'Ah, well, there's someone in the living room who wants to see you,' said Fred. 'Apparently he's a patient you had to leave at the temple. He says he came for your help.'

Armin started to tip sideways from the weight, and put a hand against the couch to try and brace himself. 'She'll be fine,' he said, sounding a tad strained. 'She doesn't need the Order to have a fulfilling life.'

{Pythia gives a curious look.}

Pythia: "He does? Why didn't Murphy help him? Oh, I better take a look..."

{She then walks down the hall to see the man.}

{Dianne looks over at him quizically.}

Dianne: "...Are you ok? Am I too heavy for you?"

Fred followed her down the hall, out of curiosity to see how she would help the man. He wasn't quite familiar with Pythia's healing abilities.

'Well, you are pretty heavy...' said Armin. 'It's not exactly comfortable.'

{Pythia approaches, looking at the man's splint.}

Patient: "Oh, thank Symponia, I need your help. That Murphy is a hack! A hack, I say! He tried to peddle me herbal remedies, knowing full well that you can fix this in an instant."

Pythia: "...Huh...Honestly, I expected better of a prefect...Here..."

{She takes his arm and removes the splint. Closing her eyes, the bone then painfully realigns, and heals in seconds, causing the man to yelp.}

Pythia: "There. All better."

Man: "Thanks, Pythia. You're a life saver."

{Dianne returns to a sitting position, looking somewhat offput.}

Dianne: "Sorry. I thought it wouldn't be a problem, with that vampiric strength you're always bragging about."

Fred watched curiously, not saying anything. //I wasn't aware that her healing power was that potent. In fact, that might be the strongest healing magic I've ever seen anyone possess. It mended the bone instantly. Very useful...//

Armin relaxed his brace against the couch. 'Bragging? I never pretended carrying you at the tavern was easy. I'm strong by vampire standards, but I'm not as strong as /you/ are, you know.'

Patient: "Thank you so much. That Murphy guy is a real twit, firing you like that. I don't care what you did, you have a good heart."

Pythia: "Thank you. I needed to hear that..."

{Getting up, the man and his wife walk for the door.}

Fred walked the pair to the door. 'Thank you for coming. It's a shame 'Prefect' Murphy doesn't seem to know what he's doing.'

Dianne: "Fine, sorry. I can't help my weight, I'm afraid...."

'You don't need to /apologise.../ But I can't help being weaker than you, either.' Armin shifted and leaned sideways into Dianne, almost cautiously, as if he expected her to be annoyed about it.

{Dianne eyed him for a moment, then smirked and hugged him.}

Dianne: "It's fine. There are still some things we have to figure out, I guess."

Armin leaned into the embrace, resting most of his weight against her. 'Well, yeah, of course there is. And we'll have plenty of time to figure everything out.'

Patient: "Yeah, that guy has no business being in a managerial role. Well, y'all stay safe now. Thanks again, Pythia!"

{With that, the two depart.}

{Dianne settles into the couch with him.}

Dianne: "Yup. By the way, where's Esme?"

Fred shut the door as soon as the pair were out, and the guards watched them leave. Returning to the living room, he addressed Pythia. 'I hope that showed you that people still value your abilities enough to seek them out, regardless of whether you're in the Order or not.'

Armin closed his eyes, exhaling comfortably. 'She's just bothering Rex... She hasn't seen the inside of his room yet, so he let her in. She's currently exploring in there.'

Dianne: "That's good. I hope they're getting along."

{She falls silent, enjoying Armin's presence.}

Pythia: "I know. I realize that, it was just...hurtful to be let go over such a minor thin..."

Fred nodded, not knowing what else to say on the matter.

'...Well, I'll be in my room, working on some things. If you want food, there's plenty of supplies in the kitchen. I keep it well-stocked. You're welcome to do whatever you want with it.'

Pythia: "Thank you. I'll go take a look."

{She walks for the kitchen looking to make herself something to eat.}

(I guess we skip?)

(Yeah, we'll probably skip to night now. Who goes first?)

(I'll go in a bit. I'll start Dianne, then go to hunters attacking Jerry's place. I gotta go feed my lizards rq.)

(Alright!)

...

{As night fell, Dianne had prepared some pan fried fish for dinner. Sitting at the couch, she enjoys her meal while watching some action movie.}

Dianne: "...Hm....sloppy work on account of the villain. Everyone knows you monologue /after/ you've already won."

Armin was eating as well, quite enthusiastically. 'Hey, movie villains always monologue like that. It's a classic move,' he said with amusement. 'Are you just picking out the logical flaws in movies again?'

Dianne: "Having basically been a villian once, yes. I suppose I can't help it. I've never been one for chitchat during a fight...with the exception of goading, of course."

{She chuckles as the movie went on, and the hero used the villain's own death laser to destroy them.}

'Eh, movies like these are always full of cliches. But I'm sure some real-life 'villains' actually do this stupid stuff... HeII, Paxton seems the type.'

Esme was hungrily snapping up her own fish on the floor, appreciating it.

Dianne: "I wouldn't be surprised, to be honest. He certaintly seems like an idiot. Hopefully that means he'll be easier to kill."

'Mhm.' Finishing his meal, Armin carried his plate into the kitchen to wash it up, then returned to slump lazily on the couch. 'We'll see. He does seem like an idiot. And a bragger.'

{Dianne follows suit, having finished as well. Returning to the couch, , she watches the last of the movie.}

Dianne: ".....Heh, it was ok, I guess...kinda reminds me of that one Sargon goon....the one eyed ice dragon with the thick french accent....What was his name, and did we murder him?"

Armin racked his brains. 'Uhh... that guy... Didn't he beat up Crowley one time? ...I think his name was Fleur or something stupid like that... And no, I don't think he ever died.'

Dianne: "What a shame. To think that wierdo is still out there. I heard that he did beat up Crowley, maybe it's not the worst that he's still alive."

Armin shrugged. 'He hadn't shown up to cause us any trouble, so it doesn't really matter that he's alive.' He let out a yawn, eyes half-shut. '...I think I might head up to bed...'

*hasn't

Dianne: "I'll join you, and Esme will probably follow. It's been a long day, with what happened to Pythia and all...I'm glad she seems to be doing better, though."

'Yeah, she'll be OK. And she has somewhere relatively safe to stay.'

Armin heaved himself off the couch, and went into the bathroom to take a shower, shave and change into his sleep wear. Esme remained in the living room, quietly playing with her toys.

{Dianne was going to follow Armin, but decided to stay with Esme until Armin got out of the bath. Once he was out, she went upstairs to shower and change.}

Armin went into the bedroom, flopping onto his back with a contented noise and gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling. Once Dianne went upstairs, Esme followed as well, bounding onto the end of their bed and curling up to sleep.

{Coming out of the bath, Dianne lies down across from Armin, smiling fondly at him as she lies there.}

..............

{Meanwhile, out in the city, many unscrupulous characters begin to gather silently in the shadows. In the distance was Jerry's house.}

//Tonight's targets are the investigator and the girl. Smash and grab op. The guard is quick to respond, so there's no room for screw ups. Standby for breach.\\

Armin's gaze flickered sideways, catching Dianne's look. Rolling onto his front, he propped himself up on his forearms so he was slightly above her. He looked down at her contemplatively for a second, then leaned down and kissed her on the lips without saying anything.

(Uh oh, Jerry and Co is being targeted. XD)

At Jerry's place, Ivy had been very quiet ever since the incident where she'd almost been captured. Mostly sitting in her room, doing stuff on the internet. Tonight was no different, and she hadn't spoken much to Jerry at all lately.

{Dianne raised a brow when Armin repositioned to be a over her. When he kissed her, she blushed slightly. Smiling again, she reaches up and pulls him into another, somewhat longer kiss.}

{Jerry was up, watching tv and eating cereal. Suddenly, he gets the feeling that something isn't right. Picking up his revolver, he walks into the hall, keeping it low.}

Jerry: "Ivy?"

Ivy heard Jerry's voice and picked up her head, stuffing her phone in her pocket. Getting up, she left her room, giving an incredulous look when she saw Jerry creeping along the hall with his revolver.

'What on earth are you doing? What's going on?' she whispered.

Armin smiled faintly into the kiss. After a short while, he pulled back, looking her in the eye for a moment before he dropped down and snuggled against her.

{Jerry keeps looking around, squinting.}

Jerry: "Something feels....off....you know that charged feeling in the air, when too many spellcasters are channeling in one place? Feels like that...."

Ivy narrowed her eyes, looking towards the front door. Suddenly, she didn't feel safe without a weapon in her hand. He was right. 'Hunters,' she hissed, indignant. 'It has to be. Gods, can't they leave us alone?!'

{Dianne happily accepts the embrace, hugging Armin tightly.}

Dianne: "...I can hardly remember the last time I felt a genuinely affectionate touch...."

//Breach, breach!//

{As Jerry was about to reply, a massive armored werewolf barreled through the front door with a loud crash.}

Jerry: "Get to my room and call Frederick, now!"

{Backing away, he startsfiring on the creature.}}

Armin gave a low, contented hum, draping an arm across her and closing his eyes. 'Well, I'm always happy to provide that...'

Ivy let out a frightened exclamation at the beast's appearance. She didn't want to leave Jerry, fearing for his death, but she wasn't going to ignore an important order again.
Rushing down the hall, she went into Jerry's room, shoving a wooden cabinet in front of the door in an attempt to barricade it. Fumbling with her phone, she began to call Frederick.

(Ivy, what about Jerry? You locked him out to fend for himself against an armored feral werewolf. XD

(She just wants to give herself enough time to call for help before they come in and slaughter her. XD)

{Jerry runs for his room, only to find that he was barred from entry.}

Jerry: "Damn it, Ivy!"

{Thinking quickly, he dives into his office, narrowly avoiding the werewolf's lunge. The werewolf collided with Ivy's door with a loud thud, followed by whimpers. Jerry baracades himself in like Ivy did, then dives under his desk to reload.}

{Dianne closes her eyes as well, quickly drifting off.}

Ivy nearly jumped out of her skin when the werewolf crashed into the door. She started scanning the room to see if there were any weapons in there, while holding the phone to her ear.

Meanwhile, Fred was in his room. It was a chaotic yet organised mess of books, papers, reminder notes, and bits of tech. He was slumped over his desk, having fallen asleep while writing. As the phone rang, he jerked upright and quickly answered. 'Yes?'

{Jerry yells out to Ivy from the other room.}

Jerry: "Ivy? Ivy, my gun safe. Open my gun safe and arm yourself!"

{Right after that, There was a crash as hunters came in through the window in Jerry's room, eliciting much cursing and gunfire.}

(Is 'Jerry's room' Jerry's actual room, that Ivy is in, or the room that Jerry is in?)

(The room that Jerry's in, my bad. XD)

Right as Fred answered the phone, Ivy heard glass breaking in the other room, and at the same time, she spotted the gun safe. Running to it, she opened it up and grabbed a revolver similar to the one Jerry had been carrying.

'Fred, we're under attack,' she said quickly. 'At Jerry's place. There's a werewolf, and spellcasters, and I think other people, I don't know, there might be lots of them.'

'I'm alerting the guard now,' said Fred calmly. 'They'll be five minutes, max. Keep yourself and Jerry safe until then.'

Ivy pushed the heavy cabinet aside, then flung the door open wide, holding her gun ready.

{When Ivy opened the door, the armored werewolf was trying to smash down the door leading to Jerry. Hearing Ivy, it turns and advances menacingly.}

Ivy snarled and started to fire on the werewolf, trying to aim for unarmoured spots or areas of its armour that looked weaker. She knew that the royal guard would be here soon, but she wasn't sure if she and Jerry could make it for even a few minutes.

(Going to post a new room)

Ok