Status

By Al Wilder:

Written: May 20th, XX73

Mourning Beasts

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Recognized in XX65, but reports dating back from as far as XX61, Mourning Beasts are shapeshifters of unknown origin. While centred around New Rersrie, they have been spotted all around the country (and one report from Unitay). These creatures are known for their taste for human flesh, and the lengths they'll go for a meal.

Their ability to shift their faces to match people that would lure their intended meals into a false sense of security is currently their best known tool, although they have been proven to be intelligent enough to steal codes to doors, long range stalk prey, and simply strike without warning with no attempt to mimic loved ones. How they shift is currently unknown, or at least publicly. While some have been captured and killed, no official reports have ever been released.

The recommended course of action to stay safe as these creatures spread more throughout the country, especially if you live in New Rersrie is:

• Stay aware, this creatures have been known to attack regardless of it being day or night, but attacks on the street are far less common then home invasions

• Keep your ID up to date, when unsure its always best to ask for ID. This one is the one the government recommended. I don't know if I necessarily agree with the idea we must always present ID when asked. Still potentially effective if you're not good with faces, but don't rely on the other person to always want to give an ID even if they are human.

• Look out for any 'wrongness', Mourning Beasts aren't always that good at mimicking faces exactly especially if they only got a glance. Some cases have been reported to have even more severely mismatched qualities, like multiple eyes, or holes in the face, ect. As well, eye contact with them has been reported to be uncomfortable, but I can't confirm or deny since that's totally just an average day for me.

• However, DON'T immediately assume anyone with non-typical human features is an imposter. Use this visual judgment on only those you know and always use it as a reason to be cautious rather then as a final judgment. It is very easy to mistake a real human injury, disability, or birth condition for 'wrongness', or be more paranoid due to lack of sleep and other factors, and the legal consequences for attacking or killing another human being remain the same no matter if you thought they were they were a Mourning Beast. (C. Hall: See Carrm v. Vergoossen)

C. Hall: Al, you know I'm the only other one that is going to see this, right?

A. Wilder: I guess so.

I once went to a town, close to New Rersrie. It's basically gone now, not just for the reasons that I had initially interviewed about. Some residents were...strange. And nobody liked when I interviewed them. They seemed scared of me, and protective of them. When I later heard of the slaughter, the 'cleansing' of a pocket of Mourning Beasts harassing the town's folk, I thought back to those strange people and those protective glances.

Was it really a liberation? Most of the human residents of that town left soon after, so maybe it wasn't.

While I don't want to downplay the lives changed and ended by the introduction of this species to the ecosystem, I do have to wonder if they're really all 'evil.' I already don't trust the government as is, and they're the ones pushing the narrative the most. C. Hall: Not to mention their insistence that they're just animals, when they've shown capacity for thinking and speaking.

A. Wilder: It just doesn't add up.