"Alice...?" Tom said slowly, still startled out of his mind by things. Some things were old dreams from his childhood, that seemed to resurface after meeting Alice and that part was rather eager, but at the same time the reporter that was a champion for the truth conflicted with that. She said that Lionel Ulysses tail was real because he was a wererat! That only raised more questions and questions he needed answers to.
"Yes?" Alice answered back, a nervous smile on her vulpine muzzle, her red eyes almost downcast and her long fluffy tail held low to the floor. A part of Tom's mind recognized that she was actually trying to show submission to him.
"You hid all this?" Tom asked as he regained some measure of decorum, but he didn't flee from her. True, she admitted to being a were, but she didn't quite look like the monsters in the movies.
"Yes, I had to," Alice answered.
She continued to come forward and got close enough to hug him to her. Tom was still surprised and didn't hug her back, but neither did he push her away.
"You had to?" He asked, sounding suspicious.
"Weres and Normals have not had a history of getting along well," Alice answered as she looked up to him, leaving Tom wondering if there was fear in her eyes, "Normal humans have feared weres for various reasons and often assumed that when one were went rogue, that must mean every were went rogue. And thus tried to hunt us... So we've hid. The only place where we can be freely in the open would be a place were weres are in control and everyone is able to understand that we aren't like the monsters on TV or the beasts of folklore."
Tom only raised an eyebrow, "Am I running from you now?"
"Well... no, but..." Alice answered slowly.
"So why the story that no normal human can understand or like you you?" Tom answered, "I like you and I'm... normal."
He paused a little bit at the end as he realized he exposed a little more than he wanted to initially. He did like Alice, but he had his responsibilities to the truth. He now figured that being a wererat is probably what helped Lionel Ulysses elude so many law enforcement agencies for so long, and who knew how many other such criminals might be out there that might cause trouble simply because they could and get away with it because they had the senses, strength, and natural weaponry to avoid arrest. He wanted to say he understood Alice's fears, but at the same time he felt those fears unfounded. Most people didn't even believe in weres today as anything more than horror movie characters. In the right setting, they could probably come out and reveal the truth and get a scientific response rather than a mystical one, and the country's laws would be such that they couldn't be denied their rights as sentient beings.
Shoot, he remembered covering a divorce case that ended up attracting a lot of attention because the man in the case insisted on being referred to as "the King of Supreme Sovereign of Mars" for the duration of the trial. It was weird, but the law was in his favor on that, and surprisingly enough, he ended up having the better case and had custody of his children from the marriage, who were presently going through school with no signs of being mistreated in any way. That was something that Tom Herald knew was something different from the Middle Ages.
"You're different," Alice said softly.
Tom could only blink in surprise at that, especially as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"No... Alice... no, I'm not," Tom answered, "I'm like any other reporter. Like any other man in today's world. And the truth is important to me. It's important so that everyone can understand their world. Hiding it, for whatever reason is wrong."
"But don't you...?" Alice looked back up to him.
"I do like you," Tom admitted slowly, "A lot, even... But I can't commit to a life where I'm hiding something. It isn't right and won't help anyone..."
"But... people will..." Alice began.
"People will have to get used to it!" Tom answered, cutting her off and raising her voice slightly, "Do you think people just accepted Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans, and other minorities because the Civil Rights Act was past? No! None of the people who didn't want it to happen were ready for it when it happened and they had to accept that the world changed and left them behind, thank goodness. You can't just hide from the world and say, "I'll wait until they're ready." All that will accomplish is change the definition of "ready." And that will get you nowhere."
Alice began to sniffle a little, as this wasn't quite the way she pictured her night going. He wasn't rejecting her, but he clearly wasn't ready, yet. Her eyes opened when she felt Tom's hands caress her cheek and lift her head so that they were looking eye to eye. He then rubbed under eyes, as if to dry her tears.
"It may not easy for you or for any other were out there," Tom told her, "but do you REALLY want to live in a world where the only place you can be YOU is in some random town hidden in a remote area? Humanity's come a long way, and while things may not be easy, it's not going to be as though no one is in your corner. The law will surely help and you WILL have my place in the press to provide you all the support you need for acceptance."
"But," Alice began.
"The truth will set you free," Tom told her, "It may not be easy, but it will set you free. And that will make everything better."
"But," Alice began.
"I'll stay quiet until Monday... as I have some thinking I need to do," Tom said to her, "but the hurdle before us isn't about you or me. It's about the truth."