While Tad had gone out with Amy for the evening, that didn't mean things had remained quiet or at least quiet without other activity. Jen still felt some pride at feeling that her interview went well and Claire was more than happy to cheer her on for the success, or at least the perception of it. It was after all a step that Jen knew she'd have to make, regardless of the reveal. Outside of a few specific situations a healthy were could live up to four hundred years and that would mean that jobs would be needed to give Jen her own secure future, and Tachibana Enterprises had a good reputation, and that was something that would have its own joy to it. They'd set themselves to preparing some dinner and enjoying the successes of the day. And with Tad out for the evening, and if things remained calm, it could be expected that he and Amy might end up having some rather wolfy fun in the woods, both Claire and Jen had some ideas some fun they could have of their own.
"Remember we'll need to make sure to save some things for Tad... he and Amy will likely come by after the movie," Jen said to Claire as the other werecat was looking through refrigerator for some packages of chicken that were intended to be cooked for dinner, "so be sure to get the bigger package."
"Wouldn't he and Amy go out for dinner after the movie?" Claire wondered back, "or go hunting?"
"They could... but despite Moon Lake's "close to nature" layout... hunting, even among predatory weres, is not a nightly occurrence," Jen answered, "thus we'd need to have something ready just in case."
"And they can't go out to eat?" Claire wondered.
"Not on the summer money that Tad has earned over the years," Jen answered, "not on the same night as going to a movie..."
Claire shrugged and then nodded as they went about preparing what would be their dinner. Jen moved around behind her to begin preheating the oven while Claire retrieved the large packet of chicken breasts that were to be the main course for their dinner. Things were calm and comforting for the moment and Claire liked that. The quiet hum of the oven warming up was something that sounded quite normal, and in a way that was quite nice. Sure, Moon Lake was a hidden were sanctuary and Claire's joining were society had come with its own trials and tribulations, mostly because until she met Jen, the werecats seemed rather hesitant to let a straight woman join them. But Jen did accept that Claire wasn't that concerned on what would happen to her sexuality, and that was a big part of what made Claire happy with being with Jen.
The biggest things that Claire knew she would face would ultimately relate to integrating with the Decker family. She knew that Jen was bi and had had a happy life before her husband's murder and she knew that Jen and Tad and been a family unit for all of Tad's eighteen years of life. She was now joining them, and while she and Jen were very much in love and Tad had given no disapproval of her, Claire still had the sense that she was a potential third wheel at times. It might not be true, but that was the worry Claire had, thus she tried to be supportive and even inquisitive when she could. Though her thoughts and attention were soon picked up when there came a knock at the front door.
"Were you expecting guests?" Claire asked to Jen.
"No... were you?" Jen asked back, "Friends from work?"
"No..." Claire said slowly, "I can go check though."
Jen nodded as Claire moved to wash her hands after handling chicken. Once they were dry, Claire made her way through the dining room and toward the Decker's front door and feeling rather curious about all of this. She got along fairly well with the college professors and secretaries when she had to deal with them, but as a custodian, it wasn't as though she got a lot of time with them or interacted in ways beyond a casual hello. She did get along fairly well with her own co-workers in the college's custodial staff, and they at times teased her over her wish to be a werecat rather than some other kind of were, but it was all friendly. Some of them even congratulated her after Halloween and her becoming a werecat, and in a way even gave her the opportunity to say that while certain elements about it were different from what she expected, she had no regrets and wouldn't go back if she could. However, with the school year presently on, most of the sorts of gatherings with the rest of the staff wouldn't be on at the moment, and often when they did visit outside of working hours... it wasn't so close to dinner. Thus, Claire had no idea who was at the door.
She opened it to find a woman that Claire didn't know at all standing before the door with a newborn wearing a full one-piece outfit and wrapped in blankets as well. Claire was a bit surprised, but some of this was also noting that the woman seemed a bit nervous and borderline frightened, despite carrying a rather reptilian-were scent that that Claire didn't recognize. Eventually she put her best effort out there to see what was going on.
"Hello, ma'am... is there something you need?" Claire asked, "are you looking for someone?"
"Mostly just people to talk to at the moment," the woman answered, "My name is Jade... this is my daughter, Hope."
The woman rotated the baby a little so that Claire could get a good look at the baby's face. The baby's face was fairly pink and with hair in a sort of dry fuzz on top of her head with the blanket framing it while laid back so that the head was supported by Jade's arm. Claire gave the baby a small smile, but with Hope's eyes presently closed, Claire didn't think the baby saw anything. At about the same time she could also hear Jen's steps coming from the kitchen.
"Who is it, Claire?" Jen asked as she approached.
"This is Jade..." Claire began as she gestured to the woman on the front step to the Decker house.
"Drake," Jade finished, figuring she couldn't avoid the mention of the surname she'd taken when she married Dymixious, "I'm sorry if I've disturbed anything..."
"No, we'd only just started on dinner, it'll take a little time to cook," Jen answered, thinking she'd heard the name "Drake" somewhere before, but couldn't put her finger on it for the moment, "is something Claire and I can do for you?"
"I am merely trying to figure some things out... as things are going on that are different from what I would have thought weres would support," Jade said slowly, "and some of that scares me and makes me fear for my baby..."
"This is about the reveal," Jen said slowly as she looked to Claire.
"Yes... you see... I'm new to Moon Lake and haven't been a were for that long," Jade answered, "but from all I've been told... the were secret has been the only thing keeping weres safe. I'm trying to find out what's going on and why the city would vote to put in place a plan that would reveal weres to the world."
Claire stepped back first, but Jen also nodded and said, "come inside, dear. We can talk while our dinner cooks."
Jade came in and Claire lead her into the living room while Jen shut the door. When Jen came into the room, Jade was just sitting down on the couch and was looking down for a moment.
"I'm sure you all know of what went on with my husband..." Jade said, her voice sounding a bit pained, "and I won't say that everything he did was perfect... but... if weres have lived in secret for so long... why come out? I've been asking anyone and everyone on the street who might listen. Simply because I want to know why. That way I may explain things to Hope when she grows up."
"She may well have questions regardless of what is ultimately done," Jen spoke as she sat down on the other side of the couch next to Jade while Claire moved to sit in a chair that flanked the couch from the other side, "and I can't know for certain how old you are, likely under a hundred..."
Jade nodded. She wasn't going to share her exact age. Dymixious had been well older than her when they first met and began dating and when he then turned her, and that period had been romantic, but she didn't think it was worth going into detail over.
"And I can understand the fears over human reactions to the existence of weres," Jen said slowly, "humans can be quite emotional and suspicious over things they down know or don't trust. And in recent years... political groups have fed on that sort of mentality. That if you aren't part of one "tribe," you're automatically bad. And unfortunately many stories of weres that have gone rogue... like the Beast of Gévaudan have only reinforced the potential for negative responses... and weres haven't necessarily tried to create a more positive image of weres. In this, we've only pushed the old negative stories forward... as a means to keep people think weres are just superstition."
Jade blinked at that, "but... that would mean that if weres were found out and the response was negative..."
"That we would have played a hand in our own destruction while trying to preserve the secret, yes," Jen nodded.
"But I'm sure that wasn't thought of when those stories were told or embellished," Claire added, "that would merely be coincidence."
"But wouldn't it have changed once people no longer believed in weres if the secret was to be kept?" Jade wondered.
"It could have been... and more positive stories might also lead a condition where the response would be sure to be positive and thus the issue might end up being that all humanity decides they want to become weres and given our lengthy life spans and high libido... we could rapidly drain Earth of its finite resources," Jen spoke, "it's one of those things where regardless of what path was taken in our past... or could be taken in the future... there will always be an element of risk to it. The best we can ultimately do is prepare for it and cope with what happens the best we can."
Hope cooed for a moment in Jade's arms, and Jade moved to make sure her daughter was okay. When assured with that she looked up and over to the two werecats, turning her head to look to each as they conversed.
"But how does that relate to this reveal... why its being done now..." Jade spoke, "I mean... is humanity really ready for the knowledge of weres now?"
"I don't think we can really know," Claire said slowly, "and part of that is probably because of the secret. For one can't gauge about how people would truly respond to something that they don't know of."
"And at the same time... the werefox that has proposed this may have a very valid point," Jen spoke, "with more and more cameras being used today... and their quality getting better and better... things like what happened with Lionel Ulysses getting shot and transforming on reflex could end up exposing weres anyway."
"The man was a rogue!" Jade spoke.
"I don't deny that," Jen nodded, "the rat did kill my husband... but the fact still remains that he was caught by police body cams transforming and it would appear that a Federal Agent that knew of and was sympathetic to weres... and the fact that Ulysses fled and no clear shot of him was present... was still enough to raise some initial suspicion. And as cameras get better... those things could get worse. In this... despite the fact that the were secret has lasted for as long as it has... it may be time to take all the risks that come with exposure and make our case before something like what Lionel Ulysses happens again and it can't been covered up or hidden..."
"I've heard a lot of variations of that..." Jade said slowly, "but... why now? Why so close to Ulysses' death when normal humans are bound to be excited on the issue and may come after Hope?"
"I don't know the werefox's reasoning for why now," Claire commented, "but at the same time... if normal humans were eager to hunt weres, one would think there would be mobs engaged in that sort of behavior in Seattle already... and THAT would make the news."
Jen nodded in agreement with Claire, "and the rest ultimately comes back to the idea of better to do it now when we can control it rather than wait and be forced into something we can't control. My son attended the initial meeting and that seemed to be a good portion of what he got out of it... and at the same time, it may help weres outside Moon Lake, especially if it works."
"But the human response..." Jade gasped.
"Can be unpredictable," Jen spoke, "but that's not always bad. I mean a good many of the women I've met over the course of my husband's career tended to be Republicans... however, only two of them were the sort of stereotypical Republicans that get mocked in cartoons. Most know I'm bi and didn't care. Most were relatively accepting on civil rights issues, at least with regard to the basic idea. In this, the Republicans and Democrats are rather similar and aren't what their often characterized to be. Revealing weres might mean some real civil rights work... but in many ways, the world today might be more ready for things than the middle ages world was..."
"I hope you're right," was all Jade managed.