Yeet. Wa’s good?

Eyy! Everything's good.

What did you want to discuss?

Well, on Tuesday, I’ll be departing on a month long camping trip, during which I will be unable to RP. I will return July the 14th.

Ahh, that's fine! When you leave, we'll just put the RP on hold until you come back. It's not a problem for me.

Ok, cool. Thanks for understanding.

I gotta say though, a month-long camping trip... that's one heck of a long camping trip. XD I hope you have fun though!

I think it was my turn to reply, so I'll do that. Just give me a minute, I'm multitasking.

Sure, take your time. And yup! It’s for school though. I need this to graduate. One month in the field, doing science!

Armin gave Dianne a serious look. 'Not all of these guys /wanted/ to attack us. I'll bet some of them were just hoping to settle down here in the ruins and make a new life for themselves. Also, keep in mind that many people were misled by Sargon - Wendigo was one of them. If they really seem to regret attacking us, then they deserve a second chance. Sorry, but I'm not going to kill a defenceless person in cold blood.' He barely glanced in Dave's direction. 'You can kill the werewolf guy, though. He's the one who initiated this stupid fight.'

{With a motion of her hand, the centaurs pulled Dave's head off his shoulders. The young dragon shifter in Armin's grip grimaced, looked away, and started to sob.}

Shifter: "Please! Please, I don't want to die! I didn't want to fight! I-I just wanted to start new...."

Dianne: "Why should I spare you? How do I know you won't pull this shet again?

'Just give him one chance,' said Armin. 'He's young. He's an idiot. He could still be redeemed and live the rest of his life as a decent person. If he's lying, or if he ever tries anything like this again, then I'll kill him myself.'

The vampire who had been chased down struggled against the centaurs, biting and clawing at them. But he didn't have much of a chance, being injured and exhausted as he was.

{Dianne just scowls, but concedes.}
DIanne: "Fine! But he's /your/ problem now!"

Shifter: "Oh, thank you, thank you!"

Dianne: " Now, what to do for the dragon..."

Armin released the shifter from the headlock, but kept a hand on his shoulder to make sure he didn't try to run. 'Consider yourself lucky, kid. And what's your name, anyway? I don't like not knowing peoples' names when I talk to them.' He glanced up at Titan. 'Hmm, did the dragon guy say anything interesting before you knocked him out?'

{The shifter sniffled and wiped his face.}

Shifter: "I-I'm Ben..."

Titan: "He said he was forced to fight by that werewolf guy, Dave, and that we shouldn't kill him. Honestly though, he almost took my leg off, so I'm going to have to agree with Dianne here and say we should kill him."

{The doggo fought valiantly, but was quickly torn limb from limb by the centaurs.}

'Well, Ben, I hope you weren't lying about not wanting to fight. We're taking you back to Sovereign City with us, and if you do anything stupid there, you'll probably get killed or thrown in jail. One of the two.' Armin then turned back to Titan. 'Well, since I never actually spoke to the dragon myself, I can't take responsibility for him. He's yours.'

However, in that moment, Hurricane stirred and opened his eyes. He immediately stiffened with fear upon realising he was surrounded by enemies. 'Wh... why haven't you killed me?' he said in an unsteady voice. 'I thought you wouldn't spare me...'

Dianne: “Well, we’re deciding that now. And right now, it’s not looking good for you.”

Titan: “I think you’re too dangerous to be left alive.”

Dianne: “So tell me, why should I spare your life?”

{Ben just quietly watches the conversation.}

Hurricane fumbled for an answer. 'Because... I don't have any reason to fight you anymore. Sargon's dead; Dave's dead; all of my past comrades are dead. Alone, I'm hardly a threat to you. And I want a second chance. I made a terrible mistake by choosing to serve Sargon all those years ago.'

Armin was staring at the dragon with a puzzled expression. 'Hold on a minute... I recognise you. You're Hurricane, one of the twelve powerful dragonshifters who once commanded sections of Sargon's army.'

(Heads up, minor character inbound soon.)

Dianne: “Is that so? You’re one of the commanders that escaped the Sovereign forces? So, let me get this straight, if I hadn’t just pulled Dave’s head off, you’d still want to fight us? And you’re a commander. What’s stopping you from rallying the survivors and trying this again?”

Hurricane's expression shifted to panic. 'No! I never wanted to fight you,' he protested. 'After Sargon died, I lost all interest in fighting. I knew there was no hope--'

At that point, Armin cut him off. 'Listen. I don't really care whether or not you wanted to fight us /now./ I care about the things you did back when Sargon's forces were invading the city, Hurricane. I saw you destroying a house with the owners still inside, laughing as you crushed them to death.' He gave Hurricane a dark look. 'You're just another of Sargon's loyal monsters, whether you admit to it or not.'

{Dianne looks to Armin, then to Hurricane.}

Dianne: “Oh really? In that case, I should send you to the same place I sent Ana. Titan!”

{As Titan closed in on Hurricane from behind, a voice called out from the nearby roof.}

???: “That’s enough!”

{Dianne turns to see a tall, blonde haired man standing on the rooftop. He is dressed like a conquistador, complete with the collar, breastplate, and large cross hanging from around his neck. He jumps down, his red eyes looking over the group. On his side, he has a rapier and a small pistol.}

Dianne: “Antonio...”

{Dianne, seemingly recognizing this vampire, assumes a defensive stance, her centaurs doing the same. Jerry raises his gun. Judging by the look on his face, he knew this man, and he did not like him.}

Armin stared blankly at the other vampire, clearly not recognising him. Then, upon noticing the less-than-pleased reactions of the others, he pointed his sword at the vampire. 'Who the heII are you?'

{The stranger put up his hands in a peaceful manner.}
Antonio: "My name is Antonio. I come in peace."

Jerry: "Yeah, why don't you use your real title, huh? You sh!t sucking, murderous bastard! I should have known you would be with Sargon."

Antonio: "Senior Garvey, I am not with Sargon. I am here to end his bloodshed."

Dianne: "Yeah? Well, you're a little late. We took his head off not a day ago. Unless you want to join him, I suggest you get lost."

Armin just looked back and forth between Antonio, Jerry, and Dianne with a confused expression. 'OK, someone's seriously going to have to fill me in here. How do you two know this guy? Who /is/ he? And why are we all pointing weapons at him?'

Jerry: "His full name is Antonio de la Cazar; The Hunter of Hunters. He's responsible for killing a few of my close friends and family."

Dianne: "And I've had a few less than friendly run ins with him as well. If I could still scar, I'd have a few from him."

{Antonio nods in understanding.}
Antonio: "You two have every right to be upset. But you must understand. Senior, your family attacked me first, and without provocation. And Dianne, you were going to kill those people over unfortunate misunderstandings. You really need to keep your anger in check."

Armin sighed and turned to Jerry. 'Did your family really attack him without provocation? Because if he killed them in self-defence, or to protect some other innocent vampire, then I can understand that. And it's not too hard to believe, given that half your family are crazed non-human haters...'

(Gonna have to head off soon, probably after my next reply. My DS is running out of battery and I can't charge it right now.)

(Nevermind, have to go now. XD
Bye!)

{Jerry glances over at Armin}
Jerry: "...After all we've been through, you would believe him over me?"

{He then turns his full attention to Antonio.}
Jerry: "That can't be right! They were my closest friends! They would never attack without reason!"

Antonio: "I'm sorry, but it's the truth. Perhaps they thought I was someone else, or something, but that's not why I'm here. Let the dragon go. Hasn't enough blood been spilled on Sargon's account?"

(K, bye!)

'I'm not saying I believe him,' said Armin. 'I'm just saying that I won't blindly assume you're right.' He then turned to Antonio. 'That's not happening. If you heard what I was saying just now, then you'll know that he's a violent monster who willingly killed people on Sargon's behalf. /Hundreds/ of people. And he'll do it again if he has a good reason. I don't trust him, and I don't think he deserves to live after what he's done.'

{Dianne raises a hand, signaling Titan to grab hold of Hurricane and prepare to snap his neck. Antonio looks at Armin, then to Hurricane.}
Antonio: You say that as if you know this for certain. How would you know?"

'How would I know?' Armin laughed shortly. 'I used to work with him. I was a part of Sargon's army for over two hundred years. When they razed Shacklestone, I watched him killing countless people in Sargon's name. And even before the invasion, he sometimes killed people just because he wanted to.'

Antonio: "So, you worked with him,and watched him kill these people? So, doesn't that mean you've killed people too, under Sargon? So, why do you live while he dies?"

'There's an important difference. I never /wanted/ to kill anyone. I was forced to join Sargon, under threat of having my whole family killed. Hurricane, on the other hand, /enjoyed/ doing it.'

'You've got no proof of that!' Hurricane yelped. 'Maybe I hated it just as much as you did!'

Armin eyed him. 'Don't be stupid. Anyone who saw you would've seen how much you loved it - it wasn't hard to miss.'

Antonio: "He is unarmed and at your mercy. If you kill him now, you will be no better than Sargon, or him. Besides, you got a second chance, I think he deserves one as well.

Dianne: "He deserves nothing. Titan, kill that fool."

Antonio: "Dianne, you're one to talk. After everything you did, you got a second chance. Why not him?"

Armin gave Antonio a cold look. 'Are you not listening? Hurricane murderered people for /fun./ Even if Sargon hadn't hired him, he'd be a killer anyway. If we let him go, then he's going to keep killing people. Do you want someone like that on the loose?'

'I won't!' Hurricane screeched. 'I swear I'll redeem myself! I've had enough of killing people, I just want to live a normal life!'

'Shut the heII up!' Armin snapped at him, and Hurricane fell into a terrified silence.

{Antonio looks to Hurricane and sighs.}
Antonio: "I can tell your mind is made up. I cannot stop you. At least give him a final request, I think he deserves that much."

Dianne: "I will grant him nothing. He deserves nothing. He is a killer of families."

(So, should I kill him?)

At that, Hurricane started struggling to free himself from Titan, glaring wildly at Dianne the whole while. 'YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN ME!' he screeched. 'YOU'RE A KILLER TOO! YOU KILL PEOPLE FOR FUN! YOU'RE A MONSTER!'

(Yeah, let's kill him. >:D)

{Dianne shakes her head and turns to Hurricane.}
Dianne: “No. I’m not a monster. I kill monsters.”

{Dianne then signals Titan to kill Hurricane. Titan breaks his neck in an instant, like snapping a toothpick. Antonio just shakes his head.}

Antonio: “Are you proud of yourselves? Did that make you feel good? You just murdered a man in cold blood. He was helpless.
Defenseless, and you killed him without a second thought.”

Armin shrugged uncaringly. 'Of course it doesn't make any of us feel good,' he said. 'But not everyone who's done bad things can be given a second chance. If they did, then the world would be overrun with killers. I'd much rather kill one guy, who's committed horrific crimes and deserves it anyway, than let him go free so that he can go off and murder some more innocents.'

Oh, btw, I’m on my trip, found WiFi in a nearby town. I will continue this the week of July 14th.

(Alrighty! Have a nice trip!)

(Gonna post a new room over the weekend that we can continue in when you get back.)

Alrighty.