In many ways Tad was surprised by the entire chain of events from the morning. Finding out that an old friend was moving to Moon Lake was one thing. In many ways that sort of thing was actually quite plausible, as he knew that Kent Ross worked for a fairly big company. Tad could never keep the name straight, but he thought that they were involved in the shipping industry or something like that. However it was how calm and casual things had been with regard to telling the Ross family about Moon Lake's secrets. It was true that Kent and Diana were disbelieving at first, and that was to be expected. But once Tad managed progress enough through his transformation for them to believe it, not only did Connor's parents accept it but Connor had also seemed eager to be his family's were.
Given all that Tad remembered his own parents had talked to him about keeping himself hidden while out and away from areas of safety and seclusion, he'd expected the Ross family to have a bit more of a fright and that he'd actually have to provide some assurances. It was that sort of thing that had spawned his asking Samantha Twist to help, Connor had been a good friend, and Tad had figured that a good friend might do better with that than a stranger. Tad also figured that Mrs. Twist might also be facing a fair amount of other difficulties resulting from the debate over Tom Herald's idea, and that issue would be there regardless of Moon Lake's mandatory were law and all the secrets that went with it. But things had largely went far better than what Tad could have hoped for, and that surprised him to no end, as the Ross family didn't know about weres prior to today, and yet the reaction was not what Tad expected from someone who didn't already know weres existed and weren't what they were made out to be. It was in fact closer to Claire, his mom's present girlfriend, who had been familiar with Moon Lake's secrets for quite some time.
"This is all amazing... and you've been a werewolf all your life?" Connor asked.
"Yes," Tad nodded as they made their way up the stairs, "my dad was a werewolf and my mom a werecat, so I took after dad."
"What if you took after your mom?" Connor asked curiously.
"Then I'd be a girl," Tad answered a bit hesitantly, "werecats are kind of unique... in that ALL werecats are female and are at least bi if not completely homosexual. My mom has told me that when a werecat has children, the type of were they become will depend on the gender of the child. If the child is male, they will match their sire. If the child is female, they will match their mother."
"Odd... but still interesting," Connor answered as they came up to the top of the stairs and turned left with Tad following after him, "sort of like this town... wagon wheel shaped no grid layout... how would you ship things in and out with a layout like this?"
"I really can't say," Tad answered, "my folks grew up here, but my dad was never stationed in Washington State. Most of the stateside bases he was stationed at were in the east or in the south... and my mom and I couldn't follow him on combat deployments."
"A werewolf Marine... it'd make for a great action flick... or a horror movie if you take "Dog Soldiers" into account," Connor answered.
"Dad never really talked all that much about his deployments," Tad said softly as he followed Connor into his room. A simple twin bed was in place and a few pieces of furniture were set up, but other than that there was nothing but cardboard boxes that likely held things that needed to be unpacked. "And weres aren't like what they're often depicted as in movies. We aren't mindless or psychotic. There may have been some weres that have gone rogue, but more for the same reasons a normal human may turn to crime... not simply because they're a were."
Connor nodded and shrugged as he sat down on the bed for a moment.
"I must say... you've taken all this better than I would have expected," Tad commented, "I never... I never let you know I was a werewolf. Neither of us have been into werewolf movies... but... you've reacted in a way that would make me think you've known all about weres all your life... Like even your dad's reaction downstairs was just for show."
Connor gave a small smile, "Well... it was a surprise. I mean... weres existing and all that. That's weird. But we've always been good friends, and while a lot of this announcement WAS weird and surprising. It also hasn't come with some sort of spooky overtone where dark things are being hidden."
"Most horror stories tend to have things that are dark hidden by something that would look good... or at least normal," Tad pointed out.
"Yeah," Connor shrugged, "but they also have a hard time fully hiding it. Like in "the Howling," the Colony looks nice, but you get all these small periodic hints of weird behavior by the characters there that drops hints that there is something more going on than what is shown. In "the Stepford Wives," all of the wives there act like the perfect subservient woman. They always dress glamorous and sexy, regardless of the task they're doing, and they have no ambition beyond pleasing their husband and serving his every whim... which to the title character came off as odd, particularly when some of the characters she meets had a past in things like the feminist movement and so on."
"And you're saying Mrs. Twist and I...?" Tad began.
"Didn't act like that," Connor answered, "and since you've been a good friend, I'm willing to trust you."
"And the wanting to be your family were?" Tad asked, "we've never watched horror movies or thrillers... it's mostly been various video games... and some from every franchise."
"Well... you're right that I'm not the biggest fan of the genre," Connor admitted, "but it's not like I haven't seen some of the movies. You and your family were off on a camping trip once... I saw a few of the Howling movies on the SciFi channel as well as show with some woman who turns into a blond werewolf who was kinda hot..."
"Of course," Tad shook his head and looked over to Connor, "You will realize that the actress probably isn't a werewolf, right?"
"She was still hot," Connor answered.
Again, Tad shook his head. The two of them were eighteen and had gone through many of the pains and strains of being a teenager. Tad had turned a few heads, particularly after he'd had his first transformation, but while Connor wasn't exactly unattractive as far as what Tad figured a woman would find attractive, Connor was a bit more on the slim side. In this, Tad guessed that he'd stumbled across this show with a "hot" female werewolf in it, something that most werewolf tv shows and movies didn't have, and was interested because of it.
"So... when fully transformed would you be like her in wolf form? Like a huge wolf?" Connor asked.
"Fully transformed... all weres would be an anthro version of the animal their were-species is based on," Tad commented, "and in some ways... it'd be quite in line with how some furries view anthro animals. Males are well muscled or at least well toned... and well endowed. Females both have well toned muscles and are rather curvy. In some ways... with the intention of inspiring the creation of little baby weres."
"So... you were born as a puppy?" Connor asked.
"No... a born were won't have their first transformation until after they turn fourteen," Tad answered, "Some may transform early for an odd reason, but that's not really common. And I don't know enough biology to explain why."
"But female werewolves would all be curvaceous babes with toned muscle?" Connor asked.
"Pretty much," Tad shrugged, "but that would be ALL female weres, not just werewolves."
"There are other weres?" Connor asked.
"Yeah," Tad nodded as he scratched the back of his head, "Mrs. Twist should have a guidebook that would provide some basic info on all the species. You can look through that from there. As you wouldn't be limited to being a werewolf."
"And if I went with werewolves... would you?" Connor wondered.
"In pure theory, yes, I could see to the transformation," Tad said slowly, "and supposedly Moon Lake would allow for some of the traditional means... IF that's how the person becoming a were wants it to happen. But even with that, once the transformation begins, the new were would need to complete the transformation, which would then require sexual contact between the two in order to do that..."
"So... we'd have to...?" Connor said slowly, his excitement and interest gone.
"If you really want ME to be the one to turn you... yes," Tad said slowly, "and there... that is where I would say no. I've never been into guys. There are a pair of werewolves in my pack that are gay... THEY might be able..."
"I'm not gay either," Connor insisted, "I don't suppose you know any lady werewolves?"
"Well I know one fairly well... though she and I are... going out," Tad said, thinking of Amy, "and right now... I'd still say to look through the guide. Get an idea on what you'd be in for with regard to each were-species and what you want."
He was glad that Connor was eager, but at the same time he also recognized that there would be a lot to go over and Connor wouldn't get any "take backs," "do overs," or "extra lives" if he became one were and then didn't like it.
"And what would you think about being a were?" Connor asked.
"I think it's great," Tad answered, "though... because of how weres are often portrayed in stories, weres have generally hid their identities. Fearing the Inquisition as it were. It's why your response and your parent's acceptance to it is so... so.. surprising."
"Well... maybe the world is just getting better," Connor offered, making Tad give a small chuckle.