You wake up on the floor, swaddled in your new lime-green duvet. Well done. Once a hobo, always a hobo - give you a queen size bed, and you roll off it onto the floor.

The clock says it's only 6.45, but the sun is already peeking out from the horizon. Summer's a good time, isn't it? You look out from your window, and the vast darkness of yesterday is now a gently quivering, shimmering expanse of water. A broad footpath runs along it, and you spot people jogging, probably getting a pre-office workout in or something.

You are Dylan, and you don't know if you are human anymore. But this is a new life you could only have dreamed of in the past. It's early in the morning, and there's a sense there's a lot needs doing, though you have no idea what. Or maybe you're picking up the thoughts of all your neighbours who actually worked their arses off to live in a place like this...

> What do, Dylan? Good morning.

>>19052599

So. Your current digs:

> 4 room top-floor apartment, near Herring Lake in Saffernsway

Money and possessions:

> $43.50 (as far as you know)
> Quince qPhone 4.0

Acquaintances:

> Joe: a social worker. Let you sleep in his flat one night, nice dude.
> Kate: Joe's cousin, an investment banker with Boldmann Tacks.
> Lena: Psych of the White Dew Office, Autumn Congregation.
> Dawn: Psych of the Grain Showers Office, Spring Congregation.
> Ashley: a violinist at Carpenters.
> Jeff: A Bestowed Psych in Mavensgate. You promised him not to feed in Mavensgate.
> Anne: a student of... something, at Carpenters. You're guessing art history.

Have breakfast, clean ourselves up a little.

>>19052664

Second this. Was that a dream, by the way?

>>19052664
>>19052740

> Was clearing up the laundry. Apologies.

It does appear to have been a dream, yes. You wonder about it. The apartments... the kids... and the uniforms.

> Roll d100 to recall those details.

Also, you get up, wash your face and brush your teeth. The mouthwash burns the inside of your mouth as you gargle with it. That hurts, rather.

You haven't got much in the fridge to have breakfast with, though - the freezer's got stuff, but it's mostly meat, things for lunch and dinner. Dawn probably got those - nice of her, except you don't... cook. Well, at least you notice that the kitchen's stove uses electric hobs.

Sunlight is streaming in through the length of the hall, rendering the white walls golden. You realise that the closet on the wall, in the living room, actually conceals... a large TV. You turn it on and it's the news channel, which is... very considerate.

> What do? How get breakfast?

rolled 87 = 87

>>19052763

Rolling for memory.

As for breakfast... maybe go out to the shopping mall? Or just go round the place looking for a cafe?

rolled 99 = 99

rolling.

>>19052791

> Dear me.

You settle for the moment with making yourself a cup of coffee, and then it hits you what seemed so strange about the whole dream last night. It wasn't a dream at all. Your mind was moving out of your skull again, as Lena put it.

On a hunch, you walk over to the windows and look down on the row of redbrick apartments, all former warehouses or offices, which stand along the shore of Herring Lake. Yes, that's definitely it; those are the apartments.

The uniforms, too; they have to be people from around here, from the local high school. Dawn's told you before that there are two high schools here, aren't there? One co-ed, and the other a girls' school... you can remember seeing both types of uniform, then.

Taking the cup of coffee, you sit down in the chair. It could not have been a dream; it would have to be a vision, another case of your mind's powers. And yet - from here, down to the apartment, must be some 80 metres' distance at least. You're quite sure you can't really see that far. And the shimmering and swirling... you don't really know what's going on.

Also, you're sitting on your still charging handphone.

> What do?

>>19052839

Maybe it's... if it's an intense party, we'd feel it as well? So that's what happened last night, was it?

Check handphone, then check map, look for cafes. Or just go to the shopping mall. Need to do some training.

High school kids holding raves in nearby apartments.

Maybe go downstairs and check out the flat if we can find it.

>>19052776
>>19052906
>>19052921

drink coffee, go check places out, then go get breakfast.

>>19052906
>>19052921
>>19052926

You finish your coffee. That was really, really good. Maybe if you got some milk you could add to it...

With that thought in mind you head downstairs, still training your mind meanwhile - reaching out throughout the building to check for presences, then listening in on their thoughts or blocking them out.

You know there is a schoolkid, sick on the first floor; he wants to feign sickness and get another two days off if he can. There's also hired help around, housekeepers and housemaids - every apartment here's got one, it's a bit scary. Their thoughts are often in weird languages, you think Polish or something.

Soon you go around the block and, guided by instinct and the need to avoid other people, sneak your way into a courtyard surrounded by brick apartments. It has to be this one - 11, Miells Court. You take a peek in it through the window, and smell the previous presences of people...

> What do?

>>19052952

Any way to get in? Try to enter.

>>19052973

This, but be careful. Are there lots of people around we can sense?

>>19052952
Do we only get worded thoughts ?

>>19052973
>>19052988

The people you can sense are all indoors right now. You push gently at the door, and to your surprise it's unlocked. So perhaps it never was locked...?

Entering the darkened hall, you can see the empty tea lights lying about. You also pick up a small, green pill from the floor, and another one in the bathroom; then, on a hunch, you open the toilet cistern. Inside, sealed in two plastic bags, is an entire pack of these green pills.

The bedroom has got two mattresses, one on the bedframe - looking very worn - and another newer one on the floor. Judging by the used condoms here and there, you don't think the people who used the mattresses were really into quality of rest.

As you go back out into the hall, you spot something - a cellphone ornament lying beside a chest of drawers. It says 'Milla'. Hmm.

> What do?

>>19053009

As in, thoughts that are in words? No, you do get images as well. Such as that dream/vision you just had last night, that wasn't worded definitely.

>>19053035
Pick it up and look for a name that might be a family member. Call the number and tell them you've found this phone belonging to 'milla'.

rolled 8 = 8

>>19053035
Take the pills if no one's around, then go away.

>>19053050
>>19053057

You pick it up. It's not a cellphone, just a cellphone ornament. One of those cutesy things high school students are into, you reckon, with beads and things. It occurs to you that you're really only as old as they are, you're only 17, but to you the whole world of high school seems so... alien.

The outer plastic bag is wet, so you just dispose of it. The pills are probably... man, you have no idea what they are. You take the bag, look around, and then slip out the door before putting the bag into your pocket. There must be about 80, 100 of these pills in the bag. You kind of think they might be recreational drugs, but you haven't seen them before. (And you would have, on the streets...)

> Obtained: pack of green pills
> What do now?

>>19053092
Are we hungry ? A coffee for breakfast doesn't seem so filling.
Let's go to some place where we can get croissants and stuff.

>>19053092

We really shouldn't be walking round with a packet of potentially criminal pills in out pockets.

Go back upstairs, put them somewhere, then go have breakfast. Also, call Dawn and ask her about them later.

Be careful, man.

>>19053092
What time is it ? We'll have to call dawn to see how we should organize ourselves for our training.

>>19053137
On the way, get a newspaper. Let's get back into the human world now that we aren't human anymore.

>>19053154

Second this, second this, second this. We don't want to get arrested.
Also, Dawn has already given us some pointers. Did we check our cellphone though, in case there are messages?

>>19053169
>>19053154
Does the police around here tends to stop well-dressed passerbys and search them ?

>>19053154
>>19053169

Breakfast is a must, but only after you stash the pills somewhere. Going back upstairs, you put them under your bed. Man, that's a spacious bed; even if they searched it'd take a day to find the pills.

After that, you grab some change and get ready to go down to the shopping mall; there's a cafe there, and a food court as well with Sandwich Saint, Prince of Pies and other such joints. But then you open the cellphone and pause. Oh dear. 1 message from Dawn...

... and 2 messages from Anne.

Dawn's message just says 'call me when you're up, dearie! breakfast!'

Seeing Anne's messages, you briefly remember the feel of her warm body, her gentleness. She was being really nice, you reckon, to a complete virgin and newbie.

'Hey, Dylan - got this number off that woman who came to see me. Is that you?'

'Is this woman your older sister or something? Boy you've got a fierce guardian. She's hot though...'

Must be Lena...

> What do?

>>19053193
Call dawn, breakfast.

Think hard about how to answer to anne.

>>19053193

Reply to Dawn, ignore Anne for now. We should stay away from her, sad as that is.

Ask if Dawn's buying breakfast for us or something.

>>19053185

No, true, but... I wouldn't exactly call you well-dressed. Everyone and their brother wears track pants and a t-shirt, so...

>>19053205

Second this... maybe ask Anne if she's free?

How far is Saffernsway from the Mavens place? We will get in trouble if we go back right?

>>19053209
>Ask if Dawn's buying breakfast for us or something.
Who cares ? Money's not a problem anymore.

>>19053222
It's just next to the other, but I don't think Jeff is out to get us anyway. As long as we don't use our powers without thinking, we should be safe from him even in Mavens.

>>19053222

Saffernsway is about... half an hour's drive, thereabouts? Longer by bus or the tube, definitely.

>>19053243

It won't be a problem once we figure out how to scam/work/steal/whatever for money. Right now there isn't such a plan, though.

Suggestions for plans are definitely welcome, of course.

You text Dawn, asking if she's getting you breakfast. Soon the reply comes back. 'You are such a dear, so I shall! I'll just drop by and pass you some things before I go off to the office, so tell me quickly what sort of breakfast you want!'

Man, Dawn is just too damned sweet...

> What do?

>>19053258

Simple things will do, maybe a continental or something. Ask if she's eaten, and ask what it is she's passing to us.

Also, for Anne... I don't really know. It'd be nice to get to know her more, in every sense of the word, but then...

>>19053265

A nice bunch of croissants would do.

Also, last thread we did say something about playing poker. Is that possible in this city?

>>19053265
Well, I would like a big bowl of warm milk with chocolate powder, and a fresh baguette, butter and jam or honey.

>>19053287
>>19053301
I think that regarding Anne and money, we could get some advice from Dawn.

I don't really want to get a boring job, and we have no skills that could get us an interesting job.
I also think that if we want to make ourselves a solid circle of friends, attending an university could be good.

>>19053287
>>19053301
>>19053318

You are about to text your reply when she calls, and you fumble to pick it up. 'Ah yes, Dawn.'

'Message faster!'

'Sorry! I'm not used to this thing. Well not really.'

'So... okay. What I'm going to pass you is a little document, just talking about the Branches of Affect. You'll understand it once you read it. Well, once you read it a few times.'

'Oh, right...'

'And breakfast, I can't get you the warm milk, get your own warm milk and cocoa! You live 5 minutes from a Resno, man. I'll be at your place in 10. It'll be a dump and go!'

'No, but wait-' then you realise you haven't actually told her about the warm milk. You mean you can read minds through a cellphone!? You close the phone and scratch your head...

When Dawn finally rings the doorbell, you see she's gone straight ahead and overdone everything. There is a metre-long baguette, a cooler box of condiments - from jam through clotted cream to fresh butter, golden syrup, honey and even ketchup, and a box of croissants and pains au chocolat. 'That's a *lot* of breakfast!'

'You can eat this for the whole day,' she says, then shows you the document. 'No rush reading this. It's just an introductory thing. Spring runs occasional lectures on powers, I'll tell you if something interesting comes up, eh? Now, you had a question to ask me.'

She seems very sure.

> What do/say?

>>19053356

Ask her about the pills. And a potential job or university.

>>19053335

We should probably do university, yeah. Or maybe high school at least...

I can't think of any interesting jobs though.

>>19053356
A few actually.
Anne seems to remember me, texted me two times. Wat do ?
I'd like to be a student for a while. Wat do for money and administrative matters, considering that I'm not formally emancipated from my parents and have nothing but what was given to me these last few days ?
Is there meetings and such for my training, or do I just call you when I need advice on how to progress further ?

>>19053386
Oh yeah. Is there interactions to be aware of between drugs and psychic powers ?

>>19053397
High school is not that fun when you get into it at 17, I suppose.
I'd like to pass the final exams as a free student, though. Is that possible to get the papers in order at this time of the year ?
I plan to use mind powers to pass, and start actually learning stuff at my rythm after that. Is that a really bad idea ?

>>19053335
>>19053386
>>19053397
>>19053399

'Meetings? I just told you about the lectures, dear. You should eat to keep your memory up.'

'No, I meant like, you know... class meetings, if you see what I mean.'

'Oh, those.' She thinks. 'Actually I was about to ask if you were free for dinner tomorrow. You could meet up with two other of my... cygnets? Jerome and Samantha.'

> What say to that?

'Anne still remembers? Huh.' Dawn scratches her head. 'Lena told me her cover story was that you banged her head against the wall while banging her, and took her to the hospital. Maybe that's made you a lifesaver now... pffft. Well, do as you like, really. You could have her as a new friend... or a new whatever. You don't look like the steady-going sort, eh?'

The pills are a more serious matter. When you take them out, Dawn's eyes widen and she refuses to take them from you. 'Wait, where the hell did you get a whole bag of these?'

'Um... somewhere. What are these?'

'QGP,' she says. 'It's... it's a pretty dangerous drug. Hallucinogen, mostly. It's pretty new stuff - and... pretty high class stuff, really. Look, hide this away, okay?'

> More on School and Jobs incoming.

As for learning, Dawn looks a bit hesitant. 'Well, I mean, firstly - I'm all for you learning how to do different things. Like, say, painting, or... like flower arrangement... or things like that. Those things are great for instilling mental discipline, keeping your mind clear of voices.'

'Right... but what about school?'

'We could... potentially arrange for your entry into a school. But the easier way is really to sign up as an individual student, and then maybe get tuition with someone? Or get into a study group or something. I have no idea how you youngsters do this shit now.'

'You're like, twenty-five.'

'Twenty-three!'

'Should I use my mental powers to ace the test, though?'

She gives you a look. 'I'd have to say no. If you're taking the test totally alone, there's little you can do with your powers that you can't do with memorisation and work. And if you're taking the test with a whole class of equally stressed students whose brains are already highly strung, you may fry all of their circuits. We can't have that.'

'As for drugs, heavens sake, don't. Not at your level, anyway.' Dawn pats your shoulder. 'Hell, even at my level - I once dropped E, and if not for Lena and Hiroko, I'd have killed several people probably. Never again... now, any more questions? Or shall I go off now? I can arrange the papers for a year-end exam, to synchronise with the students this year, if you want.'

> What do/say?

>>19053504

Hmmm. That's about all I guess. Ask if she wants any of the stuff for breakfast. This is too much.

Also say yes to meeting other psychs.

>>19053440

Frying brains = probably not very safe...

Private student sounds good though. Also, do we get an allowance of some sort?

>>19053504
"Hm... I don't think I'll be able to learn enough in a month or so to pass the next exams. Unless mind powers can give me some extraordinary learning ability ?
I'll get back to you on that in a few days if that's okay."

How are those exams organized in this country ? What's the difficulty, and the options ?

>>19053504
What drugs are especially bad ? Is getting drunk, or drinking too much coffee okay ? what about medical drugs ?

>>19053553

You don't have a month, you have seven months. It's May. Dawn said the year-ends.

The universities here run from September to June, but the schools, oddly enough, run according to the calendar year. Most people will take five papers - one language and four others.

>>19053551
>>19053523

Dawn takes the box of croissants, then. 'I'll settle your allowance this evening, dear. Pass you the debit cards, and the bank account details. Okay?'

'Also, drugs... coffee's fine, cigarettes can be iffy. Most things that are entheogens, or hallucinogens, are best stayed away from. As for medical drugs, you should be fine... well, just stay healthy, yeah?'

And with that she hugs you and disappears out the door. Well, well. You sit down and tear off a hunk of the bread and drizzle honey. It's... it's really nice honey! Warm and sweet, with a hint of spice...

> What do?

>>19053615

Also, you take the thin file and look at it. The title page says 'The Branches of Affect'.

The first page talks about how there is a need for an attempt to scientifically understand Psych powers. That sounds a bit odd to you, to say the least. Hmmm.

>>19053615

Hmm. What's near our house again? High schools, shopping mall, university?

Let's go to the shopping mall.

>>19053615
Continue feeding, digest for a while in front of the tv, then go do push ups and crunches. Now that we have a social life and psychic powers, a good-looking body could be useful.
Maybe we could run to a park to do it, like we saw the rich people do so often.

>>19053701

Couldn't we just... use our mental powers to look beautiful? I mean, we still have amazingly beautiful hands right?

>>19053615
Well, read that. Maybe take it to a library, to compensate for the lack of basic scientific knowledge in understanding this.

>>19053713
But that's just an illusion, and that feels fake to me. Plus, psychs can see through it.

>>19053684

Yep. The places are:

> Herring Hall Shopping Centre: a large, three-storey shopping mall.
> Char Stream High School: a co-ed high school. They seem like a rowdy bunch.
> Mayne Parish Girls’ High: an all-girls high school. They look pretty posh.
> Saffron College: a humanities/art-focused college... or so it looks like, given what their website looks like.

>>19053701

Let's do this, and then go and train our mental ability in the shopping centre. Have lunch too, meanwhile.

Then come back and read that stuff.

>>19053729
We don't have a computer here, right ?

>>19053744
>>19053701

You eat just enough, then walk around a bit until you feel yourself about ready to work out now. Come think of it - how does one work out? You know how to run, of course, but...

It's still only 9 in the morning, and you look at the pile of free weights and dumbbells on their rack in your room. Um... uh... maybe if you start with... five kilograms?

> Roll d100. Alternatively, go for run; alternatively, lift first then go for run, it's up to you.

>>19053746

You do have a desktop, and a lovely workdesk. Anything you'd like to do?

rolled 71 = 71

>>19053763
First lift, just by curiosity.

rolled 77 = 77

>>19053765
>>19053763

Go on 4chan again. Also, rolling.

We do some light exercise, then go running.

>>19053765
Well, if the scientific aspect of the paper is too hard to understand, we'll use it for help. Maybe ask /sci/, heh.

We should decide what to say to Anne.
I'd like not to just dump a girl that's been so nice to us and apparently wants to keep contact. But she'll expect more sex and we can't really go along...
And I don't really know what to say about Lena.

Maybe we should just ask how she is, and tell her that Lena's just a friend who has a grandmother in the hospital (that's the one, right ?) and could conveniently keep an eye on her.

>>19053784
>>19053792

Hrrrrgh... well, okay, that wasn't so bad. Out of a bit of inspiration you go to the desktop, and check up /fit/ for some tips. Oh right. Stretch, of course. And figure out your muscle groups - the hell are those...?

> You manage to avoid injury and get a pretty good workout. 5 kg's about right for now.
> What do now, go running?

Also, while you wave your arms and walk around to cool down, you look through the paper idly. There isn't much in terms of difficult scientific terms, thankfully.

From what you can see, the gist is that the Community has divided all the Psychs' effects into four main groupings:

> Perception: how a normal person senses things. These things can easily be disrupted, to blind or deafen people or other Psychs, or to spin illusions. Like your lovely hands.

> Comprehension: the mind's interpretation and processing of information. This also includes the background frame of mind that a person has. As you have seen from making those music students suddenly go abusively ballistic on each other yesterday, you can easily mess around with this as well.

> Action: the mind's planning, logical and finally physical faculties. Those can be scrambled as well, with training; this can induce confusion, paralysis, and even feedback into perception, with feelings of pain or agony.

> Unconscious: this includes memory, imagination and dreams. The most powerful and most unpredictable of a Psych's effects can be felt here. Wait, you can dreamwalk? And memory search? That sounds... horribly cool.

So that's roughly it. Hmm. You change into running clothes, look out the window, and see that the track is mostly empty. Most people are off to work now, you reckon.

> What do?

>>19053838

That sounds reasonable...

Also, we can always have sex with her, just not now I guess. We do need to practice more.

>>19053855
It depends whether we can get our mind under control in a few days or a few months.

>>19053839

Let's go run. And then come back and have more breakfast.

Or maybe we should explore more of the neighbourhood. Where's the university? Where are the high schools, are they near us?

>>19053888
Let's run and explore at the same time.

>>19053838
>>19053855
>>19053881

You text her that, and within five minutes you get a reply. Oh man.

'Ahh, for a moment I thought she might be a jealous gf! Lol at class now renassance is boring'

Art history, then, as you kinda guessed...

>>19053908
I wonder if her interest in us is genuine.
Text Dawn to ask if there's simple way to differenciate between the accidental effects of our powers and authentic feelings, in normal people.

>>19053888
>>19053903

You go downstairs again, and this time you walk down a street until you come to the Herring Lake.

... It's... huge, from close up. You can see that, all along the water's edge, are chains, anchors, and other strange port equipment - a reminder that the lake used to be not just a lake but a large dockland. In the morning, with the clouds partially covering the sun every now and then and a constant breeze, the place is actually... quite chilly.

You decide to go just two rounds first, since the lake does look pretty large. As you go round, you keep a lookout on the buildings around you. Along the south shore, it's mostly redbrick apartments - quiet, not many people - and then a few high-rise developments, quite like the one you're living in.

Then, when you cross the dock bridge, you come across a large park, at the edge of which stands a cluster of yellow-orange buildings. On the top of one building, a tower, is the word SAFFRON. This must be the college, then. The north shore of the lake is much greener, more houses instead of apartments, and every now and then a large factory or warehouse comes into view behind those housing estates.

Just then, you hear footfalls behind you and turn around. A young woman, hair tied in a bun, is running, and you can hear the music she hears. It's... not very nice. She's gaining on you, and you know she seems pleased about that.

> What do?

>>19053959
Smile a little over our shoulder, and go faster.

>>19053908

Reply her, ask what that's about.

>>19053959

Smile and shake our head a bit.

Make sure she can't keep up!

rolled 14 = 14

There's a lot of young women in this town.

Exercise a little on her mind. Follow her thoughs to a memory.
Try to keep a light touch.

>>19053980
I think that showing ourselves not too eager to reply to her could be good.
If we decide to pursue our relationship, playing hard to get is nice, and if we don't, then keeping her at arm's length for now will make it easier.

>>19053976
>>19054004
>>19054011

You turn around, and catch her glancing up at you. Then you flash her a smile, and to your surprise she returns the gesture.

Then you accelerate; you're used to running from crackheads and this is definitely not your fastest. Then again, the girl wasn't pushing either; she easily keeps up and gains, and soon she's just one or two paces behind you. You can hear her breathing.

> 14 vs. 19: iffy

You attempt to probe her mind a little, without hurting her or causing distress, but that seems a bit *too* weak. You don't catch anything but whispers, all drowned out by what sounds like a competitive voice urging her on.

'Go on, Karen, you can do it! Go on, keep the pace, gain on him some more! Go on Karen!'

Strangely enough, you notice that it's a man's voice saying that, quite clearly.

> What do?

>>19054011
Fuck.

>>19054038

Do get what you mean, though we're probably not going into a relationship. I'm guessing that would be difficult. We don't want to drain people we have affections for.
Might be best to spread the net wider - like what dawn said, build up a network of friends and lovers and acquaintances.

rolled 86 = 86

>>19054042
Try to percieve her own sensations. Check what she feels between her legs... Maybe it's her own voice that is masculine.

rolled 1 = 1

>>19054074
And if there's no penis to be felt, scan the surroundings for a mind controller.

>>19054092
Raaah.

>>19054074
>>19054092

> ..... 86 vs. 82: still iffy! She seems like a tough woman.

You attempt to gain access to her thoughts again, and this time you have a slight bit more success. If it assuage you, sir, you can be assured she is indeed a lady. But her voice is still loud, and determined, and manly.

> 1

Then, suddenly, the voice shuts up, to be replaced by a yawning silence that then resolves to a sudden view of a room. No, it's a cubicle. Is it a cubicle? It's too dark to tell. There's tiled walls. And there's someone inside, whimpering. And then the roar comes back again, much closer, as if the person had sneaked up right behind you.

'YOU FUCKING GOOD FOR NOTHING PIECE OF SHIT!'

You stumble a little, staggered by the effect of that hollering, but manage to steady yourself. The shimmering lake water seems dazzlingly bright, piercing straight into your eyes until you can see a kaleidoscope of glimmers. When you finally turn away and your eyes adjust, you see Karen sprawled on the floor.

'Fuck,' she mutters, tearing off her qPlayer earphones and then turning around to lie on her back. Her left elbow, and both her knees, are very badly scraped; you can see bits of skin hanging off the right knee. She starts to cry. 'Fucking hell...'

> What do?

>>19054042

There's nothing wrong with some friendly competition, but the voice is concerning. Either she's got a gender issue of some sort or she's one of those people who did the thing where they ate another psychic and ended up with a peanut gallery in their head.

So, go ahead and race, but be wary and careful.

>>19054139

Help her!

>>19054139
Stop, go to her.
Stand around hesitating about what to do. Crying ? how old is she ?
Sking is hanging off ? Well she needs medical care, then. Can we call an ambulance for that ? Let's talk to her, calm her down somewhat (not using powers), and tell her we call an ambulance.
Can we tell them the location of the closest exit of this park ? Then carry her there and wait for them.

We don't happen to have a bottle of water to clean her wounds ? Maybe she does.

>>19054139

Go and help her, see if she's all right.

help her

>>19054155
>>19054198
>>19054200

Woah. That was... that looks serious. There's blood and raw skin all over her now. You walk up slowly to her, as she wipes her tears, suddenly remember you're here.

'Um... well... do you need an ambulance or something?' Meanwhile you tentatively peek at her thoughts, but it's mostly pain signals and self-reprimand. That would make some sense...

'No, I'm okay.'

'You don't look-'

'I'm okay.' She tries to get up but can't, so you give her a hand up. She limps a little, looks down at her knees. 'Should've worn long pants. Fuck.'

You help her to a nearby bench, then run off to a vending machine to get some mineral water. A dollar a bottle?! Seriously?! Oh well... you come back and pour the water on her knees and elbow; she winces as the cold water touches her. But at least you've gotten the gravel and stuff off.

'Um... so what... do you need anything?'

'Well, if we could maybe get to the convenience stores over there,' she gestures down the road, where it turns off into another estate. 'Don't worry, I can walk.'

She stands up, hobbles a little, and then starts making for the place. You follow her. She winces with every step, and you don't really know what to say to that...

> What do/say?

>>19054198

Age-wise.... you guess college? Or maybe high school, like in senior year. Certainly she doesn't seem to have the histrionics of being young and injured, or maybe she's just really stoic.

>>19054243

Offer her your support. A helping hand, or an arm, or let her lean on you. Bring her to the store and help her. Ask her name, offer yours.

try the over the shoulder thing so she doesn't have to keep limping or tell her to sit while you go to the store

offer a piggy back ride like a sir

>>19054284

Yeah, leaning is all right. Ask her name.

Keep brains in skull.

>>19054280
>>19054284
>>19054297
>>19054300

You offer her a piggyback, but she shakes her head. She does allow herself to lean against you, though. She smells of newly shed sweat, and her body is intensely warm; must have been doing a few rounds already before this.

Come think of it, you're not sure if she heard that voice as well, whether that's what made her stumble and fall. Because it was a pretty spectacular fall.

'I'm Dylan,' you say, after a long pause.

'Oh. Oh yes.' Another long pause before it hits her. 'Oh yes, I'm sorry... I'm Karen. Sorry. It... hurts a bit.'

You can feel her hand gripping your shoulder every time she puts a foot down, so it's probably so. She's still swearing away under her breath. You'll be five minutes to the pharmacy/convenience store, at this rate...

'I've... never seen you round before,' Karen says. 'You... from Saffron?'

> What do/say?

>>19054334

'No, I'm... I just moved in. And you? Are you from Saffron College?'

>>19054334

nope, are you? you have classes later?
maybe we could use her to look around saffron.

>>19054334
No, I just started living around here. Taking care of a flat for some relatives.

>>19054386
>>19054392
>>19054393

'Oh, no... I'm just... taking care of a flat. For some relatives.'

'In these parts? You must be rich, then.'

'Well... there's enough to go by,' you say, slightly embarrassed. You can still hear in her background thoughts the male voice, by the way, though there is something else now in her voice, speaking more normally. And no, she's definitely not a Psych, you'd sense it. 'So you're from Saffron?'

'Yeah... well. Ow.' She winces again. You're almost there now.

'What do you do?'

'I do law... and a bit of music.' And that's the last bit of conversation you get in before you usher her into a chair at the pharmacy. Bandages are had, and a nurse helps Karen apply them. She has long, pale legs, clearly well muscled. 'I doubt I can, ow, go to class today, though...'

'He's sweet, he brought you in?' The nurse gestures at you, facing Karen. Heh...

> What do now?

>>19054448

Stick around, offer to help. Admire her meanwhile. Is she cute?

>>19054448
"I don't have anything else to do right now... Need an additional shoulder to get back to your place?"

>>19054515
>>19054528

Cute... yeah, quite. Big eyes, prominent nose. She smiles when the nurse asks.

'Yeah, but he tripped me up first.'

'I didn't! Man!' They have a good laugh at your expense. 'I was going to offer you a shoulder back to your place, but I guess not then.'

Karen pauses and looks at you. 'Well... I guess I could do with that.'

And thus, bandaging over, you help her over to her hostel room. Turns out she's a fresher, and thankfully the place is quite close to the convenience store. You take her to the door, then she scans her card and holds the door open for you.

> What do?

Also, you note that you're feeling unusually tired - arms aching, legs burning - from that short run. Maybe it's because, in the daytime, there aren't quite enough people here to sustain you...?

It's a bit disheartening to think you've built up reserves for a grand total of like, four hours so far. But you've only been a Psych for two days...

>>19054574
Go inside, help her to a nice comfy chair and couch, ask if we can get her anything and spend some time taking care of her. Once she's more comfortable and safe we can consider looking for the source of that male voice.

rolled 44 = 44

>>19054574
We're getting a lot of interest for an average-looking kid.

I would think we should not enter, but I'm curious about her man voice.
Is it still speaking ?

>>19054594
>>19054598

You do wonder about that as well. Well you know your hands are nice, but a nice pair of hands does not a hot man make... does it?

As for her, though... you wouldn't mind being invited in by her, that's for sure. You help her to the dining room and settle her down. 'Need anything?'

'Oh, just water please. Jugs are over there.' You fill up two cups and pass one to her, then ask her a little bit more about Saffron. It's a humanities/arts place, which means lots of crazy people, but also lots of people like her - 'we're the ones with our brains screwed in tight,' she says.

After a while, she asks you a question back. 'So... why all these questions? You interested in Saffron College or something?'

Also, you try to listen out for the male voice, but it doesn't appear much anymore. It's only every now and then. When you ask her about whether law is hard, a simple 'you deal with it' emerged from her mind.

Meanwhile, your mind feels the presence of at least fifteen or twenty people above you. And they are strong minds, too, minds that give off a lot of will. It's the youth, probably... This would be a nice feeding ground.

> What do?

>>19054663
I don't think we should stay.
We better ask Dawn or Lena about the masculine voice later. Also >>19053957.

>>19054663
hmm we might be dealing with spilt personalities or some sort of mental illness here if she can talk with the other voice. probably related to mental trauma from whatever that room was.

also nice feeding ground means someone probably has it already be cautious don't actively feed

also yes we are intrested in courses

>>19054598
op runs nobleman quest he seems to like having females around that the mc can get with. 6/8 of the people we now know are female. we could probably sleep with just about any female npc without major issues unless plot events happen that are tied to them.

she probably just has a trainers voice or something in her head when she's working out

>>19054747
>>19054710
>>19054709

'Well, there's some lectures in the college that are public,' Karen thinks about it. 'I'm sure some of the students also run private tuition classes for things like dance and music and painting...'

Huh, that sounds cool. She gives you some webpages you could look at, and then you leave the dining room. Just before that, though, you go back and ask for her contact number. She shrugs and gives it.

It's gotten much warmer outside now. Or maybe that's just you recovering from the lack of thoughts previously. Maybe you do need to find more places like this next time...

> What do now? It's about... it's late morning.
> Also, I like your thinking, that you could sleep with any npc. Do go ahead if you'd like! I'm all for it.

>>19054795
>'YOU FUCKING GOOD FOR NOTHING PIECE OF SHIT!'
A harsh trainer. Maybe daddy issues ?

>>19054709
>>19054795

You think you should walk back towards home first, and meanwhile you text Dawn about the male voice thingie.

She doesn't reply you though - she's probably at work. But there is another message from Lena.

'3 pm: I'm bringing someone round to your place. We have a bit of work for you to do. Would you mind?'

> What do/say?

>>19054802
Run back to our place. Text dawn for those questions. Don't try and fuck npcs.

>>19054829
I don't mind company, but what kind of work ?

>>19054846
>>19054836

As you start running back, the phone goes off again. It's Lena, not Dawn.

'Simple work. Interviews. I'm bringing another guy from Autumn, his name is Kev. You'll get along.'

Oh boy, the Free Community's upon you already then... you go back into your flat, change and shower - blessed is the warm water - and then towel yourself dry before another text comes in. It's Karen.

'Checked it for you - there's a sketching course thing on Fridays, it's just $8 for a session. My friend Diego runs the course, he's desperate for money so give it a shot? Also got Jeanne who gives guitar classes, will look out. Thanks for favour.'

> What do/say?

>>19054836
lets not be so adamant about not fucking the npc now

those 8 dollar classes sound good

Fucking is always something to be looked at with an open mind.

That is, assuming we don't kill people with our minds.
Tell Lena sure. It'd be nice to see her again. Need to get her or Dawn to introduce us to more Psychs, probbo.

rolled 99 = 99

>>19054961
Set the high scores on minesweeper. Check the specs of the destop, download a torrent client and start downloading appropriate games.

Search for a piece of paper and a pencil, and try our hand at drawing the breakfast stuff. Make an effort not to drain the talent of the neighbours, if any is available. Rolling for that and the quality of the result, see how naturally able we are.

>>19055035

... so we're a natural artist. Well done.

>>19055035
Check /tv/ for a list of good movies to download too.
It'll give us something to do of our evenings and may be useful in conversations.

>>19055035

WOAH PICASSO

>>19055013
>>19055035
>>19055052

Well, what sort of games would you like to download? You've downloaded Vapour, and then Dataflood - the best peer to peer file sharing service ever!

You aren't that good at Minesweeper, though, until you figure out the flag button. OH you're supposed to flag the bloody mines. You were wondering... still not very good though.

In the end, you spend an hour drawing your breakfast - the position of the broken baguette, the honey and an opened jam jar. Oh shit, you forgot to put the butter into the fridge... well there it is. You think the result looks pretty good. It's... reasonable. Maybe you could let Lena see it.

Also, you kinda see Dawn's point as well. As you sit down and concentrate, and shut out other thoughts, you feel yourself settling into a sort of strange focused state. You know there are other people about in the apartments, but as you recover and scan about, you don't think you fried any of their brains.

You go on /tg/ by mistake, and then you see a thread which makes you blink. It's the Serial Murderer Quest Discussion Thread, where someone has drawn some... parallels. Including some mention of new killings to the south of the city, which look like the Stanton Killer. You hurry to the TV and turn it on, and soon you see the news. Dear god. It's four dead, and a policeman in a coma.

> What do/say?

>>19055106
Read the thread in depth, and continue watching the news. Is it at the place marked on that map we found ?

As for games, I don't know. Go to /v/'s page 15 and pick the one that got the shortest thread.

>>19055106

Look for a nice real time strat or something. Let's not play FPSs.

Come think of it, do we have a console for the massive TV?

rolled 30 = 30

>>19055106
We weren't the only ones to be awoken by /tg/....

>>19055173
>>19055150

No, it's not at Stanton anymore. It's south of the city, at least 30 minutes by train, in a commuter town called Chesholme. Again, it's an entire family. They pulled the remains out of a burned house, someone set fire to it.

The quest discussion thread had hosted a plan about how to destroy a house completely by stuffing a living person with thermite and then detonating him in the house. And given the horrific burns and the huge fire, they think that might be the same MO that was being used.

At the same time, nails were found in the policeman's head, fired from a nail gun - which was the weapon the PC in that quest thread used. Dear god, why do people role-play serial killers?

As for a game, you find this thing called Rise of Cities, sounds like a management and strategy game. You just started downloading it when someone rings the doorbell. It's Lena, in a denim skirt this time, and a man with greying hair behind her. 'Blimey. Is this the place Dawn gave you? This is Numsang's place isn't it! This is Kevin, by the way. Kev will do. Also,' she looks at the still life of breakfast, pauses for several seconds, then looks at you. You feel a slight buzz as her mind latches on to yours. 'Did you draw this?'

'Wh... yes, I drew it. I took an hour and I drew it!' The hell is she gripping your brain for?! You then realise how defensive you became when she laughs.

'Because it's brilliant, mate. Maybe you could go to art school,' she looks sidelong at you. 'Think of all the crazy girls with jumpers and nothing underneath!'

> What do/say?

>>19055244
"Well I was thinking about taking some classes down at Saffron, found a guy who will teach me for eight bucks." Shrug, step aside to let them in.

>>19055244

'Yeah, that'd be brilliant. It's all I think of every day and night. I'll ask Dawn to do the paperwork. What is it you want?'

We've been really restrained already, no need for ragging man.

i like the idea of dylan going to art school, sign up for that shit later

>>19055271
>>19055301
>>19055308

You have to admit, the idea appeals to you. Maybe not an all-out art school, since you don't know anything about that. But maybe Saffron, that'd be a nice sort of mix.

Nonetheless, you're not about to agree to everything Lena says, so you shoot some lines back at her. She just gives you a Look, without even any energy behind it.

'Oh Dylan,' she smiles. 'All the face, none of the guts. Okay. On to business. We were talking about art school, it's something similar. Kev here is from the Bright Clarity office. They keep track on Creations and stuff.'

'Yes, we do,' Kev nods. 'And... we've sensed a possible incipient case here. It's a bit of a weird case, since Psychs don't seem to be directly involved, but we've made some records...'

'Basically, we suspect it might be happening soon at Mayne Parish Girls' School,' Lena shrugs. 'Which is not unusual. Bullying, stress, teenage hormones - they make for some powerfully driven minds. It's like a boat with eight motors and no rudder, could always deal a lot of damage. So before anything truly bad happens to Mayne Parish, we'll need to take a look at it.'

> What do/say?

>>19055388

'Right... so what do you want me to do?'

>>19055301

It's just teasing, take it in the spirit it was given and return the serve.

"Actually I didn't get that impression about most of the people I noticed who were students at Saffron. They seemed really focused and driven. Seemed nice. It's a fun thought, but isn't there more than just hedonism?"

>>19055388
"And you want me to go super secret spy, since I look the part? What's my roll in all this?

>>19055432

'Oh, it's really quite simple,' Kevin says. 'Since you live pretty close to Mayne Parish, we'd like you to just keep an ear out for any intriguing thoughts. You know how the girls like hanging out round the shopping mall, and then they gossip or at least they think it. We need to try and narrow down who are the ones under most stress, who might either do something violently stupid, or result in a Creation.'

'It's pretty important,' Lena scratches her nose. 'We've got another newbie working on it, but she's a bit overwhelmed. You're a much faster learner in comparison, really. So. Help us? I mean, you're free to say no... I just have to not treat you to ice cream then.'

Ice cream, seriously? How old does she- well. It is ice cream.

> What do/say? Take?

>>19055460
"Deal! I want cookie dough ice cream."

>>19055460

"Old fashioned ice cream. The stuff they make on that stone slab."

>>19055435
>>19055486

'You know, what you say about art schools, seems a bit unfair. The Saffron people seem quite... you know, I sensed it... energetic.'

Lena stares at you, then sits on the chair. 'You've been to Saffron already?'

'Well, you know, the drawing classes.'

'Nice. Someone's quick on the get go, eh, Kevin?' Kevin smiles. 'Though I'm not sure if you can keep from making someone's frontal cortex leak out their nostrils, so I'll say it again, bits in pants, until head stays in skull.'

'Fine! Fine! Also, I want cookie dough ice cream.'

'You're a monster.'

'What?'

'What kind of monster eats cookie dough ice cream?' She grimaces. 'Also, you're shockingly easy.'

> What do/say?

>>19055557
"I'll tell you what kind of monster eats cookie dough ice cream: The master race. Besides, I sorta feel like I owe you.

>>19055557

"It is not a big favor in light of all the other support I'm getting. Really I thought you were just being polite with the ice cream offer. If I were on my own feet though, I'd probably have asked for a month's supply of pistachio and butterscotch ice cream."

>>19055460
Yeah, it has been more than three years since the last ice cream. I would be worth it.

"Well sure, I have nothing better to do than peer into the minds of all-girls high school students. I'll do it. Kev, should I contact you if I find anything ?"
"and will what I'm supposed to be searching for be obvious ?"

>>19055583
>>19055592
>>19055579

'Well... I do owe you guys quite a bit,' you say, gesturing to the house. Lena looks around.

'Say, you reckon Dawn would mind if I moved in?' she asks Kevin. Then she turns to you. 'Would *you* mind?'

You try to change the subject, turning to Kevin. He has a rather benevolent look on his face - you're guessing he's like, an engineer or something. Maybe a doctor. 'So if I find something I'll need to contact you? And what sort of stuff am I looking for?'

'Well, all sorts of stuff. It'd be good training for you, Dawn mentioned that aspect. They'll be thinking about each other, right, so we want you to figure out the pecking order in the school. Especially the top, and the bottom. Because those are under the most stress, always. If you see suicidal thoughts, if you start sensing some sort of mental breakdown, tell me.' He then gives you his number. 'Or you can call Lena.'

'I've got enough work as is. Thanks for coming, Kev.' She then shows him out, and then turns to you and gestures to the door. 'Come on, we're going to get ice cream.'

> What do/say?

>>19055650
Icecream time

>>19055650
Throw hands in air.
"Woo!"
Follow her out.

Actually, if Lena is to become one of our housemates... that'd be interesting.

Also, let's go for ice cream! Ask Lena how she's been.

>>19055650
I say let lenna move in. Would probably be very beneficial in the long run.

she sounds like she's joking about the move but sure give the go ahead, the more girls we fill the house up with, the better

Im pretty sure Lenna is just teasing us

>>19055656
>>19055673
>>19055691

Lena walks with a sprightly gait, hands in her pockets and wearing large sunglasses. She's getting a little tanned, actually, you notice. Nice.

All this while, as you're looking at her, you've been feeling like there's a fly round your ear, and only after a while do you realise what's going on. Why, the little... 'so you're wondering about Anne? Wait, Anne?'

'Um, turns out she remembers me.'

'Excellent... what're you going to do? Also, who's this Karen you saved, eh?'

'I was just going to ask you how your day was, you know...'

'How do you think? You heard about Chesholme.' her voice suddenly goes serious, dead serious. 'I'm just glad I'm not in charge of that case directly. You stay good, and not murder anyone, all right?'

'Do you have your own cadre of... initiates or something?'

'Not really, no. But I could introduce you to people if you'd like.' Soon you're at Resno, near the ice cream aisle. 'You've got fifty bucks, kid, go crazy.'

> Quality, or quantity? There's premium, for like $9 a tub, and the usual stuff for about $5 a tub. Also, Lena laughs when you talk about her moving in.

'I'll think about it. And you tell Dawn to tell Numsang to let me. Oh actually you should meet Numsang. She's really pretty. Unfortunately way out of your league.'

> What do/say?

>>19055762
Quality.
"I'm gonna stick with normies when it comes to dating and all that crap, I am not going to flirt with danger to such an excessive degree..."

>>19055762

Actually, why not? Learn about the landlady. I mean, we live in her place, it's good to know if she's a bitch or not, right?

Also, quantity has a quality all of its own.

Shouldn't we tell Lenna about /tg/?
Well i'm sure they know already
pick the BEST Icecream

>>19055788
>>19055803
>>19055834

You pick out the good ice cream, because why not? Lena looks at you. 'You could get ten tubs of this shit in that aisle.'

'But this is Dan and Barry's. It's better, isn't it?'

'You'll have to ask Dan or Barry,' she shrugs. 'I don't eat ice cream. It's one of the few sins I don't commit. Oh look, here come the targets.'

You look up and see the Mayne Parish uniform, a swath of blue and silver, descend upon the shopping mall. 'You know, they're ranked 16th in the city. Out of 329. They're a damned good school.'

'Is that good or bad?'

'Terrible. Intelligent, bitchy, hormonal girls. Take fifteen hundred of them, pack in small coop, let them peck each other to death. I'm surprised they've stayed quiet till May, really.'

'Hmm. Also, regarding Numsang, it'd be nice to meet the landlady, actually. And no, I don't mean I'm interested. I'd much rather date normal people, no offence.'

Lena looks at you. 'I'll tell you one thing you need to know, right, about Mayne Parish Girls' High.'

'Huh?'

'If they have a silver stripe on the lapel of their blazer, or down the blouse where the buttons should be? They're legal. The rest are fifteen. Don't fucking touch them. I'm not bailing a pedophile out of jail, okay?'

> What do/say?

Buy the good stuff

"I know you can read me like a book but I'm actually really fucking spooked over what happened last night. I'm not going to make a move on Numsang. Or anyone. I'm afraid to even jerk off if there's anyone nearby."

"Well I won't stay a monk or anything, but yeah I don't want to hurt anyone again. I guess you care, 'cause you're putting extra effort into me and all. but why? Do I remind you of someone?"

>>19055893
Laugh. "Yah, no. I'll stick to college chicks thank you very much. Relax, Lena."

>>19055893
It is nice of to see the vote of confidence Lena gave to us

>>19055893
Wow you sure have a high opinion of me dont you? Sarcasm

Wow, Lena needs to get her mind out of the gutter. She can't go five minutes without mentioning us banging something...

what?
i thought we were like 17 or something

>>19055920
>>19055929
>>19055930

'Man, it's nice to know you have such confidence in me, Lena. I won't touch high school girls.'

'Eh? I never said you couldn't. I just said, make sure they're second year and above. You're seventeen, mate, who in college would do- ah. Well. Don't get cocky, it's beginner's luck. No, go ahead for girls your own tender age, just not tenderer. Not tenderer, okay?'

Lena pays for all the Dan and Barry's. You have to say, despite the person she is, she does the job. 'You know... regarding all that talk about touching girls and not being a pedophile. I was actually... really spooked out about last night. I mean. Anne was fine with it, right, so we did it, but dude, I had no intention of possibly mind-raping her or something. So you really have my word. I won't fuck around, until I keep my head in my skull.'

'Good for you.'

'Also, is it just you, or are all the pretty girl Psychs as sexed up as you? The way you talk?'

She looks at you. 'You've never seen the anything of it, mate. Spring and Summer especially, there's a whole lot of hipsters and artists there. They fuck, ironically.'

> What do/say?

>>19055893
Isn't there a minimum age difference for statutory rape in this country ? I don't plan to fuck anyone for a while, but I would think that 17 to 15 couples aren't rare...

By the way could I create artificial interest without being aware of it ? Is there a simple way to identify that and avoid it ?
I'm somewhat worried about Anne keeping contact, and that's an aspect of the problem...

>>19056000
>They fuck, ironically

Sounds something hipsters would do

>>19056000
"Soo...they ironically have sex in the missionary position for the sole purpose of reproduction, or they're ironically into tentacle porn?"

>>19056000
Ah, regarding money... How okay is it to scam norms ? Does her season enforce rules about it ? How many psychs around are playing poker and such ?

>>19056032
>ironically into tentacle porn?"
Can one control creations to satisfy his/her fetish for tentacles ?

did we tell lenna about the male voice we heard? Also she may know what to do with the drugs as well. If she does move in we wouldnt want her accidentally finding them and losing her temper at us.

>>19056059
Oh my god, I bet that would work.

>>19056004

'I'm just wondering, Lena... do I remind you of anyone? I mean, why're you being so nice to me?'

'I'm nice to you because you're new,' she said, softly. 'Numsang and Kev and Big Jamie were there when I first became a Psych, right. Num let me have another of her flats. Kev mentored me, BJ got me into Autumn Begins. I know what it's like. You're probably not as fucked up as I was, but I know what it's like.'

You have a feeling she's not telling the whole truth, but you haven't the ability to probe her properly. Mentally. 'Also, Lena... is it possible that Anne might be... a bit attached to me?'

'What?' you tell her about the texting, and she frowns. 'Look, you banged her, all right? They want a call next morning. Well, at least maybe Anne does. I know many don't.'

'But that means she didn't think it was like, one time only?'

'It means you look like a decent bloke, Dylan, which is not a bad thing. Well. You focus on your training, be careful with her. It's up to you. Just don't blow her brains out, *or* cause her to go mental and spawn a Creation or something. You make more trouble for me in summer, I'll do bad things to you with a pencil and a broken ruler.'

Gulp.

> More incoming. Raise questions you want to raise.

>>19056064
This

>>19056088
That sounds...kinky.

>>19056032
>>19056028

'I don't know, you gotta ask them. You can ask Dawn to bring some of her friends to you. I was serious when I asked if you wanted a hot one. I could've brought Vivian. She's so hot, you could put a slice of bacon...' she doesn't finish the thought. 'But Dawn's nicer than her, so you do win.'

>>19056064
>>19056105

'Male voice? Could be incipient schizo,' she muses aloud. 'Alternatively, a very important person in the past. Alternatively, a coping mechanism for some serious trauma. Imaginary friend. That sounds dangerous, actually, if it's in Saffron College. Is that the Karen chick you rescued from banged shins?'

'Um, yeah.'

'Keep an eye on her. I mean mentally, and with a sole concern for her welfare.'

'Yes, yes, I know! What's this with banging?'

'Once a go-off-and-bed-someoner...' Lena laughs.

>>19056046

'What're you considering?'

'Well... poker, I guess? You know, card games.'

'If it's in a casino, we don't really pursue it,' she shrugs. 'That's like killing a lamb in an abattoir anyway. But don't get mixed up with gangs... and don't get caught. Not bailing a gambler either.'

You then tell her about the drugs. She stops and looks at you, then rubs the bridge of her nose. 'Get rid of them.'

'How?'

'I don't know. If you're short of cash sell them. Or throw them in the lake. It's not the Congregation's problem, it's that you're in Numsang's flat, she hates drugs.'

> What do/say?

>>19056157
I bet we could make a lot of money, but I doubt we hav-wait we were a hobo we should know at least one legit dealer to sell them to.

>>19056157
Let's just get rid of the drugs.
i'm not even sure why were keeping that with us

>>19056169

Roll d100, with a bonus, for that. You might know, indeed.

>>19056088
Well, a call is easy, but I wonder how I should go about refusing to have sex with her again if she wants a relationship...
I more or less planned to avoid her, but dawn and you seem to think I have the choice... I'm in need of real-life advice here.

rolled 87 = 87

>>19056188
I trust you'll apply the bonus.

rolled 42 = 42

>>19056173
Well, I think we should wait a day before that. In case someone saw us and will try to get them back from us, he'll be easier to calm down if we didn't get rid of them already.
>>19056188
We ARe short on cash.

>>19056157
Do you guys choose your names ? Lena's quite nice, but...

>>19056157
What would you bail me for ?

>>19056169
>>19056173
>>19056214

You know just the man to call. Jerky Jerrmaine. Guy can't keep his glass upright, but he knows 94% pure from 95.5% pure.

>>19056199

'Ohhh, right. That's what it is, advice.' By now you're already back in the flat, and Lena looks around. 'You know, Numsang always has the best, best taste in decor. Look at this! Genius.'

She then drops on the couch, grabs a tub of *your* ice cream, and starts digging in, while curling up. You look away for decency. 'Yeah... it's advice. I don't want to... tell her to screw off, you know? But it'd be dangerous. Should I tell her that-'

'Nope. And don't ask that question again.' The ice cream is already a little melty, but Lena doesn't care. 'Look, maybe... just meet up with her and tell her you're not sure about committment. And that you shouldn't bang her if you're not sure about- ohhhh, I see the problem there. Well, that was excitement, not commitment, eh? So you like her enough, but you're not sure, and you don't want to bang her more times to make sure, because that's dishonourable. See? Honourable Dylan.' Another scoop of your ice cream. 'Mmmmmm.' She rests against the couch, purring. Bloody hell.

> What do/say? Lena might have to go soon, probs. After she finishes YOUR ICE CREAM.

>>19056252

... But? I'm kinda thinking up names on the fly here, though. If you have some suggestions on what would be nice names, do tell. If I agree, I'll use them.

(And no, I do mean this. I'm just searching on Baby Names now.)

By the way, I dreamt of a house burning down and people screaming this morning... could that be a coincidence ?

>>19056267
Take a spoon and dig in.

rolled 38 = 38

>>19056294
This. Followed by >>19056281 but add in that we found the durgz in a house that we thought was the one that burned down.

>>19056281

I thought we knew that wasn't a dream, though? It was a vision of something.

>>19056267
I'm no expert, but it'd probably just make her want to dismiss honourable Dylan's fears.

>>19056278
I meant to ask that as dylan, to dawn. But I probably shouldn't.
You, you're doing great, I have no suggestion.

>>19056326
>>19056294

You go grab a spoon and then attempt to dig in, but she holds the tub away. 'No!'

'It's mine!'

'Says you and whose wallet!' It turns into a bit of a kicking and wrestling match. She's surprisingly strong.

> Roll d100 for this.

Also, regarding dismissing honourable Dylan's fears, she rolls her eyes. 'Then you know what you should do? Spend the next four days practicing really hard - you could do that with the schoolgirl spying thing, yeah - and then go meet her and bang her properly! If she doesn't spring a nosebleed or go blind or have an epileptic fit, then you just got yourself a steady lay. Of course, if she does, call Dawn, me, and an ambulance. In that order.'

>>19056316
>>19056281
>>19056323

'... You saw a site vision? Was it happening when you had the vision?'

'I... don't know. I was sleeping.'

She looks at you with a curious expression for a while, then makes a 'meh' face. 'Well. Such things do happen... to some Psychs. Occasionally. It sounds like intense emanations. Don't worry about it, but do keep track of details. It might be important that you know these places, if you're going to be established in Saffernsway. Okay?'

> What do/say? Also, roll d100 for wrestling.

rolled 89 = 89

>>19056395
We gon' get our asses kicked, I bet.

>>19056406
Lets make sure its play wrestling, We dont want to hurt her.

>>19056406
Well maybe not. Also yah, do >>19056418.

>>19056348

Oh. Oh. Well, they probably could choose their names if they want. You're not sure. You could ask Lena.

(Also, thanks mate)

>>19056395
Whew, I guess. I was worried it would take months to get that under control.

>>19056395
>>19056395
Is that something I could train ?

>>19056406
>>19056418
>>19056423

> 89 vs. 72 + 5: close success.

'My ice cream!'

'My bloody ice cream!'

Doesn't take a Psych to foresee this kind of thing might happen; you try to use your body weight to advantage, and avoid her pretty vicious and rather earnest kicks. Finally you slip through a gap in the defences, pounce with your spoon on the ice cream, but Lena flings it away and it lands with a resounding SPLAT on one of Numsang's no doubt bloody expensive upholstered armchairs.

Oh, also, you're lying on top of Lena now. She looks up at the ice cream, and you can see the movements of her neck as she swallows and breathes. Then she looks back at you. 'Ah. I guess this means we'll have to fuck, then.'

'... Wait, what?' The next thing you know a foot catches you in the gut, a fist in the nose, and your head bounces off the edge of the sofa before you slump onto the flooring.

'VICTORY IS MINE! Fuck, the ice cream...'

Your nose is actually bleeding. Worth it, though. Better not think that now, though.

> What do/say? You look up, wiping your nose, and the clock says half 6.

>>19056511

Help to clean up that bloody mess. Also, ask Lena if she was serious about moving in.

'I've been thinking of working out, so maybe wrestling with you would be great exercise.'

>>19056511
Start cleaning up, stuff kleenex in nose. "So are those site visions something I can train?"

>>19056511
"Is that the kind of things you guys at autumn like ?"
Get a tissue to wipe the blood, and stuff into your nose if it keeps bleeding.

6 pm, already ?
Goo take a look at what's in the fridge, we might want to do a list and buy food for the next few days.

>>19056511
How could what happened count as a success in any way?

>>19056511
Also, we'll go sell the drugs tonight. Can we meet the guy before supermarkets' closing time ? 50 dollars isn't much to fill up a kitchen.

>>19056561
>>19056590

You stand up just in time to catch the box of tissues. 'Is that your nose bleeding? Sorry, mate. I'm not used to being on the bottom. It gets me rather defensive.'

'Nts Nnkay. Ns thnns nn autunn thnng?' You watch as she wipes up the ice cream and throws the tub away. Well, that's 5 tubs left. 'Are these... site vision things... can I train them?'

'It's more Winter, really. If you like fisticuffs, Winter is the go-to. You could, I guess. It's part of how well you pick up on people's memories, and the memories and thoughts associated with a place. If I focus hard enough I can see Numsang here sometimes. But no, she's not, and she's not a ghost.'

'Okay...' you wonder if it's something you should practice. 'Also, were you serious about moving in here?'

She thinks about it, then raises an eyebrow at you. 'What, do you want me to?'

You look in the fridge, meanwhile. Just ice cream, really. The freezer's got fish, scallops, prawns, chicken, beef, pork... man, what'd Dawn do? Also, the Resno is 24 hours, so that's awesome for you.

> What do/say? Lena's going soon. She says you can choose your name if you want, by the way.

>>19056659

Close success. You beat her at wrestling, but not enough to gain the ice cream. The ambush attack doesn't count in the roll, unfortunately.

Oh don't be such a baby, it's a nosebleed...

>>19056685
I certainly wouldnt object to her moving in.

doesn't she have a boy friend?
why are we asking her to move in? she was kidding when she said that

>>19056685
Is there pasta somewhere ?
Also, ýou shouldn't forget >>19056561's joke about working out, that changes the meaning of asking that..

We need to call Jerky Jerman right after Lena goes, and arrange the trade.

Then after that... do we know where the casinos are?

>>19056742
I don't think we know his number, and I don't want him to know ours.
We'll just try and meet him at the usual time and place.

>>19056719
>>19056742
>>19056714

Lena waves as she goes out, throwing on a jumper. As far as you know she hasn't got a boyfriend, actually... that probably doesn't hamper her in the least.

Pasta... there's some rice, and pasta, yes.

You try to call the phone booth that Jerky Jermaine mostly hangs around, and it takes several tries before you get the number correct. 'The fuck is this?'

'Dylan. It's Dylan.'

'It's Dylan! We thought you'd died! You're alive! The fuck are you?'

> What do/say? Where meet? His operating area is at Cooktown, which is dodgy as hell at night (but you're used to it), and an hour's bus ride south.

>>19056685
I can trust you, you're incredibly hot and good to look at and it seems like you'd make a good roommate. I'd love for you to stay, it makes contacting you when I inevitably fuck something up much easier.

>>19056685
24 hours ?
Ask Lena if she wants to stay for diner. Do we know how to cook ? Maybe she could five us a few pointers. Or she could pay for delivery stuff, since she wasted the ice cream and our nose.

oh shit, was it the other girl that had a boyfriend?

sell them drugs and don't forget to take your brick sock with you

>>19056852

Yep. Dawn's boyfriend is called Franc. He's also a Psych, apparently.

Also, unfortunately, Lena's walked off. You could always get a dinner date later on, if you wish...

>>19056799
"I happen to have a big bag of these green things. I don't know what to do of them but I thought you might. Can we meet sometime ?"

Don't go tonight, actually. No point in taking inconsiderate risks, plus a one hour ride is a long time. Maybe we can get to meet him somewhere closer and safer.

>>19056874

This. And yes, no meeting tonight.

I'm guessing if we're dressed more properly, we will actually become targets in dodgy bits.

Also, tell Karen we're going for the sketching class.

>>19056685
"Yeah I want you. To move in."

>>19056874
Don't say green things though, say QGP, since we know what it is.

>>19056874
>>19056943

'You what?'

'Green pills. Oval. You know what they are?'

'It's the fucking Quidditch Girls' Party, you! That stuff, that stuff, is worth a lot. How many do you have? Count the pills, count the pills.'

'I want to talk to you tomorrow. Or the day after tomorrow.'

'Day after's fine. You count the pills. You keep me posted. Those things are worth like $12 a pop, man.'

$12 a pop! Dear heavens. You could become a drug dealer... would you?

> What do/say now? You're looking over the lovely, quiet night again.

>>19056965
The guys who tape every call to this phone booth would know too. Let's be vague.
It may be useless, but he'll understand anyway.

>>19056982
I don't think we should become a drug dealer, just make this one deal. Sell them to him for 8$ per pill, since he has to make a profit from them. Oh, and start counting dem pills. Make sure to wear gloves.

>>19056982
Count them.
Then go back on the internet, and see what's the deal about porn. Might as well masturbate too.
Is the computer in our room, by the way ? Set privacy settings in case of surprise roommate.

>>19056982
Count them, with gloves. We aren't going to be a drug dealer, that takes time, is a severe risk and will piss off our friends. We sell them to him, get some quick money and move on.

Enjoy the view, try to reach out farther and see how far away we can pick up background thoughts.

>>19057008
>>19057059

You count the pills. There's even more than you thought, really! There's... 131 of them.

That's... that's like... a thousand bucks!

You then go on the internet and try to see some porn, but frankly, as much of it freaks you out as it does arouse you. The girls are the colour of a hangover piss - and no, that's not racist, because no one is naturally the colour of a hangover piss. Or a flayed mandarin orange.

So instead you go back to tg and look. Oh bloody hell, someone's running this Chaos Quest. The guy has just given himself over to... the Undivided? And he's starting small by carrying out home raids.

> Try to influence the quest? And if so, how?

Also, your mind is picking up the presence of people in the apartment, flooding around the place, again. College kids, businesspeople, creative types... dancers with aching feet... a man just back from archery practice... this bit of town is nice.

>>19057132
Don't influence the quest too much, just go with the flow and try to make good tactical suggestions and help curb stupidity.

After a bit of /tg/ make some dinner, we've got rice and various other things we can add to it, so put the rice in the rice cooker, sautee some shrimp, vegetables and whatever else we can find that'll work, use some nice spices and get a good meal.

>>19057089

You can hear all the way downstairs now, in your apartment. It seems physical barriers do affect your sense, to a extent.

Also, yes, gloves on, no worries.

>>19057132
Suggest he sit down and have a sandwich in someone's house.

>>19057165
>>19057176

You attempt to influence him, but it backfires. He goes to have a sandwich in someone's house - someone with three pretty teenage daughters - and then, it being summer, the violent nonconsensual intercourse lobby comes in.

You're not going to read this anymore.

> Roll d100 for a meal.

Also, Karen has sent a reply. 'Oh yes, Jeanne says her lessons are for $6 a session. She must be *seriously* desperate!'

> What do/say?

I dislike 40k... let's go to /tv/ and choose a few nice-sounding movies to download.

After that, go buy tomatoes, bananas, yoghurt, cheese, milk, eggs, bread, chocolate powder, and other things we remember we liked when we were younger. Choose a recipe for bolognese sauce and get the ingredient.

have dinner and practice our mind powers. goal # 1 should be to get our powers to the point where we can have casual sex again. that seems to be a real problem

rolled 19 = 19

>>19057274
Oh god, pic related. On another note, we gon kill that son of a bitch.

Text Karen. "Thanks for the help! It's really appreciated."

rolled 9 = 9

>>19057274
Meal!

Thank her for the information.

We ought to have plenty of money for these lessons soon. Once we get some dinner practice and meditate more, we need to get our brain under control.

rolled 26 = 26

>>19057274
Reply to her that you think you'll attend... how, when and where ?

>>19057310
>>19057274
speak of the devil

rolled 90 = 90

>>19057311
>>19057334
>>19057340
We are going to set fire to the kitchen aren't we.

>>19057274
dice+1d100
we finally have a chance to use our beautiful fingers again!

>>19057293
>>19057348

> YOU SAVE THE DAY!

... By remembering that there's actually a bistro in Resno's, which is also open 24 hours a day.

You do put two pieces of chicken in the fridge bit, so tomorrow you actually can cook something.

>>19057293

It's a long list, but by picking the cheapest options you cut the bill down to $26.50.

> Money: $17.00. Blimey. Well, tomorrow you get your allowance and bank account...

You then carry everything over to the Resno Bistro, where you sit down and start doing your mental exercises again. You do feel yourself getting better at it. You can tell, at a glance, there are 34 presences in the bistro. 6 in the kitchen, 3 outside, and the rest are customers.

As for filtering out their chowing and thinking, though...

> Roll d100.

rolled 21 = 21

>>19057417

rolled 22 = 22

>>19057417
Focus on the kitchen staff first, it might be interesting, then go from family to family.

rolled 1 = 1

>>19057417

Scout and think.

rolled 43 = 43

>>19057454

rolled 29 = 29

>>19057417

rollan! oh god nat 1 fuck

rolled 68 = 68

>>19057348
drink some tea

>>19057454
>>19057463

No luck, no luck, simply no luck. Maybe it's because your nose got punched, that BITCH Lena-

Okay. That is itself a symptom of a problem. You clench your hands around the fork and spoon, but you can't get a handle on it. You try to block the kitchen staff out, but they move around and yell, and their thoughts about the horrible job and the shit conditions and the measly pay flood in again.

'Shit,' you mutter. 'Shit!'

Then you snap out of your trance and turn to a table of five Mayne Parish girls. They're all silver-lapeled (thanks Lena), and you see two cute ones, both slender blondes with trendy makeup and slightly glittery eyes. You sensed the tail end of a thought, a.... sort of plan.

Maybe if you could learn to focus your influence on just one person, that would be a test of dexterity too...

> You don't manage to gain progress in self-control.
> Roll d100 for progress in directed influence.

rolled 60 = 60

>>19057511

rolled 38 = 38

>>19057511
can't be planing anything good, probe em like a tentacle

rolled 85 = 85

Hm... Choose the least attractive.

>>19057511
Focus on the one who looks like she is ruled over by the rest of them.

>>19057546
>>19057543

> 85 vs. 58: appropriately successful! (keep in mind that critical successes in this game can be dangerous.)

You trace along the five, and come to the odd conclusion that of the two blonde girls, there's one who talks all the time - and dear god, she has the worst teenage voice - and another one, who laughs a lot, but hardly talks.

Even the plump, seriously pimply girl gets several sentences in - and, judging by the organisation of her thoughts, the whole clique probably relies on those sentences to not fall off the edge of the earth while walking to school.

The blonde? Just watches. You sense her hesitation, and in your frustration you nearly move too quickly to quash it. But as it turns out, her volunteering for the plan is a surprise to the others, who quickly turn it into a spectacle worth watching.

It's a very simple plan, it seems. One of them goes to give you 'her' telephone number, but it turns out to be that of their hall matron. You have to admit, it's simple but hideously effective.

'You go, Lo! You go!'

So she comes over to you and you pretend not to see her. 'Um... hi. I'm Laura...'

> What do/say?

>>19057622
"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Dylan."

>>19057622
Can we successfully bullshit like "Oh hey, I know this number. Isn't this the hall matron of...ah, I forget the floor." Or something?

>>19057622
I'm Dylan, lovely to meet you Laura. Is there anything I can do for you?

>>19057642
>>19057657

Second these. We should look like we took the bait, then turn it round on them.

>>19057642
>>19057657
Too heavy.

"Hi, I'm Dylan..." imitating the ruthm of her introduction.

>>19057656
Just say, oh, another girl gave me this number already...

>>19057642
>>19057657
>>19057686

'Hey there, Laura. I'm Dylan.'

'Um...' she glances back at the girls, who pump their fists at her, and then leans in to you. 'Look, look, I'm going to give you this number, but don't call it okay? It's the number to Matron Patricia. And she's ferocious. Just take it and don't call it, okay?'

Well. You had quite expected that. Slipping your control over her for a while was the right thing to do.

> What do/say?

>>19057736
Ok, but why don't we do something a bit more fun than that. You tell me the names of those four, I call her and say that they've been causing trouble down at the bistro, turn the whole thing around on them.

>>19057736
"Thanks for the heads up, I won't call." Tuck it into our pocket. "I don't suppose you'd care to join me for coffee?"

>>19057736

But what about your real number, Laura?

>>19057775
>"I don't suppose you'd care to join me for coffee?"
Hey, we're seventeen. And she's with her friends.

Just smile, take the number and let her go back.

>>19057770
I like this one.

>>19057785

second this one. she tipped us off, sounds like a nice girl.

>>19057805
That's gonna backfire on laura.

Early in thread:
>Don't worry, we don't fuck high schoolers.
Later that same thread.
>So what's your number?

>>19057813
>>19057805
>>19057770
>>19057785
>>19057797

'Nice of you to tell me.' You take out your cellphone, and you can hear, both psychically and with your ears, the gasps from the other girls. Clearly transferring it straight into the cellphone is a massive success. 'How about you tell me the names of those four, and I'll call the Matron and mess them up good?'

'Eh?! No, no... they'll mess me up good then.'

She does have a point. And her fear, as you can tell, is genuine. 'Well. How about you just give me your number then?'

'I... what?'

You slide the phone to her on the table, and she picks it up. You can hear the 'Yesssss! We got him!' two tables away, and then she passes her phone back to you before bowing and walking off. Bowing, seriously!

You finish your lasagne meanwhile. The girls are still talking and laughing. It's almost 9 now, man...

> What do?

>>19057820
oh shit

just let it all go, thank the girl and get out of here already

Also, thread is approaching autosage, so:

> http://catalog.neet.tv/tg/

(Sorry, just for the benefit of any new players)

>>19057858
She seems like a nice girl. Well on our way out walk by their table and wink at Laura, she'll know what we mean and the others will think we completely fell for it. Keep a close eye on their reactions, see if we can get an idea of how bullied Laura is.

rolled 39 = 39

Shout cocks and crap on the table.

rolled 4 = 4

>>19057858
Continue training.

>>19057939

> Shan't count that roll. Roll d100 for more filtering out. Amazingly, as time goes on, the bistro only gets more frequented.

It's probably the only place in this area open till half past midnight...

> Roll d100.

rolled 50 = 50

>>19057964
Rolling for training.

rolled 36 = 36

>>19057964
Come on, daddy needs a new pair of brains...

>>19057920
>walk by their table and wink at Laura
>wink
Are you serious ?

Because that's really bad. We're not a lecherous old man, let's not act like one.
Just give a smile, and maybe a nod, like decent people do.

rolled 70 = 70

>>19057964

Come on!

>>19057997

Nice! It's probably the confidence boost you got from figuring out their little trap, or maybe just that the lasagne helped with your blood sugar, but you do feel yourself getting better. You manipulate the voices, group them, map out the bistro by them so you can trace each voice to its source, at a table.

Also, as you do that, you realise something. You've heard the two blonde girls, and also that tall, rather sour-faced girl - you've heard their thoughts before. You heard them last night while sleeping. They must've been at that little rave party thing.

You dig a little deeper, and then you find some anticipation - the next meet is at Saturday, in another spot, farther down the road....

> Huh... what do/say now? You've done with your lasagne. It's... adequate.

Also, you scan around and notice that the nighttime bistro scene is... pretty grim, actually. There's several loners. There's people with crushes, people who just broke up, one guy who lost his job *and* his wife within a week.

You feel a certain kind of distance, but you're also draining their thoughts, and the whole atmosphere becomes a bit... sour. It's as if the lights are gradually dimming in the Resno. You snap out of it a few times, but sink into it again within minutes. Damnit...

Ironically, there's two bright spots - a bunch of college guys talking in one corner, and the girls who tried to set you up with their Matron.

>>19058051
Oh, well that's disappointing. Do we wanna bang some rave slut?

>>19058051
Keep the location of the meet in mind and leave. This place is a bit depressing and we've got a fair bit of probing in.

Return home and get ready for bed.

rolled 68 = 68

>>19058088
Try to discriminate in leeching the people, go for the happiest.

>>19058113

She... doesn't seem like a rave girl, though. That's odd. Is she being coerced?

rolled 70 = 70

>>19058051
Dig into the blondes' memories from last night.

rolled 42 = 42

can we cheer the depressed people up with our powers?
sounds like they fucking need it

>>19058162
I don't think it's a good idea, we risk having the opposite effect.

>>19058130
>>19058151

That can be done, and you're doing it now - though carefully. You don't wish to ruin what little fun there is left in this place, right?

Come think of it, you do wonder - if draining happy people makes them angry, would draining sad people make them at least neutral? Not that you'd want to, but...

Also, you dig into their memories and... wow. There is a bit of clarity around, before they all get seriously woozy and shimmery - with the exception of Laura. You feel her taking the pill in, laughing and throwing off her blouse, and then spitting the pill out again.

Later even her memory gets woozy, though. You're not sure when that starts, it seems rather gradual...

Just as you're about to leave with that information, you see a guy run into the Resno and to the girls' table. He's all awash with sweat, and you can sense pure panic emanating from him. All of a sudden, as he leans over the table, the mood of relaxation vanishes; several minds close their doors on you so hard you flinch, and rub your temples as you hear them running off.

You head back to the flat, slightly confused by all that...

> What do/say?

>>19058197
Drugs.
Always ruining the childhood.

Anyway, do we have any plan to get money? I mean instead of becoming a drug seller?

>>19058197
Strange. Well we've had a odd few days, one more strange event won't change anything. Get back to our flat, take a quick shower, we have warm running water I don't think most people appreciate that, and settle in for the night.

>>19058220

We need to go play poker. Or maybe scam people.

I still can't think of an interesting living we can make that isn't full-time...

>>19058197
Meh, yah. If Laura isn't independent enough to stand up to the popular girls then fuck that.

Anyway, maybe the paniced guy was another psych? That's really weird. We should ask Lena about what might cause people to just slam their minds shut like that.

>>19058234
I dunno man.
this always come back to us later.

In my opinion we should just work part time. Until our powers get stronger later on.
Then we join some of the organizations.

>>19058228
>>19058234
>>19058255

That guy was definitely not a Psych. You'd have sensed it. But you haven't seen someone so panicked in a long time.

As you walk back to your place, you sense them running down another road, not too far off. Teenagers have unusually strong signatures! You can sense several others as well, around here, using the apartments as a boarding house. How weird.

How... slightly dangerous, actually, isn't it.

You run yourself a warm shower, then do a bit of meditation. Roll d100 for that.

Then you look out the window, and now you can pick out more buildings. You realise that it's possible to see all the way to the North Bank of the river, with its many towers and banks. Beyond that is the casino zone, St. Caye's Island.

> Any last things before bed? You're sleeping at a pretty good time, it seems.

what's the point?
aren't we getting an allowance with our house?

rolled 22 = 22

>>19058299
See how far in the distance we can scan for people. It's worth a shot to try something like that before we go to sleep.

Rolling for meditation.

rolled 76 = 76

>>19058313
Rolling to Scan Overdose

rolled 51 = 51

>>19058299

Meditation. Also, ask Karen about the courses. So when and where do they start?

Also, are we taking the guitar course as well? I'm for it, personally.

>>19058326
Isn't that in Mavensgate?
I think we shouldn't go there for a while

>>19058317
Second

>>19058301
We don't know how much. Having a nice stack of money is always good.

By the way, how much do universities cost around here ?

>>19058317
>>19058326
>>19058335
>>19058301

The issue with an allowance is that you don't know how much you're getting. Lena also mentioned that part of the allowance comes from Numsang's money, and that doesn't... sound too nice. Actually, apparently, the clothes are also on Numsang's account.

You sit and meditate, and scan the area around the building. You can still spot flashes of panic, but they've scattered around. You can sense the powerful determination of a man - oh, two men - doing a night run around the lake. And there's been a violent argument on the ground floor apartments. People are calling each other hypocrites, unfair.

Your range is slowly improving, and with the meditation you also gain some insight into how to probe subtly, and control yourself.

> You gain 1 point of Self Control! 1 more point to SC 3.

Karen replies that Diego's sketching course is in Saffron College, Friday afternoon. Oh, that's tomorrow isn't it? Jeane's guitar course is Saturday evening.

Also, to your surprise, you see a message on your phone from Laura.

'Nice to meet you earlier. Something serious happened, everyone's panicking now...'

> What do? You're lying in your bed. Ahhhh, bed.

>>19058380
aren't we 17 years old with next to no education due to being a hobo?

>>19058405
"What happened? I heard about that fire last night at the party. Is it related?"

>>19058380
>>19058409

You can't go to university now. Dawn is doing the paperwork for you to take the year-end entrance exams.

University here costs about $7,500 a year, tuition alone. You're sure you can get some exemptions, though, and some financial aid.

>>19058405
can we get some sort of g.e.d. thing and then go to college?
ask laura what happened, sounds like it's adventure time

>>19058442

There wasn't a fire, man, and we didn't hear it. You're giving our identity away. Don't do that.

>>19058405
Call Laura, get details on exactly what happened. We've been told to look into this sort of thing.

>>19058461
Second

>>19058442
There was no fire at that party, it was mixed with the arson at some other place.

>>19058446
>>19058461

Yes, the GED is exactly what you're already being signed up for! At the end of this year. And then you can go to college. Dawn's handling it. Don't be harsh on her.

Feeling a little odd about this, you call Laura. Her voice comes over the phone, and then you realise you can't actually feel her mind over the phone. It already feels weird, after just three days, that you can't see their thoughts at least partially.

'Um... Dylan? Wait. Wait.' You hear doors opening and closing, then a quiet whisper. 'Yes, Dylan?'

'Hey, what was that you were talking about?'

'... Um... oh, oh that... no, it's nothing really, I can't tell you about it...'

'Also, where're you now?'

'I'm in the loo. Shh.'

> What do/say?

>>19058500
Ok Laura, calm down. Where are you right now and what happened. The way you described it in the text means that something is up. Talk to me Laura don't panic.

>>19058500
Take a hint that she can't say it out loud and text message her

>>19058442
>>19058475

Do keep in mind - as you might have suspected from the way the Free Community does its work, rather secretively, there are rules akin to the Masquerade operating in Psych society. It wouldn't quite do for everyone to know that amongst them there are people who eat emotions, shit nightmares, and every now and then feast on people to the point of suicide.

Guard your identity properly. Lena mentions it, but not the penalties. You have the feeling that if you blew your cover too widely open, it's not the FreeComm but the Bestowed who would be on you like wild hounds.

>>19058513
This

>>19058500

Tell her to text us, hang up. Text her to make sure she gets it.

>>19058532
So don't talk about Psych Club got it

>>19058512
>>19058513
>>19058562
>>19058563

'All right, then. Go back to your room. We'll text.'

'Oh... oh okay.'

You send her a text so she knows, and two minutes later the reply comes.

'We had a little party and Chuck brought a bag of dancing pills and he hid them in the toilet cistern but they're GONE dunno where they r SHIT pushers know Chuck hell tell on us!'

> What do/say?

>>19058593
Well shit.
We have them right?

>>19058593
"Isn't that shit E on steroids?"

>>19058620
Second and also we should give Kevin a update

>>19058593
Dancing pills are little green pills right? Get the location of the party from her in text.

Inform Kevin of what's up.

>>19058593
What will he say, to whom ? How many were you at this party ?

>>19058609
>>19058620
>>19058626
>>19058632

'Wait, dancing pills? That's the nasty green shit innit?'

'Yeah'

'Where's the party?'

'I cant tell u! This is secrt pls dont tell anyone pls pls pls! Or we die!'

You prepare to text Kev telling him about it... then again, this isn't really what he wants you to inform him of, is it... tsk.

> What do?

>>19058659
Don't text Kev, that's silly.

"I won't tell anyone. So, what, is the dealer going to come and kick your asses? Didn't you pay in full?"

>>19058659
I'm not going to tell anyone, but it seems like you're in deep and I can help.

>>19058701
>>19058643
>>19058675

'Maybe I can help. What's Chuck know, what's the problem?'

It feels like an eternity - you trace the progress of sleep of the rest of the building while you wait - before the reply comes. 'Chuck dint buy the bag he got it for pushing theyll chase him for stock and kick his ass hell tell on us!'

You can't really tell what exactly he can tell on them for. Unless... that they stole it? That'd be a dick move, but anything to protect oneself... hmmm.

> What now, then? You have the bag in your hands...

>>19058724
"Well, your friend Chuck is a retard. I'll see if I can't get a friend of mine to send out the real scoop."

>>19058724
Chuck seems like an ass, how much was lost? I'll see what I can do.

We should bring a bag with us to help, and once we get there scan thoughts and find where whoever stole it put it, with the bag with us as a back up plan to save their asses. They'll owe us serious big time.

>>19058754
Wait what I'm confused didn't we stole it

>>19058754

Dude, we took the bag ourselves. The bag of pills we counted, we stole that from the house this morning.

>>19058781
Yah, we did.

>>19058781
So we did. So we did, I forgot that bit.

>>19058735
>>19058754
>>19058781
>>19058792

You say that Chuck is an arse, and make an offer to help. The reply comes back.

'Chuck said it was 3000 bucks we cant repay this well we can but only with parents money they cant know this!!'

> What do?

Also, to clarify: YOU TOOK THE BAG. The one this morning that you took from the toilet cistern at the rave party site.

>>19058819

You think about whether to return that valuable bag, and then open the message again. Wait a minute, three grand?! Someone's getting stiffed here - you know you can trust Jerky, even though he can hardly trust himself sometimes...

>>19058819
Just give it to then.
Yeah, we will lose some money, but fuck it i don't want to hear about some kids diying because someone stole their drug stuff

>>19058819
"lol, you got screwed over. A bag of that is probably worth like, a thousand. Not three thousand. Trust me, I used to be homeless."

>>19058819
Tell them some homeless person probably took it (kinda the truth) and we will find out who did it and give it back if we can. Tell her Chuck is a retard for hiding drugs in a toilet. Ask her when Chuck is coming to collect?

>>19058854
Second this cause it's funny but>>19058861 to calm her down I guess

>>19058845
>>19058854
>>19058861

You decide it's best not to mock Laura when she's already in a panicky mood. Instead you say some guy around this place must have stolen it, and you'll help keep a lookout.

'Yes pls pls help if poss Chuck says pusher coming tomorrow in same place'

Well, there we are. You bid her goodnight, and she does too, adding 'you're awesome xxx' at the end of the message.

You then fall asleep, and before you know it, it's dawn again. 7 in the morning. Blimey, that didn't feel like a sleep at all...

Crawling off the bed, you stretch and feel the joints pop. Then you go get yourself a coffee, and a baguette slice to dip into the coffee. And some yoghurt, hmmmm.

> What do?

>>19058913

Go to shopping mall, get some training in. Also, text Laura, ask how she is.

>>19058913
Set up the sale with Jerky, I'd like to get these pills out of our life ASAP. We'll deal with the pusher using mind powers.

After that check in on Laura and continue our training. We have a sketching class in the afternoon that we can't miss.

>>19058936
And what about Laura won't she get fucked over if we did this

>>19058936

Wait, I thought we were returning the pills?

If the pusher is pissed, we can't protect the kids forever, you know.

>>19058950
Well, personally, I'm not all that invested in Laura, so we'll do her a favor and if shit goes south we get out.

How about we wait and see how much our allowance is, and if it's not enough, we say we found the pills on some bum?

>>19058967
Er, if our allowance is enough to keep us going, we return the pills. If it's not enough we sell them.

>>19058975
I'm not either but damn that's cold

>>19058986
It's cool as ice.

>>19058936
>>19058967

Jerky said, as mentioned before, he meets with you tomorrow. Unless you want to call him again and try to rush the same through?

You count the pills. They're all still there.

Laura, meanwhile, replies. 'Im okay... skipped class... cant conctrte'

'Where are you now?'

'Mall, food court'

And then Dawn calls you. 'Hey there! This is about your bank details and stuff. You can collect the card from the shopping mall.'

'How much money is there inside?'

'Well, we're giving you a hundred a week. You'll have to find work to supplement that...'

Hmm.

> What do?

>>19058994
>>19058967
>>19058950
>>19058936

Don't be ridiculous. We're not doing this. That's several kids' lives on our hands.

We give the bloody pills back.

>>19058998
Let's go to the mall to settle this stuff soon

>>19058998
Well if we're getting work anyway... Might as well not try to make a quick buck.

>>19058998
Call Jerky and say things went south and we can't make it if we are giving the pills back

>>19059004

Seconding this. Besides, it's true that we did actually steal it. So we steal pills, pin it on several teenagers who possibly get killed, just for a thousand bucks. That's not even cold, that's just being a cunt unnecessarily.

We can raise a thousand dollars in a single poker game. There's no need to get several people possibly wasted for that.

>>19058998
Cool. Looks like we're heading to the mall, we've got stuff to do there. We'll get our card, check in with Laura and get some training in.

yeah, we give the pills back, lets just try to do it in a way that makes us not look like an asshole.

tell them.... we found them floating in the lake.
might want to run them over with some water first, the bag not the pills

>>19059043
Who would steal a ball of pills worth a grand and throw them in a lake just say some bum found it and he was looking to make a quick score but only if they ask

>>19059061
Which is pretty much the truth

>>19059080
So we ain't lying so it's all good

>>19059006
>>19059014
>>19059031
>>19059036
>>19059043

> Are you guys going to bring the pills with you to the mall?

You head down to the mall after freshening up, and then head to the bank. Surprisingly, it's actually open at half eight! After a little moseying about with signatures - dear me, you haven't even had one before - the counter woman, whose just had a grandson, hands you your cards with a big smile.

Then you head to the food court. In this time in the morning, there are more cleaners clearing up the breakfast rush than there are customers. You look around and see Laura, in a grey tank top and black running shorts, sitting at a table, clutching a cup with both hands. Even at this distance you can feel her fear, standing out against the general tedium of clearing tables.

She starts violently when you call her name, spilling tea on the table. 'Oh! Oh Dylan! Man...' she looks around. 'So... um, what's happening?'

> what do/say?