"I really hope that Kennedy guy leaves soon," Jacob mumbled to himself as he walked through the woods on the way to Eve's cave. While he wasn't anywhere close to running out of games at his house, he was running out of small, easy to transport games he knew well enough to teach Eve with no trouble.

Sometimes Jacob thought the only thing his father liked to collect more than table games, was big, complicated table games. It wasn't that they weren't fun, but he liked being able to finish a game the day they started it.

"I hope she likes this one," he mumbled as he reached the cliff. He reached out and touched the cliff wall, a small habit he had formed recently. He ran his hand across the rock as he neared the cave.

"Morning," he greeted as he pushed aside the bushes. He unhooked his bag and held it in one hand, then grabbed the curtain separating the cave from the outside world. "I got another new one today, plus some…"

His fingers went slack and his bag hit the floor.

Eve was gone, but the cave was not empty. In her place was a cocoon-like structure made from smooth black stone which filled up most of the cave. It was balanced on top of the blanket-covered crate which served as Eve's bed.

"Snacks," he half mumbled as he rushed into the cave and knelt next to the cocoon.

"Eve, can you hear me?" he asked as he lightly touched the cocoon. It was warm, like a stone left out on a hot day. The same warmth he felt whenever he touched Eve's skin.

Even if she couldn't react or even hear him, she was alive.

"Now the only question is… what now?" he asked himself he sat with his back to the cocoon. "I guess this does make it easier to hide you."

He clenched his fist open and closed as he glanced up at the ceiling.

"You know, things tend to change when they go into cocoons. I wonder what you'll come out as," he felt the warmth on his back. He snickered as a thought crossed his mind. "Maybe you'll turn into a big old butterfly. Giant wings and everything. I heard flying is cool, so you have that going for you. Give me a ride some time?"

The cocoon gave no answer, as expected. He wracked his brain for something else to say. While he didn't know if Eve could hear him, he didn't know if she couldn't either.

"So my parents were talking the other day, and there's a chance we'll head back to North Palm for the holidays," he brought up. "Maybe if you come out of there looking a bit less noticeable, I can sneak you with me."

The idea of bringing Eve along on the trip brought a smile to his face. He let himself relax as he started telling her about the city he called home. All of the things she would want to see, and all the things he wanted to show her. If it crossed his mind, he talked about it.

By the time Jacob noticed how much time had passed, it was already dark out. He checked his phone and let out a frustrated sigh.

"This is going to have to be it for now," he said as he got to his feet. He patted the cocoon one last time before heading out of the cave. "I'll be back tomorrow."

He glanced back at the cocoon one more time before reaching into his bag and taking out a pen and paper. He wrote down a quick explanation for Eve in case she came out of the stone cocoon at some point during the night. With that done, he smiled to himself and stepped out of the cave.

It was a shame he'd left at that very moment. If he had waited just a few more seconds, he would have noticed the cocoon slightly moving.

When he arrived back at his house, the first thing which caught his eye was an unfamiliar car parked outside of it. He glanced over to it, and took note of the license plate marking the car as being from D.C.

The other thing he noted was what kind of car it was. It was an otherwise plain black van, like the kind government agents tended to use in movies.

He walked past it, getting ready to see a particular man from DOSP when he opened the door.

"So if anything happens…" Agent Kennedy said as Jacob's mother nodded with a piece of paper in her hand.

"Call you, got it," she said before noticing him at the door. "Oh, Jacob. This is…"

"Agent Richter Kennedy of DOSP," he finished for her as he stuck his hand out to shake the agent's. "Good to see you again."

"Oh, hey, kid," he took Jacob's hand. "Seen anything weird around town?"

"Not a thing," he told him before letting go. "What are you doing over here?"

"Still looking for that escaped animal," he explained with a cheerful smile. "They're having all of the agents go door to door to get the official word out and see if anyone's seen anything."

"Wait, you guys are just doing now?" he asked, something feeling off about the whole situation. "Shouldn't that have been like, the first thing you guys did?"

"It's… complicated," he explained with a hesitant look on his face. "I can't say much about it, but you can rest assured we're doing our best to get the job done."

Jacob gave the agent an unconvinced look as he went out the door.

"Looks like we moved in at an interesting time, huh?" his mother asked, looking more like she was trying to convince herself then her son.

"Looks like it. What time's Dad getting home?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Oh, he should be home any minute now," she answered before turning back and looking out the glass door to the backyard. "I never did think about the woods right behind the house. I guess that one's on us."

"Us?" He asked jokingly, knowing full well his mother wasn't including him in that statement. She rolled her eyes, the tense atmosphere clearing away.

The rest of the day went pretty normally for all involved. Well, with the exception of a quick talk with Jacob's father about the government agent who had been over earlier. But other than that it was a normal day.

The next day Jacob made his way through the woods to check on Eve. When he pulled back the curtain, she was still in the cocoon. No change he could see.

He shrugged, sat next to the cocoon, and started talking. He chose to talk about his friends this time, and how he had ended up meeting them.

When he went home, he noticed the few people he saw on the street looking… tense. It was nothing dramatic, but they seemed to be walking just a bit quicker. One guy jumped at the sound of a tree branch breaking under Jacob's foot.

He went back the next day to Eve's cave, and saw the cocoon again. Once again he set his bag down and sat with his back against the cocoon. He started talking, about some of his family this time, when he felt the cocoon start to move. His eyes flew open as he jumped to his feet and dashed to the edge of the cave. He watched the seemingly still cocoon before he noticed it.

It was subtle, but every ten seconds, the cocoon would move. It was just a little shake, but it was there.

He'd been expecting this would be it, but when he left later that night, the cocoon was still pulsing every ten seconds and still just making a tiny shake.

Stolen novel; please report.

The same pattern held true for the next few days. The time between the pulses shortened by a few seconds, and the shakes got ever so more notable, but it still felt the same. The only noticeable change was on the fourth day. A tiny glowing orange dot started appearing on the cocoon whenever it pulsed.

The only other change he had noticed over the days was in the town itself. No one was saying anything, but you could feel the air in the town change. It was like a spring, squished flat and ready to burst open the second the pressure let up. He saw Agent Kennedy a few times during those days, mostly while he was walking home through the town.

Based on how dirty the man's shoes were, Jacob had to be careful the next time he walked through the woods. The last thing he needed was to meet up with the agent near Eve's cave.

The next day started normally enough for him. He woke up, ate breakfast, and headed out to Eve's cave.

When he arrived, the cocoon was starting to rock from side to side as the entire thing glowed a bright orange.

He looked back out before closing the curtain, blocking the view of any passersby. Whatever was about to happen, he had a feeling he didn't want it to get back to Agent Kennedy.

He leaned his back against the smooth stone of the cave wall and watched as the pulses kept coming at an almost constant pace. It took him a little while to notice, and even then he had to convince himself he wasn't imagining it, but the pulses were getting slightly faster with time.

He took a steady breath, calming himself despite the rising pace of the pulses.

The cocoon started pulsing even faster, the orange glow getting brighter. Eventually, Jacob had to close his eyes to block out the harsh light.

He screamed as a cracking sound erupted from the side of the cocoon. He watched as a crack appeared on the cocoon before it started to slowly split open. As the split widened, a mass of orange, slimy goo fell from the inside and landed on the floor below. Jacob tried to shuffle away as the goo spread out, but it was no good. Soon enough it was covering his shoes as the rest of the cave floor.

"Eve?" he asked at the mass in front of him as he tried his best to ignore the stuff on his legs. "Are you okay?"

He jumped back as he heard a strange growling sound come from the mass. The mass growled again as it started lifting up.

The top area began shifting around, moving in a regular pattern. It morphed and shifted until parts of it began to fall away to reveal an almost human-like face. Soon more pieces started to fall away and reshape, until the mass of orange goo was in the rough shape of a human as tall as he was.

"Eve?" He asked again.

The human face began moving its mouth as its throat formed out of the goo. However, no matter how much her mouth moved, no sound came out. Two flappy things which could have been ears formed on either side of her head, and soon after she stopped talking. After a few more seconds, the face and neck took fully human form. At least until Jacob spotted four lines which spread open to reveal a set of familiar red eyes.

She had a glassy expression as the rest of her goo-like body settled. With four eyes locked onto the ceiling above, Jacob could see the goo around her chest begin to shrink and expand. She opened her mouth one more time and took a deep breath, her chest expanding to fit the incoming air.

"My name… is Eve," she said as a smile crept onto her face. "I can talk again."

If Jacob had to guess, he would have said she'd probably cry if she could.

"Congratulations," he said slowly and carefully as to not scare her by accident.

Something it turned out he didn't have to worry about. She turned to him, giving him the biggest smile he'd ever seen, her form sill morphing all the while.

"What do you think?" she asked before chuckling.

"New look?" he joked, sending her into open laughter.

"Yeah, I guess you can call it that," she said as an arm-like part of the goo started rising up. "It's weird, I can feel my body… and I can change it."

Her explanation was followed up by the featureless end of her 'arm' turning into a human hand. A human hand made of orange goo, but still impressive if you asked Jacob. Eve's eyes narrowed for a bit before the fingers changed again into claws.

"Can I do color?" she asked aloud as the orange goo changed into a more human-like light tan.

"What about material?" she asked herself again, her eyes trailing to the side before her smile widened even further. The skin turned a familiar glossy black, and soon Jacob was looking at a chitin covered claw which wouldn't have looked out of place on her old form.

"That's so cool," he commented which seemed to suddenly remind Eve he was there.

"Actually, could you wait outside for a little bit?" She asked in a weird tone. He just shrugged and did as he was told. As he walked out, he noticed the goo on his shoes slowly coming off and flowing back to her. The same was happening to the rest of the goo on the cave floor.

He closed the curtain and leaned back against the rock as he listened to the squirming sounds coming from inside the cave.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he heard what almost sounded like a splash.

"I'm okay," Eve called back as she started muttering. "No, not like that… Maybe if I…"

It went on like that for quite a bit until she finally called him back in. He pulled the curtain back and was taken aback.

"So what do you think?"

Standing in the cave was a girl around his age with long, black hair and tanned skin. However, instead of normal clothes, she was covered from the neck down in a glossy layer of black chitin. With the added claws on her hands and feet, she almost looked like she was wearing some sort of exoskeleton armor. Above her neck she looked pretty normal, with the exception of four glowing, solid red eyes. She had two where she should have, plus an extra pair above them.

"Are the eyes on purpose?" he asked as she tilted her head to the side in confusion. Apparently that quirk was one she either had since before her first transformation, or one she was keeping.

"What are you talking about?" she asked as he took out his phone and turned on the camera. He turned it to her to use as a makeshift mirror. "Oh."

She froze up a bit, and Jacob could swear he saw her cheeks turn red for a second before she turned away from him. The chitin rose up from her neck, becoming a smooth black mask.

Despite the strangeness of the situation, he couldn't help but feel some relief. Despite all the changes, Eve was still Eve.

"After all this time with four eyes, I guess I just kind of got used to it," she said half muffled from behind the mask. "Give me a second to try and fix this."

There was a series of strange sounds on the other side of the mask before the chitin receded to reveal a pair of normal hazel-colored human eyes. She blinked twice and then got a dizzy look on her face.

"Whoa," she tried walking forward and almost stumbled to the ground. She caught herself before she did, but when she got to her feet, a clear look of disgust and annoyance was on her face.

"Too used to four eyes?" Jacob guessed the problem, which got him a curt nod.

"Human eyes are garbage, everything looks blurry. Forget this, I'm going back to four eyes," the flesh on her face reshaped itself into the four familiar red eyes he was used to. She smiled as her eyes narrowed.

"I can see everything," she whispered.

"So how did you do all this anyway?" He asked once she'd managed to settle down. The two were sitting on the now clean cave floor. Almost all the orange goo was gone, having been absorbed into her. "You know, the cocoon, the transformation, all of it? I mean, you really took me by surprise."

"To be honest, I don't really know," she admitted as she hugged her knees. "I just felt really sleepy the last time you visited, so I just curled up and went to sleep. Next thing I knew, I was in this weird dream where I could transform my body at will. You were also there, and you were talking. I couldn't really understand what you were saying, but it helped me calm down a bit, kept me from going crazy."

"That would have been me sitting next to your cocoon all day talking to you," he admitted as his cheeks got just a bit brighter. "I wasn't sure you'd be able to hear me, but I wanted to try and keep you company anyway."

"Oh," she said, her cheeks getting a just a bit brighter as well. "Thanks for that. Like I said, you helped me keep a cool head while I was learning how to change my body around."

"Don't worry about it," he told her.

"So as I was saying, after learning a bunch, I woke up. The first things I noticed was how I was made of goo and the cocoon breaking apart. And I guess that's why I can shapeshift like this now."

"Well, you were able to transform back when you were in your 'dog' form," he pointed out, hesitating to use the term 'dog' for the chimeric form she'd only a few days ago. Still, it wasn't like he had any better name for it.

"Yeah, but with that, it was harder. I had to work more to make changes. Those tentacles out of my shoulders took a lot to figure out, and now I feel like I could do it no problem."

Eve blinked for a bit before two small buds appeared on her shoulders which quickly became a pair of tentacles waving in the air.

"Well you made your point," He said as she called the tentacles back to her. "By the way, why'd you pick that armor to wear?"

"Because it's cool. I feel like some sort of superhero with this on," she explained before a certain thought crossed her mind. "But as cool as this is, there's something else I want to try," she told him before shooing him out of the cave.

Jacob waited outside as he listened to the sounds of Eve's body shifting around. After a few minutes, the sounds stopped.

"Ta dah," she announced as she walked out of the cave. Gone were her four red eyes and body suit. Instead she had her normal human eyes, as well as a set of normal-looking clothing. A simple green blouse with a pair of jeans, white sneakers, and a simple metal chain for a necklace. "Hello, I am a normal human person. It's nice to meet you."

"How did you…?" He trailed off as he tried to figure out where the clothing had come from.

"Made it from my body," she explained as she spun around a bit. "Shapeshifting's the best."

"I guess it is. You look completely normal," he said as the girl in front of him put her hands on her waist and laughed.

"Yeah I do, don't I?" her laughter died down and a sly grin came across her face. "Normal enough to walk around a town without anyone noticing?"

A matching smile appeared on Jacob's face as he turned towards the direction of Oakwood.

"Yeah, I say you look just normal enough," he looked back at her.

"Lead the way," she said as he started walking away, Eve following right behind him.