The alarm went off very early in the morning in Richard and Rose's room and Richard awakened to a local news station providing updates on things that had happened on the previous day. A lot of it was fairly low-level stuff, and to Richard, something that he might have thought would be fairly typical for any local news station. However, looking to see both himself and Rose in their werelion forms as they had slept, he'd gotten a reminder on how different Moon Lake was from anything in their past experience.
"Morning," Richard rumbled in a low voice as he leaned over to nuzzle the back of Rose's head with his muzzle and the triangular nose at the end of it, "it's a new day..."
"And very early," Rose said glancing at the digital clock that was on their bedside table.
"Of course... it's a Thursday," Richard answered, "the kids will have school and Frank will need to get into the college early to hand in his computer and other gear before going to his first in person class."
"Didn't you do that yesterday?" Rose asked as she sat up in bed and stretched.
"That was more to set the forms, and everything related to that," Richard answered, "Frank should be returning that today. After that... we'll then have to finalize our deals and arrangements for our store..."
"Yes, much to do," Rose said as she stood up and taking a deep breath and finding the pain in her ribs greatly reduced from even where they were the previous morning and how that reflected to all the changes that had happened for the Van Direstag family since coming to Moon Lake.
The move had been made because Moon Lake had been the only college that would give their son Frank a scholarship and Richard didn't want to burden Frank with travelling halfway around the country when on college break. At the time the move had been planned, Richard and Rose had agreed that with Moon Lake being a college town, they could set up a sporting goods store that would be similar to the deals they'd had with the University of Michigan before the move. Though as Rose looked down at herself, she knew they'd also found a very different sort of town, made clear when they first met the Town Chancellor who had explained how the city was a sanctuary for weres and that at least one member of every new family had to become a were in order to protect the town's secret, a secret that she and Richard now shared as werelions.
Rose felt herself begin to change bank from her were form back into her human form, with her claws flattening, her fur receding back into her skin, her feet shortening to be better suited for her heals to touch the ground, and with her muzzle shifting back into a flatter human face and her tail being pulled back into her spine. There was a little discomfort in her ribs, but that was more a result of what led to her becoming a werelioness. All of that started with Richard's response to the Town Chancellor's message on the Mandatory Were Law. It wasn't an issue now, but when they first heard it was an issue. Neither of them liked it at the time, but Rose had at least figured to try and do a little research into things and get answers first before making a decision, but Richard had jumped into some kind of escape play to try and avoid going through with it.
Rose remembered all the pressures that came from that as she entered the master bathroom, flipped the switch on the exhaust fan and began to run water for the shower. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Richard approach the sink, now back in his more human form and looking like a more athletic and muscular version of who he was in college and was soon preparing himself to shave for the morning. The sight was something she liked, and she had all she could do to keep herself focused on getting ready to shower for the morning. Though, her own new instincts as a were just wanted to jump him and start a new round of lovemaking, and if they didn't have so much work to complete their family's move into Moon Lake, she might have even considered it, which was also what reminded her of all that had changed for them.
"Could you have my robe and towel ready for when I'm done with my shower dear?" Rose asked Richard before he could get too involved with shaving, "it should be on the hook on the other side of you..."
Richard glanced over to the pink fuzzy robe that had been among the purchases he and Rose had made the previous day, largely because becoming werelions had led to them outgrowing their old clothes in ways that would make them painfully tight. Rose's hips were far wider now, and her hair hung down to the larger swell of her now larger chest. Her old robe from Michigan wouldn't fit her now, not without being so open that she would be flashing a lot of cleavage to anyone that looked. A part of Richard didn't mind that, as he loved Rose with all his might, but he also recognized that they would have to do more to be ready for the day, something he didn't do, and which led to their present changes. He nodded and collected the robe and walked it over to hang from the door.
"I've hung it from the door, dear," Richard said to Rose as she stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain shut, "I'll lay down the floor mat and then put your hair towel on the main towel rack."
"Thank you," Rose answered and then flipped the switch to turn the shower on.
Richard then focused on doing as he promised and thought back over the things that lead to his and Rose's changes. He'd thought of an escape plan, supposed to begin early yesterday morning, and ended up in an argument with Rose over that idea. The result of that led to Rose essentially playing to his own bravado and essentially daring him to go out and make contact with a were, to actually LEARN something. A part of it was against his better judgement, but Richard was never going to let himself be called a "coward," and so he led Rose out into the woods behind the home they'd bought. They went into the woods, only following the sounds as the woods were dark at night, and he ended up falling onto a werelioness, Shelia Wiggleston, while she was enjoying herself. From there, Richard found himself becoming a werelion for the first time.
It changed a lot of Richard's concerns over "being" a were, mostly as he got firsthand experience at seeing how his mind wasn't erased. But as Richard began to lather his face with shaving cream, he also remembered how then gaining a werelion's instincts as well led to mistakes that sent Rose back out into the woods, where she then got lost trying to find her way home. That snapped Richard back to his senses and he began searching for Rose, and by the time he found her she'd been attacked by a mundane Mountain Lion. He killed the offending animal and saved Rose, but she had to go to the hospital and that left him feeling a bit ashamed. He looked down on that as he then began to shave and feeling the blade cut the coarse stubble from his face. He'd let himself get pulled by new instincts and nearly lost Rose as a result, and he felt lucky that Rose did live.
But Rose did survive and forgave him, though she also seemed to get curious about his new form. Richard could see that as he looked in the mirror and could see his broader shoulders and more muscular chest, and further down the now larger penis, even while it was flaccid and hanging limp. When he brought Rose home from the hospital the morning after he became a werelion and Rose got attacked, she got curious about his new form, and he ended up turning Rose into a werelion as a result. Of course, it was so quick that they hadn't gotten the birth control pills for a werelion, and they found that as she became a werelioness, Rose also went into heat. They found that out after settling matter with the city and then Leon Talbot, they'd also had one quick appointment with related to Rose's transformation and that did have Rose in heat, and without the birth control pills, would mean that she was on her way to becoming a mother were.
"But we'll love and look after the new child, regardless," Richard commented as he finished shaving and splashed some water on his face. As he finished, he heard the water shut off as Rose came out and began to dry herself off.
"Rachel or Rob might be up," Rose commented.
"Good to hear that they're getting ready for school," Richard commented, and being careful. Many things were progressing rapidly, and while being able to accept weres and being a were was a good thing, Richard also had the sense that Rachel was looking to be a were, possibly to be with the young Japanese American boy, who lived next door. There were some things he'd learned about their relationship that he didn't like and knew Rose would hate, but for the moment, it seemed like Rachel was following the rules a bit better than he and Rose had, and thus didn't want to reveal too much to Rose on what he knew.
"The water's good and warm," Rose told him.
"Then, I'd better get in quick," Richard chuckled, knowing that with three teenage kids, two in high school and one in college, keeping clean and having hot water was always something critical. He kissed Rose on the cheek and then got into the shower himself.
Through the curtain, he could see Rose put her bathrobe on and wrap her hair up in the towel, though he didn't get too much beyond that as he soon turned the water on to take his own shower. And the water was warm, and that let him think over things that came from the previous night before he and Rose went to meet Elijah Hunter to essentially begin Richard's training with regard to running one of the smaller pride units within the Moon Lake werelion community, with Rose at his side and with Shelia likely to be part of his and Rose's pride for the time being. For that was the thing he didn't want to say openly to Rose at the present time and wanted to wait until things were more appropriate.
At that time, he'd been sent out to find Rachel, to make sure she'd get dinner and that Richard and Rose could complete the things they needed to do after Rose became a werelioness. So far as he knew, Rachel had been with Melissa Jenkins, an old friend from Michigan, but other than finding that friend as a werecow, he hadn't found Rachel. He then followed Rachel's trail, and it ultimately led him to Tachibana’s, right next to his family's new home. While he was pleased to find that Rachel was still a normal human, he also found that some things were not quite as "innocent" as he would have preferred. Apparently, Rachel had made very good friends with Akane no Tachibana's grandson, named Aaron, and in a fairly sexual way. Rachel hadn't gotten anything that would to her becoming a werefox, but from what Richard was told, the fact that this act was "sexual" in nature was enough for a "bond" to form in Aaron that connected him to Rachel.
From what Richard learned, this bond among werefoxes was powerful and in a certain way sounded rather romantic. That it would be unbreakable, and that Aaron would likely spend his days doing anything he could to make Rachel happy to satisfy that bond. From the description, it was a bond that Richard could respect. Privately, he hoped that more weres had something like that, but that was all something even he'd need to learn and study about. However, the fact that his teenage daughter had engaged in this, behind his back, was worrying and not something he fully approved of, but given that Rachel had also seemed to be following the rules and had been looking to get the appropriate birth control pills made him cautious over trying to play super protective, given that the way he and Rose had entered were society had been by accident and likely had Rose pregnant again. It was where Richard felt he had little ground to stand on when it would come to trying to "protect" Rachel. The only thing he could do was ask her to wait, but that would have to wait until the afternoon/evening.
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Frank was rather quiet as Rose talked with Rob in that morning. It reflected a large amount of the strangeness that had hit the Van Direstag family after moving to Moon Lake and even with some of the struggles that had been there, how they'd ultimately accepted things. For a lot of it related to many of the challenges that had been there for the family before the move and those things only added to what they were dealing with now. For Frank knew that Richard and Rose Van Direstag were good parents and would do almost anything for them. But there were always some things that the Van Direstag kids would have some interest in that would go beyond just what was expected from them. It was this sort of thing that led to Rachel's at times rebellious and Rob getting adventurous and forward at times.
Some of it, Frank knew was more a result of his own growth and development over the years. He'd always been decidedly average in many regards and had never been able to stand out. He played a bit of sports in high school, mostly to try and show some ability, and while he got plenty of family support, he never really was able to stand out and that meant that colleges weren't going to be knocking for a sports scholarship. He was never dumb, but neither was he always the smartest person around and that had ultimately held him back in a way. He graduated from the Ann Arbor school district, but his grades, ACT, and SAT scores were only just good enough to qualify for acceptance into most colleges, and it made for a rather trying college search.
Frank even remembered apologizing to Richard for not being "good enough." The lecture Frank then got on that he WAS good enough was as big as the search, and then they found Moon Lake College online and found that they were willing to offer scholarships to anyone willing to come across the country to attend. It was a lucky break and Frank and Richard even got to tour the college the previous summer before his senior year in high school, and again when budget issues meant the Van Direstag family wouldn't be able to move before the school year started, the college even accepted having him start with a more online course load, and Frank did his best to pass those classes. That then brought the Van Direstags to Moon Lake. And it was a very different place.
Frank had been there when Samantha Twist had provided the message and proof of Moon Lake being populated mostly by weres. It was a surprise, even to Frank, but because Samantha had never attacked anyone, and he didn't have some other place to go, Frank had been more open to at least learning something. And while he focused on his study material online, he didn't miss some of the other things going on. Rob and Rachel had definitely caught on to some things, even though they had been at school when the "welcome to Moon Lake" was made, and Frank also knew that Rachel was smart enough to not be fooled by any blatant lie. That was in part why Frank had urged his mother to be firm with getting Richard to not carry through his "escape plan," though going out into the woods, and leading to what ultimately lead to both Van Direstag parents becoming werelions wasn't what Frank thought would happen, though to a degree, he couldn't argue with the results in that fleeing or not learning anything was no longer an issue.
But as he ate breakfast and Rose talked with Rob, Frank could also see where those old issues remained. For it seemed that Rob and Rachel had come across things that made them even more interested in Moon Lake than before. For Rachel it was a reunion with an old friend from Michigan. For Rob, it appeared to be meeting some people that were a bit more forward at things than he'd had experience with in Michigan. It was something that actually made Frank a bit happy that they had friends or were making friends, as he didn't think his little brother was really the sort to be a problem to people. Now, they had to work through those last things and Frank had things of his own to work through, namely turning his computer in and transitioning into the in-person classes. And Frank thought on that even as he finished breakfast and finished getting ready.
He was only coming down with his things and the computer to turn in as he saw his father shut the front door and hearing Rachel and Rob say their goodbyes as they headed out to the high school.
"I'm ready to go day, if you are," Frank said to his father and was glad to see that Richard seemed to be in a reasonably good mood after everything.
"I am, let me go get the keys," Richard answered him, "and your mother?"
"I think she was still getting dressed," Frank answered, "though the door was shut, so I didn't barge in."
Richard nodded and he moved off, leaving Frank just in front of the front door. Richard returned a few moments later and the two then made their way down one hallway that led into the attached garage. Frank was able to easily set his things in the front seat's floor area while then climbing into the front seat himself. While he did that, he could hear his father lifting up the garage door and then coming back to the driver's side of the van. From there, they were soon backing out after Richard started the vehicle.
"Your mother and I will be having some work today in setting up our store, so you may have to walk home when you're done with classes," Richard told him, "Can you handle that?"
"I'm pretty sure dad, and I have everything I need for the day," Frank answered.
"Good... though if ANYTHING comes up, I'm sure they'll have a payphone on the campus somewhere," Richard answered, "call the house if you need to."
Frank nodded, though he didn't think anything like that would come up. He'd been managing his grades fairly well so far; the real challenge would be more in adjusting from the online versions of the courses to their in-person versions. That wouldn't be too hard. The biggest thing that actually stuck in his mind was the run in he'd had at the college bookstore while getting his books for the semester. There was a young woman there who worked at the store, though he couldn't say how old she actually was, who seemed to be stressed by something. Frank didn't know what it was, but a part of him just wanted to help, as she seemed like a good person and shouldn't be under threat. Though, it wasn't likely that he'd see her again, regardless, he hoped she was alright and whatever had been the trouble, it was over. His thoughts drifted on that as they rode along, and it let him zone out for a few moments.
"Frank!" came his father's voice snapping him out of it.
That got Frank to shake his head and realize they were parked outside the administration building again, and it was about fourteen minutes to eight AM.
"We're here..." Richard said slowly.
"Sorry... I was just... thinking on some things," Frank said slowly.
"We can talk about that later," Richard said with a small smile, "will you need me for anything?"
"No, but thank you," Frank said as he unbuckled himself and got out. He collected his own bookbag the laptop he'd been assigned before the Van Direstags could arrive in Moon Lake. "I'll see you at the end of the day."
Richard nodded and watched as Frank shut the door and then made his way up to the administration building.