Rachel slowly came down the stairs after she'd set the book down. Some of it left her curious as that the book had the same name as the town her family had just moved. Her best guess was that someone in Moon Lake's past, based on the aged look of the book, was something of a "werewolf fan" and thus wrote a series of erotic fantasies about weres. It made her curious about who "Mark Ryter," the supposed author was. But so far they were just getting used to things their own dinner was just arriving, and while she was curious about this supposed fantasy world that had been presented in the book, a part of her also wondered onto her friend, Melissa Jenkins. She knew her friend had moved out to Washington State, but exact details as to where were sketchy at the moment...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Melissa Jenkins, meanwhile, was sitting down to dinner in a larger dining room that was closer to the back of the Tyson home. It had a larger table with white table cloth that hung over the table as Erma Tyson and Anna Bell brought in plates from the kitchen. From her seat next to Trevor, with her father on her other side, she could see into the kitchen as the two brought in the dinner plates with steaming food that looked and smelled good. Jacob and Clint, meanwhile, set the table setting down napkins as they all prepared for a sort of "get to know you" dinner. Melissa was happy for it she glanced to Trevor as her own private thoughts of their happily ever after played in the back of her mind, as the meeting would let Trevor's family get to know her father and he could get to know them.
And while there may have been some confusion and even surprise on her father's part when it came to the initial meeting with Trevor's family, things had gone well. Some of that may have been some surprise at Jacob and Erma's physical build as adult werecattle, but Melissa guessed that much of that was more due to the fact that the only weres that her father had spent a lot of time with were either the College Dean or Virginia, who were both weretigers. There had been no trouble though and her father's interaction with both Jacob and Erma had been polite and friendly, and even Melissa had found herself helping a little bit with some of those questions. Some of that instinctual knowledge was a bit surprising, as it felt like she'd been a werecow all her life, when she knew that wasn't true, but she thought she'd seen something in the guidebook that Megumi had given her that mentioned something like that.
"That smells delicious," Harold commented as Erma set down white china plate with the food on it. The plate wasn't ornate in design Harold thought there was a bit of luster to it that looked good. Though what caught his attention was the food that was placed before him. There were two decent sized pork steaks with some garnish on top of it, mashed potatoes and gravy, and asparagus stalks on the side. "Though you didn't have to go through all this trouble for me."
"Oh, it's no trouble, and it's nice to have visitors," Erma said with a smile as she moved to then sit down opposite her husband and to the left of Trevor while Clint and Anna Bell sat down opposite Trevor, Melissa, and Harold, with Jacob sitting to Harold's right at the other end of the table, "for while Moon Lake may have many weres... we do generally tend to at least try to get along and live together peacefully."
"Though... that doesn't necessarily mean that we or Moon Lake take kindly to those that break the law," Jacob commented, "particularly us here with our farm and ranch. The cattle can be pretty docile with us... and may even be docile with you so long as you don't growl or do anything aggressive... which is something that many domestic animals seem to be different from wild animals when it comes to weres... but we wouldn't want them panicked or startled. For if they panic and run, they're big enough that even for us... they'd be hard to stop and calm down again."
"You've had trouble with that before?" Harold wondered.
"Some high school werewolves some time ago thought it a great prank to transform and come onto the property and then howled outside the barn. It panicked the cattle we have who broke out, did damage to the barn and Trevor and I spent a few hours trying to round them up again. Erma held them put until their mothers could arrive."
Harold could only nod, "I'd imagine that had to be tough... though I can only imagine. I've never worked in the farming or ranching industry. I've been a College Professor for much of my life... In this, I suppose I'm more at home in the classroom than in a field."
"You teach... what subject?" Erma asked.
"History... my first classes won't be until the coming Spring Semester, but that won't mean I won't have plenty to do," Harold commented.
"History is boring," Clint commented from his seat after swallowing a bite of his food, "a bunch of old people doing boring stuff."
"Clint," Jacob warned, "Don't judge."
"It's okay," Harold raised a hand to Jacob, hoping to show that he took no offense by the youngest Tyson's comment, "There are some times when I'd think that the way history is taught in Elementary schools is too brief and really only focused on a handful of specific events while at Middle and High School levels they end up getting overwhelmed by the school year staying the same but the amount of history to cover growing longer and longer. And that is where things can become repetitive on specific talking points and never going beyond them.. And that sort of think can be boring to many people. It's where I'd say to look into the "whys" of history. See where there was conflict and check various sources. You'll find that historians will not always agree, despite what school textbooks may claim."
Clint rolled his eyes at that and Harold decided not to push that any further. He wasn't there to try and show off how much he knew or anything else, but to get to know the Tyson family and let Erma and Jacob know that Trevor was growing into a fine young man that he approved of. That seemed to go fairly well so far and made for some fairly calm and pleasant dinner conversation, and that was what Harold was there for as well. He didn't feel he needed to prove anything.
"So... what do you plan to do Mel?" Anna Bell asked from across the table and then swallowing the last of her asparagus, "do you want to be a teacher like your dad?"
"A teacher? No," Melissa answered, "I do well with my school work and I'll work hard through College... but a lot of what I've wanted to do... would relate to civil service and social work. To care for people, make sure orphans are properly cared for while in foster care and are loved and to do what I can to ensure that happens. That sort of thing."
"To care and essentially support those who need it," Erma said slowly and then smiled, "sounds like you have a kind heart."
"But you wouldn't want to help the farm?" Anna Bell wondered, "that's what Trevor's wanted to do."
"I'd support him, if that's what you mean," Melissa answered, "but that doesn't necessarily mean that because I'm a werecow that I'm going to be a full time farmer."
"And not all werecattle are," Jacob spoke, "there are a couple who work at Moon Lake's senior center... and from stories I've heard are the most popular members of the staff there."
"Does grandma and grandpa like them?" Anna Bell asked to Erma.
"Your grandfather tends to be a bit cagy on that," Erma answered, "I know he likes you three because while he may come off as grumpy, he also comes with some sweet or something to try treat you all with when we go to visit him or he comes up here for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Even when he thinks I don't see him do it."
Harold and Melissa both smiled at that as they ate through their dinner. It was fun. Harold could see Anna Bell's excitement at Melissa and the teasing questions that were clearly designed to mess with her brother and Melissa. It was something that made sense, as he remembered growing up, and while he'd been a single child, he had friends who had younger or older siblings. From what Harold remembered, that sort of banter went on back then and thus Anna Bell's excitement and questions weren't anything new in the history of the world. Harold was also pleased with the responses with regard to what Melissa wanted to do as a career. While Moon Lake may not have had to many of those sorts of offices, he knew that the state of Washington would have to have them, and Melissa had always been attracted to that kind of thing. To care for people who couldn't stand up for themselves, which he guessed Melissa had picked up from her mother's talks on psychology and how it worked.
"That was an excellent meal, Mrs. Tyson, thank you," Harold spoke as he finished, "and thank you for having Melissa and I over."
"It's the least we can do," Erma answered as she wiped her mouth with her napkin, "let us get to know you and you get to know us. I hope we made a good impression."
"You did," Harold answered, "you have a lovely family... and while your family is different from mine... it's made the interaction better. So again, thank you for the invitation."
"Things would be a mite boring if we were all clones of each other," Jacob quipped, which Harold nodded to, "and you've been respectful too. Which is somethin' I can respect."
Harold nodded.
"In the meantime, Trevor, Anna Bell, Clint, why don't you help your mother and I clear the table," Jacob then continued, "Melissa... you can go through that door behind Erma undress and transform."
"I wanted to see..." Anna Bell protested.
"And you will," Melissa promised, "I won't change back until after you've had your chance to see my fursona..."
With that, Melissa then made her way into the living room. She could hear the sound of dishes being carried as she did so and even heard her father offer to help as well. She was glad that her father and Trevor's family had gotten along well and sat down on the couch and began slowly undoing her shoelaces to undress before transforming. This was something that made some sense, as she remembered asking to see her father's fursona shortly after he became a weretiger. It now made sense to return the proverbial favor, as she was now a were, herself, and it would only be fair to show her father what her werecow form looked like. And so she placed her shoes neatly on the floor and then set her clothing neatly on the couch, as she'd need them again to head home in.
She then stepped away from the couch for a moment and smiled and thought on her werecow form, her desire to be in that form, and how wonderful it was to be in her true form. As she did so, a now familiar warmth filled her and she looked down to see reddish-russet colored hairs growing across her body and rapidly thickening into fur that covered practically every inch of her. The lower part of her legs and arms was a lighter shade, more a reddish/cream color than the rest of her fur but the fact that the reddish shade was there enough to show how the colors in her fur progressed. She smiled at the warmth and continued to transform.
Her finders and hands grew thicker and stronger. To an extent it made her fingers also look a bit "stubby" in a way as her nails thickened and lengthened to become black hoof-like tips at the ends of her fingers, but it didn't hurt and she'd noticed that she didn't really lose that much of her dexterity in her werecow form with them. She might have lost some of it, but that was likely due to the strengthening and enlarging of her digits to support her if she had to move on all fours for some reason. At the same time, her feet began to lengthen and restructure. It drew Melissa up onto the tips of her toes as her second toe grew rapidly in size with the nail growing into a strong and hard hoof. She could soon feel those hooves touch the carpet underneath her while her other toes seemed to pull around behind her foot to form a sort of dew claw.
"Beautiful," Melissa smiled as she looked down to her hands and flexed her fingers, "and strong."
Her ears tickled a little as the stretched out to the sides of her head. As they got longer and more pointed she could soon feel them move as she exercised the muscles at the base of her ears, making her smile. She could feel her hair move a little as her horns grew up and out from the top of her head. They weren't as impressive as Erma's, but then the Canadienne wasn't the Texas Longhorn and Melissa was quite pleased with their smaller size. It left her with a smile as her face began to push forward into a bovine muzzle. There was some snapping and crackling as the bones in her face rearranged and stretched, but Melissa felt no pain. At the same time her tail began to grow out behind her, with its tassel of red hairs at the end, that growth didn't hurt either. In fact, the transformation actually felt rather good as her breasts swelled slightly larger and her nipples thickened and grew longer becoming far more teat-like to fit her were form. They'd become longer and larger in her human form, but that was still closer to what was theoretically possible for a human woman. Now in her were form, her nipples resembled a cow's teats than human nipples... which made sense.
"Okay, here I come," Melissa spoke as she made her way toward the door that lead to the dining room.
She had to duck through the doorway, but soon stood calmly stood before her father and the Tyson family. Trevor smiled to her, which she returned, but her presently brown eyes focused on her father.
"So... Dad? How do I look?" Melissa asked to him and twirled around to give him a general view of all angles. It was a little odd being nude before her father, but then at the same time she could see that even the clothing she'd worn to the Tyson home wouldn't fit her while she was transformed.
"You look fine, dear, you feel okay?" Harold asked to her.
"Yes," Melissa nodded, "I feel fine... complete... whole... like this. Don't you?"
"When I'm transformed... yes," Harold found himself admitting.
"I think you look beautiful," Anna Bell spoke, "you very good with the red... russet... fur... and how it sort of gets lighter going down your arms and legs."
"Yeah... it would go with my hair," Melissa answered, "or so I've been told... which makes me quite glad to be a Canadienne Werecow."
"Do you think I'll be beautiful when I transform?" Anna Bell asked.
"I'm sure you will," Melissa told Anna Bell, "and with loving parents, a friendly younger brother, and a wonderful older brother... you'll be loved regardless on what breed your fursona will be based on."
"Of course you'd say that Trevor is wonderful," Anna Bell commented.
"Of course," Melissa nodded and looked to Trevor and smiled, "because he is..."