"Do you really mean that Trevor is overworking himself?" Melissa asked to Virginia after dinner as they brought in the plates from the dinning room where Harold was rising them, "I mean... he's been kind, helpful, and well... when dad and I first moved in and I was still the only one in line to be the "family were," he was more than willing to take time out of the day to hang out with me and the others that are on your academic team."
"I'm not trying to say he doesn't know how to relax or that I have never seen him not working," Virginia clarified after handing the last of the dishes to Harold and then going around the kitchen to sit down in the living room, "but from what I've seen of his efforts at school... and from what I've gathered from parent teacher conferences... he will work hard at his school work and is dedicated to the Tyson's family farm."
"Yeah... their place is nice and covers a fair amount of ground," Melissa commented, not mentioning that she became a werecow in one of the fields around the Tyson home.
"And managing it can be quite a bit of work," Virginia commented, "particularly when it comes to the raising of the deer there. They provide for all the major predatory weres... weretigers, werewolves, werelions, wereleopards, weremountainlions, and werebears with animals we can let out all our predatory urges on. To meet state and federal requirements to even allow them to have the deer they've had to file specialized licenses that fit within wildlife management... they have to be fed and cared for... and then for the purpose of allowing predatory weres to hunt, they must be released and in areas that will generally keep them in Moon Lake... there's also the small number of mundane dairy cattle that they raise for milk that can be a handful... It's a lot of work, and Trevor does seem interested in working with his father to keep the farm successful."
"I've gotten the impression from his parents that they wouldn't be pushing him into anything," Melissa said slowly, "though... they might be still excited at a potential future daughter in law in the future..."
"AFTER YOU GRADUATE COLLEGE!" Harold was heard to holler from the kitchen, though it also sounded like he was faking panic.
Melissa only gave a small chuckle and shook her head, "and well... Trevor's been good to me. I mean... our first meeting may have been by chance... but everything has just felt so right. He's helped me and made me happy. Hopefully... I'll be able to do the same for him."
"In some ways, I think you already are," Virginia smiled back, "and even before you became a were... you and Trevor do look good together. And hopefully... that all stays something that is a positive for you both."
"Thanks..." Melissa gave a smile, as she was generally happy at the love she'd found with Trevor, "though for the moment... some of the things we're the most concerned with are more with helping out Rachel and her family... the Van Direstags. They are here... and Rachel took the whole were thing surprisingly well... but her dad has been a different issue and that's gotten her a bit worried. Trevor and the others can giver her encouragement and help... but not much more. And a part of that makes me worry... as she is my best friend... there SHOULD be some way to help her... or at least be assured that I have helped her."
And that had been a big part of the afternoon's study plan when she and Trevor first got to the Jenkins home that afternoon. Mostly it had been trying to work through dreams that Rachel had said she'd had, the vivid nature of which struck Trevor as being like a prophecy dream. But normals supposedly didn't have them, and that had gotten Melissa wondering on something that Erma had said... that Moon Lake had something magical about it. That could have been just a figure of speech, but the fact that her father had apparently been having dreams about becoming a weretiger before the fight that lead to him becoming a weretiger and that she'd had a dream or two before becoming a werecow in which she'd seen the image of a young woman, who vaguely looked like her mother but had a different tone of voice, guiding her along the way. And until her father had to get started on dinner, she, Trevor, and Harold had talked over those things.
"There are times where things may always be difficult..." Virginia told her as Melissa moved toward the stairs, "but so long as you do your best... that may be all we can do. It isn't easy, but that's the way it always goes."
Melissa nodded and then headed up to her bedroom. She easily made her way up the stairs, even taking two steps at a time, not something she did that often before, and felt quite pleased that she was able to handle it. As she flipped the light on her mind still juggled between the two things that were on her mind, her love for Trevor and the pondering as to what it was about Moon Lake. Her father, Trevor, and her hadn't been able to fully figure the last part out fully, and while a part of her may have been tempted when she and Trevor moved their study session up to her bedroom. The fact that she, her father, and Rachel had all seemed to have experiences that were typically only had by weres remained. Though they'd never reached any full conclusion on that.
"Of course... all of what we talked about would be hard to prove," Melissa thought to herself as she closed her blinds and looked in the mirror to see her reflection as she went about readying herself for bed, "for not many people believe in magic any more... at least not in a way that would relate to an actual influence."
Melissa looked in the mirror again and noted the red haired teen in it. It was clearly Melissa's own reflection, but the one that reflected the new her. The werecow that she'd become. She had no problems with it, and the fact that she and Trevor had such good chemistry together seemed to reinforce that point. But she had to admit how different she was from when she and her father had moved in. She was taller, broader shouldered, more muscular, her breasts were not only bigger but would be huge by the time she finished maturing. She wasn't a brilliant scientist by any means, but there were times where her becoming a were seemed to reflect changes that should be scientifically impossible, but yet still happened.
She sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled off her socks, as she'd taken her shoes off when she and Trevor came up to finish their homework. She gave a slight sigh as she tossed her socks into a nearby laundry hamper, as she knew that while she wasn't a scientist, she did generally know that "magic" was often something that man turned to when it didn't have a scientific answer. Thus when science did have an answer, the magical explanation faded away. In this, she also knew that while it might be possible that there was more to Moon Lake than just its were population, unless they found someone or something that would just "confirm" some kind of magical effect, that debate would go on. As such, Melissa didn't have anything that seemed to stick with her with regard to what she could feel was more magical than scientific...
Her "mirror friend" was one of those things, but at times her memory on her mirror friend was hazy. She could remember some things quite clearly, as though they happened just yesterday. The help that her mirror friend provided that lead her to Trevor, warned her of Alice Decrux, and lead to her choosing Trevor was all crystal clear, but then other times were more hazy. Like she could only remember things while face to face with her mirror friend. Melissa couldn't explain that and thus couldn't provide that as anything than a prophecy dream, that most would think she only had after becoming a were or as some trick of her subconscious mind. Thus there was nothing that would concretely prove "magic" in a way that would be believable, and thus nothing that could explain Rachel having such vivid dreams.
"Thankfully Trevor seems to believe that she's real," Melissa sighed, "that means I didn't have to argue with him."
The thought of Trevor made her smile again, almost as if on reflex. He was very much a part of what ultimately proved to be a very happy result for her family. He'd given her some sense of safety in Moon Lake, generally needed considering Alice Decrux, and she was happy that her father and Virginia were willing to invite him to their wedding. It gave a part her mind something to daydream about for the future, though that would have to wait until after she and Trevor graduated college. And there were other things to worry about that were more immediate, but there wasn't much she could do. As she began to undress herself for the night, she knew all she could do was wait... and hope that Rachel's father didn't respond as Rachel feared...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Downstairs, Harold emerged from the kitchen just as he heard the thumping of Melissa's feet going up the stairs. He found Virginia standing between the couch and the entertainment center, and the sight of the beautiful weretigress, even if she was in human form, made him smile. She heard his footsteps and turned to face him and caught his smile.
"You had to remind her that she and Trevor were to wait until after college to get married?" Virginia asked to him, her tone slightly teasing.
"Well, yes," Harold answered, "If I didn't, Melissa would think I'd gone soft... I have to at least give some remind her that her loving father will always take a protective role... even if not being serious."
Virginia only sighed and shook her head at that as Harold managed a chuckle before continuing and approaching her at the same time.
"And besides... I actually like Trevor," Harold told Virginia, "he's struck me as mature and polite. He's been helpful, and while he's appeared to be interested in Mel... he's been in control of himself and never trying to force things on Melissa. I guess... not being a male version of Alice Decrux wins my approval of him. And because Melissa has been happy... I've been happy, and as such... I would be more than happy to have him be a guest at our wedding, show that we accept him as future family... I'd also say that from meeting his parents, I wouldn't think that they would raise someone to be a jerk."
"Yes... the Tysons are good hard working people," Virginia agreed, "and in that... Trevor probably gets some of his work ethic from them. Though... I would still think that Trevor could stand to have someone that would be able to get him to relax at times. For while we weres may recover energy quicker than normal humans could... that doesn't mean that we can't exhaust ourselves that we don't need time to rest."
Harold slowly nodded as he wrapped his arms around Virginia. Just being close to his fiancé made him feel good, especially with the odd and almost otherworldly sense that Melissa's mother, Eliza, somehow had been able to let him know that she approved of Virginia in heaven. He'd fought and resisted while his mourning had been going on at full force, but in finding Virginia and her interest in history. And that while she was interested in him, it had seemed that Virginia was interested things other than sex. She took at least some interest in looking after more than just physical needs. A part of Harold wondered if his real emotional love for Virginia began when she began to show sympathy and support for him after he'd told her a bit about what had happened in relation to Eliza's death. And now he was happily looking forward to marrying Virginia and the eventual birth of their son... whom his own prophecy dreams seemed to indicate would be named John Sebastian Jenkins.
To Harold, it did all seem like magic. And regardless of whether or not the magic was real, just seeing Virginia smile made him feel happy. Looking into her eyes, it was like everything else stood still. After a moment, she began to pull away...
"Stay..." Harold urged.
"I'd want to... but it is a school night," Virginia answered, "and if we get started on something... we'll be busy for longer than intended."
"You could stay the night... I'd set the alarm for you," Harold commented letting his arms rest on her hips.
"By my clothes are at home... and it isn't as though things are that far behind schedule with the wedding," Virginia answered, "tomorrow we can start letting the official guests... Principal Andrews and the Dean Myers know when the ceremony will be and on Thursday, maybe we can start moving my clothes over... but until then we'll still have to deal with our things being in different places..."
"Why Thursday?" Harold wondered.
"Tomorrow after school, the academic team I run will have its practice, running through the possible questions answers... the possible formats, and so on," Virginia asked, "it may not go as long as the Thanksgiving football game practices... but it still requires some time. And on Friday... we host Spokane in competition."
"The match isn't there?" Harold wondered.
"No... from all the paperwork we have with scheduling... Moon Lake would be the host," Virginia answered, "if I said we go to Spokane... that might just be a mistake in wording... brought on by the knowledge that by Saturday evening I'll be Mrs. Virginia Jenkins."
"The most beautiful tigress in Moon Lake," Harold told her, "but you will at least come over for dinner tomorrow night... right?"
"Of course," Virginia smiled and gave Harold a quick kiss, "I wouldn't miss dinner with Moon Lake's most handsome tiger and his charming daughter."
That made Harold smile again as they walked back to the door. He opened it for Virginia, who gracefully passed through it. Before she could take the outer part of the doorknob, Virginia turned back to him and kissed him on the cheek before whispering in Harold's ear.
"And for now... think of it as saving energy for what will be a very furry honeymoon," Virginia whispered and kissed Harold again before leaving, and leaving Harold with a rather lovesick smile on his face.