This seems like fun.

[x] - Follow after the noisy ones, they would be easy to track, and perhaps they would retreat to a refreshing body of water.

Lazy lizard, languid no longer!

Same

[x] - CHASE after the noisy ones, they would be easy to track, and perhaps they would retreat to a refreshing body of water
[x] Roar your mighty cry to show your displeasure and also to make them run faster towards said source of water.

Always wanted to roar like a T-Rex or whatever BIG LIZARD we are supposed to be.

[x] - CHASE after the noisy ones, they would be easy to track, and perhaps they would retreat to a refreshing body of water
[x] Roar your mighty cry to show your displeasure and also to make them run faster towards said source of water.
Big Dino in Small Country

[x] - CHASE after the noisy ones, they would be easy to track, and perhaps they would retreat to a refreshing body of water
[x] Roar your mighty cry to show your displeasure and also to make them run faster towards said source of water.

Gotta go with the THP classic decision. Also ROAR.

Token pissin' against the other vote.
[x] - Calmly observe its surroundings, this definitely wasn't where it remembered choosing to rest.
Also welcome. Good luck and you'll get the hang of things just by being here and maybe looking at other threads.

[x] - Head somewhere cooler, the heat was nice, but here it was a little too hot to be comfortable.

After passing into the traditional post-Thanksgiving turkey coma, it only seems fair to allow our dinosaur pal to find his own opportunity for laziness.

[X] - Head somewhere cooler, the heat was nice, but here it was a little too hot to be comfortable.
Luv Snoozin'
Ate Mammals (not a picky eater just dont like 'em)
Simple as.

[X] - Head somewhere cooler, the heat was nice, but here it was a little too hot to be comfortable

Chill lizard is my go to.

Validus here, the vote was tied so I flipped a coin. It looks like we're going with, "chill lizard" for now. New update soon.

Just a heads-up—if you start posting with a name and tripcode in the name field, you can get your story added to the storylist and have your updates show up as updates on the front page. The format is name#password or name!password, and the result is what you'll see in this post (the site will convert your password into a hashed string).

The beast looked on down the stone path in the direction the noisy ones had retreated to, it could still hear their almost thunderous cries of distress. It let out another huff and licked its snout absentmindedly, perhaps it would be best to stay away from all the noise and instead search for a place to cool down. It reasoned that, since it was still in the process of waking up, a good jog will get its blood properly circulating and its energy high for when it would inevitably have to go searching for food.

If the goliath had any knowledge of the current, modern-day Outside World, then it would know that researchers there named its kind "Dimetrodon", meaning "two measures of teeth" because of its long and short set of pointed molars. It bore no flattering appearance, with pale gray skin and a pair of flat, yellow reptilian eyes. Its most prominent feature, and one it was most proud of, was its massive sail, which helped regulate its body temperature and doubled as a means to attract any females. One could understand then, the reason that this particular Dimetrodon was a little vain, for what other creature possessed such a stunning display of beauty and biological efficiency? As its sluggish gait slowly transitioned into a light trot, it willfully ignored the fact that it had never managed to find a mate yet.

As it continued its search, it noticed that it appeared to be boxed in by long, stone structures that surrounded the entire area. What took up most of the boxed-in space was a truly massive and intimidating wooden construct, from which the stone path rolled out from its mouth like a cobblestone tongue. The beast, however, did not find these observations very important, as it was more focused on its goal of finding a nice, cool spot to relax a bit longer. As it approached one side of the giant structure, it discovered a wooden formation that branched off of the main construct and opened into a sizeable body of water. Although it was used to bigger, the monster decided it was overdue for a peaceful swim. Upon reaching the edge of the body, however, it sniffed the air suddenly. A familiar aroma drifted tantalizingly from the mouth of the wooden giant, its bestial brain registered the sweet scent of fresh meat, though it somehow smelled even sweeter than it remembered. Its displeased stomach reminded it that it had not eaten for a while, but the thought of a refreshing dip in the water was equally alluring. Making up its mind, the beast decided that it would...

[] - Ignore the scent and follow through with its original plan. It needed refreshment after the exercise.

[] - Forget the water, a good meal was always welcome after a brief exercise.

---

Here's the first update for the story, and this time I actually labelled it correctly! Thank you for the feedback, and I hope to come out with the next update sometime tomorrow. Again, thank you for choosing to read, "Mammal-Like Reptile".

-Validus

If we are a Dimetrodon, then we are not quite as colossal as I was hoping we were. I'm assuming we are one of the larger ones, but seeing the villagers freak out over a lizard the size of a cat is a funny thought.

[x] - Forget the water, a good meal was always welcome after a brief exercise.

We haven't eaten anything since before the dinosaurs existed. Its high time we had some breakfast.

I am in awe of the selective fitness of our boy.

[x] - Forget the water, a good meal was always welcome after a brief exercise.

The lake ain't goin' anywhere in a hurry, but food won't wait forever.

[X] - Ignore the scent and follow through with its original plan. It needed refreshment after the exercise.
Let a man drink

[x] - Forget the water, a good meal was always welcome after a brief exercise.
We must work to feed this majestic beast.

[X] Ignore Water, Acquire Sustenance.

[X] Dub Self "Dough Dimmadome Dino Dimetrodon" ergo Four D's for short.

Owing to its voracious appetite, the beast deduced that a hearty breakfast would be perfect after some leisurely exercise. Letting out a grunt of excitement, it eagerly clambered onto the wooden structure and scampered into a second, smaller mouth it now noticed the wooden goliath seemed to posses. With speed that would've struck fear into the heart of any prey, the big behemoth made its way through a narrow hallway, its claws scraping against the weirdly smooth surface of the ground. It made to pause at another opening, but couldn't stop its own momentum briefly and almost toppled over itself. Now with the scent at its strongest, the Dimetrodon stuck its toothy maw through the gateway, and bore witness to a beautiful sight. Sitting there, right there, upon odd wooden formations, was what seemed to be endless rows of meaty clumps, layered in such a sweet-smelling substance. The sight almost made the beast chirrup in sheer delight, but it didn't, because it had a very high image to uphold.

Trying its best to restrain itself, yet self-consciously feeling as if its movement looked too excited, it made its way towards the steaming feast and stopped short of a curious looking creature. It had four legs, which supported a small body that boasted a long, wide face that comprised most of the creature's stocky height. The Dimetrodon sniffed at the unusual thing, but all it could sense was wood. Gingerly, it prodded the creature to see if it was alive, all it got in response was the sound of the creature's frozen legs scraping against the smooth ground. Satisfied, the beast toppled the dumb thing over and set upon the feast with immense vigor, making quite a ruckus as it devoured. Its eyes practically twinkled, the sweet substance added to the flavor of the strange meat, they both harmonized into an entirely new sensation, pure ecstacy. How something like this could exist seemed an incomprehensible concept to the ancient monster, it could hardly remember the last time it enjoyed a meal so thoroughly. With a renewed enthusiasm, the Dimetrodon gorged itself messily upon the smorgasbord in pure, unfiltered joy.

In a short amount of time, every strange object in the room had been disarranged. From an onlooker's perspective it would have appeared that the entire room had come under siege by an army of ravenous soldiers, this comparison would've been inaccurate, the beast had probably eaten twice as much as any army could. It sat amongst the mess, thoroughly satisfied, breathing steadily as it took a second, more brief rest after indulging itself so immensely. It licked its snout absentmindedly, and pondered upon the origin of such a regal banquet. Surely, this must have been the bounty of the Noisy Ones, it remembered there being many of the strange creatures when it was prematurely awakened earlier. This made sense, it thought as it breathed a slow breath, for such a great number needed an even greater meal. Of course, it felt no regret for eating their meal and damaging their abode, for what care would a prehistoric beast care for courtesy, when it was reared in a time where the biggest and strongest got what it wanted. No longer worrying about hunting for food, the big beast prepared to fall into yet another long slumber, until it heard a sudden cry.

"Wha-what in the..?"

Alerted, it stood up quickly as its large head swiveled towards the direction of the disturbance. There, standing in the very opening it entered through, was what appeared to be another member of the Noisy Ones. The creature stood upon two long legs, its body was covered in both dark and light colors, its head had strange blue substances that almost flowed down to its body, and its face seemed to be the token picture of shock, though the old lizard did not wield the perception required to read facial expressions. Ichirin Kumoi, for that was the creature's name, could barely register the sight in front of her. The entire banqueting hall was in complete upheaval, tables, chairs, plates, bowls, cups, silverware, all rearranged and strewn about the chamber; here and there, the remains of fish and traces of soy sauce littered the floor, mingling with the rice and dancing with the furniture. Her eyes roved around the room in stunned disbelief, until finally they rested upon the hulking mass of flesh sitting in the middle of it all. What had to be the most overgrown lizard known to man, staring at her with a hard, reptilian gaze. The entire scene almost seemed, illusionary. Like all she would have to do is close her eyes, and when she opened them once again the banqueting hall would be back in order, everything in its proper place, and the awful sight just a half-remembered dream.

But it was still there, fish, sauce, rice and all. After hours of slaving in the kitchen, preparing the food while monitoring the other cooks, the token of all her painstaking efforts, all lost to the insatiable stomach of an unseen reptilian terror. Truly then, the lizard must have been the embodiment of cruel fate, an arbitrary specter come to reap the spoils of another's hard labor. It took the priest a good minute to regain her composure, she mentally recited a sutra and took one long, deep breath. In, and out. The banquet was ruined and moping about it would not make it better. What had to be done now, was deal with the strange beast youkai that seemed to be the root of the problem. Eyes trained on the beast, Ichirin took a cautious step forward to see how it would react.

The Dimetrodon assumed that the creature in front it, seeing the mess it had made of its home, was readying an aggressive approach. The brute entered a warning stance, and let off a low, threatening hiss, essentially telling the creature to choose its next move wisely. Ichirin paused, and slowly held up a large ring clasped within her palm. The Dimetrodon smelled something, unknown in the air, and felt its heart begin to quicken its pace. Something was not right here, its throat bobbed in and out anxiously. It began to fear that its life depended on a decisive action. It would...

[] - Attempt to flee the area, there was another opening on the opposite end of the space behind it, and it was in some kind of danger.

[] - Stand ground and wait for the Noisy One to make its move. Perhaps there was nothing to fear after all.

[] - Attack the Noisy One, it would show its opponent that it was not afraid.

[] - Write in.

---

The third update to the story. This one was fun to write, and I hope you find it enjoyable. Although keep in mind that I know virtually nothing of Japanese dishes or dining arrangements. Anyway, thank you once again for choosing to read, "Mammal-Like Reptile"
- Validus

[x] - Attempt to flee the area, there was another opening on the opposite end of the space behind it, and it was in some kind of danger.

You don't get very long in the tooth as any kind of animal by picking fights for no caloric or reproductive benefit.

[X] Run

Bas through one of those silly wooden/paper walls to establish dominance by running away like a boss.

[X] Run
Brave Sir Dimetrodon bravely ran away

[X] Run
Ran away away away

[X] - Stand ground and wait for the Noisy One to make its move. Perhaps there was nothing to fear after all.

Slow down there

did it died

Sorry for the ridiculous delay, hopefully a new update shall be given to you by tomorrow at around noon. In the meantime, there are plenty of other stories to read on this site if the wait becomes unbearable (which it most likely has).

The vote is now locked to running away. Thank you for choosing to read, "Mammal-Like Reptile".

Sorry for the gross underestimation, new update in a few hours.

In its day, it was an apex predator, unrivaled and unchallenged. It took when it needed to, it slept at its own leisure, no other creature could push it around. Of course, every now and then it had met an enemy that could drive it to be cautious, wrestling with those strange, long-fanged creatures had always been a difficult challenge. But it had never exactly been afraid of anything, not like it was now.
The creature that stood in front of it did not appear to have any notable strength, it had no fangs or claws that would normally warn rivals of the danger it posed, and on a normal day the Dimetrodon never would have given the creature much thought.

But right now, it was terrified, because there was something here. A presence had arrived and put a fear inside the reptile that was beyond its understanding. It had never run from a fight before, its pride had never even humored the notion, but in its bones it knew that any other option would lead to a senseless death.
Keeping its eyes fixed on the creature before it, the Dimetrodon swiftly turned tail and charged straight through one of the opposing flimsy paper walls, effectively creating its own back entrance.

“H-hey, wait!!” It heard the creature call out to it in surprise, and despite its mounting terror the Dimetrodon felt satisfied, the Noisy One definitely wasn’t expecting such a sudden maneuver.

---

Ritachi was a simple beast youkai, he enjoyed indulging within his animalistic nature. Whether it be through playing pranks on his elders, pinching a little food from the kitchens, or happily avoiding any manual labor. Despite all of this, Ritachi had immense gratitude towards the temple, and its Head Priest.

For reasons unknown to him, perhaps because he was once a weasel, misfortune followed Ritachi everywhere he went. As a youkai, he had been “born” fairly recently, and for about a year or so he couldn’t get a moment to relax. It was a phenomenon he couldn’t explain, everything he did ended in failure, every endeavor left him with less than when he had started, nothing ever really seemed to go right for him.

Life had been pretty miserable for Ritachi, until he met Lady Byakuren. He had happened upon her while she was giving a sermon out in the Myouren temple’s courtyard, being a simple youkai, he couldn’t wrap his head around her words, but Hijiri Byakuren held such an aura of patience and understanding that before he had realized, Ritachi was drawn in completely. He fell and hurt himself on his way over to her, of course, but the Head Priest forbearingly comforted the downtrodden weasel youkai as he bawled all his grievances into her dampened shoulder.
The solution turned out to be quite simple in its execution, the talented nun gathered her spiritual power, and placed a blessing upon an oak staff, the awestruck Ritachi pledged his allegiance to the temple and kept the staff with him ever since.
Though that afternoon, he had momentarily abandoned it in wake of the unknown reptilian monster he and a few others had disturbed. After a while, he and the rest of the group realized that the monster wasn’t after them, and when they returned to the temple it was nowhere to be seen.

Now Ritachi lay in his room, which had been graciously provided to him when he joined. The staff rested across his stomach as he lay sprawled across his futon. The afternoon’s events were quite terrifying, and the thought of the strange beast lurking around the temple grounds was not a reassuring one. His vermin instincts told him that for now, after the excitement, a brief rest before dinner was a fantastic idea.

At least, it was a fantastic idea, until a sudden crash made him jolt out of bed just in time to spot a humongous figure break through one shoji wall and exit through the other at an incredible speed, leaving a truly fantastic mess of his room. He hadn’t really processed the destruction until the Assistant Priest came barreling through his room, “Sorry!” she yelled as she gave chase to the retreating figure.

For a good long while Ritachi did not think of anything, then he idly wondered if he should see the Head Priest about renewing the blessing placed upon his staff.

---

As the Dimetrodon knew all too well, Ichirin Kumoi was hot on its heels, yelling out frantic apologies to startled temple residents as she pursued the great lizard through the path of destruction it created. It was thoroughly confused by the number of rooms and hallways the Myouren temple had, in its mind it wondered what use half of the chambers could possibly serve. It had barreled over quite a number of Noisy Ones during its great escape, and it was vaguely aware that a few of them were now aiding its pursuer. Panic was starting to settle as it took more time to find its way out of the labyrinthine nightmare.

Accompanied by a warm bath of sunlight, the Dimetrodon found, to its relief, that it had breached to the outside. The smell of open air was a great reprieve from the staleness of the wooden goliath, but the Dimetrodon knew it had little time to relax. Keeping its pace, it headed in the direction those previous Noisy Ones had escaped to earlier, it could only afford to rest once it left the strange creatures’ territory well behind it.

But then, inexplicably, its claws could no longer feel the ground. Its head shifted downwards, and it marveled at how smaller everything suddenly appeared to be. It didn’t fully understand, but in its ancient brain it did come to a slight awareness that it was being lifted high in the air. Once it realized how wrong its current placement was, the Dimetrodon began to struggle against whatever force held it in the sky. Below, it spotted the Noisy One looking up at it from the ground, a gathering of other Noisy Ones had convened below.

The only thing the Dimetrodon truly understood was that it had been trapped. In light of this, the old beast continued to squirm in the vice grip of a force it could sense but was unable to properly see.

---

An incorporeal, wisp-like hand closed tighter around the frightened beast as Unzan worked to keep it in his grasp. The nyuudou grumbled and gave Ichirin a pointed look. “I know you’re already tired Unzan,” Ichirin sighed, “Just hold onto it until Lady Byakuren shows up, okay?”
She looked again towards the front of the temple, and felt an immense fatigue settle in. She remembered the relief she and the others felt after the evening’s meal was finally completed, she had even congratulated them for the effort they had put into making dinner, and assured them that the fruits of their labor would be thoroughly enjoyed. It had been enjoyed, she supposed just a little bitterly, casting a glance at the still-struggling youkai.
There was also the matter of calming the temple residents down, Ichirin was positive that all of the Myouren Temple had heard the havoc wrought by the lizard-like monster. Thankfully, Shou and Kyouko were dealing with crowd control, while Nazrin went to fetch Ms. Hijiri and Murasa kept an extra set of eyes on the youkai intruder in case Unzan lost his grip. The ghostly sailor gestured in a thumbs-up and gave a friendly grin as she noticed Ichirin looking in her direction.

To the Assistant Priest’s relief, Hijiri Byakuren arrived at the scene quickly. There was a clear elegance in her movement, with an undercurrent of deliberate haste. The monks and followers all bowed as the Head Priest made her way over to Ichirin, Unzan, and their captured beast. She seemed to radiate calmness as she addressed her assistant, “Greetings Ichirin, you’ve done an admirable job of preventing things from escalating further. I take it that’s the invader Unzan is holding?”

Ichirin bowed respectfully to Byakuren before responding. “Lady Byakuren, I found it in the banquet hall, it had devoured all of the food set out for dinner”, she couldn’t stop a sliver of exasperation from creeping into her voice, “I’m sure you’ve noticed, but it also wreaked havoc through the rest of the temple.”

Byakuren nodded, “Indeed. It appears dinner will be served later than usual. Though I wouldn’t take it too hard, the younger followers can use this as further practice on their road to Enlightenment. Taking fast is a good first step towards further Ascetism.” From above, Unzan was surprised that the Head priest managed to spin the ordeal into another lecture. From below, Murasa was loudly telling jokes to the returned Nazrin, who bore it all in disgruntled silence.

“In any case,” started Ichirin, “I think the most pressing issue is the beast youkai.” Ichirin leaned closer to Byakuren and whispered, “Should we contact the shrine maiden and have her exterminate it?”

To this, the Head Priest chuckled, “There’s no need to be hasty, Ichirin. We’re not going to have it exterminated.”

“Huh?” Though she knew her master to be of a normally calm disposition, Ichirin was still caught off guard by Byakuren’s nonchalance. She had, after all, expected the Head Priest to take matters concerning potential danger to the temple more seriously.

“From now on, this youkai will be under the protection of the Myrouren Temple.”

Ichirin froze.

Unzan sighed.

Nazrin and Murasa were confused by the sudden change in atmosphere.

The Dimetrodon sensed that something had happened and stopped fighting against Unzan’ s grasp.

The residents that had gathered nearby were completely still.

For a moment, all was silent.

“WHAT?!”

The silence was mercilessly killed off by Ichirin. From above, Unzan began to slowly treat his growing migraine.

“L-lady Byakuren, you can’t be serious! That thing just finished rampaging through temple, it injured quite a few people on its way out the door, you know!? Why on earth would you want it to stay here!?”

All eyes turned to Byakuren, who gave a small, calm smile. “It seems to me that this new youkai ended up here suddenly, and doesn’t know how it arrived anymore than we do. After all, it didn’t attack you outright, did it?”

Ichirin was about to argue against Byakuren, but a realization dawned upon her. The strange creature that pilfered the banquet hall ran the moment it felt threatened. Looking back, the youkai didn’t attack her at all, and it only injured people during its frightened attempt to escape. Still, Ichirin wasn’t entirely sure keeping the strange new youkai was a good idea, but she knew better than to argue with the Head Priest.
Sighing once again, Ichirin relented, “it is as you say, Lady Byakuren. From now on, this youkai will be under our protection.”

Hijiri Byakuren nodded, “I’m glad you agree, Ichirin.”

Some of the residents grumbled under their breath, many were uneasy with this new development. Murasa, having only caught the back half of the conversation, was glad to have a new addition to the temple. The phantom looked up at the beast, still held firmly in Unzan’s hand. Its large, reptilian eye roamed about the entire courtyard, it no longer felt any panic towards the situation, but being held gave it some amount of stress. It would attempt to move out of Unzan’s hand every now and then, but in a much more relaxed manner compared to its earlier writhing.

Grinning from ear to ear, Murasa turned to Byakuren and enthusiastically yelled, “Hey! If its staying here, then it should be given a name, right?”

Ichirin turned to her, already feeling drained from the day’s excitement, “A name? What are you talking about, Murasa?”

Still smiling, Murasa explained, “When someone gets a pet they give it a name, right? So, we should totally give this thing a name, too!”

Despite their trepidations, the temple residents were intrigued, and began to murmur potential names for the beast between themselves. Ichirin still needed time to warm up to the thought of keeping the creature, and Unzan wondered when he would be allowed to stop holding the damn thing. Nazrin had left a moment ago.

“Well, seeing as you’re so enthusiastic”, started byakuren, “Why don’t you come up with a name for it yourself?”

“Alright!” Exclaimed Murasa cheerfully, “Well then, how about…”

Sorry, forgot this earlier.

What will be the Dimetrodon's name? This is what it will be referred to for the rest of the story. Once it's decided, it can't be changed.
[] - Write-in

---

I'm sorry for taking such a long time to update the story, I didn't expect other things to take up my time so quickly, I'm definitely not used to managing one of these. From now on, I'm going to set a schedule for the story and attempt to update it at least once a week. I'll make a good attempt to ensure that this schedule lasts, thanks for putting up with the wait.

And once again, thank you for choosing to read "Mammal-Like Reptile".

[x] Charybdis
Sailor coming up with a fitting name for a gluttonous beast.

No biggie. Appreciate the commitment plan, do take care.

[X] Admiral D, cause that sounds badass and makes it her subordinate.

[x] Charybdis

Cant think of any myself, and this sounds good.

[x] Doug

That's right, Doug Dimetrodon. Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimetrodome.

[X] Doug

Fuck yes, voting for that too.

Changing my vote of >>43357 to Doug

[X] Admiral D
This option wont win. Its creator has abandoned it. But I fight anyway, for the option I think best.

>>43360 here.

Fuck it, if that's the case I'm voting for that too. My vote's for Doug and or Admiral D.

Both feel like great names

[X] Admiral D
D for Dinosaur

[x] Charybdis

All good names but I want to give this one a chance too, even if it means tying up the vote for now.

[x] Doug, which Murasa insists on calling Admiral D. Especially when she realizes the thing can swim.

>>43370
This is the correct choice.

>>43371
You disgust me man thing, so warm and safe in your home. You dally about with these happy, cuddly things you call "joy" and "reasonable insurance premiums."
I do not have these things. They are weaknesses. I was paying for my share before I could even walk. And I will die countless fortunes in debt. That is the real world, that is life.

The Dimetrodon has been christened Admiral D, or Doug for short. Please wait warmly for tomorrow's update, and thank you again for choosing to read, "Mammal-Like Reptile".

Image source ( https://www.reddit.com/r/Naturewasmetal/comments/jfvgqw/successful_fishing_for_dimetrodon/)

---

“Admiral D!”, Murasa declared as she spread her arms out in cheer.

There was a brief pause.

“Admiral…D?” Ichirin parroted with much less gusto. Murasa beamed almost as bright as the sun.

“It’s the perfect name for our new shipmate! Admiral Doug!”

“..Doug, now??” Ichirin strained to understand the phantom’s logic.

“Yeah, Doug! Look,” Murasa pointed towards the beast within Unzan’s grasp, “He looks like a Doug, doesn’t he? It’s short for Admiral D!”

Ichirin concentrated deeply on the beast, now named Admiral D, hoping that if she gazed long enough Murasa’s logic would make sense. Admiral D, or Doug, gazed back impassively, his mind was on the pond he had discovered earlier.

Ichirin quickly gave up on determining anything from his appearance, and under Byakuren’s instruction she had Unzan gently place the beast on the courtyard ground. The other temple residents waited with festering excitement and fear to see what the creature would do, and for a while the Admiral did nothing, his cold stare roved around the onlookers with new curiosity. It was the first time he had gotten a good look at the beings he inwardly called the “Noisy Ones”, and quite frankly he thought that none of them looked all that impressive. Though the Admiral did think that, for the racket they had all made not too long ago, their current silence was starkly out of place.

After some careful consideration, Doug’s throat slowly expanded in and out as he made a noise that sounded like a grumble. Then, the Dimetrodon determined a direction and lazily began to trot towards a destination. The crowd parted, and then followed as he made his way across the temple grounds towards the pond kept in the back. Murasa nearly squealed gleefully as Doug slid right into the water and completely submerged himself.

The Admiral turned out to be an excellent hunter underwater, and before long he emerged with a large catfish held betwixt his toothy jaws.

“Alright! Look, he’s already trying to make up for the trouble he’s caused!” Murasa excitedly went over to where Doug held his catch and started to rub the back of his neck in slow, careful strokes.

“Good Admiral! The crew will sing for days about how merciful you are! Such a kind and generous Admiral!”

Said Admiral had no idea what was happening, but he decided that the strange new sensation felt pleasant. A high chirping sound surprised the ghost and made her stop momentarily, the Dimetrodon leaned its head closer to her and began to rub against her stomach as encouragement. Murasa appeared overjoyed as she continued to pet the Dimetrodon, happy tears streamed down her face as she really did begin to squeal. Doug’s tail swayed slowly in the grass as he shut his eyes, completely lost in comfort.

The onlookers chuckled amongst themselves as they forgot their fear entirely, Unzan grumbled while Ichirin let out an exasperated breath, “At least she seems to be enjoying herself, I guess the lizard is harmless now.”

From Ichirin’s side, Byakuren giggled quietly to herself, “I trust that Murasa will take great care of our new member. Regardless, for now we should focus on repairing all damages and getting dinner ready again.”

Ichirin nodded politely, but the Head Priest stopped her as she moved towards the temple.

“You may retire now, Ichirin. You have done much today, I will handle all repairs and dinner preparations.” Ichirin nearly deflated as if the whole world had left her shoulders, while Byakuren smiled warmly at her. From the pond, Murasa had moved on to rubbing under the Dimetrodon’s chin as a series of chirps left its maw, the catfish still held tight within its long fangs



Chapter One – Done.

---

I'm glad to have finished this chapter, I hope it doesn't come off as rushed. I chose to give the Dimetrodon an actual gender now that he's been named, and honestly I really like the name you guys came up for him. Sorry for the sudden change, but I'll be leaving the story off here for now while I work on writing a longer post for the next chapter's beginning when I get the time. Don't worry though, I am not abandoning this story, and I don't plan to at all. This has been a great experience and I guarantee I will see it all the way through no matter how long it might take.

Meanwhile, while planning the next chapter I will also be posting another story in /TH/ if anyone is interested. It'll probably be as simple as this one, but with an actual human(?) protagonist if anyone is curious enough to read it. If you'd like to see that, then it'll be posted sometime this week under the Tripcode, "Validus" as opposed to me accidentally putting the title of the story in the Tripcode bar. Alright, I believe I've said all I've wanted to say, so thank you all for being a wonderful audience, and thank you once again for choosing to read(or put up with), "Mammal-Like Reptile". A new update will come eventually, then it'll be back to my original, "Once a Week" proposed schedule.

The Dimetrodon sleeps for now...

Hey, we'll look forwards to whenever you come back. Dinosaur slice of life is one of those things that I never knew I wanted, but am now very eager to see more of.

I mean, I'm pretty sure this is the only story in recorded history featuring a Buddhist shipwreck ghost adopting a pet dinosaur.

I second the guy above me, never knew a dinosaur in touhou would actually be a good idea. Also, I'm interested in this new story of yours, as your writing is very good.

My inner child loves this story a lot. A dinosaur is always welcome, and the hodgepodge of personalities in the buddhist cast only makes it better.

I like Dinosaurs.

You know what? That's so good, I'm putting it on the fridge.

Seriously though, you guys are great, thanks for all of the support.

Until next time!