Rachel felt glad that Cynthia was able to... or at least willing to spend the night. It was something that she really hadn't felt in a while, not since she first started dating Leslie, back when she thought Leslie was just another normal person. The main thing that Rachel got a sense from about Cynthia, though, was a sense of honesty and openness that Leslie never really had. Leslie had often been distant with certain things, and some of that might have been because she had to hide that she was a werecat, but there were times and things where Leslie seemed distant and secretive on things that wouldn't have related to werecats at all. Cynthia seemed honest and open, and while she didn't have the curves that Leslie had, Cynthia was still cute and as they'd talked from the meeting with the Richards pride to now, Rachel also began to get the sense that Cynthia might actually be interested in her.
That sense of mutual attraction brought through a great many things in Rachel, which had been a big part of what was starting to get her more comfortable with the new her. Comfortable with meeting the other prides... and she didn't want that to end. However, Rachel also knew she had to be respectful and responsible, not like what Leslie had been to her. The last thing Rachel wanted to do was hurt someone that had gone out of her way to go beyond what the college expected from Cynthia as an RA and student advisor.
"It'll take a little while for mom to get the sheets," Rachel said to Cynthia, "we can fold the couch out. It'll be more comfortable that way. And I can bring you some clean clothes to wear in the morning."
"Some of it may be a bit... big..." Cynthia said weakly, "I mean, your hips and bust are bit bigger than mine... and will remain so until I become a were."
Rachel noted a small blush on Cynthia's cheeks. Some of that made a great deal of sense. Cynthia was very cute in Rachel's opinion, and she'd hat that opinion of her since their first meeting and that thought, and attraction had been there. But Cynthia, as a normal human didn't have the curves that some women had outside Moon Lake and every female were in Moon Lake did. It was something that Rachel had noted and likely what Michelle and Jasmine often had the biggest hurdles with given that they weren't weres, but yet were already growing into a form that would look like a female were in human form. However, that didn't change Rachel's interest in Cynthia, and as much as she wrestled with who she was, now, and everything else, that didn't change Rachel's growing friendship with Cynthia. And with her sisters presently upstairs and likely getting ready for bed by now, Rachel felt some of the safety from family teasing at showing some of her own growing interest in Cynthia. At least so far as being "friends" went.
"Well... Michelle might have some old sports shorts or wind pants that have some elastic and a draw string," Rachel offered, "she and Jasmine may get their jokes in... but I can get them to share."
Cynthia chuckled and followed Rachel to the front of the couch. It was comfortable, but it was a bit older and didn't have a reclining feature. Rachel quickly pulled away the top cushions and then motioned to the bottom front of the couch. Cynthia followed Rachel's finger as it pointed down and she bended down and reached under that front of the couch. There, she found a metal latch close to the corner, and she and Rachel were soon pulling it all out and with the folding legs dropping down as they began to pull it out and away. Rachel was fine with all of those, though some of the earlier discussion had reminded her a bit of the dream she'd had the previous night and how vivid it was.
"Hey, Cynthia..." Rachel began as she set about making sure the folding legs were locked in place.
"Yes?" Cynthia wondered.
"In all your time here, has anything odd happened at night?" Rachel asked, "and I'm not talking were behavior or anything... just something that would relate to... well... things going beyond a bit what goes on with weres and all that."
"I don't think I understand the question," Cynthia answered, "nothing odd has happened to me or anything like that. Though, generally because mundane wild animals tend to be more aggressive around weres, Moon Lake also advises that normal humans not go into the woods in order to avoid possible conflict with them. Staying on the roads and sidewalks are fine, as there will be some streetlights and things like that. So, as a normal human, I generally haven't gone into the woods where I could stumble onto, either weres having sex, hunting prey, or get attacked by a mundane animal."
"And I'm not asking about anything like that," Rachel asked, "more like in your sleep... like dreams or anything like that?"
"Odd dreams... are you trying to ask if Moon Lake causes odd dreams?" Cynthia wondered.
"I don't know... maybe," Rachel managed, "I mean... I've never really had too many dreams that I've remembered. Though some of that began to change after I became a werecat. Though most of them were nightmares related to what Leslie had done."
“That’d be understandable,” Cynthia commented while having one eyebrow raised as she looked to Rachel.
"But that wasn't that common or that vivid," Rachel answered, "and then last night... I had a dream, and it was far more vivid than anything I've had before. It sorta started like many of the nightmares I've had... but ultimately I was rescued by a knight on a horse."
"That doesn't sound too bad," Cynthia commented.
"But my sister, Michelle was the horse the knight was riding, and my other sister was a fox who was there as the pet or something to the knight," Rachel then spoke, not mentioning that Cynthia was the knight in her dream.
"That sounds more like it could have been inspired more by being in Moon Lake than anything else," Cynthia commented, "it does have the sort of effect that for some families that come here... while by law only one member of the family has to become a were, it's not uncommon for the entire family to end up joining... The parents become weres, and enjoy their restored youth and energy and children either fall in love with someone already here or were already fans of werewolf movies and the like. It would thus generate thoughts and images in your subconscious mind."
"So, there isn't anything special like that about Moon Lake?" Rachel asked.
"With dreams...?" Cynthia asked while blinking and then looking to Rachel who nodded, "I'm not sure I can really say. A lot of what I'm going on is based on what I've had in some of my classes and what I've experienced. It's not something where I personally could believe that Moon Lake has something special that drives dreams or things like that. Though, there have been some stories that have gone on about weres having some unmeasured abilities in their subconscious, and that the number of weres living in such proximity to each other could drive those sorts of things to Moon Lake's normal human residents... but that gets into a more spiritual discussion and would really on be believable if you already believe in magic."
"And the weres that live here don't do that?" Rachel asked, "I mean... I can turn into an anthropomorphic black cat at will. I may not be the most brilliant scientist, but a lot of science would say that sort of thing should be impossible."
"That's something that's going to vary on the were," Cynthia answered, "my brother, being a bit of a fan... sort of sits on the more spiritual and "magic" side of things regarding weres, while a fair number of my friends are rather scientific in how they look at things. And I'd think that most weres actually don't pay attention to whether or not they're "magical" or "scientific." They just know that they "are." So, they don't think about it. And that's really about the best I can give you."
"That'll add to another list of questions to ask," Rachel gave a sigh and a smile, "as the dream I had was vivid... far more than any I've had before... and none of it is something that I've ever though on. I mean, I've never seen my sisters as horses or foxes."
"That's part of the complex side of the subconscious mind," Cynthia shrugged, "this could be part of something big... or it just could be your mind dwelling on things more than before."
Rachel slowly nodded as Charlene returned with a bed pillow and some bed sheets.
"Sorry... some of the extra bedlinens had gotten moved around and it took me a bit longer to find them," Charlene spoke, "Did you have any trouble getting the couch folded out?"
"No, mom," Rachel spoke while Cynthia tested the cushion.
It wasn't super hard, but it wasn't super soft either. Though, it was enough to work with, particularly with the situation that would be had in staying the night, which she'd already agreed to. She then helped Rachel and Charlene in spreading the sheets out to make it more comfortable to sleep on.
"Thank you for all this," Cynthia said to them.
"It's no problem," Charlene commented, "it is getting late... and while Rachel's classes don't start till eleven on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays... we don't know on your schedule."
Cynthia turned to Rachel, "lucky you... though my first class is at nine, so it's not too bad."
"My sisters are still in high school, so I don't get that much breathing room because of that," Rachel chuckled, "so... we'll probably all be up early."
"Sounds like fun," Cynthia laughed.