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Several Days Later.

Rebecca sits back as she ends the call with one of her cousins. She'd made a few calls to family members, under pretense of some needing some minor financial advice and not wanting to ask her uncle. This got her a good deal of information she didn't really care about, but she also managed to slip in a few more concerning queries, and now had some more information, as strange as it seemed to her.

She thinks for a moment before standing up to walk out into the main hall, sniffing about at the air to see if Courtney is in the kitchen, the study, or even just her own room.

Courtney is currently in the study, sitting on the pillows and reading. Her duties have greatly relaxed from the beginning, the two kind of agreeing that daily cleaning of the floors and dusting of everything is hardly necessary when Rebecca does her best to avoid anyone visiting anyway. Still cleaning for important events, but it was quickly agreed that cleaning for the sake of cleaning was not a good use of anyone's time, paid servant or not.

Instead, she has been reading. This time around, instead of trying to find more legends that may or may not help, she's just reading a light novel. One could argue that her own life is more fantastic than the average novel... and that's exactly why she's reading. At times she can even ignore the scales on her arm as she turns the page.

Rebecca spots Courtney, and steps into the study quietly (or, as quietly as a dragon can), clearing her throat to announce her presence before awkwardly flirting, "Hey, uh, beautiful? I'm off the phone with my cousin. I don't really have anything helpful, but... sorta interesting, if you're in the mood?"

She's been trying not to make Courtney overthink things, better to let her approach her changes at her own pace, rather than having Rebecca reminding her of it everytime they talk.

Courtney looks up with a smile. "Hey there, pretty thing." She looks genuinely interested at Rebecca's words - anything to learn more about the situation.

She moves to sit on the edge of the pillowpile, making space for the dragon. "What's the news, then?"

Rebecca walks over, settling into the pillows near Courtney, her tail curling up close to her girlfriend. "I've basically been calling up family with little money questions, and saying I've been too embarrassed to ask my Uncle or my parents." That's also not untrue, but she doesn't quite fess up to that. "Then, I just talk a bit of history. Most of the family knows I'm a weirdo who loves to read about history. But it's always been Earth history, and never much about Home, but I don't think any of them thought anything weird about it... and my oldest cousins said he remembered kobolds."

Courtney looks up: "The uh, kind we think I might be becoming?" A mix of curiosity and fear in her voice, though the former has the upper hand.

Rebecca sighs, "I mean, we don't know that..." She leaves off the obvious 'but' at the end. "Still, I'd never even heard about this. It's just not something that I guess the family thought was lost forever, so why talk about it?" She shakes her head, "I don't understand why so many dragons seem not to care about their own pasts. Or about the past that doesn't immediately involve them, I guess."

She pauses, thinking, "They were natives of our Home, though, kobolds. My cousin said they were probably some sort of a scavenger who used to follow dragons around, eating the scraps they left behind. But that all sounded kinda like myth to me. What's important is what kobolds were like when we left."

Courtney shrugs: "People care about their pasts, or their family's pasts. It's understandable." She perks up as Rebecca continues talking, nevermind what she herself may or may not be becoming, she realizes she's hearing something no human probably has before. "What uh... what were they like, then?"

Rebecca hums, tapping her claws a moment. "Well... more complicated for certain. They were servants, but also not quite servants. Something more, and almost something we must have needed. But, no kobolds came here with us, and my cousin wouldn't talk about why not... which means it was probably embarrassing to us. Something we did, maybe?"

Courtney hums, leaning on Rebecca's side with a sigh. "So... that doesn't really help us, but I guess I'm glad for the insight anyway." She glances at the dragon: "Or you know, we might be wrong and this is something else entirely." She lifts her arm to look at it, the scales now a permanent reminder that something is certainly going on, even if they can't figure out what.

Rebecca smiles down at Courtney as she leans against her, and Rebecca lets her tail slide up to Courtney's side. "I did warn you it wasn't anything but a bit of history. And you know how I get with history. And I am that weirdo who likes it, afterall."

"It's also just... weird. Like, the way my Cousin talked about it, it's like we did come to Earth and try to make humans into Kobolds." She pauses, glancing down, "Now like... err, well, you know. But like, we tried to make humans take the same roles and jobs, but I don't think it's worked."

Courtney hums, considering: "Trying to make humans to do anything we're not wired to do is an uphill battle. And we humans have a long, long history of rebelling against leaders we don't agree with. So I guess dragons figured out pretty quickly that it's far more convenient for everyone involved to just pay for the tasks you need done." She motions at her maid outfit: "Case in point."

Rebecca chuckles, "Yeah, it looks good on you at least. But I think you're right. I wish I knew about Home... I don't even know the name of whatever world we came from! Other Dragons only ever call it 'Home'." She sighs. "Is it any wonder why I got so into Earth history growing up?"

Courtney smiles at her girlfriend: "I guess not. And I like history too." She hums with a sigh: "So... unless you get more information out of your family, we're sort of on our own. I kind of suspect the larger human consciousness knows exactly nothing about this."

Rebecca lets out a deep breath and nods, "Unless we want to explain this more directly to them... it doesn't sound like I can get much more information."

Courtney leans back on Rebecca's side. She is quiet for a moment before letting out a sigh. "Well, it was worth a shot. And maybe someone will still get back to you." She doesn't sound all that hopeful, though.

She turns to look at Rebecca: "Guess best and worst we can do now is see where this goes."

Rebecca lowers her head to nuzzle Courtney, "I guess so... I'll still send out some more messages just in case... but... I'm still really sorry about this."

Courtney lets out a deep breath as she leans her head against Rebecca's. "It's... i-it's what it is, now." She closes her eyes: "Love you anyway, Rebecca."

Rebecca presses back gently, "I love you too, Courtney. I just... okay, this is going to sound crazy and selfish but I just... I feel a bit helpless."

Courtney squints her eyes tighter, threatening to tear up a bit: "S-so do I, but..." She blinks her eyes open as she feels something. She shifts in her position, turning to look under her. "O-oh. Dear."

She lifts her dress, revealing a tiny nub of a scaled tail poking from over her panties. She swallows deeply.

Rebecca peeks, a bit embarrassed at first to be looking at Courtney's panties, but then notices the new appendage. "...A... tail.."

Courtney nods numbly. "A... uh." For a long moment she just stares, before daring to touch it... and jerking her hand back. "I f-felt that. F-rom both sides."

Rebecca frowns, pulling her own tail away slowly, she just stares a moment, at a loss for words, "I... I don't... Courtney..."

Courtney stares at her tail for a long, long moment, before looking back up with an uncertain smile. "S-so I guess we're on this road whether we want to or not." She swallows, holding back her tears: "I-I'd rather be on it with you."

Rebecca smiles back, uncertainly and full of fear, but equally full of love. "We're on it together, yes. I don't know what is happening to you, but I don't care either... I mean, I care, because it's hurting you, but... I don't care what you are, or were, or will be. I just... love You."

Courtney leans onto Rebecca, swallowing: "I love you too." She sniffs: "S-scales won't change that." It's obvious the girl is scared, but at the same time, refusing to give up.

Rebecca hesitates, always struggling with how physical she can get with the smaller human, but eventually just gives in and raises a paw to pull Courtney in closer against her to hug her. "No, scales won't change that for me either. You are Courtney. That's what I care about."

Courtney leans close to the hug, closing her misting up eyes: "M-me too. Rebecca, just... whatever happens, promise me you won't go anywhere?"

Rebecca tightens her hug just a bit, sniffling as well. "An easy promise, since it was what I planned to do anyways. I promise to stay with you for as long as you need me. For... for life, if you want me with you."

Courtney swallows: "Y-yes." She sniffs, leaning on the dragon... her dragon. Her girlfriend. "Y-you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Rebecca is taken aback only momentarily, "I- M-me? But I..." She considers a moment, then hugs Courtney as tightly as she dares, "Well, I guess it's not that surprising since you're the best thing that's every happened to me."

Courtney sniffs as her hands cling onto the dragon. "M'sorry I'm such a mess." She swallows, the whispers: "I'm scared."

Rebecca rubs her paw against Courtney, "I'm scared too... I... i think it's okay to be a mess, sometimes." She sighs, letting herself start to cry, "You're my mess. And you have nothing to be sorry for."

Courtney swallows, allowing herself to cry fully for the first time since the changes started. She embraces Rebecca best as she is able, hear flow of tears making her makeup a mess, not that she notices or cares. "I luh-love you..."

Rebecca brings her head down against Courtney as well, the dragon practically surrounding her on all sides to embrace her. "I love you too." Rebecca tries to keep her voice steady as she cries along, despite her words to Courtney she really does want to be strong for her girlfriend in this moment when Courtney needs to let herself be vulnerable.

Courtney stays like that for a long time. She cries until she can't anymore. Every fear, doubt and uncertainty about what might be coming. Whether she'll keep her humanity at all.

What is either minutes or hours later, she dries her eyes. She looks up at her girlfriend. "Thank you", she says almost voicelessly.

Rebecca sniffles, having mostly kept herself under control. Still she manages a smile at Courtney, "Anytime you need it, I'm here."

Courtney swallows, hesitates, then voices her thought. "R-Rebecca... This probably sounds silly, but... Can you touch, er... my tail? I just want to... m-makes sure if I'm dreaming or not."

Rebecca nods, "I... can, yes. It may be a bit sensitive, so I'll be careful..." she takes the paw resting against Courtney's back and carefully slides it lower, delicately lifting her dress and stroking the tail nub she finds there with the side of one finger.

Courtney blinks: "Gyerg! I f-felt that!" She laughs a bit nervously: "T-this is very real, isn't it." She can't entirely bring herself to say it feels bad, though.

Rebecca pulls her hand away and nods, smiling sadly, "I wish I could tell you otherwise... But it is real."

Courtney shifts apart from Rebecca to look at her... tail. She concentrates for a second before frowning. "Can't move it. Maybe there's something I need to learn to do... it..." She trails off before looking back at Rebecca: "... Is it too weird I want to know how to do that?"

Rebecca glances curiously at Courtney, "I am unsure how you will take this but... it may grow longer." She pauses, thinking. "I don't know if it's weird... but are you otherwise feeling alright? Is it just curiosity? Or...?"

Courtney considers, then slowly nods. She dares a small smile: "I'm pretty sure it's just... curiosity. And well, unless another cousin of yours comes up with a cure, I... I feel like this is me. I want to know."

Rebecca sighs, "I just don't want you... I don't know... giving up?" She pauses, heavily aware that they don't really have any leads or information that might help them towards a cure. "But I'll help however I can."

Courtney nods. "I don't want to... Give up, either. But even if this is entirely temporary, Rebecca..." She looks up at the dragon, lifting her scaled arm upwards to her girlfriend's neck: "It's what I have now. I feel like... Wherever this goes, I want to know."

Rebecca lowers her head, bringing her neck down in range of Courtney's arms. "I just wanted to be sure this is your choice. Not... you know. I can try to explain how my tail works but it's like trying to explain blinking. I just sorta... know? I've had it my whole life though."

Courtney giggles a bit despite the seriousness of her situation. "Heh. I guess. Makes sense." She goes a bit more serious. "And, well... Obviously we'd want this to be my choice. But, well, that's not what we got." She's rather obviously trying to keep a brave face despite, or possibly because of, her earlier outburst.

Rebecca cringes as her choice of words comes back to her, "I just meant... I... well... you know. Sorry. I'm just worried, still. But at least... it doesn't hurt or anything, right?" She reaches out to softly poke Courtney's tail again.

Courtney sighs a bit, then 'gyerks' at the touch - she smiles at Rebecca after it. "...I may have to get used to that, then. But no, it doesn't hurt." She considers. "Actually, besides feeling weird, none of this has actually hurt..."

Rebecca smiles, pulling her hand back again, "Err, sorry. It feels nice to touch." She pauses, not quite meaning it to sound like that but... how else did she mean it? "It's good none of this has hurt you...physically at least."

Courtney smiles and leans closer to Rebecca: "I'm glad that whatever I might be becoming... it's something that appeals to you." She considers: "Yeah, admittedly I'm not sure if I'd gotten down this route if I had the choice, but..." She trails off, then turns to again smile at her girlfriend.

Rebecca glances away shyly, "I didn't mean to make it sound like I was into it... um... but..." She shakes her head, "What um, but what were you going to say?"

Courtney thinks for a second: "Well... while I don't know where this is going, I... okay, don't take this the wrong way, but I might have literally changed for you if I had just been offered this instead of it just happening." She makes a face: "Okay that does sound a bit creepy. I didn't mean it like that."

Rebecca blinks, "So... if it had been your choice... you think... you'd have chosen to do this?"

Courtney shrugs: "I don't know. But I can't say for sure that I would have declined, either."

Rebecca closes her eyes and leans down to nuzzle Courtney, "Well, I thought you were perfect before... but the scales are still cute, I think... I... might be kind of into it... but... I don't want that to influence you."

Courtney hums: "But if this is happening anyway, are you influencing me?" She prods a finger at the dragon's chest despite the nuzzle: "I'm, far as I'm concerned, still here because I chose to be, Rebecca."

Rebecca blinks, "Am I... influencing it..." A wave of guilt is cut short by Courtney's finger prod, her expression melting into a soft smile, "Mrph... I... okay. I'm glad that at least that is your choice."

Courtney lets her smile wane for a second: "Am I worried? Yes. Am I scared? Also yes. Am I going to let this devour my joy of life? No. I'm not." She looks at Rebecca determinedly: "Whatever comes, I intend to deal with it."

Rebecca's own smiles grows as Courtney seems to grow in resolve, "You're beautiful when you've got this kind of determination. Then, please, let me be a part of your joy. And you won't have to deal with it alone."

Courtney smiles, lifting her hand again to touch Rebecca: "That's all I can ask for. Just... be there for me."

Rebecca brings her foreleg down in front of Courtney and lifts her chin with a finger, "I promised I would be, love."

Courtney tries to not tear up again: "I know." She swallows: "You'll be there for me, for certain."

Rebecca comes in to give Courtney a kiss, "I promise it. I swear."

Courtney leans into the kiss, not caring how wet and slobbery it gets, this time.

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