(Replied on last post.)

'I don't want to hear about your pathetic grudge,' said Armin. 'If you can't get over the fact that she was involved with Ardens, over two thousand years ago, during a time when they both thought you were /dead,/ then you need to take a serious look at yourself. Believe it or not, she wants to be civil with you. But you'd rather spend your whole life clinging to your own childish grudge.'

On the floor beside him, Esme bristled and bared her teeth, seeming to catch the tense mood.

Biceras: "Wait....she /told/ you about that?"

Ardens: "Why wouldn't she? They are in a relationship."

Biceras: "I really don't want that spreading around..."

Ardens: "I don't get you, why do you even care? It happened, ok? Nothing can change that, and sweeping it under the rug won't change a thing. Now we're stuck in this room with each other whether you like it or not, so stop acting petty. We've got enough to worry about without you two trying to kill each other."

'Also, I'm not telling anyone,' said Armin when Ardens finished. 'I don't make a habit of spreading personal info. Like he said, we're stuck together, so shove the attitude. And if you ever bring up Dianne's past daughter like that again... Let's just say, I'm not scared of you, and I have a history of being reckless.'

{Biceras makes a surprised face, then bursts out laughing.}

Biceras: "Oooh, real scary, buddy. Yeah, if you want to go, I'll take you on, anytime, any place!"

Ardens: "Biceras, that's enough! You owe Dianne an apology for that remark. I don't think you grasp just how painful that experience was for her."

'Actually, I'm starting to think you're a lost cause,' said Armin grimly. 'I think you're just naturally a despicable person. Well, don't say we didn't try to make peace.'

Clicking his tongue to get Esme's attention, he turned to follow Dianne into the other room.

{Ardens doesn't retort. He simply rubs his face wearily. Biceras just huffs and looks away. In the other room, Armin would find Dianne quietly sobbing, sitting hunched over on the edge of the bed. Biceras' comment, combined with the severity of the situation had gotten to her.}

Armin walked into the room with Esme trailing uncertainly, shutting the door behind him. He took a moment to observe the room, then sat on the edge of the bed, next to Dianne. He didn't say anything, but quietly nudged his shoulder against hers, looking down at her with concern.

{Dianne looked up at him, wiping her eyes.}

Dianne: "I'm sorry....Everything's going wrong...this was supposed to be a fun vacation but...I just can't seem to outrun my past and....I feel like you hate me..."

{She certainly doesn't seem to be taking this well.}

Armin blinked. 'Well, it didn't go as planned, but we had fun before all of this happened... And I hate you? Where did /that/ come from?'

Dianne: "I don't know, I'm tired and upset...and having /her/ insult me like that... I'm not thinking straight..."

'Yeah, I told her that she's an as.shole on your behalf. Not that it matters. Her head is too far up her own backside to hear anyone,' he muttered.

He shifted slightly and wrapped his arms around her affectionately.

{Dianne turns and snuggles into him. At this point, she was just looking for affection.}

Dianne: "Thank you..."

He pulled her head into his chest and hugged her tightly, rubbing her back.

'Love you,' he said, content to stay there as long as she wanted.

Dianne: "I love you too..."

{She wrapped Her arms around him, focusing on the back rub.}

Dianne: "Can we go back to sleep?"

'Yeah, let's do that. It's still early.'

Armin gently withdrew so he could take his jacket and shoes off. Esme was exploring the room.

{Dianne kicked off her shoes and took the belt off her dress. Her sleepwear was in the bags in the other room and she did not want to go back in there. Lying down on the bed, she just waits for Armin.}

Armin took off his jeans, putting them within easy reach. He then climbed under the covers and cuddled up to her, kissing her on the lips before snuggling down comfortably.

{Dianne squeezes him slightly, snuggling into him. She closes her eyes and begins to drift off.}

(Do we skip a bit?)

(Yeah, would you like me to start that?)

(Yeah, you can go.)

{ Several hours later, Dianne stirred awake. She was hungry, but didn't want to disturb Armin, so she kept lying there, contemplating their situation.}

Esme was lying on the end of the bed, gazing boredly into the distance. She was restless and hungry.

After a few minutes, Armin stirred, breathing deeply. He rolled a bit closer to Dianne, nuzzling into the base of her neck as he woke up.

{Dianne starts to rub his back as he wakes up.}

Dianne: "Hey, are you waking up?}

Armin gave an indiscernible mumble in response. After a minute of relaxing there, he spoke up.

'...Is it getting late...?'

Dianne: "A little bit. I'm also hungry."

'Hmm.'

Armin opened his eyes, turning his head away to let out a huge yawn. As he did so, Esme - assuming they were going to get up and feed her - jumped off the bed, skittered to the door, and stood on her hind legs to pull the handle and let herself out.

Ardens: "Oh, hello little one. Esme, was it?"

Dianne: "Wait, she knows how to open doors?"

Esme stopped and looked over at wherever Ardens was, chirping a cautious, but friendly greeting.

'Yeah, I've seen her open our bedroom door to get out before us on some mornings,' said Armin.

Dianne: "Well, she's a fast learner."

{Ardens was sitting across the way in the kitchen. On the table we're bags of breakfast sandwiches, brought by the officers an hour earlier.}

Esme sniffed the air, catching the scent of the sandwiches. Then she walked confidently over to where Ardens was sitting, looked at the bags, then looked at him again, chirping.

Armin yawned again. 'Well... You might not be very eager to go out there, but... maybe we should go look for food?'

Dianne: "Yeah...Let's..."

{Sitting up, she grabs her belt off the floor. Ardens reaches down and scratches Esme under her chin.}

Ardens: "Are you hungry? Those nice policemen brought us all breakfast."

Armin heaved himself out of bed and slowly pulled his jeans back on, blinking as he tried to wake up properly.

Esme made a growing-purr noise. She then jumped onto another chair and stretched out her neck to investigate the bag. With a surprisingly careful motion, she pulled out a sandwich with her paw and started to eat it ravenously.

{Dianne walked out into the room first, looking around. Seeing that Biceras was asleep, she approaches the kitchen.}

Dianne: "They brought us food?"

Ardens: "Of course they did. They weren't going to starve us, you know."

Armin followed a moment later, still looking rumpled and drowsy.

'Morning,' he said, going over to the sink to get himself a glass of water. He contemplated the sandwiches, deciding he wouldn't take any unless there was one left after everyone else ate.

Ardens: "Morning...If you need it, they also brought blood bottles. In the top cabinet."

{Dianne sat across from him, proceeding to eat a sandwich.}

Ardens: "I....want to apologise, on Biceras' behalf...She's a stubborn, obtuse woman....as I'm sure you know..."

Dianne: "Don't apologise for her. If she won't say it herself, then I have nothing else to say to her..."

Armin mumbled gratitude and opened the top cabinet to get himself a bottle. He'd drunk only last night, but wanted to be prepared for anything.

'Apologising on someone else's behalf doesn't mean much,' he said. 'You're not the one who needs to say it, and if she won't, then it's not an apology.'

Esme devoured her sandwich and reached for another, not caring about their discussion.

Ardens: "I understand that...Well, we had an argument after you two went back to sleep, and now we're not on speaking terms....I know how she can be...Believe it or not, she's not always like this."

Dianne: "I always knew she was stubborn but...This is a bit extreme. We had our union, we parted ways, and yet...It's like she doesn't understand that we don't have feelings like that for each other anymore. We've gone our separate ways, moved on, so why can't she?"

Ardens: "She will never admit it, but she's terrified of losing me again. That's why she's so agressive. She sees you as a threat and pursues you relentlessly and blindly."

'That's not a good enough excuse for her behaviour,' said Armin bluntly. 'She's a person, not some territorial animal. We're /all/ scared of losing each other, but that doesn't make it OK for us to treat people like that. What she said this morning...' He trailed off, shaking his head.

Ardens: "I'm not saying her behaviour is justified, I'm just trying to provide some insight on why she's acting so abrasively. Her comment earlier this morning was completely unjustified."

Dianne: "It was very hurtful. I don't appreciate her throwing the death of my firstborn in my face..."

Ardens: "I know....Dianne, I want us to be friends. Even if Biceras won't let go of the past, that should have no bearing on our friendship. I'm not going to leave her, but she can't control who I'm friends with."

'No, she shouldn't. We'll just have to learn to ignore her tantrums every time you guys interact.'

Drinking as much as he wanted, Armin put the blood bottle back. He then leaned againat the kitchen counter, observing the pair.

Ardens: "Or I convince her to finally drop it."

Dianne: "Good luck with that. I doubt even Lucci could accomplish that."

Ardens: "She's my wife. I can't just give up on her."

Armin remained quiet. Despite how she'd behaved, he hoped Biceras might warm up to them, but couldn't see it happening. And he wanted Dianne and Ardens to be able to stay friends, but he didn't want Dianne getting hurt if any more fights broke out.

Esme finished eating and jumped down, slinking off to explore the quarters.

Dianne: "When she wakes up...I'm going to talk with her."

Ardens: "And say what?"

Dianne: "That she can't act this way and expect us to bend the knee. I've eviscerated bigger bullies and tyrants than her."

Ardens: "Please don't eviscerate my wife."

Dianne: "I won't. At least, not physically."

Armin rubbed his head with a slightly dubious expression at that, not thinking that talking to Biceras would help anything. But he didn't argue.

'So, she's still asleep? Dam.n, she's worse than me.'

Ardens: "She is sleeping off multiple gunshot wounds, cut her some slack."

Dianne: "She has to wake up eventually."

Ardens: "When she does, give her some time to really wake up before tearing into her, would you?"

'I don't know, maybe she'd be less hostile while half-asleep.'

Not knowing what else to do for now, he sat down, leaning back in his chair.

'So, what exactly happened last night? All I know is that they put down a null zone.'

Ardens: "Well, we had just finished a movie and we were walking back to our hotel, when some jackass threw down a null zone right on top of us. Then all these hunters start trying to shoot us at close range. Biceras charged into the group of them scattering them like bowling pins while I took on their back line. Good thing I kept this handy short sword with me. As I was trying to close the distance on their mage, more came from behind and started firing, Biceras covered me, and that's how she got shot. From there, she picked me up and ran into the buildings, trying to get out of the null zone. They chased us through the buildings, moving their null zone as they went, until the police arrived and they fled."

'Dam.n, you were lucky,' said Armin, sounding impressed. 'Null zone, outnumbered and facing guns, and you made it out OK. Good thing the police aren't useless, too.'

Ardens: "Not luck, skill. We killed about a dozen of them in the chase. And yeah, it seems everyone is silently afraid of a human invasion, so the city is prepared for it. Those police are well trained and outfitted like a military."

Dianne: "If we had these guys as the police in Shacklestone, I don't think Sargon would have gotten anywhere."

'Probably. But, eh, you're not going to find a police force this good everywhere. I'm just glad this didn't end up being a repeat of Agamidae.'

{Dianne nods in agreement. A moment later, there was a knock at the door as an officer let himself into the room.}

Police: "Morning, fellas. You got someone who'd like to chat."

{Through the door came an older werewolf in human form. She was dressed in formal attire and had a shock of white hair, streaking through her auburn locks.}

Werewolf: "Good morning. My name is Charlotte Philan. I am Alexandria's mayor."

Armin shot a startled look at the mayor, while Esme came slinking out of the shadows to investigate this new intruder.

'Oh. Well, hello,' he said, unsure what to expect from this.

Mayor Philan: "Hello, Armin, I presume? I am here to extend my deepest apologies that these hunter attacks happened in our great city. Alexandria prides itself on being a safe haven for all nonhuman species. Hunters are the very thing we stand against. However, I did not just come here to give you a speech. We have located their base of operations and APD will conduct a sting this afternoon. With any luck, they will be apprehended and you can all go back to your much deserved vacations."

'Well, that's good to hear. Hopefully, this will be over soon. And don't worry about apologising, none of you knew this would happen.'

Esme sniffed the air, then seemed to shrug. Apparently she wasn't concerned about the newcomer.

Dianne: "Thank you, Mayor Philan."

Mayor Philan: "I only hope that you do not think less of our community due to this unfortunate circumstance. If you all require anything, do not hesitate to ask. Our fine officers will be happy to assist you."

Ardens: "We are grateful for your her hospitality."

'Yeah, thanks,' said Armin. Privately, he was a bit surprised that the mayor of the city herself had decided to come and talk to them. //Eh, maybe she just wanted to apologise in person. To show... good hospitality, or something.//

(Or maybe she's terrified of the prospect of two angry necromancers razing her city.)

{With that, the mayor takes her leave. A few moments later, some officers come through the door with Barnabas, bringing Dianne's armor with them.}

Officer: "Special delivery."

Dianne: "Barnabas, status?"

Barnabas: "We moved Titan off to a sheltered cave. He's missing his left wing but is still intact enough to fight if necessary."

'Wonder how we're going to get him home,' Armin mused, glancing briefly at the armour they brought back. 'If he can't fly. It's not like we could just repair him, either.'

{Dianne sighs.}

Dianne: "I think I might have to decommision him here. It would take him far too long to make the trek home."

'Oh...' Armin contemplated this for a moment. He knew Titan was just a draugr, and supposed his soul could just be put in a different body, but he couldn't help feeling an odd twinge of regret at losing the hydra who had carried them so far. 'I guess that's all we can do.'

Dianne: "Yeah...This also means our trip back is going to take about a week, now that we can't fly."

Officer: "Well, you could just take a small plane back, have most of your stuff shipped."

'That might be our best option...' said Armin thoughtfully. 'Hmm. I've never ridden in a plane before.'

Dianne: "But, before all that, those hunters need to be dealt with."

Officer: "If the sting goes well, that'll be sooner than later."

{By this time, Biceras was awake, sitting up quietly but groggily.}

Armin glanced momentarily towards Biceras when she moved, but didn't say anything or let his gaze linger on her.

'Yeah, hopefully it'll all be over soon and things can go back to normal. Although, being attacked by maniacs almost /is/ normal for us.'

Ardens: "My sympathies. Sounds like life is dangerous for you two."

Dianne: "We manage."

{Once the officers left once again, Dianne turns to look at Biceras. The two glare at each other, but say nothing.}

Armin tensed slightly at the pair's exchange of glances, but it wasn't very noticeable. He remained sitting back, keeping quiet and just waiting to see if anything would happen between them, ready to intervene if necessary.

Dianne: "...Biceras....What exactly is your problem with me?"

Biceras: "You already know."

Dianne: "No, I don't. If this is about what happened between me and Ardens two thousand years ago, than you're officially the most stubborn and short sighted member of your species in all of history."

Biceras: "It's not the action, it's the principle. You are his ex. I don't want you around to threaten my relationship with him, looking for any opportunity to take him from me."

Dianne: "Biceras, look around. I have a boyfriend. Someone who I am very happy with. I no longer, and never again will have interest in Ardens."

Armin didn't want to interrupt, but after a moment, he spoke up. 'Look - you trust Ardens, don't you? What in the world makes you think he'd want to leave you for Dianne? He loves you. What are the chances that Ardens and Dianne are both going to betray their respective partners and hook up with each other?'

(New room)