A gruff and almost irritated voice answered Rachel as she realized what she'd tripped onto.
"Ow... hey, you nearly made me bite my tongue!" the voice protested and Rachel was able to note that the voice was older.
In this, this was a mature adult were and not another teenager. It was something that made Rachel a bit nervous, as she had gone north from her house and to a different section of the woods around Moon Lake so as to not run into her parents, who were likely elsewhere in the woods having sex. And while she might have been able to get her mother on the back foot enough to accept the possibility of Rachel joining were society at some point, she'd also avoided mentioning just how close she came to becoming a werefox earlier that evening. It wasn't that she disliked Aaron or foxes, and emotionally, she'd be more than happy to be with him, but she wanted to be her own were and a were of her choice, and a conscious choice. Not to mention that admitting that she'd in a haze "jumped" onto Aaron in the Tachibana's bathroom would have sent her father through the roof. Thus when she went out, she figured going to a different section of the woods would enable her to arrange something would be easier, and by the time her parents found out... it'd be too late. However, that would have entirely depended on her running into other teens that would at least keep her adventure a secret. Parents might be more likely to escort her home and wait for her parents to return.
The other startling fact was in the specific were that Rachel had essentially fallen onto. It was a bit difficult, given the relatively dark area. Some light managed to come through and while things weren't completely clear, it was enough for Rachel to note just what kind of were she had stumbled onto and she noted that the one she'd fallen onto and that she'd actually landed on the were's nose it was that cold wet nose that she'd hit, forcing the were's mouth closed by the impact. It was only after that point that Rachel had bounced off and managed to get a better look at the female were. Her muzzle was long, though not pointed the way Megumi or Aaron's was. In fact it was more like a rectangle with a black tip. The fur was largely a tannish brown, though it was darker toward the top of it, and this continued for the rest of her face and head.
She still had her human hair, which Rachel expected. Melissa, Megumi, and her mother all kept their human hair when they transformed. Like Megumi, this were had triangular ears that rose from the top of her hair and poked through tan brown hair that was parted in the middle and came down around her face. Behind her head and face, the were's body was as curvy as any other were, though more muscular than Megumi and less muscular than Melissa, with her breasts compressed into the ground beneath her and her fur being thicker and one the back looking more wiry and protective. The tail was long and bushy, but not as long as Megumi's and more wild than Megumi's and lacked the white tip at the end of Megumi's more "brush-like" tail. This gave an immediate alert to Rachel as to the the were she'd fallen onto... a werewolf.
"Sorry," Rachel managed weakly as she tried to back away, "I'd tried to call for a werebear... but got no answer."
She was glad to have only fallen on the were's nose and didn't get any teeth cutting her skin, but that didn't mean she'd actually wanted to fall onto a were, even if it was only a nose. The werewolf managed a nod, but those feral gold eyes still retained some focus on her with a look that was fairly clear that she was not pleased to have her sex interrupted. It was only when the male's voice spoke up that Rachel was even alerted to the male's presence.
"I thought I heard something like that," the male spoke, "though... it was faint and was... heh... occupied."
That got Rachel to look up and saw that the male were had some build similar to the female werewolf, but there were differences. Namely was that he was well bigger than the werewolf. The werewolf was probably over seven feet tall when standing up on her hind legs, and the male was easily taller, possibly even close to Melissa's present height in her fursona. He was also well muscled that easily surpassed the werewolf as he backed up a bit with his equipment hidden in a dark furry sheath. The man had a long rectangular muzzle, like the werewolf, but it was also broader than the werewolf's. The muzzle was also seen to have tan fur but the rest of the male were's head and body was a solid black with relatively tall and rounded ears standing above his head. In this, it was a male werebear with his fursona based on the American Black Bear.
"Yes, you were," the werewolf answered, "raising a question as to why a normal human teen decides to come and interrupt."
"I'm sorry," Rachel repeated the apology, "Ms..."
"Brody," the werewolf continued, "Mrs. Marsha Brody and this is my husband, Adam Brody."
"But I'd wanted to be a werebear... and well, there have been some things going on that's left me a bit nervous as to whether or not I'd get that choice," Rachel began.
"Has someone threatened to turn you?" Adam asked as he helped Marsha up and held her by one arm. Marsha still looked a bit irritated, and while Adam wasn't exactly pleased at Rachel's interruption, from what Rachel could see, Adam seemed more calm with her presence.
"No... nothing like that," Rachel answered, "my family recently moved to Moon Lake, and my parents became werelions. My dad last night and my mom this morning, apparently. And I've made some friends here and met a boy that's rather cute and friendly... and a part of me wouldn't mind dating him."
"So why aren't you WITH him rather than pestering those eighty years your senior!?" Marsha growled.
Rachel gulped, "Well... you see... he's a werefox and I've met him a couple of times, but I've also run into some things that were entirely voluntary but a question of curiosity being bigger than sense and it's nearly resulted in me becoming a werefox... Now, I wouldn't necessarily mind that... as I do like the boy... but, between liking a teddy bear collection I've had growing up and hearing from a werebear on its strengths and weaknesses... I can like the holding to what is right or desired sort of thing. And that's been where I'd want to go in terms of becoming a were... so... some of the cases where curiosity and teenage hormones... they scared me a bit that something would happen by accident and take that choice away."
"Sounds a lot like what a lot of normal families go through," Adam spoke, patting Marsha's back and keeping one hand on his wife's arm, "but you said they became werelions... it'd be the RIGHT thing to talk with them and be honest on everything."
"Yeah... but see... I don't want to wait until I'm eighteen," Rachel spoke, "and while I might be able to get them to agree on principle in some things... if push came to shove, I get the sense that they'd likely oppose my becoming a werebear until I'm eighteen. So... that's sorta why I'm out here now. Sort of like... if I'm already a werebear... there isn't as much they can do."
This actually earned a bit of a chuckle from Adam and this was something that got Marsha to look up to her husband. The werewolf had a frown on her muzzle but Adam held her tight to him.
"Teenage rebellion," Adam chuckled, "not the right thing... but in a way understandable."
"This isn't funny and she interrupted our fun," Marsha spoke in irritation.
"I'm not saying it is funny," Adam answered, "but it has happened, and to a degree... it's something that does repeat. I mean, need I tell you of some of the things we pulled off against OUR parents growing up?"
"I know your father beat you when he found out, and my mother wouldn't let me go out for a month afterward," Marsha answered, "and now you're humoring some fifteen year old girl because she came out here and had the dumbest possible way to get in contact with a were..."
"Hey!" Rachel protested.
"Please," Marsha answered, "only someone new to Moon Lake and doesn't know where their neighbors live and what kind of were their neighbors are would think just approaching the woods and calling for a were would actually work in the way they intend. Some may respond out of curiosity... but most probably won't because they can't completely identify who is calling for them."
"And what am I supposed to do... just do nothing and let some accident happen?" Rachel argued and Marsha was about to respond as Adam put his hand on Marsha's shoulder.
"Accidents... even in Moon Lake... can be avoided and handled," Adam spoke to Rachel, "and in that there should be no need to rush things. And it wouldn't be the right thing for you to put your parents in a position where they may have to accept something without agreement if it can be managed. I can understand the fears you may be facing, as it tends to be something that seems to happen a lot with new families moving to Moon Lake, but that doesn't necessarily justify coming out at night behind your parents' backs. You might get your wish to become a were... but you'd also run the risk of doing lasting harm to your family's bonds. Particularly if Moon Lake and were society are new things to them."
"So... you wouldn't help me become a werebear?" Rachel asked to Adam.
"No, and for a few reasons," Adam spoke, "For one thing... you are too young for me. Marsha and I are ninety six years old. You are... sixteen?"
"Fifteen," Rachel corrected.
Adam nodded, "still too young for me. Weres here in Moon Lake may look the other way when our children become sexually active. But we still don't want adult weres having sex with children. That's something we say no to. I am an adult, you are not."
Rachel said nothing, but looked down.
"Second, I am a happily married man," Adam spoke, "Marsha and I have been close for a very long time. I wouldn't betray her. That wouldn't be right."
"And third... even if I wasn't married or even if I was your age, I can't help you with regard to werebear birth control pills," Adam then continued, "Marsha uses the werewolf birth control pill and they wouldn't work on a normal human wanting to become a werebear. That pill MUST match the specific were-species you wish to be."
Rachel didn't say anything, as a part of her figured she would meet a pair of weres that were the same were species. She didn't expect to meet a mixed were-species couple, though it also gave her some idea that if she could find and arrange for her to become a werebear, she and Aaron could still be an item.
"I'll admit I didn't expect to run into a mixed were-species couple," Rachel admitted slowly, "I'm sorry..."
"It's more common than you think," Marsha answered, "but it means we can't help you, even if we wanted to..."
"Not to mention that it isn't necessarily the safe or right thing to do," Adam added, "you ran into us... but you also could have run into a mundane deer and the bucks without their antlers can be dangerous, and while most of those in Moon Lake are farm raised... they're still not truly "tame." Worse you could run into a mundane predator that's come wandering in... and that could lead to a fight between it and any were it runs into You'd then be at risk to getting hurt from either."
"Sorry," Rachel managed, still looking down, "I just... I wanted to avoid some problems and didn't feel I could avoid them by doing nothing."
"And many may feel that way," Adam spoke, "but that doesn't make the decision right. Look... things may not be easy, but sometimes, the slow and harder path to follow is the better one. Are there risks? Yes, but there are risks in everything and to a degree, they're lower than trying to rush anything. And in some ways you may find that if your parents have become weres... some of their opinions could change to a degree and all you'd need to do is talk honestly with them on the subject."
"You think so?" Rachel asked.
"It's the best advice I have, now, you'd best run along home," Adam advised.
With that, Rachel sighed and made her way back. She heard Marsha mutter "interrupting kids" as she first moved away, but she let that pass. Interrupting someone having sex wasn't necessarily her plan and she was probably lucky that neither did any more than scold her over the issues. She still had all the same questions an worries, but some of the advice Adam gave her also made sense in a way. The only other thing that was left, though, was to hope and prey... She made her way home, and found things dark and quiet when she returned. Frank was asleep, Rob's door was shut, and her parents' room was empty. She made her way to bed and sat down on the bed to remover her shoes with a lot still on her mind.