"What was that..." Tom thought to himself as he sat in bed.
He'd gone to bed fairly early, as he did have to admit that he was pulling longer hours than expected with his search for the truth behind Lionel Ulysses' tail and the mystery of who killed him along with his editor's mandated shift to the Sports pages had left him exhausted. Alice had been nice and helpful in his research and she did have a body worth dreaming over, but the dream that she was some sort anthrovixen and that by having sex with her making him a anthrofox was something else.
"I must be working too hard," Tom commented off hand as he fell back onto his pillow, "a good night's sleep is all that I'll need..."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Meanwhile in Moon Lake, Tad found himself having perhaps the oddest family dinners of all family dinners. Normally he and his mom ate at a small table in a side area of the kitchen that faced the backyard. Their new house had a dinning room with a full table, which he remembered his parents using for various dinner parties that were thrown for members of the unit that his father had been assigned to, such as when someone was promoted, retired, or was transferred to another unit. After his father was killed, he figured it'd be awhile before the dinning room table would be used, and yet here he was at the dinning table with his new girlfriend, Amy Howler, seated to his right and her entire family with her. Gary Howler was to his left and his wife, Elizabeth was next to Gary as well. Then came Amy's brothers, Jay and Leon, and then his own mother, Jen.
Tad never expected he be in anything like this sort of setting in that his family and his girlfriend's family would be interacting so closely so soon. Normally that would be a very good thing, but Jay and Leon were apparently starting to show the first signs of their first transformations approaching and there was some need to give them the best possible circumstances due to their young age. Weres normally didn't have their first transformation until they were fourteen, but Amy had transformed at thirteen and her brothers were presently thirteen and apparently had begun having the dreams that would indicate that their first transformation was coming. Tad had offered to help the Howlers with a way to help Jay and Leon to let them get through their transformations without trouble, and the Howlers had come since the two young teens had begun to have the dreams and nightmares that commonly went along with the impending first transformation.
"So... you said you had these dreams last night?" Tad asked to Jay and Leon.
"Yeah... it was weird," Jay answered with Leon nodding beside him.
"They can be, and are common for any were, though specific dreams may differ between species," Jen commented, "Tad said he had lots of dreams about running down deer... from what I can remember, many of the dreams I had were of me as a mundane cat eating tuna from a can."
"Really?" Leon asked.
"I can't say why my dreams had that focus, and not all of them did," Jen said with a nod, "I just knew that I was the cat in those dreams..."
"And that you told your parents about these dreams was the big thing," Tad assured them, "because now we're ready and we know for sure that your "day" is coming."
"Likely on the weekend... though we can't tell for certain if that will be Saturday or Sunday," Jen warned, and then looked up to Gary and Elizabeth, "The key will be to assure them that they are going to be fine and are safe. That it is okay to accept the wolf in them that is wanting to come out."
"Because in the end, the wolf in them IS them," Tad agreed with his mother, "nothing that they need to fear or reject."
Gary and Elizabeth Howler nodded but still looked a bit nervous.
"Agreed," Gary spoke, "but the big thing right now is the scheduling. It'd be helpful if you and Amy can be present. I know you don't know Jay and Leon very well..."
"I'm more than willing to be there if it helps," Tad offered and reached over to take Amy's hand.
"Thanks," Amy said in reply.
"We don't want you two to miss school or fail to be prepared for it," Elizabeth commented.
"Not to mention that there is all the mess that's gone on in Seattle," Gary added, "things on the televised news may have cooled down... but they made mention that one Seattle paper has been more subdued and possibly suspicious in its coverage. It may not be direct threat to Moon Lake, but it could still be a risk of were society as a whole being exposed and Moon Lake will be sure to take steps keep the town safe."
"Such as...?" Tad wondered.
"Typically in these sorts of situations, the town tightens the controls on when and where we can transform until they're sure the heat goes down," Gary commented, "just to make sure that we don't get a nosy reporter coming through with dreams of catching a big scoop. After that, things go back to the way they were before the primary threat of exposure appeared."
Tad glanced to Amy and then to his mother with the hope that one of them would have an idea. Unfortunately, he got no response that he felt would be helpful. He prodded at the dinner in front of him with his fork as he tried to think. It was leftovers, but it wasn't bad and the planning session had meant that his mom hadn't had a lot of time to prepare something.
"What was your initial idea for a plan?" Jen asked.
"The initial idea was for a camping trip for the Friday afternoon after school through Sunday afternoon and evening," Elizabeth answered, "If they change on Friday or Saturday night, they'll have plenty of time... if it's on Sunday night, they can get through the transformation and Tad and Amy could walk them home, as it would be night by then..."
"Possibly night," Jen countered, "first transformations during the day do occur with natural born weres. It's one of those things where we can't be too sure..."
"And Moon Lake's laws wouldn't allow us in public in our fursonas during the day," Amy sighed.
"Even if it was daytime, that wouldn't be a major issue," Gary commented, "We have a fairly decent sized tent and it would be more than big enough to hold us transformed and all. We could use the tent, which would qualify under the same rules allowing for transforming while at home and get Jay and Leon through that way... If anyone hears something... we could always say they were watching some nature documentary on a laptop or a iPhone or some other device and simply had the volume on too loud."
"But that plan wouldn't necessarily work while Moon Lake is in a state of "fear" over exposure," Elizabeth voiced the main concern, "and with the whole brouhaha going on over the Jenkins/Harper wedding, it's doubtful that the city... or the Skulk... would go for deciding to come into the open right now."
"What about the areas between the spokes that our houses are built on?" Tad wondered, "Maybe we could do that at one of our houses before dusk and go out after sunset. Our street isn't a major road to anywhere else in Moon Lake."
"It might work... but the local radio is talking about a nine PM curfew," Gary said slowly, "and that would apply to Jay and Leon... and if the transformation doesn't happen by then...?"
"It may be best to do it at home then," Jen spoke up, "a natural setting works best, as weres tend to feel most at home in the wilderness... even weres that become more domesticated animals... cats, dogs, horses, cattle, and so on. It is that inherent wildness in all of us... but the real issue to help control the first transformation without sex is with assurance and a demonstration that everything is fine and that can be done anywhere."
"But what about potential claw damage?" Elizabeth asked, "Amy tore up the carpet she was on when she changed for the first time. Even if there is a way to ease any potential pain and help them... there could still be some risk of damage."
"Do you have any sturdier surface?" Tad asked, "something that you wouldn't mind having a potential scratch in?"
"Outside of our garage... no... and I'd prefer my sons not have their first transformation in a place that smells like paint and motor oil," Gary commented.
Tad gave a sigh as he really didn't have an answer for that. While things were already beginning to cool down with regard to Lionel Ulysses' arrest and then murder with regard to the existence of weres, that didn't mean that things were totally safe yet and there were other issues apparently that would make the town less willing to decide to come into the open. It complicated things and put the Howler family in a pretty big position. What frustrated him the most was that there was nothing he could suggest that would make things better. He couldn't alter the curfew. He couldn't put up some sort of shield to keep out of town normals out.
"Do you have any old towels or throw rugs you don't want?" Jen asked, "Something that you would be willing to sacrifice. Preferably something old that you're probably close to needing to replace anyway?"
"We have to stand on a mat?" Jay asked.
"Potentially, but with more than one mat you will have the freedom to move a bit and wouldn't fall," Jen assured him, "and it may be the best option we have right now... outside of the garage."
Gary gave a low growl, indicating that he wasn't going to budge on that.
"Maybe one or two old beach towels... but not enough to be sure," Elizabeth answered.
"Then... you may have to buy some," Jen sighed, "nothing fancy or anything like that. You'd want it to be as sturdy and soft as possible."
"Okay," Elizabeth said nervously to her husband, "So..."
"I can come over if you still need me on Friday afternoon," Tad commented, "and since we live so close to each other... I wouldn't necessarily need to pack anything. I'd be able to come home, change, shower, and come back. No problem there."
"Okay then..." Gary said slowly, "so we have a plan then... though, I might advise packing something. If things cool down enough by Friday with regard to the situation in Seattle that they lift the curfew and added precautions, we'll go camping."