>>4732266
Sleep came rarely throughout the night, if at all, and when you did finally manage to pass out, you came upon an uncomfortably real-feeling dream that seemed to contain replicas of everything you've ever performed Alchemy on or with - including one of the rogue Alchemists you healed with forbidden techniques. Slightly disturbed by the fact that you have, apparently, a second person in your brain, you were eventually drawn into an immense dream-sun of unknown symbolism (if any), meeting a mysterious figure in your own head that seemed oddly familiar.

But then again, isn't that what dreams are all about?

When you woke up, finally, and basically stumbled your way to school, you discovered the place crawling with FOODS officers, apparently on high-alert after a tip-off the night before about an imminent Dragon attack. While you were certainly made aware of the presence of a Dragon - Mr. White, the Track & Field coach for your school, who the rogue Alchemists were attempting to assassinate via forbidden Homunculus - neither you nor, to your knowledge, Ken, had any idea of any sort of imminent attack.

There was only really one other person who could've provided such a tip to FOODS: Jimmy, a senior FOODS operative who you called on in the dead of the night to assist with capturing the Homunculus, on Ken's recommendation. You don't know enough about him to know if he gave the tip or not, or if there's something stranger going on here, but either way, security was tight with field agents that only you could see.

Only you, and any Dragons around, actually.

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>>4732270
In the middle of a school assembly occupying the back half of the day, the principal revealed to the students that someone had severely vandalized the woman's locker room (you, accidentally), and that someone had left a death threat for Mr. White (not you), neither would be tolerated, and both would be investigated. Mr. White was present, clearly nervous from the attention, but attempted to slip away mid-assembly, only to run into the assembled FOODS agents.

A tense situation occurred without anyone being the wiser, with Mr. White turning into his draconic form and holding a student hostage in order to attempt to force the FOODS officers to surrender and let him escape. With some quick thinking on your part, you interrupted the assembly by shouting about the coach abusing the track & field team, drawing Mr. White's ire - he abandoned his previous hostage to focus on you, and an errant scratch from his talons conveniently dosed you with the right amount of Dragon venom to make you vanish before the tizzy you stirred up focused back on you.

The FOODS agents took advantage of the distracted Mr. White to begin the operation, quickly manipulating the auditorium to cage him in, advancing with weapons at the ready. When he tried to get away, his back turned to you, you took control of the carpet to pin him down, and in his panic to escape, he ripped his body in half, fleeing to the rafters.

Bafflingly, the officers let him get away. You asked one of them what was up with that, and they gave you awkward, stilted responses about having a tracker on him, and pulling in officers from everywhere they could, including l'Ordine (The Order), the Vatican's personal Dragon-hunting unit - apparently, a thing they have!

>>4732272
You sit by the long, concrete stairs leading up to the school's entrance, shielded from the grey weather by several overhangs of brick, extensions of the school building that gave the second floor more classroom floor space to work with. You nearly jump out of your skin when someone slaps you on the back, fully prepared to skewer them with your honing steel, before you remember that it is in your backpack and not in your hand.

Thankfully, it's just Josh - Josh Masters, basically your only... Well, until recently, your only friend. You think you would consider Ken and Rebecca also friends, if you thought about it enough. "Hey, man, were you at the assembly? I was looking all over for you, it was fucking crazy, dude!"

>"Nah, I knew they wouldn't stop me so I just left so I could chill out here."
>"Oh man, I was taking a shit the entire time, what happened?"
>"Yeah, with the fucking death threat and everything? What was up with that?"
>Free Option.

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>>4732274
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
https://pastebin.com/ipHuwpgL

CHARACTER LISTING
https://pastebin.com/imUJCpNe

LISTING ON SUPTG
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Dragon%20Slayer%20Quest

PREVIOUS THREAD
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/4688819/

If you're enjoying the quest, your upvotes are greatly appreciated

>>4732274
>"Nah, I knew they wouldn't stop me so I just left so I could chill out here."

>>4732274
>"Yeah, with the fucking death threat and everything? What was up with that?"

>>4732274
>>"Oh man, I was taking a shit the entire time, what happened?"
Fish for what the normies experienced given our disappearance.

>>4732274
>"Oh man, I was taking a shit the entire time, what happened?"
I think mentioning the death threat would be tipping our hands too much. Also, did we seriously get away with everyone not being able to remember who shouted in the assembly? neat.

>>4732767
>>4732713
"Oh man, I was taking a shit the entire time, what happened?" You ask, not wanting to tip your hand too much or too early. The fact that, apparently, you got away with it entirely because of Mr. White's venom strikes you as a little too awesome to be true, so you might as well pry - if anyone would recognize your voice shouting something out, it would be Josh.

"It was just fucking nuts, man, some kid shouted out, like--" He starts, and then puts on a voice that sounds like a really bad imitation of you, ""So when are we gonna talk about how one of the coaches is a pedophile", right? And like... Who does that? Who has the fucking balls, right, dude?"

"Yeah, right?" You ask rhetorically right back. The fact that your friend is describing you unknowingly as "someone who has balls" does provide you with a little shot of placid amusement. "Then what happened?"

"Well obviously everyone went fucking crazy, the teachers had to try to calm us down for like fifteen minutes and then they just gave up and dismissed everyone." Josh said, waving behind him as a flood of students rushing for their busses started to slowly pour out of the school and sort themselves into their designated school transportation vehicles. "This is just fucking crazy, dude, I heard somebody say they're gonna tell a journalist about it or some shit."

"Do we know who the pedophile is?" You ask. Josh's eyes glaze over for a fraction of a second and you immediately know that the answer is no, we don't - because you pointed out that it was specifically the track & field coach, and that person is currently a half-dead Dragon, no longer in the perception of anyone who hasn't been inoculated like you have.

"Huh?" Josh asked, and you wave your hand a little dismissively. Students with busses that haven't arrived yet begin to coagulate into groups on the stone stairs, socializing, chattering, filling the air with noise. No static on your neck, that's a good thing.

"Don't worry about it. Still, fucking crazy. Wonder what's gonna happen with it." You muse, and Josh pops a squat next to you, his ass quickly hitting the concrete.

"Yeah, I wonder." He replies.

>Pester him more directly about Coach White to see what'd happen.
>Look to see if you can find Rebecca to say hello.
>Make small talk with Josh, how was your weekend? Shit like that.
>Ask Josh if he wants to hop on your bus and hang out today.
>Free Option.

>>4734066
>>Look to see if you can find Rebecca to say hello.
we still don't know who the book lender is targeting. They gave US a copy, so where are they getting their intel?

>>4734066
>Look to see if you can find Rebecca to say hello.

>>4734066
>>Look to see if you can find Rebecca to say hello.

>>4734066
>Make small talk with Josh, how was your weekend? Shit like that.
It's been a while since we've hung out with him, let's talk.

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Apologies for the delay, was at the dentist getting teeth drilled and that fucked my entire yesterday. Good news, though - my tinnitus is a jaw problem, not a nerve problem, so I'm not going deaf, AND it's fixable with a night guard for my mouth.
>>4734103
>>4734077
>>4734137
You look towards the mass of swarming students exiting the school building proper and call out when you see her - "Rebecca!" you shout, just loud enough to be heard. She turns her head towards you two, tilts it with a little coy smile, and walks her way over.

"What's up?" She asks, wandering to the two of you. Josh gives her an idle, knowing wave, and she waves right back, plopping down on the concrete steps next to you, her knee against yours.

"What did you think of that, uh, assembly?" You ask, laughing nervously about it. She looks at you funny and then laughs harder than you did, but with much less nervousness.

"Ballistic. I mean, not surprised, I think we've all heard stories, but, insane that someone had the balls to just say it out loud like that." She says, giggling quietly. "Wish I could give whoever said that a high five, really. Or, like, a beer."

>"Jokingly" imply that it was you.
>Just straight up say that you did it.
>Say nothing about it, continue the conversation as if it was, in fact, someone else.
>Free Option.

>>4737575
Glad your health got better!
>Say nothing about it, continue the conversation as if it was, in fact, someone else.
OPSEC is paramount.

>>4737575
that's remarkably good news

>Say nothing about it, continue the conversation as if it was, in fact, someone else.

>>4737575
>Say nothing about it, continue the conversation as if it was, in fact, someone else.

>>4737575
Glad to hear your tinnitus is fixable, Richard.

>Say nothing about it, continue the conversation as if it was, in fact, someone else.

>>4737575
>>Say nothing about it, continue the conversation as if it was, in fact, someone else.

>>4738912
>>4738156
>>4737811
>>4737582
>>4737609
There might be a time and place for confessions, sarcastic and otherwise. Now is not the time for either of those, considering the circumstances, especially since you know that there is a half-dead Dragon who wants you dead specifically. Even if he is being tracked down by people who have been killing his kind for ages, you get the feeling it's not something you want to fuck around with if you have the opportunity to not fuck around with it.

"You have beer with you?" You ask instead, taking the opportunity to completely miss the forest for the trees.

"No, I just... have access to it." She replies, laughing at your strange takeaway from her idle comment.

"You have access to beer?" You ask, half-joking, keeping the playful incredulousness played up for the sake of making her laugh more - it works, thankfully.

"You don't?" She asks, eyebrow piqued.

You shake your head. "My mom doesn't drink."

"Yeah, but you've got this big lug and I'm pretty sure he had a few beers at his place." Rebecca says, gently thumping Josh on the back. He turns to her, startled slightly, evidently having been lost in his own thoughts (or just Tinder on his phone).

"Oh? Huh. Yeah. Yeah, I've gotchu hooked up if you need it." Josh says, face lighting up with a supportive smile.

>"Wanna hop on Josh's bus and go down a couple at his place, while you're offering?"
>"Thanks, but I think I'm good being beer free for the moment. What's everyone's plans this afternoon?"
>Free Option.

>>4740036
>"Thanks, but I think I'm good being beer free for the moment. What's everyone's plans this afternoon?"
should we ask if they know the brother and sister?

>>4740036
>"Thanks, but I think I'm good being beer free for the moment. What's everyone's plans this afternoon?"

>>4740036
>"Thanks, but I think I'm good being beer free for the moment. What's everyone's plans this afternoon?"

Friends don't drink and transmute, and with a dragon around you never know when you're going to need to whip out some alchemy.

>>4740036
>>"Thanks, but I think I'm good being beer free for the moment. What's everyone's plans this afternoon?"

Too tired to write today, update tomorrow, going to be going back on my ADHD medication so hopefully I am actually able to do it in the afternoon for once.

>>4742151
Well, that didn't work. Maybe 4/13 was a bad day to try that on. Haha. Moving on.
>>4740042
>>4740061
>>4740540
>>4741848
"Thanks, but I think I'm good being beer free for the moment. What's everyone's plans this afternoon?" You ask, leaning back on your elbows, watching as the busses pull in from their line like little soldiers in a row, loading up on students, departing down the road.

"I was going to go give myself worse tinnitus." Rebecca jokes. "And maybe do homework, if I felt like it."

You nod knowingly. "Good answer."

Josh intercedes. "I was going to go run some laps... and then do homework. Probably."

You nod again, rubbing your chin in thought. They both seem amused by the gesture, and that makes you feel a strange little peal of dopamine for reasons you're unsure of. Your two friends seem to be getting along, which feels strange for reasons you can't articulate in English quite yet. "I was probably going to listen to Frank Sinatra. And then maybe do some homework. If I felt like it."

Rebecca pitches the question before you can. "I mean, if we're all doing homework, we might as well do it at the same place, right?" She says, tilting her head with a light smile and a luminescent, cheek-filling blush - or maybe that's just the light.

>"Oh, sure! You have to promise to not break our eardrums first though."
>Think about the fact that there are Dragons afoot, and get semi-cold feet. "As long as you guys don't mind cramming into my place?"
>The option directly above, but make up a bullshit excuse instead of just proposing it bald-faced. (Free Option)
>Free Option.

>>4744216
>"Oh, sure! You have to promise to not break our eardrums first though."
I don't think going somewhere secluded would be good anyway.

>>4744216
>"Oh, sure! You have to promise to not break our eardrums first though."

>>4744216
>"Oh, sure! You have to promise to not break our eardrums first though."

>>4744216
>>"Oh, sure! You have to promise to not break our eardrums first though."

Apologies slightly for quality - I got in a stupid autistic debate with someone and that ate all my allotted evening time but I don't want to leave you all updateless again.
>>4744229
>>4744285
>>4745080
>>4746458
"Oh, sure! You have to promise to not break our eardrums first, though." You joke, lightening the mood.

"I promise nothing." She says, as the three of you get up and begin filing into one of the busses, following Rebecca's lead. The trip is short and unmemorable, with the three of you occupying somewhere around the middle of the bus. As you all know, the front of the bus is reserved for freshman, while the few seniors that do not drive take up the very back, as is the natural hierarchy of high school. You make light small talk, and for a couple of minutes, everything feels like it's normal, like you are just a high schooler and there's not Dragons around or Anti-Dragon cops. The fact that that sentence makes sense to you makes you feel slightly unnerved.

Rebecca lives in a house a little bit closer to the center of the city, where the rowhouses begin turning into high-rises and the suburbs are only a distant memory. Rebecca's isn't a high rise, still in that strange in-between, an apartment on the first floor of a six-apartment building, one bedroom (hers) and what looks like a severely disused common area with an unfurled futon.

The smell of cigarette smoke is extant but faded. Bluetooth speakers quickly are hooked up to a phone and quiet, murmuring noise pipes through. Textbooks and binders are removed from backpacks, the futon turned into a lounging platform for performing work. Rebecca, thankfully, does not break your eardrums - she keeps it light and occasionally gives you or Josh control of the speakers.

The sun goes down. The hairs on the back of your head slowly begin to rise, but your brain can't distinguish them from the normal kind of goosebumps. You stare at your homework, slight moonlight filtering through half-open windows, trying to focus.

>Ask for some ibuprofen, you probably just have nerves. Ignore it and move on with your evening.
>Your gut has never failed you yet. At the very least take a little stretch-your-legs and look around out the windows.
>You haven't forgotten that Rebecca has a relative that got Dragon'd. Go to the bathroom, snoop.
>Free Phrase.
>Free Option.

>>4747115
>You haven't forgotten that Rebecca has a relative that got Dragon'd. Go to the bathroom, snoop.

>>4747115
>You haven't forgotten that Rebecca has a relative that got Dragon'd. Go to the bathroom, snoop.

>>4747115
>Your gut has never failed you yet. At the very least take a little stretch-your-legs and look around out the windows.

>>4747277
>>4747179
You haven't forgotten the video on Rebecca's phone, the one with someone in it she can't see anymore. Thinking about it sets your brain on end in much the same way that your skin gets when you're afraid, feeling strange sensations roiling through you from the toes up into your head. "Is it okay if I use the bathroom?" You ask.

"Yeah, sure." Rebecca says, looking up from her history textbook. She flicks her head down the hall, next to the sole bedroom in the house, a bathroom door embedded into the wall. You do some quick geometry with your head as you walk down the hall, your socks sliding just a bit against the old, fading hardwood floor. From the angle you'd be at walking into the bathroom, you are pretty much unnoticeable - nobody could see which room you go into.

You think to yourself quietly.

>Go take a quick peek in Rebecca's bedroom. Not, like, a big snoop, just a little peek for photo frames or anything interesting that stands out.
>Just go take a piss. If there is something interesting in the bathroom, it'll be there. If not, it's not.
>Free Option.

>>4749333
>Go take a quick peek in Rebecca's bedroom. Not, like, a big snoop, just a little peek for photo frames or anything interesting that stands out.

>>4749333
>>Go take a quick peek in Rebecca's bedroom. Not, like, a big snoop, just a little peek for photo frames or anything interesting that stands out.
In and out, can always play it off as going to the wrong door by accident.

>>4749333
>Just go take a piss. If there is something interesting in the bathroom, it'll be there. If not, it's not.
We can take our time, jeez

>>4749333
>Free Option.
>Take a glance in the door as we walk by. No need to enter and have to explain anything if we get caught.

>>4750346
>>Take a glance in the door as we walk by. No need to enter and have to explain anything if we get caught.

Is the person who got dragoned someone Josh knows? What if he spaced out because the first relation he connected Rebecca to is deleted from his memory?

Taking a break for this evening for mental health reasons. Nothing serious, just need an early night and can't focus on writing.

>>4750346
>>4750954
You decide that maybe going full on snoop mode might not be the best idea right now, in case you get caught, so you just walk past the bathroom door and take a peek into Rebecca's room. It's about as cluttered as you'd expect it to be, with a queen sized bed covered in comforters and various vaguely gothic-themed stuffed animals like bats and large rats. Over on the nightstand, you see a picture in a frame that looks distinctly undisturbed - you don't want to take the risk to walk all the way in, but you do glance, and you do take a gander, and make out three distinct people. Rebecca, a girl who you imagine is the same one in Rebecca's video, and a man, taller than the two of them, in a dark blue hoodie.

You furrow your brow and then go to actually take a piss, which you were not lying about, and is something you do actually have to do. You crack the bathroom door open, half-expecting to see someone on the shitter, and then push inside, closing and locking the door behind you. It's always interesting, to you, how different the various bathrooms you've been in in your life are. This one has a fuzzy toilet seat, which, while comfortable looking, strikes you as a bit unsanitary, and a large, flat light switch that you click on.

The jumpy part of you expects a shape in the mirror, but there's nothing. It's just... you. Same tired face. Same narrow eyes. Same medium-length, dark hair. Same little wisps of chin hair that will absolutely not develop in any meaningful way before college. Same bags under your eyes, except maybe a little deeper. You splash some water on your eyes, and then plop your ass down on the toilet seat because you don't want to piss and accidentally land some in the fuzzy toilet seat cover. The hair stands up at the back of your neck, but you don't think it's in the way that means people are doing alchemy - it just feels like you have normal kind of goosebumps.

You sit on the toilet and think. You do not need to shit, yet, so it's mostly just thinking time, considering everything you know about Rebecca, and to a lesser extent, Josh. Can you make any interesting flashes of insight on the toilet...?

>Dig around to see if there's any useful information in her bathroom.
>Try to think harder about the video and the picture, see if any information rattles loose in your head.
>Just pee, dude. Then wash your hands, like a normal person.
>Free Option.

>>4753910
>Just pee, dude. Then wash your hands, like a normal person.
but I'm still wondering about >>4750996

>>4753910
>>Just pee, dude. Then wash your hands, like a normal person

What's the bet Saint is the guy in the hoodie?

>>4753910
>Dig around to see if there's any useful information in her bathroom.
>>4753922
I won't bet against it.

>>4753922
That would make Rebecca an otome game protag

>awkward kid who secretly has superpowers
>fun bro who throws parties
>dark and mysterious dude who is strangely warm to you

>>4753910
>Just pee, dude. Then wash your hands, like a normal person.

>>4754727
>>4753922
>>4753917
No need to be weird and overthink it. You sit on the fuzzy toilet seat, appreciating its warmth, and pee. You empty your bladder in a moment that seems strikingly surreal for reasons you aren't really able to put into words - it feels like it's been ages since the last time you've been in an unfamiliar bathroom, and for some reason, that thought is throwing you off. You get up, yoink your pants back up, and wash your hands, you know, like a normal person does.

Already, you find yourself considering your surroundings for alchemical purposes, cataloguing everything nearby. The smooth, ceramic-y surface of the sink, the metal of the faucet, the water being dumped out of it. Your brain idly wonders to itself what could be done with hand-soap, all the various thought processes you could apply to such a thing and the bubbles it creates, as you lather under your nails and between your fingers. You keep the water running until it gets hot enough to almost scald you, looking at your face in the mirror. It feels odd. None of the surreality has gone away at all.

You dry your hands off on a towel and exit the bathroom, walking down the hall, back into the living room where Josh and Rebecca are still hanging out, studying, grinding through homework. If there's one thing that's particularly nice about working with friends, it's that it makes it a lot easier to get work done well in advance - plus, taking breaks every fifteen minutes or so to look at memes makes you feel a little light and happy, like you haven't been in life-or-death situations at least three times in the past week. You flop down onto the unfurled futon, right where your books were before.

>Ask Rebecca about living alone - is she cool with that?
>Ask Rebecca where her parents/guardians went.
>Don't pry for info and ruin this little hangout - you don't need to spend all your time investigating. You can just... hang out.
>Free Option.

>>4755957
>Don't pry for info and ruin this little hangout - you don't need to spend all your time investigating. You can just... hang out.

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Semi-related, I've been using one of my friends's AI things to try and generate some appropriately weird Dragon art - still working on it, but, here's a computer trying to figure out the Cockatrice-type we started this adventure with.

>>4755957
>Ask Rebecca about living alone - is she cool with that?

>>4755957
>Ask Rebecca about living alone - is she cool with that?

To let you all know in advance, updates may become slightly sparser in content for a bit because I had an idea I think is very fun for another quest that doesn't require too much effort, and I'll likely be starting it tonight. "Not too much effort" is not, however, nonzero effort, so my attention will be slightly divided while I have this Big ADHD moment and shit the idea out of my head. Keep an eye out for "My Brother's Pictures" or something of a similar sort, still hashing the details.
>>4756087
>>4756004
You settle in on the futon, grabbing a textbook and pulling it into your lap. You, thankfully, have already finished your homework that's immediately due this week (it's way easier to do with people helping motivate you, surprisingly), and now all you have left to do personally is either go even further ahead on homework or just study for upcoming exams. You know which one you'd rather do.

Still, there's room for small talk, right? And if you're here, then that investigative little streak of yours is gonna rear its ugly head as you go poking around your nose in things that aren't quite your business. It seems like a habit of yours, really, getting yourself involved where your nose really shouldn't be, but then you take a quick moment to consider the fact that this is Dragon Business, and thus, it is, sort of, Your Business. "So, Rebecca, you really just, kind of, like, live alone?"

Rebecca stares at you for a moment and your heart sinks. You recognize the glassiness that forms in her eyes as her brain tries to access memories forbidden from her version of reality. Then, she smiles at you and tilts her head just a fraction to the left. "Yeah. Nobody around to tell me when I have to go to bed so I've just had to teach myself discipline and shit. That's got useful value to me."

>"Don't you get lonely?" [Serious]
>"Yeah, that sounds great. Honestly, I wish I could just do what I wanted at my place sometimes, too. I'd play music real loud all the time." [Playful]
>"I see. Do you, like, know where your parents are or anything?" [Blunt]
>Free Option.

>>4757801
>"Don't you get lonely?" [Serious]
Statistically, "I'm gonna run a small one-shot in parallel" spells doom for the original quest, and ofthen for the one-shot too.

>>4757828
Don't worry, I have no intentions of stopping this quest, if only because there's plot twists I haven't hit you guys with yet

>>4757801
>"Is it hard to do the chores and buy stuff?" [Inquisitive]

>>4757801
>Free Option.
>"So do your parents have to travel a lot for work?"

>>4757891
>>4758086
"Is it hard to like... do the chores and buy stuff?" You ask, leaning in. Josh looks at you, and then glances at Rebecca, before also leaning in a little closer - evidently, this is also something he was curious about, but you imagine he has a bit more tact than you do. Thus, he was likely unwilling to verbalize it.

"Huh? Oh, not really. I mean, it was hard for a couple of years but then I got my psych to give me some Ritalin and now it's really easy." Rebecca responded, rather nonchalantly. "You get used to it. And, no, you can't have any."

"Aw." Josh mumbles, sounding genuinely disappointed. Rebecca leans back and cackles.

"What, did I pre-empt you? You don't want it, anyway, Ritalin isn't the fun stuff. You want Adderall." She jokes, leaning into a pillow, resting her elbow on it while propping her textbook open between her legs.

"Oh yeah, why's that?" Josh asks, arms crossed, brows furrowed comedically hard. "What if I want to have Ritalin?"

"You don't, it doesn't give you any energy. It just makes you forget to eat and be unable to fall asleep. Like, eyes completely shut for hours but still unable to fall asleep fall asleep." Rebecca explains, leaning back in, full of verve, drive, amusement.

Josh rubs his slightly fuzzy chin. "Hmm. I'll take your word for it for now."

She turns back to face you. "Anyway, yeah, a lot of Ritalin, a lot of self-discipline. It just doesn't read as strange to me anymore."

"Do your parents, like, have to travel a lot for work?" You ask. Josh shoots you a nervous glance, while Rebecca's eyes go glassy for a moment.

"I'm just by myself here, man. That's it." She says, after a moment's anxious hesitation.

>Give her a pat on the back.
>"...Can I have some Ritalin?"
>Let her know you're available if she needs any help for anything.
>Free Option.

>>4760014
Oh man. Her whole family?
>Give her a pat on the back.
>Let her know you're available if she needs any help for anything.

>>4760014
yeah it's totally fine, I just got drugs EVERYTHINGS FINE
>>Give her a pat on the back.
>>Let her know you're available if she needs any help for anything.

>>4760014
Supporting >>4760102

>>4760102
>>4761943
You reach over and give her a couple of quick pats on the back, and she gives you a wry little smile, the same smile she always seems to give to everything. You think about how awful it must be to have to live by yourself because Dragons ate your entire family. She can't even remember what she lost - it sounds terrible. "Well. If you ever need help, like, doing laundry or whatever. Or just like. With anything, feel free to give me a call."

"Yeah, me too." Josh chimes in, ever the helpful meathead. Your hair stands up on the back of your neck and this time it is not just a normal sense of heebie jeebies. You swallow thick and try not to call attention to the very sudden acceleration of your heartbeat. "I'm like, good at lifting shit. So, I don't know. If you ever need some, uh... shit lifted. I'm your shit lifting guy."

Rebecca giggles and your stomach turns. Your brain instinctively begins slamming all your danger buttons. Why here? Why now? You see a figure streak by the window, and hear the beating of large, leathery wings, pushing air out of the way. A shrouded figure lands on the fire escape, just out of view, causing it to loudly creak and groan with weight.

Nobody but you notices. "I'll certainly give you a ring if I ever need some "shit lifted", in a not-euphemism sort of way." Rebecca replies, playfully sticking her tongue out. "Oh, right, we should probably exchange numbers then."

"You two don't already have each other's numbers?" You ask, raising an eyebrow and trying very hard not to freak out. The air is full of fuzz.

"No." Rebecca replies, matter of factly, while Josh taps his contact information into her phone.

"Yeah, don't worry, I didn't plan to do any euphemisms to you anyway." Josh says. You get the distinct feeling that he doesn't know what a euphemism is.

>Ask Josh if he knows what a euphemism is.
>Scramble in your backpack to see if you have any Dragon blood injectors packed away. You want to be ready in case you need to make a sudden disappearance.
>Tell everyone that you have a very bad feeling and that they should all probably leave to the lobby. Just trust you. Please.
>Grab your honing steel. It's still in your backpack, just slip it under your ass in case you need it.
>Why would a Dragon even be here? The fact that it's not just charging through the window and trying to kill you means it's probably not just a normal Dragon. Just... chill. Hold your ground, but be prepared to fight.
>Ignore it and it will go away. Ignore it and it will go away.
>Free Option.

>>4762098
>Scramble in your backpack to see if you have any Dragon blood injectors packed away. You want to be ready in case you need to make a sudden disappearance.
>Grab your honing steel. It's still in your backpack, just slip it under your ass in case you need it.
>Why would a Dragon even be here? The fact that it's not just charging through the window and trying to kill you means it's probably not just a normal Dragon. Just... chill. Hold your ground, but be prepared to fight.

>>4762098
>Scramble in your backpack to see if you have any Dragon blood injectors packed away. You want to be ready in case you need to make a sudden disappearance.
>Why would a Dragon even be here? The fact that it's not just charging through the window and trying to kill you means it's probably not just a normal Dragon. Just... chill. Hold your ground, but be prepared to fight.

Saint, buddy, is that you? Is our theory that you're connected to Rebecca right? Or is this the other Dragon from last night?

>>4762098
>>Why would a Dragon even be here? The fact that it's not just charging through the window and trying to kill you means it's probably not just a normal Dragon. Just... chill. Hold your ground, but be prepared to fight.
leathery wings huh? Rebecca really is a heroine.

File: Spoiler Image (130 KB, 662x803)

130 KB PNG

>>4762366
>>4762237
>>4762114
You scramble quietly in your backpack for a blood injector, hoping that at some point in the past couple of days you managed to get one. You reach down and dig up exactly one of those little modified epipens, tucking it away into your pants pocket while Rebecca and Josh are distracted making small talk with each other. Great. That's there. Your honing steel is in there too, but you refrain from grabbing it just because you can't think of a way to explain it and you don't want to have to deal with that problem at all. You shift, and adjust, and stare at the window.

It slides open. A huge, leathery hand pulls the window aside and steps through, immediately filling the room with electricity. Saint stares at you, their eyes barely visible as pinpricks beneath their hoodie, stepping around the futon with all the gingerness of a child trying to avoid waking their parent.

If Saint is here for Josh or Rebecca, they're doing a very bad job of indicating that. Instead, they bend down, blood dripping off clawmarks dug into their face, long, deep, narrow. "You." They hiss, their blood dripping down onto the floor. They reach down and begin to catch it with their palm.

You look around and then, when the moment presents itself to do so without being noticed, point towards yourself. No need to speak to an invisible thing. You have no idea what it will sound like - will they notice you talking to Saint at all, or will you just start vanishing from their perception? It's not a gamble you think you want to take.

Saint growls quietly. "Hurts. Help."

>Dragon venom time. You need to be able to handle something delicate like this without using goofy hand signals.
>Get up, say you have to shit now or something, get Saint to follow you to the bathroom and snoop for some bandaids or something.
>Try to ignore Saint. Oh Jesus Christ, you have a Two-star Dragon bonded to you like a fucking baby bird. What the fuck. Jesus fuck.
>Try to talk to the group in a way that could indicate coded messages to Saint and hope he still has enough presence of mind to understand what you're doing.
>Free Option.
>Free Phrase.

>>4764103
>Dragon venom time. You need to be able to handle something delicate like this without using goofy hand signals.
Don't use healing alchemy on him anons. I don't think we want a Dragon in our head. Limit it to bandaids.

>>4764103
>Act like you got a call, then just walk around looking for signal and bandaids or something.
Noooo alchemy. Bad, bad idea.

>>4764103
>Dragon venom time. You need to be able to handle something delicate like this without using goofy hand signals.
>Free Option.
>But make an excuse to get up and go to another room, first, so once we're venomed up they rationalize it as us being out of the room, not us having never been there.
>Try to heal Saint as much as we can without invasive bioalchemy so that we don't wind up with an imprint of him in our mindscape. Enhanced bandages and disinfectant, direct healing only if the damage is severe.

Well, I see he's torn up from that fight he was in. What was that about, Saint?

>>4764103
>Try to heal Saint as much as we can without invasive bioalchemy so that we don't wind up with an imprint of him in our mindscape. Enhanced bandages and disinfectant, direct healing only if the damage is severe.

Tired from spending all day w/ my boyfriend, I am setting alarm and will be writing the update as SOON as I wake up tomorrow.

>>4764164
>>4764318
Yeah, backing something like this to justify venoming. And echoing the "Absolutely do not bioalchemize him" sentiment

>>4764318
>>4765836
>>4766315
>>4764140
"I gotta take a shit, be right back." You blurt out, getting back up, little modified epipen stuck in your pocket. You don't look to wait for their responses, only glancing at Saint and hoping they get the picture. If they do anything else, you don't see it, just because you don't want to look like a goof staring off into space before you vanish from their perception from a couple of hours. Idly, you wonder if you're going to stop existing everywhere, even in their memories, but you don't have time to really pick at this.

Thankfully, after you disappear into the bathroom, Saint seems to get the message. It takes them a minute, a single, heart-pounding minute, while you bite your knuckle on one hand and ram the epipen into your thigh with the other, wincing in pain, but eventually you hear their heavy, dense footsteps following you into the bathroom. You hike the side of your pants up and begin rummaging.

"What happened, big fella? You doing alright?" You ask, using the same tone of voice you'd use on a scared dog, as they stomp into the bathroom and immediately climb into the bathtub.

"Monster... In-half monster." They say, and your throat feels very stuffed for a moment before you swallow it down. You look through the cabinets, managing to find a who's who of home medical equipment - gauze, rubbing alcohol, bandaids, neosporin, ibuprofen, the works. More than enough that even your amateur ass, who has seen his fair share of medical dramas, has a vague idea of what to do.

"An in-half monster?" You ask, fishing for more information. You glance back towards Saint, who is busy slowly pulling their hoodie open like it's a membrane enclosed around them, revealing some fairly severe gashes ripped into their chest. Blood, thick, gooey, slowly congealing, drips down from their wounds.

Saint nods. "Had to kill them... If I kill monsters, I'll... be human again." They wheeze. You... don't know where they got this belief from, but from their tone of voice, you can feel they believe it whole-heartedly. They believe it with the conviction of a dying man looking for a cure for cancer. You don't know if it's true or not, but you can tell they're willing to do anything. It's a certain kind of dying desperation.

"Don't worry, buddy, I'm gonna fix you up." You say, pulling open the roll of gauze.

Okay... How do we deal with this?

>Free Option & Free Phrases

>>4767229
>Pack the wounds with gauze, put folded gause over them, then something hard over the gauze, then bandage it all very tightly to put pressure on the wounds.
This is treatment for a human, but let's hope it works. Also, it's just first aid. But that PE teacher survived being torn in half, so Saint probably can tough it out.

>>4767229
>Look up WikiHow on cell phone how to treat a deep cut, if Noah doesn't already know.
>Examine for any debris, wipe away with gauze if present.
>Gently wash with water, don't apply significant pressure.
>Dry, apply antibiotic salve if available. Do not use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol, they disinfect but can cause more damage.
>Place gauze pad on wounds, wrap to apply pressure and afix.

>>4766191
didn't expect you to be gay

>>4767305
>>4767734
+1

>>4767229
>Is the one you're trying to protect the girl over there?
>If it is, you probably made this town a lot safer for her.

>>4767915
Very few do.

>>4767734
>>4767305
>>4767915
You grab your phone and pull it out of your pocket, hitting WikiHow on how to treat a deep cut, and then get to work while Saint watches. You don't trust a rag in Rebecca's bathroom to be sanitary, so you wad up some gauze into a ball and soak it with warm water before going to examine Saint's cuts.

Thankfully, there doesn't appear to be much debris or anything there besides blood. Saint sits there, stone-still, not even wincing as you wipe and clean as effectively as you can, your hands getting smeared with Dragon blood that you wash off in more hot water, going back and forth between the sink and Saint. You apologize mentally to Rebecca and yank off a bunch of toilet paper to dab Saint dry.

No need for alchemy today - not the least of which being that you do not want a Dragon inside your head, even one with seemingly good intentions.

You smear some antibiotic ointment pretty haphazardly across Saint's chest and face, which does finally get them to wince slightly. Then, gauze pads, and you wrap it tightly the best you can with the gauze bandage, having the very uncomfortable experience of fitting your hands behind Saint's hoodie - just a little bit uncomfortably damp. You pass it around Saint's back over and over again and then tape it sealed, before doing the same across their face, putting in the effort to avoid covering their eyes. When you're done, you step away, admiring your handiwork, and Saint's hoodie slowly sort of... gloms itself back shut over their strange, dark, scaly chest.

"Feeling better?" You ask, starting to pack away the first aid equipment.

"No." Saint replies, bluntly. "But, thank you."

>"So... what happened, exactly? Walk me through it."
>"Did you come here just because of me? Are we friends now?"
>"Who told you that killing Dragons would turn you human again?"
>Free Option.

>>4769460
>"So... what happened, exactly? Walk me through it."

>>4769460
>"So... what happened, exactly? Walk me through it."
>"Who told you that killing Dragons would turn you human again?"

You know, Rebecca's whole family probably was Dragon'd BY Saint.

>>4769460
>"So... what happened, exactly? Walk me through it."
>Free Option.
>"Was that you, last night?"

>>4769460
>"Did you come here just because of me? Are we friends now?"

>>4769782
>>4769525
>>4769522
"So... what happened, exactly? Walk me through it." You ask, hopping up on the sink and checking your phone's time. Depending on your metabolic action, you should have about two, maybe two and a half hours of unnoticability at best, which is almost certainly enough to do some moderate investigative work with the cooperative Saint. A part of you yells slightly, the part less capable of nuance, that's confused as to why you are trying to help a monster. You quiet that part down.

Saint leans on their knees, gently rubbing their gauze packings with the palm of their hand. "Can't smell... people like me. But I can... smell people like you. And I know that you smell... tasty." They wheeze quietly. "So, I was tracking the smells... figured that where I'd find people like you... I'd find people like me. I found one, and tried to kill it." They explain, laughing quietly at their misfortune in their garbled, twisted voice. "I did not win."

>"Kudos on you for trying, though - did you get any good hits in?"
>"Have you considered trying to find people like me and offering to work with them directly?"
>"Do you know where he went?"
>"It's okay, you tried your best. You did a good thing." Pat them on the shoulder.
>Free Option.

>>4772201
>"Who told you that killing Dragons would turn you human again?"
>"Do you know where he went?"

>>4772201
>"It's okay, you tried your best. You did a good thing." Pat them on the shoulder.
>"Have you considered trying to find people like me and offering to work with them directly?"

>>4772201
>Free Option.
>"At least you chased that dragon off, right? Stopped it from hurting anyone that night. You did a good thing."
>"So...I'm just curious, where did you learn that fighting other dragons would cure you? Have you met other people like you trying to get cured?"

>>4772201
>Free Option.
>"At least you chased that dragon off, right? Stopped it from hurting anyone that night. You did a good thing."
>"So...I'm just curious, where did you learn that fighting other dragons would cure you? Have you met other people like you trying to get cured?"
Willing to bet he DID try contact others like us, which is how he had ran afoul of FOODS when the ninja girl whose name I forget was defending him.

If you couldn't tell from the erratic update times, my sleep schedule is absolutely fucked - I'm passing out early tonight to try and do some catching up. Apologies, readers.

>>4774496
Proper sleep schedule is very important, as I have unfortunately come to know.

>>4772879
>>4772897
>>4772227
"At least you chased him off, right? You stopped it from hurting anyone else tonight." You say, giving Saint a supportive pat on the shoulder. Their nostrils flare and they recoil, a visible string of drool worming its way out of their mouth, and you back away, remembering that your blood smells delicious and Saint is likely using a lot of restraint to not attack you in here. Any questions about whether or not Saint attacked Rebecca's family are sort of out of sight, out of mind right now, only occasionally popping up to remind you that they exist. "You did a good thing."

Saint gives you a weak, toothy smile, wincing slightly and returning their strange un-lips to their resting position.

You hop back up onto the sink, kicking your legs back and forth quietly, just to give them something to do. "So... I'm just curious, where did you learn that fighting other dragons would cure you? Have you met other people like you trying to be cured?"

Saint thinks for a second, clearly trying to recall the memory, face scrunching up in effort. Their bandages wrinkle, and then smooth back out when they speak. "Cure... like me? No. Small little... dumpling." They say, holding their hand in front of their chest to measure height. From the looks of it, someone your height, maybe a little shorter. "Stupid robe... like a wizard... cultist... person. Had... medicine. Medicine wasn't for me... but they said... could make better medicine with hearts. People like me. Monster hearts."

Your own thumps hard twice. What in the world?

>Free Option.

>>4776969
>I've seen someone use that medicine once. They weren't looking so good afterward.
>Maybe you should check up on HER, just make sure she isn't being turned into medicine.
Haha, this world is fucked.

>>4776969
>I've seen someone use that medicine once. They weren't looking so good afterward.

>>4776969
>"Oh. That's not the first time I've heard of a robed wizard-cultist-person giving out magic medicine."
>"Someone at my school met them, got given instructions on how to make a monster of their own. Not like Dragons, more like a zombie. It got out of control and tried to drain the life out of her. We stopped it, but it could have been a lot worse."
>"I don't know what their intentions are, but I don't think they care about the risks. Be careful around them, Saint."

Hello friends I ended up hyperfixating on something stupid and pulled an accidental all nighter and I need to do a benedryl reset because the first one didn't work. Apologies, will update ASAP, possibly later this afternoon.

>>4779529
ah, so a tuesday

>>4779529
Do what you gotta do, man.

>>4776970
>>4776990
>>4777182
"I've seen someone use their medicine once." You say, folding your arms up underneath your chin. Saint leans forward, already engaged in the conversation and now with their engagement on hyper-drive. They're very interested in what you have to say next. "They weren't looking too good afterwards."

"Elaborate." Saint demands quietly, their mouth moving awkwardly around a large, forked tongue. Their face slumped quietly - if you had to guess, Saint hasn't exactly been used to having extended conversations with other people since their transformation into a Dragon. Their mouth looks like it's trying to figure out how exactly to move its lips and tongue in a way that produces un-garbled words, and that it's slowly exhausting the muscles there in the process, a thin hiss slipping into their words.

"Well, someone at my school met them and they were given instructions on how to make a monster. Not like you but more like... a zombie? You know what zombies are, right?" You ask, scratching your head. You have no idea any form of cultural context for Saint other than that they are slightly religious, or at least remembered enough about childhood religious parables to tell you about the weird lip divot thing when you first met.

Saint chuckles, low and throaty. "I know... very much about zombies..."

You decide not to read into that. "Well, it got out of control and tried to kill her. We managed to stop it, but it could have gone a lot worse."

"Other monsters... besides people... like me..." Saint muses quietly to themselves, furrowing their eyebrows into a thin scowl. "More kinds of monsters... Interesting..." They hiss.

"I don't know what their intentions are, but I don't think they care about the risks. Be careful around them, Saint." You offer, squeaking back slightly on the sink to get yourself in a more comfortable sitting position. Saint looks at you and tries their best smile, which looks absolutely terrifying on them.

"I will... be cautious. Thank you, young one..." Saint hisses, their jaw hanging slowly open while they try not to drool around their tongue.

>Sit there in silence for a while, at least until Saint feels right enough to leave.
>See if there's any further cleanup you could do, possibly alchemically, on Saint's wounds (Free Phrase)
>Continue the conversation (Free Option)
>Free Option.

>>4783718
>See if there's any further cleanup you could do, possibly alchemically, on Saint's wounds (Free Phrase)
We shouldn't alchemize Saint, but we can alchemize the bandages and gauze, ordering them to "heal"

>>4783718
>Sit there in silence for a while, at least until Saint feels right enough to leave.
no alchemy. noooooooo.

>>4783735
Support

>>4783718
>Sit there in silence for a while, at least until Saint feels right enough to leave.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>4783784
>>4783735
1
>>4783739
>>4784604
2

>>4784604
>>4783739
You decide that for now the best solution would be no alchemy. While you do... kind of trust Saint, which your brain sort of immediately recoils at the thought of, they're still a Dragon, and you still need to bleed on something to perform alchemy, and they will still smell your blood but this time out in the open. No, that's probably a bad idea.

The two of you sit in silence. You twiddle your thumbs a little bit while Saint pants and gently adjusts their bandages. By the time you speak next, a gentle puddle of drool has built up in the bathtub from Saint's mouth, which they don't seem to mind but... you guess you'll run Rebecca's shower for a bit to clean that up. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." Saint says, stretching their arms out sideways. "Not best... but better... I will find a place to rest and... then find the person... for answers..." They hiss, spiky bones beginning to emerge out of their elbows while webbing forms between their fingers. They trod out of the bathtub, brushing the curtain aside, and fumble with the doorknob - you duck their arms and open the bathroom door for them. They know the way back to the window they slid open, and Rebecca and Josh are still there studying, neither one of them acknowledging you or Saint's presence. By your timer you have probably about an hour left of invisibility or so.

Saint grabs the window and pries it silently open.

>"Hey, if you find anything out... try to let me know? We've been hunting this person down for a while... it'd be a great way to help us out."
>"Be careful out there, Saint. I'd be upset if anything happened to you."
>"Best of luck, Saint."
>Remain silent
>Free Option.

Next update likely last for the thread.

>>4785485
Oh fuck, I forgot we have tasty blood.
Thank the dice god.


>"Hey, if you find anything out... try to let me know? We've been hunting this person down for a while... it'd be a great way to help us out."

>>4785485
>"Best of luck, Saint."

>>4785485
>>"Best of luck, Saint."

>>4785485
>"Best of luck, Saint."
>"Stay safe."

>>4786431
>>4786074
>>4785502
You decide that maybe trying to hire Saint unofficially for information gathering might not be the best move, considering a number of factors, like how it might put you in contact with a Dragon in public in a way that could get you in trouble with FOODS, or just the fact that Saint could find you while you're injured and potentially freak out... A bunch of reasons, really. "Best of luck, Saint. Stay safe."

Saint turns back to you. "Stay safe." They reply, climbing out onto the fire escape. You watch, not too closely, as their hands and arms morph out into long, large, batlike wings. You don't see what happens to your bandages, but you hope they stay put, at least, as Saint takes two heavy flaps, bends at the knee, and bounds off into the air.

You have some time before you regain visibility, so you shut the window before anyone can notice and shut it for you, and then contemplate your options.

>NOW is the time to go snooping.
>Don't abuse this, man, just sit and chill until it runs out.
>Steal one (1) candy bar, and THEN chill until it runs out.
>Free Option.

>>4785485
Last update for this thread, and a pre-emptive warning - at the end of this month I will be moving from my current apartment back home with my parents temporarily while my new home gets finished up. Expect semi-significant disruptions to regular service.

As always, I hope you enjoy reading. I cherish you all a great deal. Archive coming tomorrow.

>>4787962
>NOW is the time to go snooping.
time for MC to get in touch with his inner stalk-I mean detective

>>4787962
>NOW is the time to go snooping.

>>4787966
>believing anything Trick says

>>4787962
>NOW is the time to go snooping.
>Free Option.
>But be cool about it. Don't go digging through desks or closets unless we think there's a really urgent reason. Stick to surface-level stuff for now.

Don't want to be a creep, after all.

Oh, and congratulations on the new home, even if you have to deal with some hassle first.

>>4787962
>>NOW is the time to go snooping.
>>4787966
This must be the most pathetic thing I've read all year.

Thread archived at: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/4732266/

Will whip up the next thread tomorrow. Always glad to have you all as my readers, hope you have a good Wednesday.

>>4789926
Thanks for running!

>>4789926
Thanks for running, Richard. See you at the next thread.

>>4789926
Thanks for running, dude!

New thread:

>>4794105