Warden looked a little startled by all the attention, but graciously accepted Dianne's handshake. 'It's nice to meet you all. I heard that you, Dianne, and Armin were visiting Alexandria. I didn't expect to see you on the same flight as me going home, heheh.'

Armin shook the boy's hand as well. 'Well, welcome to Sovereign.'

'Thanks. I'm only staying for Christmas, then I'm heading home.'

Dianne: "Well, I hope you have a wonderful time here."

{With that, she turns to Ryder.}

Dianne: "Ryder, could we get a ride home? We had to leave our car."

'Sure! That's what I came for,' said Ryder cheerfully. 'Fred mentioned you left your truck. My car's just over here.'

He nodded to the edge of the airport, where a large car was waiting.

'Jerry, Pythia, how did you get here? Do you need any lifts?'

Pythia: "I flew, but I wouldn't mind a ride."

Jerry: "I took my own car, I'll be alright. I can take Pythia if you don't want to make the extra trip."

'We could use a ride, I believe,' said Owel.

Ryder swept his gaze over everyone. 'OK... I can take Dianne, Armin, Esme and Pythia, if you could take Owel and the little guy with you, Jerry. I think that works out in terms of car space.'

Jerry: "Sure thing. Owel, Warden, right this way. Dianne, Armin, and the rest of you, have a good night and we'll talk in the morning."

Dianne: "Have a good night, Jerry."

{With that, Dianne and Pythia started following Ryder and Jerry began leading Owel and Warden to his car.}

Armin glanced back curiously at the other, departing group as he approached Ryder's car.

'I call shotgun.' He climbed into the front passenger seat as Ryder got into the driver's seat. A pair of fluffy dice were hanging above the dashboard.

Meanwhile, Owel and Warden got into the back of Jerry's car. 'Thank you for the lift, Jerry. It's very appreciated,' said Owel.

{Dianne eyed the dice with amusement. Dianne sat with Esme on her lap. Pythia sat next to her, reaching out to pet Esme.}

Jerry: "No problem. So, Warden, looking forward to spending Christmas with your mom?"

Esme woke up a little to chirp quietly, nudging against Pythia's hand.

'Oh, yeah, I guess,' said Warden.

''I guess'?' Owel repeated in an amused tone. 'You can just go back in you prefer.'

'I didn't mean that! I was just playing it cool. I do want to stay.'

'Well, good. We haven't seen each other properly since last Christmas.'

Pythia: "Such a sweetheart..."

{Jerry chuckles quietly at that, driving along.}

Jerry: "Actually, Owel, I don't know where you live.l

'Oh, it's on Cathedral Road,' replied Owel. 'Not far from your place. Can you get there?'

Ryder had set off, confidently heading for the Alscher house. Armin glanced fondly at Dianne and Esme in the rear-view mirror.

Jerry: "Oh, yeah, I know where that's at."

{Jerry continues to drive towards Cathedral Road.}

Jerry: "So, Warden, what do you do? You a student in Alexandria?"

'Pretty much,' said Warden. 'I study there and I'm currently looking for a job too. Just came over here to spend Christmas, then I'm heading straight back.'

Jerry: "Oh, that's nice. What field are you looking to enter?"

'Art or music, I'm hoping.'

'Are you still in that band you mentioned?' said Owel.

'Oh, yeah, we're still together. Maybe someday we'll get somewhere.'

Jerry: "A band, huh? That's fun. What instrument do you play?l

'I play bass and drums,' said Warden. 'But in the band, just bass. I also help write the music.'

In Ryder's car, Armin was gazing curiously out the window.

'That kid. He's only seventeen or eighteen. That means Owel can't have been a vampire very long. Not as long as me, Rex or Fred, at least.'

Dianne: "That's assuming their biologically related. He could have been adopted."

Pythia: "I don't know, they look exactly like one another."

Jerry: "Nice. A rock band, is it? You play any venues, or is it more of a garage band thing?"

'Yeah, they look very similar,' said Armin. 'I'd go out on a limb and say he's her biological son. So he must have been born before she was Turned, obviously.'

'Eh, we haven't gotten any real gigs yet,' said Warden. 'It's just a little hobby. But we want to play venues someday.'

Dianne: "Hmm. I wonder how she was turned. And why she's here and he's in Alexandria. Why doesn't he live with her?"

Jerry: "Well, keep at it. You never know what might happen."

{Jerry then turns down Cathedral Road.}

Jerry: "Here we are. Just tell me where to stop."

'We could always ask her,' said Armin nonchalantly. 'The worst that could happen if that she'd refuse to tell us anything.'

'It's number five,' said Owel. 'Just up there.' Number five was a quaint little house with ivy growing up the walls.

Dianne: "You can ask. She probably gets enough strange personal questions from Ivy."

{Jerry pulls up to the house, stopping outside.}

Jerry: "Ok, here we are. Have a good night you two."

'Thank you very much,' said Owel, climbing out of the car. 'Come on, Warden.'

She left, followed by Warden, who gave Jerry a quick grateful wave as they walked up to the house.

Ryder stopped near Pythia's house first. On the roof perched a falcon, and around the side lurked a husky dog. Both animals watched their approach with unnerving intensity. Clearly, they were vampires guarding Pythia's place.

Pythia: "Well, this is me."

Dianne: "The new place looks great. I'll have to swing by tomorrow."

{Pythia gets out, walking up the path and through the gate, turning around to wave goodbye.}

Jerry: "No problem. See you around."

{Jerry tips his hat in farewell before driving off.}

Armin watched Pythia go. 'It's not bad. Will be nice to see the inside of it.'

Ryder gave a cheerful thumbs-up in response to Pythia's wave. He then drove off, continuing towards the Alscher home.

Dianne: "So, about Rex. Think he'll punch you the moment he sees you?"

'You're really hung up on that, huh?' said Armin. 'He might not do that at all. It's late, everyone's tired.'

Dianne: "Well, I don't want him to punch you. But maybe you're right. Maybe he'll be too tired."

Armin said nothing, yawning. Moments later, Ryder pulled up outside their house.

'So, there's nobody here right now,' said Ryder, 'but once we identify Sam Garvey entering the province, we'll have people to guard your house, just in case. Have a good night, guys.'

'Thanks, Ryder,' said Armin, making to gather their luggage and get out.

Dianne: "Thank you so much Ryder. Have a good night."

{Scooping up Esme and grabbing what luggage she could, Dianne gets out of the car.}

Dianne: "Alright, let's get inside. It's cold out here."

Armin accompanied her up to the front door and knocked, waiting for a response. After a moment, it opened to reveal Rex with a cigarette between his teeth. He stood back to let them in, saying nothing.

Ryder waited until he saw Rex open the door, then drove off into the night.

Dianne: "Evening, Rex."

{She says, stepping inside.}

Dianne: "All is well here, I hope?"

Rex didn't speak immediately, but ran his gaze over the three of them. Once the door was shut, he spoke, without much emotion.

'What did I tell you, about getting into trouble? I thought you promised me that this trip wouldn't go the same as the last?'

Dianne: "It didn't, Rex. We're fine. No one got hurt, we weren't delayed, and we didn't bring an army home with us."

{She stated calmly, putting her luggage down. }

'You're bringing something back with you. That's what Frederick's looking out for, isn't it? Hunters are coming back, like last time.'

'Three or four of them, maybe,' said Armin dismissively, 'And they don't have any sort of an advantage over us.'

Dianne: "Yeah,It's just Jerry's jackass father and a handful of losers. This is nothing like last time."

Rex grunted. Still with the cigarette in his mouth, he turned to Armin.

'And you, not answering your damn phone...'

'I already told you why that was.'

'I understand why. Doesn't make it any more enjoyable that I had to spend two days not knowing what was going on, having to trust in Fred's knowledge that you were still alive.'

Esme, half-asleep, just yawned. She didn't seem concerned about anything.

Dianne: "Rex, I'm sorry we worried you. However, you need to understand that we didn't invite this trouble. They sought us out. That is entirely out of our control, and it's not fair that you're blaming us for that."

'You know that, though,' said Armin, looking straight at Rex. 'You don't really blame us; you're just venting. I can see that.'

Rex pulled the cigarette out, and blew a small puff of smoke out into the air.

'...No, I don't blame you. You two are just frustratingly large magnets for trouble.'

Dianne: "It's always been that way. But, things seem to be improving. We're attracting less and less trouble as time goes on."

With an abrupt movement, Rex grabbed Armin and expertly pinned him against the wall.

'Hey!'

Rex put his face close to Armin's. 'Look. I'm not blaming anyone. And I know why you did it. But /please,/ don't go that long without saying anything again. There were so many times when I didn't believe Fred and thought you must be dead or injured...'

Armin nodded, eyes slightly wide. 'I'm not planning to do it again. I'm sorry, OK?'

{Dianne tensed when Rex pinned Armin against the wall.}

Dianne: "Hey! Let him down, Rex!"

Rex slowly let go.

'Sorry. I'm tired and it's been an unpleasant few days. You're here now, and you're alright. That's the main thing.'

Armin looked him over. 'Go and get some rest. I think you need it. On that note, I'd like to sleep as well...'

{Breathing out a sigh, Dianne glared at Rex's back.}

Dianne: "Yeah...I need some sleep as well, and Esme is already dozing."

{With her in hand, Dianne heads for the stairs.}

Armin hefted their luggage upstairs, yawning. He dropped the bags into their room, stripped to his underwear, and dived into the bed without further ado.

'...It's going to be a cold night. We don't have our heater installed yet.'

{Dianne opted to change before crawling into bed.}

Dianne: "You know it's going to be cold, so you decide to sleep in your knickers? You must be tired."

'Yeah... But I don't get so cold. You keep me warm enough. It's you who's not gonna want to get up tomorrow.'

Esme jumped onto the end of the bed, squinting down as if wondering why her space was so much smaller. Then she curled up like a cat to sleep.

{Dianne snuggles up to him, seeking warmth.}

Dianne: "Yes, I think that's correct. Good luck getting me up tomorrow."

'I'll find a way.'

With that, he wrapped his arms around her, settling down comfortably.

{Falling silent, Dianne quickly drifts off.}

(Skip?)

(Yeah.)

----

The next day, around 10AM, Armin awoke groggily, still feeling out of sorts from the long plane journey. The air outside the bed was rather cold.

//No snow yet... but it feels like there could be frost outside...//

He snuggled into Dianne and closed his eyes, having no intention of moving.

{Dianne tightened her grip on him, stirring slightly. She was still deeply asleep and showed no signs of waking anytime soon.}

After a while, Armin sent a questing message down to Rex. //You up?//

//I'm always up before you.// There was a pause. //Sorry. I may have overrreacted yesterday.//

//You spent nearly a week terrified that something would happen to us. I don't blame you. Just relax. Everything's fine now, OK?//

//We'll see.//

Armin eventually dozed off again, content to wait until Dianne stirred.

{Meanwhile, Sam Garvey's car, and two others, entered the city. They began heading through the streets, in the general direction of Jerry's house.}

Frederick's telepathic relay were spread out across the city. A few minutes after Sam and his associates drove into the city, a vampire, in the form of a domestic cat, recognised his car.

//Identified; Sam Garvey driving into the city accompanied by two cars containing unidentified individuals. Current position is East Leigh Road. Moving to follow...//

Shortly after the cat sent this message, another vampire in the form of a common pigeon flew overheard, watching the car from above. They didn't know for sure where Sam was heading yet.

{The cars kept driving until they reached Jerry's house. Jerry was standing outside, smoking a cigarette when they arrived. Sam gets out, along with Sarah, a few other family members, and two strangers in thick trench coats and odd, horned helmets. They looked identical.}

Jerry: "You shouldn't have come, Dad."

Sam: "Step aside. We need access to the basement."

Jerry: "Not going to happen. You can't just walk in here demanding stuff. Not with how you've behaved."

The pigeon vampire landed on a nearby roof to overlook the situation. The cat vampire caught up moments later, hiding behind a pile of garbage.

//Sam's associates identified as Sarah Garvey, some other relatives, and two helmeted figures, presumed to be the Tussock brothers. They are at Jerry's house, demanding access, presumably for weapons.//

Their reports were relayed immediately to Frederick.

Sam: "Jeremiah. Armin is a criminal. He's killed people. There's a price on his head."

Jerry: "Dad, there's a price on your head too now. Same for the Tussock Brothers. And what Armin did, he was forced to do against his will."

Sam: "That's for a jury of his peers to decide. If he gives himself up."

Jerry: "Dad, any judicial system willing to pursue that case, along with the evidence, died with Shacklestone. You're wasting your time."

Sam: "You have a file, detailing everything he, Dianne, and Frederick did. That's evidence."

While they were talking, Frederick alerted the city guards, who began to drive for Jerry's house. At the same time, the cat vampire shifted to his human form, pulling out an assault rifle and pointing it at Sam.

'Sam Garvey. You're wasting your time. Please get back in your cars and leave, or we will take action. The King will offer you no protection in this city.'

{As he shifted, the Tussock Brothers pulled two revolvers, leveling them at the vampire.}

Carl: "I think we have you outgunned, kitty-cat. And don't think that pidgeon up there is going to even the odds."

{Sarah looks up at the pigeon, pointing her crossbow at it.}

'Murdering more civilians isn't going to better your situation,' said the vampire calmly, watching the guns pointed at him. 'Do you want a bigger bounty on your head? More people after you? I'm offering you the chance to leave before you make things worse for yourself.'

{The brothers pull the hammers back on their guns.}
Jack: "Only person this situation is going to get worse for is you, if you don't lower that rifle."

Sam: "None of you have any right. You can't prove anything. You attack us, and we have every right to defend ourselves. Now move along. This is a family matter.

'The king honours the bounty set by Mayor Philan of Alexandria,' replied the vampire. 'And you attempted to kill king's own citizens, Armin and Dianne, in an unprovoked assault. You have no 'rights' here.'

As he spoke, the sounds of approaching cars came from nearby. Lots of big cars. The city guards.

Jack: "Carl, that's a lot of guards..."

Jerry: "It's over, Dad. You're hunting career is done."

Sam: "...No...If it's not us, it's just going to be someone else. There's no escaping justice."

Several Jeeps appeared from around the corner, skidding to halts outside Jerry's house. Guards started jumping out of the cars, training guns on the hunter group and circling them aggressively. 'Drop your weapons!' one barked.

Jack: "Carl?"

Sam: "This isn't the end of it. Mark my words."

{Sam motions to his family, causing them to surrender.}

Carl: "Oh hell no, we ain't going to prison!"

{Throwing down a smokescreen, the brothers run down an alley. They are surprisingly fast.}

The guards moved in quickly to grab the Garveys' weapons and handcuff them. A few other guards attempted to pursue the Tussock brothers, but were disorientated by the smokescreen.

The vampire spoke. 'Deal with these scum! We'll keep track of the other two!'

He shifted into a crow, and together with the pigeon vampire, took off. They got above the smoke and started to pursue the brothers down the alleyway.

//Garvey family are being arrested. The Tussocks are fleeing the scene. Be warned, they are armed and may have magic...//

{As soon as the crow cleared the smoke, a bullet ripped through his wing. The bullet carried flame with it. It seems to have been enchanted}

Jack: "You missed? Your visor ok?"

Carl: "Do you have any idea how fast vampires are?"

The bird cried out and dived down behind a building to get out of the brothers' sight. He shifted back, examining the burned wound in his arm.

//Backup required. Something other than vampires...//

{The brothers kept running through the city, looking to escape.}

As Carl and Jack continued to flee, a roar echoed from nearby, and Ryder suddenly burst out from around a corner, right in front of them. He sprung forwards, swinging a heavy paw to knock them down.

Meanwhile, the guards had pulled the Garvey family members into their cars, handcuffed, and started to drive away.

Jack: "Dragon. Shifter. Watch out.l

{When he turned the corner, Jack ducked, but Carl got knocked down. Jack started shooting Ryder in the side, running up the side of the building.}

Jack: "I warned you, bro!l"

Ryder used his wing to cover his side, taking the brunt of the shots in his wing instead. Lunging, he closed his jaws around Carl, picking him up off the ground. With a flick of his head, he threw Carl at Jack like a bowling ball.

{Jack leapt to the side, avoiding his brother as he flew by. Jack then tossed a flashbang at Ryder's head, hoping it would disorient the dragon}

Carl: "...Ow..."

Jack: "I did warn you..."

Ryder shied away, shrieking at the flash of light and noise. Unable to see or hear properly, he turned his head to where he assumed the brothers were, and blasted a jet of flame. It wouldn't hit them directly, but they'd certainly feel the heat from it.

{As Ryder spat flames at them, Jack grabbed up his brother and kept running.}

Jack: "Go, go!"

{As they entered the next street, Carl sees a storm drain with a broken grating. With a running start, they slide into it and into the sewer below.}

Carl: "Should keep the dragons off us and give us a way out."

Jack: "Sure, but how are we supposed to operate in a city that's after us?!"

Carl: "One problem at a time!"

(Posting new roooom)