{Jerry looked around at his surroundings as Ryder carried him in. Pythia followed and proceeded to help him under the covers and make him as comfortable as she could.}

Pythia: "Thank you, Ryder, I can take it from here."

Ryder started to step backwards out of the room. 'Fred knows you're both here,' he said. 'He'll probably stay out of the way for a while, to avoid disturbing you. Well, I'd best be off...'

He then headed back out to the car so he could drive Ivy over to Armin's place.

Pythia: "Of course. Drive safe, Ryder."

{Pythia then goes to her room and drags out her arm chair. Placing it in the corner, she settles into it for a nap. Jerry simply falls asleep on the couch.}

Ryder got into the car. 'OK, so we're going to your apartment first, right?'

Ivy nodded, and they headed off. After a half-hour journey, they arrived outside Ivy's place. Guarded by Ryder, she stepped inside and retrieved a bag of clothes and toiletries, a sleeping bag, some blankets, and her phone charger.

'OK, let's go...' she said, climbing back into the car.

Ivy was clearly not looking forward to arriving, and kept telling Ryder to take longer, alternate routes to Armin's house, pretending she just wanted to admire the city sights. Ryder humoured her, knowing exactly what was going on. After all their detours, the trip took almost an hour. Dusk was falling by the time they stopped outside Armin's place.

{When Ryder drove up, the car was approached by Dianne's centaurs. Pugna turns his head to look at them, but says nothing.}

Centaur: "Help you with your bags?"

Ivy blinked out of the window at the centaur, trying not to show too much disgust. 'Um, no. It's OK, I don't have much...' She scrambled out of the car, pulling her belongings out with her.

'I'm heading back, I need to return this car to the palace,' said Ryder. 'See you around.'

{Nodding, the centaur opens the door for her. Inside, Ivy coul smell Dianne cooking in the other room. She was making pan fried fish again, seeing how well it was recieved by the household last time.}

Ivy reluctantly stepped inside as Ryder drove away. On the couch in the living room, Armin was sitting, watching another action movie. When Ivy came in, Esme chirped curiously and padded over to investigate.

'Well... hello,' said Ivy in a subdued tone, letting Esme sniff her hand.

'Evening, Ivy,' said Armin mildly. 'You look like you're walking to the gallows.'

Dianne: "Is that Ivy?"

{Dianne calls out from the kitchen.}

Dianne: "Dinner's almost ready. Are you hungry, Ivy?"

Ivy paused to smell the air. '...Yeah. I'd like some if you made enough.'

'You can go set up your stuff in the basement whenever you like,' Armin added. 'I cleaned it earlier, so it's not filthy or anything.'

{After a few minutes, Dianne walked in with the food.}

Dianne: "There's plenty, so help yourselves."

{She then sets Esme's food down and sits with her own.}

Ivy returned from tossing her sleeping bag and possessions into the basement. 'Geez, there's a lot of beer barrels in there,' she muttered, before helping herself to a portion of food. She sat at the dining table, not wanting to squeeze onto the couch with Armin and Dianne.

{Dianne ate quietly, watching the movie. She wasn't sure what to say, if anything, figuring that silence was better.}

Ivy sat tensely at first, easing slightly when no-one said anything to her. When she was done eating, she took her plate and put it away in the kitchen.

'Well... I'll be in my room... Thanks for the food. I'll see you around, I guess,' she said quietly.

Dianne: "Alright. If you need anything, just ask."

{Having finished with her meal, she walks to the kitchen and puts her plate away.}

'Yeah, just say if you need anything. I saw you didn't bring much with you,' said Armin.

Ivy nodded, chewing her lip pensively. She walked into the hallway, disappearing down into the basement.

Once she was gone, Armin lay down on the couch, yawning and continuing to watch the movie.

{Dianne returned, sitting on the arm of the couch, as to not displace Armin.}

Dianne: "Well....she seemed pensive....Honestly, I can't say I blame her..."

'Yeah, well... She caused someone's death by making a stupid decision, nearly got abducted, and watched Jerry almost die in front of her. She's had a rough few days.'

Armin eyed her briefly, noticing that he was taking all the couch space. He sat upright again, beckoning her to sit beside him.

{Dianne sits next to him and leans back, sighing.}

Dianne: "Yeah....I can't help but feel sorry for her...But, what can we do?"

Armin shrugged. 'I don't think /we/ can do anything. The best we can do is not make any rude comments about her poor decision-making skills. I'm sure she'll bounce back with time... The question is, would you still trust her to watch Esme, if it comes to that?'

{Dianne just sighs in response.}

Dianne: "...We don't have a choice, I don't think...she's all we have to work with..."

'Well, let's not worry about it now. I'd rather not have Rex get involved in fighting hunters, so he might be an option... Maybe he and Ivy can do it together.'

He lay back down, resting his head across her lap and continuing to watch the TV with vague interest.

{Dianne looks down at him, smirking slightly. She puts a hand on his hair before settling in.}

Dianne: "...Hm...Comfortable?"

Armin didn't even reply, just letting out a contented hum as his eyes slid shut. He lay there comfortably, just listening to the movie.

Esme was curled up on the carpet nearby, half watching the screen while chewing on a dog toy.

{Dianne sat there, dozing slightly while watching the movie. She was content with the situation and was just enjoying the atmosphere.}

After about half an hour, Dianne's phone chimed, alerting them of a rather long message from Frederick.

<Antonio recovered some information that may interest you. The hunters are holed up in Shacklestone City. Apparently, they've been hiding there while using portals to travel over here and attack us. It sounds like they've turned the ruins into a fortified base of sorts. If the time comes when we need to attack them directly, we know where to find them.>

{Yawning widely, Dianne picks up her phone and checks the text.}

Dianne: "Huh...Looks like Antonio isn't so useless after all....he found where the hunters are basing.

'Really?' Too comfortable to move, Armin added, 'Where's that? I always kinda assumed they were camping on the plains, or hiding somewhere inside the city...'

Dianne: "Shacklestone. How about that? We cleared out the old man just so the next group of jack-offs could move right in. As soon as I can, I need to spread some pestilence over there."

Armin chuckled quietly. 'Well, Shacklestone's got plenty of intact buildings and supplies, but is mostly uninhabited, so I'm not surprised they've wormed their way in there. At least we know where they are now.'

Dianne: "Yup, and now I can send wave after wave of undead to pester them, spread magic disease, and pick them off. Once the bounty's revoked, it becomes a war of attrition, which happens to be one of my specialties."

Armin sighed slightly. 'I guess I won't have anything to do, then. Sounds like you can deal with them fine by yourself, with all the plagues and draugrs.'

Dianne: "Why do you sound so disappointed? And you will have the most important job of all: You're my bodyguard. If they get near me with a light weapon, that's your cue. I can do a lot of things, but I can't beat a hard counter like that."

Armin pulled himself up into a sitting position. 'I don't know. I guess I was expecting to actually /fight/ them, not just sit here while you wear them down with plagues. I'm tired of doing nothing. But I'll keep the light weapons off you, if they ever get close...'

Dianne: "Always so reckless."

{Smiling, she leans in and kisses his cheek.}

Dianne: "Trust me, you'll get your chance."

Armin closed his eyes momentarily when she kissed him.

'I hope so. It's frustrating... Those bast.ards chased us so far, hurt Jerry, threatened Ivy, killed innocent people... and I've had to just sit here and watch it all happen... Sorry. I'm just restless.'

{Dianne wraps her arms around him and pulls him close.}

Dianne: "I know, I know. Hey, it's not like we're going to let the draugr do /all/ the work. Once their strength wanes, and we see an opening in their perimeter, we'll finish them off ourselves."

Tucking his head against her shoulder, he just breathed for a moment, letting a little of his tension ease.

'That sounds nice. Make sure you tell the draugr not to kill Paxton. We want the satisfaction of doing that ourselves.'

Dianne: "Definitely. We'll deal with him personally."

{She then kisses his cheek repeatedly, moving down to his neck.}

Armin tensed up again, giving a small shudder when she reached his neck. He let out a growl, then retaliated by playfully nipping at her jaw, lightly enough that his fangs didn't break the skin.

{She chuckles at that, nuzzling just under his jawline.}

Dianne: "Heh, I thought this would ease your tension, but your muscles feel like pulled steel cables...."

{She then follows in suit, lightly nipping his neck.}

Armin didn't offer any verbal reply to that. He just gave her a brief, incredulous look before he was distracted by her biting at his neck. His breathing starting to become ragged, he tilted his head back slightly, wrapping an arm around her to steady himself.

{Dianne starts to breathe a little more unstably as well. Leaning forward, she starts to gently lay him on his back, continuing to affectionately nip and kiss his neck, very carefully making sure not to settle her weight on him.}

Armin willingly let her push him down, his head falling back against the couch. He let out a soft groan, then sunk his fangs into his own lip in an effort to stay quiet. Sliding his hands under the back of her shirt, he splayed one hand across her lower back while using the other to slowly scrape his nails down her spine.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a thought was nagging at him, but he kept ignoring it.

{Dianne shuddered at the sensation, biting down a little harder and giving a quick exhale. Suddenly remembering that they're not exactly alone, she picks up her head and looks over at Esme.}

Dianne: "Oh....Maybe we should move this little....de-stress session somewhere more secluded?"

Esme was staring wide-eyed at the screen like a TV addict. She'd glanced at them once or twice, but was otherwise completely fixated on the movie.

Armin pushed himself up on his elbows. He was breathing heavily. '...We can leave her here and go upstairs,' he rasped.

Dianne: "Yeah...that sounds like a good idea..."

{Getting up, breathing deeply, she eyes Armin with concern.}

Dianne: "Are you ok? I really got you going there, didn't I?"

Armin clumsily pushed himself to his feet, leaving Esme to her movie.

'I'm fine...' he said, slowly regaining some control of his breathing. 'You were just pushing my buttons, is all.'

{At that, Dianne smiles flirtatiously.}

Dianne: "Well, glad I figured out what they were. Let's go upstairs and see if I can figure out any others."

{As she climbed the stairs, she calls out.}

Dianne: "Barnabas, stay with Esme. We should be done by the time she wants to sleep."

Armin followed her up the stairs. By the time they got to the second floor, he was looking somewhat more in control of himself, though the anticipation was almost enough to make him lose it again.

'...What happened to 'not being able to get in the mood until the hunters are gone'?' he murmured.

{Dianne makes a face of subtle concession.}

Dianne: "Honestly, I wasn't planning to go very far with it, but...after we got started, it was kind of a snowball effect...and, knowing where the hunters were coming from makes me a lot more at ease, knowing that dealing with them will be easier than I thought...I mean, if you don't want to do this right now, that's ok."

'No,' said Armin quickly. 'I'm happy to do it... I just had to make sure that /you/ want to. Based on what you said before, I didn't think you would... And I might have been a little pi.ssed at you if you pushed me this far without any intention of continuing.'

{Dianne chuckles a little at that.}

Dianne: "I get that. Yeah, I'm a bit surprised at myself too, but, I fully consent to this. I guess two thousand years is a long time to wait after all...."

{She then motions to the open door.}

Dianne: "Shall we?"

Armin willingly stepped into the bedroom. Once they were both inside and the door was shut, he turned, wrapping his arms around her and tugging her into a long, deep kiss.

{Dianne willingly embraces the kiss, hugging him tightly. After it subsides a bit, she starts gently nudging him towards the bed.}

(So, do we, like, skip here and just say they did it? XD)

(I guess so. A public Colors post probably isn't an ideal place to write that anyway. XD)

(Lmao yeah, I don't want to get permabanned. XDD So, who wants to start the next morning, then?)

(I think I'll start.)

----

The next morning, Armin blearily opened his eyes before closing them again, having no desire to get up. He was wearing his shorts, but hadn't bothered to put his shirt back on last night. He had a few faint bite marks on him, mostly his neck, but vampiric healing had made them almost disappear already.

//Huh... well, that happened...//

{Dianne opened her eyes shortly after, and was lying on her front. She had put her shorts and shirt back on, but her brassiere was still hung on the bedpost. She had abrasions on her neck and tooth and nail marks on her back, but they were faint on account of the healing. Looking up at Armin, she smiles sleepily.}

Dianne: "Hmm.....I enjoyed that more than I thought I would...."

Armin, lying on his back, opened one eye to gaze at her sideways. His entire demeanour was loose, relaxed, and content.
'I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult,' he murmured drowsily, but fondly. 'Were you expecting to not enjoy it?'

Dianne: "Well....the last time I did this, it was....out of lonliness and I had a lot of anger....It was a lot rougher and less pleasing....I forgot how good it could be, that's all. I didn't doubt you or anything..."

{She then snuggles up to him, putting an arm around him.}

He quietly pulled her closer, his gaze drowsy and contemplative. 'Thank you,' he murmured. 'For starting that. I think I needed it. I'm not sure how you seemed to know almost everything I like without having to ask, but I won't complain about that.'

{Dianne sighs contently, looking up at him.}

Dianne: "Heh, yeah? Is your restlessness gone because of that?"

(Will reply in new room)