Rob and Amy sighed a bit as they watched Richard and Rose go back into the Van Direstag home. At this time the sun was still out and it was something of a nice afternoon day, where Rob had also seemed to find actual attention and friendship with Amy Nettles. Some of that might just be more that Moon Lake's weres seemed to be more forward and open to the sorts of things that got him a bit of trouble where he got too interested in girls and pushed that ultimately innocent interest to far. And to a degree, Rob did like that, even with all the surprises that Moon Lake had presented. He hadn't initially bought into the whole "were-beasts" thing, and thought that Rachel had been pranking him and that her old friend had been pranking her. That, however, ended when seeing Amy and her mother transform in front of him the previous day.
He'd figured the afternoon would be a sort of "introduction" of Amy to his folks when he got home from school, and possibly giving Amy some time to assure his father that Moon Lake's weres weren't bad and could be quite friendly, not to mention that he'd been able to keep control of himself. It would balance out meeting Amy's mother and father the previous day and help his dad further get used to being a were, if that was true, as he hadn't seen his father transformed yet. He'd only been told as such. However, as he and Amy walked home from the high school he'd shared some things on himself and asked more questions on the nature of weres, which Amy was all to happy to answer and kept up the rather playful streak that made Rob wonder just how "into" him Amy in fact was. His parents weren't home when he and Amy made it to the Van Direstag home, which then allowed for something that was borderline foreplay and caught Rob by surprise... but he wasn't going to complain, necessarily.
However, his parents did return and caught him and Amy in the backyard toward the edge of the woods behind the Van Direstag house. The introduction did not go bad, but it also brought out revelation that Rose had become a were during the day, and looking to her, Rob could see the obvious physical changes in her curves and musculature. It wasn't that different from many of the other adult women that Rob had seen in Moon Lake. The thing that killed the mood and whatever "lessons" Amy had wanted to teach was more that his parents also came in hard and heavy with their own protective streak, though aimed at Amy rather than him, which seemed like a first for Rob. As when he'd gotten in trouble in Michigan, it was for being to forward or into someone and not recognizing they didn't want the attention.
"I'm sorry about all that," Rob said to Amy as they began to slowly make their way back to the Van Direstag home.
"It's okay," Amy gave a soft smile, "Moon Lake is different from much of the world and in some ways... the city often looks the other way on things, given how were hormones and teenage hormones then combine. A lot of normal families come here and find that it's very much NOT what they expected and parents can then tend to get protective of their children. Particularly when they think that "sexuality" is something that doesn't start until one turns eighteen... because "legal age" and all that."
"And my mom becoming a were..." Rob said slowly as they reached the door.
"Assuming your parents marriage is a happy one, that was probably going to happen once your dad became a were," Amy told him, "when a man loves a woman... they will want to be together. Being a were or normal human... that makes no difference."
Rob slowly nodded and they made their way in. They passed the kitchen where Richard and Rose were working on sorting bags that they'd picked up while shopping for groceries and made their way into the living room where they'd set their backpacks down when they first came in and before going to the backyard. The two teens then settled down on the floor and began going over their homework. Not all of the homework was in the same classes, but there were a few that Rob and Amy had the same class with the same teacher, just at different times in the day, so that helped. That then let them discuss other things that related to the present situation while they worked.
"Though with everything... thanks for being a friend and being there," Rob said slowly as he set the worksheet for one class on the cover for a book from a different class, "it's helped a lot."
"Hey... what are friends are for?" Amy commented, "though... I could go for more than just friends. Something romantic... nice. It may not be outright sexual, if to honor your parents' concerns, but all of us know that sex doesn't equal love and so on."
"Yeah," Rob nodded, "I can see that... though... I'm again sorry my parents got so protective against you. To be honest... I would have thought they'd be more concerned about me getting too forward with you."
"Because you were a bit too forward with some girls that didn't want attention?" Amy teased, "some of that might make Moon Lake the best place for you."
"There's still the point of being polite and responsible," Rob countered, to which Amy did nod.
"Which is part of why I like you," Amy answered.
Rob laughed and they kept on working through their homework. It wasn't too hard and Amy was ultimately rather pleased when they got into subjects where they had the same assignments. Amy was even pleased where Rob was able to help with those assignments. Where they worked on things where they didn't have the same class or a case where the subject was the same but the teachers were different, Rob did his best at reasoning, and Amy found some of it to be fairly solid, but without knowledge on the material he was still a bit behind on it and didn't always have the right answer. Though eventually their conversation did inevitably return to Amy's interest in Rob, which she did repeat, getting the sense that Rob had interest but wasn't fully confident on acting on it. He pulled it off in a cute way which made her smile, even as they finally finished their homework. By this time the sun had begun to go down and the natural light that came in through the front windows, which faced east, was lowering.
"You're cute when you're nervous," Amy said to Rob with a smile.
"Well... I've never really had anyone interested in ME before, normal human or were," Rob managed, "and the were part is all still new."
"But that's what helps you learn," Amy's smile remained, "meeting new people and learning new things. Like how I've learned that you're smarter than you let on."
"I'm not bad... though my sister is really the smart one in the family," Rob admitted, "I'd kinda hoped she'd be back by now. As I was also hoping you could meet her and show that I'd found someone who I liked that wasn't going to tell me to get lost."
Amy picked up some sibling rivalry being referenced by Rob, which she supposed was understandable. There was always bound to be competition, even if it was friendly. That was one of the reasons she liked being an only child.
"I'm sure she'll be fine and will come around," Amy answered, "in the meantime, you have a very good friend in me... and my friends like you to."
"Your friends..." Rob blinked remembering the girls that Amy hung out with during their study hall period and who Rob had been introduced to. One was a werelion and had mentioned something about knowing on what had happened to his father, which privately made him wonder if his dad had seen her the previous night or whether or not all of that was simply something that passed by rumor through weres in the woods.
"Yes, they like you too," Amy nodded, "possibly because I like you... but that isn't a bad thing, is it?"
"No... though it's still very different from the past," Rob admitted, "I mean... in Michigan there were girls that I knew and got along with in school... but..."
"It was never more than saying hello in the hallway and then never seeing them again?" Amy offered.
"Well, not the "never seeing them again" part, but in a way, yes," Rob answered, "there were some guys that I hung out with too that were pretty cool. But here... it's been more the inverse. I mean the guys here haven't been mean or anything, but none have offered just to hang out or anything like that. While I managed to actually gain a cute girl's attention."
"A lot of that may just take some time... and don't be afraid to say hello to people," Amy commented, "and some of it right now is going to be that a good many of the boys are getting ready for the Thanksgiving football game. About the closest thing Moon Lake has for fall sports. Be friendly and be honest, and I'm sure you'll make some friends that you can then tell me about... and can help you with advice on possible date locations to go to to talk and so on."
"Right," Rob managed after a moment and looked out to see that the sun was starting to go down.
It was only a few moments later that Rose came into the living room from the kitchen area. She looked to see that Amy and Rob were standing together while Amy packing up her backpack and noted that Amy had made no forceful move on Rob while they'd been working on their homework, which was a good thing.
"Done with your homework?" Rose asked to Rob.
"Yeah, mom," Rob answered.
"Has Rachel come home?" Rose wondered.
"I don't think so... she might still be at her friend's house," Rob spoke, "the Jenkins..."
Rose nodded, remembering the address that Rachel had given her and Richard after Rachel's first day in school. If her memory was correct, the Jenkins' girl's name was Melissa and that the two of them had been very good friends in Michigan. It thus might make sense for Rachel to go to a friend for information on Moon Lake and its were population, particularly Melissa had become a were, herself.
"Well... it is starting to get late," Rose said, "she should be home by now. At least to avoid incidents like what happened with me last night."
"Like with the Mountain Lion?" Amy asked, earning Rose to turn her gaze to the wereskunk, even if Amy was in her human form. "Rob told me... and I assure you, that sort of thing isn't super common. Weres and mundane wild animals may not get along very well, but from what my mom has told me, it's common that wild animals try to avoid weres wherever possible. Domesticated animals and animals that have been around weres on a more regular basis may be more tolerant, which is why the deer that the big predatory weres hunt are raised by just about every ranch and farm in Moon Lake."
"That doesn't change that it could happen or that if she were to get lost in the woods, she could either get attacked or become a were against her will," Rose spoke, "even if it were by accident."
"And I can understand the worry," Amy answered, "wereskunks aren't large weres and at times my parents worry about me when I tag along with them for our group's meetings. But the number of times a large mundane predator has come into Moon Lake and done harm to a human is incredibly rare. More often than not, the mundane predator is actually killed by a were in the altercation. In this, if your daughter stays on the sidewalks, she should be fine. Nothing to worry about."
"I thank you for the assurances," Rose said slowly, a bit unsure as to how to answer, "but even with that... there are things from today that Richard and I need to fully explain to our children and to avoid the mistakes we made."
"That is understandable," Amy answered, "becoming a were is a pretty big thing."
"Not to mention all the other questions on how things started... why certain drives are different," Rose admitted, "things that will also need to be explained."
"If it's on the origin of weres you're pondering over... my mom could give her two cents on that," Amy offered, "though that would be something to handle your present business is handled. Would there be anything I could offer in the meantime?"
"Just be polite and respectful to my son," Rose stated, "and we can go from there."
"I will," Amy answered and then looked over to Rob, "I'd better get going." She walked over and gave him a kiss on the cheek and then headed to the front door, "See you at school tomorrow."
With that, Amy left. Rob only watched, blushing a bit from the kiss and then looking over to his mother, who was now being joined by his father. From the look of it, both Richard and Rose looked the part of any were couple, even in their human forms. If it weren't for understanding that weres were real, Rob might have doubted it, but he did understand that and he had some guesses as to what had happened during the day. Though a part of him was puzzled as to how his mother could have wounds that left stitches the previous night, along with bruised ribs, and now look to have no need for the stitches and breathing without the pain associated with a bruised rib.
"So... what is this thing that you're wanting to show... or tell me about?" Rob asked.
"Some things that will relate to your mother's and my new forms," Richard said slowly, "and to assure you that you are safe with us."
"Which will also relate to changes that will happen in how we live... to a degree," Rose answered, "as we're only just learning to be werelions. Richard will be in a coalition with another male for a little while to learn the ropes, which will have us working within part of a pride for awhile. From there... we may hold our own pride, but we'd need to be able to explain that to you and Rachel... and preferably at the same time."
"Well... as I said, she's probably at her friend's house," Rob answered, and glancing out the window to see that the sky to the east was growing darker as night settled on Moon Lake.