"And?" Samantha asked, sounding more amused than anything else.
"She's a normal," Martha said nervously, "and asked me to come down to 103 of the Moon Lake Inn tonight..."
"You said that already," Samantha commented, "as beautiful a were as you are... that'd be a compliment."
"But isn't that a problem?" Martha asked, "if I say yes... I'd need to let her know about what I am... what I've become."
"If she's a native to Moon Lake, she's already well aware of what having sex with a were would do," Samantha answered over the phone, "You'd need to let her know that you're a werecat, but she would be aware of all the potential consequences."
"I don't think she is," Martha answered, "she and her husband are people the school hired for the professional development day today. They travel around the country helping teachers keep their certification updated. Sort of like a periodic class to update on things that might have changed."
"She and her husband?" Samantha said slowly.
"She said they'd always had an open marriage," Martha answered nervously, still feeling herself shake.
On some level, Martha didn't mind some of the attention she'd gotten. In fact her cat was very interested in the other weres she'd met, like Jennifer Grant and Dawn Hale, but then, they were also already weres and Martha knew that she couldn't transform them. A part of her was even curious if Dawn might even enjoy having William there as well, and that thought did come as a bit of a surprise, but she had let that pass. With Julia Eidlemann, however, the situation was very different. The woman was older than Martha, not necessarily bad looking but definitely older than what Martha had looked before her transformation into a werecat. If she did have sex with this woman, she'd turn her into a werecat and all the related consequences of that act would then come into play.
Both Samantha and Frances had made sure that Martha understood that if she were to turn a normal, particularly if the normal was heterosexual, that the act would likely change the woman's sexuality. She had also been told that her specific strain of the were-virus would kill any normal male that came in contact with it without an immediate transfusion of another strain of the were-virus. Now, if Julia Eidlemann had an open marriage, the act itself might not be bad, but Martha didn't know on how to deal with the fact that she was a were and a werecat specifically. Even if Julia responded well to the idea of weres and went along with it, she wouldn't be able to do anything with her husband until he was already a were as well, and that was even if she still thought her husband attractive.
"I see," Samantha said slowly, though still sounding rather amused, "so I take it the both of them are looking for action..."
"That's what she said," Martha answered, "Now... I can't obviously do anything as William and I have the Skulk ceremony... but I thought you should know..."
"Did she force you into anything?" Samantha asked, the tone of amusement back in her voice.
"No," Martha answered, "She simply made the offer for me to meet her in her hotel room while her husband goes for fun of his own..."
"I see," Samantha answered simply.
"And?" Martha asked.
"And what?" Samantha asked, "You are a beautiful woman. Even before you became a were you were beautiful. You have a voice that sends lovely shivers up my spine. You're bound to attract interested attention. That's perfectly normal, and within Moon Lake... you'll find plenty of female weres that will be at least curious and as a werecat you will be interested back. There is nothing wrong with getting compliments and offers. You should hear some of the stories Frances could tell of offers she got while at Med School outside Moon Lake... Shoot, there are even a few I could tell you while I was waiting for her to come back to me."
"But... she said her husband..." Martha said carefully.
"Listen, honey, it is okay to be thought beautiful," Samantha spoke, "that is perfectly fine, and if she didn't force herself on you, you have nothing to worry about. And if she invited you to her hotel room TONIGHT, then you have no need to worry if you intend to go your husband's induction into the Skulk. You will be otherwise engaged."
"I know... but suppose they end up going looking for fun of their own?" Martha spoke nervously, "wouldn't that risk exposure?"
"It could in theory," Samantha answered, "but if they were hired by the school for the purpose of running professional development, they have probably signed waivers in which they agree not to divulge anything seen while in Moon Lake and if they live outside of Moon Lake, our schools would likely be obligated to read through the waiver with them over the phone before they sign, and would be instructed that if they can't take the waiver seriously, than not to come at all. So, they'd probably understand not to reveal anything in case they see anything odd..."
Martha took a deep breath.
"And if they do go out for fun," Samantha commented, "unless they're already aware of Moon Lake's secrets, it is unlikely that anyone is going to just give them that sort of attention... as any were will know they're normal and will generally have the same concerns you have."
"What if they push it father?" Martha asked, "or they run into a were that is more willing to go along with it?"
"Then the were in question would have to let them know," Samantha answered, "In order to avoid any potential violation of Statute 1-A... which could very well lead into Moon Lake's MAD policies..."
"That they'd have to chose a were-beast species and become that species," Martha said slowly.
"Precisely,"Samantha nodded, "We'll make sure no one forces things on them needlessly... but if pushed we'll protect our secret and make sure that if they force the issue or that if they do engage in some fun with a were that they know things fully and that it was willing on their part."
Martha nodded, temporarily forgetting that no one could hear a "nod" over the phone. Samantha did say again to make sure that Martha did understand.
"Remember that you've done nothing wrong, Martha," Samantha spoke again, "and that the compliments that were given to you are not wrong, either."
"I understand," Martha replied, "It's just... well... I've never really had had anyone make a bass at me before. William might have flirted with me that way a bit when we started dating, but both of us were in our twenties then... late twenties, mind you, but still we were much younger then."
The humored and amused tone returned to Samantha's voice, "Remember you're a werecat now, honey. And as such, you're physically going to be looking as if you're in your twenties or thirties until you begin to approach your first century mark and won't begin to approach being "middle aged" until you're close to two hundred. You'll be getting such complements for quite awhile for a good many years to come, from both fellow weres and from normals."
"I guess I'll just have to get used to somethings," Martha commented.
"And don't worry," Samantha assured her, "you've done nothing wrong."
"Thank you," Martha said politely and then checked her watch, "I wish I could stay on and maybe inquire into some of your stories... but my lunch break is nearly up. I'm gonna need to head back for the afternoon session."
"Alright then, good luck," Samantha spoke, "and have fun."
With that the two of them hung up and Martha made her way out of the bathroom.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Meanwhile Samantha hung up her own phone. Martha's call had caught her surprise to a certain extent, both from what Martha told her and from the fact that she didn't expect a call from her sister werecat that day. Though, Martha's call did make some sense on a "head's up" sort of level. It wasn't the first case where a normal visiting Moon Lake has come onto a were from Moon Lake. In fact Simon and Greg Trask's story of romance with her own pride demonstrated that sometimes normals from outside Moon Lake fell in love with weres from Moon Lake from time to time, though Samantha was fairly certain that Greg fell in love with Simon's human persona before Simon showed Greg the Wildcat within Simon and brought out the Bobcat hidden within Greg.
However, the way Martha described things, it sounded as though the normal that hit on her was only in town on professional business. That did present an issue to be wary of and thus Samantha quickly placed two calls. One with the Moon Lake Inn and the other with the police department to monitor Room 103 and the guests that were there, including if one or both guests left the room. Samantha couldn't outright block Julia and Franz Eidlemann with regard to their activities and if they did willingly have sex with a were, they would be formally welcomed into Moon Lake's were society. They would, however, need to be monitored to make sure they didn't A) create another "rogue were" situation or B) risk exposing Moon Lake as a were sanctuary to the world.