Rachel's night had gone a bit smoother than some of the earlier nights she'd had in Moon Lake. Earlier she'd been troubled by nightmares, one of which had her being attacked by a werewolf that claimed to BE hear and the other had one in which she was presented before a group of weres that claimed to be her and represented possible future versions of herself. There she'd got the warning that becoming a werewolf was a result of her father making some decision to flee Moon Lake and getting caught. That had consumed her worries, as while Moon Lake's secrets were surprising, finding Melissa again and being told the truth from Melissa was enough to get her somewhat interested. Though Rachel's focus was on werefoxes or werebears and not what she might be forced to be, but she was still nervous.
And initially Frank telling her about her mother and father's fight the previous afternoon/evening set those nervous worries in motion. It was only the fact that Frank had said that her mother was opposed to her father's idea to flee Moon Lake that kept her from fleeing the house and getting the closest were of her two choices to turn her, regardless of the risks of pregnancy. Some of her fears about being forced to become a werewolf were lessened when her father, Richard Van Direstag, came home later in the night, not to far from when they normally went to bed, and said he'd become a werelion. Given the change in his height, physique, and the fact that he looked younger, Rachel was inclined to believe that, though her father becoming a were was the last thing she expected and the fact that her mother had also gotten attacked by a mundane Mountain Lion had only added to the other concerns and worries.
But since the threat of being forced into being a werewolf was no longer there, Rachel slept a bit more comfortably and got up with the assurance that she would at least be able to continue to research into which were she wanted to be, werefox or werebear. After she finished dressing herself and prepared to go down for breakfast she also realized she might still need some measure of permission if she were to actually go through with becoming a were when she made her choice. After all, with her father as a werelion, he technically met Moon Lake's mandatory were law and thus Rachel couldn't use that to her advantage, and thus if he decided to say "no," there could be some measure of difficulty going forward. However, with the fact that he HAD become a were, some of his resistance to weres might be lower now, and as Rachel made her way down the stairs to the ground floor she knew she could only get an answer if she actually asked the question.
Rachel made her way downstairs and found her father was up and presently sipping from a mug of coffee while looking out the back window that was above the sink. He didn't turn his head, but he did respond, indicating that he knew Rachel was there.
"Morning, Rachel, sleep well?" Richard asked.
"Yeah..." Rachel said slowly as she approached a cabinet where they'd placed their boxes of cereal after moving in. Her eyes focused more on her father as he began to turn toward her as she thought over some ways on how to bring up the request. She couldn't hear anything else downstairs, and assumed that if Rob was up, he was still either getting dressed or in the shower. "Especially with their being no fear of being forced into anything..."
"I suppose that would be a good thing," Richard commented, finding that would be at least one good thing that came out of his tripping onto Sheila in the night in that his family wouldn't be forced to join were society if they didn't want to. Rose would have to if their relations were to remain amorous, but that would be between him and Rose.
Rachel poured herself a bowl of cereal, placed the box back in the cabinet and turned to the refrigerator for milk. She glanced out of the corner of her eye to see that her father remained focused on the window to the backyard, only raising his arm a bit to sip from his coffee. She eventually found her voice again as she began to pour milk into the bowl.
"So... do you like being a were, dad?" Rachel asked carefully, "learn anything that you like...?"
That got her father to turn to her as she put the milk away and then collected a spoon. When she lifted up the bowl to go over into the dining room, she noted that her father moved to follow her as she walked across the room. For the moment his face was calm, but she couldn't quite really say on what was going through his mind at the time. She did know that her father was certainly built the way one many of the male weres were built, bulkier than Aaron, but then lions were bigger than foxes and had very different hunting strategies. She also noted that the clothes he was wearing looked a bit tight in places, which gave her an indication that the clothing he was wearing when he returned to the Van Direstag home the previous night was borrowed.
"Well... there are some things that might be okay..." Richard slowly as he followed his daughter into the dinning room, "some of which I can't say at the moment... but for the things I can say... I do feel a lot fitter than I did before... before the accident. Though... I think I'm also going to need new cloths... the stuff that fit me before feels too tight on me now."
"Probably because you got bigger... Melissa's sort of the same way... I mean she wasn't unhealthy when she and her dad left Michigan, but she looks like she's spends hours in the gym every day now," Rachel said slowly as she sat down.
"And you said she's..." Richard aid slowly as Rachel sat down at one chair and he sat down opposite her. He could faintly hear some footsteps upstairs, indicating that Rob or Frank were up, which would be good. He'd need to get Rachel and Rob to the High School on time, and then he and Frank would have their own errands, which would range from getting things ready to switch Frank over to in class learning with the college and getting appropriate supplies. Richard would also have to get some clothing that didn't pinch or constrict him unnecessarily. He also figured there would need to be a visit to city hall, let the town know that he'd fit in under their guidelines and hope that the city of Moon Lake had no further issues with his family. The biggest thing would be in picking up Rose, but at six fifty AM, his wife probably wasn't ready to be released yet.
"Melissa became a werecow... fell in love with a local boy, from what she tells me," Rachel answered. There was then a short pause for a moment Rachel looked to her father. He might have already eaten, as he'd already been up, but she didn't know for sure. Eventually she continued, "but that doesn't quite answer my question... do you LIKE being a were?"
"I don't think I've been one long enough to say whether I like it or not," Richard answered carefully, "my induction... as I said last night... was the result of me tripping onto a were that was otherwise busy with something before your mother and I got there and wasn't really what I was looking for. We were only out there to talk. And then... in getting caught up in certain... instincts... I upset your mother and that lead to her getting attacked. So I'm still getting used to things and have a lot of damage control to do."
Rachel nodded in recognition of that, as she noticed Rob go by the doorway on his way into the kitchen. This meant the conversation wouldn't be private for too much longer. A part of her would have been willing to let it drop as she listened to her younger brother pour himself a bowl of cereal, but her father continued with his answer.
"I am glad thought that they can't force you or Rob or Frank to become weres," Richard answered, "I didn't want to become a were... but if it protects the rest of the family... I can live with it."
That got to Rachel a bit more as Rob came in with his cereal and Frank then came through on his way to the kitchen. In theory she would have wanted to stay quiet on the issue in front of Rob, particularly after teasing Rob about him finding a girl that liked him, but with the option to choose to be a certain were being open with her father now a were... she couldn't stay put while her father essentially argued for a point that essentially sounded like he might still block that option.
"What if I wanted to become a were?" Rachel asked.
"What?!" Richard asked with wide eyes.
"What if I want to be a were?" Rachel repeated, "all the weres seem to be happy and healthy... they aren't the monsters that Hollywood made them out to be... unless you're now secretly harboring the desire to eat people."
"I most certainly am not!" Richard with a slight growl creeping into his voice, "but why would you want to be a were? Surely this isn't about wanting to be built like them... you're beautiful no matter what you look like."
"Well that may be part of it... but not really the reason," Rachel shrunk back a bit, noting that Rob was quiet for the moment, "I mean... Melissa is happy..."
"You said she fell in love with a local boy," Richard answered, "I'd imagine that when that happened she HAD to become a were to be with him... at least if their relationship was to be more than holding hands."
"As mom may have to become a were in the future to stay with you?" Rob asked.
"If we are to do more than hold hands," Richard answered, "but... because the female weres have bigger breasts than you, Rachel, shouldn't be the reason to become a were. That's cosmetic changes and doesn't reflect on who YOU are as a person."
"But that wouldn't necessarily BE the reason," Rachel answered, "I mean... if you'd look through the guidebook... they note that weres have some interesting abilities that go beyond just their looks. They aren't quite superhuman powers or anything... but they aren't necessarily bad things and from what I've seen with Melissa... becoming a were hasn't changed who she is at heart. Has it changed who YOU are?"
"Well... no," Richard spoke as he sipped his coffee, "but I'm just wanting to protect you and make sure you'd make this decision for the right reasons. For if your reason to become a were is nothing more than to gain a more voluptuous figure... than my answer would be, not until you're eighteen and a legal adult, like Frank.... If it's for something deeper... like you fall in love with someone who is already a were, that may be different." Richard then paused for a moment and then thought over his own transformation and the sexual need for completion after his first contact with Shelia, "though even there... I'd need to talk that over with your mother, first. As there are certain elements of becoming a were that are rather adult..."
"Melissa became a were! And she's younger than I am... I'll be sixteen before December and she won't until next February!" Rachel protested.
"Sixteen isn't the age of consent, and just because Melissa's father allowed it doesn't mean your mother and I would allow it," Richard spoke, "if you've met someone... your mother and I would need to meet this boy and be assured that it would be something deeper than just a date or teenage hormones. We wouldn't you hurt, no matter how harsh it may sound to you right now..."
Thoughts on Aaron went through the back of Rachel's mind, "but it wouldn't be an absolute no?"
"Not absolute..." Richard nodded slowly as Frank came in with his cereal, "but there would still be some conditions that would need to be met first."
Rachel didn't say anything for the moment and they ate while Richard finished his coffee. It wasn't quite the answer she wanted, but then given the rather sexual nature that all weres lived and that Melissa's own transformation included it, Rachel figured some of her father's answer made some logical sense... at least from a certain point of view. At the same time, Rachel actually hadn't reached a decision on which were to be yet. Megumi had taught her a lot about werefoxes, and there was something about Aaron that just stuck in the back of her mind, but werefoxes were one of two choices that she'd narrowed things down to. The other was with werebears, and so far as Rachel had managed through some connections at school, the only werebear that would meet with her wouldn't do so until lunch. In this, Rachel still had some research to do, and on the plus side, since her father became a were... any idea of fleeing Moon Lake seemed to have gone with his transformation. That gave her time.
"And since I made a mistake and ended up becoming a were... you and Rob don't need to feel forced," Richard answered, "which was a part of why I was against becoming a were in the first place. So you won't be rushed into anything... You'll have the time to make an informed decision... which would be better than rushing to a decision in a matter of weeks because of some dumb law."
"Okay..." Rachel said slowly.
"Anyway... we all have some errands today," Richard then spoke, "let's get your things and get ready for school..."
Rachel and Rob both nodded as they finished their breakfast. From there, they followed into the standard of brushing their teeth, getting their backpacks, and then piling into the van. However, as they did so, Rachel climbed in with some confidence that she'd have the time to do what her father urged, make a good choice. Though from there she'd have to figure out a way to convince her father to accept going through with the transformation and getting the appropriate birth control pills for that were species. Though as they arrived just outside the high school and the warning bell rang... Rachel knew she'd at least have time and the worst of her worries had not come to pass.