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[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

I think that "dreams" are the metaphor we're using...

In my dreams last night, there was a creature who disguised itself as a dear friend, and who used his stolen face to brutally injure another friend of mine. Is this a common theme? How does one know if they are faced with friend or foe? Other than the teeth.

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[neverreallyfit.livejournal.com]

I've seen something like that before. Not here, but if it's the same kind, there are ways to tell them apart. It just isn't all that easy.

[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

Can you tell me?

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[neverreallyfit.livejournal.com]

If it were a different kind of shapeshifter, this might not be any use. I wouldn't count on it if you have the same nightmare again.

I'd watch the eyes. They're like an animal's - they reflect glare. Hard to spot if you don't have a video feed, but it's better than nothing.

The ones I know of tend to give themselves away. They're good mimics, but they don't know how to actually be the people they pretend to be. They forget the little details. If you watch for mistakes, you might be able to catch them. You can't count on passwords or shared experiences, though. They can read the memories of the people they mimic.

There aren't any dogs here, are there? Like I said, it's not much.

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[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

So you reckon it was a shapeshifter? That's...interesting. I'm a shapeshifter too, but it wasn't like any that I've ever dealt with...

I'm not sure what "video feed" is, but do you think that it would just reflect a normal light? Like a...uh..."flashlight"? Because that really might be something to look into...

I'll definitely keep that in mind. There was something about him last night that I couldn't quite place, something that wasn't entirely Mero. Maybe that's what you're talking about! I'm not sure about the "memory reading" thing, though. Mero isn't here. If anything, it was almost as if it was reading Valyn's memories...

Thank you for the information!

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[neverreallyfit.livejournal.com]

You are? How

It...sounds like one. There was a case I'm familiar with, where one mimicked people's shapes in order to get close to their friends or family to harm them. It seemed to enjoy it. I could be sure if I was able to get my hands on security tapes, or find wherever it's been hiding while not attacking people.

A flashlight would be worth trying. I can't promise it would work, but it should. I've only ever seen the effect on film; the ones I've run into gave themselves away before it got to that point.

Do you know if your friend's ever been here?

There are a few other things I've heard of that can appear to be something other than what they really are, but I don't know enough about the situation to know if any of those would be any more likely.

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[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

Thousands of years ago, my people were constantly being hunted. They evolved the ability to shift to survive. Even though we're no longer in any danger, we can still change shapes. It's pretty fun, actually.

Maybe it is, then. I'd be happy to talk to you about it in person, if you think it would help. I killed the one last night, but it looks like there are several roaming the halls.

I'll have to try that, thanks.

No, I don't. But...I'm new here. This is only my second day.

Ah, all right. Thank you again. This is really helpful.

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[neverreallyfit.livejournal.com]

If they are shapeshifters, getting an accurate number might be hard. Have any been seen since you killed the one?

Talking in person might help. If nothing else, the more we all know, the better off we'll be here.

It seems like there are a lot of us who've only been here for a day or two.

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[adorkabledragon.livejournal.com]

Not that I know of.

Yes, that seems like a good idea. Would you like to meet at lunch?

Apparently so.