'Well, hopefully we can change that,' said Armin. 'People might actually start drinking them if they know they won't run out.' He walked to the bar door and held it open to let Dianne exit first.

Across the bar, Ivy tossed them a brief glance, then looked away, seeming a little relieved that they were leaving.

{Dianne smiled at Armin as she exited.}

Dianne: "My, what a gentleman. Yeah, probably. I would. I only hope the rumors are true."

{As soon as Dianne and Armin were out of earshot, Dianne starts to chuckle.}

Dianne: "Armin, did you see Ivy's date? I don't get it. What exactly does he see in her?"

Armin followed Dianne outside, letting the door fall shut behind him. Stepping out onto the dark street, he took a deep breath of the cool night air.

'Who knows?' he said. 'Maybe he's not interested in her at all and she just begged or threatened him to go out with her. Seems like the type of thing she'd do.'

Dianne: “Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case. Still, she strikes me as the total gold digger type. Poor, foolish girl. I still don’t understand why she hates you, though. You have great potential for riches.”

Armin smirked. 'A gold digger? Yeah, probably. I can see that in her. And she hates me because she knows I can look past her nonsense and see her for what she actually is - a desperate creep. She probably tricks most of her dates into thinking she's actually a nice person, but she knows I don't fall for that.'

Dianne: "Yeah, I think that's why Ivy seems less than fond of me. I see her as a desperate creep as well. She's extremely pushy with all her partners, as if she's trying to pressure them into showing her affection. I don't know, it's just weird."

'She tries way too hard to get peoples' attention,' said Armin. 'And she always talks about wanting to find the 'perfect person' and settle down, but I can't see that ever happening.' He shook his head. 'Then again, I've only had one serious relationship in my life, so I'm not exactly qualified to give her dating advice.'

Dianne: "That's still one more than her. What she has are more akin to flings than actual relationships. In a way, she is like Ana. Neither of them have any concept of real love. All they have is infatuation."

'Yeah, that's probably true. l bet Ivy has never felt genuine love for anyone. Maybe she's just not capable of it. She might think it's fun to date hundreds of people, but it's nothing compared to having a real emotional connection with one person.'

Dianne: "Exactly. Having an actual connection feels like you've found the other half of yourself. All she wants is the material and physical. She's not interested in the real thing. But, who knows, that might change. If I was a more optimistic person, I'd say there's someone out there for her who would change her mind. But, I'm not."

Armin shrugged. 'I don't know, but Ivy's young. She's got plenty of time to change her ways and learn how to care about someone.'

Armin gazed thoughtfully at the sky for a moment.

'Do you believe it's possible to love more than one person in your lifetime? I loved Janet. And after she died, it seemed impossible that I'd ever have that kind of connection with anyone ever again.'

{Dianne sighs, gazing up at the sky as well.}

Dianne: "...I suppose it's possible. The whole 'one soulmate' concept was derived by mortals, because of their inherently finite existence. Why, got your eye on some local fair maiden?"

'...It's just that, for the longest time, I didn't believe Janet's death would ever stop being painful. And I could never be with someone else without feeling disloyal to her. But in the last few years, I've finally begun to feel like I've gotten over it. She died a long time ago, and I'm basically immortal as long as no-one kills me. I don't want to be alone forever.'

{Dianne nods in understanding.}
"Yeah. Finding peace can take a while. Some may never get over it...But, since you have, I honestly think she would want you to be happy."

{Dianne took a moment before continuing.}
"You know, I can summon the spirits of people. If you want to ask her yourself, that could be arranged."

Armin drew in a sharp breath. For a moment, he looked like he was tempted to say yes, but then he slowly shook his head. 'I'm not sure if I'd want to do that. I only just learned to accept her death. I'm afraid that hearing her voice again, while knowing that she's dead and can't ever come back, would be too hard. But I'll consider it. If I do decide I want to talk to her... then I'll ask you.'

{Dianne nods and hesitantly pats Armin on the shoulder.}

Dianne: “Whatever you decide. You know where to find me. It’s never easy, seeing a loved one after they pass...”

'Yeah. Maybe someday, I'll do it. I /would/ like to talk to her, to say the things I never had a chance to before. But not right now.' He glanced briefly at Dianne, then returned his gaze to the sky. 'So, what about you? Think you'll ever want a relationship?'

{Dianne doesn’t answer right away, seemingly contemplating the question.}
Dianne: “...No. I honestly can’t see that happening. At least not to the same degree as before...”

Armin nodded thoughtfully. 'That's fine. Not everyone needs or wants a relationship. Some people are just happier being on their own.'

{Dianne looks down, then gives Armin a strained smile.}

Dianne: “Yeah. It’s better that way. However, I still have friends. And I’m glad to have them.”

'Yeah, some of us only need friends to be happy. I know a lot of people who just don't need anyone else. But if you ever change your mind... then I'm sure you could find someone.'

{Dianne looks at Armin amused.}

Dianne: “Yeah, right. Who in their right mind would want a three-thousand year old woman with creepy eyes, anger issues, and a host of the undead?”

'You never know,' said Armin, grinning. Then he said more seriously: 'Firstly, who cares how old you are? You're non-human, and besides, it's not as if you /look/ 3000. Secondly, I know you're working on your anger issues. Thirdly... none of your friends care that you have a house full of draugrs, so why would anyone else care? They'd probably get used to it.'

He shrugged slightly, still gazing up at the sky and mulling over what he'd just said.

'You always talk about yourself negatively. You have good qualities too, you know. Everyone does.'

{Dianne raises a brow, looking at Armin with a half confused, half amused expression.}

Dianne: “Do I? I’m not so sure if those good qualities outweigh the bad. Someone would have to /really/ be into me to actually love me. And honestly, once said suitor learns the truths about my past and abilities, I really doubt they’d still be interested.”

'You care about your friends,' said Armin. 'You're strong. You're intelligent. You've survived a lot - and maybe it's just because I've done the same, but I consider that to be a pretty admirable trait.'

'Besides,' he added with a sigh, 'if you think no-one's gonna like you because of your past, then no-one's going to like me either. I've killed hundreds of people. I did things - on Sargon's orders - that even you probably wouldn't do.'

{Dianne smiles at what Armin said.}
Dianne: "It's nice that you can see the good in people. And people might still like you. Sargon blackmailed you into doing all that. I don't have an excuse for my actions...and I killed more than you by whole orders of magnitude. I might be different now, but that can't erase what I've done."

'Yeah, but I should have tried harder to kill or escape from Sargon. I had opportunities to, and I didn't take them...' Armin trailed off. 'Anyway, I'm not saying it's OK that you killed all those people. But it was thousands of years ago. And you regret doing it - that makes a world of difference. In my mind, that makes you an infinitely better person than... say, Sargon... who might've killed far fewer people, but he didn't regret what he did in the slightest.'

{Dianne sighs.}
Dianne: “...Well, that’s something...I can’t say that it makes me feel any better about myself. Regardless, I will not be seeking any suitors. I’m perfectly fine on my own.”

Armin shrugged. 'That's fair enough. As long as you're happy on your own.' He looked around, taking note of the empty street and the lateness of the evening. 'I should probably go. I know you've got other things to do.'

Dianne: “Yeah. Well, thanks for talking, and the drinks. It was nice. I ought to be getting along now. Have a good night, Armin.”

Armin grinned. 'Thanks, too. I'll see you around. Hopefully, one of us will see Lucci soon and be able to ask him about that tavern.' With that, he shifted into hawk form and took off, flying away over the buildings.

Dianne: “Yeah, whenever I see him next. Bye.”

{Dianne smiles and waves as Armin leaves. Once he leaves, she turns and begins to walk away, singing softly.}
Dianne: “You ask me if I’ll miss my baby. I guess I will, everyday.
I don’t like it, but I guess things happen that way.
You ask me if I’ll find another. I don’t know, I can’t say.
I don’t like it, but I guess things happen that way.
God gave me that girl to lean on, then he put me on my own.
Heaven help me be a man and give me the strength to stand alone
I don’t like it but I guess things happen that way...”

Armin flew higher, until the city looked like nothing more than a map spread out below him. He circled for a while, mulling over the conversation they'd had. He wasn't sure why he'd felt comfortable talking about such personal subjects with Dianne. //Maybe it's just because we have similarities,// he thought. //I can't help but feel a sense of kinship with anyone who... actually has an idea of what it feels like to have killed hundreds, and to regret it. So few people understand what that's like.//

Eventually, he remembered Rex and let out a sigh. //Should probably go and check on him. Make sure he's not still drinking...//

Folding his wings, he dived back down and headed towards his house in the north of the city.

(I'll be posting a new room tomorrow - maybe we can timeskip to the next day, unless you have something planned?)

Nope. Let’s do that.