----

Around 10AM, Armin stirred, holding Dianne close to him. He felt much less exhausted than the previous night, but not very energetic either. He guessed Dianne might not wake up for a while, but he decided to stay with her anyway. //I don't think we needed to get up early for anything. A slow, lazy morning sounds nice right now.//

{Dianne rested, completely motionless for thirty minutes more, before suddenly becoming restless. She began to squirm and mutter in Ferrosian. The muttering quickly became unintelligible screaming and crying as she seemed to be haveing a rather intense nightmare.}

Armin jerked back in alarm, going from relaxed to fully awake in an instant. Aware that she usually told him to stay away when she had nightmares, he let go of her and sat up. However, he didn't get off the bed. //Hey, wake up. It's OK, you're fine,// he said, using telepathy like he normally did.

{She opened her eyes, propping herself up, but she didn't seem any more relaxed.}

Dianne: "AaAAAaAaagghhh!! F$%K! STOP! Get OFF! Armin! Help ME! Please!...I....I...."

{Seemingly awake now, she fearfully looks around the room. Realizing that she had just been dreaming, she lies back down, sobbing.}

Esme had woken with a start, looking alarmed. She slowly lifted her ears and gazed at Dianne in a questioning manner.

'Hey, hey, it's alright,' Looking highly concerned, Armin lowered himself onto his side and cautiously shifted closer to her. 'It's OK...' //What the hell was that?// he thought worriedly.

{Dianne turned to look at Armin, trying to calm down.}

Dianne: "I'm sorry...I just.....I had a nightmare....I didn't mean to scare you...."

'Well, I can see that's what happened... Do you want to talk about it? That seemed... like kind of a vicious nightmare...'

{Closing her eyes in a pained expression, she just rolls towards him and buries her face into his chest.}

Dianne: "...There was...Light....light everywhere.....It hurt...so much...Once I couldn't stand anymore...water....It just started filling up....I couldn't swim...I couldn't breathe...."

Armin wrapped his arms around her, slowly and gently stroking her back. 'That's pretty messed-up... It was just a nightmare, though... I wonder what brought that on...'

Dianne: "...I don't know...I think....I think I'm just stressed out...worried about being attacked....worried for my family...my friends..."

'It's alright,' Armin murmured, continuing to rub her back. 'I know we have pretty risky lives... but whatever happens, we'll survive, just like we've survived everything else. And whatever was happening to you in that dream... I'm not going to let that happen.'

Dianne: "...Let's not go to any lakes for a while...Don't leave..."

{She hugs him, just trying to focus on the back rub to calm down.}

Armin pulled her closer, encircling her protectively in his arms and continuing to rub her back. 'We won't go near any water, don't worry.'

{After a few minutes, she seems to calm down significantly, her breathing slowing and her heartrate returning to normal.}

Dianne: "Thank you...And Esme....I'm sorry I woke you..."

Esme lay her head down on her forelegs with a quiet chirp.

'Wanna talk about anything?' Armin asked, not moving away from her. 'Not the dream, but... something else, to take your mind off it?'

Dianne: "Yes....As soon as I'm feeling better, I need a new jacket...They ruined another one...."

'Oh, yeah... I need another jacket, too... Alicia ripped a hole through my best jacket. The one I bought in Alexandria... We should both go back soon and get new stuff...'

Dianne: "Oh no....That was such a nice one....Yeah, we should go back...Maybe get a couple...Heavens knows we can afford it....And Alexandria is so much more welcoming...."

Armin gave a quiet hum of acknowledgement. 'It is nice there. HeII, I'd live there, except that I don't want to leave everyone else behind... But we should go and get ourselves some nice stuff... make use of our newfound riches... Well, /my/ newfound riches. You had loads of money already.'

Dianne: "Yeah...heh....Let's go and not tell Ivy again, then send her pics of all the expensive stuff...".

Armin smirked. 'Oh, she'll be so annoyed. That sounds fun. We can take Esme too. I don't think anyone would hurt her there.'

Dianne: "Yeah, it should be safe for her there. I'm sure she'll love the new sights....I've been meaning to go back"

'That's a plan, then.' Armin absent-mindedly twisted a bit of her hair around his finger as he lay there. 'Once it's safe for you to travel. Your eyes are still pretty green right now.'

{Dianne smirks slightly.}

Dianne: "Yes, they are...It might be a few days, so enjoy them while you can..."

'Honestly, I prefer them red,' said Armin. 'The green ones are pretty, but the fact that you only have them when you're half-dead from light magic ruins it. Hard to enjoy something when it has to be caused by this.'

Dianne: "Yeah, that does kind of ruin it...but, that's what I was born with, so...whatever..."

{She then settles in a bit more comfortably.}

Dianne: "I'm feeling much better...But I'm still tired..."

'We can stay up here until you're ready to go downstairs,' said Armin. 'I certainly don't object to staying in bed a bit longer.'

He snuggled against her affectionately. He still felt a little on edge, from yesterday's events as well as her sudden nightmare, but some of the tension drained away as he pulled her close.

Dianne: "Yes...let's stay...for just a liitle while longer..."

{Kissing his chin, Dianne settles in and begins to doze, feeling at ease in his arms.}

Armin didn't quite drift off, but he lay there comfortably with her.

After about forty minutes, Esme stood up and stretched, padding along the bed. She surveyed them expressionlessly for a moment, then climbed on top of Armin and reached over to nudge Dianne with her snout.

{Dianne stirred at that, opening her eyes to look fondly at Esme.}

Dianne: "Hey there, sweetie...What's wrong?"

Esme stretched out her wings to stay balanced as she stood on top of Armin. She glanced at the door, then looked at them both, as if to ask, 'Why haven't we gotten up yet?'

'Hey, stop giving me that judgemental look,' said Armin warningly. 'If you want food right now, go bother Rex.'

{Dianne sighs at that, closing her eyes.}

Dianne: "...She's probably just worried about me...Let's get up...It's probably best...."

'I'm not being forced to get up by some whiny kid...' Armin complained. Esme, interpreting his tone, decided to bite his arm. 'Ow. Anyway, are you sure you're ready to get up?'

Dianne: "Yes...get me a dress and help me into it..."

'Alright...' Armin reluctantly got up, opening the door a crack for Esme. 'OK, we're getting up, now shoo.' After Esme left, he drowsily went over to the closet and retrieved a blue dress. 'Can you sit up alright on your own?'

{Dianne attempted to sit up, but could only manage to prop herself up on her arms.}

Dianne: "...No, I don't think I can..."

'Light magic really does a number on you, huh?' He got an arm around her and pulled her up into a sitting position, leaning her against the headboard. He then began to help her out of her shirt and shorts. 'Guess that's the major disadvantage of having dark magic.'

Dianne: "Yeah...the stuff is debilitating to me...I mean, look at me...I can't even stand on my own."

{Dianne then lifts her arms to help get her shirt off.}

'At least it shouldn't happen again for a little while... as far as I know, there's no other light mages in this city who want you dead.'

He carefully pulled her shirt off, setting it aside before starting to help her with her dress. He seemed a lot less exhausted than last night, moving around with ease.

{Putting her arms in the dress, she leans forward so Armin can zip her up.}

Dianne: "...Yeah....I sure hope so....This sucks..."

Armin pulled up the zipper in her dress, careful not to catch her hair in it. 'Alright, let's go. I need more blood, and I'm sure some food would help you, too...'

Clearly feeling more confident about his energy, he got his arms under her and picked her up with a grunt of effort. He then started to head slowly down the stairs with her.

{Dianne clings to Armin as he carries her.}

Dianne: "Yeah, I'm starving....Who can cook better, you or Rex?"

'Rex,' said Armin, slightly amused. 'I don't cook. Except fish.' Reaching the living room, he set her down on the couch. Rex emerged from the kitchen to observe them, carrying a mug of coffee and smoking a cigarette.

'Alright, what should I be cooking?' he asked in a slightly resigned tone.

Dianne: "Eggs, please..."

{She asks, pulling the blanket over herself and settling in.}

Esme lingered in the kitchen, watching Rex as he began to gather ingredients and cooking supplies. Armin got a blood bottle from the cupboard, then went to sit down beside Dianne, sipping it thoughtfully.

'...I think I'll have to start hunting again soon... this stuff is beginning to lose its potency... it doesn't keep forever...'

Dianne: "Oh...Ok....You can't just buy more bottled blood?"

He shrugged slightly.

'They don't produce it around here. When we first left on our trip, I had some that Rex brought back from Aether... and these ones were given to me by Praetorus... I'd have go keep going overseas to get more.'

Dianne: "Right...I forgot about that...yeah, you need to hunt... I don't want a repeat performance of the tavern..."

{Surveying the room, she continues.}

Dianne: "Can we get it shipped to us?"

'Maybe,' said Armin. 'I'll go on the internet later and see if any Aetherian companies ship over here. But don't worry about it too much. I didn't even know this stuff existed until after Sargon's defeat, and I managed to keep myself alive for two centuries before then.'

Dianne: "True...I was just curious..."

{She subsides into silence, looking a little drowsy.}

Dianne: "...They say vampires don't need much sleep....but you seem to relish it...why is that?"

'Well, vampires /can/ go days without sleeping, but you still have to get used to it... You don't just magically learn how to stay awake like that... I just never bothered getting used to it. I like sleeping. Although, there have been periods where I never slept much, because of nightmares, stress, loneliness... and so on.'

Dianne: "Well....now you're in a better spot....And just about every dragon on the planet likes sleep...After breakfast, I'm going back to sleep...right here, on the couch...You can lie with me, if you wish..."

Armin smiled faintly. 'That sounds quite nice. I am a little bit tired. And I want you to recover as quickly as possible, so... sleep all you want.'

A moment later, Rex emerged from the kitchen, having made breakfast for Dianne and Esme. He handed out the plates, his cigarette still stuck between his teeth.

{Dianne accepted the food gratefully and starts eating.}

Dianne: "Thank you, Rex, it's very good."

(After she goes to sleep, I'm going to have Pythia venture out to go house hunting. Do you want to throw Crowley at her? XD)

(Yeah, I can throw the insane boi at her. XD)

Armin gave Rex his blood bottle to put away. He hadn't drunk much of it. Content to wait for Dianne to be done eating, he leaned back against the couch, closing his eyes.

{Once Dianne finished, she put her plate aside and laid herself down to sleep. She lay on her side, using the arm rest as a pillow.}

Rex quietly took the empty plates away and, after returning them to the kitchen, retreated to his bedroom. Esme followed him, having no intention of going back to sleep.

Armin settled down as well, managing to find just enough space to lie down beside Dianne.

{Dianne snuggles against him, quickly falling into a comfortable sleep.}

(You can skip to Pythia now, if you like.)

(I shall do that soon.)

-----------

{Today, at Fred's house, the croud of patients was very unhappy. While there were very few this time around, and no one had any serious injuries, they all toiok issue with the sign left on the door by Pythia.}

Sign: "Due to changing circumstances, I must take this day off to seek a new home. I will return tomorrow. ~Pythia"

{While the patients were cursing Fred's name for being inhospitable to their favorite healer, Pythia was across the city, looking for empty houses, trying to find one she liked.}

Pythia: "...Something big....I might not be an acolyte anymore, but these people need me..."

Fred had firmly locked the door and retreated into his house, ignoring the people complaining outside. Ryder was reclining outside in his dragon form, trying to calm them all down.

'Come on, you guys, none of you are seriously hurt. Just go to a regular doctor.'

As Pythia was wandering through the city to look at vacant houses, a skinny dark shape emerged from an alleyway behind her, promptly beginning to follow. Grinning toothily, Crowley prowled up to Pythia, seeming absolutely delighted to have caught her on her own.

'Well, well, if it isn't our /favourite/ little wimp of a healer!' he said loudly. 'What's up? You gonna start crying and running for help?'

{Pythia jumped in response to this, whipping around to face him.}

Pythia: "C-Crowley?! What are you doing here? I thought Lucci said you were confined with your parents?"

'Why the heII would I stay with my so-called /parents?'/ he sneered. 'I've got way better things to do.'

He took a step closer, eyes narrowed slyly.

'...Whatcha doing wandering around by yourself? You should be careful... A little sissy like you wouldn't survive if you ran into any /bad guys...'/

Pythia: "That's non eof your business! I can handle myself just fine, thank you very much!"

{While she said this with confidence, her eyes looked nervous.}

Crowley gave a cackle. 'Oh, yeah, sure you can.'

He walked right up to Pythia, pushing his muzzle almost into her face. His breath smelled faintly of meat.

'You can't stop me. I could do whatever I want to you, and you wouldn't even defend yourself...'

{Pythia stumbled backwards, flinching a bit. She didn't expect him to do that, and his breath stank.}

Pythia: "Y-yes I would...I'm not an acolyte of Symponia any more, so....so I can fight now....."

{She cringed slightly, realizing internally that Crowley might interpret that as an invitation to assault her.}

For a moment, Crowley appeared genuinely dumbstruck. Then his expression shifted into a wide grin, and he shifted eagerly from foot to foot.

'OooOOOH, big talk from the scared little priestess!' he jeered. 'How about we see if you're telling the truth or not? Either way, I get to tear you up. Win-win.'

He teleported behind Pythia, then jumped onto her back, clinging on and digging his claws in.

{Pythia did not take this very well. She starts screaming bloody murder the moment Crowley touches her, falling over under his weight. Using a ward, she pushes him off of her and scrambles backwards.}

Pythia: "STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!"

Crowley erupted into laughter even as he was knocked backwards, seeming very amused by Pythia's reaction.

'Aww, c'mon, you're supposed to be a DRAGON. Why don't you try fighting like one, instead of like a little girl?' he said, with deep scorn. He started to advance menacingly towards her.

Pythia: "I don't want to fight you! Just leave me alone!"

{She then turns and runs away, wanting to get back to Fred's house and never leave again.}

(Posting new roooom)