Fantasy Changelings

[Dawn is a Changeling]

(AI generated, placeholder until my wrist heals enough for me to paint her)
True Name: Seanait Elfrun

Current Name: Kennedy Ainsley/Cohen

Age: 16

Personality Type: ISFJ

Primary Color: Green/Gold

Appearance: Yellow hair and piercing gold eyes. Tall with elongated limbs and pointed ears.

Current Apperance: Short, with brown hair and freckles. Easily passed over in a crowd, except for her eyes. Old enough not elicit attention or concern.

Tell: Golden eyes

Connections: Left them all behind in Boston. All she has with her is Brennigan. She has a brother in Boston who might have survived named Niall.

Backstory: She grew up happy, with two changeling parents who taught her and her brother all about being changelings and (quietly) celebrating their heritage and mourning their losses. She did well enough in school, especially in art classes (mostly music), and had a few friends. She was well adjusted and happy. She came home from school one day after staying late for band practice and Brennigan was outside the door to the apartment, trying to bar her entry. She pushed past and into the home. The first thing she saw was blood. She went a little further in and saw her mothers hand, lifeless on the floor. Then she heard a noise from deeper in the house and ran, but not before making eye contact with him. Her face flickered involuntarily so now he knows her tell. But she knows his face. She grabbed her fathers wallet on the way out, scooped up Brennigan, and ran for her life. When she tried to call her brother, it said his phone was disconnected. He was out with friends that day, so she hopes he survived, but both her parents were home, so she doubts they made it.

Fears/Flaws: Lots and lots of trauma. Highly suspicious of everyone.

Talents: Harp, green thumb.

Interests: Music, animals, plants. Wanted to have a plant nursery, maybe? Special interest in music and birds.

Practical Skills: writing essays, doing homework, history, growing plants

Likes: irish stuff, plants, nature, cats, quiet

Dislikes: loud sudden noises, dogs, small children

Hobby: growing things and playing harp

Possessions: Cat, one set of clothes, 124$, 5 notebooks, 2 pencils, phone, a necklace (family heirloom from Ireland), her wallet with a bus pass and ID stuff for her true identity that she can't use anymore, her Dad's wallet with cards and ID stuff she can't use.

Other: Autistic, Misophonia

Name: Sveni Hammson

Age: 18, though years of life in the wilderness makes him appear older.


Primary color(s): Orange and gold

Appearance: Long auburn hair and enchanting emerald eyes. He carries a toned build and the agiliry of a fox.

Tell: A stand of braided hair behind his left ear

Backstory: Never knew his father, who left him and his mother when he changed appearance as an infant. In early teen hood, he lost his mother before opting to live as a nomad in the Appalachian mountains, living off the land.

Fears/flaws: Fear of loss, a tad standoffish.

Talents: Handiwork and hunting. Skilled at building and killing. Incredible singer. Skilled in his transformation ability.

Interests: living life carefree

Practical skills: Hunting, tanning, fishing, weaving, crafting, and building. Basic survival skils.

Likes: Singing while he works, tracking, and preparing hides to use for winter.

Dislikes: civilization. Useless people

Hobby: wandering the woods and working with his hands

Possesions: Hatchet, Hunting bow (handmade), a set of knives, 100ft of rope, a machete, several bundles of hide and pelts, a spare set of clothes for winter, a quiver (with 40 arrows), a brush, canteen, eating utensils, and a handmade backpack to hold most of it.

Other: Echolalia

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

Seanait stepped onto the elevator and relaxed. Finally, she was home. It had been a long day and she needed a break. Maybe she would read more of that book on raptors...
*ding*
The elevator doors opened and she stepped off. 1, 2, 3 steps. It was exactly 43 steps from the elevator to her apartment. 36, 37- "Mreow?"
She jumped. Brennigans furry black face was looking up at her.
"What are you doing, silly? You're supposed to stay in the apartment!" she shook her head and walked toward the door, but Brennigan wove himself between her feet, tripping her. "Hey, now! I'm trying to walk," she reached down to stroke his face, but he pulled back. Odd.
She pushed open the door, started slipping off her bag, and opened her mouth to announce her presence, when something caught her eye. There was something... red, on the floor. Did someone spill ketchup or something? She shouldered her bag again and walked a bit deeper in. Her parents bedroom door was open. That was odd. She glanced at the doorway and saw a hand sprawling onto the floor. It wasn't moving. It was her mothers hand! And it had that slightly inhuman golden skin tone Mother usually hid.
Her spine shivered and her hands went cold. There had to be a reasonable explanation... She should investigate the room. She... should.. investigate... but she wasn't moving. She stood frozen in her tracks. Behind her, she heard Brennigan meow, as if through a waterfall. But it barely registered. The next sound did. A grunt. Of pain. Her fathers voice! Hands trembling, she tried to force herself to move. Which way? Toward the sound? Out the door? Toward the bedroom? She started shaking, and her terror made her face try to change. She clamped down on it and held her normal, human form. A silhouette appeared in the kitchen door frame, where she heard her fathers voice. She relaxed. He was fine! She was just... being... That wasn't her father.
A hulking man with celtic knot tattoos on his arm stood in the doorway. Holding an iron axe. Iron. She glanced at his neck. St. Patricks shamrock hung there. A fairy hunter. On instinct, she shifted her face to look like his. He snarled.
She bolted. By some deeper wisdom, as she fled she grabbed her fathers wallet. She slammed the door behind her and scooped up Bradigan, then she ran to the stairs. She couldn't take the elevator and stand still. She ran down the stairs and out into the Boston streets, shoving the wallet in her pocket and stuffing Brennigan in her bag. He didn't even protest.
Then she ran. She didn't know where she was going until her feet carried her to school, where she shifted her face to look like a teacher and hid in an abandoned classroom.
What now? What... now?

 

[Silverwings]

Sveni sat on a soft moss patch, whittling at some branches to make a portable chair. It had been many winters since his mother passed and he took to living in the wild. Days started blending together a long time ago, so he had no idea what day or even year it was. It didn't matter out here. All that mattered was staying alive. Within the last two years, Sveni had gathered enough wood to make a raised shelter where he could return to at night to rest and eat.

The shelter had a platform for food storage to keep it out of reach of wild animals, a shelter for sleeping, cooking, eating and crafting, and a platform for tanning for tanning and drying. Sveni considered himself to be an efficient person when it came to his shelter. There were bridges between each platform and long, unfortunately narrow ramp was the main way up and down from the shelter, but having lived in the mountains for so long, balance wasn't much issue for Sveni.

Life was easy for the ginger man, in his eyes. Each day was spent checking traps, hunting, fishing, gathering, or simply tinkering. He had no one to answer to. Nothing to worry about as long as he was smart.

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

Seanait sat in the corner of that classroom for hours, barely thinking. When she came back to herself, it was dark. Brennigan sat guard at her feet, and when she stirred turned to look at her. She pet him absentmindedly.
She had to leave. That man had seen her tell. She wasn't safe here.
Where would she go? She didn't have a job. All of her IDs would be useless. She couldn't go home. She pulled out her phone and shakily called Niall. It went to voicemail. She hung up, not sure what to say.
She couldn't stay in a city without money. She would have to go someplace rural. She had heard of a branch of the family in Northern Vermont. That would have to do. She would never be able to find a changeling family, but she couldn't think of any other good options, and she couldn't stay in Massachusetts.
For now, though, she was safe. So she curled up and cried.

 

[Silverwings]

Sveni worked the sticks into their position, hammering wooden pegs to use as nails. His chair was finished and Sveni promptly gave a test. It was sturdy enough to use, though, like everything, he would eventually need to make a new one. The man stood, folding up the chair and tying it onto his pack. He figured it would be nice to sit on as he went finishing.

Sveni began his hike, making his way to the river to work for his meal. If he caught enough, he wouldn't need to return. He gathered up his fishing gear, ready to spend the day in the sun again. He sat his new chair firmly in the rocky bank, plopping down in it, "Perfection." He sighed.

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

Seanait made her way through the foot traffic toward the bus station. She kept tripping on things and dodging obstacles she hadn't seen coming. She wasn't used to being short.
She felt Brennigan shift in her bag. She would have to call him something less Irish. Bren, maybe. She couldn't completly change it or he wouldn't answer to it. Brenni? That was cute.
Her phone dinged with a text, and she pulled it out hopefully. It was her friend, asking where she was, school was starting. She didn't answer. She tried to call Niall again, but it didn't work. Maybe he was... no. But she couldn't keep her phone number the same. She went in and changed it. She thought about blocking contacts, but was reluctant to. Soon people would... find her parents, and they'd assume she was... not alive as well.
She reached the bus stop, and pulled out her dad's wallet. She couldn't use his cards without the pin, so she looked for cash. 82$.
"One ticket to Butlington, please," she didn't make eye contact, and tried to make her voice sound a bit deeper. He took all of her fathers money and 12$ of her 46$. She winced. Hopefully, it was worth it. After a short wait, the bus came. She piled in with everyone else and slumped into her seat. A woman sat next to her.
"Hello, what's your name?" the woman asked with a british accent. Her shoulders tensed. Maybe the woman was a british fairy hunter. Act cool, act normal.
"Kennedy."
"Nice to meet you, Kennedy, I'm Ellie."
Ughh, the woman might be worse than a fairy hunter. Chatty. She smiled, politely.
"So where are you going?"
"Littleton," she lied.
"That's in..."
"New Hampshire."
"Cool! I'm headed to Quechee to visit my grandchildren."
Seanait smiled again. From her bag, Brennigan meowed softly.
"What was that?"
"I said 'mm-hm?'"
"Oh, ok. So Riley is the youngest..."
Seanait tuned her out, before realizing that her thoughts were worse and the woman made a good distraction, and which point she put all her effort into focusing on the conversation.
Finally, they reached Burlington and unloaded. She slipped into the crowd and slowly changed into a bored looking young man, hoping her clothes were androgynous enough. The woman caught up to her and she turned. "Oh, sorry, I thought you were someone else."
She nodded at her and turned away, shifting into a middle aged woman and slipping into the bathroom to find another face. She would stick with the name Kennedy, she was bad at names, but she didn't like being so short. She adjust up to 5'6, turned her hair brown again, and realized that she needed new clothes.
She wandered around Burlington until she found the mall (there's only one), and came out 20$ poorer with 2 changes of clothes that could pass for any height within a few inches of hers and most demographics. She wanted to get contacts to change her eye color, but couldn't afford them. She did buy a harness and leash for Brennigan for 8$.
Now what? She could easily walk out of town, Burlington was tiny compared to Boston, but where too? She didn't know of any areas in Vermont that had a large Irish demographic, not that she would be able to find her extended family even if she did. She would have to hitchhike to some random town and run into the mountains there. She pulled out her phone and glanced through some options. Morrisville would work. And if it didn't, she could walk to another "city" called Johnson. They had a college there, maybe she could pretend to be a college student. They would be IDing to get into the cafeteria though, so that wouldn't work. Still, she morphed into a 30ish man and commenced hitchhiking. She said her name was Craig because it was the most Vermont name she could think of, and that she was on her way to a job interview but her truck had broken down (she was fairly certain that was a stereotype but didn't know enough about Vermont to say anything but the most redneck thing she could think of. Wait, was Vermont rednecks or hillbillies?-) "So, what are you applying for, Craig?"
Ahhh think of something manly! "Construction?"
The driver nodded. "Where?"
She had no idea! She'd never been to Vermont before! "Small company, you wouldn't have heard of it," she saw him about to ask for the name anyway and made something up, "uh, Bricks and Mortar." Shoot, what? Just about every house they'd passed had been made of wood! Idiot! Oh, sweet relief. They finally made it to Johnson and he dropped her off outside of a pharmacy. She thanked him and looked around.
This was not a city.
This was barely a town!
Vermont called this big? She looked for a crowd to hide in while she shifted and saw nothing. The sidewalks were empty! Wait, no, they barely had sidewalks!
She had made a mistake...
And needed food. She hid in some trees to shift, then spotted a tick and ran out. Great, now she might have ticks on her. This place was barbaric!
But wait, they had so many trees. And plants, shrubs and ferns and all kinds of things. Maybe she could eat those? No, wait. She didn't know which plants were poisonus. She headed into a grocery store and bought 2 apples and a can of cat food. 12$. She had 6$ left. That was bad. Then she spotted some seeds. That was good. She bought 2 packets of carrot seeds, 1 packet of green bean seeds, 1 packet of cabbage seeds, 1 packet of strawberry seeds, and almost bought a packet of watermelon seeds before she remembered they didn't like to grow out here and bought potatos instead. She didn't really have a plan, she just hoped her green thumb could keep her alive. It probably couldn't. She got out the door and put down Brennigan in his harness. "What do you think?"
"Meow?"
"I agree. We're dead. Let's hope you know how to hunt..."
She walked him into the woods at the edge of the city and glanced around. There! A fairy circle. She carried him in (he was a black cat but not technically a fairy cat. He had even less fairy blood than she did) and pulled out his cat food. They ate together, then she tied his leash to her arm so he couldn't go far and fell asleep.

 

[Silverwings]

As night fell, Sveni found himself cooking a rather bountiful catch for just one man. Four fish, roasting over flames that lit the shelter with a warm glow. He would need to get but bait soon. Sveni decided, in the morning he would hike into the nearest town to purchase baits and other goods. Over the years of selling his furs and leathers, Sveni had a pretty good amount of cash that he could spend. Always cash, never anything else.

As birds signaled the dawn of a new day, Sveni packed up all the things he would need on his trip into town. As he ate last night's catch, he glanced over a map of the area, something that he found in a dumpster on a trip a few months into his lifestyle. Nearest town was Johnson. Sveni noted the direction, packing extra food for the trip before hiking. By the time he would get there, the sun would be halfway to its peak.

As he neared a store, the man heard soft mewing from somewhere just inside the woods. A cat? Lost, probably. But Sveni would help however he could. Taking calculated steps to be as quiet as possible, He found himself at the edge of a fairy circle. A cat lay almost protectively on a sleeping figure, silent now that it had called someone's attention. Sveni kneeled down, gently nudging the sleeping being, "Hello?"

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

Seanait jolted awake and resisted the urge to check her face. She still had the Kennedy face on. She stood up and subtley stepped out of the circle so the man wouldn't notice the barrier (so that neither of them knows that the other is a changeling).
He had said something to her. "Hello?", was it?
"H-hello. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and focused on him. Red hair. Irish? Fairy hunter? A fairy hunter would know what a fairy circle was! If he asked, she had just been sleeping in a clearing. If he asked, why had she been sleeping in the woods? She checked his neck. No shamrock. He might have suspected her and hidden it.
...or he might just have red hair.

 

[Silverwings]

"Your cat seemed to be distressed," He said, standing to face her. What had she been doing there? More importantly, Sveni new that cats, of all creatures, didn't call for help unless it was necessary, "Are you ok? Are you hurt? Do you need help?"

He looked around. Sveni could take her to town, try and find her help there. He racked his brain, thinking of how he might be able to assist, whatever the answer may be.

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

"I... uh..." He might try to take her to town and find her family. She had to have a reason why she couldn't find them. She still looked like a teenager! Dang it, why didn't she disguise herself as an adult? Maybe... amnesia? Ok, it might not be a great plan, but in her defense, she was still half asleep. "I don't remember?"

 

[Silverwings]

Sveni raised a brow at the answer, "You don't remember what brought you out here into the woods? Are you in trouble?" He asked. Maybe she was hiding from someone. He would turn to the woods too, if he were running, "Listen, if you can tell me the truth, I won't tell anybody. I'll try my best to help you. But if you really don't remember, then.. maybe we should get you to a doctor. In case you hit your head."

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

Shoot. Uhhh, story, quick. "I got lost? I don't remember how I got here, is what I meant. I was just looking for a place to grow a garden." Maybe he would know somewhere. Oh! "I thought maybe this clearing was a good option, but I guess I fell asleep." No changeling would ever disturb a fairy circle. If he was a fairy hunter, he would (probably) assume she was just an idiot. Hopefully.

 

[Silverwings]

"Dont you know what that is?" To humans, the superstition about fairy circles were that they transported you to the Fey realm. To smart humans, that was a bad thing, To foolish humans, that was their one way ticket to being owned by anything able to get the one up on you. To the fey?

Sveni shook his head, "Its dangerous out here, you could get hurt. Where do you live? Surely your yard is more suitable than this." Foolish teenagers. He assumed the girl meant to plant something more illegal than vegetables, "Do you need help getting out? I'm heading into town myself; I can walk with you."

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

"I, ah," her story would be that she got really lost. "I'm from Bethlehem. In New Hampshire. Where is this?" That would be too far for him to go. Also, if she remembered correctly, Bethlehem had a large jewish population. That meant not a lot of Irish people.

 

[Silverwings]

Sveni reached into a pocket, pulling his map out to show her, "We're here. And Bethlehem is way off this way." He pointed on the map for her, showing her just how far she'd traveled, "Pretty lost. That's a little too far even for me."

Sveni folded the map back up, putting it away, "Well, you're a good ways away from home. What do you plan to do? Can you call anyone if we found a phone?"

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

"My guardians say technology is of the devil," wait, did catholics have some different word for devil? No, her story was that she was jewish. Oops. "So they don't have phones. And I was homeschooled, so I don't have any school friends." She knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help but slip some truth in there. He wouldn't answer, anyway. "My brother has a phone. But I think he's lost too."
And now her story was in shambles. Great. At least he would never catch on to her being a changeling.

 

[Silverwings]

"So what happened? You don't just run out into the woods because you feel safe," He asked, as he stared at the undergrowthin thought. "And so far from home? Is someone trying to hurt you?"

Sveni didn't know this girl, but if she was in trouble, it really wasn't in his nature to turn away. He'd help however he could. He looked at the stranger, unable to discern if any of the kid's words were lies. It didn't matter. If Sveni was in trouble, he figured his size alone would be a ought to overpower her to get away.

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

"I, uh..."
She couldn't tell him the truth. But with a glance at his clothes, she could tell he knew how to survive in the woods. As long as he wasn't a fairy hunter, he might be able to teach her how to survive.
"The government is after me. To put me in foster care. I thought I could survive in the woods, but I don't think I can. You won't tell anyone, will you?" If he tried to drag her to a government office, she could just give him the slip. He wouldn't expect shifting. If not, she might learn to survive in the wild.

 

[Silverwings]

Sveni raised a brow. The government? After a foster care kid? Sveni thought. Something was off about her story, but Sveni figured it wasn't his place to pry. He sighed, scratching his head. He could teach her to survive. Maybe it wouldn't be awful to have some company. He nodded, "Alright. I have to head into town to get a few things. But sure. I can teach you. But you have to listen to every word I say, ok? It could mean your life."

He nodded toward where the forest began to thin, "C'mon. I gotta get bait," He looked down at her shoes. She'd need good boots if she didn't want to roll an ankle, "And some boots."

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

She straightened up and nodded. Some part of her was... excited? What? No. Not the time. This wasn't exciting.
But she still had a slight bounce in her step as she followed him. The forest seemed strange now, but she could love it. All the new birds and plants. Freedom. Nature. Quiet.
No. She wasn't allowed to be happy. She was running for her life. Her parents were dead. Niall might be. Those thoughts sobered her. She followed him into town, hood up.

 

[Silverwings]

Sveni led the way to the shoe store first, opening the door for his new companion. As they wandered inside, he gave the girl a moment to take in her surroundings before leading the way to the good hiking boots, "Find something that is comfortable and fits. Don't worry about the look, don't worry about the price. The manager here owes me for some business."

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

She nodded and glanced through them. If they fit or not wasn't an issue, she could adjust her feet to fit any size. She looked through and found some barefoot boots with good grips. She subtely changed her foot size, hoping he wouldn't notice the difference.
"Should they be warmer? If not, these will do."

 

[Silverwings]

"You should find something warmer," Sveni suggested, "When winter hits, those won't do much good. But those will be good summer boots, if you like."

 

[Dawn is a Changeling]

She complied, and found something warmer but 2 sizes smaller. She subtly shrank her feet and hid the other pair behind a smaller pair of the same model.
"How about these?"

 

[Silverwings]

"If they fit and they pinch or squeeze or rub anything," Sveni said, nodding to confirm the pair would do. He could always make some moccasins later for her, "Alright, Let me go find John. " The ginger man wandered off, returning shortly with an elderly man, "Can you make it work?"

The greyed man took a look and nodded, "Shouldn't be any issue. Thank you for the lumber, again." Sveni nodded as if to say 'No problem.' He nodded to the girl and followed after John, "So do you have a name? Did I ask that already? Sorry, If I did. I'm bad with names.