Melissa blinked and yawned after waking up. The dream had been fairly vivid, but also ended oddly. The costume her reflection held up in the end was ultimately a strange combination of a fox and a cow, which looked rather weird in that the two animals were not closely related and seeing them cross breed in nature was impossible. A male fox would never be able to get high enough to mate with a cow and a bull would likely crush a vixen if he tried. Though, she supposed a lot of that was the result of all the thought and research she'd been doing on the subject.
The book she'd gotten from Megumi had explained a lot about all the were-species in Moon Lake and even included some references to when and were weres could transform. That was helpful and even provided some things that let her brain see the pluses for being a werecow, even if that was more her heart's decision. Meeting with Erma had also helped in that regard, mostly in demonstrating that werecows weren't controlled by their "size." Trevor had told her that werecows were well endowed, between an H and J cup, Melissa believed he'd said, and Erma certainly did fit within that size range, but Erma also looked strong and kind and that she wasn't hampered by her size. In a sense, that was a relief, but wasn't quite the only thing. It made Melissa more comfortable with the idea of being a werecow to be with Trevor and to be happy, but there were still some things she wanted to find out.
That had ultimately come from something else that Melissa had read in the book she'd gotten from Megumi. The book had described that werefoxes formed strong bonds with those that they truly loved. Once formed, the book said the bond was unbreakable and that mated pair, or lone werefox if it was an inter-were-species couple, would be firmly dedicated to each other. That was something that sounded good, but Melissa also noted that this bond would remain even if a werefox's partner died. She knew weres weren't immortal, long lived but not immortal, but there was a lot of potential that "bond" would be something that Melissa was hesitant with, with regard to werefoxes. In a way, it reminded her too much of her father's heavy mourning for her mother, and while she didn't want to see Trevor or any future husband of hers die, Melissa didn't want to be in a position that could or would make her carry that grief so heavily as her father had. She'd need some clarification on that, which would have to wait till school and she could ask Megumi on it, or at least figure out who she could ask that question on.
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a heavy moan echo through the house. It wasn't sexual, and sounded more like someone was surprised by something and was "talking" in their sleep. The deepness of it gave her an indication that it was her father, and got her out of bed. She barely glanced at her alarm clock and walked out into the hall. She checked first on what was supposed to be her father's bedroom. Sure enough, the bed was empty. She sighed heavily and carefully made her way downstairs and found who she was looking for. Her father was asleep in a recliner with a book resting half open on his chest. His eyes, though closed, seemed to almost flutter as though he was dreaming about something in a very lucid manner.
"Whhhuuaaaa..." Melissa heard her father moan in his sleep...
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The night air smelled very fresh and added with the scent of freshly cut grass, which had been done that afternoon. It had been a good summer day which Harold Jenkins enjoyed, and the night felt good as well. He could feel the blades of grass on the bottom of his feet and he liked that feeling. It didn't really hurt or tickle. It felt fairly normal in an odd way. It made him feel at peace.
"Dad," a voice said from behind him, which made Harold jump a little, as he didn't know there was anyone else there. The voice didn't sound like Melissa, but for the moment that didn't register in Harold's mind. The voice then repeated, "Dad!"
Harold then turned and found himself looking a young male, as though he were about twelve at the oldest. He was a bit surprised by that, and was even more surprised by how the boy looked. The boy clearly had Harold's hair and even had it in the sort of style that Harold remembered having his own hair done when he was that young, but the thing that really surprised him was that the boy looked like he had Virginia's eyes.
"Dad are you okay?" the boy asked him.
"I... I'm fine... you just surprised me," Harold managed, trying to put things together.
"Surprised you?" the boy raised an eyebrow, "your hearing is far sharper than mine at the moment and it wasn't like I was on tip toe."
"I'm sorry," Harold said slowly, "I was distracted."
The boy looked out in the direction that Harold had been looking in and noted the trees and their branches softly fluttering in the breeze. The sound of crickets chirping in the distance, but it was nothing atypical for a summer night.
"By what?" the boy wondered, "there's nothing weird going on."
"John, your father was just enjoying the peace and quiet that we're enjoying right now," came Virginia's voice from behind him and Harold then felt her embrace him from behind. He found that she was fully transformed based on the feeling of fur against him and the fact that as her hands moved around his chest, he could feel the heavy pads on her paw-like hands making contact with him. He turned around to face her, and found that she was totally nude with her E cup chest pressed against him, though he also clearly saw her greenish/gold eyes with round pupils, which was one of the things that marked the big cats, like tigers, from the domestic house cat. Harold also noted her stripes that extended out from under her hair, the sides of her head and face, and what looked like a capital letter "W" in the white patch just above her eyes. "And my tiger deserves his peace after everything."
Virginia came even closer and nuzzled him. The whiskers on her rounded muzzle tickled a little bit, though Harold was still confused.
"Tiger?" Harold asked.
"Yes, tiger," Virginia smiled to him, "as in a male tiger."
Harold watched as she stepped back and pointed to herself, "tigress." Harold then watched as she reached out and took his hand and raised it. She held it gently and understandingly and held it out so that he could see it. It was covered in orange fur with black stripes running down toward his wrists with a white underside. Harold also noted where his fingernails were retractable claws, which made his eyes bug out of his head. "Tiger," Virginia finished.
"Whhhhaaaaaaa...?!" Harold gasped and then felt like someone was shaking him.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Harold jostled awake to find himself in a recliner in his home with Melissa standing over him in her nightshirt and underwear.
"Dad!" Melissa said to him.
"Wha...?" Harold managed.
"You were moaning in your sleep," Melissa said to him, "too much late night reading."
"What time is it?" Harold asked.
"About three AM, I think," Melissa said, "come on. Time for bed."
Harold slowly sat up and then moved to put his book away. Melissa stayed calm and beside him the whole way. She walked him back up to his bedroom.
"Good night, dad," Melissa said to him.
"Good night," Harold answered and went to bed, his mind still pondering things that he'd dreamed over. Him as a weretiger with Virginia with a son... was that right?