The next day on the caravan was certainly more interesting than the first.

  Neil had decided to dedicate himself to figuring out what I was, to little avail. I could only assume that changelings weren’t in his bestiary, because his guesses were starting to get rather obscure.

  “Brood Mother,” he said with more confidence than was really warranted. “Insectoid monsters that have been known to travel in human form as adolescents whilst searching for a location to nest. Highly dangerous when adult, as they will cause vast ecological damage in the location that they settle. Exterminate on sight. That you?”

  I looked up from the magic theory guide I was leafing through. I had spent a lot of the day trying to figure out how mana and vitae were connected, to little avail. “Nope. Also, I wouldn't tell you. You just said they were exterminate on sight,” I said. I was seriously considering just telling him, but when I offered he rejected. I was pretty sure that changelings weren’t in his bestiary though.

  “Damn, it kinda fit. Can you show me your bug arms again?” He asked.

  “You do know I can change into more than just a person with insect-based arms, right?”

  “Yeah, but those were your go to in a moment of stress. There has to be a connection there I’m not seeing.”

  I didn’t have the heart to tell him they were on my mind because I was researching them recently, so I just shifted my arms and raised them up for him. I shifted them structurally too, because I needed the practice with more complex changes.

  I was actually having a harder time shifting them like that consciously than I had been subconsciously, which was more than a little frustrating. I required a lot more intent for a directed shift than when my body was adapting to external stimuli.

  Still, I had the advantage of having had my arms change like that all on their own, so I wasn’t having too much trouble with it. It still took longer now than it did in the heat of battle, maybe ten seconds in all. It would definitely take longer to do the same thing to another part of my body, but I knew the designs here.

  Neil examined my arms like an archaeologist studying a relic from an unknown time period. I wasn’t entirely sure what he thought he would find by staring at them, but I had decided to let him have his fun a while ago.

  A sudden crash came from the roof of our caravan, which caused me to jump and shift last night’s claws into being out of reflex.

  I guess Cassie’s getting somewhere.

  Cassie had moved onto the roof to practice her magic. Apparently she’d gotten impatient, but she refused to call down lightning whilst inside the caravan. This had lead her to terrifying the local wildlife for practice instead, which definitely wouldn’t annoy the other passengers of the caravan.

  Neil sat up straighter, squinting at me. “You did it again,” he said with a suspicious tone.

  “Did what?” He’d only picked up on about half of my ‘traits’ as he called them, so I was curious what he had spotted.

  “Your eyes. They shift slightly based on the environment. A flash of light from lightning outside, suddenly your irises turn white.”

  Again he was… not correct, but not wrong either. White was just the colour my eyes turned when I was surprised, which was technically caused by my environment. He was just missing a step.

  “Can you turn invisible?” He asked suddenly.

  Can I?

  I drew out a net of mana from my core, weaving it into a similar reflective covering I had used on Neil’s knife. It was definitely not the most mana efficient of my skills, but I had enough practice to adapt a bit on the fly.

  However, when I tried to wrap myself in the covering I quickly ran out of material. I tried to weave more, but I could feel my concentration starting to fray. At best I managed about half my height in each direction, but that was with my imagined weaving completely splayed. I would need more to wrap myself in it.

  “...Not quite. Give me time.”

  Neil just nodded and turned back to the index of his book. I watched as he scanned through the chapters and settled on one near the end of the book. He mutely thrust the book into my hands, so I began to read.

  ‘Doppelgangers

  Doppelgangers are one of the more elusive monsters that exist in urban environments. They are known to take traits from those around them when they are young, eventually solidifying these traits into a selection of ‘outfits’. Whilst young, they can be spotted easily due to their inability to prevent themselves from taking the form of those they come into physical contact with. However, mature doppelgangers are known to have full control over their abilities.

  Despite appearing human and sometimes speaking, Doppelgangers are not sapient. They are capable of mimicking human speech to a remarkable degree, however. Due to the fact that they simply copy, the have been known to say things that are inappropriate in context, although this is far from reliable when it comes to identification.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  Doppelgangers are omnivorous, typically subsisting off small animals and refuse when alone. However they are more than capable of violence if threatened, and due to the psychological difficulties that some develop after encountering them they are labelled as ‘exterminate on discovery’.

  The most reliable method to identify a doppelganger is with processed iron or nickel, as they will be burned on contact much like a vampire will when in contact with silver. Be forewarned that each doppelganger is unique, due to differing environments when juvenile.’

  The description was followed by an artistic depiction of a doppelganger, an uncanny humanoid with four limbs of differing features and an uncomfortably human face.

  When I finished reading Neil had in his hand a medallion. It was the same as the one that he wore on his lapel, only made of iron rather than bronze. It displayed the crossed swords and map of the Adventurer’s Guild.

  “...You want me to touch that.” I said, more statement than question.

  “Yep,” Neil asserted. “Gotta know.”

  Yeah, I’m not doing that. Everyone knows fey can’t touch pure iron. I’ve avoided it so far, and I don’t want to find out what happens if I actually come into contact with it.

  “I feel like I should be offended that you think I’m ‘not sapient’.” I said, trying to lighten the mood.

  Meanwhile I drew more magic into another illusion. I could only really project illusions where I could see, but thankfully the wagon had windows. This illusion was a small sign that said ‘HELP’ on it, hovering in mid air facing the roof of the wagon. I could only hope that Cassie was paying attention.

  “You’re welcome to prove you aren’t one.” Neil said, waggling the badge again. All of his usual cheer was gone now, replaced by focus.

  “I would love to,” I began. I had no idea how to stall for time, however. “Unfortunately I can’t. Not a doppelganger though. Something else. You asked me not to tell you, remember?”

  “I think we’re past that point,” Neil pointed out. He waved the badge again and placed one hand on his sword. It was sheathed, for now.

  Just at that moment Cassie burst through the door of the wagon, wand out. She stopped when she saw Neil holding the badge, but she didn’t put the wand away.

  “What’s going on in here?” She asked.

  “Iron,” I said simply, pointing at the badge. “He wants me to touch iron.”

  “Ah,” Cassie said astutely before turning to Neil. “She can’t do that. She’s a fey.”

  “Cassandra!” I hissed. She just looked at me innocently.

  Neil looked… puzzled. “No she isn’t,” he said, which had me and Cassie confused.

  “I’m pretty sure she is,” Cassie responded. “We had a whole thing about it. She killed a wolf!”

  Yeah, because that’s the important information. Thanks Cass.

  “No, she can’t be. One of my teammates is a wizard. He saw his master summon a fey once, it didn’t look anything like her. It was all… twisty, was the word he used. Like it couldn’t settle on being one thing at once.”

  “Really?” I asked. I was plenty curious about proper fey, given that I was apparently the spawn of one. Unfortunately, there wasn’t too much information about them. At least, there wasn’t too much reliable information. Apparently they could be pretty tricky.

  “Oh yeah. Freaked him out, since he was like twelve at the time.” Neil clarified.

  “Huh, that’s weird. My mum said the one she met was just… kind of a guy. I mean, it sounds like he had a bit of an ‘ethereal timeless beauty’ thing going on, but still. He wasn’t like, geometry or something.”

  Neil seemed a bit surprised. “Your mother met a fey. Who looked a lot like a normal yet beautiful man. And you are also a fey.” He spoke slowly, like he was putting together a puzzle only he could see.

  Suddenly he gasped. “You’re a… whatever they’re called. Like a fey but also not. Half and half. You know what I mean!”

  “A changeling?” I said flatly.

  Neil snapped his fingers. “Yes! You’re one of them, aren’t you?”

  “Yep,” I said simply. The entire exchange had made me more than a little tired, what with the ‘subtle’ threat to my life and all. Combined with a slight lack of sleep caused by out spar last night, I kind of just wanted this whole thing over with at this point.

  Realisation dawned on Neil. “So when I was asking you to touch iron…”

  ‘Asking’. Tch. You had a hand on your sword.

  “We don’t technically know what happens when she touches iron,” Cassie interjected. “We’ve just been avoiding it so far.”

  Neil looked confused again. “But… you have a sword?”

  I lifted my sword from where it sat beside me on the bench. “Steel’s fine. It’s pure iron that gets me. Supposedly, anyway.”

  “Oh,” was all Neil said. We spent the next minute or so in awkward silence. Cassie put away her wand, but sat next to me rather than retreating back on top off the wagon, which was nice. I leaned my head on her shoulder, just for the comfort. I hated awkward silences, especially when I was the cause for them.

  I wasn’t really sure why, but I still felt weird about random people knowing what I was. It was… isolating, I suppose. I was markedly different from everyone else, in a way that was out of my control and beyond changing. It was a little daunting, honestly.

  “Sorry about that,” Neil finally said. “It’s my job to be aware of monsters and the like. So when I thought you might be one that had slipped under my notice…”

  I lifted my head from Cassie’s shoulder, then changed my mind and put it back again. It was surprisingly comfortable. “It’s fine,” I sighed. “Although it would have been nice if you’d asked properly. Instead of, you know, telling me to do something I couldn’t do and then threatening me over it.”

  “You could have just told me the first time I asked,” Neil shot back.

  “You asked me not to! I didn’t know we were going to escalate to threats of violence!” This time I did raise my head. I almost tried to stand in the cramped cabin, but I stopped when I felt Cassie’s hand on my shoulder.

  “Enough, guys. Just leave it be, alright? No one handled this well, but its done now and we can all be friends again. Right?” Cassie interposed.

  I leant back against her, a little embarrassed. “Right. Sorry, Neil. I could have handled that better.”

  Neil looked sheepish, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand. “No, you’re not wrong. I kind of escalated quickly. I’m sorry.”

  Silence reigned for a moment, only to be broken by Cassie. “Right. Everyone’s good again. Neil, would you go and get my book from the roof? I seem to have acquired a limpet.” She waved in my general direction.

  Taking my role as a limpet seriously I refused to move as Neil clambered up to the roof of the wagon. “See?” Cassie asked. “You did it again. I’m gonna cause some serious mayhem at some point, you mark my words.”

  “You do that,” I murmured. It was pretty late in the day at this point, and spending a decent chunk of last night sparring meant I was plenty tired.

  “I will,” she said. “You just wait.”

  I lifted my head to look at her. “Wait, didn’t you scare an entire shady underground in like five hours a couple of days ago?”

  Cassie shrugged. “Sure, but that doesn’t count.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I said so, obviously. Keep up, Lia.”

  I considered arguing back, but decided against it. Her reasoning was flawless, after all.