Eric found himself whistling as he walked home from the Stovalls. The song was cheerful, but Eric really didn't know the name of it. It was simply something he had heard somewhere. His mind still dwelt on the joy he had in finding Julie Stovall and as he walked he thought over the "research" on how dating a mermaid worked, which had ended up turning to various movies in addition to what research he could find on folklore about mers. It had then made him wonder on how dating Julie would work. Would he give up everything to be with her, as Allen Bauer, played by Tom Hanks, did in Splash? Or would Julie give up everything to be with him, as Ariel did in the Little Mermaid.
"In the end I got the best of both," Eric thought to himself with a smile as he walked along.
He was still in his human form, but he knew that within him were the three stages of weremer transformation and he could assume any of the three stages at any time he wanted, though legally he couldn't do so until the sun went down. Going to Stage One might not do much, as the only thing could be visible would be the webbing on his hands, but there were still rules to follow and with most of Moon Lake being weres of some kind, they might notice that webbing. As such, Eric contented himself to whistling and walking along back toward the Anderson home.
++++++++++++++++++++
While Eric was walking home, Nate Anderson was riding in the passenger seat beside his boyfriend, and the were that had welcomed him into werewolf society, Alex Ramsey. The two had enjoyed a fun weekend of camping and while Nate had some confusion over the shared dream of him and Alex one day adopting a little girl named Alice, young love and the fact that he and Alex had been getting along so well that Nate wasn't opposed to the idea. His biggest wondering was when that would happen, but as Alex pulled onto the street on which the Anderson's lived, Nate figured it might be fun simply to find out when that would happen.
"I wish we could spend more time together..." Nate gave a sigh as he saw his home approaching, "
"Yeah... but we did have a great weekend and we will be expected to be ready for school tomorrow," Alex gave a shrug, "but, it isn't like we're running out of available time. We will have centuries to be together... we just have to be patient through high school and to a degree college."
"I know," Nate nodded, "though a part of me really doesn't want to. Things have gone so great for me since coming to Moon Lake... making friends with Ben and finding you... my first boyfriend... first real companion... and we've gotten on so well."
"Yeah, we have," Alex nodded, "and hopefully we'll have plenty more good times together."
By that point, Alex had parked his car and waited for Nate to get out. Nate nodded in response and got out and moved to collect his bags. Before heading into toward the house, he leaned in through the still open window on the passenger side of the car.
"See you tomorrow, handsome," Nate said to Alex.
"Same to you, stud," Alex replied.
Nate then backed away while Alex pulled forward looking for a spot to turn around to head back to his own house. He turned to find Eric walking slowly toward him with a happy smile, his lips whistling a happy jingle of some kind, and his new blue eyes twinkling. Nate figured that his younger brother had to be thinking about Julie. It felt good to see his little brother happy and he felt he needed to continue to thank Julie for all she had done for him.
"Hey," Nate said to Eric, "have a good weekend?"
Eric looked up and then nodded, "Yeah. Julie and I swam... danced... talked... bonded on every level."
"Sounds good," Nate smiled, "Alex and I had a great time camping... told ghost stories and got a look at Moon Lake from an observation point on the top of a local mountain. The view was beautiful... with the scent of pine everywhere."
"Among other trees," Eric commented, "even beyond our back yard... you can see that there many different kinds of trees here."
Nate nodded as the two made their way toward their front door. He figured that his parents would be working on dinner by now, which would have to be both good and bountiful. He'd even noticed that since his parents and then himself became weres, the portions had grown larger to feed their now higher metabolisms. Eric would see that same growth as well, and would likely also need more as he was entering the point where he'd need it to go through puberty.
As they entered their home though, two things were very obvious to them. One was that their parents had had a very active weekend of their own, but the other was that they weren't alone and in a conversation that sounded out of place with what they smelled.
"And this all happened just after you transformed for the first time?" they heard Martha ask.
The answer came from Frances Twist.
"Yes, a werecow... a bull werecow... was chasing after a couple of strays that broke out of their "pasture area," even though it was somewhat forested, and transformed to be able to keep up with his livestock," Frances answered, "it was night and he was legally allowed to transform, but in chasing after his loose animals... he wandered too close to the main road that goes through Moon Lake on the way to Seattle. A semi driver saw him and supposedly freaked out before calling the cops that a devil was out in the woods. Thankfully, the werebull didn't stay around to give the driver a good look and the police told the man that he was likely tired and thought it be best if he pulled onto the street next to the station's impound lot and get some rest."
"Was he charged with anything?" Nate and Eric heard William ask.
"The driver had committed no crime and wasn't sure what he saw," Frances answered, "and did seem to accept that he might have simply been getting too sleepy. So... no, and the werebull didn't violate any law either, but because of the close call in that case... Moon Lake did revise some of the laws regarding when and where a were can change, to create areas where no were could transform at any time... for secrecy's sake."
This puzzled both Nate and Eric and they made their way into the living room to find their mother seated on the couch with Frances seated beside her and rubbing Martha's shoulders. Their was pacing the center of the living room and both Eric and Nate could see a rather nervous look on both of their parents' faces.
"Hey guys... uh... what's up?" Nate asked first taking the lead, with his eyes shifting between his parents "no arguments, right?"
"No... just worry," Martha answered, "concerning a rogue were in Seattle who got himself killed in a gun fight with police and the FBI."
"In Seattle?" Eric spoke.
"Weres don't just live in Moon Lake," Frances answered, "and it wouldn't surprise me if there are other were sanctuaries like Moon Lake elsewhere in the world... but outside of that, weres have to be very cautious with regard to their own safety..."
Nate and Eric traded glances for a moment.
"The news report has worried your folks," Frances explained, "and like good parents... their FIRST worries were for you and your safety. But while this can be an "issue," Moon Lake has gone through situations similar to this with no real damage... and if the truth DOES come out, there are plans to try to make sure that the response to our existence is positive."
"Well... hopefully things work out," Nate commented, "but I'm sure everything will be fine."
It might have been a bit of forced optimism, but it did earn a nod from Frances and helped continue to try and put Martha and William more at ease. From what both Eric and Nate could notice, their parents had been nervous over this issue for the better part of the day.