Despite taking a few hits, the guards coolly advanced forwards, continuing to fire as they went. A few of them fell back to investigate Kale. There was no hope for him. He had died long before they reached him. They picked up his body and took it to one of their cars.

{In the alleyway, one of the men was a spellcaster. He opened a portal, and all of them retreated through it. Jerry drives onto the scene, stopping by Antonio, who was kneeling over Ivy.}

Jerry: "Ivy? Ivy!"

{He says frantically as he scrambles out of the car.}

The guards piled to a halt when they saw the hunters jump through the portal. //Fall back,// said Fred, and they began to return to their cars. //I will report this incident to the king at the earliest opportunity.//

As the guards left with Kale's body, Fred flew down to where Antonio and Jerry were sitting with Ivy. 'She wasn't injured,' he said. 'She's only temporarily unconscious.'

Ivy didn't stir in response to their voices.

{Jerry rubs his face in an agitated manner.}

Jerry: "I told her to stay inside. She's lucky she wasn't killed, or worse..."

Antonio: "Regardless, she should be taken to a hospital. Just to be sure."

'Can I leave her in your care, Jeremiah?' said Frederick. 'I ought to be going back. I'll tell the king about this when he wakes up. Between Ivy's attempted kidnapping and that man's death, we might be able to get the hunter clan banned from the city entirely.'

Jerry: "Man's death? Who died? Uh, yeah, I can take care of her. Antonio, can you come with me, in case they try again?"

Antonio: "Of course."

'I don't know the name, but Ivy was walking with a young human man, who was mercilessly shot by the hunters. Her partner, I assume,' said Fred. He took a step back, waiting for Jerry and Antonio to be on their way before he left.

Jerry: "Kale......Kale was his name....Ivy must have snuck out to see him....."

{Jerry makes a solemn expression a he and Antinio put Ivy in the car.}

Fred seemed to have nothing to say about that. A part of him wanted to point out that Kale wouldn't have died if Ivy hadn't snuck out, but he realised that would be tactless.

'I'll be going back, then. Look after her.' With that, he shifted to dove form and took off.

Ivy remained passed out as they put her in the car. It seemed she'd be out for a while.

{After strapping Ivy in, Jerry and Antonio drive for the nearest hospital.}

Jerry: "Any idea what she was drugged with?"

Antonio: "Chloroform."

Jerry: "Hell....she'll be out for a while then...."

(Should we skip to next day?)

(Yeah, shall we skip to morning with Dianne and Armin, and maybe also do a coonversation with Ivy and Jerry when she wakes up? I imagine she'll be unconscious for the rest of the night.)

{Yeah, Jerry's going to stay with her all night. Who wants to start?}

(I'll go.)

Armin awoke around midmorning to the faint sound of birds outside. It was a mild and sunny day, although his curtains blocked out most of the light. //Seems nice out there... Shame we can't go out.//

Settling back down, he curled up on his side to doze until Dianne awoke.

{Dianne awoke a few miutes later. Looking at Armin, she smiles and shifts a little closer.}

Dianne: "G'morning, amateotl....."

Armin opened his eyes a crack to observe her, then shifted closer, wanting to get into her arms. 'Are you going to call me that every morning now?' he murmured with amusement. 'Not that I mind or anything; it's cute.'

Dianne: "Yes, I am...."

{She reaches out and pulls him into a hug.}

Dianne: "I love you, and you give the best back rubs....That's amateotl material if I've ever seen it."

Armin snickered at that, but quickly quieted down and snuggled against her, enjoying the warmth.

'Best back rubs... that's nice. And a high accomplishment for someone with several fingers missing, at that.'

Dianne: "Yeah....That makes it that more impressive....."

{Giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, she settles in and starts to doze off once again.}

Armin got comfortable, tucking his head against her and letting himself relax as well.

----

Ivy awoke with a headache, smelling things she wasn't familiar with. Not home, or even Jerry's house. Cold, sterile, clean smells. //Hospital.//

She opened her eyes, wincing a little, and looked around to find herself in a hospital bed. She tried to remember last night, but it wasn't quite coming back yet.

{Jerry was sitting, asleep in the chair by her bed. After what happened last night, he wasn't about to let her be alone. Antonio had stood guard outside the door all night.}

Ivy looked over at Jerry. //...Has he been here all night?//

Though she found this a sweet gesture, she had no qualms about waking him up. She reached over and prodded his arm. 'Hey! What's going on?'

{Jerry wakes with a start.}

Jerry: "Wha? Oh, Ivy....Hey, how are you feeling?"

'Like someone punched and drugged me, I wonder why?' she said snidely, as more of last night's events came back into her memory. 'What happened to those hunters?'

Jerry: "Well, Frederick's telepathic relay saw you and alerted us. Antonio was the closest, and he killed a handful and rescued you. Once the guards showed up, the rest of them fled. Do you...remember anything else about last night? Did any of them happen to mention their names?"

'What, the hunters? No, I don't remember them mentioning their names.' Ivy suddenly turned around, surveying the rest of the room. 'Hey, where's Kale? They /shot/ him, he must be here somewhere too.'

{At that, Jerry's expression dropped. He takes his hat off before continuing.}

Jerry: "Ivy....Kale.....Kale didn't make it......he was shot point blank with a shotgun....I'm sorry..."

Ivy's expression shifted through several different emotions, before settling into a blank stare as she avoided meeting Jerry's gaze. Then she swore viciously under her breath.

'...Kale... He didn't deserve that... he wasn't even involved, what did they have to shoot him for?!'

{Jerry shakes his head solemnly}

Jerry: "Ivy....these hunters.....they're not like me, or Eliza, or my uncle Steven...these men are basically psychos, who see the bounty as a payday, and don't care who gets hurt in the process.....they're killers....."

Ivy continued to stare blankly across the room, making it hard to read what was going through her mind.

'...Well, there was still no need for them to do that... Also... I don't want a lecture... about how it's because of me that he died...'

Jerry: "Ivy.....that's the last thing on my mind....I'm just concerned about you now......"

'Well, I'm fine,' she said shortly. 'Can we leave now? I don't need to stay in a hospital.'

Jerry: "Yeah.....now that you're awake, we just need to wait for your release papers...we had you stay here as a precaution."

'Hmph.' Ivy leaned back a little against the headboard, and didn't say anything else. Her expression remained hard to read.

{Jerry just looks at her worriedly. After about a half hour, the doctor and a nurse enter with Ivy's clothes and belongings, along with her discharge papers.}

Doctor: "Alright, you can leave any time you like."

'Thank you,' said Ivy. She looked over at Jerry for the first time in a while. 'OK, let's go home.'

Meanwhile, back at his house, Armin was still in bed, not knowing about last night's events. No messages had yet come in to report the attack on Ivy. Comfortable with the morning atmosphere, he cuddled up to Dianne, silently hoping she'd wake up soon so he'd have someone to interact with.

Jerry: "Ok. Let's go."

{Jerry gets up and walks out, texting as he goes. He was planning on letting everyone know what happened.}

{Back at Armin's place, Dianne stirred, finding Armin in her arms. She cracks her eyes open sleepily and smiles at Armin.}

Dianne: "Good morning....again."

Ivy gathered up her belongings and followed him out. She wasn't too happy that he was probably going to tell everyone, but supposed they'd find out eventually anyway.

//Kale should still be alive today.//

'Morning,' said Armin. He kissed her jaw, the closest thing he could reach without moving much, then snuggled more comfortably against her. 'Esme's still asleep.'

{Dianne returns the kiss to his forehead, squeezing him tightly.}

Dianne: "Yes, she is. Stay here with me......at least for a little while...."

{Just then, her phone dinged, indicating that it had recieved a message. Not wanting to get up, she speaks to Barnabas.}

Dianne: "Barnabas, read that to me, please."

Armin shifted slightly at the unexpected noise, then settled back down, hardly even caring what the message was.

{Barnabas picks up the phone and starts to read.}

Barnabas: "It's from Jeremiah Garvey to everyone: 'Hey, just wanted to give you all an update, last night, Ivy snuck out of my house to go see her boyfriend. She was then attacked by the hunter, and they tried to kidnap her. They were thwarted by Antonio, and she is unharmed. Unfortunately, her boyfriend Kale was killed in cold blood by one of the hunters.'"

Dianne: "What?!"
{Letting go of Armin, she sits up and takes the phone, reading the message.}

Armin grunted, remaining lying down. '...Well, that's not too big of a shock... Out of all of us, Ivy was the one most likely to do something stupid. I'd say she almost deserves that guy's death on her conscience, but... no, nobody deserves that, just for making a mistake...'

{Dianne didn't look happy about this. At all.}

Dianne: "That /stupid/ girl! What did she think was going to happen when she went out there?! What, did she think we were full of it?"

'Maybe she just didn't believe the risks were as bad as we said they were,' said Armin. 'Maybe she thought that since she's not a close friend of yours, the hunters wouldn't bother targeting her.'

Dianne: "Well, her /boyfriend/ is dead now, because of her bullish!t!! That shallow wh.ore has no /gods-dam.ned/ brains, does she?"

{Dianne was positively seething at this point, and her radiating anger made Barnabas lean back in discomfort.}

Armin finally sat up, looking wary. 'Well... one good thing is that maybe her attitude will change because of this... I mean, she's not going to do anything this stupid again, is she?'

{Dianne leans forward and rubs her face.}

Dianne: "Ugghhh........I'm sorry....it just gets me so mad that she could be that stupid....we warned her, didn't we? It doesn't matter that we're not close, who knows what Sam told them about us?"

'She doesn't have the patience that most of us have; she's a young, impulsive human.' Armin tilted his head. 'But at least she's safe, and the hunters weren't able to use her against us.'

Dianne: "Yeah....there's that...."

{She quickly texts back to the group.}

>>Ok, glad she's safe.<<

{Putting down the phone, Dianne lies back down and shifts towards Armin again.}

Dianne: "Come here....I need something to calm my nerves..."

Armin willingly lay back down and shifted closer to her, letting out a long breath.

'Let's just be glad it wasn't someone like Jerry, or Fred, or Pythia who got attacked. I do care about Ivy's safety, but I would've been more worried about them.'

{Dianne pulls him in close, snuggling against him affectionately.}

Dianne: "Yeah, that's what worries me...."

'It's OK. They're all very sensible. It won't come to that.'
Privately, he wondered if the hunters would try directly attacking their friends' houses, since none of them had guards like Pugna. But he decided now wasn't the time to dwell on it. He let himself relax, tucking his head against her shoulder and breathing slowly.

Dianne: "That's true...I'll call them later to check in....and maybe chew out Ivy...."

{Sighing, she settles comfortably, moving her hand to stroke Armin's hair.}

'Ivy is probably feeling guilty enough about what happened. But that doesn't necessarily mean she doesn't deserve to be called an idiot...'

He relaxed further, eyes drifting half-shut with enjoyment. However, he stayed awake this time.

{Dianne closes her eyes, but she couldn't sleep again, not with the event on her mind.}

Dianne: //I don't like this....how dare they target my friends....Lucci, hurry the hell up and get this bounty revoked...//

{Meanwhile, Jerry had led Ivy to his car. Waiting for her to get in, he distractedly stares into the distance .}

'...Stop thinking...' Armin murmured a few minutes later. 'I can tell when you're dwelling on something. This will all be over soon, the bounty will be gone, we'll rip Paxton's head off, and then we can all do whatever we want.'

Esme stirred and opened her eyes, blinking sleepily as she debated whether to pester them for food or not.

Ivy climbed into Jerry's car with a listless expression. Realising she had her phone, she pulled it out and looked at it. However, upon discovering her last conversation with Kale, she stuffed it back into her pocket, and just stared out the window instead.

{Eyes still closed, Dianne gives a faint smile.}

Dianne: "I still don't understand how you can tell that about me....but your attempt at comfort is very welcome..."

{Jerry gives a worried glance as he pulls out of the parking lot.}

Jerry: "Hey...you holding up alright?"

'I hope so. I've had a lot of practice trying to reason with pessimistic people,' said Armin.

Ivy shrugged a bit. 'Fine,' she said disinterestedly. 'I'm not about to have a breakdown and cry on you, if that's what you're worried about...'

{Dianne chuckles a little at that.}

Dianne: "Well, you make good points. I feel better already...Thank you..."

Jerry: "I'm just worried about your mental state...But, if you're sure you're fine...."

'Well, that's good.'

Armin snuggled into a more comfortable position, content to wait with her until Esme decided she wanted food.

'Well, I might be /happier/ if you hadn't just told everyone what happened,' said Ivy, an edge to her voice. 'I would've preferred to have that whole fiasco swept under the rug...'

{Jerry raises a brow at that.}

Jerry: "Ivy, that's not how a team works. We need to be aware of the situation, regardless of how unpleasant it may be. We can't just hide things because we don't like it."

Ivy scoffed quietly. 'I don't even know why I'm being targeted. I'm not a friend of Dianne's, why are they involving /me/ in their stupid attempts to kill her?'

Jerry: "Who said they were rational, Ivy? They're looking for any advantage they can get. They don't care that you two aren't close, just the fact that you know of each other is enough for them to pursue you."

Ivy fell silent after that, but her stiff posture and distant expression remained. She hated that, out of everyone, she was the only one the hunters had almost successfully attacked. However, she also knew it was her own fault. She'd been careless.

//Well, it won't happen again. I'll prove that I can learn from past mistakes and do better. If they attack anyone again, it sure as hell won't be me.//

After about half an hour, Esme stood, stretched, and padded across the bed to Dianne and Armin. Not seeming in a great hurry, she quietly nudged Armin's shoulder in an affectionate manner.

He extracted one arm from under the blankets to stroke her muzzle, the rest of him remaining snuggled against Dianne.

(Give them a minute, Ivy, you won't be the only target. >:) )

{Jerry pulls into his house's driveway.}

Jerry: "We're here. Let's get inside..."

(>:))))

Ivy hopped out of the car and followed Jerry into the house, her demeanour staying quiet and subdued. 'I'd like to be alone for a while, if you don't need me for anything,' she said.

Jerry: "That's ok. I'll be taking a nap if you need me..."

{With that, he walks into the house and into his bedroom.}

Ivy retreated to her own room, rolling her eyes slightly. //Napping at this time of day? Honestly...//

(Jerry: "I didn't sleep well last night, Ivy. I think you can guess why...."
I'm not sure what to do now, any suggestions?)

(We could skip ahead a little, I'm not sure where to though?
I don't know what you have planned...)

(Hmm, before I do, I need to know what the king will decide about the event last night.)

(I was thinking of having Fred text Dianne and Armin to tell them the king's decision, if you want to do that now?)

(Yes, lets.)

(I already replied with Armin/Esme up there
Let me post a new room before you reply, though.)