Chapter Text
Crimson Dust (changeling form)
- Okay, actually a changeling
- A shape-shifting love vampire
- Never meant to take any love
- Doesn’t realize changelings don’t have to steal love to live
- Doesn’t realize the love he has survived on for his whole life was freely shared with him, even if the people who love him didn’t know he was a changeling or that he needed them to share their love.
- Only found out recently
- Lived under the assumption he was a diamond dog
- Hides the truth for his friends
- He understands there's nothing wrong with being a changeling but worries about what his friends will say when they realize he has been lying to everyone.
- Only discovered his true identity when he left Hermit Valley to travel the mountains alone for an extended period of time.
- No matter how much food and water he consumed, he became weak
- Finally the transformation he held for decades collapsed and revealed his true form.
- Realizing the truth, he was devastated and felt like he was a fraud
- Keeps his secret and is scared of his friends finding out
- Acts like nothing happened after coming back to the Valley
- Admin Void has always known he was a changeling and just assumed Crimson was a very private creature
Mini story:
Crimson cracked his eyes open, only to be met with a dazzling blast of light from the open window. Groaning, Crimson rolled over, digging deeper into his pillows. His head was pounding. Of course, now he knew why, and he wished he didn’t. Knowing that he would never fall back asleep with the skull bashing migraine, he threw off his thick blankets and all but trudged toward the bathroom. He blinked, bleary eyed at his reflection in the mirror. He studied it. His fur was greasy from his recent lack of personal hygiene. There were deep bags under his eyes that made him think of a vampire from the old movies. The realization of that comparison made him visibly cringe. Besides being a bit unkempt since his return, overall, he looked the same as he always remembered. Dark grey fur covered his strong, yet slender frame. Well, slender for a diamond dog he now realizes. He opened his mouth and inspected the large white canine fangs within. Teeth he supposed he didn’t truly need. He looked up to the crimson streak of fur on his head, and his sleek, usually well kept, mustache that has long since been his trademark. He thought back to his other form, or rather his true form. For the most part, this form and his other were remarkably similar. With that thought, Crimson resolve broke, and he sunk to the floor in tears once again. He thought after his time with the yaks, he was past all his pathetic emotions. Sure, he had been living a lie for as long as he could remember, and sure Crimson identity had been completely ripped from him by the cruel claws of fate, and sure, now Crimson was completely unsure of who or what he was as a person. Had he even really been himself? But really, he was being dramatic. Was that really worth all the tears?
But still, Crimson couldn’t help but weep again for what felt like the hundredth time since he came back to the Valley. One look at his friends and all he could think about was how he has deceived them for all these years. Then there was the matter of his headache. The guilt of his deception is the reason he has refused to see his friend since his first day back. Despite his hunger and their pleas, he has stayed locked up in his den. But his time for sulking was running short. He was running out of believable excuses to keep his loved ones away. Today would be the day he rejoined the other hermits, Crimson decided. He could put on a brave face for a couple hours. Besides, he loved his friend so much. He wanted to enjoy his time before he was discovered for the fraud he was. Before they uncovered him as the evil, loving suck vampire he was. He had no doubt that as soon as he was inevitably found out, he’d be run out of town by an angry mob of his ex-friends. So with new found determination, he picked himself off the floor. He dried his eyes. He straightened his tie like a proper gentleman. He took a deep breath. It was time to see his best friends.
Background/Lore:
Crimson Dust has always lived his life as a Diamond Dog. That's all he's ever known himself to be. He knew he was adopted, and he knew he had just shown up one day, found in the woods by his parents. But his memory only goes so far. His parents had told him he was a miracle. His mother and father were a pair of pup-less diamond dogs who desperately wanted to be parents. One day in the middle of winter, they heard crying outside their den. That’s when they found a tiny, cold, and hungry pup. And the rest was history, or so he thought.
Crimson knew he had been an odd child. He was always nervous around other creatures, even other diamond dogs. Diamond dogs are known to be pack creatures who thrived on the rougher side of life, but Crimson had struggled. He was always a bit smaller, always a bit weaker than the other dogs, and never as aggressive. He was clumsy, always tripping over his own paws. However, he had fine motor control that rivaled even the most skillful dog. There were other things too. He didn’t have the same sensitivity the others did to the sun. He always preferred hermit stone over any other gem. He was interested in magic, and science. While most of his peers had cutie marks regarding strength or physical abilities, he learned early on that he was a hermit stone prodigy. Even when he left home to pursue his education, he always had someone or something that cared about him by his side.
It was only when Crimson Dust decided he needed to get away to truly “find himself”, he found himself in ways he never bargained. He left the valley in the summer, much to the sorrow of his friends. He promised he would be back, but he had decided the mountains were calling him. The other residences of the Valley saw him off, as Crimson left to backpack by himself, alone in the treacherous mountains for months. Everything started off so well. Crimson Dust is a capable survivalist despite his posh disposition. However, a couple weeks into his journey of self discovery, Crimson began to feel weak. It wasn’t terribly noticeable at first, but as he continued to trek the mountains alone, Crimson became ill. He started to become pale. He would shake, become dizzy, and nauseous. His headaches became consistent. With every passing day he became weaker and weaker. No matter what medicine he took, or how much food he would eat, his health continued to deteriorate. He tried to make his way back to civilization as fast as he could but soon he was too exhausted to move any further. He tumbled and in a flash of light, his paws became hooves, and he gained pink moth-like wings.
Crimson had no idea what was going on. As it turned out, the diamond dog form he had been carrying for decades, finally fell. A facade he didn’t even know he was putting on crumbled. He no longer had the energy or magic to keep his form. Crimson’s world view was shattered as it was revealed he had been a changeling all along. And with that he passed out.
Not long after, Crimson was stumbled upon by a hunting party from a small village of yaks a bit further down the mountain. He was brought back to the healer of the village, where she nursed him back to health with simple medicine and freely sharing a little bit of love. When Crimson Dust woke, he was disoriented and confused. He was warm and wrapped up in a fluffy blanket. Suddenly, it all came back to him. He shot up from the blanket and stared at his reflection in the large shield hanging from the wall. It wasn’t a nightmare, and he was horrified. He realized that he must have been stealing love from his friends for as long as he had known them. He was guilty and mortified. How would his friends ever trust him again, after he has been lying to everyone for years. Suddenly a large grey yak came in the door. She said some things he couldn't understand. After explaining this, the yak switched languages and tried to explain things in a way Crimson would understand. Her speech was broken and incorrect in places, but Dust was just happy she wasn’t scared of him despite the yak obviously knowing what a changeling was. The two creatures did their best to communicate through the language barrier. In reality, the yak healer was well traveled, and had very little trouble understanding the changeling. However, she didn’t have the words to communicate back but she did her best. She listened to the distraught creature as he explained his circumstances. Understanding his fear and panic she tried to explain that he had not stolen anything, and instead the village had freely shared their love to heal him, however, a lot of what she said was lost. However, Crimson Dust understood that the yak didn’t see him as a threat and he was free to stay as long as he needed to to regain his strength. Crimson stayed in the village for many months, regaining his strength and learning to transform back into his diamond dog form. During this time, the yaks try to convince him in any way they could that he was not a monster, burden, or some kind of love vampire. He was just a creature who needed love like anything else. However, while Crimson would later blame the language barrier, his own self doubt had a large role to play in his misunderstanding of how changelings fed on love.
Finally, the day came for Crimson Dust to leave the village and travel back home to the Valley. He felt confident that he could maintain his diamond dog form, nearly as well as before. He couldn’t thank his new yak friends enough for all they had done. They had treated him like family, and helped him through one of the most confusing times of his life. Crimson would miss them but he missed his family back in Hermit Valley with almost physical pain. He wanted to go back home. After one final goodbye, he promised to be back one day, and with a better understanding of their native tongue. He made his way back home. His return was met with joy and excitement from his friends, but Crimson could muster the same energy. But not that he was back, he was determined to act like everything was normal, and keep everything the same.
Crimson Dust may be back with his friend but he is terrified for the day his friends find out he’s a changeling. He will keep it hidden as long as he can. He feels like he is a fraud and that his friend will be angry when they find out that they have been lied to. Of course his friends will love him no matter what form he takes. He is still Crimson Dust. The clumsy, odd, red-stone loving engineer. Poor Crimson doesn’t understand that the love he has survived on for his whole life was freely shared with him, even if the people who love him didn’t know he is a changeling. It will be up to his friends to convince him of that.