Armin thought for a moment, not sure how to describe his house. 'Well... it looks a bit old-fashioned, I suppose. Most of my furniture is second-hand. I've got a few keepsakes and ornaments that I've had for decades. But it's pretty cosy. I usually keep all the electric lights off at night and light candles instead.'

Dianne: "It sounds homely. You light candles at night, but you're afraid of Esme burning your house down? Heheheheh."

'There's a slight difference between candles and raging fireballs.'

Armin scratched his head contemplatively. 'Hmm, we might have to go food shopping when you and Esme move in... There's not much food stored at my place, since... well... /vampires.'/

Dianne: "When we get settled, I'll make a market list. Depending on how inundated the city is with hunters, one of us will go."

'Sounds good to me. We'll stock up so we don't have to risk going out more than necessary.'

Still lying on his back, seeing no reason to get up, Armin glanced towards the window.

'So, will we pass by anything noteworthy before we reach Vallis? Any more ruins or interesting landmarks?'

Dianne: "Yeah, there are, but we're not stopping. I really wanted to stop at Alexandria again to buy a new coat, but we can't do that now..."

'Alexandria doesn't honour the bounty, though? But I guess it might just be too risky for you to be seen there anyway...'

Dianne: "Exactly. If they catch wind of where we are, and the path we're taking, they might try something, like setting up field guns and AA defenses all around the province to try to shoot us out of the sky."

'Yeah... It's not worth the risk. And that's not a phrase I say often, but I'm not the one they're hunting. We'll just have to avoid it until everything settles down.'

Dianne: "Yes, for now. Once This all ends, I'll be going back to buy a new jacket. When that day comes, you're welcome to accompany me."

'I will. There's still a lot in that city that I want to explore.'

Armin fell silent, gazing thoughtfully out of the window as the truck rocked in flight.

{Dianne falls silent as well, leaning against the wall and staring off into space.}

(Skipping to evening?)

(Yes. You may begin.)

----

After a relatively uneventful few hours, darkness was beginning to fall. Armin stood and went to the window, to get a better look at what lay ahead of them, wondering where Titan would be stopping. 'There's some dark clouds heading this way. Might rain... Hopefully it holds off until we're done cooking.'

Esme was boredly playing with her rock, pushing it back and forth across the floor.

{Dianne was sitting across from Esme, watching her play.}

Dianne: "I hope so as well. Titan should be stopping soon."

{Titan soonafter sets down in another forest, this one consisting of old pines.}

Once they landed, Armin started to open the back doors to step outside, then paused. 'You want to send Barnabas to scout?' he asked, realising he hadn't seen much of the ghoul recently.

Dianne: "Yeah, Barnabas, if you would?"

{Barnabas doesn't appear, but Dianne doesn't seem bothered in the slightest.}

Dianne: "Huh...Esme really likes this rock."

Armin glanced at Esme as he waited for Barnabas to complete his scout. 'Yeah, she does... Maybe she likes hoarding treasure, but doesn't know the difference between treasure and rocks yet.'

He took a step towards Esme and nudged the rock with his foot. She growled at him and pulled it away protectively.

{Dianne smiles at this.}

Dianne: "Well, Armin, some rocks are treasure. What do you think diamonds are?"

'That's not the same thing. This is just a boring chunk of grey rock. I guess she considers it treasure though.'

Armin left Esme, putting on his shoes and jacket in preparation to go out.

{Barnabas then appeared.}

Barnabas: "All clear. Nothing dangerous out there but a bear."

Dianne: "Thank you, Barnabas."

'A bear? That's cool, I don't see those often. They mostly live in the northern Rockridge woods, in Vallis...'

Armin stepped out of the car, beginning to gather branches for a fire. The rich scent of pine trees filled the air.

Dianne: "Well, if it gets anywhere near us, the centaurs are going to tear it apart."

{Grabbing the shovel, she starts to dig the fire pit.}

Armin wandered a bit deeper into the trees to search for fallen branches. 'Hopefully, it stays away. I'd rather we didn't have to kill it. But, bears can be pretty territorial...'

Esme sat down near the car, watching Dianne dig the fire pit.

{After ordering the centaurs to find food and finishing the pit, Dianne sits and waits by the fire pit. As Armin searched for wood, he hears rustling nearby, something in the undergrowth.}

Armin cocked his head at the noise. Holding a few branches under one arm, he drew his sword with the other. Curious, he began to move towards the rustling.

{Once Armin got close enough to the rustling brush, Barnabas pops out, wearing the severed, dried head of an araneo, making a hissing, squealing sound.}

Caught off-guard, Armin yelped and leapt back, inadvertently slipping on a tree root that was sticking out of the ground, causing him to fall over backwards. Now sitting on the ground, he stared up at Barnabas with an expression of understanding.

'...Oh. It's just you.'

Barnabas: "Ahahahahahahh! Gotcha!"

{After laughing hysterically, Barnabas starts to help Armin pick the branches.}

Armin gave an exasperated look and stood up, brushing dead leaves off his clothes. 'Yeah, very funny.' He resumed gathering branches for the fire. 'I thought it might have been the bear.'

Barnabas: "Oh, no, that thing got one whiff of Titan and ran for the hills. Good thing too, 'cause Dianne wanted to kill it."

'Huh.' After picking up what he considered to be enough branches, Armin began to head back to the 'camp'. 'So... where exactly did you get that spider head from? Are there araneos here, too?'

Barnabas: "No. I brought it from my city, where we stopped. Makes for a pretty good mask, don't you think?"

'Sure, maybe, if it's Halloween...' Armin muttered, sheathing his sword as they walked.

Esme was lying comfortably by the empty fire pit, waiting for everyone to return. She had left her rock in the truck for safekeeping.

{Dianne watched Esme curiously.}

Dianne: "Didn't want to lose your rock, did you. Smart to keep it in the truck."

Armin walked back to them, tossing the dry branches into the pit, then sitting down on a tree stump near it. Dark clouds were gathering overhead, but it hadn't started to rain yet.

{Dianne lights the fire, but stays in dragon form.}

Dianne: "Here, Esme. Let me get a look at you."

Armin held his hands over the fire, watching the orange light flicker across them. Esme lifted her head to gaze curiously at Dianne, then squeaked and stood up, walking over to nudge at her leg.

{Dianne nuzzles her, then scoops her up in one claw, pulling her close.}

Dianne: "Aren't you just the sweetest?"

Esme chirped in response, seeming to agree with this statement, and nuzzled at Dianne. Armin just observed them quietly, a slight, fond smile on his face.

{Dianne happily lay there with Esme, simply waiting for the centaurs to return. After a while, they appeared with a deer in tow.}

Dianne: "Alright, I guess I ought to prepare that."

'Yeah, you should,' said Armin, glancing up as the centaurs returned. Esme looked up as well, her muzzle creasing slightly when she realised that they had a deer. However, she seemed to accept that this was all they had to eat.

{Nuzzling Esme one last time, Dianne shifts and walks off to prepare the deer. Barnabas then appears behind Armin, tickling the back of his neck with a branch.}

Armin flinched slightly, thinking a spider might be crawling on him. He then turned and, with lightning reflexes, snapped the end of Barnabas's branch off.

Esme sat down within the circle of light, gazing around at everyone.

Barnabas: "Heheh, thought it was a spider, didn't you? Nope, just a twig."

'I can see that.' Armin looked at the broken bit of branch, then tossed it into the fire. 'With how you are, I'm surprised it wasn't really a spider.'

Barnabas: Yes, well, I decided to give you a break from the real spiders, since you really seem to hate me for it. Also, I think you've had too much spider exposure given the recent araneo attacks."

Armin squinted a little suspiciously. 'Well, thanks... I think...' he said after a few seconds. He glanced at Dianne preparing the deer, then looked away towards the fire.

{Barnabas simply fades away while Dianne drags the deer back}

Dianne: "I know Esme doesn't like it, but this is all we got."

Armin shrugged unconcernedly. 'I'm sure she'd rather eat it than go hungry. Or, if she really won't eat it, we still have apples.'

He gazed into the fire, seeming content despite Barnabas's pranks.

'Did you know that the blood of different species tastes different? To vampires, I mean.'

{Dianne sets the deer meat on the spit.}

Dianne: "I believe it. I really don't want to know how my blood tastes..."

'Werewolf blood is the worst,' said Armin, pulling a slight face. 'No offence to Barnabas or anything, but it tastes like meat that's started to go bad. And I don't really know what dragon blood tastes like, so I can't tell you that.'

Dianne: "Speaking truthfully, I don't like the taste of werewolves either. They taste really oily and dirty, and their meat is stringy."

Barnabas: "D:"

'Hmm, maybe it's a defence mechanism to stop people from eating them,' said Armin, smirking. 'If they're as disgusting as possible, they'll be left alone.'

Barnabas: "Now listen here you little..."

Dianne: "Easy. Believe it or not, werewolves used to be much cleaner. I visited a temple of Kynigos once. They all smelled like roses."

'Huh. I guess most of them just don't care about taking care of themselves anymore. Maybe they think it's cool to be... rougher. More like wild animals.'

Dianne: "Disgusting is what it is. Would it kill them to take a bath? Having a shiny, clean, and fluffy coat would add to one's appeal. Having a dirty, mangy and oily coat is chick repellent. Believe me, I know..."

Armin snickered. 'Yes, well, try convincing them that. I'm sure not /all/ modern werewolves are this disgusting, but the ones I'm used to smelled - and tasted - like Shacklestone's gutters. Kinda surprising that they reproduce so fast...'

Dianne: "Well, trash tier hoes like trash tier guys. Enough said."

Barnabas: "Are you two done insulting my race? Your species have flaws too, but you don't see me pointing them out..."

'Yes, I'm done. Probably...' Armin tilted his head. 'I know everyone has flaws, but honestly, werewolves might be one of the worst. Because they /used/ to be so much more impressive. You don't see vampires or dragons letting themselves go.'

Dianne: "Well, most dragons are too proud to let themselves come to such a state. I don't know about vampires, however."

(Posting new room)