Authors: Paulette Miller
Sam said, “Ben has the unique gift of reading people’s thoughts. If you will allow us, we want him to ask you some questions.” He motioned Penny to sit on the couch.
Once she was seated, she watched the skinny young man with messy brown hair approach. Knowing this was her first test, Penny squared her shoulders and, while looking at Ben, said, “Go ahead; ask me anything.”
Ben knelt in front of her and took her hands in his. While staring into her green eyes, he asked her general questions to help her relax, then he began to ask her pointed questions about how she felt about Changelings. After everyone had a chance to add in their questions, Penny looked over at Ice who had remained silent and motionless throughout the discussion and asked, “Are there any questions you would like to ask me?”
Ice stepped forward and said, “I have one question for you. Will you keep our existence a secret from everyone, including your family?”
Although she never kept secrets from her family, she understood that this point was not negotiable, so she replied, “Yes. I’ll keep your secret. And I would die before betraying your trust in me.”
Ben sat silently, scrutinizing Penny’s subtle non-verbal responses. When he seemed satisfied, he gave her a smile, stood, and looked at Sam. He announced, “She’s telling the truth.” He chuckled and added, “I’ve never touched a mind so open and free of hate. It almost tickles.”
Sam sighed in relief at the news and said, “Welcome to our make-shift family.”
Penny beamed.
Susi wanted to learn more about this unique woman and asked, “Penny, were you raised here in Oregon?”
“No. I’m originally from Charlottesville, Virginia and my family still lives there. I’m currently the Assistant Manager at Gone Wild. It’s an outdoor store.”
Sam laughed and said, “Trust me. We know all about that store. Actually we have a storage room located a few hundred feet from the house that’s crammed full with all of the stuff that the twins have bought there.”
Penny laughed and said, “They’re our best customers and the most notorious. They’re the talk of the store for days after one of their shopping sprees.”
Tadd interjected his own knowledge of Penny and said, “Working at the store is only temporary. She really wants to be a painter. You should see what’s she’s done with her bedroom.”
Taylor flipped out his phone and, after finding what he was looking for, he handed it over to Susi, saying “Check this out.”
As the phone was passed around the room, Penny explained, “My life goal is to start my own painting business. I want to create theme rooms for people. Much like what was done with this house, I want to create homes that integrate nature. The pictures Taylor has is of my bedroom. I’m transforming it into a jungle and plan to use it in my advertising as an example of my work.”
Susi gasped as she stared at the face of the tiger. She asked, “You did this?” When Penny nodded, she said, “You’re very talented.”
“It’s my passion, but I need capital to make it my living.”
As Penny explained how she was making the trees to Ben and Sam, Susi noticed Ice watching their visitor intensely. She was shocked to see that the look was curiosity, not anger. “
Interesting
,” she thought to herself.
As they continued to talk, a scruffy looking country dog with bright blue eyes came bounding into the room. The animal stopped in his tracks when he saw a stranger among the group.
Penny’s face lit up as she said, “You didn’t tell me that you have a dog.” She patted her leg and called to the animal, “Come here, Sweetie.”
The dog walked over to the one that called him and she let him sniff her hand. The family watched, knowing that the animal in front of their guest also had a gift of sniffing out those with bad intentions. When his tail began to wag, Penny scratched him behind the ears and said, “I love dogs and this one is a real sweet heart.”
When the dog put his pawns on her lap, she laughed and added, “And a friendly one too.” After he gave her a lick across the face, she kissed his muzzle and said, “I like you too.”
Tadd said, “Ahhh, Penny. There’s something you need to know.”
While continuing to scratch behind the dog’s ears to the animal’s delight, she said, “What’s his name?”
In an instant, Penny jumped and let out a screech as the dog shifted. She found herself staring into the eyes of a naked man squatting at her feet.
The man said, ‘I’m Chad.” Seeing her shocked expression, he quickly added, “I’m sorry I scared you.”
“That’s okay. I should have expected it. The twins shift in front of me to watch me jump. They seem to thoroughly enjoy scaring the hell out of me.”
When she looked over at the twins and gave them a scowl, the twins shrugged their shoulders and Tadd said, “You’re reaction is quite entertaining.”
Penny switched her attention back to Chad. Although in his dog shape he contained many color shades, his Human form was completely neutral. His body was lanky with pale skin, almost white hair, and very light blue eyes. Even to Penny she had to admit that he looked like a blank canvas and almost disappeared into his surroundings.
She asked, “Can you shift into any animal or just dogs?”
“I can shift into any animal that I’ve researched well enough to get their form in my mind. Right now, dogs are my preferred state and I’m getting pretty good at it. I think other animals will come in time. As you can see, I’m not much to look at as a Human. I’m like unbaked dough that has yet to be shaped into anything. I think I was meant to be baked into another form.”
“I like both of your forms, although it would be less distracting if clothes shifted with you.” Although she tried terribly hard to not look at all of his exposed parts, curiosity won over. Her eyes couldn’t help taking a quick peek and then her cheeks turned pink to announce her lack of will power.
Chad gave her a chuckle and said, “Sorry about that. What’s your favorite dog?”
Penny didn’t have to hesitate and replied, “I like them big and cuddly—a massive harlequin Great Dane would be my dog of choice. I saw one once and fell instantly in love. I want a dog that can handle a healthy hug and can also hug back.”
To her extreme pleasure, she watched as Chad shifted into the animal she described. When Chad rested his massive head on her lap, she couldn’t stop herself from scratching his ears. When he leaned closer to her so that his face was inches from hers with a silly dog grin on his face, she couldn’t stop herself from wrapping her arms around its neck. When she realized that she was hugging Chad, she released him and said, “I’m so sorry Chad. I shouldn’t treat you like a dog.”
The massive dog rubbed his head against Penny’s hand asking for more attention. When Penny looked to the group for instruction, Sam explained. “Chad prefers the life of a dog so you can treat him as one while in his shifted form.”
Penny looked into the dog’s large blue eyes and, after contemplating the idea for a moment, she shrugged her shoulders. Showing her acceptance of his chosen form, she gave him another hug and then began to scratch him behind the ears again. Chad rested his head happily on her lap and closed his eyes contentedly.
Chad’s presence made Penny bold so she asked the group with hope in her voice, “Now that you all know about me, would you be willing to share a little bit about yourselves? I have so many questions.”
Everyone instinctively looked over at Ice for permission. Ice groaned and said, “Well we’re already neck deep with this Human, why not go completely under.” He motioned them to proceed.
While staring at the people Penny longed to meet all of her life, she said, “I don’t know where to start.”
Taylor leaned into his brother and said, “Penny, left speechless. That’s a first.”
While Tadd laughed, Ice had to look away to hide his snicker. He was thinking the exact same thing.
Susi came to Penny’s rescue and said, “Sam and I are called Night Walkers.”
Penny found her words and asked, “Are Night Walkers vampires?”
Sam replied, “In a way, but not like in the movies. They did get it right with the pale white skin and that we can only come out at night.”
Penny asked, “Do you burn up in the sun?”
Sam shook his head. “We don’t burst into flames. It’s more of an allergic reaction to sunlight.”
Susi added, “Sunlight really hurts and we’ll get what looks like a nasty sunburn even if we’re out for only a few seconds.”
Ben added his knowledge by saying, “They also don’t turn into bats, they aren’t dead and, although they’re both surprisingly strong for their thin build, they don’t possess superhuman strength. Although my lifespan is the same as any human, Night Walkers can live quite a bit longer than a typical human, but they’re far from immortal.”
Susi said, “The reason they say that we’re the walking dead is because our heartbeat is extremely slow and very hard to pick up.”
Penny asked in return, “Do you drink blood?
Susi answered, “As you can see we do have fangs and, also contrary to the movies, they don’t appear and disappear at will. We can’t hide them so it’s one of many reasons that we can’t conceal our identity.”
Sam added, “Nature gave us fangs for a reason and they serve a valuable purpose. They not only allow us to drink blood from our prey, but they let us do it without mutilating our catch.”
Susi jumped back in and said, “It isn’t the only thing we eat. I love spaghetti and Sam can’t get enough Lasagna. We don’t need to hunt Humans because we have a stockpile of Human blood stored in our cellar. To appease our hunting instincts, we do supplement with animals we catch while out at night. Although we don’t hunt Humans, I want you to know that there isn’t anything quite like the taste of Human blood fresh from the vein. The craving is always there, just under the surface.” She absentmindedly licked her lips.
Fidgeting in her seat, Penny asked cautiously, “Does my presence cause you issues with your thirst? This is your home and I don’t want to cause you discomfort.”
Sam replied, “I’ll be honest with you. We can smell your blood from here and it’s quite pleasant. I have an easier time than Susi in resisting the draw, but you’re not in any danger right now.”
Wanting to distract them from her veins that she knew were pulsing with her accelerated heartbeat, she turned to Ben and said, “I’ve already seen your gifts in action, but I was wondering; can you actually read minds?”
Ben replied, “Depends on the individual. With you, I can actually pick up some words, which I’ve never experienced with someone I just met. Others I can only sense their emotions. The longer I’m with someone the easier it is for me to connect to them. I was very grateful to leave the city and come out here. Feeling so much hate caused me physical pain.”
Penny reached out and put her hand on his arm and said, “I hope that my mind never causes you pain.” When she looked over at Ice, she asked, “What about you? What are your talents?”
He replied flatly, “I hunt.” It was obvious, even to Penny that her door to asking him questions was locked tight.
Taylor leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Don’t take it personal. He never shares anything about himself.”
Looking back at her new friend she said, “There is a question I wanted to ask you. Is it true that your lifespan is shorter than a human’s?”
Taylor nodded and said, “It’s true for any Changeling that shifts into full animal form. The process is very hard on our bodies and, over time, our ability to heal inside from the transformation wears out.”
Seeing Penny’s instant distress, Tadd added, “But my twin and I plan to make every second count.”
To lighten the mood, Sam suggested, “If Penny is still interested, why don’t all of you take her on a quick tour of the house?”
Penny’s face lit up and she replied, “I would love that!” She jumped to her feet and mentally prepared to inventory everything she was going to see.
While Sam and Ice stepped to the side to talk, Penny was escorted around the house. She was surprised to find a large, commercial quality kitchen, dining area that could seat twenty, and a well-stocked library. When they entered an unusual octagonal room located off the living room, Penny asked Susi, “What is this room designed for? “
“It’s my moon room.” Seeing Penny’s confusion, Susi went to the wall and pressed a button. Penny watched as long panels rolled up, unveiling walls and a ceiling of glass. Once the covers were removed, the room filled with the light of the moon.
“It’s beautiful!” Penny exclaimed with awe. She closed her eyes and sighed, letting the moonbeams caress her skin.
“I had the same reaction the first time I came in here.” Susi mirrored her guest’s moves and took a moment to enjoy the night.
As the twins dragged Penny to the next stop on their tour, they passed by a dark stairway that led deeper into a lower level. Penny asked, “What’s down there?”
Ben answered, “Ice’s apartment. He likes his privacy so we don’t go down there. It has a separate exit so that he can come and go as he pleases. Most of the time we don’t know if he’s here or not.”
Penny leaned over the steps to see if she could see into the darkness. Given how pleasant those she met were, she didn’t understand why Ice kept himself so segregated. Although she wasn’t able to see what Ice called home, she hoped that someday she might get the opportunity.