(So, if we're skipping to the day before they leave - who wants to start?)

{I'll start in a minute. My kitchen sink just went FUBAR. I'll start the morning of that specific day.}

(RIP
Alrighty!)

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

{A few days later, after preparing everything for their trip, Dianne was resting peacefully in the morning. One day left before they depart, and it was safe to say she was looking forward to it.}

Armin had been restless the past few days. Eagerly anticipating their trip, he hadn't been able to relax much at home.

He stirred a little around midmorning, glancing at Dianne to see that she was still comfortably asleep. A flicker of excitement went through him, when he remembered that they were due to leave tomorrow. //Finally, a change of scenery. And some nice new jackets.//

{Dianne seemed much more relaxed than Armin's barely contained excitement. In her slumber, she snuggles up to him, seeking warmth.}

Armin eyed her, smiling involuntarily. Despite his eagerness, he tried to make himself relax. //Come on, only one more day before we can go.//

He wrapped his arm around her and held her close, shutting his eyes and trying to doze off. It was a quiet, cool morning, overcast but with no sign of rain.

{Dianne stirred slightly, but didn't wake. About an hour later, she opens her eyes.}

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

Armin tightened his grip and kissed her on the cheek, clearly in an affectionate mood.

'Good morning to you as well.'

{Dianne gets more comfortable, nuzzling between his neck and shoulder, then settling back down.}

Dianne: "We leave tomorrow. Excited?"

'Of course. I've been looking forward to it. Some fresh air and new scenery sounds nice right now.'

He wrapped both arms around hee, squeezing slightly.

Dianne: "It will be a wonderful break. Just the three of us..."

{Dianne kisses the side of his neck, wrapping her own arms around him.}

Dianne: "...I wouldn't want it any other way..."

He tensed, a slight shiver passing through his frame.

'I'm very happy to be going there with you and Esme. Whatever we do there, I'm sure it'll be fun.'

Dianne: "Yes....I'm looking forward to it myself..."

{She settles in again, seemingly dozing off.}

Armin sighed a little when she apparently dozed off, then tried to follow suit. It was still relatively early for them, so he didn't expect her to wake up properly for a while.

{About an hour later, she wakes once again. Feeling herself in Armin's grasp, she squirms a bit before waking.}

Dianne: "Hmmmghhfff....Oh....hello again... I think I fell asleep on you..."

{She rambles, half asleep.}

Armin cracked his eyes open and looked at her with a bit of amusement. 'Yes, you did. Because you suck at staying awake. Like, even more than I do.'

Dianne: "Heeeeyyyyy, I don't suck...It's cold, and you're just so warm..."

{Seemingly to emphasize this, she burrows into him.}

'I know. Aren't I just great?' he said, with joking smugness. He wrapped his arms around her for extra warmth. 'You're really not going to be able to get up in the winter, are you?'

Dianne: "Probably not...."

{Lifting her head, she kisses his cheek.}

Dianne: "The cold is pain....I need to buy a room heater..."

'Yes, we'll get one of those. I never thought about it because I didn't feel the cold enough... But we'll get one for the bedroom when we come back from our trip.'

Dianne: "Good..."

{She continues to lie there, trying to wake up and stay warm.}

'I think we need more than a room heater,' said Armin, amused. 'I think we'll need an open fire...'

Taking advantage of the fact that she was half-asleep and relaxed, he rolled them over so that he was lying on top of her. Then he pulled the blankets up over them both.

'There, warmer?'

{Dianne smirks at the gesture, kissing his chin.}

Dianne: "Much. Thank you, Amateotl."

'You're welcome.'

With a contented hum, he rested his head on her shoulder.

'So, this is our last day at home for a while. How do you want to spend it?'

Dianne: "Hmmm...Not sure...Maybe we'll go to the park with Esme, see how well she can fly? Anything you wanted to do?"

'We could do that. She'll be cooped up in the flying truck for a couple of days.' Armin contemplated for a moment. 'I'd suggest stopping by to visit Pythia and Fred, but... Pythia's always busy, and Fred's probably not even home. We'll just have to text them to say goodbye...'

Dianne: "No. We'll visit them. Pythia can take a break to say goodbye, and Fred's your son. We'll see them whether they like it or not."

Armin chuckled. 'I like that reasoning. We'll just push our way past all of the sick people... And I think Fred's at Ryder's house, so I'll text him to ask where that is.'

Dianne: "Exactly. I want to say goodbye, and no amount of sick fools or antisocial behavior is going to stop us. Also, Ryder is a nice guy..."

'He is. Useful guy to have around, too. Yes, we'll stop by and see all of them before dinner...'

With this said, he snuggled into her affectionately.

{Dianne chuckles, welcoming his affection.}

Dianne: "You sure like to snuggle, don't you? I didn't know how sweet it was until you came along. No one else would do that to me..."

'Hm, really? No-one, ever?' he said.

Dianne: "Nope. Dragons tend to bite and claw more than snuggle and cuddle. And anyone else who tried I kinda....pushed them away...But hey, we weren't close like that, and they needed to realize that..."

'I'm surprised anyone who's not close to you would be brave enough to even try that,' said Armin, amused. 'You tend to scare people. Glad you don't mind it coming from me, though.'

Dianne: "I don't mind it from you because you earned my trust and affection."

{She then snuggles into him, chuckling.}

Dianne: "And you seem to need physical affection to keep a healthy state of mind...So I don't mind reciprocating."

'It's nice,' he said. 'I like being close to people. Besides, you're big, and warm, and comfortable... And I always thought it sweet, how affectionate you can be.'

Content, he closed his eyes and nuzzled his head into a warm spot underneath her jaw.

Dianne: "Heh. That's nice to hear..."

{Tensing slightly, she settles in with him, moving one hand up to stroke his hair.}

Armin had been about to suggest that they should try getting up, but at her action, he relaxed into her and said nothing. //Eh, who cares if we get up late... We're basically going on vacation tomorrow...//

{After a little while, Dianne opens her eyes and surveys the room.}

Dianne: "...I'm hungry now....let's get up...."

Armin groaned, being quite settled by then. However, he lifted his head, still lying on top of her.

'Yeah, let's go. We need time to go to the park, and visit people.' He leaned down briefly to kiss her on the lips before moving.

{Dianne smiles at the gesture, then gets up out of bed. Gathering up her clothes, she changes in the bedroom. She then heads downstairs, looking to make herself a meal.}

When they both got downstairs, Esme was skipping around the kitchen, waiting for food. She had stashed the rocks from the cave trip last week in the storeroom, along with the rest of her hoard.

Rex was sitting at the dining table, sipping coffee while looking at his phone.

{As Dianne cooked, she smiled at Esme.}

Dianne: "Energetic today, aren't we?"

Esme stopped for a moment to look up and squeak happily.

'So, you're all leaving tomorrow?' said Rex. 'How long should I expect you to be gone, before I start panicking that something happened to you?'

Dianne: "It will take us two days to arrive. Then, we'll stay for a week, then two days back. We'll be in touch with you the whole time."

'Yeah, it won't be like before,' said Armin. 'Back then, we were stuck in the wilderness half the time. We couldn't use our phone. This time, we'll tell you everything.'

'Alright. I'll hold you to that,' said Rex.

At that moment, his phone rang, making him jump. Leaving his coffee, he hurried out of the room to answer the call in private.

{Chuckling, Dianne takes her and Esme's food to the living room.}

Dianne: "Here, Esme. Breakfast."

Esme darted after Dianne, and began to devour her food as soon as it was set down.

Armin settled on the couch, watching the window. He still felt restless, and knew that the feeling would linger until they departed for their trip. 'I guess we'll have to hunt for food during the two-day flight?'

Dianne: "Yeah. Plenty of lakes between here and there, so plenty of fish."

'Mhm. Looking forward to fresh fish again...'

He then fell silent, waiting for her and Esme to finish eating. Upstairs, he could hear Rex talking on the phone, but tried not to listen in for privacy's sake.

{After a few minutes, Dianne finishes her meal and takes the plates away. Coming back, she sits next to Armin. }

Dianne: "Ok, I suppose we should get ready. Just to be sure, we're going to the park first, then Pythia, then Fred?"

'Yes, I think we'll do that,' said Armin thoughtfully. 'We'll take some fresh air down at the park, then drive over to Fred's place to see Pythia. I need to find out where Ryder's house is, too...'

He pulled out his phone and started sending a quick text to Frederick.

Dianne: "Ok. I'll get ready, grab Esme, and meet you outside."

{Kissing his cheek, she stands and heads upstairs to get her jacket.}

Armin walked over to the front door, tailed by a curious Esme. As Dianne was heading upstairs, Rex seemingly ended his phone call.

'Ha!' he exclaimed, looking unusually happy about something. With a grin, he pushed past Dianne and started to hurry downstairs to where Armin was.

{Dianne gave him a quizzical look as he passed her on the stairs, then continued on her way, smirking.}

Dianne: //Heh, guess he got the job...good for him...//

{Grabbing her jacket and purse, she heads back downstairs.}

Once he got downstairs, Rex proceeded to hug Armin, forcefully enough that Armin rocked backwards a little.

'Hey! What's up with you?'

'I got it,' said Rex, chuckling. 'I officially have a job now.'

Armin blinked, then smiled and wrapped his arms around Rex in a tight hug. 'I had a feeling you would. Good work. You deserve it.'

Esme was sitting in the hallway beside them, looking vaguely nonplussed.

{Coming down the stairs, Dianne stops to congratulate Rex.}

Dianne: "Congratulations, Rex. I'm very happy for you."

'Thank you. It did come as a surprise,' said Rex gruffly. He stepped back to give them room to get out of the door. 'Well, you two enjoy your walk. I need to make preparations for this job.'

Still smiling slightly, Armin opened the door to head out. 'Alright, We'll be back aroumd dinnertime.'

{Scooping up Esme, Dianne walks out the door with Armin.}

Dianne: "See you later, Rex."

{Once they were outside and out of earshot, Dianne spoke up lowly.}

Dianne: "He actually got the job. Good for him. He seemed so happy."

'Yeah...'

Armin unlocked the truck so they could all get in.

'I am, too. He really needed something to do. And it's not just any job; it's one that might actually mean something to him. I'm sure this will help with his sudden urges to drink the contents of the basement.'

Dianne: "Yes, I think this will be good for him."

{She says as she hops in.}

Dianne: "He seemed very happy about this job."

'He really liked school as a kid,' Armin mused, starting the car. 'That's one thing that makes us different. I never even went to school. But he loved it. I guess that's why he likes to still be involved.'

Dianne: "There's nothing wrong with the pursuit of knowledge. Perhaps he loved school because it gave him away to escape his grandfather..."

'That's likely. In fact, I think he might have mentioned that... Miserable old bast.ard. If he wasn't long dead, I'd like to find him... And show him what it's like to be treated like that...'

He muttered the last part darkly as he headed into the streets.

Dianne: "Well...I could always summon him and torment his soul...Although, I'm pretty sure Rex would prefer he stay dead."

{Meanwhile, back with Rex, there was the sound of a voice piping up from under the table.}

"Hey, Rex! Down here!"

{It was a rat draugr, with glowing blue eyes.}

Rat: "Hey! I need to talk to you!"

'Yeah, how do you do that anyway?' said Armin. 'Torment someone's soul? They can't be physically hurt, can they?'

Rex jumped, looking around suspiciously before his eyes shifted to the table. Very slowly, he moved closer, and knelt down so that he could look under it. The scent and glowing eyes told him it was a draugr.

'What do you want?'

Dianne: "Well, no. Most of it is psychological torment. I can make them remember painful times of their past, immobilize them, bind them to things, strip them of their faculties, such as speech. I can bend them to my will, force them to serve me, stuff like that."

Rat: "Dianne needs your help with something. She wants to buy Armin a very special Christmas gift, but needs to look for it online. Given that Armin never leaves her alone for more than minutes at a time, she's entrusted the two of us to make it happen. If you accept this responsibility, you cannot tell a soul about this until after Christmas has passed. Got it?"

Armin grimaced slightly. 'That sounds unpleasant... He'd deserve it, though. Some people just do. But I don't think Rex would appreciate us summoning his grandfather in the other room.'

Rex kept up a healthy caution as he considered the rat's words.

'...Alright. I'm sure I can help with that. And I don't make a habit of spoiling peoples' Christmas presents.'

Dianne: "Yeah, in that case, let's not do that..."

Rat: "Splendid. Let's begin."

{With that, the rat bounds off to his room.}

Rex stood up and followed the rat, looking slightly bemused by the whole interaction. His room was small and somewhat untidy, with a narrow bed in the corner, a messy bookshelf, and a computer sitting on a large desk.

Armin lapsed into silence as he continued driving. After a few minutes, he spoke.

'That reminds me, I was once going to ask you when your birthday is. But, something tells me you don't actually know.'

{The rat hops up to the computer, waiting for Rex.}

Dianne: "I don't know the actual day. I just know that it was in the early spring. I think Lucci would know. I'll ask him the next time he shows up. Why do you ask?"

Rex sat down at the desk and turned the computer on. 'Alright, so what exactly are we supposed to be looking for here?'

Armin shrugged nonchalantly. 'It just seems like a... sort of important thing to know? I mean, we are quite close. Not knowing something as simple as your birthday would seem odd to me.'

Dianne: "I see what you mean. When I was hatched, birthdays weren't celebrated like they are now, so I was never told. I'm sure there are other ways I can find out...When is your birthday?"

Rat: "We are looking for the closest reputable horse breeder that sells Ferrosian Hares."

Rex's eyebrows raised a little, and he began typing something into the search bar on his browser.

'Ferrosian Hares? They're a breed of horse? Can't say I've ever heard of them...' He squinted as he scrolled through various results. 'Probably none in Vallis...'

'February the 20th,' said Armin. 'I haven't really celebrated it in a long time, though. It was pretty quiet last time; I just hung out with Rex, and Fred, and Jerry a little bit... Before then, I didn't have anyone to celebrate with.'

{The rat scrutinised the results carefully.}

Rat: "There, click on that website. Looks like they're halfway between Calcedony and Mallow...."

Dianne: "Well, this February the 20th, why don't we throw a party? Just our friends. We'll invite them over, have a feast, and have a good time?"

Rex clicked on the result. 'Those are both places Armin and Dianne stopped by on their trip, aren't they? If so, I don't think it's too far away...' He continued to look over the website the rat had suggested. '...Seems like these people sell a few different breeds...'

Armin gave a faint smile. 'I'd like that. A party sounds nice.'

Rat: "Hmmmm....This seems to be a very good option....Call them, I need to ask them some questions..."

Dianne: "Alright, then that's what we'll do."

{Looking pleased, Dianne subsides into silence.}

Rex located the breeder's phone number on the site, then fished out his mobile and dialled it. He sat there quietly waiting for them to pick up.

{After a moment, the breeder picked up.}

Breeder: "Hello?"

{The rat spoke into the phone, using Dianne's voice.}

Rat: "Hello, is this Valley Ranch?"

Breeder: "Yes, it is. How can I help you?"

Rat: "I had some questions regarding your Ferrosian Hares? Specifically, price, age, and whether or not you can transport them."

Rex held the phone out slightly to allow the rat to speak into it easily. He opted to stay quiet, letting the draugr deal with the conversation while he listened.

{After a short conversation, the Rat had the info it needed.}

Rat: "So, that's 12K per horse, they're about two years old, and you can transport them to be here by christmas?"

Breeder: "That is correct."

Rat: "Do you accept debit?"

Breeder: "Yes."

{The rat then starts to pay for the animals over the phone.}

Rex raised his eyebrows at the asking price, but didn't interrupt.

//12,000 squalls per horse? Well, I suppose Dianne must have plenty of money, considering she and Armin came home with piles of riches...//

Breeder: "Ok, they'll be here the 23rd of December."

Rat: "Very well. Thank you very much. Goodbye."

{The Breeder hangs up, then the rat turns to Rex}

Rat: "Mission accomplished. Now, don't breathe a word of this to Armin."

Rex pocketed his phone. 'Of course I'm not going to tell him anything. I'm sure he'll be delighted by this.'

Meanwhile, Armin was pulling up into the park. The day was still overcast, but it wasn't raining. A few people were milling about, some with dogs.

'Maybe we should head over to that patch of trees - where there's no people? We can see how well Esme flies now.'

Rat: "That's the idea. Well, thank you for your cooperation. Have a good rest of your day."

{With that, the rat scampers off.}

Dianne: "Yes, away from the dogs."

{With Esme in hand, Dianne starts walking for the area.}

Esme looked around keenly as they walked to the quiet spot by the trees. Getting there first, Armin surveyed the spot to make sure there was nothing dangerous in the vicinity. 'I think it's alright here, as long as she doesn't go running off.'

Rex watched the rat disappear, then shook his head. //I just helped an undead rat buy a Christmas present for my friend... Well, odder things happen...//

Dianne: "Yeah, we'll keep her close."

{Dianne puts Esme down. Reaching into her purse, she produces a bag of dried mangos.}

Dianne: "Let's see how these work as motivation."

Esme walked in a circle, testing the grass under her feet. She then sniffed and looked up at Dianne alertly, catching notice of the bag of fruit. She made a sudden jump, teeth snapping towards it.

{Dianne was quick, keeping it out of her reach.}

Dianne: "Ah, ah, no, Esme. Not yet."

{Hopping up into a tree, Dianne takes a slice out of the bag.}

Dianne: "Fly for it, Esme. Let's see you use those wings, sweetheart."

Esme took a moment to survey the tree and Dianne. Then she opened her wings. They were almost twice the size they'd been when they first met her, and more powerful.

With Armin watching curiously from behind, she sprung upwards, flapping her wings hard to gain altitude. She didn't quite make it high enough to reach the mango, instead flopping to the ground on the other side of the tree.

Dianne: "Oh. Try again, baby. One more time."

{Dianne beckons her to try again.}

Esme let out a short roar, then bounded off the ground again. This time, she just barely got high enough to secure the fruit in her teeth. Gliding clumsily back to earth, she devoured it.

Dianne: "Nice, Esme! Great job!"

{She gives Esme a moment to rest before producing another fruit piece.}

Dianne: "Again."

Esme stepped back to get a running start. She managed to replicate her previous attempt, barely grabbing the fruit before she fell down, tumbling onto the grass.

'You want to be careful there,' Armin remarked. 'She might bite the ends of your fingers off if she gets overenthusiastic.'

Dianne: "Don't worry, I'll be careful."

{Chuckling at the notion, Dianne picks an extra large piece and beckons Esme once more.}

Esme eyed the mango before making another high leap, powering herself up with her wings. However, she seemed to be getting tired, and wasn't quite able to reach the fruit this time. She tumbled back to the ground with a squeak.

{Looking concerned, Dianne hops down from the tree, putting the fruit away. She then kneels down to Esme.}

Dianne: "Getting tired, sweetheart? That's ok. Come sit with me for a minute."

(Posting new room)