Standing behind a door, just a few inches of wood separating me from a social gathering, I realized that all the confidence imparted by that kind, eccentric gecko was all but gone. On the other side, I could hear a number of voices, my nose twitching as I smelled the food, stomach growling fiercely for fulfillment.

"These are pretty good." The voice of a male sounded.

"The sea does not have food like this." His voice was strange, very deep and whimsical.

"I'll be taking one, if you don't mind."

"I brought some bean paste and soy sauce, feel free to pass it around!"

"Typical condiments for a dog of your species." Came a deep chuckle.

"I suppose I'll introduce myself next."

"Wait, before you start." It was the voice of the first male again, he sounded younger than the others. "I think we're being spied on." My entire body tensed up, remembering too late that there was a wolf here. His keen senses giving me away, no doubt.

I turned the handle, rather than waiting for anyone to approach the door. Pushing it open, I was instantly met with the stare of eight animals. Ranging from birds, to smaller animals, to even a large black bear with glasses. "Hello... Sorry I am late." Was about all I could manage under their critical eyes. "I... Heard you'd already started, and didn't want to interrupt." No, I was just trying to work up the nerve to enter a real social gathering.

"Well come on over and have a seat," The Black Bear offered with a smile, sliding over a bit as the pig beside him did so as well to make room. "The rice cakes just finished cooking."

"We were just getting around to introducing ourselves," The white feathered bird explained, "My names Ebisu, I'm an Albino Crow, I belong to a super rare species so I train every day to make sure I can beat down anyone that comes after me for my feathers." Based on the size of those arms, I believed him.

The small canine with the happy face two seats to my left spoke up next as I sat down. "I'm Mugi, one of the universally liked Shiba Inu, I mainly work as a photographer for calendar models," I have no idea what that means. "But I'm taking this year off to relax using the money I got from my last job."

I was glad they weren't just talking to me, but I was still a little tense as the large black bear to my right began to speak. "I'm Bogue, I'm an Asian Black Bear, but that's a secret." What? "I write novels online under the guise of a rabbit, don't tell anyone okay?" He added with a jolly chuckle.

"I'm Eugen, a Yorkshire Pig," The man to my left chimed in, I don't know how he could see properly with those folds hanging over his eyes. "I'm a taxidermist, and love modeling the forms of beautiful creatures, hit me up if you ever want some work done!"

The two people around me had gone, in the brief moment of silence that followed I decided to take my shot. Everyone was being so open and honest here, I had to do the same. "My name is Sven, I'm a three species hybrid of Vulture, Alligator and Wolf, and a former pit fighter from the Black Market." It earned a few raised eyebrows, but no questioning. "Now I work at a library..." I think.

"I'm Legosi the Grey Wolf," The young man across from me followed. "I'm a predatorial offender and I dropped out of highschool this year."

The larger mammal to his right quickly chimed in excitedly, "I'm Zaguan the Spotted Seal," The spotted what? "I'm studying the land the translate land books into seaspeak."

"Hey that's really nice." The Eagle sitting beside him commented with a smile.

So Zaguan was an ocean dweller, I'd never met one before only heard of them briefly when I was being educated.

"I'm Sebun," Added the small wool covered woman, "I'm a Merino Sheep, and I work for a sporting goods company, it's nice to meet you all." Huh, how very... Average.

"Too normal!" The Albino crow beside her exclaimed, ruffling her wool with his hands. "Why are you the only normal one here?" At first I thought she was in distress, but they were both laughing, and soon the other animals around started to smile and laugh as well.

"You've got it all wrong!" Sebun argued, "This condo is just full of weirdos!"

From there, things continued with small talk. For the next hour everyone was chatting across the pot, eating those rice cakes. Which I soon found to be absolutely delicious, sticky but so good. I made a mental note that I needed to learn how to cook. But for the most part, I kept my head down and observed the others interacting. Carnivores and Herbivores, chatting together without a care in the world and being so open. It was interesting to watch, I felt no tension between them here in this downtrodden apartment complex.

I have to wonder, if Maria realized that thing she was working so hard for was here the entire time, and she just never saw it...

"So," My ears twitched as the large black bear to my right spoke, having just finished his conversation with the white raven. "I noticed the way you tensed up when you saw me... You scared of large carnivores?" He asked, not at all sounding accusatory, mostly just curious.

"No, not really," I shook my head, but didn't look up at him. "I recently survived a predation attempt from a Black Bear," I explained, "Narrowly."

"Ah, I see," He nodded, smiling faintly. "Well I am glad that you did... You said you were a pit fighter?"

"Not for a few months now, but yes."

"Sounds scary, I don't really like fighting." He explained. "That's why I write books."

While pretending to be a rabbit, "So... Why use a fake identity?"

Bogue hesitated for a moment, looking for a response. "I've seen you leave the condo, wearing gloves, a coat and sunglasses... You have to hide what you look like right?" I nodded slowly, "Well, some things I write about... They might not be taken the same way, or sound as sincere if people knew they were coming from a large carnivore, and not a defenseless little rabbit."

Right, as much as I faced discrimination, I knew it existed for others beyond hybrids. "It's a shame, that this world works like that..."

"Indeed... I hope one day I can write as a black bear with pride."

Some time later, our social gathering came to an end. It wasn't very late, but most of them had to be up and go to work in the morning. So we finished up what rice cakes we could, and packed it in for the night. Everyone returned to their respective floors, carrying knew knowledge of their fellow condo dwellers. And I, carrying some modicum of social experience interacting with new people.

I felt strangely tired, not physically but... Like I had some kind of pressure in my head. I needed to take a breath and relax.

"Hey," I stopped just as my hand wrapped around the handle to my door. Turning my head towards the voice, staring back at me was that grey wolf, Legosi. "So... Sorry to bother you but, can I ask you something about being... Well-"

"About being a hybrid?" I surmised quickly enough.

"If you don't mind." He nodded slowly. I could tell my his mannerisms he was nervous, "It's fine if you'd rather not talk about it..." Was he worried about offending me?

Well, it would be rude to turn my neighbor away right? "What did you want to know?"

"Well, you said you were three different species... Has that ever effected your health in strange ways?" That was... Not the kind of question I was expecting.

"Not really... But my physiology is different than the some of my parts." I explained, turning fully to face him. "My bones are lighter, like a birds, so I can move faster and jump higher. This also means my bones break easier, but my skin beneath the fur is dense like a gator and absorbs a good amount of blunt trauma... While my eyes can see in murky waters thanks to my gator blood, with the ability to see things at long distance from my avian blood... But my hearing and scent are enhanced by my red wolf half." I'd never really considered it before, but if I did have an instinct to hunt and kill... I'd be almost unstoppable. "And if my talons or teeth get chipped or damaged, I quickly grow new ones... A doctor once said that's a common trait among alligators." Before I placed a hand on my stomach, "And like a bearded vulture, my stomach acid is capable of quickly breaking down skin, meat, and even bones." It was so strong, I could probably use it to melt through fabrics or even leather, I'd never really tested it before. "So I can process almost anything I eat."

He took all that in, every terrifying detail of my being. "Wow, it sounds like being a hybrid has some serious benefits..." Before he shifted slightly, "And... It must have come in handy as a fighter."

"It kept me alive," I replied simply, "Is there anything else you wanted to know?"

"Do you... Face a lot of prejudice?"

"Yes." An answer that required no thought. But it was making me wonder, "Why do you want to know these things?" The few questions I ever got usually revolved around what I was made out of, and nothing more.

"W-Well uh..." His entire disposition changed, he was stammering, fidgeting with his hands and starting to sweat. "I am uh... Kind of in love with a rabbit and... Some day, want to get married and have a family."

Oh... I see. "That is... Did you say you were a predatorial offender?" I might not know everything about the laws of this world, but a wolf charged with eating a live creature trying to marry a rabbit sounded like a bad mixture.

Legosi instantly stiffened up, "I- Well, see that was- I didn't hunt someone, its kind of a long story," His hands waving back and forth. "There was this bear, who murdered a friend of mine, so I challenged him to a dual," He was rambling, frantically. "But I was losing so my friend let me eat his foot so I could win! I actually love herbivores and would never eat one, honest!"

The more I learned about the insanity of the outside world the more I realized the pit was maybe less chaotic than I gave it credit for. "You are... A very strange wolf." Was the best response I could give. "To be honest, I didn't have a family just handlers, maybe if I did things would have turned out differently for me... So maybe you'll be better off with your uh... Rabbit, friend." Before finally turning away, reaching for my doorknob, "I think, I am going to go to sleep now."

"R-Right, thanks for the info... And uh, I'm glad you came to the cookout."

"..." I paused in the doorway to my apartment, before shooting him a sideways glance. "I think I am too, goodnight Legosi."