Karen was up in her room doing her favorite pastime ever since her family had been on the run from the Gamboni family. That would be reading comic books. Her favorite comic books were those that featured Tigra from the Avengers series, or when Wonder Woman was fighting Cheetah in the DC comics. She even enjoyed reading the Thundercats comics, even though they were based on a rather old TV show. She didn't just enjoy reading about big cats, but she found herself enjoying watching big anthropomorphic cats. She paused in her reading a bit as she flipped on to her back, her hand extended towards the ceiling. She tried to imagine the fingernails as claws as she spread out her fingers and moved her hand. She tried to imagine what kind of fur she might have as a werefeline. Would it be tan like a lion's? Have orange and black stripes like a tiger's? Or maybe black like a panther's?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the smell of pizza wafting in from the kitchen. Her stomach growled as she got up and headed towards the door.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Nichole asked Moe as he pulled a freshly baked pizza out of the oven. "Starting over from scratch again? I mean, after being chased from the Gamboni family from city to city."
"Don't think we have much of a choice here," Moe replied. "Our savings's shot, I haven't been working ever since we left New York, and besides, this is a college town. If there's one thing I know about college kids is that they're always hungry for pizza."
"But isn't there already a pizzeria in town?" Nichole asked.
"And there were Domino's and Pizza Hut in just about every city we've been in. Didn't stop me then, won't stop me now. It's all just a matter of getting to know our new customers and their...uh...unique tastes." Moe took a moment to turn away from the oven and added, "Trust me, Nikki. If there's one thing that Moe knows, and that's pizza."
Nichole smiled at Moe as called her by her affectionate nickname. "I know...it's just this whole Gamboni business..."
"I know, honey, I know. I'm tired of it too. I want to get back to doing what I love. Makin' pizzas."
It was at that point that Karen walked into the kitchen. "I thought I smelled something good. Making one of your classics, dad?"
Moe smirked at Karen and said, "You know it. Why don't you get the table set and we'll all enjoy this together."
It wasn't long before there were plates on the table with rather large pizza slices on them. The family seemed to be at ease for once as they ate.
"You know, dad, I've been thinking about what you said earlier today, and I think you're right. There's just too much we don't know," Karen started with the next piece of conversation.
Moe paused mid-bite as he listened to Karen.
"So, I'm thinking, maybe I should talk to Peter. Maybe he knows someone that could give me some more information. Well, maybe more than what we have now."
Nichole arched an eyebrow as she thought about what Karen just said and asked, "What more do you need to know?"
"Well," Karen replied as she mulled over her thoughts. "Peter told me that he went through the process not too long ago. And well, if I'm thinking about doing the same thing...I just think it's a good idea to talk to him."
Moe paused to think about what Karen said and then replied with, "All right."
Nichole turned to him and said, "Moe!"
He answered Nichole's expression with, "If there's one thing that I can trust is Danny. He's not going to let anything happen to Karen, and I can trust his son Peter." He then turned to Karen and said, "I want to make two things clear. First, when you're done talking with Peter, I want you back home. No wandering around town. Second, I want you back at this house in the same way you left it. No changing or wolfing out or anything like that. You're going there to learn, hear me?"
Karen smiled and nodded, "I get ya," she replied back. "I just want to get more info about what I'm getting myself into."
"Good," Moe said as he took another bite of pizza. The family enjoyed the rest of the dinner time discussing various things. Nichole looked uneasy for the rest of the time, and looked even more uneasy as Karen left to go next door. This didn't go unnoticed by Moe.