Fall had finally arrived in the forest. All the trees were a beautiful mix of orange, yellow, red and everything in between. The air was chilled and carried a calming scent. All the crops had been harvested and the very first frost had hit only a few days before. Somewhere in the middle of all of this there was a village.

It was small and simple. No house stood higher than two stories tall. The middle of the town had a magnificent stone fountain, currently dry, in the shape of a dragon. Surrounding it were various small market stalls. Halloween was upon the town and the people there were ready for their annual festival. Decorations had been hung from every window and pumpkins with a disparity of carved grins sat on the doorsteps. Various other gourds were piled up around stands selling honey, apples, vegetables, home baked goods, and more.

There were a few tourists already milling about the area. Many of them were returning families with their children. They were the ones who knew the vendors by name and happily perched their kids on the fountain for a picture. Others had been dared to travel the woodland path leading to the town and found themselves pleasantly surprised by the hospitality they found. Some swung tails as they passed while others floated about. The town was used to seeing the monsters in their midst. The forest was their home after all.

The two best known monster breeds were rarely seen however. Frequently one could hear a were-wolf howl at night or spot a harpy flying overhead but never had ethier stepped foot in the village. Never, that is, until today. On this brisk Halloween a set of paws crunched their way through fallen leaves down the path to the village. A bushy black tail swayed slowly behind a set of furry legs. Claw-like fingernails tapped against each other nervously and fluffy ears twitched. One very anxious were-wolf made his way out from the cover of the trees and into the village square.

He knew the town was shared territory with the harpies. They never visited it for fear of the were-wolves being there, of course, and the reverse was true for the were-wolves. Shared territory was not to be touched as conflict would always be the result. The were-wolf knew he wouldn't be able to handle a class of harpies ( A group of harpies being called a class ) but he knew he could take at least one or two and then run. He was faster than them on the ground. He also believed he had good reason for being in the village in the first place. It would he worth it he reasoned as he looked around the marketplace.

There she was. The girl who ran one of the stands with her family. Bulma. She was stunning. They were already friends but he couldn't help his infatuation with her. She brushed pale blue hair out of her face and smiled while she talked with a customer. Then she turned around an noticed him.

"Yamcha! You made it!" she exclaimed with a happy wave. He waved back while blushing shyly. She rushed over to hug him and he felt his body stiffen up. He wasn't used to being hugged by her yet. Or really being near her at all. It had taken him weeks to even approach her. He was too shy to act in any other way. Bulma finally released him from the hug and beamed. "Thanks for coming. I know you told me the village is a dangerous place for you to be in. Even visiting for a few minutes means a lot."

"Well then, prepare to be impressed, because I'm staying for the whole festival." Yamcha said with his best smile. Bulma laughed and he joined in nervously.

"I can't wait to introduce you to everyone." Bulma said. "Give me a few minutes to wrap up things at the stand and I'll get right back to you."

"Sure, no problem, I got it." Yamcha rambled before shutting up. He stood restlessly a few feet away from the stand and watched the crowd. After a while he noticed a scared looking child a few feet away from him. He slowly approached him and smiled in a way he hoped wasn't too wolfish. "Hey, is everything okay?"

"I can't find my friend." said the kid. Despite a closer look at the kid proving that he was definitely a spirit of some kind Yamcha still knelt down next to him and extended his hand.

"I could help you find them if you want." he offered. The kid eyed his hand with a margin of doubt.

"Tien told me I shouldn't trust were-wolves..." he said. After a few seconds he took Yamcha's hand anyways. "But he's not always right about stuff. Did you know that?"

"I do now. How about you tell me what your friend looks like, alright?" Yamcha said. The kid thought for a moment.

"He's about as big as you are with no hair and three eyes." he said. Yamcha nodded and stood up strait. He started scanning the town square. The kid floated a little ways above the ground but still held his hand. After a minute or so of searching the kid spoke up again. "Mr. Were-wolf? Why are you helping me?"

"The name's Yamcha, kid, and I couldn't just leave you there lost. Helping is the right thing to do." Yamcha said. The kids brow furrowed.

"Tien says that were-wolves are always doing wrong things. His masters told him that and they're really smart." said the kid. "But Tien also told me helping people is the right thing to do. So if you're doing the right thing does that mean you're not a were-wolf?"

"I'm a were-wolf kid. No doubt about that. And anyone can do the right thing, okay? It doesn't matter what kind of monster or human they are." Yamcha explained. The kid seemed confused by his answer but didn't refute it. Instead he pointed at someone in the crowd.

"I think that's him." he said. He closed his eyes and for a few moments was surrounded by a glowing aura. When it faded his eyes opened and he grinned. "Yeah, that's him! I couldn't find his energy with all these people around."

"That's... uh.. good." Yamcha said, slightly startled. He had nearly forgotten the kid was a spirit. The man the kid had pointed to turned around and spotted them.

"Chiaotzu! Where were you?" he said. He walked over to them and the kid let go of Yamcha's hand.

"There were too many people so I couldn't sense you anymore and I got lost. Mr. Yamcha helped me find you." Chiaotzu explained as he floated upwards to hug his friend. The man sighed and patted the kid's head lightly.

"I'm just glad you're okay. Remember this is shared territory. There could be..." he trailed of as he noticed Yamcha's appearance. Yamcha was already fighting to keep his growls to himself. The man was his height and had three eyes alright. He also had long feathered ears and distinctive bird like legs. There were more feathers dotting his arms that bristled slightly as he shifted into a defensive stance. A harpy. Of course. Yamcha scowled and managed to not leap into an attack.

"I'm glad you found your friend, kid, but I have to go now." he said through gritted fangs. Chiaotzu floated closer to him.

"Wait! I have an idea." he said. He turned to Tien. "You always tell me were-wolves do only wrong things but this one helped me and that's a right thing. So why don't you try to be friends? We can all explore the festival together!"