Rachel and Rob slowly made their way home from school, each with their own worries and confusion over the day. Rob had noticed some of the oddities in how well everyone had looked given the fact that the Freshman students were all fourteen going on fifteen and the Seniors looked even better and were at least seventeen if not already eighteen. Which would mean that as those in the Freshman class grew up and matured, many of the curves and muscle that was there now would be bigger by the time they were adults, and to Rob's teenage mind, a part of him was attracted to that prospect. The fact that there were as many as there were in such a small area seemed "odd," but Rob also supposed there was a logical reason and one that could be found out in time, which maybe Amy could explain... assuming he could ask her in a way that didn't come off as hormonal teenager.
Though Rachel's comments about weres, while they theoretically might answer some questions, were so off the wall that Rob couldn't quite believe that. Sure someone had written a guide to weres that shared the same name as Moon Lake, but that was likely just based on a fantasy book series, not real life. For if weres were real, Rob reasoned that someone with a video camera would have caught one on camera by now. For while there were plenty of remote places, that didn't necessarily mean that they were all devoid of attention from the outside world. The fact that Rachel also spoke of it in a way that also indicated that an old friend of hers was also in Moon Lake and was apparently a were only added to some of Rob's doubts. After all, Rachel could be sarcastic at times with some comments she gave regarding her opinion on things, and from what Rob remembered, many of her friends in Michigan often had fun joking with her on some things, occasionally him.
"You're certain this friend of yours wasn't messing with you?" Rob asked as they reached the front door and opened it with ease, entering to find a large number of stacked boxes and things set about the floor of the entryway.
"I'd trust Mel to tell the truth," Rachel answered, "at least with regard to something as big as what's going on."
As they came in they found that there were a few open aisles through the boxes and that some of the major pieces of furniture were already set up. This meant that the movers had had to have arrived during the day and that Richard and their older brother Frank had probably been pretty busy through the course of the day, particularly when it came to moving the heavier furniture items up the various flights of stairs, as they'd never found an elevator on their three floor home. As Rob shut the door, they heard footsteps and soon turned to see their mother Rose coming up from a hallway that lead to the kitchen.
"Well... hello, you two, have a good day?" Rose asked, staying quiet on Samantha Twist's visit or the fact that Richard was frustrated and frightened on the subject. She went along with his idea not to tell Rachel and Rob, but a part of her also knew that if Richard decided to leave Moon Lake before the town could do anything with the Mandatory Were Law, they'd have to tell Rachel and Rob why the decision was made, particularly in order to justify essentially abandoning the house and much of their property as there wouldn't be too much they could carry with them if they were to leave, but Richard was too unnerved by things at the moment to really focus on that and had largely put himself into the work of "moving in" to at least provide a distraction. She hoped that Rachel and Rob had a good day and that might ease some of the tensions that the Van Direstag parents had.
"It was interesting," Rob answered, "Different and curious... but in a way interesting."
"It's weird... and Mel told me why," Rachel answered as she looked about some of the boxes.
"Mel?" Rose wondered, faintly hearing footsteps approaching the stairs, meaning that Frank and Richard were either on their way down to move something or were taking a break.
"Melissa Jenkins... my best friend from back home... the professor's daughter," Rachel answered, "she actually moved here before we did. I knew it was somewhere in Washington State... but I didn't know it was here."
"Oh," Rose said slowly. They'd never actually met Harold Jenkins, but she did faintly remember a red-headed girl that Rachel had always been pretty close to that was named Melissa.
"And she's apparently been pulling some kind of joke on Rachel over some things that Rachel's been paranoid about," Rob answered.
"And what kind of joke is this?" Richard asked he came into view from the second floor and drawing Rose's attention to him.
"It's not a joke," Rachel shot back to Rob and then looked to her father and older brother as they approached the bottom of the stairs, "in fact some of the stuff she said makes sense given all the odd stuff that seems to be here..."
"Odd stuff?" Richard asked, hoping this was just normal teenage drama.
"As in stuff we don't see every day," Rachel answered, "like how most of the kids at the high school look "bigger" than what would expect. Many are taller and stronger looking that kids our age. The girls look like they could be fashion models for clothes designed for voluptuous women and the boys look like they could be top tier athletes in just about any sport... And while one or two here and there might be explainable... there is so many of them here in this little town in the middle of nowhere that it doesn't make rational sense..."
"So you say," Rob answered, "though... I... I will admit that I did meet someone... she... em…"
"You weren't harassing this girl, were you?" Richard asked carefully, catching that Rob was stuttering through his comment, which gave him some warning that Rob had some interest that went beyond a polite "hello."
"No..." Rob answered quickly, and trying hard not to draw attention that there were a few things that he was attracted to and that Amy had at times seemed borderline flirtatious with him, even though a part of him had the sense that he was no where near her league. "I mean... she was very beautiful and I... I wouldn't say I wasn't interested... but no I didn't harass her, honest."
"Well... that's good," Rose commented.
"And its every girl... or boy there that looks like that, or at least nearly everyone," Rachel cut in, "that's what makes it odd and weird and its only understandable if you take into account what Mel told me."
"And what was this?" Rose wondered, and noting on how Rachel and Rob were on two very different tangents. That brought her back to some of her concerns regarding Richard's response to Samantha Twist's welcome and the Mandatory Were Law.
"That this whole town has been something of a secret were sanctuary for years... many of them are a were of some kind," Rachel answered, leading to Richard and Rose's eyes widening a bit.
"That's the joke that Ms. Jenkins is likely playing," Rob answered, "everyone knows werewolves aren't real."
"What she told me makes sense... given things," Rachel answered as she turned to her younger brother who brushed it off.
She turned back to her parents and expected to find them looking at her questioningly, as things like werewolves being real wasn't something that most people would expect. Rob hadn't exactly believed her and she expected her parents not to believe her, either and had been preparing to go over what Melissa had told her before she left to find her brother and head home. To Rachel's surprise, she found her mother looking to her father and her father's face looking rather "blank." Rose reached out with one hand and touched Richard's hand, which she found trembling.
"How... how did she...?" Richard asked.
"They got some whole special welcome that Moon Lake gives new residents that explains things and what is to be expected from new residents that Melissa told me about and that she an her dad went through with it when they first moved in," Rachel answered, a bit surprised by the question.
"And what did they do, dear?" Rose asked.
"You guys can't really believe this?" Rob questioned, though for the moment Richard and Rose ignored him.
"From what Mel said... they joined," Rachel answered, "her dad apparently started falling in love with a weretiger and become one and she fell in love with a werebull and became one..."
"A bull?" Frank asked.
"A werecow in her case, or so she said," Rachel answered.
"Did she... or anyone attack you?" Richard asked, his voice a bit forceful and concerned as well.
"No... no one attacked me," Rachel answered, "in fact besides being a bit taller, being broader shouldered, having bigger breasts and looking like she'd spent months working in a gym... Mel wasn't really all that different. The same person she's always been the only thing that's changed is her appearance..."
"Well... that can't be a bad thing," Frank commented from the back of the group, "if she fell in love... it wouldn't be as though this werebull forced himself on her."
"Why are you believing all this?" Rob asked totally lost on all this, "things like werewolves aren't real. Some of the build that some of the people here might be different... but surely there has to be a rational explanation."
"Because we got our welcome from Samantha Twist," Frank spoke up making Richard turn.
"We agreed not to say!" Richard blurted.
"It's pretty clear she already knows, dad," Frank commented, "she may not have seen her friend transform... but she does appear to know. Might as well be open on this."
"On what?" Rob demanded.
Rose turned to her younger son, "well as your brother said... Samantha Twist, the city official welcome committee member came by the house after I enrolled you and Rachel at the High School and your father and Frank got the van. That official welcome included the report that Moon Lake is were sanctuary and that at least one member of the family MUST become a were."
"That can't be real..." Rob said with some disbelief.
"If she hadn't transformed in front of us... becoming a human sized anthropomorphic house cat and talking..." Frank commented, "I might be skeptical too, Rob... but she did and it's pretty hard to argue with what we saw. She even left a guidebook that lists the abilities that weres and some of the details on each."
Rachel and Rob both thought on the guidebook they'd found the previous night. Rachel's mind drifted a bit to her conversation with Melissa after her last class of the day.
"Melissa said something about their "Mandatory Were Law," as you put it... but she also said that if someone agrees willingly... they have all their choices open to them and if any were attacks anyone, that were would be in trouble with the city government," Rachel commented.
"They'd have it as a crime for a were to attack a normal person?" Richard asked.
"That's what Mel said," Rachel answered.
"What about this Mandatory Were Law thing... what if we say we don't want to be a were and WON'T become weres?" Richard asked.
"I'd assume that with the existence of the law in the first place... the city would have some sort of legal exception in that case, that they reserve the right induct a new member by force and the city's laws behind them," Rachel commented, noticing her father frown. She didn't fully know what that was about, but she didn't want to get into it as it might only lead to her having to explain her dream from the previous night of her being attacked by a werewolf version of herself. Telling Mel about that was okay, as they were friends and she had the sense that Melissa wouldn't panic or overly worry. Her parents might do that, and her father's frown might be proof of something like that. Thus it was better not to ask on why he was frowning and risk leading into her nightmare. "But her dad's a college professor and Mel isn't exactly dumb. It's odd and weird beyond all belief... but there'd have to be some reason for their choices that go beyond just their law."
"I see," Richard said slowly.
"It'd be something worth looking into," Rose commented slowly as she looked to her husband, "make sure we understand everything before rushing into anything."
"I suppose," Richard said slowly, "Do you know where Ms. Jenkins and her father are living."
Rachel paused and slipped her backpack off her back and set it on top of one of the boxes that was stacked up in the entry area. Unzipping it, she quickly found the torn off section of paper that had the Jenkins' present address written on it and pulled it up and presented it to her parents.
"This is their address," Rachel answered, "it's actually on one of the streets between here and the school."
"Did you get a phone number?" Richard asked.
"No, all I got was the address," Rachel answered.
"Then tomorrow at school, you get her home phone number," Richard spoke, "see if we could set up a meeting... find out why a college professor and his daughter gave up their humanity."
"I think Mel told me it was because she fell in love with a were," Rachel commented, "I mean things are weird and all... and a mandatory rule doesn't sound right... but if she fell in love and all that... the law wasn't why she made the choice she did."
"And based what's in the forward of their guidebook, the fact that they give people the choice on what were to be and include the warning that once it's done there are no take backs," Frank said slowly, "they also include mention that any individual were that forcibly turns a normal human faces a minimum of 150 years in prison... per offense. That's longer that what some people convicted of murder get. So... it's not as though they're actively forcing people in a blatantly negative way. The law may be flawed... I agree with you and mom on that, but they're not forcing us to rush things or pick a specific were-group to join."
"And this will be a fact finding mission," Richard answered, "even if their reason for giving up their humanity is beyond just the law... the fact of the matter is that they did and as such they've also accepted the law. Thus... why have they accepted it? That's all."
"Well... Mel did give me the address in case I... err... we had questions," Rachel commented, "I suppose we could arrange something."
Rob was left in total confusion by all of this. Did that mean the guidebook he'd found the previous day was real? That weres were real and that they really did look as hot as they did... in human form at least? A later thought soon rose in the back of his mind, "Is Amy a were?" But a part of him couldn't fully believe it. After all, he and Rachel had been at school when this apparent meeting with Samantha Twist took place, and thus having not seen the transformation, he couldn't quite believe it. But Rachel seemed insistent and their parents weren't being skeptical either. That made him wonder if it was real and if Amy was a were.