'If they come near us, incinerate them.' Armin then shifted and flew off again to search for fish. Quickly spotting one of decent size, he grabbed it and flew back before any spiders could sneak-attack him.

Returning, he settled down by the fire and began to prepare the fish. He was wearing his leather jacket now, instead of his long winter coat, since the temperatures had risen. His hair was also very fluffy, which seemed to happen whenever he washed it.

Esme continued to lie on the grass, watching peacefully.

{Dianne simply sat, watching Armin work. However, after a few minutes, she leans to look behind him.}

Dianne: "Um, friend of yours?"
{Behind Armin was another foot long spider, standing still, staring directly at him.}

Armin had just put the fish on a spit to start cooking when Dianne spoke. He glanced over his shoulder, then yelped and stood up, hurriedly moving around to the other side of the fire.

'Hey! Clear off!' he exclaimed, holding up the knife he'd used to gut the fish. Esme lifted her head and gazed at the spider curiously.

{The spider didn't move, simply moving its pedipalps, eyes fixed on the fish.}

Dianne: "...I think it wants our fish...Barnabas, can you go throw that thing back into the lake?"

'It can go screw itself. We didn't come here to feed the spiders,' said Armin, as he stayed warily on Dianne's side of the fire with his knife. 'There's plenty of fish it can catch for itself.'

{Just then, Barnabas appears and scoops it up.}
Barnabas: "Oh my gosh, it's so cuuuuttteeee!! Can I keep it? Please, please, please?"

Dianne: "Absolutely not, that thing is going to grow to the size of a horse. Now put it back into the lake."

Barnabas: "Aaawwwww..." :(

Armin decided to sit down on the other side of the fire, so that if any more spiders came from the lake, they wouldn't be able to sneak up behind him. 'That is /not/ cute,' he said firmly. 'It's got eight legs, and creepy eyes, and it's venomous. And I don't care if it's only a baby one; it's still an abomination.'

{Barnabas walks away towards the lake, grumbling.}

Dianne: "You know, there's a creation myth that says spiders were created because someone pissed off the creator goddess. Someone said something along the lines of, "Oh, all you make are cutesy, fluffy things" and she was like, "Oh, really?! then how do you like these?" And then spiders were brought into existence."

'Huh. That's kind of funny, actually.' Armin kept his eye on the fish as it cooked. 'Though, we still have weirdos like Barnabas who think spiders are cute, too.'

Dianne: "To each their own I guess...Oh, damn..."

{Right where the spider was, there are now two, larger ones, once again staring at the fish.}

Armin's eyes widened slightly. 'Gods, can't they leave us alone for five minutes?' he said, voice rising. He picked up a long, burning branch from the fire and waved it threateningly at the araneos, staying as far away as he could.

{The two skitter backwards, raising their forelegs threateningly and hissing.}

Dianne: "Persistent, aren't they?"

Armin took a single step towards the spiders, waving his burning branch at them. He was trying to keep them away from not just the food, but Dianne and Esme as well. 'Get lost! Go back to the dam.n lake and leave us alone.'

{Finally, they skittered back to the cover of the reeds.}

Dianne: "Hm. I think that's the closest I've seen you willingly get to a spider."

Armin watched the spiders go, then sat down, tossing the branch back onto the fire. 'Well, compared to the horde we saw the other day, two spiders isn't quite so bad... Doesn't mean they're not horrifying.' He lifted his hand to show that it was trembling slightly from adrenaline. 'But I didn't want to risk them stealing our food, or attacking you or Esme.'

Dianne: "I know, but I thought for sure you would have asked me to do something instead of you doing something yourself."

'Well, the guilt from not doing anything last time probably helped... I don't want you to get hurt again while I stand by idly.' said Armin as he gazed into the fire. 'That helps to... overcome it, slightly.'

Dianne: "I see. That's still bothering you, huh?" Well, we're all ok, and their venom is non lethal. It's not a big deal to me that you didn't help. I'm just glad you didn't get bit."

'I know it's not lethal, but I still don't enjoy seeing people I care about getting hurt,' said Armin as he gazed pensively into the fire. After a moment, he reached over to check the fish, finding it almost done. 'I don't want you to start resenting me because I don't - or can't - help when we get attacked.'

Dianne: "Armin, relax, hunters are one thing, but I won't hold it against you if you want to sit out a spider attack. I mean, just look at the way you react to the tiny ones."

'Hmm.' Armin carved off a part of the fish for himself and started eating. He fell silent, seemingly having nothing else to say. Esme lifted her head at the scent of food.

{Dianne takes the fish and begins to cut it up, offering Esme strips of it.}

Dianne: "Here you go."

{She looks back at the reeds, seeing the pale orbs of the araneos staring at them from the safety of the water.}

Armin ate quickly, keeping his gaze fixed on the water. 'They'd better not come swarming out at us,' he said. 'There could be dozens, if not hundreds, in that lake.'

Esme, blissfully uncaring of the spiders, snapped up the fish Dianne offered her.

Dianne: "You think this is bad, you should see the White Forest. It's literally a forest that's always white because of all the spider webs. The araneos in that forest have extremely long legs. They look a lot like cellar spiders..."

Armin paused for a moment to visualise this scene. Then he shivered slightly, pulling a disgusted face. 'Giant cellar spiders? If we go on any more adventures after this, we're not going anywhere near that forest,' he said. 'I hate those things.'

Dianne: "Don't worry. We have no reason to go anywhere near there. In fact, those creep me out too. Well, if you were to decide where'd we adventure next, where would you want to go?"

'I haven't decided yet... There's Caelum City, which seems like a nice, peaceful spot to visit someday. I want to go back to Alexandria, too. And I want to go overseas to see more distant places, like the Sundusk Continent and the Lost Ones' Valley. The latter apparently used to be the site of a town, hundreds of years ago - but now it's just ruins, mountains, and empty castles.'

Dianne: "Ruins and abandoned castles, you say? Sounds like a great place for some treasure hunting and dungeon crawling. If you pick that one, I think I'll tag along."

'I think I will. When all of this is over...' Armin gazed thoughtfully at the lake, hardly even noticing the spiders anymore. 'It's part of the Barren Mountains, a country in the northeast. Not much civilisation, but lots of mountains and huge cave networks, from what I heard. There's probably loads of hidden treasures. One thing you might not like, is that it's kinda cold there most of the year.'

Dianne: "How cold? Tundra cold, or just kind of cold?"

'Well, it's pretty far up north. In the winter, it might be as cold as the tundra. In summer, it's probably just mildly cold. Maybe even warm in places. It should be fine, as long as we don't decide to go in January or something like that.'

Dianne: "Then we just won't go during the winter. I can survive cooler climates, I just need to prepare adequately."

'I'll put that on my 'list of places to go someday' then,' said Armin, seeming satisfied. Done with his fish, he threw the remains into the fire. 'It might be nice to find some warmer or hotter places to visit, too. So we're not just visiting cold places all the time.'

{Dianne was just finishing her fish.}

Dianne: "Yes, warmer places would be nice. Maybe once we're home, I'll check out the southern reaches of Vallis, see what's down there."

'Well, if you go far enough south from Vallis, you'll reach Aether and all the other countries down there. We should definitely go travelling south sometime. We went pretty far north on this expedition.'

Armin leaned back on the grass, looking at the crackling fire. 'So, you're happy to maybe come on more trips with me in the future?'

Dianne: "Of course. You've been great company. If you'll have me, I'd be happy to join you."

Armin nodded. 'I'd love to have you along. Even though you seem to attract trouble,' he said teasingly.

{Dianne gives an amused look.}

Dianne: "Well, that would just make it, how would you put it, more exciting. After all, you don't seem to mind trouble."

'Yeah, I don't mind a little bit of trouble. It keeps things interesting. As long as there are no giant spiders involved and nobody actually gets killed.'

Dianne: "Beggars can't be choosers, Armin. You cannot choose if there are to be giant spiders or not."

{Standing, she tosses her fishbones into the fire.}

Dianne: "Want to get moving?"

Armin stood, taking a final glance over the lake. He then headed over to the supply crate and put his towel and old clothes away, before making his way into the truck. Esme, who had been sitting quietly, got up and waited for Dianne to accompany her inside.

{Dianne put her clothes away and doused the fire. Getting into the truck, she closes the back and orders Titan to get going. She then sits and beckons Esme over.}

Esme willingly padded over to Dianne, letting out a soft chirp. Armin took off his shoes and jacket, then sat down beside them as the truck rocked into flight. He briefly rubbed the dragonet's head as she came over, but said nothing, seeming content with the momentary quiet.

{Dianne took Esme into her arms, kissing her forehead and affectionately cuddling her. She remains silent as well, completely content with the curent state of things.}

Esme folded her wings and snuggled against Dianne with a friendly squeak. Armin glanced at the pair, smiling faintly, then turned his gaze towards the window. After watching the sky for a minute or two, he broke the silence.

'Well, I guess I'm going to sleep now, unless you wanna talk about anything.'

Dianne: "No, nothing comes to mind, but...it's the middle of the day. You're really going to go to sleep now?"

'I guess not. I'm not really that tired, I just don't know what else to do. I suppose I could go fly outside for an hour or two...' said Armin contemplatively.

Dianne: "Sure, sure...Tonight, I want a back rub, so, just make sure you're awake for that."

{She says chuckling.}

Dianne: "Next time we go on a trip like this, I'll have to bring more to do."

Armin chuckled in return. 'Sure. Like I said, I'm not tired. I'll just go to sleep whenever you do. And that's definitely something to consider for next time. We really didn't think about entertainment when we planned this trip.'

Dianne: "Well, I wasn't expecting to be hiding in a bulletproof box. I figured that since I'd be flying most of the time, we wouldn't have time for games. But, our plans changed."

'Things did take quite an unexpected turn.' Armin gazed around the interior of the truck. 'Honestly, I don't dislike travelling like this. It would be nice to have more things to do, but being in a flying truck is pretty cool. It saves you having to fly for hours every day, too.'

Dianne: "Yeah, the flying was really tiring. This is a nice break. And the ability to sleep in isn't bad either."

'It is a nice break. I think it's important that we get plenty of rest while we still can, considering we'll be more busy when we get home,' Armin mused. 'Being able to sleep in late every morning is great.'

Dianne: "That's true. Getting good sleep is important."

{She pauses a moment.}

Dianne: "I've been thinking...My house is out on the plains...It's not the most defensible position...If it gets too dangerous out there, could Esme and I stay with you?"

(Posting new room)