The day for the Luna Brotherhood members, Quintus Fives and Gustavus Amehr was largely pretty quiet, largely as they had a lot to do in their quest to try and derail Tom Herald's plan for the big reveal. Their orders and mission were clear, to block and stop it by any means possible, for secrecy had been the only real protector the world's were population had, and with the world becoming more and more scientific and secular, the attention that people paid to weres was less and less. Thus if weres were exposed, it was likely that particularly in the countries where some variation of the Abrahamic religions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam would face many of the same old persecutions that had happened in the Middle Ages.
Quintus still had some concerns with regard to the exact nature of their orders, but he had to admit that he'd long joined the Luna Brotherhood to prevent the sort of thing that Tom Herald planned. He had to admit that Herald had a point that some recent events could have very well exposed weres, if accidentally, but that was something different that deliberately coming into the open. And with other things in human society being what they were, he accepted his partner's point that until human society had displayed clear support for weres in some way, it was best to preserve the secret for as long as possible. Though the fact that humanity in general didn't know about weres were real would then make it impossible to tell when that could ever be didn't occur to either Quintus or Gustavus. Humanity couldn't show tolerance for something they didn't believe existed.
That left the pair of them looking through the newspaper and wandering around Moon Lake looking for some sign of support. They didn't know exactly who on the Moon Lake City Council, outside of the tie breaking vote cast by the Deputy Mayor, which meant that they couldn't know for sure who to intimidate for sure, and observation of the apartment in Seattle that Tom Herald presently shared with Alice Stevens had been quiet, as if no one was there. They'd found that both still went to their jobs in Seattle, but it appeared that they weren't staying in their apartment.
"So... you really think they're staying here?" Quintus asked as he Gustavus walked past a house in Moon Lake with the name "Stevens" on the mailbox at the sidewalk.
"If they're not in Alice Stevens apartment in Seattle... this would be the only other alternative," Gustavus answered, "as weres... they likely can't keep their paws off each other, particularly as bonded werefoxes. That'd mean they'd risk showing up on security footage if they went to a Seattle hotel. But the Stevens are Alice's parents. I checked with what records there are on Alice Stevens’ social media. She does list Harold and Lucy Stevens as her parents."
"So they'd return home," Quintus said slowly, "though I've picked up some other werefox scents as we've gone by..."
"Which would mean the Moon Lake Skulk has officially decided to support Mr. Herald," Gustavus grumbled.
"We could lay rumors that Tachibana has supported the bill," Quintus offered, "as while she sits on a proverbial throne as it were... every werefox in Moon Lake can't support it."
"Perhaps," Gustavus commented as they walked along, "but she's also the head of a major company that in the US provides for were birth control needs... Toppling the Moon Lake Skulk might also wreck something that will hurt weres elsewhere. Too much collateral damage."
They continued to walk along, and once the Stevens home was out of sight as they rounded the circular streets that ran around Moon Lake's central hub they came back the main point of their mission.
"But if the Skulk is involved... and particularly this Skulk... they can and will bring something to a fight that would make moving in and killing Tom Herald difficult," Gustavus grumbled, "particularly as it would appear like the Moon Lake Police Department will not allow what is necessary to protect the were secret... Rotten to the core."
"So what do we do?" Quintus asked.
"We arrange protests and some other form of civil disobedience," Gustavus spoke, "Harold Stevens is on the Moon Lake City Council. And while we don't know which way he voted... we can assume he voted for Herald's idea or is at least cooperating with it given that his daughter has engaged herself to Tom Herald."
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And arrange that they did. It too a bit of work for both of them. It essentially also required that both Quintus and Gustavus split up. Quintus returned to the hotel for his mission, to call through various numbers and groups through the Moon Lake phone book, largely doing his best to get people from the same street as the Stevens, but ultimately calling all around the small town as well. He largely posed as a sort of activist that was angered and enraged by the City Council vote. He got a fair amount of support, though Quintus was also heavily surprised by the number of answers to his calls that seemed to support Herald's idea. Some of them were willing to debate him and echoed some of the same points that Tom Herald had made when he and Gustavus tried to confront the werefox directly. Others flatly told him to "go to hell."
He was just finishing up the last of the calls when Gustavus came into their hotel room from his part of the mission, which was to head up to Moon Lake's Target to gather up materials for signs. He looked to have succeeded as he was carrying to large plastic bags and Quintus could hear the clicking of wood posts together along with the crinkle of cardboard and markers. He looked up to see Gustavus set the bags on the bed opposite him.
"Did things go well?" Quintus asked.
"Cleaned out their supplies... but yes," Gustavus answered, "we should have enough to support a protest around the Stevens home. When Herald returns at the end of the day, attention will be on the front and we can then gage and assess how tight the Skulk's security is and just what action the police will take and go from there. How many people have agreed to protest?"
"Well... fewer than expected," Quintus commented, "we will probably get about thirty to forty people to show up at six PM easily... and maybe a few more after that. However, between it being a Monday... there seem to be a fair number that aren't that enthusiastic about it. Particularly with the news reports that say that all the City Council is working on right now will be a plan for it. Whether or not they actually go through with it. Not to mention that several already have plans for the evening..."
"That isn't too bad," Gustavus commented, "and could still be used to reflect the truth that EVERYONE in Moon Lake does not support the idea."
Quintus gulped at that, as it appeared that his partner was putting some of his own emphasis into that statement. Gustavus caught that gulp and looked to him with narrowed eyes. "What was that about?"
"Well... a fair number also were pretty firm in their support for this reveal and didn't want to budge," Quintus said slowly.
"What?! Don't these people realize what will happen if it goes through?" Gustavus gasped.
"Some are aware of the threats," Quintus spoke, "but they've also said they've had a few near misses already and other potential issues that MIGHT have exposed weres if people were paying attention. In this, they would seem to support Herald's point that the secret isn't the shield that it once was and thus better to come out and "endure" it for a while and win civil rights before something like what happened with Lionel Ulysses happens again or something like with Dymixious Drake happens outside of Moon Lake's control."
Gustavus frowned heavily and gave a low growl, as that seemed to repeat the same uneducated ideas that Tom Herald spouted, not knowing just how violent and intolerant humanity truly was and thus the reason for the were secret in the first place.
"A few weren't interested in going that far..." Quintus then finished.
"And how many were in this group?" Gustavus asked.
"About the same as those opposed to Herald's plan... perhaps slightly more..." Quintus spoke, "I think we'd be best to make do with what we have available."
Gustavus sighed and went with that.
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That evening, Alice Stevens came "home" from Seattle. The day had been long, but not too atypical for her. The big thing was mostly still catching up on things she had to drop because of the feared threat that Gustavus Amehr and Quintus Fives had given to her fiancé and bonded mate, Tom Herald. All over his plan to bring were society forward conflicted with old traditions and habits. Things at the costume shop went fine and she did get her work done and she then prepared for the drive to her childhood home in Moon Lake, in case Gustavus and Quintus had done something with her apartment in Seattle. She expected the return to be rather quiet, as Tom's work schedule had him schedule had him having a big interview to give for a story assigned by his paper the following day. That meant it would just be her and her parents for tonight, but she did expect Tom to call when he made it to Spokane.
Her hopes for a quiet night ended when she pulled up to the street that lead past her family's homes. She arrived to find a crowd of people mulling about her parent's front lawn with signs and shouting slogans. One sign read: "ARREST TOM HERALD FOR WERE TREASON!" Another read: "The Were SECRET Saves Were LIVES!" Most of the slogans seemed to be some variation of, "One, two, three, four, we don't want Herald anymore!" Thankfully, Yoshiro and Ichiro were present and kept the driveway clear, allowing Alice to pull in, but even as she did so, she did draw attention.
"Where is Herald!?" a voice boomed out at Alice as she got out of her car, with Ichiro and Yoshiro standing between her and the crowd, "where is he, traitor's slut!?"
"Surely this isn't permitted?" Alice asked to Yoshiro.
"Figures... big press man's slut not only wants to reveal Moon Lake and turn us into lab animals but doesn't believe in the First Amendment, either!" another voice shouted, making Alice look down and move toward the front door.
Yoshiro and Ichiro said nothing but managed to keep between her and the crowd as she moved toward her parents' home. Alice was heavily ashamed and saddened by this, as this sort of thing was NEVER something she'd seen happen in Moon Lake. Partially because of a were's high libido, sexual slurs like "slut" were almost never used, likely as technically any were in Moon Lake could meet that definition. The only time that Alice ever remembered it being used was when a were had held a reputation that was too sexual even for weres. Her father had used it to describe Alice Decrux from time to time when Alice Stevens was growing up, which was likely assumed because of Alice Decrux being a wereraccoon known for her dalliances with single men and making them pay her child-support. But outside of rare cases like that, Alice had never heard anyone refer to someone else in Moon Lake as a "slut." And it hurt her to be referred to as such for being with Tom. She loved him and had bonded to him, and she had the sense that Tom wasn't doing this to hurt weres, but create a better world for them.
Her face remained downcast even as she made it in through the front door. Her mother happened to be there as she came in and Alice found herself in her mother's protective arms.
"Oh, Alice, it's you... thank goodness," Lucy Stevens said to her daughter.
"What is all this?" Alice asked.
"A protest... at your fiancé's idea," Harold Stevens' voice came from the kitchen area as her father came into view, "they showed up about the same time I got home an hour ago and have been shouting their slogans and waiving signs. They haven't done any damage, but they are clearly angry."
"Tom's plan isn't treason," Alice spoke, "and neither is it intended to hurt us or Moon Lake."
"To many... that's true," Harold spoke, "and after the debate... I'd be inclined to agree. Simply for the fact that we can't keep having close calls and call that safe. We'll end up perennially on the defensive and eventually the speed with which actions take place will go beyond our ability to respond... But that isn't going to convince everyone. After all, the were secret has been in place since the end of the Middle Ages. Thus when people stopped believing in weres, it was relatively easy to hide, as it were. And it's been that way for so long that such a radical change will be taken negatively by some people."
"And that makes this tolerable?" Alice asked, "none of what they're saying or rather shouting is true."
"Tolerable... perhaps not, but technically still legal," Harold answered, "no permit has been applied for... but so long as they do no damage to our property, there isn't too much that can be done. With no official permit... the police will have the power to ask this group to disperse and go home, and I've made the call... but, I've been told they've already had a busy day. Apparently two high schoolers picked a fight at around seven fifty this morning and one lost a tooth as a result. The college had an even larger fight break out around lunch time and supposedly a few people ended up being sent to the hospital and they've been looking into riot charges for whoever started the fight. Dispersing this is likely going to just be the latest in a lengthy series of things "to do" for them."
"What I'm at a loss for is how they decided to come here," Lucy commented, "you and Tom didn't announce you were staying here with us... right?"
"No," Alice spoke, "the whole move here was to make sure we weren't in a spot where those two secret agents/spies couldn't just kill Tom and vanish. Neither of us told anyone."
"And while we know how the City Council vote ended... the only vote that anyone could have known was Ms. Chambers' vote as the Deputy Mayor... she would break a tie," Lucy commented, "and you've said the rest of the votes are often kept secret... particularly with these sorts of things."
"Correct," Harold put an arm around his wife, getting her own sense of unease, "that doesn't necessarily mean that someone couldn't have shared who voted for what option... and those who voted against Tom's plan weren't too pleased when Katherine voted in favor of the plan. Though... I wouldn't think that the other council members would go as far as this sort of thing. Particularly when I know a few of the people who are out there do not live in my ward. And I've called around to the other Ward representatives on the City Council. Those who voted for Tom's plan don't have protesters at their homes and those who voted against are not having people there demanding they go further to oppose negotiations on the plan."
"So they're picking you out..." Alice said slowly.
"More than likely, I suspect they're picking out Tom... they know you're my daughter and by now know that Tom is your fiancée," Harold answered, "so they're protesting and making demands here in the hopes that Tom will agree not to demand his own plan be killed and things continue on..."
"And just keep waiting and hoping that someone doesn't do something stupid," Alice said slowly... "It'd have to be Fives and Amehr!"
"That is what I suggested to the police when reporting the protests," Harold commented, "though because I can't pick them out of the protestors... the best we can really hope for... with Tom on his way to Spokane... or just arriving there... is that the police arrive and these protestors are dispersed... for now."
"For now?" Alice wondered.
"Tom did tell me some things before he headed out to Spokane," Lucy told her daughter, "things that might actually help... but that'll have to wait for the first meeting that will deal exclusively with putting together the details on Tom's plan."