"OmigoshI'dloveto," Karen said quickly and almost eagerly before catching her breath and saying again in a calmer voice, "sure."
Peter gave a slight chuckle, "You actually seem a little excited by all this... most generally..."
"You ain't just another display to draw," Karen repeated with a blush she couldn't control as she and Peter left the art and music building on the campus.
The two walked along quietly, and after a few moments, Karen dared herself to take Peter's arm. To her surprise, he actually offered her his arm when he noticed her movement. It made her smile as they walked along. Eventually, Karen came up with a bit more of an explanation.
"To be honest... Moon Lake... it's, well, it's sort of like a candy store for me," Karen spoke as Peter opened the door and they walked out onto one of the campus sidewalks.
"Oh...? A fan of weres?" Peter wondered.
"More furries," Karen said with a blush, "You... the dean... my roommate... your animal side... it all ties in to what I grew up liking. In fact a good part of me would like to join... even if I don't settle here. You're all so beautiful..."
"Hey... I am a lion, LION, not lioness," Peter answered, "we're tough and strong, rugged, and handsome, not beautiful."
"I'm sorry for not getting things in accordance with the appropriate gender description of your form," Karen teased.
"Accepted," Peter replied with a smile.
The two continued to walk along quietly and with some degree of enjoyment.
"So... out of curiosity any idea on what kind of were you'd want to be?" Peter asked.
"Well..." Karen commented as she looked over into Peter's eyes as they walked along, "after class... I was a bit curious about lions..."
Peter actually gave a smile, "Cute... would there be anything ELSE you'd like from me?"
Karen laughed as she felt rather comfortable with Peter as they walked. It was an amazing feeling, as she'd never really had with dates she'd had before. More often than not, most boys she'd met found out about her furry fandom and were turned off by it. With most of the rest of the boys, as was the case with Harry Jenkins, that the relationship never got beyond the friendship stage. So, while things did feel comfortable with them, Karen had never felt close enough to be more than just friends. Yet, as she walked and joked with Peter, she not only felt comfortable but close to him, and all after remembering a line that Jenny had said to her. It was if becoming a werevixen had made her roommate a love doctor with the perfect advice to find "Mr. Right."
"Heh... heh..." Karen managed a small laugh, "I'd think for the moment it may be best just to learn more about you in particular and and werelions... get to know each other, you know?"
"That doesn't sound too bad," Peter answered, "Well... my name is Peter Talbot... Yes, Talbot. Please don't dwell on my name... and I'm the only son of the East Ridge Pride of werelions..."
"Only son?" Karen wondered, "You say that like it's a sad thing... do weres believe in huge male only families?"
"Oh no... sons or daughters... to my knowledge, no were-beast has ever loved one gender over the other when it comes to children," Peter answered, "But my pride isn't very big. Just my dad and his five brothers and their wives. Of the six children born to the pride, I am the only male... so I ended up growing up with tea parties and hunting lessons..."
"Hunting is... womanly to werelions?" Karen asked.
"Male werelions can hunt... but just as with actual lions... our manes make hunting a bit more difficult," Peter explained. "Deer either notice it... or it gets caught on the underbrush and makes noise when we try to pull free. One of the few advantages weretigers have over us... they don't to worry about getting caught on bushes."
Based on the handbook, Karen knew that there wasn't that much that would give werelions and weretigers advantages over each other. They were both about the same size, and Peter actually seemed on the small end for a werelion, but then he might also be immature and was only a college freshman. Men after all tended to hit puberty later than women, or at least they did among normal humans. Karen guessed that the same was true for Moon Lake's weres. Both were bigger than werewolves, though not by too terribly much... though the size difference was obvious. Both were well muscled in their animal forms to enable them to either bring down large game or fight with each other... though Karen figured that some of this was more for wrestling matches than actual fighting. The dean had told her that the actions that would seriously lead to fighting, such as what Yvette Smith had done, was rather rare in Moon Lake.
"Well... if it means anything, your mane looked very nice," Karen gave a smile. "And a weretiger's stripes are probably rather gaudy looking..."
"Thank you," Peter answered as they reached the area where the college's on campus restaurants and cafeteria was.
They walked into the small restaurant that the college had. It wouldn't be good for more than fast food, but it was good food and had a better atmosphere than the main cafeteria did. In a way, it was actually a few restaurants in one, but that just made it more attractive and allowed Karen and Peter to quickly grab a bite to eat and resume their conversation. Like a perfect gentleman, Peter did pay for her food.
"So... what's it like being a werelion in a pride?" Karen asked, "Do you spend nights wrestling? Or roaring to let everyone know where you live?"
"Sometimes," Peter answered, "though I've personally enjoyed art as well... and mostly looking for a lioness of my own... Because since the pride includes my dad and uncles... I can't really get into some of the other pride activities... if you know what I mean."
Karen blinked for a moment, "Your dad and uncles share their wives with each other...?"
"Were-beasts have a higher libido than normal humans do... and werelions can be close that way," Peter admitted with a shrug, "now... they didn't share when my cousins and I were conceived... but yes, they do share, and it's all by mutual agreement. If my mom doesn't want the company of one of my uncles and my aunt doesn't want my dad's company... they won't force the issue."
Karen only blinked for a moment.
"And more often than not, it's something that happens when the whole pride has a meeting," Peter answered. "It's a little odd, I know... but that's pretty typical for werelion prides... and once I graduate college, I'd have the choice of joining my dad and uncle's coalition or start my own pride."
"Don't worry... it's different... but not to weird," Karen admitted, "at least not to a girl who's had a thing for furries."
"Is that what got you into art?" Peter asked as they began eating.
"In a way," Karen chuckled, "draw cute animals and make cartoons that follow their adventures. After all, who doesn't like cute animals?"
Peter actually gave a laugh at that, "Can't think of anyone who wouldn't... at least no one around here."
Karen nodded and sipped the soda from the cup that she'd gotten.
"So what mad you choose Moon Lake?" Peter wondered.
"Well... local colleges for me at USC and UCLA didn't really like that nearly all of my art revolved around animals... or rather anthropomorphic animals," Karen answered, "the schools accepted me, but wouldn't offer scholarships based on my art... and my grades in the other subjects weren't good enough to other scholarships... and Moon Lake DID give me scholarships for my art, so I came here..."
Peter nodded while chewing on the burger that he had ordered.
"And I think I made the right choice," Karen commented, "I met Jenny Harper and Harry Jenkins... Moon Lake's hottest werefox couple. They're getting married on Halloween and I'm going to be the Maid of Honor! I'm so happy for them!"
Karen gave him a real smile, "and as I said before, and Moon Lake's were population has me like a kid in a candy ship with an unlimited supply of money... and I think I've made my choice..."
"Oh?" Peter asked.
"Ever heard of love at first sight?" Karen asked.
"I've heard that's actually how the weremers find their true loves," Peter answered, "or at least that's what my mom has said... She works for Mrs. Stovall in terms of keeping Moon Lake's city hall and city government computers running well."
"Well... when I saw you... in both your forms..." Karen then answered, "all I could picture was you an me... together forever... You'd give me a lot of fun, and I'd give you all the cubs you can sire."
Peter blinked and actually looked rather hopeful.
"You'd...?" he asked.
"This isn't a marriage proposal or anything... but I would like to be your lioness," Karen answered, "and we could date... get to know each other... Maybe when we graduate college start our pride of artists."
Peter smiled, "Perhaps... you want to do something tonight?"
"Absolutely," Karen answered.