With the meeting ending quietly and the present members filing out, William and Martha said goodnight to Dawn and Douglas Hale, who they had both already befriended. A few of the other members of the Wood Street Den welcomed them both to that den and even thanked them for the good ideas for both tricks and treats. It left both of them in a fairly good mood as the meeting ended. They collected their shoes and socks and began to make their way out, though they didn't change back to their human forms as no one else was, and by now the sun had set and they could legally be what they truly were, a werefox and a werecat.
"Well..." William said slowly, "I'd think that went well... Especially for a first meeting."
"Yes," Martha did agree, feeling fairly welcome, even though she had become a werecat and her membership was only honorary thanks to her marriage to William, "and it was nice to speak with Douglas and Dawn again."
William nodded at the thought of Hales. They were friends it was good to talk with them again, though at the moment, he was also scanning the room. Professor McCall had said something to him about wanting to meet with Martha to introduce Martha to her husband, who was a male werecat. She described it as having similar experiences. In the end, his search didn't seem too successful, but also unneeded as Professor McCall found him.
"Professor Anderson!" came a soft and friendly call from almost behind him as he and Martha had nearly reached the doors that would lead out to the parking lot.
William and Martha both turned and found a transformed werevixen and a male werecat. Professor McCall looked like most of the other werefoxes, in that her were form was colored in the way that most expected the Red Fox to look, though there were a few small signs of aging that indicated that she was older than William and Martha, and perhaps much older, but again, as will all weres, she had also aged very well. On her arm, dressed in a pair of black slacks and a purple polo shirt was a male werecat. He stood slightly taller than Professor McCall, though some of that could be the black tufts that extended upward from his feline ears. Like all male werecats, or as some occasionally used the term were-wild-cats to provide a difference between true werecats, like Martha and the Twists who were all female and based off of the domestic house cat, and male werecats who were all male and based off the various species of wild cats that were of comparable size to house cats. Professor McCall's husband was based off of the Iberian Lynx, as seen by his largely dull brown fur that looked like it might have some touch of gray in it, but William couldn't tell, along with the obvious black spots that ran down his arms and framed his head. He also had the wide cheek fur that was common with various lynx species. William guessed that Professor McCall's husband also had the short black tipped tail of a lynx, but that couldn't be seen as they were now both facing each other.
"I'm glad we could catch up with you," Professor McCall spoke and then looked to Martha, "And you must be Martha. Welcome. I hope all our formalities wasn't to overwhelming for you at your first meeting."
"It was no problem," Martha answered, "William and I had already made friends with the Hales, so we did know some people in our den."
"Makes sense," Professor McCall's husband spoke calmly and extended his hand to Martha, "Timothy McCall, I am pleased to meet you and hope you haven't found things at Moon Lake too trying... with all the stuff that's gone on."
"In the end... coming to Moon Lake... it's been liberating, for both William and I," Martha answered with a small smile. Some of Timothy's comment was likely in relation to the fact that William had been jumped by Yvette and that did raise some fears and concerns at first, especially while William was struggling with being "incomplete" at the time, but a lot of that also ultimately related to the baggage that William and Martha had brought with them to Moon Lake and between William's bond to her as a werefox and her finally admitting to herself that she was bisexual and had been wrong to repress herself in that regard, those issues were gone. She was proud to be bisexual, now, and she didn't care if her parents and older sister tended to look down on that sort of thing.
"I suppose there is some excitement in becoming a were," Timothy answered with a nod and a smile, "I can remember back when I moved to Moon Lake... I was never the sort to hide anything, and I have always liked both sides, if you know what I mean, and Moon Lake was a place where I didn't have to worry about who I told being... disagreeable."
William and Martha both nodded, though they also got the sensation that Timothy was closer to their age than he was to Professor McCall's. He looked younger than Professor McCall, which might be odd to some people, but William and Martha both figured that where love was concerned age didn't matter.
"In that, I was soon steered to a group of male werecats who have their pride centered on the northeast part of town and it was fun," Timothy continued, "I made friends and joined their pride. For awhile I even dated the male werecat that turned me... but while we were friendly... there just wasn't any real connection that went between us. I am bisexual and he is homosexual. We're still in the same pride and we do get together for our own fun here and the there, as he is still single, but that sort of thing was about all we really had. So, while I'm glad he turned me into this dashing Iberian Lynx you see, I didn't want to hold him into a situation where he'd have to question my commitment because of the fact that I'm bisexual. So..."
"You "parted" on relatively good terms," Martha commented, "That's good... Though, when I said it's been liberating in becoming a were, it's been more with some of my own family past. I..."
Martha felt William's arm wrap around her to give her comfort. It did feel good and she managed to continue.
"My family doesn't hate gays, bisexuals, or transgendered... but neither are they really supportive of the lifestyle," Martha spoke, "In a sense they'd support laws that allow for the lifestyle, but you'd never see them personally interact with those in that lifestyle. So, growing up... I found myself repressing that part of me, particularly as it was different from the way I was told I should be. But... in coming to Moon Lake and seeing how open werecats are with who they are, and with one being the present Town Chancellor, it began to awaken those feelings that I'd repressed and made me slowly question whether or not I had been right. When Yvette Smith clawed William... that only accelerated the decision that would have to be made, as if a werefox's bond formed, he'd still be loyal to me... and..."
"When the bond forms it's unbreakable," Professor McCall said with a smile and leaned toward Timothy with her own pointed vulpine muzzle looking to his rounded feline muzzle.
"Which mean I would NEED to become a were too," Martha nodded as she continued, "and in that realization that I'd been repressing myself... and with the fact that I'd made friends with Samantha and Frances Twist, I made the jump and became a werecat... a nice Havana Brown. And it's been liberating. I feel freer than I've ever been and I can't understand why I'd repressed myself for so long. There's nothing wrong with being bi... it's LOVE that matters, and with William's bond to me... I've gotten the best of everything. Some fun with a lady were who is interested... especially if she'd join BOTH William and I... and centuries of love and affection with William. Becoming weres... it freed both William and I and saved us both in more ways than one."
"So... in a way we both got something good," Timothy said with a smile, "True love and an open marriage to be who we are."
Martha nodded.
"So who did you two meet?" William asked.
"It was actually after the were that turned me and I agreed to simply be friends... or friends with benefits," Timothy commented, "I came across Professor McCall sitting alone in one of the city parks."
"In many ways..." Professor McCall added, "I was probably not too different from where Yvette Smith was at. From everything I've heard on her... in a way, I think what she wanted was love and a stable home environment... but obviously chose the wrong way to go about it... At that time, I'd had a hard time finding one that I could spend my life with... feel the security of having that bond there to know that I had someone who loved me and who I loved in return. Timothy noticed me alone and had some sense that I wasn't feeling too cheerful at the time."
"I help run a daycare in town," Timothy explained, "so that families that have both parents working can drop off young children and know they'd be care for. In that, I spend a lot of time responding to some rather hectic games of wants, desires, and emotions. Now, obviously, Joan, here, isn't a toddler in need of daycare, but there was something that just seemed like she needed cheering up. So, I sat down, introduced myself and talked with her."
"And he did provide comfort," Professor Joan McCall nodded and held Timothy's hand, "he was encouraging and kind... reminded me that I was beautiful and that eventually I would come across the man I would love. It lead into a steady friendship in which we'd meet, share coffee, and talk about events in our day and compare things in our lives... and then... it began to happen. Even though we hadn't been with each other intimately at that time, I could feel the bond beginning to form with him. Everything just seemed to fit in that regard... that Timothy WAS the one."
"I'll admit that there was some surprise on my part," Timothy commented, "as I'd thought that our age difference would mean something... but then, I did have to privately admit that Joan is beautiful and in many ways, there was a lot that we had in common. Now, being bisexual ISN'T one of them, but I found that Joan was very understanding on that issue. And so... in time, we married and never looked back. We have a son in the high school right now... like me he's an Iberian Lynx, but like his mother, he's more analytical than me. I'd think he has a future as a philosopher when he grows up."
"That would not pay well for him," Joan pointed out to him, her voice somewhat teasing, "I'd actually say he'd do better with what he wants to be... a reporter."
"So long as he's happy," Timothy answered and then looked to William and Martha, "Do you two have children?"
"Two," William answered, "Our oldest son, Nathan... Nate for short, became a werewolf, and he was the one who volunteered to be the family were when we first moved to Moon Lake..."
"And is presently very enamored with the were that turned him," Martha added, "Alex Ramsey... It was a surprise to learn that Nate was gay, BUT we've both been happy to see him happy, and young Mr. Ramsey seems like a good boy, so William and I have no qualms with Nate dating him."
"Our younger son, Eric, fell in love with Julie Stovall," William spoke with some pride, and noted both Joan and Timothy's eyes widened a bit at the mention of the name Stovall, which William privately figured they recognized the Mayor's daughter's name, "and is presently quite happy with being a weremerman and being with her."
Timothy and Joan both smiled. It was Timothy that then spoke.
"Then Moon Lake has been a blessing for you," Timothy said with a smile, "That's good. I'm glad for you... and glad to meet and talk with another werecat. It'd seem that we have a lot in common with how we live with our mates... me in an open marriage to have fun with some other men..."
"And me to have some fun with other women," Martha nodded, "I suppose we are similar in that way. It was nice to meet you both."