Melissa was a bit relieved by the fact that Rachel had told her that about the lead that Rachel had gotten in one of her other classes. It made certain things easier and eased a lot of Melissa's worries on whether or not her old friend would adapt well to Moon Lake and the things that made it unique when compared to Michigan. Of course the worries about what her father might do were there, but there wasn't much that any one could do but hope that Richard Van Direstag would relax and actually take some time to learn a bit about Moon Lake before rushing into some other decision. Melissa had some concerns that that issue with regard to Rachel's father might be part of the reason for Rachel's apparent decision to be the family were and move forward with it, in that it would be more to keep her choices her own, and that was understandable, but with no way of knowing what the Van Direstag parents would do, Melissa couldn't really judge if Rachel's decision was truly right or wrong.
As she came down from the top floor to the main floor of the high school, she came across Trevor and Alice, who both had their backpacks and looked ready to go. As she got to the bottom of the stairs, Jason and Roy came around a corner from another hall and joined them. The only ones who weren't there were Megumi and Rachel, though it could be possible that their lockers were elsewhere at the moment.
"Hey guys," Melissa said to them.
"Hey, Mel... you see your friend at all?" Alice asked as she looked around the hallway as Melissa made her way to her locker.
"I think she went out ahead of me... probably hoping to be at a spot where she could talk to Megumi and let her brother know what she was doing... maybe," Melissa answered, "though she did tell me before class started that she might have gotten a lead on a werebear... but she can't talk to him until tomorrow at lunch."
"Well... that'll be good," Trevor spoke as they followed Melissa to her locker, "I think we all had some leads... but between trying to get to classes, there wasn't much time between classes to explain anything. I wouldn't want to tell her that we'd failed to set up a meeting for her with a werebear."
"I'm sure it's the effort that you agreed to make for her that will be what matters," Melissa assured him as she placed the books she'd need for her homework in her backpack.
The others nodded as she finished up that part and then moved to head out of the building. As she approached the front doors, she found that Trevor, Alice, Roy, and Jason had all followed behind and that got her wondering.
"Don't you guys have practice again today?" Melissa wondered.
"Practices are normally on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays," Roy explained, "depending on the schedule. Some weeks the contest is on a weekday, and we might not have formal practice on that day, but on others the match could be on the weekend, and we might then practice on the day before."
"Preparations for Halloween and then the fight that Alice Decrux picked with Ms. McCoy kinda messed up some of that schedule," Alice added, "but a lot of that is catch up and we'll get back to our normal routine." Alice then smiled and used that as an opportunity to come up and elbow Melissa in the side fairly playfully, "which means you might have time to get horny with Trevor today..."
"You're udderly ridiculous," Melissa groaned back, but did get a laugh from the wererabbit. Melissa also couldn't help but look back over her shoulder to Trevor who happily smiled, making her blush a little.
They made their way out and found that the original suspicion on where Rachel was to be correct, as she was talking to Megumi just outside the school doors. Melissa thought she could see Rob following another student, but wasn't sure. The group gathered around for at least a short meeting before going their separate ways. Rachel did confirm being able to meet with a werebear named Jack at lunch the next day. There were nods and sighs of relief.
"Did you want us to come with you guys?" Melissa asked after Rachel finished the confirmation to the others.
"No... as I'm hoping to keep some of this low key," Rachel answered, "as for the moment... I'm not sure how I'll be able to get the prescription for the right were birth control pills without drawing attention... if my folks are watching the house or anything like that, they might get suspicious if I show up with all of you together, and that my rush something."
"Okay... that makes sense," Melissa shrugged and looked to Rachel, "did you see Rob?"
"I think he went home already," Rachel answered, "probably to complain to my mom and dad that I left for school earlier than he expected this morning. I'm sure things will be fine."
"Okay," Melissa managed, "well... we should let you and Megumi get underway... and we'll see you tomorrow... hopefully with news that your dad has calmed down."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
From there the group had split up and made their way toward their own homes, or at least in the general direction of them. Rachel was quite fine with walking with Megumi as they crossed the street and looked more like they were headed toward the center of town. There were many things that had been rather odd about Moon Lake when she'd first moved in, and what Melissa had told her made some degree of sense. Of course, she hadn't seen any were in their fursona aside from the pictures in guidebook, but she also knew she didn't want to be a werewolf or truly forced into anything and there was a certain appeal that werefoxes might have, if they were anything like the foxes she'd occasionally seen in Ann Arbor.
"So, thanks for all this," Rachel said to Megumi as they walked along.
"It will be a pleasure to help," Megumi answered, "and especially with those that might be interested in being a werefox. Which for a time included Mel..."
"Mel wanted to be a werefox?" Rachel asked.
"Yes," Megumi nodded, "though all of us could see that she and Trevor were bonding when she first moved in and there was one point about werefoxes that made her a bit... uneasy."
"Uneasy?" Rachel asked as they came up on the park that was in the center of the town, and noting some high hedges that ran along the outside edge of the park.
"Yes... though more due a werefox's greatest strengths," Megumi nodded, "we are known for our perfect balance of voluptuousness..."
"The guidebook would indicate that Mel, even if her fursona is based of a breed of beef cattle will have bigger breasts," Rachel countered.
"Yes, werecows are a bit oversized in that department, even for weres," Megumi gave a fairly playful smile, "but it's not necessarily balanced. They have bigger breasts, but their shoulders are also wider and their hips may not fully balance out with what they have up top. In this werecows are more top heavy than anything else. Werefoxes are perfectly balanced where a female's bust and hips will allow for the perfect hourglass shape. Which helps werefox vixens attract mates and use their instinctive knowledge on how to please their partner sexually... to give that partner joy like they wouldn't believe."
"So... werefoxes know how to please the person they fall in love with?" Rachel asked as they walked along.
"Not just who they fall in love with, but ANYONE they might have any sexual encounter with," Megumi answered, "Male or female... we would know how to please our partner. And that's not a werefox's greatest strength."
"It isn't?" Rachel asked as she followed Megumi onto some walking paths in the park and essentially cutting through it.
"A werefox's greatest strength is the bond," Megumi answered, "once one finds the one that they would have that emotional attachment to that would be one's "happy ever after" if you wish to think of it like fairy tales, that bond forms and is unbreakable and will last forever. It gives werefoxes a certain degree of knowledge on that they'd found the love of their life."
"That doesn't sound bad... why would Mel turn that down?" Rachel wondered, "because if she bonded to Trevor... I'd imagine she'd still be with him..."
"True," Megumi nodded, "though, because that bond is strong, it will go on after one of the bonded pair dies. The surviving partner will remain loyal to the deceased partner until they are rejoined in the next life, however you see the afterlife. It is something that my grandmother says likely contributed to the stories of Kitsune in Japanese folklore... but given that when Melissa and her father moved here, he was still wrestling with the loss of his wife... I would think that Melissa was a bit uneasy and fearful that the bond would only affect her in a way that wouldn't be indicative of moving on..."
"That..." Rachel said slowly.
"Yes, weres can die, and may often do," Megumi answered, "in many respects all weres are harder to kill than normal humans, but that doesn't make us immortal. My grandma's husband was killed when the bomb went off over Hiroshima. The only reason my grandma and her children and older grandchildren survived was that they weren't in Hiroshima when it happened... And grandma's bond remains to grandpa, though she has taken a lot of happiness in her children and her grandchildren and the success Moon Lake has had since she moved here after World War II."
"I see... though... that would make sense," Rachel managed after a moment, as she thought on the times that she and Melissa had been able to hang out together in Michigan after Eliza Jenkins had died. While Rachel didn't know Harold Jenkins all that well, she had seen enough to know that the man had been grieving quite heavily and was unable to move on. "Mel's dad REALLY didn't take Mel's mom's death well... and I think that made Mel sad too. I tried to cheer her up with jokes and letting her be a guest on some of the shows I've put up on YouTube... mostly just teen gossip stuff... and while she smiled, it was more of a mask than anything else."
"And by all accounts... Professor Jenkins recovered from all that when he became a weretiger," Megumi answered, "possibly part of the magic that some consider part of this town... but that past would still be something that would make a werefox's bond sound unattractive."
"And Mel does seem happy now... so it's not like I can really blame her for anything," Rachel commented as she followed Megumi along and eventually came through park onto Moon Lake's Main Street and continued westward and was in the general direction of where her family had moved to.
Megumi nodded as they walked along the road on the north side of Main Street. They eventually came toward the edge of the central hub that made up the center of Moon Lake. Across the street and to the right, Rachel could see the home that her parents had either bought or rented, but next to it was the walled oriental structure behind the walls, and as Megumi lead her on, it was this structure that Megumi entered.
"You live here?" Rachel asked in some surprise.
"Yes," Megumi answered, "the compound was built when Grandma Akane brought her surviving family to Moon Lake, and while some of her children and grandchildren have moved to other parts of Moon Lake, but my mom and dad still live in the compound and thus I live with them."
"That makes us neighbors," Rachel said with some surprise, "My folks either bought or rented that three story home..."
Megumi noted the direction Rachel raised her arm and pointed in and noted that there was three story home that was nearby, "well that is most pleasant to know. Come in, and I can answer other questions you may have regarding werefoxes. During the summer, the gardens can be quite beautiful to sit in, but I am afraid with winter on its way... you may be more comfortable indoors."
"Indoors would be preferable," Rachel answered as she followed Megumi in through the gate looking to the building. It looked like an oriental palace as she looked at it, though she didn't wish to say that specifically. "What does your grandma do?"
"Akane No Tachibana runs Tachibana Enterprises," Megumi answered, "which runs a fair number pharmaceutical work, including the birth control pills for weres as well few other drugs that would benefit weres and normal. They've also dabbled in a few other scientific investments as well... Though I've never fully kept track of them all. There are also subsidiary services that will provide security services and will even serve as potential independent contractors for Moon Lake's law enforcement should the situation require it."
Rachel whistled at that.
"Grandma is also a minor member of Japanese noble house... though because of her age and the fact that she is a were, contact with the house was at low levels even before World War II," Megumi answered, "as she is two hundred years old now... and..."
"Keeping contact with family she was born into or married into that wouldn't be weres would be difficult," Rachel surmised as they went up the stairs and into the home.
Megumi nodded and Rachel followed as the Japanese American teen stepped onto a welcome mat that was just inside the door and bent over to take off her shoes. Rachel did the same, guessing there was some requirement on keeping things clean, which she could respect. Especially as it was someone else's home. As she did she noted a few photographs that hung on the walls. Some were of locations and done in color and some were of people. The people generally struck some resemblance to Megumi in some ways.
"Most of the photographs are of family members... those that aren't are photographs of places Grandma and Grandpa have been," Megumi spoke noting Rachel's looking to the photographs that were there, "and with the time that weres have... the family I've been born to is large."
"Are most werefoxes Japanese?" Rachel asked.
"We think that is where the werefox strain for the were-virus began... but given debates over the scientific and mystical origins of what makes a were a were, that's something that may be hard to pin down," Megumi answered, "as the Red Fox, which most werefoxes' were forms are based on has had a large global range even before British lords brought foxes to North America for sport hunting. Though the stories of Kitsune coming from Japan could indicate that werefoxes did get their start there... unless someone finds evidence of an older oral tradition on foxlike shape-shifters."
"You say "most werefoxes would be Red Foxes" how would that be figured out?" Rachel wondered, "would it all depend on who bites who... or?"
"That's something of a mystery," Megumi commented, "before even Melissa came here, one werefox went rogue and clawed a professor at the university and he became a standard Red Fox like the rogue that clawed him. That rogue later clawed a student that was camping by the lake a bit later, and she became a Fennec Fox. Her boyfriend then proposed to her and became a werefox for her... as they were bonding... and he supposedly became a Gray Fox. In this, it's hard to picture exactly what one's fursona would be... and that would be true for any were."
"Went rogue?" Rachel asked.
"Yes," Megumi gave a sigh, "it would appear that the original vixen that caused the trouble did not grow up in a proper home environment and was trying to skate by and thought she'd found someone to fill that role with the first victim and the second was more desperation to throw off pursuit. Not something that is normal for any were, let alone werefoxes."
Rachel followed along as Megumi lead her into a larger open family room where things were relatively quiet. Rachel noted that some of the interior décor was a bit more modern, though in colors that worked with the building itself. Megumi ushered her over to a couch. The two sat down before Rachel came up with her next question.
"So... other than being great in bed and forging unbreakable bonds once you find the one... is there anything else that werefoxes are known for?" Rachel asked.
"To a certain extent being cunning and enjoying a good joke or prank," Megumi answered, "in this, many of the stories of Kitsune playing a prankster's role would fit with werefoxes fairly well... though, no prank should ever cause physical or emotional harm and the various Den leaders within the Skulk will make sure any prank pulled for Halloween or April Fool's Day fits within those limits. As the hope is to get people to ultimately laugh, not to hurt them."
"Sounds like fun... do you ever... post it on YouTube or something? Show that everyone laughs?" Rachel wondered.
"Given the need to protect the were secret... no," Megumi answered, "some may not agree with this... but Moon Lake has generally desired to protect that secret quite firmly. It's why things like the Mandatory Were Law exists. It's all stuff kept within the community, just in case someone is transformed while pulling the prank."
"Hmm," Rachel commented, "Well... it could be fun... though... I trust there's no fake scares with those that have heart conditions?"
"None... as I said, the Skulk's rules say that no prank can or should harm anyone physically or emotionally," Megumi answered, "anyone who does go too far will have to at least apologize... It's a means to assure self control and the Skulk as a whole strives to maintain that."
"Sounds like it can be chaotic at times," Rachel commented.
"Perhaps," Megumi nodded, "but that's also why the Skulk is so well organized with Dens for every street in Moon Lake and lower ranking leaders for that Den."
"And your grandmother sit at the top?" Rachel asked.
"Yes," Megumi nodded, "and ultimately we all fit in together and happily..."
"And if I were to choose to be a werefox... would I need to do anything special?" Rachel wondered.
"Well... normally, there would be a planned welcome, at least to the Den that you would be joining and they would provide a werefox of your choosing for that ceremony and welcome," Megumi answered, "the actual transformation would be more... private, for regardless of whether or not you would wish for your transformation to be by claw, bite, or sex... you will need to complete the transformation... which may well require sex... or at least some sexual act, as it were."
"Yeah the guidebook seemed to hint at that," Rachel commented, "but right now with the stuff related to my dad and all that..."
"Yes, that could be something different," Megumi nodded, "and in that the transformation could be arranged, particularly if you find a boy you like and things would go from there. It might not be normal, but sometimes informal welcomes do happen..."
"Like the three the rogue went after?" Rachel asked.
"The rogue only went after two," Megumi answered, "the second victim bonded to her boyfriend turned him... but yes, that situation would show that we can be quite adaptable."