She didn't mean for it to happen. She had laid down under the shade of a palm tree at an oasis on her journey through Ahza, the grass feeling nice compared to the harsh and hot sand. Anna had drifted off to sleep, being lulled by the cooler air and soft grass.
When she opened her eyes, she was no longer lying down in the grass under the shade. In fact, it didn't seem like she was anywhere. Everything was dark except for her gentle glow. Her tail flickered as she got up, wanting to know where she was. She could hear the crunch of grass as she moved, but it perplexed her. No way could she have fallen asleep for so long that she ended up sleeping into the night, right? The temperature was comfortable, not too cold nor too hot, and even if it was nighttime, she should have seen something. The moon, stars, something in the sky. However, Anna couldn't see nor hear anything.
"Hello, little one." A voice spoke
It sounded feminine and gentle, yet a little dark. Anna felt a shiver run down her spine, her eyes darting around in the darkness trying to look for the source. A sliver of light seemed to emanate from the sky, making its way to the ground below as the clouds in the sky parted away from the moon above. She could see a red glow coming at her at a slow pace and assumed that was the source of the voice. However, once she saw the creature, her fur stood on end. She jumped up and hunched her back, fur standing. Anna growled at the creature as the tiny kittom tried to look bigger than she was.
Before her eyes was an Elnin, looking almost exactly like her. The bigger nin's horns were twisted with long thorns, her original pinkish-red markings looking more blood-red. Her hair was long and wavy, almost curled, and it looked to trail behind her. However, Ana's blood went cold seeing the rest. The grown-up before her had long canines poking out of her upper lip, and her left eye looked like a full moon had blood spilled on it, the light trailing behind her. Her tail looked almost like a typical grove tail, but the tip looked almost like an aze. Anna let out a hiss, seeing the clouds still moving out the moon's way and showing even more of the doppelgangers' form.
The moon above started to turn red, climbing over the surface until the white, bright moon was now stained red. The grown nin spread her bat-like wings, still staring down at the kittom before her.
"Do you know why I'm here?" The grown nin asked with the same gentle voice as before.
"I don't care why you're here!" Anna hissed back in reply.
"I'm sure you do care -" the creature replied, "you already know why."
Anna opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the elnin.
"You already know - I'm you."
"You will never be me!" Anna snapped at her. " I will never be like you, ever!"
Anna was slightly confused when the double chuckled.
"Im your inner self, Anna. Why do you fear me?" She asked.
"Because -" Anna exclaimed "you're a monster! A vampire who will hurt everyone around me! My friends, my family!"
The double seemed to be taken aback by Annas' claim. She stared down at her, walking even closer to the small kittom. Anna knew she couldn't run from this beast, from essentially herself. All she could do it fight. Fight this creature claiming to be her. Flight and make sure this creature couldn't hurt the ones she loves.
"Why would you think that about me?" The creature asked.
"Look at you! You're a monster! those wings don't belong on any type of elnin, that mark is one of the vampires! And look at those teeth!" Anna hissed.
"You have been judged too often. Others have said the same thing to you just as you are now." She spoke softer to the kittom, sorrow dripping from her voice.
"I know! That's why I need to do my best not to - "
"- To what? Live? Be yourself?" The creature interrupted.
It was now Anna's turn to be taken aback by the interruption. Anna never had anyone quite tell her that she had to change, but she figured if she could, others may like her more. She would be less 'creepy' to those around her. She never thought of it, the fact of changing meant she couldn't be herself anymore.
"Please," the creature started " there's nothing to fear. Be who you are, no matter how you look. Even if you look scary, you and I both know you would never change who you truly are. Am I truly a creature of the night? Or mayhaps, I'm just a version of you with the power to help those we love the most in this world. Maybe, just maybe, I'm the version of you who accepted myself for who I am instead of wanting to change for others. You know it's not nice to judge others based on looks, but yet you judge yourself for the very thing?"
Anna stared at the creature in disbelief. She watched as the other self got so close, she could reach out and touch her.
"I'm not your enemy." She stated softly. "I'm just here to show you what you need. That you need to love yourself, no matter what you'll look like. Now and in the future. Just be yourself and live your life however you want. We aren't a monster just for being ourselves." She said in almost a whisper.
The grown nin smiled sweetly down at Anna, and Anna returned with one of her own with tears starting to bead up. She could see the red moon starting to return to normal, big, bright, and now a brilliant white. Quickly the nin used her wings to bring Anna into a hug. Her eyes closed as her face went deep into her soft fur, enjoying the new warm feeling in her chest. Her eyes snapped open and was surprised to see she was still under the shade of the palm tree, the sun setting just over the horizon. She could feel a tear sliding down and a gentle smile growing across her face. Even if it was a dream, Anna would never forget the vampiric nin and the amazing feeling of finally accepting her for herself; no matter how weird or creepy she was.
