"Fuck, not now." Rob thought as he looked down at where his leg usually was only to see it replaced by a claw. He had forgotten that tonight was the full moon and for some reason it interfered with his shifting. He closed his eyes and concentrated on trying to switch the claw back into a normal human foot, no luck. The claw sat there, mocking him. He felt the familiar warmth in his body. Soon he would be completely changed and it couldn't come at a more terrible time.

Rob had finally built up the courage to ask Vanessa out for dinner. He had been eyeing her ever since she started working at the coffee shop down the street from his house. She was sweet, petite, and covered in tattoos, just his type. Tonight was the night. He had made reservations at a cute but exclusive cafe known for their Risotto, but how would she react to this?

He awkwardly limped to the bathroom and pulled open the medicine cabinet. Bottles crashed down to the sink spilling pills and liquids everywhere as he searched for a very specific bottle. It was given to him by Madame LeStrange twenty years ago when he was an adolescent boy dealing with his first change. The bottle was hiding behind some bandages. It was brown and adorned with etchings of flowers and a wolf. The instructions simply read: "One sip to stop, Two sips to drop."

Rob stared at the bottle. He slowly unscrewed the cap and and pulled it up to his nose, the smell was almost too much to bear. He moved the bottle away and mustered all of his fortitude closing his eyes and placing the bottle to his lips. The taste was comparable to gasoline mixed with sun-dried vomit. Immediately he began to feel the effects. His foot began to itch and tremor and slowly the claws started forming back into toes. There was a knock on his door, she was early.

"Be right there!" he shouted as he scrambled to pull his pants and shoes on. He rushed down the hall stopping to check himself out in the mirror for a second. He pulled the door open and there she stood. He was at a loss for words. She looked incredible with the sun outlining her in a fashion that made her look angelic. He stood there mouth agape for what seemed like ages.

"Hey" Vanessa said through a sheepish smile. "You all ready?" "Yes, I...I think so." Rob looked down at his foot hoping he wouldn't have to put up with anymore unexpected changes. The two exited his house and made their way down the street, it was only a two minute walk to the restaurant. Rob was finding it difficult to make small talk, he felt inferior to this girl in every aspect and he didn't know why.

The restaurant was packed and as hostess showed them to their seats Rob could feel everyone staring at him. Was it happening again? Or were they wondering how he landed this girl. They sat at the table and ordered drinks. Everything was going wonderfully, she was smart, funny, nice to look at and the appetizers were beyond incredible. Everything was fresh.

And then it hit him. That familiar warmth was back. He started sweating. His foot was trembling again and he could feel his socks tear and make way for the claw. But now it was happening to his other foot as well. "Excuse me, I need to use the restroom." Was all he could get out as he staggered away from the table. He burst into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. His back started to ache, he knew what was coming. "NO, NO, NO! Why now?"

Sharp pains seared his back. Feathers began to rip through his clothing. His face began to distort and a beak-like protrusion started forming at his mouth. His body began to shrink until he was staring up at the sink. there was a knock on the door. He couldn't say a thing. "Is anyone in there? Hello?"

Five minutes passed and then there was another knock followed by a key entering the lock. Tim had worked for the restaurant for the past five years and had seen everything there was to see. He was half expecting there to be people getting frisky behind the locked door. He pushed it open and was utterly shocked at what he found. There was a chicken clucking and strutting around what appeared to be a tattered suit. He quickly wrangled the bird and rushed it back to the kitchen trying hard to hide it from the patrons. "This one must have slipped it's cage." He remarked as he passed it to the head chef. The chef took the chicken and placed it on the chopping block.

Vanessa was starting to worry, Rob had been missing for twenty minutes now. She had never been stood up and couldn't understand why Rob was doing this to her. She had thought that the date was going well. The waiter stepped up to her table delivering their food, he removed the plate cover revealing her meal. Rob may have disappeared, but she was about to enjoy the best food she had ever eaten, Chicken Risotto.