(Mingle Log/Open Prompts) found

[holidaygirl1225]

WHO: Noelle, clinic staff, and you!
WHAT: Mingle logs after the rescue & opportunities to visit Noelle while she's recovering
WHEN: After the conclusion of the 'Flight and Freeze' quest, through late October
WHERE: Bottlecap Bay Clinic
WARNINGS: Hospitalization/emergency departments, recovery from severe injury, comas, themes of depression & disassociation. Any spoilers for Deltarune will be marked.

After being found, Noelle was thawed by resident Fire-types and teleported by a helpful Abra to the clinic in Bottlecap Bay. An expert in emergency medicine- an Audino referred to as Dr. Dino- and her team immediately took Noelle into the back of the clinic and didn't come out for what seemed to be hours.

and your future lost its rights

When Dr. Dino finally emerges into the general waiting room, she announces tiredly that Noelle is likely to make a full recovery. Unfortunately, the Deerling in question is comatose doesn't seem likely to wake up for a while. She might be ready to visit soon, but for now, she needs careful monitoring.

1. Shortly Thereafter (Open; Mingle Log)

A. A nurse Chansey prepares some hot drinks for anyone who was waiting to hear if Noelle would be okay-- especially those who were in Icefall Lake. Feel free to rest here and decompress a bit before returning home.

B. Dr. Dino offers to take a look at any characters who were injured during the rescue operation. If your character works at the Clinic, maybe you're the one treating the injured instead to give Dr. Dino a break.

[ooc; Feel free to interact with each other in either prompt. The only limitation is that Dr. Dino requests you avoid Noelle's room for now.]

2. A Few Weeks Later (Open)

Noelle remains asleep, but Dr. Dino has declared her able to receive visitors. If you enter the room where she's resting, you'll find her curled up on a little cot and heavily bandaged. It seems she sustained several injuries from her rampage, both from being attacked and using high-power moves to attack others without training properly first. Every so often, Chansey will check her vitals and/or change her bandages.

In the corner, some gifts and 'get well soon' notes have piled up for her. If you want, you may leave something for her as well. You can also sit by her bedside and keep her company. If you talk to her, maybe she'll hear you?

At the moment you're visiting, Noelle looks...

A. Serene. Angelic, even. If it weren't for the bandaging, you might think she's just having an afternoon nap. She emits a faint peppermint scent, as always-- is that from the flower on her head, or is it just her?

B. Troubled. Her ears are down, pressed flat against her head. The flower on her head looks like it's trying to close up. Every so often, she makes a whimper or gives a faint kick to her leg as if she's trying to run. If you listen closely- very, very closely- you might hear her mutter something in her sleep. Maybe it's 'Dess'... maybe it's 'Kris'... maybe it's your name, if you were very close.

[ooc; Noelle will not wake up during threads responding to this prompt. If your character talks to her, she may or may not remember what's said to her. You can also leave a gift or a letter for Noelle if you'd like. Two or more people can visit Noelle in the same thread if you'd like this to be a mingle log as well.]

3. Approaching All Hallows' Eve (set in late October; Open unless marked)

Noelle awakened on her own. It's almost as if she waited for everyone to leave before opening her eyes. The rumor is that she sat straight up, staring intently at something nobody else could see.

Soon, word gets out that Noelle is awake. Dr. Dino wants to keep her in the clinic a bit longer to keep an eye on her, and as it turns out, Noelle struggles to walk on her own. When Dr. Dino isn't helping other patients, she helps Noelle walk around her room so she can stretch, sometimes. Chansey guards her room, both to protect her from anyone who would wish her harm (there are quite a few she fought with, after all) and to stop her from running away again.

Despite the fact that Noelle is awake, she's less accessible than before. Apparently, she doesn't want to see anyone. She seems deeply ashamed of her outburst, and aside from that, there's a fog of melancholy that weighs her down.

A. Whether you sneak in, muscle your way past Chansey, or find some other method, you get into Noelle's room without permission. She's visibly shocked to see you, but doesn't try to call for help or kick you out-- just blithely accepting whatever you plan to do.

B. (Closed except for Bigby, Kinger, Tenna, Umemiya, and Ren. NOT mandatory-- just the approved list.) If you wish to visit her and Noelle considered you a friend, she'll let you in. Sorry, Shoka and Kris, neither of you are on the list for some reason...?

With that said, she's quiet when you enter, almost giving the vibe of a broken doll. The curtains are drawn and she's still curled in on herself, only glancing at you furitively from the corner of her eye.

C. (Closed except for medical staff/helpers at the clinic.) Chansey allows you in, but you're being watched, just in case. Noelle doesn't regard you, allowing you to do whatever you came here to do.

4. Wildcard

[Feel free to discuss another prompt with me at friendlyflower, ask me for my Discord, or inbox me here. Additionally, feel free to flip me to brackets style for any of these and I'll match you.]

Comments

[heartonachain]

They continue to stare pointlessly, annoyance gradually ebbing away into blank neutrality. He means well, they think. Probably. They... must look pretty bad right now, too.

The Deino lowers their head again, making a small effort to adjust their stance. They manage to stand a little more firmly on their own, but...

"Sure." They're muttering an answer before they have a chance to think about it. The shaking has stopped, but they seem to wilt despite it. Damn. So much for their break.

It's completely pointless now, but they lean against him anyway. It's fuzzy, not quite fluffy, but still warm. Also a little tingly.

...

After a few seconds of relative normalcy, they cave to their innermost desires and bury their whole face in his side. Smells strongly of dog. Hell yeah.

[dunchies]

He smiles, unable to help himself even if Kris can't actually see it. Instead, they might feel the soft movement of a tail wagging. Of all the people who could understand that impulse with dogs, it's Laios most definitely.

"Feels nice, right? The tingling is from the electricity in my fur!" Said so excitedly, one must wonder how long he's been waiting to tell someone that fun fact. As Kris continues to bury their face into him, he noses the fur on top of their head now with a sniff and a huff.

Mossy. So very mossy. Almost reminds him of how the dungeon smelled sometimes.

"What guild are you in? I can help get you there." He pauses, looking back at the cart of milk at the clinic entrance. Someone... someone will come grab it, surely. But, first. "Actually, do you want some milk before we go? It's fresh. Maybe that'll help you get some strength back."

[heartonachain]

They breathe a muffled noise into his fur. Yeah, it's pretty nice. They don't even mind the nose in their hair. In this brief moment of respite, they are filled with the power of canine companionship.

They have to pull away eventually, though. The fur on their face and neck is puffed out from all the static, but they don't particularly mind it. They already have something far more important to focus on.

Free milk...

Their tail wags. Please. Please, let them have the free milk... they deserve a treat. Come on.

Yes please

♥︎

I'm good

They clamp their jaws shut, nodding aggressively despite the words still trying to force their way out. Yes they WOULD like the free milk actually! They very much want the free milk!!!

[dunchies]

In that moment, his heart fills with the kind of adoration reserved for only the cutest of creatures. Look at the way they wag their little nub of a tail. Look at how their fur puffs this way and that. He is trying so hard to be normal about this, but the inevitable sound of tippy taps betray him. They need milk. They need milk now.

"O-okay! Just... just wait here. I'll be right back!" A fairly accurate assesment, given how fast he turns around to make a dash toward the milk cart that's literally right there.

Actually, while he's at it, let him take it inside like he's supposed to.

A few moments later, he emerges from the clinic, holding a small crate with four whole glass bottles of fresh milk, just for Kris. He sets it down in front of them, tail wagging expectantly. "There you go! Have as much as you want. It's one of the tastiest things you can get around here."

In his excitement, he's forgotten that neither of them have hands to lift the bottles up to drink. It's fine. They'll figure it out.

[heartonachain]

Kris doesn't even realize how adorable they are, they're just thrilled to have confirmation of free milk. They sit and stay like an obedient little dragonpuppy while Laios finishes his delivery, and they're still in the exact same spot when he returns, staring blankly forward and wilfully oblivious to all the traffic they're blocking. Fuck everyone else, this is possibly the most important mission of their life.

They perk up when they hear the familiar paw pads and the clink of glass on wood. The Deino stands, just as excited as Laios, tail wagging as they nose the tops of the bottles. Four milks... this is the goddamn jackpot. There is no way they are going to let this opportunity pass.

Kris immediately latches onto one of the bottlecaps and starts gnawing like a living can opener. If they have to eat the lid to figure it out so help them, they will do it.

[dunchies]

His eyes go wide. Not only does he get to give the gift of delicious Miltank milk, but he gets to witness a precious baby dragon try it, presumably for the first time. This is his own form of enrichment, after all. Where else is he going to get educational entertainment as good as this? Except... only now does he remember the collective lack of thumbs between them.

"W-wait, let me help!"

As great as it is to see Kris embrace their inner animal, Laios knows how hungry they must be. Immediately, he goes for a different bottle, paws and teeth clinking against glass. The Boltund is desperately biting now too, unable to get the right grip to successfully pull the top off. A few Pokémon passing them both suddenly start walking by a bit faster. Then, the glorious sound of a pop.

"I got it! I got this one!"

There might be some dog slobber on that bottle now.

[heartonachain]

They really should invent a more quadruped-friendly bottlecap, but Kris is also lacking in experience with opening things with their mouth—clearly this is something they need to work on. They're only just starting to get frustrated when they hear that pop of success. They let their own slobbery, mangled bottle drop back into the crate (for now).

... and then they pause, going rigid for a moment as they stare at the bottle. Slowly, they swivel their head to look up at Laios.

"Thanks."

Only then are they allowed to move again, lunging forward to grip the opened bottle with their jaws and turn their face up to the sky. They guzzle down the entire thing in one go, shoving their tongue down (up??) the neck of it once they run out of milk. If they noticed the slobber they don't seem to care in the slightest.

They eventually give up on licking the bottle clean, lowering their head back to the ground to put it down, and... one would think from their eagerness that they'd go right into another one, but they hesitate, staring quietly at the emptied bottle.

...

It's missing something, but... thinking about it now, it just makes them feel homesick.

[dunchies]

In that brief moment of excitement, his ears shoot straight up, tongue flopping out the side of his mouth as he smiles with pure delight. Look at them absolutely going for it! In one solid gulp no less! The drinking power on them is insane! Nothing but pure muscle on that long neck!

Then, suddenly, the mood turns somber. That was not how Laios thought this whole scene would finish. Slightly dejected, but mostly concerned, he finally murmurs, "... You didn't like it?"

There could be plenty reasons for it. A different palate than they're used to. Drinking too much too quickly on an empty stomach. Maybe Dragon-types might actually be lactose intolerant. But the more he thinks about it, the more he realizes nothing quite sits right. There's something else going on that he can't quite put a label on just yet.

"I... I can get you something else if you want."

He absolutely cannot leave this small dragon hungry.

[heartonachain]

"I liked it."

A little too loud, a little too robotic, but they don't fight back the words it makes them say. They did like the milk, after all. It was good. They should have more while they still can. They might not get anything else for today.

... but in their hesitation, they can already tell that the moment has slipped away. They should be angry with their Soul, but instead they just feel pathetic for it. Why is this something that upsets them now? Why can't they just enjoy the things they're supposed to like?

They lift their head, already gearing up to be annoyed at whatever words leave their mouth next. It only ends up highlighting their confusion, a question they don't even know why they're asking yet. "Something else?"

[dunchies]

One of his ears flicks at the sudden increase in volume. He doesn't think much of it, tilting his head instead at the response itself. Laios still isn't sure what to make of this, but he remains undeterred. They made that bottle of milk seem like it was the first thing they've had all day. Surely they can't be full already from just that.

"... Yeah. Something else," he repeats, softly this time, as if to gently coax whatever that something might be out of them. "We could get you some berries. There's bread. Maybe even... meat, if you're that hungry. Anything you want."

He always hesitates when suggesting that last one, but as a dragon, they would probably instinctively crave that more than most people.