The Local Diner, as the sign read, didn't actually look like much. It certainly looked clean and polished, but from what Nichole could make out it looked like it had been first built in the fifties and had simply been well maintained over the years. It made for an interesting style, though to both Nichole and Karen Charleston, the name seemed a bit odd.
"The Local Diner?" Nichole said slowly to Francine as the approached its front.
"Not the most original name, I'll admit," Francine shrugged, "but supposedly it was named for an original owner or something like that... but the name was hard to pronounce and people just called it the Local Diner because it was all they could pronounce. Eventually the name just stuck."
"Hmmm," Nichole said slowly as they walked along.
She was still fairly uneasy with a fair number of things, but at the same time, she was well aware that the family didn't have many options left. The Gambonis were still out there and they didn't have much in the way of funds. That limited their ability to move out and find a new place that wasn't populated by weres. At the same time there were actually some things that were worth liking, and if the town's Town Chancellor hadn't gone through the routine about someone in their family having to give up their humanity, Nichole might have easily overlooked the town's layout and seen it as just another suburban town. But there was the whole were issue, which couldn't be ignored and that was the thing that really didn't sit completely right with Nichole.
Her talk with the school's staff had gone well and actually had been rather comforting that the school had firm rules in that regard, but that still wasn't the thing that was at the heart of the issue at hand. She supposed that if weres weren't the monsters they were often portrayed as, they deserved the right to live freely. However, this mandatory were law was not the way to go about it. Even if its reason was to protect weres, it was a bad way of doing so. It only meant secrets and that meant there would always be questions as to what is being hidden, and to Nichole, it also represented a degree of paranoia in which no one could trust normal people to be good people unless someone in that family gave up their humanity. That was the biggest thing that Nichole was concerned with.
For the moment Karen was quiet as they crossed the street and headed toward the diner, though her thoughts were more on the information from the email she'd gotten from Samantha Twist regarding Moon Lake's feline weres and her own decision to be the Charleston family were. Sure, it would mean her life would change drastically, but she was tired of running and tired of being pursued by a jerk who probably couldn't even love his own mother, in her opinion. If her parents eventually moved on, she'd still stay in Moon Lake, and she'd be a were, and if any of the Gambonis ever threatened her after that point, she would not show them mercy for all that they had done.
Karen thought over the email and the information that it contained regarding the feline weres. In many ways there was a lot to like in that they were flexible and strong with heightened senses and heightened balance, but there were certain points that she knew she'd have to be wary of. Werecats were all at least bisexual and "male" werecats could be considered werewildcats and like werecats were at least bisexual. Karen was fairly certain she was straight, and privately she did like the Brooks' son after their talk at dinner the previous night and stargazing in the Brooks' backyard. That would mean they were out, and while werecheetahs didn't have the sexuality issue, they were still a purely female were-species, which given the way most became weres, would mean she'd need to be willing for girl on girl action, which she didn't want.
That limited her to a few choices. There were the weretigers and werelions, easily the biggest feline weres in Moon Lake. They were the strongest and got along fairly well, though weretigers could be potentially protective to the point of becoming possessive and werelions had a fairly complex society, even among weres, that was openly polygamous. A married pair might make sure that any werelion cubs were born to them, but could be quite comfortable with sharing partners, which Karen was a bit uneasy with. There were wereleopards/panthers, which were smaller and less powerful, but were far more agile and frequently preferred exploring the trees that made up the woods around Moon Lake. There the biggest negative was that wereleopards tended to be rather independent. They had their group organization, and families could be tight knit, but they often went their own way, which could mean that organizing things with them could be difficult. There was also some indication that there were also weremountainlions that had male and female members, but they were rarer than the other feline groups. Karen chalked that up to the big cats being more popular.
Both Charleston women had their thoughts interrupted as Francine opened the door and smiled to them, "and don't worry. The food is good. People come to the diner to eat all the time."
"Well that'll be good," Karen gave a smile to her mother, "it means you and dad will fit right in. You and dad make good pizza."
They made their way in. There were a few people at the diner, but not that many, possibly as it was a week day a fair number of people were at work, even with the proverbial "lunch rush." That meant they didn't have to wait long for a seat, which was ultimately a booth near the front windows. Karen looked out the window to see a couple of people walking outside to go about their business before looking through the menu. She ultimately ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and a Coke. Nichole ordered BLT sandwich with some baked chips and a lemonade. Francine ordered a hard boiled egg sandwich with lettuce and mayonnaise. For sides she ordered some hash-browns and a glass of water.
"So, now that you've gotten to see more of the town, what do you think?" Francine asked, remembering the friendship she'd enjoyed with Nichole back while she and Daniel were still in New York.
"The town looks very nice," Nichole spoke, "Odd in its layout, perhaps, but on the surface it does look like quite the average American town."
"But..." Francine said slowly, remember the talk from the night before. She knew that Karen was more than willing to go with the mandatory were law, though was caught up on the basis of some comic book characters that were her inspiration for her decision, but she also knew that Nichole Charleston was the least inclined to go along with it, and might even actively try to prevent either Karen or Moe from going through with it. Nichole had been friendly in that she didn't make some wild statement about weres being monsters, but it was clear the previous night that she didn't trust either Francine or Daniel, despite both of them trying to make it clear that weres weren't mindless monsters.
"But it ISN'T a normal town," Nichole answered, "It's a town full of secrets and one where at least one member of my family MUST give up our humanity just to be protected from a mob boss, who the town should seek to protect law abiding citizens from, regardless of whether or not they're weres."
"I know it's different," Francine said slowly and softly, privately glad that Nichole had also kept her voice soft so that no one outside of those in the booth could hear them, "different from anything you've ever seen... but there is good reason for the mandatory were law. It may be old and it may not make sense in the modern day... but it's something that a lot of weres feel very firmly and aren't going to be easily persuaded to give up..."
"About Medieval were hunts?" Nichole questioned, "that would have been a LONG time ago and things have clearly changed. And... and from what I've run into... I could accept that you and that weres in general aren't the monsters from old stories and so on. But that doesn't mean that clinging to fears of old prejudices is justifiable in the modern era. In a sense you're talking away our choices. None of us want to give up our humanity..."
"Weres are still human," Francine answered, "different, perhaps, but we are still human. As Daniel and I tried to tell you last night that what makes us human isn't our appearance. It's what's on the inside."
"And I'm more than willing to be the family were, if it puts their fears about being betrayed and hunted to rest," Karen spoke up weakly.
"WHAT?!" Nichole blurted.
"Keep it down!" Francine urged. The Local Diner might not be packed at the moment, and most of the people there were either weres or "Moon Lake Normals," but that didn't mean they could just take risks as people from outside Moon Lake did on occasion come in to eat.
"We've been on the run for so long... and it should be pretty clear that the Gambonis are normal human beings and they've chased us, murdered people, and done all sorts of bad things," Karen answered softly and yet firmly to her mother, "and they've persistently done so across the country, after a point where one would think that continuing to chase us wouldn't be good for them."
"Granted but...?" Nichole narrowed her eyes.
"I want a normal life," Karen answered, "or at least as close to one as I'll get. And I don't think that staying a normal human counts as a normal life if it means we're always running. I'd like to be able to have a REAL social life. To have a REAL boyfriend and go forward. And Peter was pretty nice to me. Far nicer than Marcus ever was. If Moon Lake is afraid of their secret being exposed to some hunter... I'll be a were and save them from that fear, as otherwise, it's not that different from our trying to get away from the Gambonis. I'll be the family were and will have something of a normal life here... depending on how you define normal."
Nichole sighed and put her head in her hands. This was the last thing she wanted. She wanted to protect her baby girl from harm, and regardless of Moon Lake's weres not being mindless monsters, her becoming a were struck Nichole as failing to protect her daughter from harm. At the same time, she also had her own private shame at what she'd felt coming out of the principal's office at the High School in that a part of her mind HAD actually been attracted to some of the boys she'd seen there. There was the jealousy at the fact that Francine looked as young as she did years ago and was far healthier than before. It left her completely conflicted.
"And it's not like becoming a were is a bad thing," Francine spoke, "as I said... once Daniel and I became weredogs, neither of us looked back."
"That's your choice," Nichole answered weakly.
"We still had to meet the same mandatory were law, and at the time Peter was too young, so we had NO choice," Francine answered, "Our only choice was in what were to be."
"But couldn't they just offer some legal agreement?" Nichole asked, "a waiver or something like that?"
"That would only apply to those that come to the college here from outside Moon Lake and those who live outside Moon Lake's city limits but come into town to work," Francine answered, "as those people wouldn't be as likely to be exposed to the full facts about Moon Lake's secrets... and in your situation... you'd be outside the ability of the Moon Lake PD to protect you from the Gambonis... and THAT is something that Daniel's wanted to do ever since you guys told him about them."
Nichole only sighed again. She looked down and just stared downward until their food arrived. Francine thanked the waitress and they began eating. On some level she could accept what had been said about weres not being monsters and wanting to protect them, but she just wished there was some way about getting out of having to become one. The fact that Daniel and Francine had had THEIR choices taken away from them only reinforced her opinion that the mandatory were law was WRONG. Daniel and Francine might have gotten used to being weres, but that didn't make the law right.
"But it's not right..." Nichole said softly, "all these secrets making people give up things... the fact that everyone is so healthy... it's..."
"It's different," Francine assured Nichole, "It's nothing wrong. It has things that people have to get used to that are pretty different, but it's not like you would lose your humanity by becoming a were. I didn't lose mine. Yeah, I'm different... but I'd tend to think I've GAINED more than I've lost. I'm quite happy with what I've become."
"A target for jerks like Marcus?" Nichole answered, "if he were to come in here... he'd look at you and decide you're into him and would try to force himself on you, just as he's tried on Karen."
"While weres do have a higher libido than normal humans," Francine said slowly, "and admittedly, the way we are built, in either human or were form, would play to that sort of thing... we aren't lost to lust any more than we're lost to animal instinct. Daniel is my husband and the only man for me. If any of the Gambonis came in here and decided they were going to force themselves on me... I'm more than capable of knocking them out and doing so without infecting them with the were virus."
Nichole then jumped when she felt Francine's hand touch hers. It was a soft and gentle touch, like friend trying to assure a friend that there was no danger. She looked up to see Francine chewing on her sandwich and looked on. Eventually Francine gave a small and knowing smile to her.
"When Daniel and I are together... it's because we consciously WANT to be together," Francine assured her, "it's not because we're lost to some instinct that automatically makes us horny or anything like that. And if you and Moe became weres... the SAME would be true with you. If you don't WANT the attention, you won't be driven to go for it just because of what you've become. As I said... you wouldn't be giving up your humanity... you'd just be gaining some extras and everything that makes you human would still be there."
Nichole sighed and then nodded. She still wasn't entirely easy with everything and there was plenty that she felt was still "wrong" in many respects. There might be some comfort that Moon Lake's weres weren't slobbering monsters driven by instinct or lust, but the secrets and some of the other things still troubled her. Her mind drifted back to her visit to the high school, and seen the male students in the hallways. She couldn't fully sure on how old they were, but she could see that many of them were taller than what one would expect from 14 to 18 year olds, and a few of them were far more heavily muscled than what would be expected. And even those that weren't as heavily muscled as the others... they were still healthier than she would have expected. There might have been one or two who looked "normal," but they seemed to disappear among their were classmates. The thing that embarrassed her the most was that a part of her mind actually fantasized about Moe being built like those were students that she'd seen at the high school. It made Nichole wonder if something was wrong with her and that would mean that she and Moe would have plenty to talk about later. But for the moment, she ate her lunch as her thoughts continued on in her head...