'Sure,' said Armin lightly. 'I like that city. We really didn't get to explore it to its fullest potential last time, and we have plenty of money. Maybe we could spend a couple of days there, so we can see more of it?'

Dianne: "I'd like to stay for a week. Enjoy the sights, shop around, maybe visit some of the attractions. And enjoy the distinct lack of racism."

'Yeah, it's nice to feel like everyone's accepted there. It's different to how things were living in Shacklestone, and a very nice contrast to our own king's terror of anything not human.'

Dianne: "Yeah. Alexandria's mayor is a very sweet man named Henry Glasgow. He's a very friendly person and a great mayor. He must have been the one to say that the city would not honor the bounty."

'Well, I'm glad they have a good mayor. And a beautiful city. We'll definitely take some time to check it out once all of this is over.' Armin reclined back onto the bed, seeing no point in getting up properly.

Dianne: "Yes. It'll be nice to go back."

{She continues to snack on her foodstuffs, simply contemplating the current situation.}

Armin settled back with his head resting on his arms, seemingly planning to just relax until they stopped later for dinner. Esme, upon finishing her apples, nudged her head against Dianne's leg in a friendly way, then scurried off to find something to play with.

{Dianne watches Esme scurry off with amusement.}

Dianne: "I need to get her some proper toys when we get back..."

(Colors isn't giving me notifications :()

Armin huffed out a quiet laugh. 'Yeah, all she has is a rock and people's fingers.'

(Colors, y do u succ?)

Dianne: "Yeah, all I had to play with when I was her age were the bones of my meals. I did find a big ferret to entertain myself with once, but a big bird ate him. Damn bird."

'I'm surprised /you/ didn't eat the ferret. I can't imagine food was very plentiful there,' said Armin dryly. He closed his eyes. 'I had real toys, but I think I spent most of my time playing with animals or hitting people with sticks.'

Dianne: "Yeah, I was starving most of the time, but...he was just so cute, with his big eyes and fluffyness...I couldn't bring myself to do it. Hitting people with sticks, huh? Sounds like you were a little terror."

{She says, chuckling.}

Armin snickered. 'Heheh... Now I won't stop thinking about this big, scary dragon not being able to kill a ferret because it was 'too cute'... And yes, I was. I was a bully. I grew out of it when I was about twelve, though, thankfully.'

Dianne: "Oh, come on, Armin, contrary to popular belief, I'm not a heartless monster. You, on the other hand, you must have terrorized plenty of poor kids. Beating them up, stealing their lunch money, putting gum in their hair. Am I right?"

'Oh, I think it's sweet. It just surprises me that a starving wild dragon would decide not to eat something just because it looks cute... And yes, I openly admit to that. Everyone hated me. The kids /and/ their parents. My own parents preferred to ignore bad behaviour rather than tell me to stop, so I didn't really know how wrong it was...'

{Dianne just laughs in amusement.}

Dianne: "Oh, how I probably would have eaten you...And wow. No offense, but your parents sound terrible."

'They weren't the best,' said Armin. 'That's not to say they were cruel or indifferent. But I think they were... unprepared for how hard parenting could be. It was easier for them to let me do whatever I wanted, than to confront the problem.'

Dianne: "Well, I'm sorry to hear that. Some people just aren't quite prepared for the responsibility. Still, ignoring the problem is no way to solve it."

'Eh, well... they were good people, in other respects. They just weren't the most adept at being /parents./ At least they cared enough to try and stop me when I did dangerous stuff. Although, I didn't really listen to them.'

Dianne: "That's good. I didn't grow up with parents for the most part, so having someone looking out for you sounds nice."

'Yeah, it's better to have slightly inept but caring parents than no parents at all.'

He opened his eyes to see Esme jumping onto the driver's seat, and smiled faintly. 'She's lucky that she has the chance to grow up with... well, not /parents,/ but a good mother at least.'

Dianne: "Yes, well...I hope I make for a good mother..."

{At this, her gave turns pensive, but she falls silent.}

'Of course you will. You like her, and she obviously likes you. You'll destroy anything that threatens her, and you'll care for her until she doesn't need it anymore. What more could she wish for?'

Dianne: "Yeah, that's true...I'm sure we'll be ok."

{She looks to Esme fondly.}

Dianne: "She'll probably like it at home..."

Armin smirked. 'She'll like my house much better than this cramped truck. I can be sure of that. And we can buy her things to play with, so hopefully she won't feel the need to destroy my furniture. You'd better not, Esme.'

Esme chirped in response, distracted from whatever she'd been doing. After a moment's consideration, she padded over, jumped onto Armin's chest and nuzzled at his face.

Dianne: "Heh, yeah, don't hold your breath. Baby dragons like to chew things. Shoes, table legs, bones, anything leather. I'll do my best to get her to entertain herself with things that aren't dear to you."

'I guess it doesn't matter so much if she chews the furniture or curtains. I'll just keep everything valuable out of her reach.'

Armin absently rubbed the dragonet's neck as she settled down on top of him, tucking her paws underneath herself like a cat.

Dianne: "Good. As she gets bigger, she might be able to reach them, so keep that in mind."

{She reaches over and pets Esme fondly.}

'Eh, I'll lock everything I care about in the basement if I have to.'

Esme gave a half-growl, half-purr when Dianne petted her. She laid her head down, continuing to purr happily. Armin yawned and closed his eyes, content to stay there rather than disturb her.

Dianne: "Heh, you two look adorable. She sure is fond of you."

'Well, I've spent as much time around her as you have,' said Armin absently. 'I suppose she's closer to the pair of us than anyone else, now that her parents and tribe are gone.'

Dianne: "Yes. Right now, we're her whole world. And I'm more than happy to fill that role."

{She subsides into silence, leaning against the wall.}

Armin just lay there, dozing quietly with Esme.

(If you want, you can skip to evening.)

(Ok. Also, I finally got around to reading A Brief History of Vallis. I saw you mentioned that Sargon was defeated by. "Undead Abominations." Does that mean Dianne is a canon character now? XD)

....{After many hours, the sun was setting, and Titan set down on the edge of a lake. Dianne already had her armor on in anticipation. Being so close to home, she didn't want to be caught off guard.}

Dianne: "Barnabas, scout the area."

(Well, yeah. The events of Shacklestone are canon to Vallis's history, so characters who played an important role should be canon to that. Though I usually don't mention them by name when they're not my characters.)

Armin was sitting up, leaning against the wall. Esme had wandered off a while ago, pacing impatiently up and down. He pulled on his shoes and jacket and stood up in readiness to leave.

(Cool. :D)

{After a short while, Barnabas returns.}

Barnabas: "There is a wolf pack nearby, along with a mountain lion on the other side of the lake."

Dianne: "Take the centaurs and either drive them off or slaughter them."

{With that, she opens the doors and hops out.}

'Don't slaughter them,' added Armin. 'We don't need to wipe out all the wildlife in the region...'

He then jumped out of the truck, looking around at the lakeside scenery. He was very much aware that this might be their last time doing this before they got home.

'Well... I guess you should get a fire started, and I'll find some fish.'

Barnabas: "Slaughter them. Got it."

{Laughing, Barnabas disappears. Dianne goes to the crate and grabs the shovel.}

Dianne: "I'm on it. Go get some fish."

Shifting to hawk form, Armin took flight over the lake. He spent a while circling, searching for the perfect fish, before he dived, raking it in with his talons.

Esme hopped out of the truck, looking bored and disgruntled about being stuck inside so long. She stretched, walked over to the lake and began lapping at the cool water.

{Dianne walks over to Esme and stops her.}

Dianne: "No, Esme, don't drink lake water. You don't know what's in it."

{She then picks her up and carries her back to the truck.}

Not at all happy about being taken back to the truck, Esme growled and sunk her teeth into Dianne's hand. She was too small to do any significant damage, but she did draw a small amount of blood.

Armin, having caught a fish big enough for all of them, began heading back to the camp.

{Dianne winces at the bite, frowning at Esme.}

Dianne: "Hey! No! You don't bite, Esme! Bad!"

Esme just pinned her ears back and whined in response. She didn't seem particularly sorry about the bite. She just wanted to get back outside.

Armin landed by the fire pit and shifted back to human form. He sat down and waited for the pit to be finished, watching the sun setting over the lake.

{Dianne puts Esme down by the fire pit and keeps digging. Barnabas returns with wood, having take the inititave. Once the pit was finished, Dianne lights it and sits by the fire.}

Esme sat down on the cool grass, watching the flickering flames.

Armin made a spit and began gutting and preparing the fish. As he was doing this, he cocked his head slightly. 'Why do I smell blood?'

Dianne: "Oh, Esme bit my hand when I stopped her from drinking lake water. It's nothing."

Armin chuckled quietly. 'Getting a rebellious streak, is she? I thought she had it in her.'

He stuck the fish on the spit and sat back to wait for it to cook.

Dianne: "Well, she's not getting any after dinner fruit for that stunt. Can't be encouraging that kind of behavior."

'I guess not. We don't want her biting random people back home. Still, at least we know she'll probably defend herself if anyone ever hurts her.'

Dianne: "Yes, that's true. We'll have to be careful, though, when she interacts with other children. She's going to grow fast."

'Yeah, and there aren't too many other dragonshifters living in Sovereign,' Armin mused. 'If she interacts with human kids, we'll have to make sure she doesn't rip them apart or incinerate them. She should socialise, but she'll need to learn that not everyone's as big and strong as her.'

Dianne: "Yeah, that might be tricky. Being so young, she might not know any better. It's too bad we dont know any dragonshifters with kids. Those would make the most ideal playmates."

'Well, we might be able to find /some/ people. There might just be other dragonshifter families in the city, trying to find friends for their kids as well... Or there might be werewolves. They're tougher than humans. And if we can't find many kids, at least she still has us, and all our friends, to interact with.'

Dianne: "Yes, she'll always have us. Werewolf pups might not be the best choice, as their rowdyness might invite horseplay, in which we get a lot of nipped tails and singed fur.".

Armin tilted his head. 'Yeeeah, I'm not sure I'd trust young werewolves. They're just rowdy kids, but considering Esme's personality, that could get pretty rough... Well, I'm usually not busy, so I can spend time with her whenever she wants...'

He then paused, mulling this over.

'Actually, I guess not. Since you don't trust me not to get her killed.'

{Dianne rolls her eyes at this.}

Dianne: "Oh, come on, Armin, all I meant was don't take her bull riding behind my back. You can still have a relationship with her."

'And I told you that I wouldn't do anything like that - not with her. But I'm willing to bet that you're still afraid of it happening, considering how many times you've warned me not to hurt her.'

Dianne: "Armin. I'm always afraid of something bad happening. Please don't take my paranoia as an opinion of you. After you lose one, you're always afraid..."

Armin was quiet for a moment. 'OK. I'm know it's not meant to be personal. But I've grown fond of her too; I want to be a part of her life, watch her grow up, and help protect her. That's why I don't enjoy the implication that I'd be careless enough to get her killed. But I can understand your fear.'

Dianne: "I know you won't put her in danger, but I can't help but worry. The last person I trusted with shared custody killed my child. I know you won't do that but...hell, I'm traumatized..."

'I know. You can't help it. You never knew that Ogden was going to do that - there's no way you /could/ have known. So I guess it's instinctive to worry about it, considering my closeness to both you and Esme.'

He leaned forwards to examine the fish. 'I can't really blame you. I'm grateful that you'd let me be a part of her upbringing at all.'

Dianne: "Of course. You were the one to find her and save her. I'm sure she would want a relationship with the man who saved her life."

Armin chuckled with dry amusement. 'I doubt she even remembers that. I'll have to tell her about it when she's old enough to be grateful.'

Finding the fish to be cooked enough, he removed it from the spit, cut off a small portion for himself, and offered the rest to Dianne to share with Esme.

{Dianne accepts the fish with a murmur of thanks. She starts to tear up the fish and offer Esme strips.}

Esme stretched out her neck and quietly took the offered fish pieces. Armin cut up his own portion and ate slowly, taking the time to enjoy it.

'Mhm. I'm going to miss things like this. You have to promise me that we'll go on more trips after Paxton's dealt with.'

Dianne: "Sure. Got any destinations I n mind?"

'I already told you about a few places I want to visit. There's some mountains and ruins in the distant northwestern lands where we could go treasure hunting. But I'm up for going anywhere. I just want to see more places that aren't home.'

Dianne: "That's right, I remember now. Yeah, traveling is fun. But, Paxton first, then we go around. Will you be ok camping again?"

'I'll be OK enough. We could always consider taking the truck with us again, and sleeping in it instead of tents from time to time.'

Dianne: "Maybe, but Titan will eventually fall apart. When that happens, we'll need to find another way to bring our supplies."

'What? Titan?' said Armin, surprised. 'Can't you just put him into a different body or something?'

Dianne: "Building a hydra takes a lot of biomass. I basically lucked out in that Sargon had a lot of dragons. When he eventually decays, I don't have the materials to build another one."

Armin shot Titan a glance, then returned to his food. 'That's a shame; he's been helpful. Though you're right, I don't think we'll be able to find any more dead dragons to build another body for him.'

Dianne: "Nope, unless Paxton wants to make a donation."

{Having fed Esme, she starts eating her protion. She looks thoughtful as she eats.}

Dianne: "Well...maybe there is a way around it. I've been able to bind souls to automatons with the proper materials and runes, but...making an automaton as big as a hydra, with the power of flight would be very difficult. I bet if I spun it to the king as a defense project, I could probably get him to fund it..."

'An automaton?' Armin considered this as he finished his food, before tossing the fishbones into the fire and leaning back on the grass. 'That could work, I guess. If it's possible to make one that big. And I'm sure the king would probably help you with almost anything you requested, considering he's scared of what you'll do if he refuses...'

Dianne: "Well, I'd use his money to hire metalworkers and engineers. I might know comparative anatomy and physiology better than anyone else in Vallis, but I suck when it comes to nuts and bolts, alloys and chassisses....Chassiss? I don't know. But, in return, I'd have to offer them as guardians of sorts..."

Armin nodded thoughtfully. 'We'll look into that when we get home, then. They'd be useful, less ugly than draugrs, and I'm sure the king would appreciate the extra defence for his city, too. Who wouldn't want giant metal creatures protecting them?'

Dianne: "Perhaps. But, I wouldn't want him running off on conquest with my creations..."

'How could he? They're still bound to spirits that are controlled by you, aren't they? Nobody else could command them.'

Dianne: "That's true. I guess I'd have to make my intentions with the project abundantly clear."

{Having finished her meal, she stands.}

Dianne: "Ready to go?"

Armin stood up and turned to the lakeside, taking a final sweeping glance across the shining water. A cool breeze rustled the nearby tree branches. He inhaled deeply, then turned and walked back towards the truck.

'Yep. Let's head off.'

{After extinguishing the fire, Dianne scoops up Esme and heads into the truck.}

(Posting new room)