He's in a small shop, seated at a table mixing medicine. He has white horns on either side of his head and blue dragon wings. A small blue dragon is taking a nap on the floor.
-He does legitimately make medicine, so he can be relieved that he wasn't wrong about that. -He's a dragon person??? What the heck he wants to have wings and horns??? -Also he has a dragon as... a pet, maybe? -He works at, or possibly owns, a shop with clear Japanese influence in the decor.
There is a cat person. A good solid amount furrier than your usual cat-eared scantily-clad anime girls. The other three people here - a young blond boy, a youthful priest, and a man around Doctor's age in a green hood - look human, so there's that.
The cat complains. "Whew… So, so exhausted… An old cat like me can't take the heavy labor here… I been sleepin' and sleepin', but I just can't break the fatigue. So this is getting old, eh… If I could just visit a clinic, I bet I could get prescribed a good remedy to get me goin' again… Hm…"
Doctor: "Ah, is that right? You request a remedy to take away your fatigue? Just leave that to me. I happen to have the ingredients, so I can make it up for you here." He turns to the young boy. "…Well, Russell? Could you give me some time?"
Russell nods, and Doctor settles down, pulling out plants and herbs from some pocket or another to start mixing up medicine.
-There are apparent humans where he's from in addition to dragon people, and cat people also. -He was going around in a group of four, for some reason? Including a priest? -The boy is named Russell. -He just carries medicine ingredients around.
Notably, in this memory Doctor does not have horns or wings, and the shop he's in - while similar - is different to the one from his first memory.
Doctor is treating a burn on Russell's hand. He asks idly how he got it, and Russell tells him with no emotion that he burned down a church. Doctor pauses momentarily before continuing to wrap up Russell's hand. He asks if it was an accident, and Russell says no, to which Doctor has no visible reaction.
Russell asks if he's going to call the police, to which Doctor smiles and says no. He wishes Russell a good day, and to come back any time if there's anything else he needs.
-apparently he's not always a dragon -apparently this preteen is an arsonist (possibly a murderer if anyone was in the church) -apparently he's sheltering an arsonist or at least not going to the police??
Doctor - this time, not with wings or horns - in a kitchen. He's preparing manjuu, it looks like, though with a dark and sorrowful expression that doesn't suit the delicious food.
After a bit, he searches the shelves. Behind several other ingredients, deliberately placed out of sight, he pulls out an unlabeled bag of white powder. Doctor slips on a pair of latex gloves, and hesitates for a long moment, before adding the powder to the manjuu. He's extremely careful not to spill any or get any on himself.
In this memory, Doctor has horns and wings, and is talking to a blond boy inside his shop. The boy - who might be recognizable from one of Doctor's other memories as Russell - has a particularly blank expression as he asks, "Why do you talk like that?"
"Hm? Ah, well, because." Doctor seems surprised to be asked. "Simply a habit of sorts, yes. I have always been beyond my years, in a sense. All things my grandfather did seemed to me rather cool… …So in imitating his speech, I have become rather tainted by it. Consider it a kind of accent. …It was too my grandfather who taught me the ways of medicine. Never can I fully express my thanks."
Horns and wings, but that's definitely not the weirdest thing about the memory. For one thing, there's no floor? There's the vague outline of a path, but besides that the surroundings are vague red and black shapes that change into different settings (a school, a shady hideout) at random. A giant disembodied mouth, a table and a book on top of nothing. A red mailbox rapidly changes states from clean to dirty with some kind of black corruption and back.
"Serious errors have occurred in all four sectors. Please fix errors. Repeat. Serious errors have occurred in all four sectors. Please fix errors..." announces a mechanical voice from nowhere.
Russell looks a tiny bit unnerved as he leads the way, searching for something in the space. Doctor, and the young man and priest with him, don't react at all. They attack the black, amorphous monsters when they appear from nowhere, but they don't say anything, look around at all the weirdness surrounding them, or emote at all.
Doctor and Russell are sitting quietly in his home, when Doctor clears his throat. "I... have a request to make of you, if I may."
Russell nods, and Doctor goes on: "I want you to kill me."
Russell doesn't look surprised, just faintly sad. He hesitates a moment, before getting up and going to the kitchen. He returns with a sharp kitchen knife in his hand.
Doctor - smiles, soft and entirely genuine. "Thank you, Russell. I truly do appreciate your kindness."
The boy (who can't be older than 14 in this memory) makes a complicated expression before stabbing Doctor in the neck. It doesn't take long for the memory, and presumably Doctor's life, to end.
[It's Doctor (with horns and wings) and Russell in a medicine shop... speaking to a blue dragon roughly the size of a human.]
Well, if it isn't Kantera. Wandered off from the store to who knows where again? Harumph...
Ahh, my apologies. I just happened to lose the Dragon Compass, you see. I was getting some help finding it...
W-Why… How appalling!! If you've lost that of all things... Can't you not enter Dragons' Peak?! Search more earnestly, will you?!
D-Don't be so angry... It's not as if it's vanished from the world. I'll someday find it... ...That's how I see it, at least.
Don't get philosophical, go search for it!! I won't let you in the house until you find it!!
[Wincing, Doctor - Kantera - turns to Russell.] ...Whew. Angrier than I imagined... Very well, let us search in earnest. Indeed, it is inconvenient not being able to enter Dragons' Peak...
[Doctor (with horns and wings), Russell, and a blond man around Doctor's age not previously seen in any memories are soaking in a bathhouse.]
…Ah, baths are wonderful. They truly heal body and soul. …Russell, be sure to wash up to your shoulders. [He turns to the other man, smiling.] …And you there, young one. Won't you get out of that corner and chat with us?
…Thanks for the concern. But I've got no intention of being buddy-buddy with you.
Hm… What a sour temper. You'll make no friends like that.
I don't need to hear it… Just leave me be.
[Doctor turns back to Russell, who looks (as ever) unphased.] My, it seems I've upset him. Is this what they call puberty? Though… Talking to him does feel somehow strange. …I can't quite determine what it is.
[Doctor (with horns and wings) and Russell are talking to a person who has a red spider lily for a head, selling wares on a rug in a dark place.]
Shopkeeper, we've safely delivered the Higan Manjuu to the inhabitant of Room 104. …I doubt I would have found it were it not for Russell… But it all worked out in the end.
Ahh, I am grateful. I am grateful. You have made up for my disgrace. I am grateful. As thanks, I will give you a song. This is all that I have, so I hope it satisfies you. I give you this song out of affection. And my affection will also show in giving you manjuu for a reduced price. …Truly, thank you very much.
Ahh, which is to say you'll sell us manjuu for cheaper? …Well done, Russell.
[In a room full of catnip plants, Russell waters a sprout with a watering can, and a cactus grows instantly. And then it talks.]
Ah, hey there. I'mma Cacten. You watered me, didja? Much obliged. ...'Cept, well. I ain't like other plants, in that I don't spit out seeds so easy, is the thing. Sorry 'bout that. ...Yeah, well, t'be blunt? Sorta a "bzzt, wrong" kinda deal. Don't think bad of me, y'hear.
[Horns and wings: fighting animated medical equipment inside a hospital with weird purple tentacle-like growths sticking out from the floor all over the place. His companions are Russell, a previously seen young man in a green coat, and a pink-haired maid.
They retreat upstairs to rest next to a purple balloon - there are bloody handprints on the windows and signs everywhere warning abut missing children - and Russell approaches Doctor.]
Hrm, a fine hospital this is. Though the strange purple things make it a bit hard to traverse… …The notices put up all around are also quite discomforting. Was there some incident here? …I suppose my medicine store may win out on the whole? Hohohoh.
[Horns and wings: Russell talking to Doctor in his shop.]
Oh, it's you. Good work once more today. …I did fret, as I hadn't heard good rumors about that hospital… I'm glad nothing came of those. …So, what do you seek? Going to look at medicines?
Let us chat.
Let's see… I suppose I should close up the shop early and go check on Saxon. …That would put Mireille more at ease as well. How heroic of me. Hohoh. But really… Just when does Saxon intend on making her his bride…? Ahh, how vexing!
Day 525, tw: unreality, murder, teenager assisted suicide
[Doctor, in his shop, with horns and wings. Russell, with a guilty expression on his face.]
Ah, if it isn't Russell. What are you doing up so late? ...Quite a melancholy look there. If you've any ills, talk with me. ...Showing me such a pained look makes me too worried to let you go.
[Russell, hanging his head, starts to speak. This world isn't real. It's a dream, as is everyone in it. The villagers are all figments based on people Russell killed in the real world.
The corners of the world start to shatter into pieces, slowly but surely.]
...This world is your dream, and we were...? ...My, my... [Doctor smiles, though it's a little strained.] ...Hm, a new kind of joke? Quite twisted for your standards. For a moment, I thought it was true -
[Russell simply shakes his head.]
...Russell... ...Hm, I see. It seems it wasn't a lie. Which means...
[Their surroundings shift, a different shop - similar in style, but a bit more realistic. Doctor looks around.]
...Ah, yes, this is the place... This is where you... [He turns back to Russell.] ...Well. In truth, I thought something amiss. Though I had no proof of it... Since sometimes, my memories would get confused. ...Ahh, so it wasn't the onset of dementia. That's a relief. ...Now then, Russell. Given you're telling me this... What do you seek from me? ...It's fine, go ahead and say it. I... do believe I understand. The feeling of wanting to be killed.
[Russell, still not able to meet Doctor's eyes, kneels on the floor.]
...Hohoh. Yes, as I thought. You can be so adorable, Russell. What I once asked of you... Now you ask it of me. ...What a laugh. [Doctor's pained smile fades.] ...But are you truly sure? Even if I stab you here... Your sins won't vanish. As such... Shall we not pretend I heard nothing here tonight... and continue to all live together?
[Russell closes his eyes and says nothing.]
...Russell... [After a moment, Doctor draws out a knife from his robe.] ...Ah, sorry to waste your time. That was merely... my own desire. Please... forget about it. ...Perhaps we may be make-believe in comparison to the real us. Even so... For those of us born here, the days we spent with you were everything. And... those weren't so bad. ...All right. Are you ready now? ...I'll do it soon.
[Around them, reality fractures even more.]
...Good night, Russell...
[Doctor stabs Russell in the neck, and the world ends.]
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Day 444
no subject
-He's a dragon person??? What the heck he wants to have wings and horns???
-Also he has a dragon as... a pet, maybe?
-He works at, or possibly owns, a shop with clear Japanese influence in the decor.
Day 445
The cat complains. "Whew… So, so exhausted… An old cat like me can't take the heavy labor here… I been sleepin' and sleepin', but I just can't break the fatigue. So this is getting old, eh… If I could just visit a clinic, I bet I could get prescribed a good remedy to get me goin' again… Hm…"
Doctor: "Ah, is that right? You request a remedy to take away your fatigue? Just leave that to me. I happen to have the ingredients, so I can make it up for you here." He turns to the young boy. "…Well, Russell? Could you give me some time?"
Russell nods, and Doctor settles down, pulling out plants and herbs from some pocket or another to start mixing up medicine.
no subject
-He was going around in a group of four, for some reason? Including a priest?
-The boy is named Russell.
-He just carries medicine ingredients around.
Day 449
Doctor is treating a burn on Russell's hand. He asks idly how he got it, and Russell tells him with no emotion that he burned down a church. Doctor pauses momentarily before continuing to wrap up Russell's hand. He asks if it was an accident, and Russell says no, to which Doctor has no visible reaction.
Russell asks if he's going to call the police, to which Doctor smiles and says no. He wishes Russell a good day, and to come back any time if there's anything else he needs.
no subject
-apparently this preteen is an arsonist (possibly a murderer if anyone was in the church)
-apparently he's sheltering an arsonist or at least not going to the police??
Day 451
After a bit, he searches the shelves. Behind several other ingredients, deliberately placed out of sight, he pulls out an unlabeled bag of white powder. Doctor slips on a pair of latex gloves, and hesitates for a long moment, before adding the powder to the manjuu. He's extremely careful not to spill any or get any on himself.
Day 451
"Hm? Ah, well, because." Doctor seems surprised to be asked. "Simply a habit of sorts, yes. I have always been beyond my years, in a sense. All things my grandfather did seemed to me rather cool… …So in imitating his speech, I have become rather tainted by it. Consider it a kind of accent. …It was too my grandfather who taught me the ways of medicine. Never can I fully express my thanks."
Day 460
"Serious errors have occurred in all four sectors. Please fix errors. Repeat. Serious errors have occurred in all four sectors. Please fix errors..." announces a mechanical voice from nowhere.
Russell looks a tiny bit unnerved as he leads the way, searching for something in the space. Doctor, and the young man and priest with him, don't react at all. They attack the black, amorphous monsters when they appear from nowhere, but they don't say anything, look around at all the weirdness surrounding them, or emote at all.
Day 460
Day 471, cw: assisted suicide by teenager
Doctor and Russell are sitting quietly in his home, when Doctor clears his throat. "I... have a request to make of you, if I may."
Russell nods, and Doctor goes on: "I want you to kill me."
Russell doesn't look surprised, just faintly sad. He hesitates a moment, before getting up and going to the kitchen. He returns with a sharp kitchen knife in his hand.
Doctor - smiles, soft and entirely genuine. "Thank you, Russell. I truly do appreciate your kindness."
The boy (who can't be older than 14 in this memory) makes a complicated expression before stabbing Doctor in the neck. It doesn't take long for the memory, and presumably Doctor's life, to end.
Day 485
Well, if it isn't Kantera. Wandered off from the store to who knows where again? Harumph...
Ahh, my apologies. I just happened to lose the Dragon Compass, you see. I was getting some help finding it...
W-Why… How appalling!! If you've lost that of all things... Can't you not enter Dragons' Peak?! Search more earnestly, will you?!
D-Don't be so angry... It's not as if it's vanished from the world. I'll someday find it... ...That's how I see it, at least.
Don't get philosophical, go search for it!! I won't let you in the house until you find it!!
[Wincing, Doctor - Kantera - turns to Russell.] ...Whew. Angrier than I imagined... Very well, let us search in earnest. Indeed, it is inconvenient not being able to enter Dragons' Peak...
Day 497
…Ah, baths are wonderful. They truly heal body and soul. …Russell, be sure to wash up to your shoulders. [He turns to the other man, smiling.] …And you there, young one. Won't you get out of that corner and chat with us?
…Thanks for the concern. But I've got no intention of being buddy-buddy with you.
Hm… What a sour temper. You'll make no friends like that.
I don't need to hear it… Just leave me be.
[Doctor turns back to Russell, who looks (as ever) unphased.] My, it seems I've upset him. Is this what they call puberty? Though… Talking to him does feel somehow strange. …I can't quite determine what it is.
Day 497
Shopkeeper, we've safely delivered the Higan Manjuu to the inhabitant of Room 104. …I doubt I would have found it were it not for Russell… But it all worked out in the end.
Ahh, I am grateful. I am grateful. You have made up for my disgrace. I am grateful. As thanks, I will give you a song. This is all that I have, so I hope it satisfies you. I give you this song out of affection. And my affection will also show in giving you manjuu for a reduced price. …Truly, thank you very much.
Ahh, which is to say you'll sell us manjuu for cheaper? …Well done, Russell.
Day 509
Ah, hey there. I'mma Cacten. You watered me, didja? Much obliged. ...'Cept, well. I ain't like other plants, in that I don't spit out seeds so easy, is the thing. Sorry 'bout that. ...Yeah, well, t'be blunt? Sorta a "bzzt, wrong" kinda deal. Don't think bad of me, y'hear.
Day 514, tw: blood, hospitals
They retreat upstairs to rest next to a purple balloon - there are bloody handprints on the windows and signs everywhere warning abut missing children - and Russell approaches Doctor.]
Hrm, a fine hospital this is. Though the strange purple things make it a bit hard to traverse… …The notices put up all around are also quite discomforting. Was there some incident here? …I suppose my medicine store may win out on the whole? Hohohoh.
Day 514
Oh, it's you. Good work once more today. …I did fret, as I hadn't heard good rumors about that hospital… I'm glad nothing came of those. …So, what do you seek? Going to look at medicines?
Let us chat.
Let's see… I suppose I should close up the shop early and go check on Saxon. …That would put Mireille more at ease as well. How heroic of me. Hohoh. But really… Just when does Saxon intend on making her his bride…? Ahh, how vexing!
Day 525, tw: unreality, murder, teenager assisted suicide
Ah, if it isn't Russell. What are you doing up so late? ...Quite a melancholy look there. If you've any ills, talk with me. ...Showing me such a pained look makes me too worried to let you go.
[Russell, hanging his head, starts to speak. This world isn't real. It's a dream, as is everyone in it. The villagers are all figments based on people Russell killed in the real world.
The corners of the world start to shatter into pieces, slowly but surely.]
...This world is your dream, and we were...? ...My, my... [Doctor smiles, though it's a little strained.] ...Hm, a new kind of joke? Quite twisted for your standards. For a moment, I thought it was true -
[Russell simply shakes his head.]
...Russell... ...Hm, I see. It seems it wasn't a lie. Which means...
[Their surroundings shift, a different shop - similar in style, but a bit more realistic. Doctor looks around.]
...Ah, yes, this is the place... This is where you... [He turns back to Russell.] ...Well. In truth, I thought something amiss. Though I had no proof of it... Since sometimes, my memories would get confused. ...Ahh, so it wasn't the onset of dementia. That's a relief. ...Now then, Russell. Given you're telling me this... What do you seek from me? ...It's fine, go ahead and say it. I... do believe I understand. The feeling of wanting to be killed.
[Russell, still not able to meet Doctor's eyes, kneels on the floor.]
...Hohoh. Yes, as I thought. You can be so adorable, Russell. What I once asked of you... Now you ask it of me. ...What a laugh. [Doctor's pained smile fades.] ...But are you truly sure? Even if I stab you here... Your sins won't vanish. As such... Shall we not pretend I heard nothing here tonight... and continue to all live together?
[Russell closes his eyes and says nothing.]
...Russell... [After a moment, Doctor draws out a knife from his robe.] ...Ah, sorry to waste your time. That was merely... my own desire. Please... forget about it. ...Perhaps we may be make-believe in comparison to the real us. Even so... For those of us born here, the days we spent with you were everything. And... those weren't so bad. ...All right. Are you ready now? ...I'll do it soon.
[Around them, reality fractures even more.]
...Good night, Russell...
[Doctor stabs Russell in the neck, and the world ends.]