The weredog's punch was rapid and fierce, catching the wereraccoon in the jaw and making him stagger back. The weredog, his fursona based on a Chocolate Lab, which actually contrasted with his blonde hair gave a low growl at the wereraccoon who chittered back as he got back to his feet.
"Don't grab at him!" the weredog threatened.
"Or what? You'll put me in a zoo? Oh wait... you do," the wereraccoon answered bearing his teeth back, though a bit nervous.
Eric staggered away and ducked down to keep away from the growing fight and recognized that there were a few lights on in the area. In this, none of this could be easily hidden. Wood Street wasn't on the north or south straightaway street that ran through Moon Lake, and thus there was no regulation about being transformed and on that street. That only applied to Main Street, which ran east and west through town, or on the street that ran north and south through town. North of Main Street was North Avenue, south of Main Street was South Avenue. And these two streets were the only road links that would lead out of Moon Lake and to the rest of Washington State. However, the fact that the two were transformed were worrisome, as he didn't want to be involved in the fight, and yet, he was.
He had the sense that he was stronger and far more fit than he was before as a weremer, but most of what he'd gained were more attuned to swimming than anything else. And while neither the weredog nor the wereraccoon could turn him, as he was already a were, it wasn't likely that he could over power either or get away from them if they decided his not taking sides made him a target. The weredog might not be attacking him, but Eric also knew that he couldn't stop either. And as the wereraccoon lunged forward throwing a series of punches at the weredog's face, Eric could only back away as some memories of the bullies in Minnesota came back as he backed away, nervously looking around for any possible help.
And there were some signs of help coming, or at least possible help. He could faintly hear some doors opening, and he hoped that would be an adult coming out to break up the fight. Eric could also look to see Nate coming, fully transformed at a run from the Anderson house. It wasn't too far away, and Eric could actually see the Anderson home, but there was some element that gave Eric some hope for help to put an end to this. Some of that was repeated.
"Hey! Stop!" Nate yelled as he came running. Similar calls soon echoed across that portion of the street.
"Nate!" Eric called out to gain his brother's attention.
Nate waved back to his brother and noted a few parents coming out from the houses that were on the Anderson's side of the street with the Stovall home a few houses down the street on the other side. He again called at the weredog and wereraccoon that were fighting, with the weredog now pinning the wereraccoon down and was beginning to pound on the slightly smaller were. Before he could arrive, a female weredog came up from behind the weredog that was fighting and grabbed him by the arm and pulled him off.
"Joshua what's gotten into you!?" the female weredog yelled at the male, sounding clearly like an angry parent.
"Myles was going on about being closed minded!" the male weredog, Joshua, answered.
"Cuz' you're out to out us!" the wereraccoon, Myles, answered. He had some blood staining the fur at the back of his mouth and the eye above it was swollen shut, but the wereraccoon looked perfectly ready to go for another round as he came forward with his fists clinched and again teeth bared.
By this point, Nate got between the two and extended his arms as if to hold them both back, in case Joshua broke away from his mother. He half recognized both of them. Myles and Joshua were both practicing with the those that had come out for the high school football game. Myles practiced at quarterback and defensive back while Joshua practiced at defensive end and tight end. Nate wasn't as close to them as he was to Alex and Ben, but he did know them, and a part of him couldn't believe these two could come to blows with each other and threaten his brother besides. Myles stopped his advance as a male wereraccoon caught him from behind and held him back.
"I can't believe you're both fighting over this... they haven't even had any meetings to debate the reveal's plans and you're fighting about this!" Nate spoke.
"You don't know! You've only just become a were," Myles answered, struggling against the arms of his father, "people hunted us before... they'll hunt us again!"
"And suppose we're found out some other way... that some idiot in Florida gets drunk, transforms in front of a security camera and is caught on it," Nate said slowly, "that wouldn't relate to a reveal or anything of that nature... but it would reveal weres and no one could deny it. What do you do then?"
Myles didn't answer and looked down for a moment.
"I can understand being afraid..." Nate spoke, "and until more people come out in a way that would seem supportive of weres... I might lean more toward no reveal. But that doesn't mean we should reject things outright... That sort of thing leaves minds closed and isn't going to make anyone happy in the long run."
Myles again didn't answer, as his father began to pull him back across street. The father gave a Nate a scowl, which left Nate a bit nervous, but he said nothing to that. He turned back to look to Joshua who was being lead back to his home by his mother.
"Don't think I'm not frustrated with you too," Nate said in a low voice, "I can understand passion for an issue... but you're not going to solve things being beating the snot out of someone. And what are you going to do at school? Or at practice? Or are you going to quit the team because of this issue?"
"He has a good point Joshua," Joshua's mother told him, "being open would be great... might mean no more issues with the Mandatory Were Law scaring people and being free... but punching people out ain't right."
"Myles did make a grab at your brother," Joshua said to Nate as Eric came forward from the curb to join his brother.
Nate hugged Eric as his younger brother came closer, and was very careful with his claws. Nate knew that as a weremer, Eric wouldn't be affected by a scratch, but that didn't mean he wanted to inflict one. His claws weren't as long as a werebear's were or as sharp and recurved as any of the feline weres, but they were long enough and sharp enough to do damage to deer, which was something that Alex had told him about the pack's hunts. And Eric's skin was fairly sensitive, and lycanthropic regeneration or not, Nate didn't want to hurt his brother.
"I can thank you for that," Nate answered, "but all you needed to do is stand between them to let Eric get away. You didn't need to through an all out haymaker on him."
With that, Nate then ushered Eric away. He was glad to see that his younger brother was in one piece, but was to a degree nervous. Regardless of anything else, Eric's working to build up his social skills, the Thanksgiving Football Game, or just day to day life... this reveal plan hung over Moon Lake quite heavily and while people were on edge over it, just about anything seemed possible, and that was the thing that made Nate sigh in frustration. Moon Lake had been rather welcoming, and once one got used to the whole were thing and their need for safety... or at least their perception of it, they were very welcoming and not too different from any other town so far as Nate could see.
And yet, people seemed willing to have a fight in the streets? Nate could grant that security and safety would be a good thing, but he'd accepted enough of Ben's and Samantha and Frances' reasoning to give this proposed reveal plan a chance. As such fighting in the streets over a plan that was likely only in the starting phases of being put together wasn't smart and seemed to go against much of the welcome that he'd gotten. Right now getting Eric the last few houses up to their own home was the big thing.
"What took you so long?" Nate asked to Eric, "mom and dad seemed to be getting close to serving when I got home... as they were getting into a bit of hanky-panky in the kitchen."
"Mostly just going over some thoughts..." Eric said slowly, as the Stovall house was about the equal of a block down and across the street from the Andersons, but because of the wagon wheel layout and the lack of real intersections outside of the very center of the city, using blocks as measurements of distance in Moon Lake didn't quite work. "... on Julie... and over some of the stuff we did over the weekend."
Eric looked down for a moment and sighed, "sorry to have gotten so distracted that I was late and walked right into a fight..."
"I'm sure you weren't looking for it," Nate answered, "and besides, I spent all day with Alex too... there are some things about him that are just so... so..." He paused for a moment in trying to explain to Eric how the feelings and attraction he had to Alex. He was fairly sure that Eric knew that he loved Alex and that both he and Alex were gay. Eric could also likely understand some element of romantic love, given how close he'd gotten to Julie since they moved to Moon Lake and especially after becoming a weremer. The problem for Nate is that Nate's attraction Alex was likely different from Eric's interest in Julie.
"Attractive?" Eric offered.
"Yeah... anyway... I'm glad you're alright," Nate spoke, "and I think we were far enough down that mom and dad didn't see anything... if they've even left the kitchen. We can just say you lost track of time with Julie and were on your way back... sound good?"
"Yeah," Eric commented, and looked back over his shoulder to where the fight had taken place, "though... seeing those two... just go at it over this... it doesn't feel right. It's like the town tearing itself apart..."
"Yeah... I suppose this will be something of an issue for awhile," Nate commented, "at least until people know more on the plan and get some assurance that it won't lead to the inquisition... if it's even around anymore."
Eric nodded as Nate took him across the lawn and up to the Anderson's front door. He gave one sigh and nodded as he then followed and followed his brother in.