Night brought on the sense of calm and tranquility that it always did. In Moon Lake it allowed the town's weres that didn't have jobs that had them working the night shift come together and enjoy each other's company, particularly if they were already romantically involved. There were of course the issues that loomed over the town specifically and weres in general, but at least with a quiet night without a cloud in the sky and nighttime stars being clearly visible, things were relatively calm. The Harper/Jenkins wedding was still on for the next day and there was the potential that Dymixious could pull something, but for the moment they were things that couldn't be handled or completed until the sun came up the next morning. And so, Moon Lake essentially took the position to "let it be" until morning.
Not all were quite so tranquil, however. In Seattle, Tom lay beside Alice in bed... in HER bed. She felt soft and warm next to him, and in a strange way he'd never felt happier with anyone. On a personal level it was like she truly completed him and that she had made him happy in ways that he couldn't easily put into words. He simply knew she was the most important thing to him and she would be the only one that he'd wish to spend his life with. It was the special werefox bond that had formed when she turned him into the male werefox that he had become. It was a wonderful feeling, and it should give him some sense of tranquility, but at the moment it wasn't.
Tom lay quietly and tried to think over many of the things that troubled his mind. A lot of it started with his investigation into the reports the police gave on the arrest of Lionel Ulysses and soon after the man's murder. The tail caught on the police body cam footage couldn't be kept secret and they claimed it was a costume piece, despite there being no tail initially found. The fact that no tail was found was enough to make Tom suspicious that there was more to it than a costume piece. His search hadn't been easy and his editor at the newspaper didn't believe him, but by the time that Tom got an answer that truly confirmed his suspicions, it was with Alice under different circumstances. She told him that weres were real beings and that in all likelihood, Lionel Ulysses was a were himself.
The revelation would have been an instant Pulitzer prize winning article, but by that time, he'd also found himself falling in love with Alice. That love and bond also set off a new set of worries and concerns. One was the fear that exposing weres could produce a negative result that would take Alice from him. On the other had, the part of him that was a journalist also felt like it wasn't fair that Alice had to hide who and what she was. Her interactions with him had been polite and friendly and she had been quite open with him in many respects. In this he figured were exposure was needed and used as a means to argue for their rights so that they didn't have to hide. However, there was still the issue of how to handle it, as it would be a big thing and how it could be scheduled. He'd have to get through the weekend before he could even get to it and might have some battles with his editor in order to make sure the story was one that would be beneficial.
"Hmmmm," Tom sighed as he lay in the bed and looking at the ceiling.
"Tom...?" came a soft and sleepy voice from beside him, "you're not asleep?"
Tom turned to see Alice holding her eyes partially open and he sighed again.
"I'm sorry, love," Tom spoke, "I didn't want to disturb you."
Tom heard the blankets rustle slightly as Alice rolled onto her side and he soon felt her hands run across his chest. It felt good, and he did focus to her. Her hands soon moved to stroke his cheeks, and he felt strangely comforted by. He could feel the comfort being provided just by the tactile contact, which was reassuring.
"What's wrong?" Alice asked him.
"Mostly just thinking about all the issues that will need to be solved," Tom said slowly, "Some of it is personal... hoping your parents like me and all that... but a lot... a lot is related to what realistically speaking needs to happen before it happens in an uncontrolled manner."
Alice slowly blinked and nodded. The situation that Tom referred to was something that was big and one that were society did fear. Exposure was not something that was wanted or looked for, because there were plenty of stories of were hunts where Normals that believed weres existed. These hunts were largely based on superstition and rumor, and often killed as many Normals as Weres. These memories didn't go away, especially when these hunts in many places went on as late as the 1600s and while the generation of weres born in 1600 had died by now, October 30, 2015, that didn't stories of what happened didn't carry down through the generations. And for that reason weres feared exposure.
But Alice did know that Tom's earlier reasoning made sense and was probably right. Weres had been lucky avoid outright exposure for years and technology was getting better and better by the year. And while towns like Moon Lake might be able to contain and control any issue with a potential rogue were there, it would only take one rogue outside Moon Lake transforming and being caught on camera or by a smart phone. That would mean exposure, but under circumstances that would make it look like weres were the sort of beasts that folklore generally tended to depict them as. Coming out now might truly do weres as a whole a real favor in that they could control the "big reveal" and in a situation where there would be no direct image that would plant doubt in the sort of argument that Tom would likely wish to make in the favor of were-beasts everywhere.
"I'm sure things will work out well," Alice spoke, "On both fronts. My parents will like you..."
"And on the other?" Tom asked, "I can't really start on that until this coming Monday... and even there... it could be an uphill battle."
"I won't lie and say that accepting coming out into the open will be easy... and even I'm nervous about the idea," Alice spoke, "but you made a fair point. Use sound logic and explain the benefit of coming out into the open and demonstrating how well weres and normals can get along... how it could avoid a negative response due to a negative image and so on. It may be an uphill battle, but not an unwinnable one."
"You're sure?" Tom wondered.
"So long as you use sound reason to make coming out seem the smart thing to do," Alice spoke, "Yes... because your point does make sense. But... for the moment... nothing we can do until Monday. There may be a lot still to worry over... but I'd think your case is still valid. You just need to remember the points you made with me. And you'll be fine."