'I'm glad I can help you. Having seen some of your nightmares, it's a relief to see you sleep peacefully most nights.' Armin snuggled closer, trying not to rest too much weight on her. 'After Rex deserted Shacklestone... I spent 150 years without any real friends. Just mindlessly carrying out orders and getting drunk every other night... It was incredibly lonely.'

Dianne: "Sounds like an awfully long time to be alone for...After I left the cult....I kind of just drifted. The last 2000 years have been pretty lonely for me...at least I had Magnus to keep me company for most of those..."

{She then nuzzles into his shoulder, closing her eyes.}

Dianne: "You're always telling me not to leave you...well, I hope you know the same goes for you."

'Oh, I'm not going anywhere. Now that I have this... I'm not going to give it up easily,' he said, with a quick grin. 'Even if you hadn't loved me, I would have stayed close to you as a friend and comrade. Even if I could never get closer like I wanted.'

Dianne: "Really? Well, how does it feel now that you can get as close as you want?"

{She asks, squeezing him for emphasis.}

'I don't think I have a way to describe it that won't sound slushy, but it's the best I've felt in a very long time.'

Armin tilted his head to look at her for a moment, then lightly grasped her jaw and pulled her into a kiss.

'...I can do things like /that,/ and you let me. I don't think I'll ever really get used to that.'

{Dianne just smirks, blushing slightly.}

Dianne: "We're a couple now, Armin, the kissing is implied. What, did other people not let you kiss them?"

'Of course other people let me kiss them...' Armin scoffed. 'But with /you,/ sometimes it still feels surprising. That someone who didn't even want to /touch/ me a few months ago... is now completely OK with me kissing them. Not to mention pinning them to a bed and having my way with them.'

He added the last part with an uncontrollable teasing smirk.

{Dianne chuckles at that, eyeing his smirk.}

Dianne: "Oooh, just you wait. But, a lot has changed in those months, Armin. I let you do those things because I feel safe around you. I know you're not going to hurt me, or yell at me, that you'll stop if I ask, and I know you won't go spreading the intimate parts of our lives around to anyone who will listen. I let you because I trust you."

Armin's playful smirk softened into a more genuine smile.

'That means a lot to me. You have all the reason in the world to be wary about trusting people. The fact that you trust /me/ isn't a small thing, and I realise that. I trust you, too. You're strong enough to snap me in half, and you can melt flesh by touching it, but I trust you.'

{Dianne matches his smile, just looking him in the eyes.}

Dianne: "I'm glad we can trust each other. Trustworthy people are hard to come by these days."

{Her smile then becomes more mischievous.}

Dianne: "And that, my sweet, is why Ivy's relationships constantly fail."

Armin just chuckled slightly. 'Oh, I don't even know what Ivy thinks she wants. Her purpose in life is to be a bad example.'

He loosely wrapped an arm around her and snuggled close, nuzzling slightly at her shoulder.

{Laughing a little, she welcomes his embrace and settles in, closing her eyes.}

Dianne: "....I haven't heard from her or Jerry...I hope they're ok..."

Armin closed his eyes as well, his voice low and contemplative.

'Maybe they're just busy... I mean, Jerry owns an investigation agency or something, doesn't he? Now that the hunters are gone, everyone can get back to their own lives.'

Dianne: "True...Once I get my new phone, I'll give him a call...."

{Sighing contently, she starts to settle in for a nap.}

Armin telepathically spoke to Rex to check that Esme was safe. Then he settled back as well, getting as comfortable as he could on the couch, willing to doze for a while.

(Is there anything we we should do with other people? Or should we just skip to evening, if it's an uneventful day?)

{Something's going to happen with Pythia in a few days, after Dianne recovers. We could revisit Jerry and Ivy. Jerry's not very happy about his dad's involvement in trying to kill Dianne so he's a little strung out. What do you think?}

(Yeah, we have a bunch of other things to do as well, like Armin talking to Janet, but they can't happen until Dianne recovers.
OK, we'll cut to Jerry and Ivy.)

(Ok, I'll start that.)

-----------------

Meanwhile, back at Jerry's place of residence, he was resting wearily with his head in his hands. He just got off the phone with his parents, who were still blatantly in favor of Paxton. It turns out the only reason they pulled off at all was because Lucci had threatened to deal with them personally if they kept trying. After a lot of yelling at each other, Jerry hanged up on them out of disgust. Now, he had to try to deal with the fact that most of his family were unsavory racists who, if given the chance, would kill most of his friends without a second thought. Getting up, he stomps outside to light up a smoke, in an attempt to calm his nerves.}

As Jerry stood outside, Ivy, who had previously been out doing something, happened to come into view. She walked casually down the street, spotting Jerry once she got closer. Her nose wrinkled in distaste when she realised he had a cigarette.

'I was just beginning to hope you'd curbed that disgusting habit of yours...'

{Jerry just eyes her with annoyance.}

Jerry: "Don't even start with me, Ivy. What do you even have against smoking anyway?"

'Is it wrong to not like something that could literally kill you?' Ivy retorted. She then sighed, eyeing him up and down. 'So, why are you in such a bad mood? More murder organisations coming over?'

Jerry: "No, just dealing with the fact that I'm related to one..."

{He proceeds to rub his face wearily.}

Jerry: "My parents and I just aren't seeing eye to eye right now..."

'Oh. That.' Ivy looked away down the street. 'Well, tell them to go to heII and move on. Why do you need to talk to them at all? Some of your family are quite frankly horrible people, and there's no point in trying to reason with them.'

Jerry: "It's not that simple, Ivy. Maybe I could do that if they were terrible parents, but they weren't. They were the best people I knew growing up. They cared about me, taught me valuable life lessons...They were my heroes, and now...Now I can't help but feel a little betrayed....It's not as simple as walking away and never talking to them again...Not if you know them like I do..."

Ivy went to stand next to him, leaning against the wall and folding her arms.

'Maybe not, but I don't think they're going to change anytime soon. They were probably raised themselves to think that all non-humans are scum and monsters.'

Jerry: "It's really stressful....I love them, Ivy, they're my parents, but....Man, they're just so rascist...I don't even know what to do anymore."

Ivy shrugged. 'What /can/ you do, other than hope they'll come around? Don't they remember how a bunch of non-humans helped them destroy a bunch of even /worse/ non-humans during the Shacklestone War? How thick do they have to be, to still think all of them are evil?!'

Jerry: "Well, Dianne used to be pretty bad, and both Armin and Frederick used to work for Sargon....They're kind of using that as their reasoning...seems the only one they don't want to hurt is Pythia...."

'Yeah, well, they'd definitely hurt her if she gave them /any/ reason to,' said Ivy darkly. 'They're scumbags. Don't they even care about your opinion? You said they cared about you, but they're OK with slaughtering your friends?'

{Jerry just looks down and sighs.}

Jerry: "...They won't listen to me...they think I'm being naive...that I'm being lied to....that they're not really my friends....now, I know that's not true, but it's sure frustrating when they don't listen to a word you say..."

Ivy seemed to have no response to that. She just gazed off down the street, eyes narrowed slightly.

'...I'd say something helpful, but I really don't know what... I don't know what it's like to feel so attached to your parents... You'd better hope they don't come here anytime soon, though. I don't think our friends would take kindly to it.'

Jerry: "I know that already, Ivy...It's not easy for me...I don't want anything bad to happenn to them, but to choose between them and my friends...I don't know what to do..."

{Throwing the end of his cigarrette down and stepping on it, he takes off his hat and wearily runs his hand through his hair.}

Jerry: "I really wish they wouldn't make me choose..."

Ivy squinted at him. 'It shouldn't be a difficult decision!' she retorted. 'You shouldn't hesitate before choosing your friends over them! They might be your parents, but if you side with /them,/ against these people... What are you going to do, kill your own friends just to stay in your parents' good books?'

Her expression was frustrated. She knew that some of their friends could be unforgiving.

Jerry: "Of course not, Ivy! I would never betray my friends...It's just...I'm not looking forward to being shunned by the people who raised me..."

{He spoke in a frustrated tone, turning away.}

Jerry: "...You couldn't understand..."

'No, I don't, frankly. If they'd shun you just for not wanting them to murder people, then they clearly don't give a dam.n about you or your feelings. They should respect someone they consider part of their family.'

She fell silent after that, gazing at the cigarette on the ground with little expression.

{Jerry just proceeds to silently walk inside after that, headed to his office.}

Ivy lingered outside for a moment, listening to him walk away. In the end, with a sigh, she went inside as well. She didn't follow Jerry, but sat down in his living room and started idly flipping through channels on the TV.

{Jerry had retreated to his office, closing the door. He proceeds to bury his face in his hands and softly weep over his desk. He loved his family, as they had been good to him. However, he cared about his friends, and didn't want them to come to harm. It was a difficult situation, with no clear, proper path.}

(Poor Jerry. His family are just too racist.)

{Lol, yeah. Most of his fam ain't nice. :(. }

(I Suppose we skip back to Armin and Dianne? If so, we'll start it after I get up tomorrow. I'm going to bed now.)

(Yeah, I guess so. Ivy is just going to hang out at Jerry's house for a while. She's slightly concerned about him. XD

I'll leave it here, and we'll start back at Armin's house when you get up.)

(Alrighty, who wants to start?)

(I'll go.)

----

It was another quiet evening at Armin and Dianne's house. Upon realising they had a lot of unused vegetables lying about, Rex had made a meat and vegetable soup, with homemade bread, for dinner. Esme was hungrily lapping at her bowl of soup, while a documentary about Vallian wildlife showed on the TV.

{Dianne was sitting with her soup, quite enjoying her meal. As she was watching the documentary, the native bears appeared on the screen.}

Dianne: "Heheheh...I've eaten those before....kinda tough meat..."

Armin kept his eye on the TV while dunking bread into his soup. 'I don't doubt that... Is there any animal you /haven't/ eaten at some point?' he said, sounding a little amused.

Dianne: "Mmmmmm.....I've never eaten an araneo, or invertebrates in general....what's the weirdest thing you've eaten?"

Armin grimaced at the idea of eating a spider.

'The strangest thing I recall eating was snake meat, in a restaurant in Shacklestone, shortly after I moved there. Weird taste, and texture. I didn't like it. And blood can have a lot of different tastes, some of which were pretty weird...'

Dianne: "I once ate a massive python, after it tried to strangle me....Gross....Which blood tastes the worst?"

Armin dunked his bread some more while considering.

'Most regular animal bloods taste pretty bland... Non-human bloods are more distinctive... Werewolf blood is one of the worst I've tried... To me, it tastes kind of like meat that's gone bad.'

Dianne: "Eeewwww....I bit one once....big mistake...He tasted rancid, like dirt and oily, matted fur, mixed with roadkill that was left on the road for a few days...."

Armin just shook his head, nose creasing in distaste.

'Nasty... Nothing else I've tasted was that bad... Human blood tastes fruity, like wine, and elf blood - which I only know because of Billingsly - is light, fresh, kind of herbal... Werewolf really does taste like roadkill.'

Dianne: "It does...are they trying to be gross, or is it just in their nature?"

'I have no idea. I'm sure not all of them are like that, it's just that the city-dwelling ones tend not to be very clean.'

Finishing his meal, he set the empty bowl and plate aside. As he'd done practically nothing all day, he didn't seem as drowsy as usual.

{Once Dianne finished, she set her bowl aside as well, then wrapped herself in her blanket.}

Dianne: "The soup and bread were delicious, Rex, thank you."

'You're welcome,' said Rex absently, as he put his own bowl away. 'I haven't made that in a long time.' He then got up to return to his own room.

Armin glanced at Dianne wrapped in her blanket. 'You cold?'

Dianne: "A little. It's fine, though. This blanket is perfect."

{Huddled in the blanket, Dianne sits back and continues to watch the tv.}

Armin resumed watching the documentary, but didn't stay settled for long. After about thirty minutes, he shifted, stretching.

'Well, I'm gonna go take a bath now, before it gets much later.'

{Dianne was beginning to doze by then. rubbing her eyes, she looks up at Armin.}

Dianne: "Take me with you....I need a bath too..."

Armin stood up, yawning. 'Alright, just don't fall asleep in there.' Leaving Esme drowsily watching the TV, he picked up Dianne and carried her into the bathroom. Using the closed toilet lid as a chair, he set her down while he ran the bath.

{Once sitting, Dianne quickly and easily disrobed. She seemed strong enough to do that on her own now. She then just sat and waited for Armin}

Armin filled the bath as high as he could, adding something that made the water slightly bubbly and citrus-scented. Once done, he carefully lifted her into the bath - not an easy manoevere - then disrobed himself and climbed in after her.

{Once in the water, Dianne finds the wash cloth and begins to wash up.}

Dianne: "Thank you, by the way...I know it's not easy having to care for someone who's too feeble to do even the simplest of tasks..."

'What, like that's something you have control over?'

Unable to find another washcloth, he started washing his hair instead, using a small container to scoop up water.

'It doesn't bother me. I'd really suck as a person if I didn't want to help someone I care about when they need it.'

Dianne: "I just wanted to express my gratitude, that's all..."

{Once she finished scrubbing herself, she eyed the container Armin had.}

Dianne: "Hey, mind helping me with my hair?"

'Yeah. Turn around, I'll wash it for you.' Done with his own hair, he motioned for her to turn her back to him.

{Turning around with some difficulty, she leans heavily on the tub. Her tattoo was visible, peeking at Armin from behind her hair. The skull depicted almost seemed like it was starting right back at Armin.}

Armin squinted at the tattoo, looking right back into its eyes. Trying to disregard the feeling of being watched, he started scooping up water and carefully pouring it over her hair. Once it was damp, he began massaging shampoo into it.

'This is nice...' he said appreciatively, running his hands through her hair. 'It's all smooth. Much easier to deal with than mine.'

Dianne: "Heh, yeah? Well, yours is like a bramble thicket. My hair may be smooth, but there's a lot of it. That makes it difficult to dry."

'Could be worse. Mine is always tangled up because I never bother to brush it... Tilt your head back.'

He started rinsing the shampoo out of her hair, slowly and meticulously.

{Dianne leans her head back, gripping the edge of the bath to stop from falling backwards.}

Dianne: "Yeah, brushing is important...there have been times where I let it get unkempt....It's a real fight to straighten it back out..."

Not liking how unsteady she looked, he put one hand against her back to give her some support, and continued rinsing her hair.

'Yeah, it's not ideal. I'm just lazy. You obviously take better care of yours for the most part.'

Dianne: "Yeah, well...I try to keep myself looking presentable, at the very least. Y'know, for as important as finding mates seems to be for Ivy, she doesn't really seem to go very heavily into her appearance. Or maybe she does, and I just don't see it because the standards for beauty have changed again..."

Armin shrugged slightly. 'I have no idea. Everyone has different ideas of what's attractive and what isn't. I'm not even sure what today's 'standard' is...'

Dianne: "True enough. I don't keep up with the fashion industry, so I have no idea. All I know is that you like me, and that's all I could ask for."

Armin smiled slightly, finishing with her hair and setting the water container aside. 'Yes, I do. I don't think I really have a particular 'type', but I like you.'

{With her hair done, she turns back around, sitting comfortably in the water.}

Dianne: "Yeah...I don't have a 'type' either. Well, what I find desirable isn't the physical."

Armin leaned back against the side of the tub, taking a moment to just soak in the warmth.

'It's easy enough to say which personality traits I find unattractive. I can't stand pompous people. I can't stand excessively serious people. And I can't stand people who hurt others for fun. Having been forced to hurt people unwillingly myself, I hate that.'

Dianne: "Ew, yeah, fops are the worst...Cruel people aren't pleasant to be around, and I end up killing most of the ones I encounter...Exessively serious people Just need to relax, realize that it's important to laugh every once in a while...I for one can't stand the jocks....They always stand too close, they try too hard to impress people, and they're so agressive to people..."

Armin tilted his head. 'I've met people who try too hard to impress... I can't say I like them much, either... What about traits I /do/ like...? Confidence is attractive, as long as it doesn't become arrogance. A good sense of humour.... willing to adventure, honest, open about their emotions...'

Dianne: "Honesty is important to me. I don't like being lied to. Being open is a short step from that...You like a willingness to adventure? Heh, no wonder you fell for me."

'Well, I couldn't be with someone whose idea of ultimate fun is to sit inside their house and watch action movies every day. I'd go insane. We have fun together, with our little adventures. You seem pretty open to going new places and doing new things.'

Dianne: "Yeah, I wish I could walk too."

{She says chuckling.}

Dianne: "Once I regain my strength, I'm going hunting. The next trip I'm going to take will be to Alexandria. And it would make me very happy if you accompanied me to both."

(Posting new room)