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[The Ice Fae frowned when he noticed the dog. A misplaced human pet? Typical.]

Hello. Have you lost your human?

[In life, he was a dog person. In unlife...old habits does hard, it seemed. Nathanos had noticed the stray and it seemed friendly enough. Odd. Dogs usually barked at the Forsaken. They didn’t smell like they should be walking around...but then again, he was not a typical Forsaken.]

Lost your way?

[The synthetic noticed the dog...but no human.]

Hey...does this dog belong to any skinbag around here?

[There's no human, nope. In fact, Jake is a human in dog form--not that he's going to tell the ~~alien~~ Ice Fae that.

Just pretending to be a stray golden retriever that cannot talk as he approaches, and putting that amazing dog nose to use. Got any food, kind stranger?]

[Following the dog nose for scents of food and--whoooa, that guy smells like walking death! And no, there's no need to bark. The human part of the brain decides against the notion.

Jake is lost, but not in the way Nathanos would think. If he hadn't decided to go with that one mission with his friends to foil the enemies' plans around nuclear explosives, then that really scary and bizarre incident of being far from family, friends, and home wouldn't have happened...

The shape-shifting adolescent needs food to survive, and so he chose to mooch off of others for food as a friendly stray. Geez, what kind of world is this?]

[Technically, he's a human who transformed into a dog, but SHHHH! Letting the strange being know this would ruin his plan of an easy means of getting food.

Sniff, sniff, sniff; the dog nose picks up on the metallic smells. That's interesting, but what would even be more so if there's anything good and edible that could be spared.]

[Nathanos knelt down and offered his hand to let the beast scent him. It had worked for his hunting dogs when he was alive and even for his blighthounds now, even though it was largely unnecessarily. With his free hand,he fumbled around in his side pouch for the bit of jerky he had there. While he himself did not eat, he often traveled with the living who did. Keeping something on kept them from bellyaching about how hungry they were. He'd rather give it to a dog, to be honest. He offered his small stash to the stray.]

It isn't much, but you're welcome to it.

Tch. Friendly Fella.

[The synthetic chuckled metallicaly and reached out a metal, skeletal hand to scratch the dog behind its ears. Dogs like that, right?]

[Silky, clean coat...no mats or burrs in it...clearly this dog belongs to someone...or is recently lost. The fae reached into the pocket of the fishing satchel he had and offered a freshly caught trout.]

Here. I hope this can hold you over until we find who you belong with.

[The Fae found him before he'd find a patch of dirt, or mud to roll over in. Sigh...

A trout? Well, alright. After starting a fire, and cooking the fish, it should be edible enough. It's Jake the human that needs to eat. Unfortunately he cannot feed his original human form as a dog. The morphing alien biotech doesn't work that way, for some reason. He wouldn't know if he were asked about this.

Jake opened the dog muzzle to receive the fish before he took off running. Thanks a lot, sir! He'll repay you back for the favor somehow!

He'll find some dense forest or something, so Jake would be unseen as he'd demorph.]

[Oh yeah. The dog nose picked up the scents of the other dogs.

The beef jerky would carry the stench of death, but maybe once Jake morphed back to human, and washed it some...

Jake opened his dog muzzle and took the jerky right out of Nathanos' hand. Then, he turned around and started to bail. Sorry he couldn't stay, but the fact that he's not really a dog needed to stay a secret. Right now, Jake wouldn't be sure if his evil, parasitic alien enemies would be in this world or not.

He won't forget Nathanos, and repay him someway, somehow.]

[Jake allowed the for the ear scratches. The dog part of his mind liked it, in which influenced Jake to lean his head towards where the metal hand was.

No, wait. Focus, Jake. You have to find food, remember?

Food? Oh yes! The dog mind wouldn't mind having a scrap or a bite to snack on.]

[Nathanos paused for a moment before following the dog. He was rather light on his feet for someone as sturdy as he looked. It was all the in the ranger training he had received in life. It carried over even after death, it seemed. He had time to spare before his next report. He could follow this dog for a bit...make sure it was alright. It seemed even in death, he could not shake traces of his humanity. He supposed there were worse things he could be doing with his time than following a strange dog through the woods.]

Sorry, Mutt. I don't have any food. I don't eat.

[He scratched some more.]

But hey, I'm sure one of my fellow Legends probably has something.

[Jake ran off further, and straight into the woods as fast as those dog legs could go. He was sure he'd past way over a dozen trees, before going through some bushes.

From there, Jake had slowed to a stop. Yeah, he had to stop. The dog body wasn't built like the wolf, in which had more endurance and stamina for running to longer distances...

He opened his dog muzzle and dropped the beef jerky by the base of a thick tree, where he could see it easy enough after demorphing to human.

Jake didn't suspect anyone to have followed or come over to watch. For a moment, he pictured his six foot tall and thin frame, his short brown hair, his eyes and the rest of his face...

The first of the random changes were those thick, dull, and dark dog nails sinking into those paws. It didn't even hurt as more subtle changes had began to occur.

Jake was concentrating heavily, so he wouldn't have noticed anyone watching, and possibly thinking that something was very unusual about this stray dog...]

[The dog part of him was relaxed upon receiving the light scratches. Jake let the big dopey dog grin show towards this being, complete with the tongue lolling out.

No, he couldn't be associated with any Controllers. The Yeerks always suspected animals to be the Andalite alien species in disguise. They'd take out their Dracon Beams and open fire at them.

Jake looked up, and tilted the dog head in curiosity and confusion towards the android. Legends? What did he mean by that?]

[Nathanos paused when the dog did and he hung back, watching. What he saw caught him momentarily off guard. He had not picked up any magic on the dog at all...and yet here it seemed to be changing shape. A Druid, perhaps? Or something else? It was new to him, whatever it was. The best thing he could do was wait and watch.

Slowly, he began to reach for the bow on his back.]

[Jake was midway between the demorphing process as the golden retriever body was starting to become more of a human shape overtime.

The changes looked more disturbing. Most would be freaking out and grossed out at this sight.

By no means was this shape-shifting possible through magic. Jake was given the morphing biotechnology as a gift from a dying alien that had come a long way to warn him and his friends at his world about a dangerous alien enemy that operated in secret, infiltrating and gradually enslaving the human race...]

[The simulacrum nodded his head to the left.]

Come on. We'll go see if any of them have anything to spare. Or that I can liberate for you. I'm sure we'll pull it off. Humans are weak for dogs.

[And apparently synthetics, too...not that he would ever admit it.]

[Hey, that sounded like a pretty good idea to Jake. Lead the way, and he will follow.

Of course, many humans love dogs. Jake wondered if this android being would get along fine with the dog-like androids--the Chee. He already somewhat believed that was a possibility.]

Edited 2021-03-20 03:31 (UTC)

[Nathanos was no stranger to the more grotesque things of the world. Before the Dark Lady had repaired his body, he had felt his own flesh rotting off his bones. Watching a dog melt into a human form is not the strangest thing he'd ever seen. It was certainly very different from the shifting he had seen Druids do before.

The Forsaken reached back to his quiver and pulled out and arrow. Carefully, he fitted it into the bow. He did not pull the string back. He wasn't about to ready fire one someone in the middle of a transformation. In his eyes, it was equivalent to shooting someone in the bathroom. He was decent enough not to do that.]

[In just a few more moments, the transformation from adult golden retriever to a tall teenaged human was complete.

Jake was standing up straight, and unaware that someone was about to aim an arrow at him as he walked over to pick up the piece of jerky.

It wouldn't be exactly a pleasant stroll, walking through the forest without any shoes on, but he'd endure it to find a stream or river to try to wash at least some of the bad smell on it.

Carrying the jerky in one hand, he started to walk away in search of clean water.]

[It was then that Nathanos pulled the bowstring back on his bow and it made an audible creek.]

Hold it right there.

Remarkable, really..I couldn't pick up an ounce of magic on you. I thought you really were a dog. So it seems you are human then...but a human what? Druid? Alchemist? Alliance spy?

[He stepped forward, his aim still held true, though he made no move to loose his arrow.]

[Oh, shit. Yeah, he immediately recognized who was talking. He FOLLOWED Jake all the way out here?!

At least this guy didn't have a Yeerk in him. Easy, Big Jake. Calm down...

His back was turned on the undead guy. If he wanted to stay alive, make it back home, and keep his true identity safe, then Jake had little choice. He would have to tell the truth.]

I'm someone who can turn into any animal I touch. And, no, it's not magic. It's, um, advanced alien technology.

[Alliance spy?]

And I don't know what alliance it is you're talking about. I've been on my own.

[When Nathanos got close enough to see that Jake was a boy, he eased his grip on the arrow, though he did not return it to his quiver. He nodded, listening to the explanation.

So this...this was technology, not magic...but it was radically advanced...even the gnomes had nothing like it. The Draenei, perhaps? Refugees from another world?

Regardless, Humans were an Alliance race, as were the Draenei. Perhaps they had indeed had a hand in this?

He gave a soft chuckle.]

What Alliance? The only Alliance. Have you forgotten, boy?

[Nathanos gave a sigh.]

You must have. Why else would you be this far into Horde territory on your own?

[Jake, very slowly, turned to face Nathanos. So far, going the gradual but totally honest route was sparing the undead from shooting an arrow through his head.]

I really wouldn't know why I'm here. I'm not from this world, either...

I don't really know any humans around here. [A pause, as he gave the undead man a grim look.] I can't really trust most of them, anyway. The enemies I'm more familiar with... They take over human minds and bodies.

[Jake quietly sighs.] It's somewhat complicated.

[ V is heading back to her car when she spots the dog. A dog roaming the streets of Night City isn't exactly a common site anymore, and this dog has her attention. He has to belong to someone, so she placed her gear in the trunk of her car and she shifted around for food. Dogs like synthetic meat, right? ]

Here we go. Nothing beats a nice warm tube of Meat Delight.

[ She grabs the pink tube with a pig's head for a lid, and she heads towards him. [ ]

Hey there are you hungry? [ She kneels down, and twists the lid off the tube and shows the brightly colored food container in the direction of the dog. ] This stuff smells and tastes pretty damn good.

[Dogs took a liking to any kind of meat that would be available.

To Jake, even the name of the food was promising.

He moved the long thin tongue to lick the furry dog muzzle. The tail started to wag.

As soon as the woman showed the tube with the meat scents, Jake grabbed around the top of the open container with his mouth, pulled away, and started to run off back the way he came.

It was time to bail! He'd have to demorph to his original human shape, for it was his human body that actually needed to be fed. Unfortunately, he couldn't just eat while in morph. The morphing technology didn't work that way.

Some of the food probably spilled out as Jake ran, but that was okay. As long as there would be enough by the time he got away, and changed back to human form.]

[ V frowns when the dog takes the food and run. She just knows that someone's lost dog will result in a nice reward. Only the very well to do are known to keep pets, ecological disasters, and then the more recent pandemics that wiped most of them out or became exceptionally rare. And V isn't about to let the dog wander away, so she takes off running after him. ]

I'm not going to hurt you; I just want to find your owner. You got a home right? [ She calls out, and she feels silly, but if it is a cybernetic dog he might respond. ]

[The fae watched to dog go. It made sense that it would run off. It did not know him, after all. He'd keep an eye out for it...and any humans who might turn up on his mountain. He had a feeling there would be.]

[Nathanos scoffed.]

Of course. I should not be surprised. It seems like every day some new portal is opening and some new fresh horror comes spilling out. As if Azeroth did not have enough problems already. That's where you are, you know?

Sounds like it.

How are they able to do that?

That...sounds really scary. Have there been random weird portals opening up everywhere here?

[Slowly, Jake starts to describe what the Yeerks are like.]

In their natural state, they look like harmless, and helpless slugs. But after they crawl in through the ear canal, they flatten themselves over the brain--like a living blanket.

Once that happens, you wouldn't at all be in control of yourself anymore.

[Crap. No, she should not follow. Definitely not. Jake has big important secrets that need to be kept. It's for both of their safety.

Maybe someday, V will understand.

The dog ears are very good at picking up V's calls. However, Jake just keeps on running. He attempts a zig zag in between buildings and alleyways in hopes to throw her off pursuit.]

[ V has no idea what she got herself into. And she keeps on running after Jake, her cybernetic legs don't ache and she is able to follow without loosing her breath or aching muscles. But she still can't catch up with the much faster dog. ]

Com'on. I got more food! [ Dogs do have bottomless pits of a stomach right? V hopes so, as she leaps clear over a dumpster and lands on her feet while she keeps chasing. ]

You have to have someone who's missing you.

[Nathanos shrugged.]

For the last twenty years or so, they are a bit more frequent...though Azeroth has a history of portals opening up going back thousands of years.

Curious. They sound perfectly wretched.

[Damn! She's still on his tail? Jake doesn't need to look behind him. The dog's hearing is pretty good.

God, just give it a break, lady! Jake would have to demorph soon. Think, think! Would he have to use a little intimidation? He might, to keep them both safe.

Thing is, with his enemies--they are parasitic. They take over the minds and bodies of other humans. Jake and his friends back home have been way outnumbed. Usually, there's no way to tell who is Yeerk infested or not until it's too late.

After running a short while more, Jake stops, and lowers his muzzle to set the can of meat down. The idea he has is a crazy, and possibly dangerous one. Still, it should work out okay. Hopefully...]

Have people in Azeroth been used to anyone from other worlds, finding their way in by accident?

[That would be what has happened in his situation.]

Is there a way back?

[Jake sighed.] Yeah. I'd say they're as evil as evil could get... They tricked my older brother into becoming a host.

The Yeerk in his head would know all his secrets, memories, and how he thinks. My parents don't know what my friends and I have known.