[hr][hr][hr] [center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjEwNi5jNGNlMGMuVkdobElFaHZiR3h2ZHcsLC4w/apayah-loe.regular.webp[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/oioHH5Q.png[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/iHyDoWc.png[/img][/center] [hr][hr][hr] The doppelganger's eyes glinted as Vin, who was now in the form of a tiger, burst through the door and it laughed before a guttural snarl filled the room and echoed out into the surrounding neighborhood. The room shook with the roar's force, and snow began to tumble down from the rooftops above. The thing that wore David’s face grinned wider than any human jaw should stretch, its cheeks tearing grotesquely at the corners. “You should know better than to get between a predator,” the false David’s arm twisted and contorted, bones snapping audibly as it extended outward like a whip with fingers splintering into barbed, writhing tendrils, “and its prey.” The doppelganger shot the tendrils into David’s chest. It easily pierced through his clothes and deep into the man's chest, and he could only gasp in horror before his head went limp, his skin drew taught, and his body was sucked away until only the clothes remained on the chair which he was formerly tied to. The David that the Lower Districts knew and loved was gone. Killed by a monster whose eyes were locked on its next victim. Before Vin could act, the doppelganger’s body rippled and shifted. Its torso split open, revealing a grotesque maw lined with jagged, interlocking teeth. David's false face was still attached to what was once the neck, but it grew limp. Its eyes rolled back, with only the whites visible. Yet Vin could see that the eyes were shifting as if it was looking through the wall until they lined up with where Palmona would be behind it. The doppelganger laughed as it sniffed the air. Its laughter was a rasping, inhuman sound that seemed to carry a chill with it that cut through to the bone. Both Paloma and Vin would feel like the air inside the building dropped several degrees at once. The doppelganger’s other arm elongated in an instant, twisting and turning and filling the air with the sounds of bones snapping and muscles ripping until the end of the arm resembled a spear-like appendage that pointed towards Paloma through the wall. “Ahhhh the sweet naivety of a newborn. Tell me, apparition, have you experienced the death of a host yet?” “Vin what the fuck is that,” Malik asked as he flipped the safety on his now unholstered pistol. An orange glow began to emanate outward from the weapon. “We can take it,” Caleb responded as a spear of fire erupted from his left hand and a shield of ice from his right. “Only one way to find out,” the doppelganger teased as its eyes shifted back towards Vin. A moment of silence fell over the room before the monster unleashed its first strike, thrusting the spear towards the wall and aimed at Paloma. [hr][hr][hr] [center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjEwNi4xOWRkZDkuUld4aGNtRWdWM0psYmcuMA/half-awake-trial.regular.webp[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/IDMmues.png[/img][/center] [hr][hr][hr] The brick hurtled through the air, slamming into the doppelganger’s head with a crack. Its skull dented inward, but instead of crumpling, the impact sent a ripple across its face like a stone tossed into a pond. The doppelganger’s head elongated grotesquely, its neck stretching like melted wax as it absorbed the force, then it snapped back into shape with a sickening pop. The creature cracked its neck left, then right, and then it settled its eyes on Bryn and licked its lips with an unfathomably long tongue that was as long as the neck was tall. [color=CD853F]“Now that wasn’t very ladylike, Bryn, what would your mother think of what you have become,”[/color] The doppelganger chuckled as its shoulders twisted and contorted before there was a [i]pop[/i] that filled the air as both arms pulled themselves out of the socket. Each arm was lengthened until they were both twice the length they were previously, and as it finished the exegeting spell they split right down the middle, muscle sinew and black blood visible as they pulled apart. Soon, Bill was a four-armed monstrosity with incredible reach and its head turned towards Bryn once more. [color=CD853F]“Does it ever hurt knowing you are the failure of your family?[/color] Elara took a step back as she watched the transformation unfold before her. Her mouth was agape, and she nearly stumbled as she took another step further. She had never seen anything quite like this before. Never before has a creature that matched this description haunted her town, and she did not remember if the Elders ever warned the Grove about them. Most importantly, she did not know how to kill it. She summoned the lightning arrow into her free hand, notched the arrow, and let it loose in one quick movement. The arrow impacted less than a second later. As it hit, blue streaks of electricity arched across the flesh of the doppelganger as it tore a path through the chest of the creature. The creature did not react as the lightning buried a deep hole, instead, it simply opened its mouth revealing two rows of teeth that arched with lightning. It sent two fists out and struck Elara in the chest, sending her flying through the window behind her, and the remaining two fists struck out at Varnan and Bryn, each one arcing with lightning. Elara was sent flying through the window of the tattoo parlor and landed in the street, rolling to a stop after a few seconds. She felt a rib crack as she hit the asphalt of the road, and she groaned as she rolled over to her side. Elara took a deep breath and pushed herself to her feet. She looked down the road both ways and saw that no one was walking the road this early in the morning. She notched another lightning arrow and looked towards the monster, her eyes narrowing as she did, and fired another arrow through the broken window before she charged back inside. [hr][hr][hr] [center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/b3RmLjEwNi5iNzE5ZGQuUm5KbGVXRWdRMjlzYkdsdWN3LCwuMA,,/cavatine-demo.regular.webp[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/Ch1u8vW.png[/img][/center] [hr][hr][hr] Freya was in over her head. The morning rush was relentless, and without Varnan’s help, she was practically spinning in circles trying to keep up. She turned to the next customer and found herself face-to-face with a man who seemed out of place among the regulars. Impeccably dressed in a crisp suit, he stood there with a smile that was polite but a touch... too much. It crossed from ear to ear. Freya knew her bakery was popular but not that popular. She remembered that he was smiling like that while waiting in the line outside. Something seemed off about James today. [color=9370D8]“Good morning! What can I get for you?”[/color] Freya asked, pushing through her exhaustion with her best customer-service smile. While her face showed a smile her eyes screamed ‘kill me now’. The man’s eyes, dark and unblinking, stayed fixed on her. “Freya, isn't it? I must say, your bakery is... quite the operation,” Jaes said, his tone almost too smooth, as if he were reciting lines he’d rehearsed all morning before coming out. “Uh, thanks,” Freya replied, her hands not stopping as she filled a coffee for herself. Freya knew he knew her name, she found it strange that he clarified names. [color=9370D8]“What’cha ordering today, James? If you’re looking for a chat and you’re not ordering anything, I’m kind of busy here.”[/color] James had asked her out three times already and had made it an uncomfortable habit to visit in the mornings to chat. She wondered if he thought he had a chance still. James tilted his head, still watching her with that uncomfortably steady gaze. “Oh, I’m just... observing. You seem quite... flustered today. But I suppose that’s only natural when your staff is short-handed. Varnan, yes? Where is [i]he[/i] right now? Something tells me he is very busy.” The way his grin grew suggested he may know something about what Varnan was up to. Freya’s hands paused for a fraction of a second. [color=9370D8]“Yeah, he’s out on PTO. But I am getting by without him. I started this shop by myself so I can be by myself.”[/color] “Getting by,” James repeated, rolling the words slowly like he was savoring them. “You seem to carry a lot on those shoulders of yours. It must be... exhausting, running everything on your own.” James leaned forward, chest pressing over the counter. Freya couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something off about James today. He was being much more forward with his advances today. Freya tossed him a side-eye as she grabbed another breakfast sandwich for the customer that came before. [color=9370D8]“Part of the job James,”[/color] she said briskly, hoping he’d take the hint and move along. She looked around the shop to see if anyone was watching the man, just in case. But James lingered, leaning in just a bit closer, his voice dropping to a soft murmur. “I wonder... what keeps you going? Day after day, the same routine. The same faces. Don’t you ever... wish for a change?” Freya narrowed her eyes, forcing a chuckle that came out more tense than she intended. What the fuck was wrong with James today? [color=9370D8]“I like what I do, thanks,” she said firmly. “But seriously, I’ve got a line here.”[/color] James’s smile twitched, his eyes gleaming with some emption that Freya had trouble picking up. “Of course,” he said, stepping back. “But do think about it, won’t you? Change has a way of sneaking up when you least expect it.” With that, he turned and walked out, his movements unnervingly smooth. Freya watched him go, a chill running down her spine that had nothing to do with the cold air seeping in through the open door. She shifted her eyes to the next person in line and took a deep breath as they seemed like they were not going to make her morning any worse than normal. "I would like two buttered croissants, please.” [color=9370D8]“Two buttered croissants coming up,”[/color] Freya grinned as she moved to grab the food, [color=9370D8]“thank you for saving me by the way,”[/color] Freya paused as she used her eyes to motion towards the door, [color=9370D8]“can I get a name for the order?”[/color]