The meeting with the four males in the pride had gone well. Spencer's joking was amusing to Martha, and it was clear that Jose did like that in his husband. Greg struck Martha as being very hip and into many things that related to hair styles and clothing while Simon was more reserved and quiet, but still friendly. However as they got through the introductions, Martha noticed that the pride's other new member, Jen Decker hadn't arrived yet.
"Has Jen arrived yet?" Simon asked as he looked around.
"Not yet," Samantha answered, "as was said before... Martha lives next door to us, so we gave her a ride. I called Jen when we got here to begin setting up. She should get here shortly."
There was a quiet nod, and Martha figured that the rest of the pride was at least familiar with Jen Decker. Samantha had told her on the phone that she had been born to a different pride in Moon Lake but left when her husband, a werewolf named Jeff, joined the Marines. With his recent murder, she had returned to Moon Lake with her son. Her son was joining Nate and Ben's pack and apparently Jen had decided to join the same pride that Martha had joined.
"Do you know how she's doing?" Simon asked.
"About as well as can be expected," Samantha said with a sigh and then turned an ear as another car engine was heard in the night that was growing closer.
In the daytime, the group of werecats would have had reason to be nervous as people would see them in their were forms as clear as day, but with the sun down and the stars out, a normal human would only see them clearly if illuminated by a car's headlights and they were looking straight at them. At night, most people wouldn't go to a park. People at Moon Lake might, but then most people at Moon Lake could turn into animals known for excellent night vision. Werecats were among them, and Martha looked to the sound as a lone car approached. It arrived and parked near Spencer and Jose's car, and Martha figured the driver was the pride's other new member. A lone woman got out of the far and casually walked to them under the Lions Club picnic area. As she got closer, Martha's sense of smell told her that the new arrival was a werecat.
She approached Samantha and the two of them hugged as she arrived.
"You've really gone all out on this, Sam," Jen Decker commented.
"I said I would give you the opportunity to meet your new pride," Samantha answered, "and since we're a small pride... this is everyone."
Frances moved from the edge of the picnic table that the pride's female members to hug Jen Decker as well.
"Hey, Jen," Frances said in greeting.
"Hey, Frances," Jen smiled, "Doing well?"
"Yes," Frances answered, "kept busy by things... but that's life."
Jen nodded.
"Now... before you meet everyone, aren't you forgetting something?" Samantha asked.
Jen raised an eyebrow, gave a smile and then chuckled and shook her head. She carefully kicked off a pair of sneakers and then raised her lower leg to pull the sock off her foot and then repeat that process with the other foot.
"I suppose, it'd be best to be rather catty at the moment, given the company," Jen said with a soft sigh.
"Here, here!" Spencer cheered as Jen began to transform.
As with all werecats, Jen's eyes turned green and her pupils turned into vertical slits. Her black hair grew slightly longer as charcoal black fur grew all over her body. Martha watched as it grew and grew and grew. Jen's fur was easily longer than her own fur or Frances's or Samantha's fur. It actually grew and fluffed at the top of Jen's shirt. Martha was so surprised by the length of Jen's fur that she barely noticed the new arrival's ear's move to the top of her head and become triangular in shape. Jen briefly flexed her growing claws and then let them retract back into her fingertips.
"Urrgh," Jen gave a low grunt, "been away from Awareness for too long..."
Jen pulled down on the back of her jeans to let her tail grow out behind her. She inwardly smiled as she felt her tail grow and as her face push slightly forward. However, unlike Samantha and Frances who were largely based off of breeds of House Cat that were pretty much any cat with short fur, and Martha who knew that her specific breed was a Havana Brown, Jen's feline muzzle while rounded wasn't very long... even for a cat. Her face wasn't completely flat, but her muzzle wasn't long by feline standards. Jen as a werecat was based off of the Persian cat breed. Martha found Jen to be rather beautiful with the way her long fur covered.
"So, this is everyone?" Jen asked.
"Yes," Samantha nodded, "Why don't you go and sit down next to Martha while Frances and I pass out sodas, sandwiches and sides."
That proved to be enough for everyone to sit down at the tables that had been set up. Martha was tempted to introduce herself to Jen, but didn't know if Samantha and Frances had any more plans for the meeting. So, she sat quietly while Samantha and Frances passed out sandwiches from a picnic basket along with chips, coleslaw, and some of the sodas that William had bought on his way home and put in the cooler with ice. Martha heard a chorus of thank yous from the others as they were given their food, but found Jen looking to her.
"You're Martha Anderson?" Jen asked to her, "the pride's other new member, right?"
"Yes," Martha said with a slow nod, "My family moved here just before the school year started. We had some ups and downs... including being a bit nervous about some of Moon Lake's rules... but Samantha and Frances are my neighbors and have become great friends. Helped me through quite a bit."
Jen blinked and then glanced to Frances who was placing a snack size bag of Doritos on Jen's plate, "Her voice..."
"Sexy, isn't it?" Frances gave a smile to Martha and then to Samantha who was offering some chips to Martha before moving to sit down opposite Jen.
Martha wanted to blush a little at that. Before coming to Moon Lake, she'd never thought of her voice as sexy. After a moment, Jen turned back to her.
"Well... I hope you like it here," Jen commented, "I've known Samantha and Frances for a while, and while we came from different prides... we've always been good friends. You could never ask for friends better than them."
"My whole family's come to love being here," Martha smiled, "as you can see, I'm a werecat now... while my husband had his choice in the matter taken from him, he's adapted quite well to being a werefox... my oldest son is on cloud nine as a werewolf, and from what I've been told, your son is joining the same pack my oldest joined... and my youngest son... is presently dating the mayor's daughter."
Martha left out the part about Eric being rapidly on the path to becoming a weremer.
"Sounds like quite a lot," Jen commented, "There hasn't been that much transformation in my family... I was born a werecat... I'm bi, and I married a great guy... a werewolf named Jeff..."
Martha paused while Jen paused to collect herself.
"And I've sadly lost him," Jen sighed, "which is why I came "home" and meet new friends and reconnect with old ones."
Martha calmly reached over to Jen's hand and held it comfortably. She privately marveled at how soft Jen's long fur was.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Martha stated, "and I'm more than willing to offer whatever help I can... and make good friends."
Jen smiled, "That's good. Having friends is a good thing... and it'll be good to make new friends..."