Charwin held their breath at the edge of the human burial ground, or cemetery. Being stranded on Earth they were preparing themselves for shifting and adapting into human society.
People shroud in black gathered around the long box as it was being lowered into the large hole. It was the second one that day. Hopefully the last too, as the sun was setting and Charwin had their work cut out for them.
According to protocols it was best to find recent deceased individuals to shift into for the purpose of blending into the society. So Charwin had located this place in order to do just that. Once the sun set and the people were gone they would investigate those coffins.
Carefully walking on short but sturdy tentacles Charwin approached the two freshly covered holes. The night was dark, a new moon with lots of cloud cover. It wasn't just the best night for Charwin to dig around, it was also a great night for a grave robber.
A moving shadow approached the graves Charwin wanted to investigate. The alien quickly switched to a millipede form he had observed and cataloged a different night. Scurrying on the many tiny feet was familiar to them as they fled to the safety of one of the tombstones.
The shovel flashed through the air before the tip plunged into the loose dirt. Charwin waited shovel after shovel, hours of near silent digging for the grave robber to break open the two new coffins.
The moment the robber paused to wipe some sweat off their brow Charwin made themselves larger in their millipede form. Each leg became the width of the shovel handle and the body became twelve feet long. The mandibles clacked together as Charwin raised themselves up to cast an even darker shadow over the human.
“AHHH!” The grave robber abandoned his shovel and crowbar to flee the graveyard.
Charwin returned to their soft bodied form, pushing their eye stalk over each of the coffins in turn. Very little decomposition had occurred on the two young adults, one a handsome gentleman with hair matching wood and the other a nubile young woman with copper colored locks.
Charwin had been studying the humans for a few years before their ship crashed and was no longer able to fly. It was time to follow the wait for rescue protocol, which included instructions for assimilation.
When only one gender gave birth to young, it was best for the Qwortarian to shift into the gender which does not give birth, unless the birthing method matched the Qwortarian way. And since human’s didn’t lay eggs, well, Charwin lowered themselves into the hole with the male human specimen.
It didn’t take long for the doppelganger to emerge from the hole and start a long walk back to their ship. It still was able to perform some important functions which would help Charwin fit themselves into the human culture.
Word count: 489
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