Rob's time in Moon Lake so far had been more of a mystery than anything else. Things like weres made for good story-telling, and there were some parts of the internet that often attracted a rather large following of people that seemed to like anthropomorphic animals that were built somewhat like the pictures he'd seen in the Moon Lake guidebook. But for the most part, for as much as Rob liked the physical proportions that were drawn in the guidebook and from what he could notice at school, he really couldn't think that weres were "real." After all, the guidebook just had artwork and everyone he'd seen that said they were weres was in human form. He'd never seen a were transform and he figured that some of the concentration of well built women and more muscular men that wouldn't be so far fetched as saying, "they're weres."
On top of this there was Amy. Like many of the other girls he'd seen at Moon Lake High, she was far more developed than what he would have figured from a High School Freshman, but there was also some obvious attraction to him that he'd never gotten from anyone. Of course, some of it in Michigan was probably just teenage hormones that had often lead him into saying some pretty dorky things and displaying some interest in things that had gotten reprimands from his parents when they found out, often when a girl's parent called his parents at work. In this, Rob had tried to control himself and not come off like some pervert, particularly while trying to figure out the mystery that was Amy.
Her liking him was nice and he liked that. But until he could see her transform, some of the "were" stuff just seemed to come off as a distraction. In theory it could explain things, as Rachel had told him it did, but it was still something that seemed far fetched. It came off as some kind of prank at times to Rob, though the only thing that really made him question that was how so many people would seem to be in on it. Amy and her friends seemed to share in it and provided plenty of reasons for why he hadn't seen a were transform at school, and if some of the things said were to be true, then it would make logical sense. The fact that group seemed open to sharing things gave some credence to the whole "were" theory, in that it would be hard to put together something made up on such a scale and have it remain consistent, but he was still looking for some formal confirmation.
And that was what had brought him to Amy's home. The discussion on the way there was fine and reflected some of the interest in him that Amy seemed to have, which made Rob feel a bit less guilty about some of his own teenage desires that related to her, but he was hoping for some confirmation on the whole "were" issue as well. Thus, he followed Amy up to the front door, which she opened with ease and ushered him in.
"Mom, you home?!" Amy called as the two came into the doorway.
"Yes, dear," came a more mature voice from deeper in the house, leaving Rob to look around the room he'd just entered.
It wasn't huge, but it was a fairly large living room with wood floors and a large fabric couch on the far wall. There was a white rug that was laying on the floor in front of the couch and toward the front windows, which were presently covered up by light blue curtains. Though Rob also noted that the curtains were thin enough to let plenty of light pass through and illuminate the room. On the wall to his right there was decent sized book base and entertainment center, though the book case had more VHS tapes and DVDs on it than books. There was also a door that lead elsewhere into the house. To the left was another set of curtain covered windows, and Rob could also notice a few framed photos hanging from the walls.
"Could you come out, please?" Amy called as she walked further into the house with Rob slowly following, "there's someone here I'd like you to meet... and might need some help explaining some things to..."
Rob followed along until he saw a shadow begin to appear in a large arched doorway that was to the left of the couch that Amy was approaching. The shadow was then replaced as an adult woman came into view. She was a few inches taller than Amy and had her hair in a slightly different style. Amy's hair was more straight while her mother's was more wavy. Like the other adult women that he'd seen in Moon Lake, Amy's mother was well built, with at least a D cup chest that was covered a white polo-shirt. She also wore a pair of navy blue pants hung loosely to a rather wide set of hips.
Rob had noted that many of Moon Lake's women and teens were well built, but there were some variations with this. There were some that he noticed that had broader shoulders and more obvious muscle mass, which could be outside the norm for women so far as Rob knew, but even with them, Rob was able to note that their hips were still fairly wide as well and likely wider than what one would expect from anyone in that age group. Some of the others tended to be balanced fairly evenly between bust and hip measurements. Others, like Amy's mother had gone in the other direction in that while she a good sized bust and would be considered large when compared to normal women, like Rob's mother, Rose, Amy's mother also had wider hips. As the two stood together, Rob got some indication that Amy was built in a similar way... which might explain why she'd playfully swayed her hips on the walk to her home.
"Mom, this is Rob Van Deerstag, the cute boy I met in school," Amy said to her mother.
"Van Direstag," Rob corrected.
"German?" Amy's mother wondered.
"Dutch," Rob answered, "Van is Dutch. Von is German... though my family's been in America for long enough that I'd see myself as an American more than anything else."
Amy's mother nodded while Amy continued her introduction. "Anyway, Rob, this is my mother, Abigail Nettles."
"My daughter has told me you've taken an interest in her," Amy's mother, Abigail commented and offered her hand for Rob to shake.
"Well... yes... she... is... beautiful," Rob managed to stutter out and look down with a slight blush, "but... well... there is also all this stuff that I'm... well... trying to figure out..."
"The Mandatory Were Law, I take it," Abigail said slowly, "many new families have at times seemed rather resistant to it at first... though usually with the adults. Those that are younger tend to be more accepting... which is understandable."
"More on trying to confirm as to whether or not weres are real and I'm not being pranked," Rob managed weakly, "all I've really had on this is the guidebook, and all its pictures are hand drawn, so that could be written off as a fictional guide... and some things my parents and older sister have said. I've never even seen a were... at least one transform."
"Well, we are inside right now," Abigail said slowly, "I'd think that my daughter and I can provide you with that proof... if you need it."
With that Rob watched Abigail's visibly changed color, taking on a pale gold color while the pupil remained unchanged. The woman gave a few soft "mmms" as her body began to change in ways that would be even more obvious. She slipped out of her shoes as her feet lengthened slightly to allow for a more digitigrade stance. Rob thought he heard what sounded like bones cracking, but the sounds that Abigail Nettles made were more sighs of contentment than anything else. It didn't sound like she was in pain, even as short claws grew out from her toes and fingers.
Then Abigail's fur began to come in, and come in with rather distinctive coloring. As her ears moved up toward the top of her head and poked through her hair as they stretched to a point, distinctive white and black fur began to grow out. On her head, Rob could see a narrow white stripe run down from the center of her hairline to the tip of her nose, which was turning black and pushing forward into a rather triangular looking muzzle with slightly lengthening teeth. The rest of the fur on Abigail's face was black. Going down to her neck, Rob could only see the front of Abigail's neck, which was growing black fur, and this also included her arms and feet.
"And now the grand finale," Abigail gave a happy smile with her ears perked and alert as her bust and hips seemed to grow a bit more and as a long and largely white furred tail grew out behind her. The fur was noticeably long and rather fluffy, but that white and black coloration was distinctive.
"You... you're skunks..." Rob stated in surprise.
"Wereskunks to be precise," Abigail nodded, "with myself based on the Hooded Skunk, and Amy based on the Striped Skunk. And her father is based on the Western Spotted Skunk."
Rob looked over to Amy to note that she had transformed as well, though she looked a bit more nervous than her mother did, if he could read her wide eyes slight frown to her lips. He could note the similarities in the fur coloration and pattern, at least with regard to what he could see as both were fully dressed, though Amy had removed her socks and shoes during her transformation, which Rob hadn't followed. However, he could note a difference in their tails. Abigail's was largely white, though there did appear to be some black hairs intermixed with the white fur that was there. Amy's tail had a thick white edge along the side of the tail but with a black stripe running down the tail's length. Rob also thought that Amy's tail looked shorter when compared to her mother, but he wasn't enough of an animal expert to know if that was more the fact that Amy was younger than her mother. The bigger surprise though, was that there was no foul smell from either of them.
"I don't..." Rob began, unsure as to how to proceed. Questions on whether or not weres were real were pretty much settled, and while finding out that Amy was a wereskunk was a surprise, the biggest thing now was some curiosity, particularly in the fact of what Amy had said to him on the walk to her home.
"Smell anything," Abigail finished with a confident smile, "of course. Neither Amy nor I have sprayed. And yes, wereskunks have the anal glands that skunks... actually a fair number of mustelids in fact... are known for, but that's only while we're transformed and it is still an active defense mechanism. Which means that liquid secretion will only be sprayed when directly attacked..."
"Liquid?" Rob asked.
"Cartoons are not a good source of scientific information," Amy gave a groan, "people know that skunks can produce a foul smelling secretion that is sprayed, but they think of it more in terms of Pepe Le Pew in that scent is a scent that just follows the skunk around like a gas cloud behind it and coming from the tip of the tail."
"In reality, the spray is a liquid," Abigail spoke and moved over to usher Rob to the couch and to set Amy around so that they sat next to each other on the couch, "and that the glands that carry it are at the base of the tail, near the anus... thus anal glands, and why skunks will often raise the tail as a warning display. Thus if the predator charges, the skunk can spray and then run without covering itself in its own spray. But the media tends to go the other way... and even a few weres think wereskunks automatically smell like their spray..."
"But when we'd driven out... there were spots on the road..." Rob began.
"Being crushed by car would trigger a skunk's spray by the force," Abigail explained, "think of it like a full soda bottle. If you start crushing the bottle and restricting the volume that the bottle has... the soda in the bottle has to go somewhere. That's sorta what happens to skunks killed on the road."
"I see..." Rob said slowly before looking over to Amy, "and this was why you were so... distant with me?"
"About what kind of were I was..." Amy said slowly, "well... yes. For wereskunks aren't all that common and some people will have certain prejudices regarding skunks... I'd hoped to avoid that and let you be a bit more comfortable with things and not surprise you. Particularly... for as I said on the way here... I would like a more stable relationship... or to at least try for one. And since you're cute..."
Rob only felt himself blush, which made Amy smile. Her being a wereskunk was a surprise, but in many ways she was rather beautiful in a way, and he was more taken in by the fact that she found him cute.
"Well... I'll let you two talk and I'll get back to what I was working on," Abigail gave a smile and turned to leave.
"What do you do?" Rob wondered.
"I'm one of the college's biology and general science professors, Tuesdays and Thursdays are short days for me," Abigail answered, "often with debates on the origins of the were-virus with the philosophy and religious departments as well as those that simply believe in magic as something more than just a feeling."
Abigail then moved to head back into the room she'd come from and then stopped in the doorway, "and Amy, your father will be home soon... the two of you are free to talk, but try to keep up with your homework."