The scent of the trees and plants was intoxicating to William as the two pairs of transformed weres left the Anderson via the back door. From what he could remember, the last time he'd been in a position like this was when he first began to transform. When he felt the raw primal urge to be with Yvette in order to complete his own transformation. It occurred at a point when his marriage was still shaky and he and Martha were still in the process of accepting that one member of the Anderson family, at least, would have to become a were in order to remain in Moon Lake. They were also gradually getting used to the fact that most of Moon Lake's population were were-beasts of some kind and that Nate was wanting to be one. The fact that THAT point is when he began to transform made things rather shaky.
He and Martha had obviously healed their marriage and united to defend their family from Yvette and were both rather proud of the fact that most of Moon Lake's population were were-beasts of some kind, INCLUDING themselves. William could feel his bond to Martha burning as brightly as it was when they first met in college, periodically dated, temporarily separated due to career choices as he continued to earn his doctorate in education while Martha went into her career as a elementary school teacher, and then a joyous and happy reunion when they found that Martha had a job in a local district in Minneapolis/St. Paul where William had just been hired as an English professor at the University of Minnesota. Then came their marriage and the greatest joys of it, Nate and Eric. His bond focused on that, and made him determined to show Martha that she was the ONLY woman he truly loved and that her happiness was always on his mind. He'd scolded himself more than anyone else when he realized how close he'd come to losing Martha in Minnesota, but that was in the past.
"You two really have been denning..." Dawn said with a giggle as the four of them reached the tree line behind the Anderson home, with Douglass and Dawn in the lead.
"Denning?" William asked, lowering his right ear while keeping his left perked.
"A term we werefoxes use when a bonded pair make sure their home is known as THEIR personal den," Dawn commented, "Cementing their bond and getting their scent everywhere..."
"And given the intrigued and curious looks and the sniffing at everything," Douglass added, "It's pretty obvious that you both haven't been out here..."
"I was when I first started to transform," William admitted, "after Yvette scratched me... let's just say that night didn't go so well."
"Well, things are better now, right?" Dawn asked.
William looked to Martha's green cat eyes and felt his muzzle pull into a happy smile and said, "Yes."
Martha smiled back and nodded in agreement. Things were better, and she was sure that William's past was no long an issue for them. And at the same time, realizing and accepting that she was bisexual and then becoming a werecat had fixed at least her part of the past strain on their marriage. William had even allowed her to have the option of an open marriage to let her enjoy some fun with other women to indulge her bi side. Martha had liked that idea when it was first proposed and loved it now, as it let her be who she really was. She had been repressing her bi side for years, largely under the influence of her parents and older sister's anti-gay commentary and even the fear that William would share that opinion.
But as he became a werefox and she became a werecat, he'd shown that he was fine with her sexuality and wanted her to be happy. Some of it might have also been some self imposed punishment on William's part for his past mistakes, but he'd also shown a great deal of tolerance for Martha's acceptance of who she was. In fact, she'd noticed that whenever she smiled, he smiled in return. That made Martha happy, though it raised some of their present issues and adventures, namely that Dawn and Douglass having a true open marriage and one where their bond wasn't tested. They were like Martha and William in a way, but without the rough patch that Martha knew that she and William had had. And some of what Dawn had said made some sense, but William remained the only man she could ever want or need, even if their marriage likely became as open as Dawn and Douglass's marriage seemed to be, but that would be at Martha's pace.
"Yes, yes, it is better now," Martha smiled as she took William's arm, "Just as it always should be... William is all the man I'll ever need and I feel complete as a werecat."
Dawn nodded and took Douglass's arm. She had had some hope that Martha might be willing to go along with it, but that didn't appear to be likely at the moment. But then, the purpose of their walk wasn't really to get into that. It was more to let the Skulk's newest members, and members of Dawn's den specifically more acquainted with some of the other perks about being a were, which included enjoying nature in a way that no Normal could. They could marvel at tall trees and untouched wilderness in pictures, but they couldn't catch every scent, hear the rustle of every leaf, or feel the gentle caress of a soft breeze on soft but warm fur.
"And being able to enjoy this walk should help with everything," Dawn said with a smile, "the scent of pine... the chirping crickets... the breeze in our fur. Coming out here... it's magical for Douglass and I, even if it isn't to have sex."
William nodded to that. Despite this being the first time he or Martha had been outside their home in their fursonas, he felt strangely at home as they walked through the trees. His vulpine nose caught just about every scent he needed to and he could even identify the animal or the were as they walked by instinct, which amazed him. He caught hints of Ben's, Alex's, Nate's, and a few other werewolves' scents. He caught even the occasional scent of Samantha and Frances and some other werefoxes as well. It was amazing, and a part of him wondered how he could identify all these scents so easily, but then he supposed that since foxes were by nature wild animals and had never been domesticated, maybe that was his own inner fox talking to him in ways other than just his love for Martha. Though, it also felt good to feel her fur rub against his.
"There is a certain beauty to it," Martha commented as she looked around, noting a few old birds nests in some of the deciduous trees in the forest they were walking through, "though... some of the forest looks..."
"Odd?" Douglass chuckled, "I suppose it does. Many of the first weres when the town was laid out also planted trees that came from where they moved hear from. Within the city limits it's created a very mixed forest... and one that Moon Lake does its best to preserve... though we've also had to make sure that our mixed forest doesn't overtake and destroy the natural flora in the area as well... Regardless, I've always thought it adds a bit of beauty in seeing things mix together. The rest is... well uniform... the same... boring. You've seen and smelled one pine forest, you've seen them all. Moon Lake has diversity, and it isn't as though we've made it impossible for native animals to live here."
"Sounds like a lot of work, though," William commented, his head briefly turning to his right, after catching the scent of of some mundane rabbits.
"It can be," Douglass answered, "but worth it."
Their hike continued, with each were's tail swaying slowly side to side to balance with their hips as they walked and for the three werefoxes, to also show their own personal happiness at being with the one they loved. After a short while, they picked up Ben's scent again but it wasn't alone. Martha looked toward it, as she did detect a feline scent with her neighbor's son, though she wasn't quite good enough to know that it was a wereleopard, and specifically a panther, that Ben was with. The area was thick enough that she couldn't see the pair, but a few howls carrying on the wind and low staccato roar, softer than a lion or tiger's but a roar nonetheless, gave an indication that the two were busy were best left undisturbed. Martha looked to see that Douglass and Dawn had detected it too and they turned away from the original path.
"We're not too far away now," Dawn assured them after a few moments they turned into a different direction, "it's a lovely spot that Douglass and I... and even a few other weres come to all the time. Sometimes to stargaze... sometimes... well sometimes to enjoy each other's company in a more natural setting than our bedrooms."
William and Martha both smiled to that. In a way, they were beginning to fall in love with the woods near their home, just as they'd come to accept and love being part of Moon Lake's were community. They walked a short ways onward until they came into a small clearing. It wasn't big with a set of rocks that were large and looked sort of like a chair with various ledges on it. The exterior of the clearing was lined with various trees, that under the light of the moon above them carried a sort of temple-like effect. William and Martha could only whistle at it.
"So... what do you think?" Douglass asked, his arm around Dawn's shoulders.
"It's amazing," William and Martha said together.