William's morning at the college worked fairly well, though while he looked forward to going through a fairly normal week without some major threat or issue. Much of the start to the year had had its various issues, between Yvette clawing him and marking his entry into were society and then Jennifer Harper's marriage and the issues that came along with it there had been more than enough action for the small college town to last a lifetime. Something more "normal" was preferred and even desired as he went about getting the projector on and the premade slides ready. As he heard the computer power up, he looked up to see something he didn't expect...
"I would have hoped that you two would still have your honeymoon," William commented as he saw Jenny and Harry take a pair of seats in the front row.
"A real part of me would like to be," Jenny answered as she turned and sat down, "but there's still a lot of responsibilities to handle and my last therapy session today..."
"Do I need to give you time to go early?" William asked, fairly used to the fact that Jenny had been having therapy sessions in the morning, mostly due to the fact that her transformation had been incomplete for longer than his was and thus created the potential for mental stress.
"No... I think we can make it through the period okay," Harry said to him, "thank you."
"That's assuming some lunatic doesn't pick a fight with the cops though," another student said from the row behind them, making both look back to him. When this student noted Jenny and Harry's confusion she continued, "Yeah. Yesterday morning some lunatic that was hiding out on Wood Street got arrested for something... and decided the smartest thing to do was pick a fight with the cops... Bit my uncle and he spent the day in the hospital!"
Nearly everyone in earshot heard that. It surprised Harry and Jenny, as they'd spent much of the previous day at the cabin they'd been allowed to rent for their honeymoon and had been far enough away that they didn't hear anything that related to the battle. It surprised William a bit, too, but he was also more aware of that battle and remembered hearing the gunshots and the overarching fear that someone had come and potentially done something to harm Nate or Eric. That was another thing that William hoped Moon Lake could avoid for the coming week.
While students continued to filter into the classroom, William let the conversation go its own way. So far no one had said anything out of place and had been more curious about what happened than anything else, and with his own last minute preparations for his class to do, William really didn't have anything else to do or add to the conversation. As he got the slideshow pulled up on the screen and was ready to get started when the morning period started, however, the conversation among his students came back to him.
"Mr. Anderson lives on Wood Street!" he heard a male student comment, "Surely he heard or saw something... Like who the guy was or why he fought the police."
"Mr. Anderson... did you see anything?" the female student who'd started the present discussion asked.
This made William look from the clock, which wasn't yet at 8 AM and the start of the period, but not to far away from it, and then to the gathered students. The morning class appeared full and he was about ready to go through the attendance before the question had been asked and that lead to a small sigh.
"I'm afraid I cannot add anything to what you already know," William said slowly, "I was with my wife and our Den handling the Skulk's responsibilities with regard to Halloween Night the night before, and as such we weren't actually at home when this altercation took place. We were close enough to hear the gun shots and know they were gunshots, but not close enough to see what had happened or know why it happened. So, beyond what you've read in the newspaper... or heard on local radio... I can't add anything."
There were a few sighs that William did hear, which he guessed was a sign that that wasn't what they wanted to hear. However, there wasn't much more that he could venture on providing what clarification and news his students were looking for. They were College students and would have greater interest in the world around them than younger students would, which was a good thing, but that didn't mean everyone would have answers to those sorts of questions. William could only keep things moving and moved his mouse to pull up the first period attendance list.
"Though, before we get started with morning attendance, I will say that what has happened should be taken as a lesson and warning with regard to dealing with police," William said slowly, "even if you feel totally innocent of what you've been accused of, outright violence is not going to make your situation better... and it'd probably make sense not to engage oneself in the activities that the man killed was suspected of being... However, the complications on what happened would probably be better answered by your history, government, and sociology professors. WE, however, have Shakespeare and his marvelous use of language."
And from there, William then moved into the attendance for his first period class and then into the day's activities. The class remained involved and asked their questions based on previous readings and specific points that William raised in his lecture, which in turn lead to some discussion on those points. That was something that William always preferred with his classes as that often helped them fully grasp a lot of the material and move things forward, though he did notice through the day that many of the classes did have what had happened on Sunday morning still on their minds.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
However, not all discussions remained so focused on the battle that had been fought between one criminal and Moon Lake law enforcement. The fact that the incident happened and resulted in the criminal's death was big and was something that people paid attention to, but that didn't mean it was the only thing that was there to be discussed. For some there were happier things, and those things went heavily with Karen as she went through her morning and they were still on her mind as she made her way to the college's common area for lunch.
"He loves me," Karen smiled to herself as she walked along and going past the rows of mail boxes where students could get their mail as her mind continued to dwell on one Peter Talbot.
In many ways she was giddy beyond belief that he loved her and would be so open on it with making a rather public proposal at the Halloween Dance. He'd showed a lot in his character that Karen liked and he seemed to tolerate so many of her own quirks that most other men ended up being turned off by. Of course, most other men couldn't turn into anthropomorphic lions either. It was all something that made Moon Lake different, but in its own way special. And while she might have some personal issues with regard to werelion pride structure and actions, she did have the secure feeling that Peter loved her that was ultimately the thing that mattered most. Shortly after that was the fact that Peter's parents accepted her openly, which had proved to be bigger than what she'd first imagined given Peter's place in werelion society, but Karen had no personal goal to be Queen or push Peter to challenge his father to be King.
She kept her happy smile as she found him in line to go into the cafeteria for lunch. He smiled back when he noticed her coming and with a wide grin that made her happiness seem quite obvious to any and all that might have seen it. Though for Peter, he was glad to see her happy and was more than willing to support her wish to be happy. She was open, creative, and unlike Liz Brookshire, Karen wasn't out to become Queen, which was welcome to him, as while there were the times when he did welcome the respect that came along with his status, Peter had no great wish to be "King" either. He had no desire to fight his father, who he greatly respected and at times felt that a lot of the things that went along with his father's rank was something that also often meant heavy formalities. While werelions weren't as big on that as werefoxes were, that didn't mean that Peter liked formalities.
"Hey... how was your morning?" Peter asked to her as Karen came up to him.
"Pretty good... though you weren't there for my art class," Karen commented.
Peter shook his head with a small chuckle, "the college doesn't have the same models come in every day... and not every subject they'll have you draw will even be a human or were model."
"Yeah... sometimes there are still art and the like," Karen shrugged, "Though... I'd hoped just to be with you..."
"I know the feeling," Peter replied, "but come this weekend... there will be something special and we can see a lot more of each other after that."
Karen nodded as they went through the line and moved to get their lunches. Karen decided to have the same lunch as Peter, if only to allow them to talk longer over their lunch break. Peter was referring to the expected plan for when and where she would get her chance to join were society and be with him. She had her private reservations, but with the knowledge that he saw her as the most important thing in his life, those reservations were inconsequential and she looked forward to becoming his werelioness.
"I am looking forward to that," Karen smiled, "and the end meaning of the marriage to come after."
Peter nodded as they collected their lunches, "I trust your parents aren't going to being as disagreeable as the Harpers?"
"Oh no," Karen said quickly, "my parents are more than agreeable... put up with a lot of my interest in art and cartooning and... well... furries."
"Of course, you can't tell them about weres," Peter reminded her as they made their way into the main dining area.
"Of course," Karen nodded, "the big thing is to know the plan for the weekend though... I haven't let my parents know that I've found the man I want to live with for the rest of my life."
"That big thing will be ready by your last class on Friday," Peter commented, "I have a cabin to the south of Moon Lake reserved... It'd be a safe and private place for the two of us..."
"That sounds nice," Karen commented as they reached a table where there were seats available to look out the large glass windows onto the buildings and green to the south of the common area. "I take it this would go through the weekend?"
"Pretty much," Peter answered, "If you have any "homework" that's due next Monday it may do well to remember to bring that with you... as I'd hope to keep you happy and occupied for the weekend."
"With lots of patrolling the woods, I take it?" Karen asked.
"Yes," Peter answered, "though as much as you'd like... or as little as you like. So if we spend the weekend in front of the cabin's fire... that's fine too."
The thought of laying in front of a warm fire with Peter's arms around her sounded nice, though the weather had been so warm that she wasn't sure a fire was necessary.
"What about with your family?" Karen wondered, "Will they expect to meet the new "me" after the transformation?"
"They will," Peter nodded, "but this will be just you and me. I'd hope to take you HOME Sunday evening, but the formal meeting with the rest of the family... my Uncles and their wives and their children with you as a werelioness will be something handled later. Your transformation... that's just for us."
"I look forward to it," Karen smiled back.