"Grandma-san?" said Daisuke Tachibana, as he politely entered the woman's study.
"Yes?" asked Tachibana no Akane in return, granting the man entry.
"Do you have a moment?" wondered her grandson, as he waited for permission to occupy one of her guest chairs.
Since they were within the privacy of their family home, everyone was within their vulpine forms.
The older werefox looked up from the papers she was reading and asked if something was wrong, while waving a paw to indicate her kin could sit down.
"Maybe," admitted Daisuke. "I have just been contacted by one of the local Skulk den leaders, who in turn was alerted to this by one of his members. According to Harold Stevens, his future son-in-law Tom Herald, was approached and threatened by two werewolves in Seattle not to go through with his plans to reveal were existence to the world, 'or else'."
"I see. And do we know who these two werewolves are?" Akane wanted to know.
"Herald might, but Stevens didn't. All he knew was what his daughter Alice related when she called to inform him they were returning to Moon Lake for her safety."
"I cannot say this was unexpected, but even if all were in their normal human forms, for one were to threaten another..."
"That the world discovers our existence has always been a great concern among us, no matter which species you are. But to intentionally reveal weres exist..." said Daisuke.
"All that has been agreed upon at the moment is the creation of a plan to achieve that objective without revealing the existence of Moon Lake or any other were sanctuary in the world," Akane reminded her grandson.
"Hai,"(*1) he said, nodding his head affirmatively.
"Once a workable plan has been conceived and finalized, it still has to be put to a vote before deciding upon a date for implementation."
"I know. I personally agreed with Herald's argument at the debate to some extent," admitted Daisuke.
"Oh?" said his grandmother, raising one furry eyebrow questioningly.
"To plan for such a contingency is wise. But as your security chief, to go ahead with such a plan may be unwise at this time. That weretiger did raise a valid point about the impending change within this country's political climate."(*2)
"True," agreed Akane, "but there may never be a 'right' time, and it would be best for were society to be in control of the situation instead of being on the defensive if the news came out before we're ready. But think of it. To be able to move freely about the world, even in broad daylight, as nature intended us to. To feel the gentle kiss of the wind across your fur. To enjoy the warmth of the sun upon your pelt..."
"To be imprisoned and ceaselessly experimented upon or killed if things do not go our way. There is much that weighs on my mind in this matter," confessed Daisuke.
"Hai," said Akane. (*1) "Do we have any Skulk in Seattle that can help Herald out, if necessary?"
"I've already made the necessary arrangements. They should be contacting him within the hour," announced Daisuke.
ELSEWHERE...
Tad Decker had his own thoughts about the possibility of weres revealing their existence to the world.
Dad was always worried about someone finding out the truth about us. Especially moving from base to base while he was in the military. But to live free of such worries...?
While the menu was pretty basic, he had a nice breakfast with his mom Jen, her fiance Claire, and his grandparents.
But when mom brought up the fact that Tad now had a girlfriend, Josephine and Jacob Decker were all excited.
"So, how serious are you two?" Jacob asked.
"We're going steady," revealed Tad, to which the ladies smiled and his grandfather simply nodded.
At least he's not rushing to give us grand pups yet, thought Jacob, nodding his head at his wife.
"Your grandfather and I had a long courtship before we tied the knot," fondly recalled Josephine. "Some of our dates were quite... interesting," she added, which made her husband blush.
The conversation quickly led to the grandparents wanting to meet Amy Howler, to which a cellphone call by Tad confirmed that Amy was free and willing to come over for a visit.
Now Tad was anxiously waiting on the front porch, in his human form and dressed for the day, waiting for Amy to arrive when he heard a loud and disturbing noise...
TO BE CONTINUED...
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*1. Japanese for "yes".
*2. It is November 2015 to our cast at this moment.—tmw.