Dinner went quite well and Samantha felt that Martha had to be quite the cook, given that the new werecat had spent so much of the day worried about what she had seen on the news. The meal was quite good and the dinner discussion did its best to avoid what had happened in Seattle. This generally meant updates on Nate's weekend with Alex and Eric's with Julie.
"The view is amazing... you can see for miles and even see much of the town itself," Nate said to his folks, "it was amazing."
"Well, it is good to hear that you and Alex had a good time," William gave a warm smile, "perhaps your mother and I might go come summer. Get a good look nature and a look all that surrounds the town."
"It's a great sight to see," Nate answered, "in BOTH forms."
"I think we did see it once," Frances commented to Samantha.
"Yes, when Ben was little," Samantha agreed.
"We will make a try to see it," Martha agreed with her husband, and remembering the walk that she and William had had with the Hales and the small meadow in the woods where they ended up settling into their last bout of sex the night before. House Cats might not be typical wild animals in the minds of people, but Martha had enjoyed that. If this view was as good as Nate said it was, that would be a good sight to see, assuming that this mountain above Moon Lake had the same beauty as the meadow that they found. "Provided that things don't go crazy with what happened in Seattle."
"For the moment, things should be fine," Samantha assured her, "nothing that Moon Lake hasn't endured and survived before."
"And if the campsite is near the lake, it'll be a place you and Julie could probably go," William commented, "give you a bit more room to swim in..."
"The size doesn't matter so long as Julie and I are together," Eric answered, "She makes me so happy..."
Samantha watched as both Martha and William smiled to their younger son between bites of food. In a way, she could see that the Anderson family was really adapting well to their new home. It was quite a change and something she didn't fully expect in the beginning. But, it was a great to see that sort of adaptation. A part of her figured that'd also be a sign of weres being able to let exposure come and then be welcomed by it, but she also privately chided herself to remember that they had also become weres themselves. If exposure came, they would need to have signs of normal and were getting along, which would mean that a family that had all become weres wouldn't work. That, however, was a work concern which Samantha did her best to put out of her mind. She wasn't here to work, and a part of her really wanted to learn about what she'd seen earlier that morning.
"We're both glad to see you happy," William said to his son and ruffled Eric's hair playfully, "and we hope that you remain happy."
Samantha and Frances both nodded in agreement to that as they finished the last of their dinner.
"That was good, Martha," Samantha spoke as she finished her last bite, "really hit the spot after all that's gone on. Thank you."
"It's no problem," Martha answered, "Frances gave Will and I a bit of help earlier in the afternoon to get it ready..."
"Mostly in encouragement," William added.
"It was nothing," Frances said politely, "and you are friends. Despite all that may have happened, you are friends and well worth standing by your side to lend some help."
William nodded, though most of the statement was probably aimed more to Martha than to him. The fact that his and Martha's marriage was still on shaky ground when they first came to Moon Lake combined with his forced transformation into a werefox and the consequences that came from it didn't really help his relations with the Twists. Particularly as he was sure that Nate, Eric, and Martha had probably all shared some private frustrations or issues that they had had over what had happened in Minnesota. Some distrust or at least "distance" was to be expected until he could truly demonstrate that he wasn't the man who too easily let himself be lead by equipment rather than his mind and heart.
"And we both thank you for that," Martha answered and reached over to pat Frances' hand, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, dear," Frances smiled and patted Martha's hand back.
With that they began to break up from dinner with all sides standing up. Nate excused himself and headed back upstairs, and the sound of water running indicated that he was taking a shower to clean off excess dirt that he hadn't been able to get off being out in the woods. Eric politely handed his plate to William and looked to Frances for a moment.
"So... would you be up for a few games of chess?" Eric asked, "or is it too late?"
"I'd suppose we have some time," Frances commented while William began clearing the table, "you can tell me a bit more on what you've found enjoyable about being a were as we go. See if there is anything you have with Julie that's similar to me and Samantha."
"Because the two of you met and fell in love around my age?" Eric asked.
"Yes," Frances gave a chuckle and then winked to Samantha before following Eric out.
That left Samantha alone with Martha for a moment, though she was also starting to clean up the table as well after dinner. Samantha figured her sister werecat looked well enough and figured that Frances had to have done a good job at getting her to feel a bit more comfortable, as Martha didn't sound as frantic during dinner as she did earlier. That was a bit of a relief for Samantha and would allow her the opportunity to indulge her curiosity a bit.
"You sound a lot better than you did on the phone," Samantha said softly as she came around the table and handed her plate to Martha.
"Mostly thanks to Frances and to Nate's confidence that things would be fine," Martha answered, "She gave both William and I a great deal of comfort that these things do immediately mean trouble... and Nate being secure in these sorts of things was also very relieving. I mean... we've all recently become weres, and we've all been enjoying it. It'd suck to be exposed and placed in prison cells just after joining were society and making friends here."
"We'll always do our best to keep Moon Lake's secret safe," Samantha commented as she and Martha walked from the dinning room to the kitchen where William was starting to wash the dishes, "and it's commonly worked. It may take a while to figure things out, but so far, it looks as though things won't be any different than before."
Martha nodded and handed the dishes to William. He nodded and slowly lowered them into the sink, the dishes giving a klinking noise as things were set down in the sink. While continued to wash the dishes, Samantha and Martha turned to head back into the dinning room. This was to double check and see if they needed to get any more glasses, dishes, or silverware to the kitchen to be washed and to have a bit of privacy.
"And it's good to hear that you're making friends," Samantha commented as they returned to the dinning room.
"Yes," Martha nodded with a smile, "all thanks to William and I becoming weres. The way it happened for William may not have been right... his bond as a werefox has healed pretty much everything that had been putting strain on our marriage, and in becoming a werecat, I've felt better than I've ever felt."
Samantha watched as Martha ran her hands along the curves of her body and did her best to control herself.
"I've never been this curvy... this strong... this beautiful before," Martha continued, "I feel far more confident... both in my sexuality and in all other things. And that feels good, and with William's bond... it's like everything that was a problem for us... is gone."
"Well, that is good," Samantha said slowly.
"It is and it's helping us both move forward," Martha answered, "including getting back into the workforce and making friends."
"Yes... you said something about a Normal making a pass at you," Samantha mused.
Martha chuckled at that, "Yeah... but the ones I've made friends with actually live in Moon Lake." Martha paused to chuckle again, "and we had a lot of fun yesterday."
"Oh?" Samantha asked, "Leaving Frances and me behind?"
"Oh, no," Martha smiled, "We'll definitely need to set aside some "us" time some evening... but I am making friends with other people from Moon Lake in addition to you and Frances. After all, you two can't be my only friends, any more than the dean can be the only person William talks with at the college."
"Of course," Samantha agreed, "and Frances and I will take you up on some "us" time. May I ask who it is you've made friends with?"
"Dawn Hale," Martha answered, "She's a werefox, from the same Den that William and I are in and was very friendly to me at the in service day at the school, and we met her husband Douglass as the Skulk's welcome ceremony. We had a good time and they helped show a lot things to William and I that were quite beautiful and had a lot of fun..."
Samantha's eyes widened in surprise. It sounded like Martha was not only beginning to sample the other women that would surely be interested in a new werecat in Moon Lake, but had a full on orgy with another pair of werefoxes.
"You didn't?" Samantha gasped.
"Mate with Douglas? No, no, I didn't," Martha answered, "I made love to Dawn and she made love to me... while William and Douglas pleasured us as we went along. William with me and Douglass with Dawn. It was fun... but has taught us plenty of lessons to work with..."
This brought some sense of relief to Samantha.
"Like just being furry for the sake of being furry... going through normal everyday things in my werecat form, that sort of thing," Martha commented, "and that wouldn't be bad... I... I honestly feel like I'm encased in velvet when I'm transformed."
"It does feel good," Samantha nodded, knowing that she'd enjoyed being with Frances in her own werecat form, even if the two of them weren't having sex.
"And they also demonstrated how a werefox's bonds can survive a more open marriage," Martha commented, "in watching them, you can practically see their bonds to each other... and their marriage is open."
"And...?" Samantha wondered.
"Well... it'll mean that William and I can move into a more open marriage as well," Martha commented, "While it isn't going to be something where I'm letting William go off and bring home random women for himself, though I don't see him actually doing that with how strong his bond is to me... if I come across another bi-were that is open for a threesome... "
"You'll share her with him," Samantha finished.
"And we can all have fun together," Martha gave a smile, "and in cases where she is like you and Frances and not interested, I will be respectful and not push her into something she doesn't want."
Samantha watched as Martha gave a bit of a chuckle.
"It's like something that Dawn said," Martha chuckled, "sex is only fun when EVERYONE is willing."
"Well... it would seem you and William are adapting quite well to Moon Lake and being weres," Samantha commented.
"That we are," Martha said while giving Samantha a warm hug and purring as she did so, "thanks to good friends."
Samantha smiled and purred back.