'That'll work. You can't keep all your treasure and stuff at my house, anyway, so we'll need to use both.' Armin gazed contemplatively into space. 'That's another thing I have to do once this is over... get a horse... and then train it to not think I'm going to kill it...'

{Dianne leans in, smiling affectionately.}

Dianne: "You just leave that to me, sweetheart. I know exactly what to do for you."

'Oh, no you don't,' said Armin warningly. 'We talked about this before, remember? I don't want a draugr horse.'

{Dianne just laughs in response.}

Dianne: "No, no. I know a breed of horse that is basically fearless. Ferrosian Hares, as they're called. Massive breed, fearless. They're popular among law enforcement in certain parts of the world."

Armin leaned back, looking curious. 'Huh, really? That sounds like it could work. If you can get one. I've never heard of them living here.'

Dianne: "No, they're coveted and tricky to breed. I'll have to get one imported. Hey, how's that for something we can do together? We can go riding together."

'Together?' said Armin. 'Do you know how to ride a horse?'

While they were talking, the waiter came over with their meals. Armin thanked them, then took a sip of his wine.

{Dianne thanked the waiter, then continued.}

Dianne: "Yes. I learned a long time ago, while running from mercenaries hired by a rather unsavory king. He caught wind of my living in a barn, making natural remedies for the townsfolk and ordered that ballistas be set up around the countryside so I coul fly away. My only alternative was to learn to ride."

'Well, that's rude of him. You weren't doing anything wrong.' Armin started cutting into his food, trying a little and seeming to approve of it. 'Yeah, going riding together would be nice. We could race on the plains.'

{Dianne starts eating as well, seemingly enjoying it.}

Dianne: "Yeah, we could. We could also go hunting from horseback. Spearing things with piles is always fun."

Pikes

Armin smiled slightly. 'Hunting... yeah, we can do that. And we can explore the wilderness on horseback. I'll be looking forward to it. I haven't ridden in a long time.'

Dianne: "Yeah, it sounds fun. I'm looking forward to it."

{She continues to enjoy her meal, especially liking the quality of the lobster.}

Armin focused his attention on his food. When he had eaten most of the tuna steak, he pushed the remains aside and picked up his wine. He drank slowly, enjoying the atmosphere and observing the other people in the restaurant.

{Once Dianne had finished eating, all that remained of her food was a hollow potato skin and the shattered exoskeleton of the lobster, meticulously picked clean. Left with only her wine, Dianne sits, slowly sipping it as she watched the room around her.}

Armin briefly eyed the lobster husk, wondering why anyone liked eating them. Then he continued sipping his wine, gaze shifting to Dianne. He didn't say anything, seeming content to just observe her.

//This still feels kinda surreal. Less than a week ago, I had no idea things would ever come to this. I thought I'd be back to being on my own, or with Rex, living out the same boring routines every day... Life is surprising sometimes.//

{As Dianne's gaze drifted across the room, it eventually landed back on Armin.}

Dianne: "Enjoy your meal?"

'It was alright. I'm glad they had something with fish, at least.'

He drained the last of his wine and nudged the glass away.

Dianne: "I thought it was pretty good. The lobster was prepared well and the butter was flavorful."

Armin shrugged. 'Personally, I wouldn't eat a lobster. They look creepy to me.'

Around that time, the waiter came back with a creme brûlée and the bill for their food. Armin eyed the bill, then pulled out a handful of Squall banknotes and paid them. The waiter then cleared up their used dishes and left.

{Dianne began eating the dessert, eyeing the bill.}

Dianne: "What's my half? How much do I owe?"

'I don't mind paying for it all,' said Armin nonchalantly. 'You don't owe me anything.'

{Dianne raises her brows in surprise.}

Dianne: "Oh, ok. Well, thank you for the lovely meal."

'If you know how we can get some of those horses and import them here, that's more than enough repayment for me,' he said lightly. He then sat back, observing the room and waiting for her to be finished.

Dianne: "Yeah, I think there's a breeder not too far out of province. After this blows over, I'll get in contact with them."

{Finising her meal, she stands.}

Dianne: "Ready?"

Armin stood, adjusting his collar. 'Yes, let's head home. It's getting late, and I want to get out of this damn suit.'

Dianne: "Why are you so eager to get out of it? I think you look better with it on."

{She says, smirking while walking to the exit.}

'Well, I do appreciate the compliment. But, I hope you think I look good the rest of the time, too.' He followed her out onto the street and turned towards home. It was fully dark by then.

Dianne: "Yeah, you do, but you look much better in a suit. I can see why Jannet pressured you into them as often as she could."

{She added jokingly. As she came out of the restaurant, Dianne took a deep breath of the cool night air.}

Dianne: "Hm...Too bad I won't be able to enjoy night walks starting tomorrow. The sooner Paxton dies, the better."

Armin fell into step beside her, his shoes making a sharp tapping sound on the pavement.

'It won't take long. He's insane to chase us this far, knowing how many people we've got on our side. One way or another, we'll put an end to him. Let's just walk slowly here and enjoy the night while we can.'

Dianne: "Yes. Savor the moment, as it were..."

{Dianne walks slowly next to him, enjoying the peacefulness of the city at night.}

(And then a robber shows up and gets brutally dismembered by Dianne. XD)

(Oh nooo. XD
I'm not sure Dianne and Armin are exactly prime targets for being robbed. XD)

Armin gazed up at the sky as they walked. It was mostly clear, with a few patches of grey cloud covering the moon. Far away in the distance, a werewolf's howl rang out, lonely and mournful in the dark.

Armin stayed quiet, not wanting to disturb the atmosphere. He kept a careful eye on their surroundings, but not with the same amount of wariness as when they'd first gone out.

(True. They scary. XD)

{Dianne surveys their surroundings as the pair walks. She says nothing, however, simply enjoying the quiet night.}

As they walked down another quiet street, Armin cocked his head. 'Hey, do you hear voices?'

As they got closer, they would see a young transformed werewolf with a ginger-coloured mane, pressing back against a wall as three men advanced threateningly. One was holding a knife, one a stick, and one a piece of broken glass.

'Get outta here, ya rabid mutt!' said one of the men drunkenly. The werewolf just cowered back, seeming too petrified to move.

Dianne: "Yeah....he looks to be in a bad spot..."

{She steps forward to confront the men.}

Dianne: "Is there a problem, gentlemen?"

(Wait....Ginger?
Is that Sheldon?)

(:)
I wanted to give him a small appearance at some point. XD)

'Ay, stay outta it, red-eyed freaks!' the man with the stick exclaimed. 'Dam.n interfering leeches.' Clearly, he thought both of them were vampires.

'We're jus' taking out the trash 'ere,' said the one with the knife, grinning menacingly. 'Caught this mutt sniffing around outside my house. Well, we don't welcome /werewolves/ here, no matter what the king says.'

Armin stole a glance at the young werewolf, who was still pressed against the wall, shaking with fright.

Dianne: "You do realize he's a minor, right? You're committing child molestation, which is punishable by death. Why don't you get your drunken a$$es out of here before the guard show up, arrest you, and executed you."

'Who cares how old he is? He's a /werewolf!/ A stinking monster from heII! They don't deserve to be protected by /our/ laws!' grumbled Stick Man.

'Yeah, this was a peaceful place till the king started letting all the rabid dungeon crawlers in!' said Knife Man resentfully.

The man with the piece of glass was the only one who hadn't spoken. He was standing back a little, observing the situation.

{Clearly looking fed up with the situation, Dianne gives an exasperated sigh.}

Dianne: "Alright, let me put this in terms even ignorant drunkards will understand. Leave him alone, or die here and now. If you're not ot of my sight in ten seconds, no one will ever find what's left of you."

Armin slipped Dianne a telepathic message. //Not defending these idiots, but it might be best not to brutally slaughter them in front of the kid...//

'What's it to you?' said Stick Man. Now ignoring the young werewolf, he took a step towards Dianne and Armin. 'What do you think you are, some kind of heroes?'

'We don't like you being here, either,' added Knife Man. 'You're an inhuman freak too, and this is a human city.'

{Dianne, seemingly ignoring Armin's statement, takes an aggressive step forward.}

Dianne: "One.....two......three......"

{At three, Barnabas appears, snarling at the men and winding up a chain lash.}

The expressions on the men's faces changed when they saw Barnabas. 'Oh shit, it's a gh-ghost!' Knife Man yelled. 'Run for it!'

He turned and ran down the street as fast as he could without falling over. He clumsily tossed his knife at Dianne as he ran. Armin, with vampire reflexes, caught the thrown knife out of the air.

Stick Man began to run as well, leaving only the man with the piece of glass. He began to back away warily. 'I guess you think that because the king lets you live here, you can walk all over us humans, huh?' he sneered.

Dianne: "No, I think because you're the dregs of society, who get your kicks out of molesting children, that you should be removed from it entirely. I have no problem with the rest of the normal human beings who inhabit this place. It's just you three lowlifes."

{Barnabas starts to aggressively advance on the man.}

The man eyed Dianne, eyed Barnabas, weighed up the odds. Even drunk, he knew he didn't have a chance. 'Screw you... interfering bloodsuckers...' he mumbled, then turned and began to scramble away after his friends.

{After watching the man leave, Dianne turns to the boy.}

Dianne: "You ok, kid?"

The werewolf lifted his head. After a moment, he shifted to human form, appearing as a teenage boy with shaggy red hair and a nervous demeanour.

'U-uh, th-thanks... I guess...' he stammered, looking at the ground.

Armin eyed him. 'You look familiar. Did you live in Shacklestone before?'

'Um... uh, yes... I lived in that city, before... before the big invasion happened...'

'Well, I'm glad you're here and alive. Maybe don't go walking outside at night again, OK?'

Dianne: "Yeah, what were you even doing out here? It's not exactly a safe time for you to be out."

'Um... I was... just... outsidelookingforbugs,' Sheldon gabbled nervously.

'You what?' said Armin.

'I was... looking for bugs. I like bugs. And then I got scared by something and accidentally shifted and then those men saw me... as a werewolf...'

Dianne: "Bugs? Kind of a bad place to find insects, don't you think? Concrete kind of inhibits their presence here. Where are your parents? Do they know you're out here?"

Sheldon shrugged. 'I don't really have parents... anymore... I've been living with Tochi and her grandparents. A-and I didn't really tell them.' He looked around nervously. 'I-I should go home...'

Dianne: "Yeah, you should. We should probably walk you back, though. Those a$$h.oles are still alive, despite my better judgment..."

'Um... yes... OK... I don't mind,' said Sheldon awkwardly. 'Uh, I guess I'll lead the way then?'

The boy started to walk down the street, his nerves clearly frayed from the whole experience. The appearance of Barnabas had shaken him as well, and he kept glancing over his shoulder as he walked.

{Dianne, noticing the boy's nervousness, decides to talk to him, in an attempt to ease him.}

Dianne: "So, what's your name, kid?"

'Oh, er...' The boy fumbled to respond, clearly unsettled around non-humans. 'My name's Sheldon. I-I'm a werewolf... obviously...'

Dianne: "Hello, Sheldon. my name's Dianne, and this is Armin. It's nice to meet you."

Sheldon rubbed the back of his head. 'Yes - um - well, thank you. For helping me. And... for not killing those people. I don't like them, but I-I don't want anyone to die because of me, really.'

Dianne: "Oh, it wouldn't be your fault. Their actions are what led them here, and would have been the direct cause of their demise, but I digress...What kind of insects were you looking for out here?"

Sheldon seemed to brighten a little at the question. 'Moths. And snails. They come out at night. I was going to try and catch some to keep as pets, but... I guess I won't go alone next time...'

Dianne: "Yes, bring an adult next time. Moths and snails, huh? That's a nice hobby to have. Have any luck finding them?"

Sheldon shook his head. 'Uhm, no. Didn't really find any before - before those people showed up.'

'You got any pets at home already?' Armin asked.

'Oh - yes. I have a tank with some snails. And I sort of co-own a hamster with my friend Tochi.'

Dianne: "Hamsters are cute. What do you feed the snails?"

{As they walked, Dianne kept an eye on their surroundings.}

'Lettuce, mostly...' said Sheldon. Just then, he looked up. 'There's my house.' He began to make his way hurriedly towards a red-brick townhouse. Some of the windows were lit up, showing there were people inside.

Dianne: "Alright. Have a good night, Sheldon. Stay safe."

'Yeah... thank you...'

Wasting no time, Sheldon opened the door and slipped inside. Once he was gone, Armin turned and began to walk back in the direction of home.

{Once Sheldon was insuide, Dianne turns and walks after Armin.}

Dianne: "Well...that was unusual....Racists around here normally that bold?"

'If they're drunk, maybe. I had a similar encounter once.' Armin gave Dianne a sideways look. 'Were you actually going to kill those guys? That kid looked terrified enough already. Dismembering three people in front of him might've scarred him for life.'

Dianne: "Would have been better than letting those men do gods know what with him. If they didn't back off, yes, I would have killed them all. As it stands, I'm debating sending Barnabas to....deal with them."

'You know there's other ways to deal with the situation, right? We could have beaten them up without killing them. You probably shouldn't go around slaughtering civilians, even if they're bast.ards. If you want them punished, just report them to the guard.'

Dianne: "I suppose. But, they can still commit atrocities so long as they're alive. Killing them would be the most effective solution."

'The king is nice enough to let us all live here. We can't just take the law into our own hands and execute his subjects for him,' said Armin. 'In some situations, we might have no choice but to kill people, but let's try to avoid it as much as possible.'

{Dianne just sighs at this.}

Dianne: "Very well.....I really don't like that, but you may have a point...."

Armin subsided into silence. After the incident, the night seemed peaceful again. It was late enough that almost nobody was still around.

Upon reaching his house, he pulled open the door and stepped in, looking around. All was quiet, and there was no sign of Rex or Esme, but Armin didn't seem concerned.

{Stepping inside, Dianne observes the absence of Rex and Esme.}

Dianne: "They must have gone to bed. I guess we ought to as well."

'Yeah, I'm kinda tired,' said Armin. He climbed the stairs and quietly peered into their dark bedroom, revealing Esme asleep at the end of the bed. 'You want to go change first?'

Dianne: "Yeah. Might as well..."

{She walks into the bbathroom, emerging a few minutes later in her sleepwear. She proceeds to enter the bedroom and lie on her side on the bed.}

Esme didn't stir when Dianne got on the bed; she was too fast asleep. Armin went into the bathroom, returning shortly afterwards carrying his suit, which he hung up in the closet.

With a contented yawn, he flopped onto the bed in front of Dianne. He lay on his front with one arm tucked under his head, eyes sliding shut.

{Dianne looks at Armin fondly. Closing her eyes, she quickly drifts off.}

(Do we skip?)

(Yup, I'll post a new room, then start.)