Esme squeaked when Dianne awoke. She scampered over to the back doors and pawed at then slightly, trying to tell her that Armin had gone outside.

{Dianne stood and walked to the window and looked out at Armin. Putting on her armor, she steps out of the car.}

Dianne: "I thought you hated getting up early?"

Esme ran outside in pursuit, happy to feel the damp ground under her paws. She stayed close to Dianne, though was having a hard time resisting the urge to wander off a little.

Armin looked up when Dianne emerged. 'I do,' he said, shrugging slightly. 'I just didn't sleep very well. Woke up early and it was dam.n freezing, so I gave up on sleep and came out to get some fresh air.'

Dianne: "Oh..."

{She sits on a rock before continuing.}

Dianne: "Is this just too close to camping, or is there another reason you're having trouble sleeping?"

'This doesn't feel like camping to me.' Armin stared at the dull grey horizon. 'I'm not sure. Maybe I was still on edge from Barnabas's 'prank'... or maybe it was just too cold...' That wasn't entirely the truth, but he was hesitant to tell her the real reason why he hadn't been able to rest.

Esme snuffled around the ground nearby, investigating some moss and small rocks.

{Dianne glances at Esme, watching her as she explores.}

Dianne: "Ok. Maybe you should get more blankets out of the crate before we leave. Might help with the cold."

'I will. It might help.' Armin continued to survey the landscape. 'I'll be glad when we get back into warmer territories... The cold might not harm me, but I still prefer Vallis's milder climate...'

Dianne: "Oh, I'll definitely be happier when it's warmer. If it wasn't for all my wool blankets, I'd be miserable."

Armin just chuckled quietly. While they were talking, Esme had begun to creep a little further away. Wanting to explore the strange new location, she was trying to head off towards a patch of rocks and trees some distance away, sniffing the air. She was clearly under the impression that if she went quietly enough, Dianne wouldn't notice and stop her.

{Dianne, still keeping an eye on Esme from the corner of her vision, looks to see her slinking off.}

Dianne: "Barnabas, go get her, please."

{Barnabas appears and scoops her up.}

Esme growled in frustration and tried to bite down on Barnabas's skeletal arm. Armin eyed her for a moment.

'If she wants to roam around, maybe we should just go with her,' he suggested. 'She's been spending a lot of time stuck inside the car. She'll be fine as long as we keep her in sight.'

{Barnabas just tasted like bone meal when Esme bit him.}

Dianne: "Ok."

{She stands and approaches Esme.}

Dianne: "Let her down, Barnabas, I'll watch her."

Esme pulled what could only be described as a disgusted face. As soon as Barnabas set her down, she scampered off towards the rocky woods that had caught her attention before.

Armin stood as well. 'I'll go with you guys. I could use a walk.' He watched Esme trotting ahead of them. 'I hope she's not planning to set fire to those trees. I forgot she can spit fireballs...'

Dianne: "I'm sure she'll be fine, the trees are all soaked anyway."

{She turns to Titan before walking after Esme.}

Dianne: "Titan, stay with the car."

Armin followed at a leisurely pace, allowing Dianne and Esme to stay ahead.

Beyond the rain-soaked trees lay a rocky outcrop. Small stones were scattered around the base of it where last night's storm had knocked them loose. In the more sturdy areas of the outcrop, a few caves could be seen.

Esme squeaked as a pebble came rolling down near her, and swiftly hopped out of the way. Armin gazed up at the rock formation. //Something feels... off about this place. Don't know what it is, though...//

{Dianne remained vigilant, watching Esme and the surrounding rocky formations. she makes sure to stay close to her as she explores.}

Esme curiously approached one of the cave entrances, stumbling over small rocks as she went. Suddenly, a pair of glowing white orbs blinked into existence somewhere deep inside the cave. Esme froze, staring upwards in alarm, unable to move. It became apparant that something very large was living in there, and it had noticed them.

{Dianne, seeing the orbs, steps forward and picks Esme up in one arm, backing away from whatever creature this was.}

Dianne: "Is someone there?"

The glowing orbs blinked twice. Then, slowly, the creature moved forwards into the light, extending its head and neck from the cave. It was an ice dragon, white with blue markings, standing several feet taller than Dianne was in dragon form. Its eyes were purple with glistening white pupils.

'My, my... One doesn't often see visitors here...' Its voice was deep, clearly male, and sounded sly. 'And with such a young dragonet, no less... What brings you three to this barren place...?'

{Dianne continues to slowly back away while adressing this stranger.}

Dianne: "We're just travelers passing through. We didn't mean to disturb you."

'Of course not,' the ice dragon replied. He slowly pulled the rest of his body out of the cave, revealing large silver wings and a spiked tail. '...Why do you back away? Do you not trust me? I only wanted to greet you all... It's been so long since I saw anyone else here. I was getting quite bored...'

He gave an ominous grin, seeming to be enjoying himself as he loomed over Dianne and Esme.

Armin was standing a little further back, eyeing the ice dragon warily. //I should have known he was there... but with two other dragons here, I couldn't distinguish his scent...//

{Dianne glares at the ice dragon from beneath her helmet, not liking his grin at all.}

Dianne: "Surely you'll excuse our cautious behavior around unfamiliar dragons. After all, we've only just met you."

A low chuckle came from the dragon's throat. 'Perhaps you're afraid that I might harm that little dragonet you're holding,' he suggested. 'After all, had I been an evil dragon, I could have torn her apart before you had time to save her. I'm faster than I look, you know.'

Armin drew closer, standing alongside Dianne. 'OK, let's not waste time talking to this guy. He's creepy and I don't like him,' he said, not caring that the ice dragon could hear him.

{Dianne didn't like that one bit. //Note to self, don't let Esme explore unfamiliar places...//}

Dianne: "Agreed. If you'll excuse us, sir, we'll just be on our way. "

{With that, she starts walking back to the car, but backwards, not taking her eyes off the dragon.}

The ice dragon smiled more widely. 'You don't trust me at all, do you? How... amusing...'

With a sudden movement, he leapt over the group, landing behind them so that he blocked the path back to the car. Immediately, Armin drew his sword.

'Enough pleasantries,' said the dragon. 'Let's play a while...' His tail lashed back and forth as he grinned, not even pretending to look friendly anymore. He loomed over Dianne, opening his jaws as if preparing to bite down on her and Esme.

{Dianne leaps back, keeping distance between her and the hostile dragon. Summoning Barnabas, she passes off Esme to him.}

Dianne: "Barnabas, when you see your opening, take her back to the car and tell Titan to come over here."

{With that, she shifts, her armor scaling up to fit her new form.}

The ice dragon's gaze followed Barnabas as Esme was handed to him. Swinging his head around, he opened his jaws and shot a blast of frozen vapour at the pair. The vapour was designed to freeze small animals solid, and on larger creatures, it could cause frostbite if sustained long enough.

Armin leapt back as Dianne shifted, not wanting to get too close to the two massive dragons.

(Is any part of Dianne not covered by her armour in dragon form? I'm curious as to how the scaling up works.)

{Dianne stepped in front of the frozen vapor, letting it hit her and grimacing. She then lunges forward at the dragon, grappling with him, looking to hold him down. With Esme in hand, Barnabas runs across the rocky terrain, trying to circle around the fighting dragons and get back to Titan.}

(The underside of her neck is largely unarmored, as is her tail. Her head, limbs, torso, wings, excluding the membrane, and the back of her neck have the plating.)

The ice dragon growled, allowing Dianne to grapple him. He was slightly larger than her, and considered this to give him an advantage. He clamped his jaws around her neck and placed one of his front paws on her back, trying to force her to the ground with brute strength.
As he sensed Barnabas run past with Esme, he swung his spiked tail at them. Esme gave a screech of warning.

{Dianne snarled in response to being forced down. Barnabas saw the tail coming, and tossed Esme into the air. He phased through the tail, then blinked to Esme, catching her and continuing to run through the sky. Dianne, seeing that the ice dragon was deliberately targeting Esme roared with rage.}

Dianne: "STOP THAT!!!"

{She then reaches up and grabs the ice dragon's underside. Her decay magic flows through her claws, eating away at his flesh at an alarming rate.}

The dragon gave an evil chuckle, which quickly turned into a roar of alarm and rage when he found his flesh being eaten away by some strange magic. He took his paw off her back and grabbed her wrists, forcing her claws away from himself. He kept his jaws fastened around her neck, slowly tightening them, even though his teeth couldn't damage her armour.

Armin hung back, sword drawn, expression intent as he watched.

{Dianne grunted, struggling against his grasp. Once she saw that Barnabas was out of his range, she bared her teeth in a hateful expression.}

Dianne: "Fool! Your life is forfiet!"

{She then becomes a smokelike mass, escaping his grasp. She resolidifies on top of him, wrapping her claws around his neck, trying to tear out his throat. Her decay began eating at his neck and back, where her feet were planted.}

The ice dragon's face twisted into a painful grimace as she materialised on top of him. 'You dam.ned witch--' he began, before stopping abruptly as he felt Dianne's claws in his throat. He started to roll over onto his back, aiming to either dislodge her or crush her beneath him.

{Dianne rolls with him with a grunt, clinging stubbornly to him, the decay eating ever deeper into him. Barnabas, having made it back to Titan, tells him what's happening. With a roar, he starts stomping over.}

The ice dragon rolled all the way over, ending up on all fours again, but crouched down. As Dianne continued clinging to him, he jerked his head backwards, trying to jam his spikes into the unarmoured underside of her neck. However, he couldn't reach far enough to cause any serious damage, only managing to inflict a few scratches in her neck.

'Lucky for that ghoul, aren't you,' he snarled mockingly. 'Imagine if the little dragonet had died due to your carelessness.'

{At that, Dianne let out a mix of a scream, roar, and howl and proceeded to violenly claw at his neck, tearing off chunks of decayed flesh, followed by her breathing fire right in his face. }

(You added Esme to Armin's related section on Toyhouse. Cool.)

Armin winced at the noise Dianne made.

The dragon howled in agony as she ripped off pieces of his flesh, squeezing his eyes shut to protect them from the fire blast. By that point, he knew he was done for. For the first time in his long life, he'd chosen the wrong people to mess with. But despite quickly weakening, he planned to fight until the end.

Twisting his head around, he blasted her at close range with his frosty breath. At the same time, he wrapped his tail around her back leg and pulled with his remaining strength, trying to get her off him.

(Yup, Esme's on there.)

{Dianne put up her arm to block the attack, which allowed for the ice dragon to pull her off. Falling on her back, she scrambled to right herself. Titan was now within sight, roaring and charging in with the intent to crush this ice dragon. Dianne doesn't seem to be...herself. The ice dragon's words appear to have sent her into a blind, murderous rage. She was foaming at the mouth, snarling, and all the plant life around her withered away.}

Armin looked on with relief when Titan finally appeared. However, one glance at Dianne made his expression shift to alarm. //Sh.it. She's... not OK.//

The ice dragon weakly lifted his head as Titan approached, barely caring that his new opponent was a hydra. After witnessing Dianne's strange magic, he was hardly surprised. Vision blurring, he snarled and shot a blast of ice breath at Titan. 'Kill me then, you circus of freaks!' he said. 'You won't see me show fear...'

{Seeing that the ice dragon was weak, she lunges at him once again, ferally tearing into him and screaming something in ancient Ferrosian. With her decay in full tilt, she was aiming to kiil the ice dragon as painfully as she could. Titan sidesteps to avoid the blast and stops, watching in case he needs to step in.}

The ice dragon, half-conscious, barely moved as Dianne leapt upon him. His jaws parted, but he was too weak to shoot more ice vapour at her and knew that his natural weapons couldn't pierce her armour. 'Urrrrggh... w-witch... Make it... quick...' he slurred as he lay under her vicious blows, feeling his life draining away.

Armin slowly sheathed his sword as he averted his gaze, feeling queasy.

{As Armin looked away, he could still hear the tearing of flesh and the crunching of bone amidst Dianne's ragged breaths. When she finished, the ice dragon was little more than a shattered skelton in a pool of putrid, decomposed flesh and organs. After it had been done, Dianne lumbered a few steps from the body before stumbling and falling onto her belly. Her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath, slowly snapping out of her rage.}

Dianne: "Armin?....Where....where's Esme?...."

Armin risked a glance at the dragon's corpse - or what remained of it - and immediately turned away again, working hard not to gag. He tried to focus his attention on Dianne instead, ignoring the fact that she was the one responsible for the gory mess. 'She's fine...' he said reassuringly. 'It's OK, she's not hurt. She's back at the truck with Barnabas. She's safe...'

{Dianne nods, not adding anything more. She gets up and shakily lumbers back towards the truck, followed by Titan. Once arriving at the truck, she shifts back to human form, her gait not improving much with the changed body structure.}

(Poor Armin, he's stuck with one of the goriest fighters around. XD)

(RIP Armin)

Armin climbed into the truck, watching Dianne with concern as he walked beside her. He was careful not to glance back at the dragon's remains along the way back.

Esme was sitting on the driver's seat. When everyone came in, she tilted her head with an inquisitive chirp, not knowing just what had happened in her absence.

{As soon as they got into the truck, Dianne closed the doors and shakily asks Titan to get moving. Once Titan picks up the truck and takes flight, Dianne immediately picks up Esme and inspects her for injuries. Seeing none, she puts her back on her seat and walks over to the wall. She takes off her helmet and drops it, then proceeds to lean forward against the wall with a pained expression and softly weep. The injuries she sustained in the fight were gently bleeding as she stood there.}

Armin cautiously approached her, uncertain what to do. He could smell blood, and was sure she wasn't badly injured, but her state overall concerned him. The carnage she'd caused quickly left his mind as he walked up to her, slowly, from the side.

'Hey, it's alright. Everyone's fine, we all got out. Nothing actually happened to Esme.'

In response to her name, Esme squeaked quietly from the driver's seat, not knowing why everyone seemed upset.

{Dianne nods at this, but she doesn't open her eyes or even look at Armin.}

Dianne: "I know, I know....Look it was just...too close, ok?..."

{Turning away from the wall, she begins to remove her armor. As she places the cuirass on the floor, the full extent of her injuries can be seen. She had some cuts on her neck from the ice dragon's teeth and spikes, her back was bruised from being rolled on, and her wrists had some minor abrasions. After finishing removing her armor, she just sits and buries her face in her hands.}

Armin sat beside her, swiftly running an eye over her injuries. To his relief, none looked serious. //Thank the gods. That could have been so much worse...//

'We should probably clean those cuts...' he said, eyeing the bleeding scratches in her neck. 'They're not too deep, but that thing could have been carrying anything.' He did not feel guilty about calling the ice dragon a 'thing'.

Dianne: "...Ok..."

{She replies softly. She continues to sit there with a sorrowful expression. Despite being told that everything was ok, she couldn't help but imagine how badly that encounter could have went. //Gods, if I lost another one...I just don't think I could handle it....I /can't/ let it happen...//}

Armin retrieved the medkit, and left it open beside him while he inspected Dianne's wounds with a practised eye. He'd seen injuries similar to this before, with people who had nearly gotten their throats torn out by vampires or werewolves.

'I can hear you thinking,' he said grimly, catching her expression out the corner of his eye and interpreting it correctly. 'Stop it. 'Nothing happened. Forget what that guy said; there's no way Esme would have gotten killed with you, me, and Barnabas there.'

{Dianne gives him a sideways glance, half annoyed and half amused that he was able to accurately predict her thoughts.}

Dianne: "Oh, so you're a mind reader now?"

{She sighs and looks down.}

Dianne: "I know that, but...Ugh...When you've lost one before....You can't help but worry..."

'No, I've just known you long enough to guess what's on your mind...' said Armin. 'I can imagine how unnerving it is. But we'll be even more careful from now on. Esme is fine, and we'll try our best to avoid any more incidents like this.' //Partly because I don't want to watch you slaughter more people than necessary...//

Retrieving the antiseptic, he began to clean her wounds as gently as he were able to.

{Dianne winces slightly as Armin cleans her wounds.}

Dianne: "Of course. She's not going anywhere without me from now on, and we're not exploring any unfamiliar terrain ever again. I.....I can't lose another one....I just can't..."

{She begins to cry quietly again, making a pained expression.}

'You won't,' said Armin, very softly. 'It won't happen. You're not alone this time. All of us will do our best to keep her safe. I don't intend to let you go through that again, if I have anything to say about it. And this might not mean much, but I have a good feeling about Esme's future.'