Armin headed for a quiet area without any people or cars.

'Do you still have any of that dried fruit on you?'

Dianne: "Yeah, I do, here."

{Reaching into her purse, she produced the bag of dried mangoes.}

'Let me try a thing...'

Taking one of the fruit pieces, he waved it under Esme's nose to get her attention. Then he shifted and jumped skywards, holding the fruit in his beak. Esme spread her wings and shot after him, kicking off with impressive speed and beginning to climb.

{Dianne watched the pair, shielding her eyes from the sun. She smiled as she watched Esme fly.}

Dianne: "Very good, Esme. You learned fast."

Armin brought himself to a hover, eighty feet up, and waited. Esme managed to climb to him, but didn't know how to hover. She clumsily crashed into him, grabbed the piece of mango, then spread her wings and started to glide back down. She could fly, but hadn't gotten the hang of steering or landing. Eventually she crashed through the branches of a tree and decided to stay there, chewing the mango and looking down at everyone.

{Dianne winces as she watches Esme descend.}

Dianne: "She could use some practice landing...Barnabas, go get her please."

{Barnabas appears behind Esme and scoops her up, slowly descending with her.}

Esme allowed herself to be carried down, still gnawing on the mango piece.

Armin swooped down and shifted back. 'Well, that wasn't as much of a disaster as it could have been. I was kind of expecting her to just plunge into the ground.'

Dianne: "Yeah, she just needs to learn to steer and land. I can teach her, if she'll watch me."

{Dianne picks up Esme from Barnabas, thinking about the best way to teach her.}

Esme chirped, seeming quite proud of herself despite her shoddy landing.

'If I stayed here and held her, then you could fly and land in front of us, so she'll see what to do,' Armin suggested. 'Though, she won't be able to hear anything you say then.'

Dianne: "She doesn't need to hear me, she just needs to watch."

{Handing Esme to Armin, Dianne walks until there's room to shift.}

Dianne: "Alright, I'll fly in a circle, then demonstrate landing."

Armin kept hold of Esme.

'Watch,' he said, nudging Esme's attention towards Dianne. 'Watch your mum. She'll show you how to fly better.'

{Shifting, she takes off. She begins to circle, keeping her wings straight and angling her wings and tail to turn. Coming in for the landing, she flaps her wings to lose momentum, then lands relatively softly for a dragon her size.}

Armin kept Esme's attention on Dianne, making sure she saw exactly what was going on.

'See that? That's what /you/ have to do.' He set her down on her feet. 'Why don't you try it?'

He wasn't sure if Esme fully understood him, but she seemed eager to emulate her mother. Taking flight, she leapt a few feet off the ground and started circling a little wobbily.

{Dianne watched Esme carefully.}

Dianne: "That's it. As you develop those muscles, you'll have more control."

Esme attempted to make a landing. She came down a little too fast, thumping into the ground instead of landing softly like Dianne, but at least she stayed on her feet.

Dianne: "Good. Try again sweetheart. You almost had it."

Esme didn't respond, but jumped into the air and tried again - circling a few times, then coming down to land. This time, she didn't stumble.

{Dianne shifts back, obtaining a mango piece and offers it to Esme.}

Dianne: "Very good. Here."

Esme eagerly snapped up the offered fruit.

'Well, she's obviously getting the hang of it,' Armin observed. 'I'm sure she'll gain better strength and balance as she gets older.'

Dianne: "Yeah, she'll be flying in no time at all. Hopefully not in the house. She'll knock over all of your Knick-knacks."

'I'll be glad when she learns to shift. Until then, I'll just have to tell her that flying is only allowed outside... Anyway, should we start thinking about getting dinner now?'

{Dianne looks up at the setting sun, then to Esme.}

Dianne: "If Esme is tired, yes. We'll get dinner and relax for the rest of the evening."

Esme wasn't trying to fly again, but simply sitting next to Armin, playing with the grass.

'OK, we'll head off,' said Armin. 'I can't think of anything else we could do, so let's just chill.'

He unlocked the car and clambered in.

{Dianne scoops up Esme and gets in.}

Dianne: "I'm feeling burgers today. How about you?"

'I think I can do that.'

Armin absently turned the radio on, setting some rock music to play quietly in the background. He then set off to find the fast food joint they'd visited before.

{Dianne remained silent, absently petting Esme and watching the buildings and people go by.}

After a bit of a drive, they arrived at the burger place. Armin parked up, hopped out and headed inside, locating a vacant table near a window. It was quiet this evening; not many customers besides a family of vampires, a pair of dragonmen and a lone human.

{Dianne sits, putting Esme on the seat next to her.}

Dianne: "Has Esme ever had chicken? Let's get her the chicken nuggets."

'I think she'd like those.'

Armin briefly pursued the menu.

'Huh. They do fish burgers... I'm getting that.'

Dianne: "Cool. Heh, you and your fish."

{They were then approached by the waitress. Dianne ordered her and Esme's food, with lemonade for them both.}

Armin gave his order as well, getting the burger and a glass of Coke.

'If fish is an option, I'll take it,' he said afterwards. 'It's one of the few things that still tastes good. Plus, nostalgia.'

Dianne: "I know. Fish isn't bad, to be honest. There's a lot of rivers back home. Maybe we ought to catch more."

'That could be fun. We could even buy some fishing rods and turn it into a little hobby. We could probably buy a small boat if we wanted. Go fishing on the lake like we did here.'

Dianne: "That sounds like fun. Let's get some rods at least. We catch them, you cook them."

'Fish cooking is my job, eh? That's fine. It's kind of nice being better than you at something,' he said with a slight grin.

Dianne: "Hey, can't be the best at everything, right? Besides, you make them very flavorful. I very much enjoy your fish."

'I do like cooking them. Nice memories, and all that.'

He settled back contentedly, waiting for the food.

{After a few minutes more, their food arrived. Dianne took her food and began eating quietly.}

Armin opened his burger to make sure there weren't any pickles in it before he started eating. Esme tried up one of the chicken nuggets, then, deciding they were acceptable, began snapping them up hungrily in between gulps of lemonade.

{Dianne watched Esme eat with amusement.}

Dianne: "I think she gets her eating habits from you, Armin."

'She's worse than me. But I suppose I can see the resemblance.'

He paused to take a swig of his drink, then resumed eating.

'So, you've had a nice week here in Alexandria?'

Dianne: "Absolutely. I had a wonderful time. You?"

'Of course I did. We had fun, regardless of anything that happened with hunters. And I'm grateful you took me along on this expedition.'

Dianne: "Of course I brought you. You're my Amateotl. How could I leave you behind?"

He smiled fondly at that.

'Well, I'm just glad we decided to go at all. It's been an interesting experience, just like... pretty much everything in the last few months.'

Dianne: "Yes, it has been. I think we're all a lot better off having found one another. And for that, I am grateful."

Armin finished his burger a few moments later. Sipping his drink, he pulled out his phone to check up on thinhs back home while he waited for everyone.

{Dianne finished a few minutes later. Leaning back, she eyes him.}

Dianne: "Rex text again?"

'Actually, no. I was texting him this time. He seems alright. Fred, too - though he's busy getting his people set up to stalk Garvey when he shows up.'

Dianne: "Well that's good. Just keep him away from us. I don't get that guy. Why can't he just leave us alone? Can't he see that we're happy and calm now?"

'Well, he's insane, isn't he?' said Armin, as if that answered everything. 'Let's just deal with him quickly, hope Jerry isn't too depressed, and get on with our lives. It's nearly Christmas and we don't want him interfering with that.'

Dianne: "I suppose that's all we can really do..."

{Looking around the restaurant, she stands.}

Dianne: "Shall we?"

Armin nodded and stood, leaving a tip on the table for the waiter. Letting Dianne take Esme, he headed outside to the truck, breathing in the cold, fresh air.

{Dianne scoops up Esme and follows Armin out.}

Dianne: "Hm. Chilly."

'I quite like it...'

Climbing into the truck, he waited for them all to be buckled in, then set off back to the hotel. He was feeling quite content, despite the threat that awaited them back home.

Dianne: "Of course you do. You can't feel it."

{Dianne simply watched the buildings go by. She was quite content with the trip, looking forward to going home tomorrow.}

Driving back in peaceful silence, Armin soon parked up outside The Canopy. With a quick glance at Dianne, he hopped out and walked towards the hotel.

//Time to chill...//

{Dianne follows him up with Esme. Once they get to the room, Dianne puts Esme down, takes off her coat and kicks off her shoes.}

Dianne: "Let's see what's on tv."

Armin trailed in after her and followed suit. Impulsively, he hugged her from behind, wrapping his arms around her and giving an affectionate nip to the back of her neck.

'Alright.'

{Upon feeling his nip, Dianne tenses and sucks in a quick breath.}

Dianne: "Woah...That's...unusually sensitive...."

He raised his eyebrows and smirked slightly, although she wouldn't see it. 'Oh, well, that's nice to know.'

He continued a little way down the back of her neck, gently biting and nibbling in different spots.

{Dianne becomes tense, gripping onto his arms tightly. Her breathing becomes heavy.}

Dianne: "...Couldn't help yourself, could you?..."

'If you tell me to stop, I will.'

He paused for a moment, keeping his arms wrapped around her, but not doing anything else.

{Dianne stays still a moment, contemplating.}

Dianne: "I didn't even know the back of my neck was....like that...If you're in the mood, let's take this to the bath..."

Armin squeezed her slightly, then let go, picking up the remote and flicking the TV on.

'I'll leave this on to entertain Esme. OK, let's go.' Tossing the remote aside, he started towards the bathroom.

{Dianne followed him in. Closing the door, she begins to disrobe, turning on the water.}

Armin followed suit and climbed in a little before she could.

'So, you /never/ knew about that?' he said, lazily watching her as he waited.

Dianne: "No. No one's ever done anything to the back of my neck. The sensation is...almost paralyzing..."

{She then walks into the cubicle with him.}

Dianne: "You're the first one to stumble across that."

'Well, would you look at that. Three thousand years and you just discovered that,' he said with amusement.

He leaned forwards and pulled her into a preliminary kiss.

{Dianne wraps her arms around him, returning the kiss.}

Dianne: "It's not really surprising...I've had a grand total of three intimate partners...It's not like I can reach back there..."

'...Hold still a minute...'

He sidled around to put himself at her back. He pushed her hair out of the way to get better access, then wrapped his arms around her and gently dug his teeth into the nape of her neck.

{Dianne slightly arched her back, sucking in a quick breath. She became tense once again, gripping onto his arms.}

Armin continued to bite and nip along the back of her neck, moving leisurely, taking his time. He was careful never to bite too hard, given how sensitive it was.

{Dianne began to squirm, quietly groaning and whimpering. Her face was flushed and she was starting to list to one side, catching herself on the wall.}

'Everything good?' said Armin, softly and with some amusement. He held onto her a little tighter as if afraid she might fall over.

Dianne: "Yes...But at this rate...we won't be in here much longer..."

{Taking a moment to straighten up and catch her breath, she looks over her shoulder slightly.}

Dianne: "Don't stop."

Armin leaned slightly against her and resumed biting along the back of her neck, trying not to miss any parts. His own breathing had become a little uneven, and he unconsciously dug his nails into her abdomen where his arms were wrapped around.

{She continued to squirm, arching her back more restlessly.}

Dianne: "...Ok...If you want in on any of this...you should really move on soon..."

He nuzzled into her briefly.

'Mhm, probably for the best...'

He dug his teeth into her nape once more, then loosened his grip and stepped around in front of her.

'Well, I'm rather glad I discovered that...'

{Dianne smiles at him, still breathing heavily.}

Dianne: "Yeah...That felt...great..."

'Glad you enjoyed it. Your other partners weren't thorough enough if they never found that,' he said with amusement.

{Dianne just laughs, pulling him into a deep kiss.}

(Skip?)

----

A short while later, Armin returned to the main room. His hair was damp and he still carried a faint air of pleased smugness. He glanced at Esme - who was dozing - before climbing into bed and turning the TV off.

{Dianne followed him out, a tired smile on her face. This time, their activity seems to have worn her out. She flops on her side on the bed, setting the alarm on the clock.}

Dianne: "Our flight is at ten tomorrow...We get up at eight to pack and get breakfast..."

Armin didn't look thrilled by that, but didn't protest beyond a quiet sigh. //Better than when we had to get up at 6AM to fly here...//

He eased down beside her, yawning and watching her fondly.

{Dianne rolls onto her other side, smiling at Armin.}

Dianne: "This trip was great. Thanks for coming with me."

'I'd follow you anywhere. Except that giant spider-infested forest, maybe.'

He moved closer, snuggling in.

'Head rub? I'll be asleep in about five minutes anyway.'

Dianne: "Of course. Come here."

{Pulling him in, she starts to stroke his hair.}

He leaned his head back into the touch, letting out an almost involuntary groan as he relaxed completely.

'...Love you...'

Dianne: "I love you too..."

{Holding him tightly, she nuzzles into his neck and continues to stroke his hair.}

Armin didn't say anything else, but was asleep a couple of minutes later, his breathing a slow, even rhythm as he huddled against her.

{Dianne fell asleep soon after, drifting off in his warm embrace.}

(Skip?)

(Yes, you can go first.)

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

BEEP BEEP BEEP

{The alarm rang out at 8:00 am, stirring Dianne from her sleep. Sitting up in bed, she hits the snooze.}

Dianne: "...Alright...Armin, time to get up..."

Armin opened his eyes slightly, and just looked at her, almost pleadingly.

'Why d'we have t' get up two hours before the flight...?' he mumbled.

Dianne: "Because we need to pack and eat, and we can't afford to be late. Now, come on."

{Getting out of bed, she begins to get dressed.}

Armin stayed motionless for a few seconds, then heaved himself out of bed, rubbing his head and starting to get dressed, still half-asleep.

Esme had woken at the alarm and was yawning, looking around curiously.

{Dianne began to pack their things, seeming more awake than Armin. Once finished, she picks up Esme and looks to Armin.}

Dianne: "Ready?"

(Posting new room)