Harold invited Virginia into his home, and Melissa, once she finished clearing off the table, joined her father at the table.
"So," Harold started, "What's your story?"
"Well," Virginia answered, "I moved to this town about 10 years ago. There was an opening at the high school for a history teacher, and I got the job. I remembered the principal warning me that I should probably get a home outside of town, but I didn't listen to him. I found this nice home next to where you're living now with a spectacular view of the lake that was, for some strange reason, rather cheap. So, I ended up buying it despite the warnings."
"Sounds familiar," Harold responded.
"Yeah," Virginia continued, "Well, I think I was living at my house for a couple of days when I got the visit from the Town Chancellor, similar to what you had tonight. The only difference is that I was living by myself at the time, so I got the news that I had to join were society. I was a bit...apprehensive at first to say the least. I had no idea what to expect as I just barely moved into town, and they wanted me to be a were. At first, I was a bit scared, but as I got to know the town and its inhabitants better, I grew to accept and love this town."
"So," Melissa interjected, "Why did you become a weretiger?"
Virginia looked at Melissa and asked, "I'm sorry, I didn't get your name, dear."
"Melissa."
"Well, Melissa, there was this P.E. teacher at the middle school who took a rather personal interest in me. I wasn't as interested in her as she was in me, and I certainly didn't swing her way, if you know what I mean. But she did introduce me to the weretiger group. I went to one of their meetings and got to know them better. One of the things that I noticed is that they all took care of each other, like a big family. Many of them were involved with education and after a bit of thought, I decided to join their group. It was an interesting experience joining them, and it took some adjustment to the new me, but I was better than before. I was much better physically, rarely get sick, and it seemed like I never aged past 25. But, underneath the fur, claws, and fangs, I was still the same person as before. I still enjoy hiking and swimming during the swimmer. I enjoy reading books and looking at the stars. I'm still me, but a little bit better.
"I see," Harold replied, "So, why do they have this law?"
"It's to tie the family to the community," answered Virginia, " By having one at least one family member be a were of some sort, it helps prevent the secret from going out. If the secret of the town were to get out, it would pose a danger to everyone here. Thus, by having at least one were in every family here, it would prevent the normal people from revealing the secret. Think of it this way, imagine if Melissa here joined with the werefoxes. If you were to reveal the secret of this town, it would put Melissa in grave danger."
"That makes sense," Harold said thoughtfully.
"So, what kind of groups are there?" Melissa asked.
"All sorts," Virginia answered, "Werewolves are the largest and most popular group. Seems that many people know about werewolves, and end up joining them. There are also weredogs, wererats, werecats, werefoxes, werebadgers, werebears, and so on and so forth. Of course, there are also weretigers too, and that's what I'm a part of. My suggestion would be to get to know the town better and then decide which group you want to join. While, if I understand things correctly, you have a week before deciding, so I suggest taking your time a bit."
Melissa nodded and then bit her lip a little bit. Now that she was over her shock of learning the existence of weres, she was more curious than anything. She wanted to see Virginia's weretiger form, but decided that now wasn't the time or place.
Harold was a bit too deep in thought and taking Virginia's words in to notice was Melissa's reaction. It wasn't lost on Virginia though. "I have a question," Harold started, "Do you know an Alice DeFleur I think it was."
"Oh, her," Virginia answered, "Yes, as far as I know, she was born into the town as a wereracoon, and I think she works at City Hall. I'm not certain though, and she's been looking for a mate from what I hear."
"Ah," Harold responded, unsure of what else to say.
"Anyway," Virginia said, "I think you'll grow to love this town. Sure it's a bit different than anywhere else in the world, but the community is tight, and the people are great." She took Harold's hand in hers and her green eyes looked into his. "You'll be fine here, I can promise you that." Harold's face started to turn a bit red, and Melissa, noticing this, made a small smirk.
Harold noticed where he was and coughed, clearly embarrassed. "Well," he started once he got his voice back, "I appreciate you stopping by and explaining things to us. It is getting late, and I know a certain young lady has school in the morning." Melissa pouted as she heard this.
"It's my pleasure," Virginia replied, her hand not leaving his, "If you have any other questions, please call me and we can talk." She looked at Melissa and said, "And that goes for you too." Harold led Virginia out the door and then said, "Thank you. Your insights have been very helpful." She smiled at him and then walked away.
Once Harold closed the door, he saw Melissa standing against the wall with a bit of a smile on her face. "Couldn't help but notice the electricity passing between you two."
"Mel..." Harold replied, his voice rising, "Don't start."
"What? Just saying. It looked like you were having a good time."
"I'm not having this conversation with you right now. I know a certain young lady who needs go to bed because she has school in the morning."
Melissa sighed and said, "Fine. But you can't deny what I saw." Before her father could respond, she made her way to the bedroom and closed the door behind her.
Harold took a deep breath and rubbed his temples as he muttered to himself, "What have I gotten myself into now?"
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Foreshadowing! Also, I don't want to move too far ahead of the Anderson thread...