Anon and Doppel

>You aren't quite sure how you got in this predicament
>You are. . .laying down, you think, somewhere dark
>You can feel a the smooth surface of stone under you
>You remember about hearing an urban legend of a cave out in the woods, and if you enter it during a thunderstorm, you will never be seen again
>You and your friends joked about who would go in, and you volunteered
>When a thunderstorm did finally roll around, you entered the cave
>A lighting bolt struck right outside, and the noise and light from it blinded and deafened you
>You aren't sure where exactly you are, and it's a bit unnerving
>Eventually, your senses start to come back to you, and you see that you are in the cave
>Light is pouring in from the entrance, illuminating the just enough so you can make out the features of it
>It seems to be just big enough for you to stand up in, and somewhat spacious
>There is also something else you notice as you look around
>A pair of piercing soild blue eyes, looking at you intensely


>You stare at it, and it stares at you
>You aren't quite sure what you are looking at here, and neither is it
>You shift a bit, slowly standing up
>The creature seems surprised by your movement, and lets out a spiteful hiss
>It spreads it's tattered, transparent blue wings and reveals it's ivory fangs, it's curved horn glowing with sickly green energy
>The light from it's horn fills the cave, making everything look like it's radioactive or something
>The creature before you seems to be. . .a horse? Or a bug? Or some sort of combination of both?
>It's back is a smooth black and blue shell, it's legs look not unlike Swiss cheese, and it's skin of flawless and segmented, looking a bit like chitin
>It was much smaller than you, it's head only coming up to about your thigh
>You aren't quite sure if this is real or just fantasy, but you put your hands in front of you, backing away a bit
'Easy now. Don't want to hurt you. I'm just as confused as you are.'
>The creature before you seems shocked that you can speak, but it quickly regains it's defensive and angry expression.
'Can you understand me? If you can, we can and should help each other out.'
>The creature nods, seeming to soften up a bit
>This was good. Whatever this creature was, it was sentient, or at least could understand you


>You opened up a dialogue with the creature, getting some details about where you were and who it was
>It was called a 'Changeling', and it. . .no, wait, she, recently got separated from the rest of her group, and took shelter in this cave
>While she couldn't talk, she could project her thoughts into your mind, some how
>You didn't quite know how, but you were going to have to go along with it
>It would be easier to survive in this world without picking apart everything and instead just going with the flow
>The forest outside was very dangerous, full of manticores and cockitrices, so she didn't know where to go
>She could morph into those creatures, but they would be suspicious because of her small size
>She was a bit scared and lonesome, fearing she would never get back to her hive again
>You couldn't help but chuckle at this
>Two lost souls with little to no hope of getting back to their homes, thrust into a hostile environment
>After the round of 20 questions was over, you felt satisfied, and she seemed to be a bit more trusting of you
'Well, if we are stuck here, we might as well make the most of it. If this is a forest, then there must be something here we can eat. With those fangs, I assume you wouldn't mind consuming some meat?'
>She shifts around a bit awkwardly. /Um. . .yes, but. . .I prefer to eat. . .emotions. Love is the tastiest to eat, but. . ./ Her voice sounds a bit nervous.
>You raise your eyebrow a bit.
'I'll try to put on a happy face, then. Unless you eat negative emotions? Cause I got plenty of those.'
>She perks up a bit and thanks you, and you smile
>She might look a bit strange, but she's a bit of a shrimp compared to the rest of her kind
>She was strangely cute, and maybe you felt the need to protect this small creature
>You figure that the smaller something is in this world, the cuter it is
>You chuckle a bit at the thought of a microscopic Changeling that would cause a cuteness singularity
>Not the time for that, however.
>Gotta focus on the task at hand



>The two of you head out of the cave, and agree on some duties
>Since she can shift form and whatnot, she will take care of the hunting, using her shifting form to stalk and kill small game
>You will do the gathering, getting stone and wood and berries and stuff
>Wasn't it usually the men who did the hunting, though?
>Either way, you had to be wary of the environment around you
>The unnatural forest was giving you a 10 on the NOPE meter, discouraging you from traveling far form the cave
>You collect anything you think would be useful; berries, stones, sticks, dry grass, large leaves, things of that sort
>You know that you already have a shelter, and food is mostly taken care of, so the only thing you need now is renewable water
>Thankfully, not too far from the cave is a freshwater river
>You take note of it's location, determined to find a container for it so you can boil it to help purify it a bit
>It's getting a bit dark, however, so you need to conclude your business

>Once you are practically carrying half of the forest in your arms, you return to the cave enterance, setting things down
>You get to work fashioning anything useful you can
>Sharpening sticks, attempting to make spear heads, whittling down a large hunk of wood you found into a cup, testing to see if the leaves are good to sleep on or not. . .
>You are left with more wood shavings and rock chips than useful goods, but it's better than nothing
>You re-enter the cave with most of your supplies, and go about arranging everything for the two of you
>You set the two large leaves on top of some grass
>Better than sleeping on the stone
>You set some of the berries on a leaf and place it in the corner, deeming it a food stock pile
>The sharpened sticks, makeshift spearheads and the cup go next to it, but they must rest on the floor because you are out of leaves
>Finally, you find a flat surface to use as a fire area, and circle it with rocks
>You pile up some sticks and dry grass, set about trying to light a fire
>If only it was as easy as it was in the movies

>After what seems like hours, you hear the soft clopping of hooves on stone, and the Changeling is back
>As she enters, the cave is filled with a green glow, and you sheild your eyes a bit
>She is carrying two large rabbits on her back, and seems to have a proud look in her face
>She sees you, about to reach out with her mind, but her expression sours and she scrunches her face
>You sigh, looking down at the fire pile and then at your sore fingers
>She can taste your frustration and disapointment
'Hah. . .guess I'm not as good as I thought at this survival stuff. . .'
>/Oh, no! You did pretty good!/ She said, trying to cheer you up. /Those beds look nice, and. . . you got a lot of stuff done!/
>She needs to positive emotions, most likely
>She walks over and sits next to you, moving her horn close to the fire
>Some of the dry grass is enveloped in the green energy, and before you know it, it bursts into flame
>Within moments, the fire is going
>She smiles at you and you chuckle.
'What with you doing all the work, I'm starting to feel liked chopped liver.'
>You look at the dead rabbits on her back and sigh.
'Speaking of which. . .'



>Your butchery skills were not very good, and neither with your tools
>Your hands were bloody and the rabbit hide was rendered useless, but you were able to exact some meat
>The Changeling had no qualms with devouring it raw, skin and all, and she seemed ravenous
>You would have interjected about saving the skin for later use, but you didn't want to be on the wrong end of those fangs
>You tossed the remains of the rabbit you butchered outside, leaving it for the scavengers, and got one of the sharpened sticks, holding the rabbit meat over the fire
'So, do you have a name? I don't think we really got properly introduced.'
>/I don't have one./ She said. /We take on the names of the creatures we mimic./
'I can't just call you 'Changeling' all the time. Just like you can't call me 'Human' all the time.
>/Then that will you call me?/ She asked, titling her head as she looked up at you. /And what should I call you?/
'I think I'll call you Doppel. Short for Doppelganger.' You say. 'And you can call me Anonymous.'
>/That sounds like something a Changeling would call themselves./ She says with a giggle
'Maybe I am a changeling, and you don't even know it! Ooga booga!'
>She laughs at your silly comment, and turns back to the fire, leaning on you a bit.
>/Well, you sure are a weird looking changeling, if that's the case. Never seen something like you before./
'Same here. But hey, us changelings gotta stick together, right?'
>You spin the meat around and nod.
'You did say Changelings like to work with one another, and will often find each other if separated. We just gotta dig in, survive for a while, and we should be found by them soon enough.'

>/I hope so. . .the other Changelings pick on me, though. They say I'm just a grub, that I'm too small to be of any use. . ./
'Nah, they don't know anything.' You say. 'I've never seen rabbits this big before. Where I come from, they are lucky to get half this size!'
>She perks up a bit at your compliment
>You gotta keep her happy, so she can feed on the good vibes
>Speaking of feed, the rabbit seems cooked now
>After the meal and after the fire dies out, you retire to your beds
>Being a bit smart alecky, she claims the larger bed and says she needs it because she likes to stretch out and move while she sleeps
>You oblige her, saying you'll get more material later, and lay down on the smaller one
>You have to curl up, and the plant matter provides a poor mattress, but it was much better than sleeping on the stone
>You tell her to awaken at first light, and she says she will
>You bid her good night, and close your eyes
>Sleep doesn't come easy, and you shift around a lot to get a decent position, but eventually your fatigue from today work lulling you to a deep slumber