aren't many anthros out there, so I can see where he was coming from, but he made a grave mistake. But what can you do except make the best of your new life?” The tanuki added. “Besides, it’s nice to meet another anthro.”
“I guess it is,” you sheepishly replied.
Masaru chuckled. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. A good anthro looks out for one another."
“Thanks, mate,” you silently muttered, with a smile, the first time you’d smiled since you became a badger. Masaru had this feeling of familiarity to you, like a friend you had growing up. A picture flashes in your head of a smiling badger teen next to a tanuki that looked a lot like the raccoon dog you had just met.
“Say, Benji. Care to visit my place for the evening?” the tanuki offered…