I'm buying some flowers to leave by the river bank, where my carelessness cost them everything.

Item#: 8860

Level4

Containment Class:

euclid

Secondary Class:

none

Disruption Class:

vlam

Risk Class:

warning

link to memo

Special Containment Procedures:
SCP-8860 is kept under moderate surveillance, and has been implanted with a subdermal tracking device. An AIMB agent is to enter SCP-8860's apartment on a weekly basis while SCP-8860 is away from home, under the guise of performing janitorial services, to look for any signs of escape attempts.

Under no circumstances is SCP-8860 allowed to play any form of musical instrument, engage in shapeshifting, or divulge its anomalous nature to non-anomalous individuals that are not affiliated with the Foundation.

Description:
SCP-8860 is a shapeshifting entity thought to have come into existence at some point during the 10th century CE in Northern Sweden. SCP-8860 has been known to take a variety of forms that vary in species, age, and sexual characteristics, with a slight preference for humanoid forms. SCP-8860 is fluent in a number of languages, both living and extinct, including, but not limited to Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Old Norse, Meänkieli, German, Dutch, Icelandic, and Faroese.

When SCP-8860 plays a musical instrument that it is proficient in, all humans hearing the sound will experience a strong compulsion to approach SCP-8860, even if doing so would lead them to a potentially fatal situation. Animals have also been observed to display some level of attraction to music produced by SCP-8860, albeit to a lesser degree. Furthermore, SCP-8860 is able to attain a very high level of proficiency with any musical instrument within 2-3 hours.

Discovery:
SCP-8860 was discovered on 2021-02-13 after the drowning deaths of a group of hikers in the forests near Ljusdal, Sweden. The lone survivor of the group was interviewed by an agent posing as a police detective, as the incident was suspected to be anomalous in nature.

Addendum 8860.1 - Interview Log

Date: 2021-02-14

Interviewee: Magnus Hansson

Interviewer: Agent Nyman

Note: Interviewee was the only survivor of the drowning incident caused by SCP-8860. A Swedish Sign Language interpreter was present for the interview, as Hansson had lost his hearing to meningitis as a child.

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

Nyman: Could you tell me what happened to your friends?

Hansson: We came here to celebrate Anton's birthday. He always loved being outdoors, so we thought we would surprise him with a camping trip.

Hansson: The weather was beautiful. We decided to go on a hike in the woods, which is where we encountered Näcken.

Nyman: Näcken, you say?

Hansson: I can still hardly believe it myself, but I cannot think of another explanation. As we were walking near Ljusnan, the others suddenly started walking towards the river bank without saying a word. I tried to get their attention, but I could not.

Hansson: That is when I saw him, a naked man with long hair, playing what looked like a violin. I couldn't see exactly what it was, as he was facing away from us. He was sitting on a tiny island a bit out into the river. It was not long before they were all wading out into the water, before being swept away by the current.

Nyman: Did the man try to help your friends as they were drowning?

Hansson: No, he just flew away, maybe because he realized I was not affected.

Nyman: Whatever it is you saw, I assure you, we will find him.

END TRANSCRIPT

Note: Hansson was given Class G amnestics, and was led to believe that the anomalous entity was a figment of his imagination, and that his friends had fallen into the river by accident.

Following the interview, MTF Gamma-4 ("Green Stags") was sent to track down the anomaly for capture. They were initially unsuccessful due to a lack of consistent footprints and scent, but Gamma-4 eventually encountered SCP-8860 at 23:30 on the fourth day. At the time, it had taken the shape of a naked woman, playing nyckelharpa in D minor on the bank of the river Ljusnan. SCP-8860 was apprehended without incident, and was taken into custody and interrogated before being prepared for camouflage protocols. A rock at the site of the drownings was found to have been recently inscribed with runes, reading "Please forgive me." in Old Norse.

AIMB

Intel File

MTF Sigma-7 Surveillance Report

ID : 8860

General data

Full Name: Hjalmar Nilsson
Birthdate: 10th century CE
Birthplace: Northern Sweden, exact location unknown
Residence: Hudiksvall, Sweden
Family Status: N/A
Current Contact Information: Contact Dr. Eliasson for contact information.
Job: Mailman
Height: 1.78m

Anomalous Specificities

Entity Type: Pantomime
Nature: Kin
Details: SCP-8860 is thought to have inspired the myth of the Nixie (also known as Näcken, Nicor, Nøkk, Näkki, and Nykur), a shape-shifting water spirit in the folklore and mythology of Germanic cultures, known to lure people into bodies of water using his violin to drown them.

Handling Informations

Supervisor: Dr. Eliasson
Cooperation: Acceptable
Threat: Medium
Camouflage Protocol: In addition to its Special Containment Procedures, SCP-8860 has been given the identity of Hjalmar Nilsson, a mailman and resident of Hudiksvall, Sweden, living under witness protection from an abusive family.
Other Information: SCP-8860 has been granted blue status as it has been willing to cooperate with camouflage protocols, rendering it unable to cause additional fatalities by means of its anomalous properties.

Addendum 8860.2 - Journal Written by SCP-8860

On 2021-03-05 Agent Jansson discovered during a routine search of SCP-8860's apartment that SCP-8860 had begun to write a journal of its experiences with human society. Journal entries of relevance to SCP-8860's assimilation into human society have been attached.

Note: The following entries have been translated from Swedish.

Fourth of March, 2021
I have lived amongst humans for nearly a week now. Although I am one of them in body, I can't yet say I am one of them in soul. Their customs and mannerisms are alien to me, and although my Swedish is fluent, my dialect is long extinct among them.

None of this feels right, I never wanted this, and running away has been an increasingly attractive prospect this past week. But I can't bear the thought of never seeing the wilderness again should they catch me, to never feel the wind blow through my hair again. To never hear a symphony again, the strum of a violin, or the song of birds in spring. I must assimilate, I must survive.

Eighth of March, 2021
I almost got mauled by the metal beast the humans call a car today. Apparently the red light means that I'm supposed to wait, and the green that I'm supposed to cross the road, rather than vice versa. I wish the black suits had taught me more about society before making me a part of it. Do they really expect me to figure out in weeks how one is to be a human, when they are taught from birth?

Oskar asked me if I would be interested in playing something called Dungeons & Dragons. He said it's a role-playing game, whatever that means. I said yes. He came by with some books after work, said I could borrow them for a while.

Seventeenth of March, 2021
I started talking to a pigeon today. It didn't understand me of course, but lots of people stared at me. Normally I would've shifted into a pigeon myself, and we would've understood each other perfectly. I miss my old life, when I could listen in on the songbirds talking about their days, or the geese discussing their overwintering plans. It's been less than a month, yet it feels like a century.

Twenty Seventh of March, 2021
I finally got to play Dungeons & Dragons today. Everyone at the table was very welcoming. I decided to play as a shapeshifting bard, someone who feels like me.

We fought a group of goblins who were attacking a village, very unlike the goblins that once roamed these lands. They always loved a good practical joke or drinking song, but they never attacked anyone. I don't think I've seen one of them in centuries.

Nevertheless, it was fun, and for the first time in a month, I felt happy.

10th of April, 2021
They finally cleared me to go on hikes in the forests today. They said they will allow four hikes per month as long as I cooperate. It's better than nothing, but not nearly enough to quench my wanderlust.

It pains me that what was once the very essence of my life is now limited in both time and place. Before the black suits bound me, I could go wherever I wished, whenever I pleased. Now I need to beg for permission just to go out in the garden.

I'm buying some flowers to leave by the river bank, where my carelessness cost them everything.

13th of April, 2021
I miss wings, I miss antlers, I miss the names they stole from me, I even miss the other human forms I once took. I yearn for the feeling of my body shifting. I long to hold a violin in my hands. Will I ever get to feel any of it again?

17th of April, 2021
I had another D&D session today. We tracked down the goblins that had attacked the village in the last session, and we decided that my character, Valdimárr, would try to infiltrate it. Describing my character shapeshift to look like one of them felt good at first, but it's now reminding me of what has been taken from me.

30th of April, 2021
I went to a metal concert with some friends from the D&D group today. It was a lot of fun, but I miss playing my own music, I long for the days when I could hear my melodies echo throughout the forests. I feel like a songbird without its voice.

I wish they would at least let me play under supervision.

12th of May, 2021
In spite of everything, I feel that my burden has lessened. I have a place in this human world, I have friends who are there for me when I need them, I have a means of expressing myself, and I have a purpose. I have been approved to go on a hike this saturday. I will savor it.

People don't stare at me much anymore, it seems like I no longer stick out like an untuned violin. I just wish I could be myself. I just wish people knew me for who I really am.

Addendum 8860.3 – Updated Restrictions on Shapeshifting Entities

Following a recent incident involving SCP-████, all anomalous individuals able to shapeshift are to have their movement further restricted. For SCP-8860, it has been determined that this entails the following:

SCP-8860's hike quota has been reduced from 4 per month to 1 per month.
SCP-8860 is no longer allowed to venture outside of well-established routes while hiking, and it is to be followed by a field agent in civilian clothes at a distance of no more than 100 meters.
Outside of working hours and approved activities, SCP-8860 is to remain in its apartment at all times.

Addendum 8860.4 - Continuation of Journal Entries by SCP-8860

26th of August, 2021
How can they do this to me? I have been nothing but cooperative, yet they restrict me further for something that someone else did.

I'm glad they didn't revoke the hike they approved for Saturday, but it's just not going to be the same with someone watching my every step, like a wolf stalks an injured reindeer.

4th of September, 2021
D&D didn't feel the same today. I used to really enjoy it as a way to express myself, but it's reminding me more and more of what I've lost. Not just my shapeshifting, but my music, my freedom. It feels like writing a song that I can never play.

13th of September, 2021
I don't see myself in the mirror, the man looking back is a stranger, whose body I've been forced to possess.

Would containment have been better than this? They would've let me shapeshift there. Why must I choose between my freedom and my identity?

25th of September, 2021
They asked me if everything was alright at the D&D table today. All I could say was that I didn't want to talk about it.

I really wish I could talk about it. I know they're there for me, I'm sure that one of them would even understand me, but if I say anything and they find out, I will never see them again.

16th of October, 2021
I saw a herd of deer during my hike today. I really wanted to turn into one myself, but I couldn't, even if there hadn't been a black suit breathing down my neck. I can't jeopardize the little freedom I have left.

Note: The paper on which the following entry was written on was stained with dried water droplets.

27th of October, 2021
I shifted. I couldn't take it anymore. I shifted several times in the past hour. I became an elk, a wolf, an eagle, a woman. I thought I could just go back to my usual form, but I couldn't. I can't get the face right anymore, despite having taken that form for so long. It just refuses.

The second the black suits see my fucked up face, I may never get to see the sky again.

Note: The following entry was originally written in Old Norse using runes, unlike all previous entries.

30th of October, 2021
In a recent D&D session, we faced a situation that was by all means unwinnable. We faced certain death. I realized at that point, that all we could do was run away, and I now realize that that is also what I must do myself.

By the time you read this, I will be far far away, enjoying the wilderness without you [UNTRANSLATABLE] breathing down my neck.

Following its escape attempt, SCP-8860 was successfully tracked by MTF Gamma-4 ("Green Stags") to Pitsusköngäs, Finland, where it had taken the form of a Eurasian lynx. SCP-8860 attempted to flee by transforming into a peregrine falcon, but was successfully captured using a remotely triggered electric discharge from its tracking implant. SCP-8860 was then returned to Hudiksvall, where it was placed under house arrest.

As of 2021-11-06, the status of SCP-8860 has been updated to Orange until further notice. To increase cooperation, SCP-8860 has been granted permission to shapeshift within its apartment. As it remains unable to return to its assigned form, all civilians known to have encountered SCP-8860 have been amnesticized. Once cooperation has been deemed satisfactory, SCP-8860 is to be transferred to the town of Bollnäs, Sweden.

Addendum 8860.5 - Second Escape Attempt by SCP-8860

On 2021-12-28, during a routine entry of SCP-8860's apartment, it was discovered that SCP-8860 was missing. SCP-8860's subdermal tracking implant was discovered in the sink, alongside a roll of bandage and a razorblade. The window to SCP-8860's apartment was found to be barely opened. It is hypothesized that SCP-8860 escaped by shapeshifting into a small insect, which it was previously not known to be capable of. During a search of the city, a note written in what was identified as an unknown dialect of Old Norse was found at a bus stop. A translation of the note has been attached below.

Could you believe I walked all the way here in human form, and not a single person stared? I even saw some of you, and you didn't notice me. Perhaps I should be grateful that you forced me to be a human, because that is why you will never find me again.