Morning came to the Van Direstag home and Rachel awoke to the sound of her own alarm going off and playing form various pop rock music. It wasn't the station she'd always used, but that station was an FM station in Michigan. Given that the family had moved across the country to Washington State, Michigan radio stations weren't going to reach them, and Rachel had simply set about finding a new station to wake up to. The one she found would do and it let her get up and start her day... another day in a new place, though as she made her way to take her morning shower, Rachel also rationalized to herself that her opinion on Moon Lake was rapidly changing.
When the family had set about the driving move from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Moon Lake, Washington, Rachel had grumbled heavily. Some of it was dealing some frustration her longtime friend, Melissa Jenkins wasn't around, though at the time Rachel didn't know that in moving to Moon Lake she would get to see Melissa again. Some of it was sibling rivalry in that her parents were doing the move to benefit Frank, who hadn't gotten any scholarships to colleges aside from Moon Lake College. The last of it was that Moon Lake was a little town isolated in the mountains about an hour northeast of Seattle and was something where she'd had to go to Google Maps just to find the town. It seemed like there were efforts to hide the town.
"Of course, to some degree, they may have some reason to hide," Rachel thought to herself as she entered the bathroom turned on the exhaust fan and then turned on the water.
She heard a knock on the door before she could go into the shower.
"Hey, Rach, don't be in there too long, okay!" came Rob's voice.
"I won't," Rachel promised and discarded her sleepwear before getting into the shower and pulling the curtain closed.
As she went about showering, Rachel thought more on some of the things that had happened since arriving in Moon Lake and thus the reason as to why the town had wanted to "hide itself." She got her first hint at her new school and finding that there were a large number of students that looked very healthy and very well developed for their ages, male and female. Practically all the teachers looked the same way, and all of this was in numbers that weren't normal. That had Rachel suspicious at first, and it was only after finding out that her friend from Michigan, Melissa, had moved to Moon Lake and had joined their community that Rachel learned about it. Melissa had shared with her that Moon Lake was something of a were sanctuary and that most of the people Rachel had seen were likely a were-beast of some kind, including Melissa, who'd become a werecow to be with a boy she'd been romancing. All of this was a great shock to Melissa, but it did explain things.
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Out in the hallway, Rob stood there in the hallway in a pair of shorts with the clothes he planned to wear for the day resting over his arm, including his outer and underwear. School mornings could be hectic in the Van Direstag house. With three kids, Frank, Rob, and Rachel often had to share one bathroom, and while their new home in Moon Lake had three floors and Rachel claimed the top floor room, the only bathrooms that had showers were on the second floor. One was in the master bathroom attached to his parents' room, which Rob had heard running when he came out into the hallway. The other was the one that he was now waiting outside as Rachel had her shower.
"Rachel got in first, eh?" came Frank's voice.
"Hey, I'm next!" Rob countered, thinking that Frank might be trying to muscle in the "line" to shower.
"Easy there," Frank chuckled, "it's a little after six and none of us have to be at school until closer to eight... though, I might need to get in a bit earlier to turn in the computer they gave me for the online courses... but still, provided everyone stays on track and stays on time, everything should be fine. And I'll even honor your place "in line" as it were. In the meantime, how about some breakfast. It'll pass time and let Rachel shower and get dressed."
Rob listened to the water running in the bathroom and then shrugged and sighed, "sure."
The oldest and youngest Van Direstags then went downstairs and began collecting their things for breakfast. It wasn't much more than dry cereal and some milk, but it was quickly assembled and let Rob wonder over a few things that had been running through his head at a million miles an hour. Some of it related to the fact that they'd moved into a town populated by weres and some of it related to the drama that then came with it. From what Rob had been told, their father, Richard, didn't take to the Mandatory Were Law well and was even contemplating some kind of escape plan before his mother, Rose, essentially dared him to walk out into the woods with her to meet with a were. When they next saw Richard, he'd become a werelion and Rose had been attacked by a mundane Mountain Lion. The next day, while they were all at school, Rose got curious about Richard's new form and ended up a werelioness, and possibly pregnant, so far as Rob knew. In some ways, it then led to both their parents "going native" in a way as Rose seemed to lose some inhibitions after becoming a were and even welcomed another werelioness the previous evening after dinner.
"So... what's eating at you?" Frank asked as the two of them sat down at the dining table, Frank with some orange juice with his cereal and Rob with some water.
"Me?" Rob asked looking to his brother.
"Yeah... you were looking rather antsy there in the hall and even here putting breakfast together, you've looked a bit... distant," Frank commented, "so something has to be bothering you."
"Well... nothing is really "bothering me," but... there are some things that are odd and different," Rob began, "mom and dad becoming weres, and it would seem like mom actually showed some interest in another werelion before they left for whatever pride meeting, they were supposed to have last night."
"It's different," Frank agreed, "not that there is anything wrong with it. If mom is bi... well... good for her and if dad is okay with that, good for them."
Rob managed a small but nervous smile, "I can agree with that... but that's where all the differences between weres and normal humans come in. I mean... you know about what happened in Michigan..."
That was a reference to Rob's own past, where he'd gotten into trouble when he first grew interested in girls. He'd flirted with a small group of them in Michigan but came off as a bit forward and unwanted. They then in turn complained to the school and Rob was in trouble with them and with his parents. He had argued he meant no harm, but while the school accepted the reasoning, they also reminded him that good intentions can still have bad consequences. It was something lead to Rob being more hesitant in Moon Lake, largely for fear of running into the same problems again. But in this, he'd also found that many were females were rather forward about these things, regardless of their age, and he found that surprising.
"A key lesson in recognizing a "no" and not pushing after that rejection," Frank commented, "though that can also go in other ways, as not every girl will respond in the same way that those girls did."
"Yeah... I've found that out," Rob answered, thinking of the wereskunk Amy Nettles that he'd befriended and seemed interested in him, "it's different and at times... I'm not sure I know what to do. I mean... there are some things that I'd like to do, but I don't want to offend anyone."
And a lot of that was very true. A group of girls at Moon Lake High had befriended him and giggled when he blushed or seemed uneasy or disbelieving about weres and things like that. All but one of them was a were, but the one who'd been the most conversational with him was Amy. She'd said she was looking for a steady and romantic relationship and seemed to have found something she liked in Rob, though some of it seemed to go beyond what he expected. A part of Rob really liked that, and to a degree he also liked Amy's playful spirit. Though, some of that instruction may have gone further the previous afternoon had Rose not come out into the backyard... and at that point that Rob found out that his mother had become a were.
"That's where you ultimately have to ask and to be honest," Frank told him.
"But what if... well... what about mom and dad?" Rob asked.
"What about your father and I?" came Rose's voice from the doorway to the dining room.
Rob looked up to see his mother standing there with her hair wrapped up in a towel and a long pink fuzzy robe covering her. Rob looked over to Frank, who’d gone silent and was now looking in a different direction.
“What would you say if I wanted to be a wereskunk, like Amy, or to become some other were so that I could be with her?” Rob asked.
“If she is respectful to you and you are respectful to her, we can accept that and would welcome her to the family with open arms,” Rose answered calmly, “WHEN you’ve both grown up. And the pair of you would have plenty of time for that… if you give it time.”
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Next door, in what was one of Moon Lake's more ornate homes, Megumi Tachibana was finishing up her morning routine to get ready for school and at present to also carry on the present assignment to look after Rachel Van Direstag, at least as best she could during the day. A lot of it was a bit of a reminder on how rapid and big things had been going on in Moon Lake, going back to the start of the year. Some of it started with what became a bit of a black mark for the Skulk, Moon Lake's werefoxes, who her grandmother, Akane lead. A werefox had developed an obsession with a professor at the college and jumped him in the parking lot. What ultimately followed was that the professor and later another college student became werefoxes against their will and represented a violation of Statute 1A, forcing someone into were society.
Those incidents had been embarrassing for Moon Lake in general, as for the most part those sorts of things didn't typically happen. Megumi knew that Moon Lake tried hard to make sure new residents would have as much of a choice as possible when it came to abiding by things like the Mandatory Were Law, and she also knew that because a werefox was the instigator of those incidents that they would also be embarrassing for the Skulk. And at present, it also seemed like there was at least the potential that something like that could hit the Skulk again and the Tachibana family in particular when it seemed as though her cousin Aaron had bonded with Rachel Van Direstag. That event likely happened on Rachel's first visit to the Tachibana home, where she'd run into Aaron and ultimately ended up giving him at least a hand job, and while Rachel had managed to avoid ingesting anything... it was still technically a sexual encounter and triggered the forming of that bond to her in Aaron.
Normally a werefox finding their bonded mate would be a joyous one, even if at a young age, as that bond was life long lasting and that Aaron would likely spend the rest of his days instinctively looking to make Rachel happy, regardless of whether or not she becomes a werefox, herself. But many things weren't normal and there was the potential that some of that budding bond on Aaron's part was also playing into a sort of rebellious nature that Megumi had sensed in Rachel. For the Van Direstag family was new to Moon Lake and from what Megumi had been told, her parents were very resistant to the Mandatory Were Law and might try to flee the town, which Rachel had been coming to like, likely from befriending Megumi and meeting up with Melissa again. Though, that also presented problems.
The problem had its start with another unfolding tale that came about before Halloween, where a family had come to Moon Lake to escape an organized crime family that had been obsessing over the daughter in that family. Megumi had met the girl in one of her classes and learned that she was actually old enough that she should have been a junior and had her seventh birthday coming up next February, but because of the constant moving to get away from the criminals pursuing her and her family, she'd lost a lot of school time and was thus having to attend Sophomore classes, at least through the fall semester. But in the course of that, she'd also learned that before she began attending Moon Lake High, those chasing her had caught on to them and came into Moon Lake, but the town, working with the FBI, had laid a trap and moved her and the family away from the home they'd moved into and allowed for the criminals to ultimately be caught. The girl, however, while at the alternate location had gotten a bit close to a male weretiger, gave him a blowjob, and while he didn't fully "do the deed" then, she had ultimately swallowed "enough" to be set on a delayed path to becoming a weretigress. Thankfully that was something she had wanted, and it was a no harm no foul, as all that was needed was to complete the transformation the next night.
But that still represented a potential accident and one that as rumors of how it happened spread, it demonstrated on how careful weres needed to be, particularly with regard to relationships that were just starting. As while sex was a popular way normal humans became weres in Moon Lake, it was common that the parties were not only consenting but went the whole way and didn't stop short which created problems and issues with delayed transformations that came from that. The case with this the girl that became a weretiger wasn't too much of an issue as she did want to become a weretiger and was in a secluded enough place that she wasn't going to be a broader threat, and by the time she transformed, her parents seemed more onboard with her becoming a weretiger. Rachel's situation was a bit different in that while her father had become a were and the Mandatory Were Law wasn't an issue, it appeared that her father was still rather protective and likely wasn't going to support her becoming a were at her age...
Which then complicated matters in her relations with Aaron. For, so far as Megumi knew, Rachel was looking more at becoming a werebear and the previous afternoon had been looking around going through the process of trying to get the required werebear birth control pills. However, some things had obviously failed at the hospital and Rachel had ended up wandering Moon Lake, at night, and had gotten lost before wandering into the woods near the Tachibana estate. Megumi had found Rachel there looking in as her other neighbors had lesbian sex in the woods and that carried a fair tension and where Megumi learned on what Rachel had been doing, from there, Megumi set out to be a good friend and assure that Rachel could get cleaned up before escorting her home and before a worried parent caught up with her. However, from there, while Megumi moved to get Rachel some clean clothes and while Rachel showered, Aaron had brought something to the bathroom and walked in on Rachel coming out of the shower by accident.
When Megumi returned to the bathroom, she found that Rachel had still been aroused by something in the shower and Aaron was caught by his growing bond. It was something that had then resulted in Rachel very nearly getting a full dose of "werefox" right there in the bathroom and without any birth control pills taken. That was a surprise and Megumi did manage to separate them without triggering an immediate transformation, but because how deep the two had gotten, there was the worry that what happened with the other girl would happen again and putting Rachel where she was essentially awaiting the inevitable transformation into a werefox, and that could bring about its own problems. Rachel hadn't been able to procure the birth control pills for the were she wanted to be, let alone the werefox birth control pills she would need if she was awaiting that transformation, and they couldn't really tell at the time.
For the moment Megumi could only hope that she had managed to get Aaron "out" early enough that Rachel wasn't on that path. This was especially true as a worried werelion following Rachel's scent had made his way to the Tachibana estate and seemed to start off with a near confrontational approach. It meant that by now, if Rachel was on her way to becoming a werefox, they could expect another angry visit in the near future, and while an explanation of a werefox's bond helped calm Richard Van Direstag, it was probable that a protective father wouldn't just accept that if his daughter was on her way to becoming a were without permission. That had Megumi worried as she showered, dressed and had breakfast.
"Megumi..." came a male voice after Megumi had finished her respective "good-byes" to Akane and her parents making her then turn to see her cousin Aaron following her toward the complex's front door. "Would you mind if I join you?"
"I do not mind personally," Megumi said slowly, "though... keep in mind that if what the others said last night is true and Rachel got enough to be on her way to becoming a werefox... that scent has likely begun to appear, and her father is bound to have picked that up."
"I'm sure," Aaron said slowly, "but I've been thinking on this and if that is the case... I'd at least need to be responsible. Particularly... as everything about her... just feels right, and getting surprised and overpowered by the bond... I probably should do that. If only to apologize if her parents picked anything up. If not..."
"If not, and she's still a normal human, you'll have to accept her choice on what were she wishes to be," Megumi reminded her cousin as they stepped out onto the street, "the bond would remain there regardless of what were she wishes to be. And you know that that bond also represents something that is real and shows real love and a real future that will be there... but you still need to let her make her choice. Particularly where it would seem that her father is going to be overprotective and of the opinion that sexuality doesn't start until one is a legal adult."
Aaron blinked and then nodded. It was a tough thing, but he also knew Megumi was right. It was just that he'd never expected to form a bond with someone so young and with someone from outside Moon Lake. It was overwhelming and sent a major rush to him. It left personal urges in him whenever he thought of Rachel to be there and do what he thought would make her happy. Though there was the added issue of teenage hormones and other things. He remembered seeing Richard Van Direstag and noted the powerful build the male werelion had. While many of the Skulk's members might have more martial arts training than Richard did, there was some awareness that he was more powerful than them, and that sense did leave Aaron feeling small, but he also had to be responsible and show the Van Direstag parents that he was a worthy suiter.
The walk around the corner was quick and they were soon coming up to the front door of the Van Direstag home. It wasn't truly imposing, as that wasn't what Moon Lake wanted in its architecture. Most of the residents might be weres of some kind, but having it look foreboding would hurt business and reinforce an image that many weres didn't want for themselves. But for Aaron there was the sense of foreboding in that there was the potential that Richard Van Direstag might want to take a bite out of him to defend his daughter's honor, and inwardly he also knew that Richard Van Direstag could have every ground to demand that kind of justice. Aaron cautiously followed Megumi up to the door and let her knock first. It wasn't long before the door opened to reveal an adult male and one that had a strong werelion scent to him, even in his human form.
"Good morning," Richard said slowly as he looked to the two Japanese Americans, and something by their scents and the male's scent, in particular, seemed familiar, "is there something I can do for you this morning?"
"We were hoping to walk with Rachel to school, if that is not a problem," Megumi stated and noting no aggressive response from Richard toward her or Aaron. She took that as a good sign.
"We haven't missed her, have we?" Aaron asked nervously barely keeping himself from stammering.
"No, she's just finishing up from breakfast and she and Rob should be out shortly," Richard answered, "and I trust you will be going to the school?"
"Of course," Megumi answered, "Grandmother would be very disappointed in us if we missed school."
"And there will be no funny business?" Richard asked carefully toward Aaron.
"Of course not, sir," Aaron answered.
"Quit bullying him, dad," came Rachel's voice as she approached the door, "Megumi and Aaron are friends and they wouldn't hurt me."
It was at that point that Rachel came to the door with her backpack hanging over one shoulder and with Rob slowly following along behind her. Richard calmly stepped back and let Rachel by. Megumi gave a few discreet sniffs and found that Rachel's scent was still human, which was good, for now. But Megumi couldn't be sure as to when that shift in scent would occur IF it was to occur. The best information the Skulk had to guess on was that it was a twenty-four-hour period if it was to happen. If Rachel's scent stayed a normal human scent through the day, things would be fine. If not... they'd have other issues.
"I'm just making sure you're safe," Richard answered, "and if this bond is as solid as I've been told... then I'm sure young Mr. Tachibana will more than earn my trust."
Aaron found himself giving a hopeful smile as Rachel approached and hugged him before moving to stand beside Megumi and while Rob came out after her. Richard wished them a good day at school and then closed the door. The four of them began to make their way along the curve of street to head toward the High School. Rachel walked with Megumi and Rob found himself back with Aaron.
"So... you're Rachel's friends?" Rob asked.
"Two of them," Megumi answered, "I am Megumi Tachibana and this is my cousin Aaron."
"Aaron doesn't sound Japanese," Rob commented.
"My parents wanted a more... American name for me," Aaron answered, "Megumi's parents are a bit more traditional."
"Not that either set are wrong," Megumi answered.
"And you're both weres too?" Rob asked.
"Yes, they're werefoxes," Rachel said to her brother as they walked along on a calm Thursday morning.