The hug didn't last long and Moe and Nichole did pull back after a moment. That gave Karen a moment to take a step back and scratch at her back. In doing so she could feel no trace of fur at the moment, which was something of a relief. As much of her present situation was something that was based her consciously going against what Tara had advised and what her parents would have preferred. She still couldn't fully figure out the how, but the last thing she wanted was to have it revealed that she'd gone out at night and somehow came in contact with enough of the werevirus to lead her onto the path of transforming, but not enough to trigger a rapid change. She was sure she'd be grounded for forever if her parents found that out.
"If I may ask..." Nichole began slowly as they pulled apart, "what was your reasoning for being a weretiger?"
"Some of the starting point comes from my interest in Marvel's Tigra," Karen answered, "but much of the real decision is that I'd like to be able to make up my own mind on who love, who be with, and on what to do. I want MY freedom."
"Just so long as you remember that there will be rules to follow, even as a were, in this family and that I'm sure the town has its own rules they will expect you to follow," Moe spoke in warning.
"And I understand that," Karen answered, "but that doesn't mean I'm going to let Marcus force himself on me."
"That shouldn't be an issue so long as we're here and Daniel has his plan to catch the Gambonis," Moe assured her, "Marcus will get the comeuppance that he's deserved for far too long."
Nichole gave a slow nod in agreement at that. While she may have issues with the "Mandatory Were Law" that Moon Lake had, even if her position on becoming a were had changed, Nichole did have to admit that Moon Lake's police department had done far more than what many of the other police units had done. Some of it might be that Moon Lake was a small college town and thus the threats that they faced on a day to day basis weren't as pressing as other cities. Some of it might be that Daniel and Moe had been good friends before Daniel and Francine had moved to Moon Lake. Regardless, Nichole had found Moon Lake's efforts to confront the Gambonis far greater than prior police units, and that she could respect.
"All the same... I don't want to be a target for abuse," Karen answered, which both her parents nodded to.
She then paused for a moment and glanced to the clock again, noting that it wasn't quite the time that she expected Rich to come back, though a lot of that could potentially be in flux. The general plan was to meet up with Rich again before going out to a more secluded part of the woods and wait until nightfall. The sun wouldn't set at 4:30 PM, as it was before Halloween and too early in the year for the sun to set that early, but finding a more "comfortable" spot may have been the bigger issue. Once that was done, the plan had been simply to wait. If it was real and that Karen had gotten a small dose of weretiger from Rich, her transformation would likely begin after the sun set. If not, Karen could have counted herself luck. However, the meeting with the werelion representative had changed the nature of that plan, in that on a technicality, Karen was a were and was simply awaiting her first transformation, which she would need Rich to complete as she had to have gotten her dose of weretiger from him.
Thus the plan was now to essentially find a "comfortable" spot away from the cabin and await the inevitable. Partially as all of that would also tie in to the plans to try and cover up the fact that she'd snuck out twice in the first place. It was also something that made a lot of Abbigail Tyeree had said to Karen more pointed. Karen knew what she'd done was wrong, and to a certain extent, while she didn't regret her choice of were, she did regret the manner in which her entry into were society was likely to go. In this, much of what the werelioness had said to Karen made Karen feel guilty.
"We can understand, dear," Nichole said slowly, "I suppose... it's just that were society seems to be hyper sexualized. Even by the guidebook... the smallest chest size for a female were is STILL larger than what would be the national average... And male weres seem to have similar proportions... just... in... well... in a male way."
Nichole's voice fell off a bit at the end, as she really didn't want to be discussing the attraction to certain parts of male anatomy with her own daughter. It just felt awkward.
"I suppose that just going out into the woods to find a random weretiger..." Nichole returned to her concerns after a moment, "just seems to be an invitation for trouble."
"And too fast..." Moe added, even though he knew that Karen had been growing up. The grade she had been in was more the result of not being able to complete a school year than anything else. Regardless, Karen would always be his little girl, no matter what.
"But you two have certainly changed your opinion quickly on some things," Karen pointed out, "when we first arrived here... you guys were against even letting me be the family were. Yet... here you are... now wanting to become weres too."
"Well there is that..." Nichole admitted.
For Nichole that had been more than true. She had taken the revelation of weres and that at least one member of the Charleston family had to become one rather hard, as they had come for protection from the Gambonis and in pure theory that was supposed to be the goal. The shedding of their humanity was not to be one of them. But that had changed, as Nichole talked with Francine Brooks and read through the guidebook, Nichole had found her opinions and even her desires changing to the point where she found herself quite open to joining were society, herself. She couldn't fully explain the change of opinion, but to some extent, Nichole didn't mind and at the same time Moe didn't seem to mind, either.
"That'll mean by the time you narrow down your choices, you'll need find a were to change you," Karen gave a teasing smile, which Nichole took as her daughter having a bit too much fun with this, "and then you change dad."
Nichole didn't answer that. She glanced to Moe who stood by quietly, and Nichole could see that he wasn't going to discuss exactly how they were going to go about their own change.
"I mean... that would be the most romantic thing for you... right?" Karen asked, "one of you turns the other?"
"Perhaps," Moe said slowly, "but that will be between your mother and myself."
Karen slowly gave a nod in acceptance of that. Karen knew she couldn't push too hard on that, as it would also reflect issues that related what she was trying to hide with regard to her actions over the past two nights. Though, she did have some curiosity into something that related to the presentation that Abbigail Tyeree had given. She'd noticed that her parents had asked a fair number of questions, particularly on how werelion prides worked and operated. She'd also noted her father's captivation with Abbigail after she transformed.
Some of that made sense, as Abbigail was probably the first were her parents had seen in his/her were form that wasn't a drawing or artist's depiction. Daniel, Francine, and Peter hadn't changed on their first night in Moon Lake, and that wouldn't be done when Fran took Nichole and Karen on a tour of Moon Lake. In this, while Karen got to see Mrs. Saxon, Rich, and Olivia in their weretiger fursonas, Megan Weis in her werecougar fursona, and Kareem Rayman and Morgana Thripht in their wereleopard fursonas, her parents had only seen what weres looked like based on the guidebook's illustrations.
"Of course," Karen commented, "though... if you'll forgive me for being curious... what did you think on Ms. Tyeree?"
"She's certainly strong and fit," Moe commented.
"And keeping her human form's hair is a plus," Nichole agreed, "but some of that, I suppose, would be true for any were."
"But that would be still our decision to make," Moe said to Karen, "we can accept you wanting to be a weretiger... but we would like to be able to make our choice on our own and we will expect you to accept whatever decision we make."
"You know I will," Karen spoke as she watched her parents slowly make their way back toward the stairs with the guidebook.