(Ok, here we go.)

(Ayy)

{As Armin slept, he feels that something is wrong. Should he open his eyes, he will see the interior of the truck, except, it's empty. No sign of Dianne or Esme. Instead, standing in the corner was a tall figure. As it walks into the light, it is revealed that it is an undead creature. It has a deer skull for a head, with broken antlers. It is in a state of advanced decomposition, with snakes, frogs, and spiders crawling about its ribcage. Out of its back, grows a plant with blue flowers. It slowly advances towards Armin, its hooves dragging across the metal floor. Armin would be experiencing something close to sleep paralysis as it approached, unable to do anything but watch.}

{As he lay there, it bends down over him, breathing a hoarse sigh with putrid breath, looking at him with eyeless sockets. The aura around it is one of dread and hopelessness, as if one was sliding down a steep canyon wall towards a thousand foot drop. This didn't feel the same as one of Dianne draugrs. It felt...imposing and threatening.}

(Ok, that's all I got :p)

A clogging feeling of panic flooded Armin as he recognised the figure, his mind vaguely recalling Dianne's story of her past and connecting it with that. He fought with whatever was keeping him from moving, but it was hopeless. He couldn't seem to shift an inch, despite his desperation to get out of the creature's reach. As it bent close to him, he stared back with wide eyes, not knowing whether it was a dream or not. Had this thing somehow gotten into the truck? Where were Dianne and Esme? What was it going to do to him?

In reality, Armin was sleeping fitfully, shifting in his bed, and breathing raggedly from panic. It was enough to immediately disturb Esme, who raised her head and gave a quiet whine.

(Ah, recognized it, did you?)

{Dianne awoke at the noise, looking over at Armin.}

Dianne: "....Huh? Armin? Armin, wake up."

{Meanwhile, in the nightmare, the creature slowly turns to look where Dianne and Esme would have been, then turns right back to Armin's face.}

"......dOn'T.......fAil.....MmMmmMmmeeEeEEEeeEEeee......."

{With that, the dream dispelled freeing Armin from its grasp.}

Suddenly finding himself able to move again, Armin sat bolt upright, gasping for breath. He gazed around wildly, still not entirely aware that he'd been dreaming. 'Where is it? Where'd it go?' he said, voice tense with fear.

{Dianne sits up, looking more and more concerned.}

Dianne: "Armin, it's ok. It was just a nightmare, we're ok, see?"

{She holds up Esme for emphasis.}

Armin glanced briefly at Dianne and Esme, then gazed around the truck again.

//Nightmare. That's what it was. Just a messed-up nightmare...//

He leaned forwards slightly, wrapping his arms around himself as if for warmth. His whole frame was trembling. 'Y-yeah... just a nightmare...'

{Dianne, looking very concerned, scoots over to him.}

Dianne: "Armin, you're shaking."

{She reaches out and gently touches his shoulder.}

Dianne: "It's ok. Everything's ok."

Still shaking, Armin shifted a little closer to Dianne. His eyes darted around the truck, a part of him still expecting to see the deathly creature emerge from some shadow.

'I know... everything's good...' he said unconvincingly. //Get ahold of yourself. It was just a creepy dream. That thing wasn't really here.//

{She proceeds to pull him closer. Putting Esme down on her lap, she uses her free hand to stroke his hair.}

Dianne: "Yes, everything's fine. We're safe here. No one can get in."

Like before, Armin leaned his head against her as he slowly began to calm down. Slight tremors continued to rack his frame, though they were easing. Esme just blinked up at him quietly.

'...I saw... that thing you were telling Billingsly about. Death's aspect... or whatever it's called. It was in here, in the dark, coming towards me... and everyone else was gone...'

{Dianne stops for a moment upon hearing this.}

Dianne: "Odd...If it was actually here, I would have felt it. Can't mistake that aura. I'm sure it was nothing..."

{In reality, this concerned her more than she let on, but she just kept stroking Armin's hair in an attempt to calm him down. She didn't want him to be any more worried than he already was.}

Armin was expecting her to flat-out say it was a nightmare, that it was ridiculous, and that there was no way the creature could have appeared. When she didn't, he did not look reassured.

'Hold on, are you implying there's a chance it /could/ have actually been here?'

Dianne: "Of course not. If it was actually here, I would have sensed it. It was just a ridiculous nightmare."

{She continues to stroke his hair, squeezing him slightly for reassurance.}

Armin hesitated, then nodded slightly. 'Alright...' He didn't want to think about the dream any more, anyway. His eyes fell shut as he tried to focus on the sensation of her stroking his hair instead of the memory of the creature's face. Gradually, the tension began to drain out of him.

{As she stroked his hair and felt his tension ease, she spoke to him softly.}

Dianne: "Do you want me to sleep next to you again, or will you be ok?"

'...Stay...' he murmured, beginning to sound drowsy. 'I know it's stupid... But I feel like the dam.n thing's gonna come back as soon as I'm alone...'

{Dianne nods, reaching over and pulling her sleeping pad over to her. After a bit of shifting, the both of them were lying on that. She then resumes stroking his hair, lying back with him in her arms.}

Dianne: "Ok. It's not coming back, you're perfectly safe."

The last of Armin's tension dissolved, and he let himself go limp, seeming completely relaxed in her arms. When she continued stroking his hair, he let out a quiet sigh of contentment. 'Yeah... I know...'

//It said something,// he suddenly remembered. //Right before the dream ended... it said... 'don't fail me'. What the hell did that mean?// But he was too tired to puzzle over it now.

{Dianne closed her eyes, quickly drifting off. Having Armin close seemed to soothe her as well.}

Armin fell asleep moments later, unable to stay conscious any longer. He looked peaceful as he drifted off.

Esme gazed at them both, head slightly tilted and ears pricked. Then she crawled to the end of the bed and curled up there to rest for the night.

(Skipping to morning?)

{Yes. Who wants to go?}

(Hm, you can go first this time, if you want.)

(Ok)

{The next morning, Dianne awoke, feeling Armin in her grasp. She was surprised for a moment, before remembering how it happened. She decided to just lie there with him, until he woke up naturally.}

Dianne: //...So, he saw Death's Aspect in his dream. I don't get it, what would it want with him?//

A short while passed before Armin showed signs of waking. He opened his eyes, blinking when he realised where he was. He then stifled a yawn, shifted slightly, and closed his eyes again. Apparently, he had no intention of moving from his comfortable spot anytime soon.

Esme remained on the end of the bed, dozing lightly.

{Dianne raises a brow at this, chuckling quietly.}

Dianne: //Well , he had a rough night. I can afford to wait with him.\\

{She pulls him in slightly closer, falling into a light doze.}

Left undisturbed, Armin rapidly fell back into a doze as well, comfortably snuggled against her. He /really/ didn't like getting up early.

About fifteen minutes later, he was broken out of his doze by Esme nudging his leg. She was bored and didn't know why everyone seemed to still be asleep. 'Urgh... go away, kid...' he mumbled half-coherently.

{Dianne lifts her head, then laughs slightly. Letting go of Armin, she pats him on the side gently.}

Dianne: "Keep sleeping, I'll take care of her."

{She stands and picks up Esme, carrying her to the front seat.}

Armin gave a small groan of protest as she walked away. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it higher over himself, in an effort to preserve the warmth.

Esme squeaked quizzically and peered up at Dianne, wondering why she was being taken here.

{Dianne stops at the crate and pulls out an apple. Sitting in the driver's seat, she feeds it to her, enjoying the view of the coast.}

Esme hungrily crunched up the offered apple, looking appreciative. Armin remained in the bed, lying back with an arm thrown over his face to block out the light, slowly coming back to full awakeness.

{Dianne glances back at Armin, chuckling to herself.}

Dianne: //He really doesn't like mornings.//

{She turns back to Esme, stroking behind her ears.}

Esme finished her apple, and contented herself with gazing out the window at the view - or what little she could see from her low height.

A short while later, Armin pulled himself up into a sitting position, rubbing his eyes. He felt a bit cold now, but didn't feel like moving enough to grab his coat.

'What is it with you people, always wanting to be up early...?' he said, eyeing Dianne and Esme.

{Dianne lifts Esme onto her shoulders, so she could see. Lookking back at Armin, she chuckles.}

Dianne: "Hey, I was content with keeping you warm until Esme wanted food. Blame her, not me."

'Oh, I'm definitely blaming her,' Armin grumbled. He stood up - ignoring his coat in favour of wrapping a blanket around himself like a cloak - and walked nearer to the front of the truck.

'Well, that was one weird dream...' he said thoughtfully. In daylight, the nightmare didn't seem so terrifying, but it still perplexed him. 'I've only ever heard a description of that creature, but last night, I /saw/ it. I don't know how.'

{Dianne's expression shifts at that.}

Dianne: "...Tell me, what did it look like?"

'It looked... like how you described it.' Armin looked up at the ceiling. 'Kinda tall, I think? Deer skull for a head, broken-off antlers... Most of its body seemed to be... rotting away. Empty eye sockets. And its goddam.n breath stank.'

Dianne: "...Tell me, did it have a plant growing out of its back? Or small creatures living in its thorasic cavity?"

'Yeah... I remember blue flowers. And there were spiders and... other things too, I think, but I was mostly looking at the spiders, if I'm honest...'

{Dianne starts to look a little more concerned at this.}

Dianne: "Hold on..."

{She turns and lifts the back of her shirt to show him her tattoo.}

Dianne: "Blue flowers like this?"

'I... think so. The details might be a bit hazy, but I think that's what they looked like.' Armin shifted impatiently. //Is this going somewhere? Does she know what's up, or not?//

{Dianne lets her shirt down, sighing a bit.}

Dianne: "That sounds like it, all right. But, it chose to come to you in a dream, rather than physical form. What did it do? Did it say anything?"

Armin narrowed his eyes, not liking that, last night, she had told him it was nothing to worry about.

'It just... came out of the shadows and walked towards me. I was lying in the truck; I couldn't move. When it got close... it looked over at where you should have been, except, you weren't there in the dream. And then it turned back to me and said... 'Don't fail me'. At least, I think that was it.'

{Dianne scratches her head in thought.}

Dianne: "...That's wierd. You're not one of his. Why would it say that?...Well, if it didn't show up physically, there's probably nothing to worry about...."

'Well, it must have meant /something!'/ said Armin. 'Maybe it was supposed to be some kind of message, but I have no idea what he was trying to tell me... Urgh, now I'm not going to sleep easily again...'

Dianne: "...I don't know...Look, there's no point in worrying about it now...If something comes of it, we'll worry about it then."

Armin gave a quiet sigh, and walked a few steps away to stare out the window, watching the coastal scenery rush past. He knew he should take Dianne's advice and put it out of his mind, but it was hard to ignore when they already had so many things to worry about. He just wished he knew what the purpose of the dream had been - then, he'd know how to deal with it.

{Dianne continues to pensively stare out the window.}

Dianne: //I don't understand. Why would it show up now, and tpo Armin of all people. What's it playing at?//

Armin started to pace restlessly up and down the back of the truck. With nothing to do, he couldn't seem to take his mind off the nightmare. Esme, who had quietly been on Dianne's shoulder the whole time, nudged at her and gave a small growl, puzzled by the change in everyone's mood.

{Dianne reaches up and pets Esme, trying to reassure her that everything's ok. She looks back at Armin's pacing.}

Dianne: "Armin, relax, everything's going to be fine."

Armin slowed, leaning against the metal wall instead. 'Easy for you to say, you're not being stalked in your sleep by some creepy deer monster,' he retorted. 'I just want to know what the dam.n thing /wanted./ And I don't have anything to take my mind off it.'

{Dianne just laughs mirthlessly.}

Dianne: "Believe me, I've had worse encounters with it. It generally doesn't make consecutive appearances. Well, what would you normally do distract yourself?"

'I don't know. Go for a walk, fly, spar, get drunk...' He tilted his head slightly. 'Well, as long as it doesn't come back, I guess it doesn't matter... I just wish I knew what it was trying to tell me.'