The first thing I notice is always the shadow. Anything that hides in a human guise will affect the passage of light, in some ways more subtle than others. To a normal person they wouldn't see anything different, with the mind-obscuring effects active. But to those of us with psychic inclinations, it would change.

Vampires would show a hunched figure, large wings folded at their backs. They were not the beautiful beings of legends, but beasts. Werewolves would show their thick fur, hot breaths evident even on the warmest of days. Fey had ones that were too slim and graceful, demons flickered like flame. So many varieties existed, I was used to identifying them with a casual glance.

Once I had seen their shadow's form, their guise would fade for me. I knew of others like me, yet whose minds weren't as strong as mine. They would see flickers of their true forms, but nothing permanent. Yet for me it would see a faint image of their disguise, behind which I could see their true forms.

Most of the time, I left them alone. They might not be human, but they did little to harm them. Sure, some might accidentally get hurt, but such was the way of things. It was only went they went out of their way to be malicious would I step in. Despite clear physical differences between us, they found I was more than a match, reading their intentions even before they could act on them.

I was walking alone, enjoying a nice day in the park, when I noticed someone different. Something about their movements made me take notice, and I glanced at their shadow. For a moment it looked human, before splitting into a writhing mass of tentacles.

I stared for a moment, caught offguard. I had seen many different forms, but each at least had a form of humanoid shape to it. This was a formless mass, utterly different to anything I knew about. I dragged my eyes up to their body, seeing their illusions pale.

Inside was a wet, twisting vision of madness. Those tentacles I saw wove around each other, some topped with eyes, others with mouths, all in a seemingly random.and ever moving configuration. A singular large eye was located in its centre, one that swivelled to meet my gaze.

Having seen its form, my mind instinctively went to touch it. But it's thoughts were arrayed in such a different way, I could not see them. Or rather, as I tried to grasp them each part slipped through my grip. One shattered itself, forming a new shape aimed at me.

"A psyche-watcher, how intriguing."

The alien creature stalked towards me. Its human guise would be locking eyes with mine, even as I stared into its true form. I inwardly gagged at the wet sliding sound it moved with, something about it so inherent wrong it revolted me.

"I know you see me."

I tried to pulled back as it spoke to me, but another shattered thought encircled my mind. It rooted me to the spot, preventing me from telling my body to move. I felt nothing from it, as though I was merely an ant being inspected. With fear lancing my head I fought to escape, yet I was held in a grip of iron.

"Psyche-watcher, lend me your mind. I wish to understand."

I focused, forming my own words.

"Let me go."

It finally stopped, now close enough to touch. It's thoughts grew tighter, keeping me locked in place. A branch grew from on part of its broken mentality, scraping at the edge of my mind. An insidious touch, something I had never imagined to be possible. A mental interrogation, the mind forced open like a book. It addressed me once more, even as it cut open my mind.

"I will understand."