"Mum, I'm home!" Isabelle said as she opened the front door, heading inside with Rachel close behind. "We have company, so are you decent?"
A musical laugh comes from the other room as a woman came out of the nearby room. An older werecat steps out with tortoiseshell fur and dressed in a simple dress. She gives Rachel a fanged, but still friendly smile as she takes Rachel's hand. "Hello there, you must be the new Werecat who moved in down the street. I'm Angela Richards, Isabelle's mother."
"It's nice to meet you," Rachel said a bit sheepishly as she looked around. "You have a lovely home."
"Thank you," Angela said. "It's always nice to have a new Werecat on the block. The Pride is in the back, if you want to make yourself comfortable."
"Mum, can we talk about this a bit first?" Isabelle asked.
"Of course dear, I'm almost done cooking anyway," Angela said.
"Rachel, if you don't mind waiting in the living room?" Isabelle said and Rachel nodded as she headed to the living room and sat down on the couch. She leaned back and closed her eyes.
She could smell the werecats and other weres around the house. Even at school, she hadn't smelled so many weres in such a concentrated area. She ran a hand through her black hair, it was kind of nice to know that not all weres were like Leslie had been. The werecats she had met ever since she had been transformed had been nice, but it still felt weird to her. But, at the same time this was her life now. Maybe if she got some answers from the pride here things would be better.
"Hi there!" A voice said from nearby and she opened her eyes to see a younger werecat looking at her curiously. "What's your name?"
"Uh, Rachel," Rachel said, blinking a little. "I'm, just here to, get to know the pride."
"Oh!" The younger Werecat said, her ears perking up in curiosity. "My name is Jessica, why aren't you in your kitty form?"
"I'm still kind of getting used to it," Rachel admitted to her. She looked young, so she didn't want to tell her exactly what had happened to her. "I didn't have the best experience when I became a werecat. Your... sister?" She asked, and Jessica nodded. "She offered to help me get some answers about it from the Pride at least."
"Well, that's a shame, being a Werecat is the best," Jessica said as she sat down on the couch next to Rachel. "Just because something bad happened to you, doesn't mean you can't enjoy being a Werecat, right? Mummy always told me that its part of who we are, and the fact that it makes us different is okay."
"Thanks... you're a pretty smart kid," Rachel said with a chuckle.
"Thanks!" Jessica said and smiled. "So can I see your kitty form please?"
Rachel smiled a little, that had helped a little. And besides, she was at a werecat gathering, she would probably transform sooner or later. She closed her eyes and felt the sensation of fur growing over her body and her tail curling around her. She opened her eyes and Jessica smiled.
"You're pretty!" She said.
"Thanks..." Rachel said softly as she heard Angela and Isabelle coming in. She looked to see that Isabelle had become an orange tabby werecat and gave her a smile.
"Are you ready?" Isabelle asked. "Everything is set up out back. I explained to mum what happened, and she understands. So, how about we get some answers for you?"