{{FRIENDLY REMINDER: This thread is about another family named Jenkins who just moved to Moon Lake. The Jenkins involved with the Jennifer Harper wedding can be found in the Moon Lake: Andersons thread.—tmw.}}
Harold Jenkins, the newest weretiger of Moon Lake, stealthy prowled through the forests behind his house whether he was consciously aware of doing so or not.
The scents and sounds that came to his new senses were amazing. The occasional owl in the tree, the fact that other weres had recently passed through where he was now...
Despite it being in the upper 50s, Harold didn't even feel a chill, thanks to his new fur coat.
Yet while a part of his mind was taking all of this in, one thought prevailed over all.
I wish Virginia was here to enjoy this with me.
MEANWHILE...
"So, I hear your father had quite a day," the voice that sounded like her mother said, waking Melissa Jenkins up.
How long she had been asleep, Mel wasn't quite certain.
She was more positive of the fact that she was dreaming.
I am dreaming, right? as she got up and walked over to her bedroom mirror.
Yet while the image was hers (for the moment), the voice certainly wasn't.
"Can I ask who you are?" Melissa said.
"You can," replied the mirror. "That doesn't mean I will answer."
"So?"
"So what?"
"So, who are you?" repeated Melissa.
"See, I told you you could ask, but now that you have, I'm surprised you haven't already figured it out," replied the mirror.
"Are you some kind of spirit representing my mother?"
"Close, but not quite."
"Are you my conscious?" wondered Melissa.
"Do I look like Jiminy Cricket?" the mirror asked in return.
"No."
"Well, we can save that mystery for another time. Now then, like I said earlier, I hear your father had quite a day," repeated the mirror.
"Yes," confirmed Melissa. "He's now a weretiger. Everyone says he's all right, and I'm glad dad is more like his old self now than he used to be the last couple of years; but instead of missing my mother so much, dad's now concerned about Virginia McCoy facing charges for violating something called Statute 1A."
"That is serious," agreed the mirror image. "The only worse crime in Moon Lake is outright murder, which is Statute 1."
"So Statute 1A is...?" asked Melissa.
"The crime of destroying a person by changing a normal into a were against their will. Anyone found guilty of violating that, even if it was an accident, faces a minimum jail sentence of 50 years."
"Oh my God!"
"Your father and Miss McCoy have every right to be worried. I can tell you the truth, but my knowledge won't do you any good," advised the mirror.
"And the truth is?"
"Alice Decrux was about to take advantage of your father's kind heart and not knowing that a bite or scratch would change a normal human into a were just as easily as having sex with one. Virginia saw what she was going to do and reached out in hopes of stopping Decrux, but instead the were-raccoon moved Virginia's paw into your father's leg and intentionally scratched him herself," revealed the mirror.
"Wait a second. I thought Decrux was a man user who just wanted to turn my father into a were-raccoon, have his child, and then milk him for child support," said Melissa.
"That was her original plan," confirmed the mirror. "But during the fight, Decrux saw a golden opportunity and took advantage of it, whether she's consciously aware of doing so or not. This way, all the suspicion is on McCoy since your father is now a weretiger. If Virginia winds up in jail for violating Statute 1A, Decrux will try to cozy up to your father over time and still try to have his kid and go on with the rest of her original plan."
"Can a were-raccoon and a weretiger even have a child together?" asked Melissa.
"Usually in a mixed species marriage or intimacy, if there is a baby, most of the time a girl will take after the mother while a boy will favor the father. Hybrids are possible, but rare around here," explained the mirror.
"So, what do I do? Or even can do?" wondered Melissa.
"Other than being there and supportive of both your dad and Virginia, I'm afraid nothing," confessed the mirror. "No one's going to believe either of us. I only talk to you, and you can't prove you're talking to me."
"Dang!" exclaimed Melissa. "There's got to be something..."
"I know. The timeline's in jeopardy now. If Virginia is charged, which thankfully the District Attorney hasn't made a decision on yet, let alone found guilty; there's a major risk your baby brother will never be born."
"So dad was right about him marrying Virginia and the two of them having John Sebastian Jenkins?" asked a shocked Melissa.
"Who told him that? I only talk to you," the mirror asked in return.
"Dad told me about these dreams he had before becoming a weretiger."
"Really?" said the mirror, now sounding surprised. "I know prophecy dreams are possible, but I thought only weres could have them."
"Well, then what am I having talking to you if I'm not a were yet?"
"Different situation. Besides, who said our conversations were prophecy dreams?" was all the mirror would say.
"Okay. So now that dad's the Family Were, he says the pressure of being under a deadline is off and I can take my time to decide whether or not I want to be a were, let alone which kind and with whom," Melissa said.
"That's true," confirmed the mirror. "After all, wouldn't you prefer to be right and happy than just okay?"
"So I don't become a werecow thanks to Trevor Tyson?"
"I didn't say that Melissa. The final decision is still yours. I only said now you have more time to think things over more carefully to make the right decision for you than be rushed into one right away."
"Well, dad did suggest me and Trevor should go on a few dates first and see how we really feel about each other," remembered Melissa.
"Sounds like good advice to me," was the mirror's only reply on the subject. "After all, remember what your mom once told you. First love doesn't always mean that's your only love."
"She told me that back when I had a crush on Jack Danvers back in Michigan. Just when I was a kid, long before she even discovered she had cancer."
"Despite their age, they still sound like good words to me," said the mirror.
"Okay. Out of curiosity, since Virginia's a weretigress and dad's now a weretiger, what would I look like as a weretigress?"
"A good question. Let's see," said the mirror, as Melissa's reflection started to change.
A couple of seconds later, a furry anthropomorphic feline stared back at Melissa Jenkins, but something was wrong.
"How come I look different than dad and Virginia? Where's the orange and black stripes?"
"Both of them are based on the traditional tiger form. If you do become a weretigress, you'll have mostly white fur and a hint of black striping here and there," said her furry reflection, turning this way and that so Melissa could see everything. "After all, I've always thought you're special, so shouldn't you stand out in a crowd, so to speak."
"Maybe, but why?"
"Becoming a were of any variety involves a lot of things. Besides genetics, it's also a matter of what's within a person's heart and soul when they change. Then again, regardless of the species, who inducts you is also a factor. If you do decide to become a weretigress, your dad or Virginia certainly can't do the honors."
"Well, that's true," agreed Melissa. "Then again, I don't know any white furred weretigers."
"If becoming a weretiger is your destiny instead of a werecow," began the mirror image, pointing to the bottle of werecow birth control pills sitting on top of the dresser the mirror was attached to, "not yet. Then again," and then, of all things, the mirror began to sing. "♫The future's not totally ours to see, Que sera, sera.♫"
With that the mirror image faded away, leaving only a black, non reflective square, before Melissa Jenkins woke up in her own bed, wondering what to make of all that.