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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 17, 2015 1:05:00 GMT -5
Hands in his pockets, eyes on the ground, tail swaying in sync with his steps, Paul strolled aimlessly through the mall. He wasn't looking to go anywhere or do anything. All he wanted was to clear his mind. To stop dwelling on thoughts of dragons, premonitions, and more than anything else, the origin of his physical condition. He had to relax. He had to calm himself down if he was going to have any chance at rationally sorting this out.
Oh, who was he kidding? Everything he had ever thought about himself might as well have been a lie.
He looked up, taking note of the people he walked past. Back home, someone like Paul wasn't exactly common. Here on the island, he had a bit more leeway to walk around in public without fear of being judged. Nonetheless, he had to wonder what those around him were thinking about the man with blue, scaly skin, yellow eyes and a tail. Even for a place as odd as this, he still stuck out like a sore blue thumb.
No... Stop that, he mentally scolded himself. It doesn't matter. There's nothing wrong with you. Whatever it is that made you look like this, whether or not you ARE some human-dragon hybrid, it doesn't change who you are.
Paul sighed and massaged his temple, still sore from taking a book to the head. As he rubbed the ache away, however, he noticed something that nearly made him freeze on the spot.
He slowly drew his hand away, claws trailing along his skin, and his jaw dropped at the sight of the scale that had detached from his forehead and now rested in his palm.
"S... Svabol...?"
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Post by DMis on Nov 17, 2015 1:23:26 GMT -5
"Paul!" called Forsaken as she darted out of the library. A rune covered cube soon was under her feet as she sailed through the crowd.
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Post by ryocker on Nov 17, 2015 1:35:24 GMT -5
"Come get your Volcan Hot dogs!" a man called from a nearby island stand. "Cooked up from the flames of a real, and very powerful king monster! It tastes like nothing you've ever seen before!"
The stand itself was rather ordinary- you could see some places for hot dogs to display, as well as a large assortment of random condiments. Though possibly the weirdest thing about the stand was the sign painted on it: A crazy looking candle man eating a pack of hot-dogs.
Nearby the stand, an odd looking armadillo Cowboy stood staring at the hot dog in his hand, eating it. "...no onions, so not bad," he muttered.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 17, 2015 1:43:39 GMT -5
Paul anxiously looked around, as if to double check if anyone was looking at him. When it became apparent that his affliction was a secret for now, he moved over to the nearest department store window and stared at his faint reflection in the glass.
It was difficult to make out, but upon moving his bangs aside, he could just barely see the vacant spot on his forehead where the shed scale in his hand used to be. A soft shudder involuntarily escaped his mouth as he let his hair fall back into place and cast a glance over his shoulder again. The look in his yellow eyes could only be described as panic.
He had to find some privacy.
He had to know if this was really happening.
AGAIN.
Haphazardly, Paul began a mad dash through the mall in search of the nearest restroom, blazing past the hot dog stand and God knows how many confused and startled bystanders in the process.
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Post by DMis on Nov 17, 2015 1:49:04 GMT -5
Forsaken took to hovering above the crowd just as Paul went out of her range of sight. She came to land at the hot dog stand. "one dog with just ketchup," she asked the vendor.
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Post by ryocker on Nov 17, 2015 2:00:16 GMT -5
"Sure thing!" the man smiled. "Hey Wax, fire up the old flames!" A familiar, black, oozey slime slinked up from the hidden area of the stand, Flames blazing from one of his craters.
"Smokey, cooked, or charred?" the candleman asked, his flaming eyes looking at Forsaken.
They then puffed, revealing a pair of white beads for eyes. "...Don't I know you?" he asked.
"Keep cooking the dog, Wax," the man sighed. "You're break's in five minutes."
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 17, 2015 10:37:10 GMT -5
Eventually, Paul made his way through the food court and into the nearest men's room, leaning against the door and panting for a bit once he was inside. Upon investigation, he found that he was alone, a relieving discovery in its own right, but it wasn't exactly the thing on his mind.
Once he had caught his breath, Paul leaned against the sinks and closely studied his reflection in the mirror. Sure enough, upon pushing his bangs aside, he clearly saw the break in his scales' pattern, leaving the left side of his forehead asymmetrical to the right. He swallowed hard and brushed his thumb along the chip, inadvertently knocking another scale out of alignment; although he knew he probably shouldn't, he quickly grabbed ahold of this scale, wiggled it like a loose tooth, and pried it free with little to no effort.
He stared dumbfounded at this revelation. Then he grabbed a paper towel, laid it out on the counter and placed the two discarded scales on it.
Against his better judgment, Paul looked into the mirror again and resumed picking at the wound in his forehead, pulling loose more scales by the minute. He had to know what was causing this. He had to know why his body was coming apart again.
He found it strange just how terrified he was. In retrospect, this was nothing new. He was used to strange, unnatural physical alterations. But in hindsight, he hadn't developed any new traits in nearly ten years; until now, he had presumed that it was over and this was his permanent form. Plus, it wasn't like going through those changes as a child wasn't horrifying, and now, especially considering he had at least some understanding of why he was like this, he found it to be just as startling.
When enough scales had been shed, Paul discovered exactly what he expected he would and hoped he wouldn't. The early development of a pointed, dark blue, bony protrusion.
"Oh no... Ohhhhh no no no no no..."
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Post by DMis on Nov 17, 2015 12:26:34 GMT -5
"Cooked and yeah. We've met before... Crazy girl that went repelling in the Bottomless Canyon," she offered with a smile.
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Post by ryocker on Nov 17, 2015 22:12:35 GMT -5
Wax smiled. "So, where's the Kid, Inkblot, and the dragon fellow?" he asked, spinning the dog around his crater as it started to bloat and pop. "I haven't seen any of you since the mist returned."
The armadillo cowboy stood up, walking his way towards the Restroom Paul had used.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 17, 2015 22:26:47 GMT -5
"Oh God... Oh God..."
Paul knew he should stop. He knew he shouldn't keep tearing himself apart. But just like picking at a scab, he found it difficult to resist prodding at his wounds, if only to see the extent of his physical breakdown.
He quickly discovered that the scales along his right temple had loosened as well, and was now in the process of ripping those out one by one. The more he agitated them, the more came loose and the more pain he found himself in. What hurt the most was the sensitivity of the new appendages the missing scales gave way to. He figured he might as well call them what they were: horns. Even if they were so small that they had barely ruptured the skin, they were painfully obviously horns in the making.
And for reasons he couldn't exactly explain, this discovery scared Paul senseless.
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Post by DMis on Nov 17, 2015 22:32:47 GMT -5
"Haven't seen Crona or Ragnarok lately. Looking for Dragon guy now," she answered. "I think it's cooked well enough Wax."
As Paul had his flip out, another was walking in. From the mirror it looked almost like Forsaken had walked in but this one was obviously male.
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Post by ryocker on Nov 17, 2015 22:53:11 GMT -5
He pulled it off, handing it to the man making the dog a hot dog. He popped the dog in a bun, squirting ketchup on it with a smile. "Here you go, miss," he smiled. "A little overdone never killed anyone."
The Armadillo man gave a quick look back, clearly confused by the stranger. He gave no hello or welcome, Just walking in as he gave Paul a quick look. "You alright?" he asked.
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Post by ParamountKeymaster on Nov 17, 2015 23:00:36 GMT -5
Paul muffled a squeak, hastily pushing his bangs over his forehead with one hand and scooping up his pile of discarded scales with the other. "Uh yeah, yeah, I'm fine."
He then stuffed the bundle in his jacket pocket, flipped his hood up and started washing his hands. "Personal stuff. No big deal."
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Post by DMis on Nov 17, 2015 23:13:08 GMT -5
Forsaken nodded before biting into the dog. "Just like grandpa used to make. But I think this one is better," she offered with a smile.
"Okay.... Oh hey Paul," the male Forsaken offered as he went to wash his hands. "Been a while since the Beach party. You're looking rather well."
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Post by ryocker on Nov 18, 2015 0:03:22 GMT -5
"Two bucks a dog," the dog-maker smiled. "We take tips, too."
The cowboy simply walked himself to the stall, shrugging a bit as he went to do his business.
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