Armin pushed away from the wall and turned towards the exit, calling Esme. She bounded after him, eager to go and eat. Her growth seemed to have slowed down, as she had only grown an inch or two in the last two months.

Pythia: "It was nice meeting you. If you ever need healing, just come to me."

Aava: "Ok...Thank you..."

{Aava follows Dianne out. Once they get to the car, Aava walks over to the front of it, inspecting it curiously.}

Aava: "How does it work? Is there something inside?"

Dianne: "It has an engine. You put fuel through a hole in the side of it and that makes it run."

Armin briefly lifted the hood of the car, showing the parts inside. 'It's just a machine. Who knows, now that you're living here, maybe you can learn to drive one someday.'

{Aava looks at it with wonder, then her expression drops as she seemingly realizes something.}

Aava: "Yeah...assuming I can be cured at all and I don't have to be killed..."

Dianne: "Aava, it won't come to that. We are going to cure you."

'We've done a lot. We can find a way. Then, of course, you'll have to build a new life for yourself in this unfamiliar time period, but... Maybe it's best not to plan /that/ far ahead.'

Aava: "If it does work...what would I even do?"

Dianne: "Don't worry about that now. Let's just focus on curing you for now."

{Ushering her into the car, Dianne sits next to her.}

'One more stop before home, Fred,' said Armin, guessing Fred might want to go home himself by now. 'What kind of food are we getting?' he asked, glancing towards everyone in the back.

Dianne: "Let's introduce Aava to cheeseburgers. To Fatboi burgers."

Aava: "Cheeseburger? I do like cheese..."

{As they drove, Aava looks between Armin and Dianne.}

Aava: "I have to ask...Are you two...a couple?"

'Uh, yeah,' said Armin a little cautiously, unsure how she might react to that. 'We are.'

{Aava looks between them momentarily, then gives a resigned smile.}

Aava: "I'm happy for you both. And Dianne, glad you got yourself some."

Dianne: "Ummm...thanks?"

Aava: "When I knew you, you were so strung out. And unhappy. Now, you're so cheery."

'Well, thanks for being supportive. I half-expected you to be annoyed that you don't have a chance with her,' said Armin, eyebrows slightly raised as he watched her in the rear-view mirror.

Aava: "I've been having such a sh!tty 500 years, this hardly surprises me. Besides...all the good ones are straight anyway....no girl ever goes for a girl like me..."

Dianne: "Now, hold on, I'm sure you'll find someone eventually."

Aava: "Well, you took my advances seriously enough to mention me to your boyfriend. That has to count for something."

'You've barely had any chance to find someone yet. You were pretty young before, and then you spent half a millennium as a cursed creature. Don't give up so prematurely.'
.
Fred remained dutifully silent through the whole conversation. Relationships were in no way his strong point.

Aava: "I guess you're right."

Dianne: "Yeah. You'll find someone, I guarantee it."

Shortly after this was said, the car pulled up outside a burger restaurant.
.
'Alright, let's go. I need to see if they have fish burgers.'

{Dianne leads them in, Esme in hand. She sits down at a table in the corner, and a waitress approaches them and hands out menus. They do have a fish burger, but Aava seems perplexed.}

Aava: "What artist drew these? These pictures are flawless."

Dianne: "Um...who wants to tell her about photography?"

Armin didn't look up from his menu. 'There are devices called cameras that capture images of things you see around you. You point the camera at something and press a button and it creates a perfect picture of it.'
.
He demonstrated by taking out his phone, photographing Esme, then showing the screen to Aava.

Aava: "Amazing..."

Dianne: "Here, this is a cheeseburger."

Aava: "Looks pretty good. I'll take that."

Armin put his menu aside and sat back, looking around the restaurant as he waited for a waiter to notice them.

Aava: "The world has changed so much...cameras, cars, wierd light things on the streets...I've been shot in the face by enough guns to get the gist of those..."

Dianne: "You'll get used to it. We'll explain it all along the way."

{Just then, a waiter came by to ask their orders.}

Dianne: "Three cheeseburgers, three sides of fries, two lemonades, one in a bowl for the little one, and a chocolate shake."

Aava: "A chocolate what now?"

'You might prefer being at Dianne's place. We live in the countryside, away from all the lights and noise.'
.
Armin looked up when the waiter approached.
.
'I'll have the fish burger and a lemonade.' He side eyed Aava. 'It's a drink. A sweet drink.'

{Dianne smiles slightly at that.}

Dianne: "Make that two shakes."

{The waiter leaves. Aava looks around at the restaurant.}

Aava: "Yeah, this is a bit...much for me to take in...but I'm so hungry, I don't really care."

Dianne: "Actually...I think after this, I should take you shopping. You need more clothes than Owel's hand me downs."

'We should probably go back and change first,' said Armin. 'We're both still wearing armour and I've got a sword on me.'

Aava: "I would appreciate that. These aren't the most comfortable..."

Dianne: "Agreed. Maybe I should bring a change of clothes for myself when I do these things..."

Aava: "You do dangerous stuff like this often?"

'Yeah. We get into danger a lot. Sometimes it's not by choice, though. We also have hunters trying to kill us fairly often.'

Aava: "I can imagine. It was hunters that came for you the night when...you know..."

Dianne: "Yeah..."

{The pair falls silent, looking a little somber.}

There was a short silence before Armin spoke up, voice slow and thoughtful. 'This might be odd, but... Thank you for not turning against her when that happened. I heard your commander wanted to kill her, but you stopped him.'

Aava: "How could I let Gaffer do that? She was the only real friend I had. My family died in the initial invasion, Helga was all kinds of harsh on me...she was the only other person who understood how it felt to lose your whole world...and necromancer or not, I wasn't just going to turn my back on her."

Dianne: "Aava, I...I didn't realize how much you valued our friendship...I should never have run..."

Aava: "If I didn't get cursed, I was going to come looking for you. I know I would have found you eventually."

Armin stayed quiet, feeling that this was something of a personal moment between them. Though he barely knew Aava and she knew him even less, he was grateful that she'd been a friend to Dianne when she had no-one else. He knew how it felt to be alone.

Dianne: "I swear, if I had known what happened to you..."

Aava: "It's not your fault. After I turned and woke up the first time, they took me to the field commander. However, the trip back to camp was three days, so I turned again right at his feet. I don't know what happened after, but the next time I woke up, the war was long over, or so that farmer said...Gaffer and the army must have just given up on me..."

{Dianne looks both regretful that she wasn't there, and disgusted that no one in the army even tried to help her.}

Dianne: "I'm so sorry...we are not going to abandon you. I swear, I will break this curse."

'I'll do whatever I can to help, too,' said Armin. 'I hate the damn araneos, but I'm still coming. We'll fix this.'

Aava: "Yeah, I hate them too, but I'll fight them if it means getting this damn necklace off..."

{Just then, the waiter came back with their orders.}

Aava: "Hmmm....It certainly smells good..."

Armin and Esme both began digging into their food with relish. 'It is. Hmm, we might have to return to this restaurant again.' He watched Aava surreptitiously as he ate, aware that this was the first normal food she'd had in centuries.

{Aava picks up her burger, eyeing it curiously. She takes a cautious bite, then her face lights up. She takes a few more greedy bites, as she is starving.}

Aava: "Ohmahgurd this is so good!"

{Dianne smiles at this, eating her meal.}

Dianne: "It's good, right? Slow down now, don't choke."

Armin chuckled slightly. 'Well, you're going to have fun discovering all the foods we have in this time.' He resumed eating, a little more sedately after the first few bites.

{Aava kept eating at a brisk pace. Dianne did notice that she looked a little malnourished when she saw her in the cave, so she didn't protest this. About halfway through her burger, Aava eyes her lemonade, having never seen a straw. Seeing how everyone else drank from it, she took a sip. Looking at the drink in wonder, Aava nods in approval.}

Aava: "Sweet and tart. I like it."

Armin drained about a third of his lemonade in one go. 'You should join us on one of our fishing trips. We go down to the lake, catch fish and cook them over a fire. That should be a bit more familiar to you.'

Aava: "Yeah...I think I'd like that..."

Dianne: "It will have to be in the spring, however. Lake's frozen over right now."

Aava: "Yeah, makes sense."

{Aava then looks at her burger, pulling out a pickle and eating it.}

Aava: "These little green discs are great! What are they?"

'They're little cucumbers fermented in vinegar and they're an abomination,' Armin muttered. He had been pleased to discover that the fish burger had no pickles on it.

Aava: "What? They're delicious, what do you mean?"

Dianne: "Armin is a picky eater. He doesn't like them."

Aava: "Ok, to each their own, I guess..."

{Scarfing down the last of her burger, Aava starts on the fries.}

Aava: "Wait, are these potatoes?"

'Yup.'
.
Armin finished his burger and leaned back more comfortably, sipping his lemonade. Esme was doing the same, whilst chewing on her straw.

{Soonafter, everyone had finished. Dianne was sitting back and Aava was sipping her shake, delighted with the flavor.}

Dianne: "Ready to go?"

Aava: "Yeah, I'm ready. Thanks for the food."

Armin and Esme got up from the table, and started to walk for the exit. Fred was still waiting outside in his car.

{Dianne pays for the meal, then walks to the car.}

Aava: "Fred, was it? What's your story?"

'We're going back to Dianne's place, by the way, Fred,' added Armin.
.
'My story?' said Fred as he started driving. 'What do you want to know, exactly?'

Aava: "Well...who are you? What do you do? Armin said you were his son, right?"

'I had two children with a previous relationship, when I was human,' said Armin. 'He's the only one still around today.'
.
'I, and those who work with me, carry out various tasks throughout the province, usually things that humans cannot easily do,' said Fred. 'Hence why I was asked to investigate the supposed creature in the cave outside Opalway.'

{Aava grimaces at that.}

Aava: "Right...That guy I ate....were you two close?"

'Not particularly. Not that that makes his life less valuable, but I wasn't close to him. He was just looking for interesting work when he came to me. And you didn't eat him: the creature did.'

Dianne: "Yeah. judging by your very visible ribs, whatever the creature eats does not nourish you. You're two separate entities."

Aava: "...So, I'm not responsible for countless deaths?"

Dianne: "No, you're not. If you're not in control, you can't be blamed."

'Just what I was going to say,' said Fred. 'You are two separate beings, neither responsible for the other's actions. You can't control what the beast does, but nor can it control you. Only in this form are you actually you.'

Aava: "Well...that makes me feel a little better...Still sucks that I'm cursed..."

Dianne: "We'll figure that out. Frederick, when we go north, can you spare any men? There are a lot of spiders up there."

'Yes - those who aren't opposed to it. I won't force any to go against their will. Honestly, I'm interested in seeing the ruins of Alacria myself, but I won't go, for several reasons. I will send whatever support I can.'

Dianne: "I appreciate this, Frederick."

{Aava leans on Dianne as they drive, closing her eyes. Dianne raises a brow, but does not protest.}

Armin briefly eyed them in the rear-view mirror, but he didn't seem to mind.
.
After a quiet drive, they had escaped onto the country lanes. Dianne's house came into view, and Fred halted outside without stopping the engine. 'I'm dropping you off here,' he said. 'Your car is here, so you can drive yourself wherever you want to go after this.'

Dianne: "Of course. Thank you, Fred."

{Getting off, she scoops up Esme and heads for the house.}

Aava: "You live here? Dianne, you never told me you were /rich/?!"

Dianne: "At that time, most of my hoard was hidden. I didn't exactly have access to it."

'She's even richer than she was back then. We raided a rich dead guy's crypt. And Fred pays us to help him with tasks sometimes.'
.
Armin briefly said goodbye to Fred, then headed up towards the house with them.

{Aava just shakes her head.}

Aava: "Jeeze. What do you do with all that money?"

Dianne: "Keep it, appreciate it, sleep on it, buy whatever we want with it. It's nice to have."

{Once they get inside, Aava follows them up the stairs, gazing around in awe.}

Aava: "This place is huge."

'Yeah. There's a big bathroom just up there,' said Armin, pointing vaguely up the top of the stairs. 'You can have your pick of the bedrooms; there's several.'

Aava: "I'll bathe first. Then I'll pick a room. My hair is filthy."

Dianne: "Here, I'll show you how to work it. They're a little different from the baths back then."

{Once Aava figured out how to work the shower and learned the difference between shampoo and conditioner, Dianne closes the door, leaving her to it. She then heads to her bedroom to change out of her armor.}

Dianne: "...This is going to be a loooong journey..."

Armin went into the bedroom as well, gratefully stripping off his armour and changing into his usual shirt and leather jacket. Esme had wandered off somewhere to play.
.
'Yep. And we'll cure her,' he said confidently.

{Dianne changes into her shirt and jeans, then leans against the wall momentarily.}

Dianne: "I hope this works...poor thing has suffered enough..."

'It will. We know where we're going and who we're looking for.'
.
Done with changing, Armin looked her over.
.
'I can only imagine what she feels like. From her perspective, she's basically time travelled 500 years into the future, and everything she knows is gone. You're the only familiar thing she has left. Don't be surprised if she clings to you from now on.'

Dianne: "I know. I don't mind having her around. She's one of the few friends I've had. If she wants to stay close, I'll happily lodge her here. Would that be alright with you?"

'That's fine. I think once we get to know each other, she'll be a fun person to be around. Besides... I've got Rex; there's no reason why you can't have a close friend too.'

Dianne: "Glad to hear it."

{She says, walking over and kissing him on the cheek.}

Dianne: "Speaking of Rex, we'll have to introduce her to him, Jerry, and Ivy pretty soon. Wonder what they'll think."

'I think they've seen enough weird stuff by now to not be fazed by the story.'
.
Armin wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into an embrace, kissing her affectionately.

{Chuckling, she returns the kiss, hugging him tightly.}

Dianne: "Yeah, they'll be fine..."

After drawing back from the kiss, he just hugged her, burying his face in her neck.
.
'I've barely touched you today. You left early to work on your project, and then /this/ happened... Just give me a moment for this, before we have to go out again...'

Dianne: "Take all the time you need."

{Dianne stands with him, moving one hand to stroke his hair and nuzzling the side of his face.}

Eyes closed, Armin snuggled into her. Because of her strength, he was able to relax his full weight against her.
.
'I guess we'll just wait for her to be done in the shower, then head out shopping...'

Dianne: "Yes. That's exactly what we'll do. But for now..."

{Pulling him along gently, she sits on the bed with him.}

Dianne: "Be here with me."

Letting out a contented growl, he nudged his head under hers and gently dug his fangs into her throat.
.
//Forever and always,// he said.

{Giving a quick inhale, she squeezes him tightly.}

Dianne: "Forever and always..."

{She murmurs in his ear. About ten minutes later, the shower stops.}

Armin shifted slightly, turning his head towards the door, not quite breaking contact with her. 'Sounds like the elf is done,' he observed.

Dianne: "Yup...guess we better get ready..."

{Nipping him affectionately on the neck, Dianne gets up and heads for the door.}

Armin hauled himself to his feet, stretched, and walked after her without protest.

{As they approached the bathroom door, it opened. Aava walks out looking refreshed and glowing.}

Aava: "Whew. First bath in five hundred years. I feel a lot better. And cleaner."

//Yeah, you smell better too,// Armin thought privately. //With a vampire's sense of smell, that was pretty bad before...//
.
'I can imagine. At least you won't have to go 500 years for the next one.'

Aava: "Yeah. Anyway, are we going shopping?"

Dianne: "Yeah, you need your own wardrobe. You also need to pick what room you want."

Aava: "I'd like the one across the way from yours. If that's ok."

Dianne: "Of course. Whichever you want."

While they talked, Armin went to look for Esme, finding her in the rec room. 'Hey, you want to come to the shops with us?'
.
She cocked her head, seemed to think about it, then nodded and followed him out of the room.

{Dianne walked with Aava downstairs and out to the truck.}

Aava: "Does this city have a lot of traders?"

Dianne: "Erm, sort of. I'll have to explain chain stores."

Aava: "Chain stores? Why do we need chains?"

Armin let Dianne do the explaining this time as he climbed into the front of the truck, putting Esme on Dianne's seat. The ground was still hard and frozen, but no snow had fallen recently.

{Dianne explained the best she could as they got into the vehicle.}

Aava: "Oh, so when a merchant gets rich enough, they can just open tons of stores across the lands?"

Dianne: "Basically, yes."

Aava: "Got it."

Armin started the engine. 'Sorry about the lack of seats. This thing is meant for transporting goods, hence the big empty space in the back.'

Aava: "That's ok. I like the extra room."

{Aava sits quietly as they drive along.}

Aava: "This seems like a nice city. Who's the king?"

'King Cadwaladar,' Armin replied. 'He's OK. A bit of a coward though. He lets us get away with anything because he's scared of what Dianne might do to him and his city if he says no.'

{Aava snickers at that.}

Aava: "That sounds right. At least he's not a despot."

Dianne: "I literally never even threatened the man. He just decided that I might tear his city down if he crosses me."

'This city has a history of mistrust towards non-humans,' said Armin. 'It's getting better, but for centuries, our kind weren't even allowed to live here. The king's attitude isn't unusual. Almost everyone born here was raised to think non-humans are indiscriminately dangerous.'

Aava: "Oh...well that sucks..."

Dianne: "Blame the mountain dragon tribes. It was their treachery that led to this mindset."

Aava: "I don't care who's fault it was, I already feel like a monster. I don't want everyone treating me that way too."

Dianne: "No one is going to treat you like a monster. The worst you'll get is the occasional side glance."

'People are being forced to reconsider their views. We and our friends have been living here for over a year and the non-human population is growing. They have no choice but to get used to it. So far, we haven't gotten any trouble. Just - as she said - the occasional glance.'

Aava: "Ok, then I guess it's not so bad..."

Dianne: "Yeah, we're all doing great. And I know that you will to."

'It's a nice city, really,' said Armin. 'Though it does get boring after a while. So we like to go on trips. We visited Alexandria a while ago, and that was nice, although hunters tried to kill us there.'

Aava: "Alexandria? Where's that?"

Dianne: "After the war, it was built around Castle Dinkerton and renamed Alexandria. It's now the most nonhuman friendly city and province on the continent."

Aava: "Really? They picked that fat old man's castle as a starting point?"

Dianne: "Hey, it already had all the farmlands and infrastructure. Why not? Besides, I left all the peasants alive to keep farming and I didn't ruin the crops. It was free resources for the rebellion."

'What?' said Armin, taking one hand off the wheel and turning to look at her. 'You killed everyone there so that the rebels could start building Alexandria? I didn't know that.'

Dianne: "Well, I didn't know that's what they were going to do after I did that. I had unfinished business with the duke, for shooting me with ballistas and sending hunters after me that killed half my friends and ruined my friendship with Aava. I killed him and left, and the rebels moved right in."

'Wow. So Alexandria might not even exist if you hadn't done that. Or, even if it had, I imagine a lot more of the rebels would have died fighting him first.'

Dianne: "Huh...yeah, I guess you're right...I never thought of it that way."

Aava: "And that's why Gaffer was a damn idiot, chasing you off like that. You basically won us the war, single handedly. We probably could have beaten them back up north as well, with your help."

'At least you killed the duke before you left,' said Armin. 'Think of how nice Alexandria is - you made all of that possible.'

Dianne: "Yeah, I guess I am...That's nice to think about."

Aava: "You were a blessing to so many suffering people. Everyone up there owes you an unpayable debt."

Armin reached over, patted Dianne's shoulder, then returned both hands to the wheel.

'Stuff like this is why people should stop sending hunters after you. Sure, you've done bad things, but you can do incredible good, and that's just one example of it.'

{Dianne smiles a little at that.}

Aava: "Heh, you're cute when you're flattered."

Armin let out a quiet chuckle. They were approaching the shopping district by then. 'What do you mean? She's cute most of the time.'

Aava: "Well, yeah. So, you see it too?"

{Dianne just laughs, shaking her head good naturedly.}

Dianne: "Ok you two, you made your point. We're here now."

Smiling slightly, Armin drove into the shopping district and found a place to park the truck.

'Alright, let's go to the clothes store. I might get something myself.'

{Dianne hops off with Esme, followed by Aava.}

Dianne: "Ok. Let's go find the ladies section..."

Once they got into the clothes store, Armin peeled off from the rest of the group. 'I'm going to look for some things. I'll meet up with you in a minute.'

Dianne: "Ok, take your time."

{Dianne, Esme, and Aava head off to the ladies section to pick her out some more comfortable clothes.}

Aava: "So, you and Armin. How long has that been going on?"

Dianne: "Oh, four months or so."

Aava: "Ok. And Esme. You're raising her together, but you're not married?"

Dianne: "Sort of. I have custody of her, but he and I are raising her together.

Armin wandered the other way, to the men's section, and started picking out some shirts to replace the ones that had been ruined in fights. He was too far away to clearly hear what Aava and Dianne were saying.

Aava: "Hmm...Ok. Do you think you will get married?"

Dianne: "I don't know, probably. We are pretty happy together. Honestly, I'm just waiting for him to ask. Here, try these on."

{Dianne hands Aava some soft shirts, shorts, and pants and directs her to the changing rooms.}

While Aava was in the changing rooms, Armin walked past with two shirts and a black sweater hung over his arm. He didn't stop to talk, but went up to the counter to pay for his things with his own money.

{Dianne coyly waves at him as he passes, smiling at him. Aava walks out with a shirt and canvas pants. They seem to fit well.

Aava: "These feel better. I like them....Style sure has changed since my day..."

As Aava spoke, another person approached the counter and stopped to wait when they noticed Armin was already there. Looking around, they spotted Dianne nearby. It was Ivy, dressed in a green turtleneck sweater, a long skirt and high boots.
.
'Oh, hello,' she said. Her eyes flickered towards Aava with a look of curiosity.

Dianne: "Oh, hello, Ivy."

{She says, a little surprised.}

Dianne: "Ivy, this is my friend, Aava. She's new to the city."

Aava: "Um, hello."

'You had a friend who nobody has ever heard of? You've never mentioned her, and Jerry hasn't either. Seems odd that she's just now popped out of the woodworks.'

Dianne: "Yeah, about that..."

Aava: "I spent the last 500 years trapped in the body of a bloodthirsty monster. Dianne thought I was dead until she found out I was terrorizing people in a nearby town. And even then, she didn't know it was me until the creature died and turned back into me."

Dianne: "...It's complicated..."

Ivy took a moment to digest this, then shrugged. 'With all the ridiculousness that happens here every other week, I find myself not surprised by anything anymore. Hello, Aava, welcome to Sovereign City.' She stretched out her clothes-free hand to shake.

{Aava gingerly shakes her hand, smiling nervously.}

Aava: "It's nice to meet you."

Dianne: "That reminds me, I need to talk to Jerry. We're going on a trip and I need to know if he wants to go."

Armin walked back to them, shirts and sweater in a bag. 'Yeah, Jerry would probably be useful to have along. I can't help but worry about him, though, being human and all.'
.
'Oh, it's some sort of dangerous trip?' said Ivy. 'Well, you'd better not get anyone killed.'

Dianne: "We'll be fine. This is really important and having a marksman would be useful."
Aava: "I don't think he needs to risk himself for me...He doesn't even know me...}

'Well, it's up to him. And, I don't think it matters that he doesn't know you. He's a good guy; he'll probably be willing to help just because you're Dianne's friend.'

Aava: "...I don't want anyone else to die on my account. Maybe he shouldn't come."

Dianne: "Relax, everything is going to be fine."

Ivy had watched this exchange curiously without comment. Realising that the cashier was now available, she sauntered off to purchase her clothes.
.
'I don't want to risk anyone getting hurt either, but we might need the help. It'll be OK. We'll all protect each other,' said Armin.

Aava: "Alright..."

{She seemed nervous now, watching Ivy walk away without saying goodbye. Dianne pats her back in a comforting manner.}

Dianne: "Armin's right. We work really well as a team. We'll be ok."

Armin decided that this wasn't the time to mention how many injuries and near-death experiences he and Dianne had had over the last few months.
.
'Anyway, I don't think we're going for a few days, so don't worry about it now.'

Aava: "Yeah, we need to make sure this trinket actually works..."

{She says, waving her bracelet around.}

Aava: "Anyway, it all fits, can we go home now?"

Dianne: "Sure, just change back and we'll pay for this."

{Aava goes back into the stall. Dianne rubs her eyes, seemingly worried.}

Armin waited beside Dianne, catching her demeanor. 'What's up?' he said in a low voice.

Dianne: "Trying to save her is one thing, but trying to save someone who's already given up...we need to keep her with hope."

'All we can do is focus on getting this curse lifted. Think how happy she'll be once it's gone, and she's free to live however she wants. She's just got to push through. Her pessimism is understandable right now.'

Dianne: "I suppose that's all we can do. But yeah. She'll be herself again."

{Aava exits with Owel's clothes. Dianne then leads them to the cashier to pay.}

The cashier checked out their items with a bored indifference, not seeming to care that they were all non-humans. Once they had paid, Armin began to lead the way out of the store.

{Once they get to the car, Aava speaks up.}

Aava: "Look, I appreciate what you've done for me, but...am I really worth all the trouble?"

Dianne: "Of course you are? Where did that come from?"

'You're not just some random stranger, you know. You were Dianne's friend when she didn't have anyone else. You helped her and defended her from your own comrades. I think you're worth the effort to save.'

Dianne: "Aava, You are my friend. And that's saying a lot because I've /never/ had friends. My own husband betrays me, Dolorus leads me to commit atrocities, and I've lived my life as a black sheep, but you...you've been better to me than 99 percent of the people I've met. I am not giving up on you, especially when you need my help."

Armin settled into the driver's seat, listening intently for Aava's response.

{Aava tears up a little bit, wiping her eyes.}

Aava: "Thank you. I just want to be normal again. And another shot at being friends with you."

Dianne: "And that's what we'll do.

'We'll sort this out. And then you can live here and do whatever you want. You can be friends, without anyone running off this time.'

Dianne: "Yes. I'm not leaving you like that again."

{Aava just nods as they drive along, looking a little more upbeat.}

Darkness was beginning to fall by then as late afternoon transitioned into dusk. Thick clouds were gathering overhead, perhaps indicating another fall of snow to come.
.
'How are we getting to Alacria?' Armin asked. 'We don't have Titan anymore, and flying would take days if we have to stop for rest every night. And camping in these conditions might not be safe.'

Dianne: "We have no choice. We'll have to drive. Unless Luxia can make a portal that far..."

'She'd better. If it snows heavily up there, we won't be able to drive. If we camp in that cold, you'll be risking hibernation. We have to get there quickly.'

Dianne: "I'll call her tomorrow, see how far her range is. If she can at least make it halfway, I can just share my mana with her so she can double jump. It might leave the both of us exhausted, but it's the quickest way."

Armin hummed in agreement. //We have a few days to plan the trip and find out who's coming. Hopefully it all goes smoothly.//
.
He fell silent and they continued to drive through the slowly darkening city.

{Aava quietly watches the lights go by, eyes drooping a bit. It had been a long, somewhat emotional day and she was starting to tire.}

Dianne: "Fish for dinner tonight. Hope you're all hungry."

'That sounds perfect.'
.
The truck rolled onto a country road. Dianne's house quickly came into view, and he began to park in the front yard.

{Dianne hops out with Esme and the bags. As Dianne walked into the foyer, Aava follows behind her, then hugs her tightly. She says nothing, seemingly just wanting the hug. Dianne looks momentarily surprised, then puts the bags down and pats Aava's back comfortingly,}

Armin locked up the car and followed. Finding them, he smiled faintly and slipped past them without disturbing the moment, taking his own bag and heading upstairs to put his things away.

{Aava eventually lets go and heads upstairs with her clothes to change. Dianne sets Esme down and begins cooking. After changing into a t shirt and shorts, Aava begins to inspect the kitchen while Dianne cooked.}

Aava: "What is this thing?"

Dianne: "That's a refrigerator. It keeps our food cold."

'Very convenient thing to have,' said Armin, catching their exchange as he came downstairs. He lingered nearby, waiting, half watching Dianne cook and half watching Aava explore.

{Aava opens the refrigerator door, feeling the cold air and looking at the assortment of foods.}

Aava: "Woah...cheese? Eggs? Strawberry preserves? And it's all kept fresh? Does this run on lightning too?"

Dianne: "Electricity, yes. Most things do."

Armin nodded at the door above the refrigerator. 'That's the freezer compartment. Keeps things completely frozen, so they last even longer.'

{Aava opens the freezer, peering inside curiously.}

Aava: "Wait, this means you have ice all year round?"

Dianne: "Yep. Goes well with drinks."

Aava: "Frozen potatoes, lasagna dinner....ice...cream? What is that?"

Dianne: "It's a sweet frozen deser made from milk, sugar, and water, mostly.

Armin squinted at the freezer. //I don't remember us buying ice cream. Why would we have ice cream in the winter? Oh well.//

{Aava pulls it out, but is disappointed to find that it's an empty carton from a while ago.}

Dianne: "Yeah, sorry. I must have forgotten to throw that out."

{Closing the freezer, Aava moves to inspect the toaster.}

Aava: "What is this thing?"

'A toaster,' said Armin. 'It just heats slices of bread to make them crispy.'

Aava: "Ooooooh, so, I don't need to crisp my bread over an open fire anymore?"

Dianne: "Nope. The toaster does that for you."

'You'll probably find that - once you know how all the appliances work - doing most things is easier now. Technology evolved to make tasks less time-consuming... At the cost of sometimes being more boring.'

Dianne: "It's true. See that weird box? That's called a microwave. It reheats food."

Aava: "Really? How?"

'Uhh... Explain how microwaves work in simple terms,' said Armin to Dianne.

Dianne: "Erm...It's difficult to do so without a working knowledge of electromagnetic radiation and wavelength..."

Aava: "Electro-what-now?"

Dianne: "I'll give you a crash course later, but for now...it heats things from the inside out."

'Yeah, that's all anyone needs to know,' said Armin. 'It's better to just use the oven anyway.' He indicated said oven. 'That's what people generally use for cooking instead of fires these days.'

Aava: "If course I know what an oven is. We still had bakeries 500 years ago. Wait, do bakeries still exist?"

Dianne: "Yes, but they're no longer the only way to get your bread."

Aava: "Yeah, all those chain stores probably have tons of bread."

Dianne: "Yes, the "supermarkets". Anyway, the food is ready."

Esme was hanging around in the doorway, waiting for a meal to be brought to her. Armin took his own food with a quiet murmur of thanks and headed out with it.

{Aava takes her food and follows Dianne, who had her own and Esme's plate. Dianne led them to the rec room.}

Dianne: "Ok. This one might be difficult to explain, but...this, is a television. It recieves moving pictures from a broadcast station and displays them here."

Aava: "...wat?"

'Like how the camera records pictures, people can also record moving things. The television displays entertainment, similar to watching a play at a theater, but it also shows informative stuff like the news.'
.
Armin didn't care to explain any further, sitting down and promptly digging into his fish.

Dianne: "Here, just watch..."

{Dianne flips on the tv, showing a documentary on fish. Aava looks on in awe.}

Aava: "Woah...and this...this is just a moving picture? With sound?"

Dianne: "Yes. For entertainment and educational purposes."

'Yep. Sometimes they're quite interesting. We once saw an informational show about Dianne's own species. As well as various historical time periods.'

Aava: "Cool."

{Mesmerized by this wondrous thing, Aava begins eating.}

Armin ate quietly, watching the fish swimming by on the TV. Once he had scraped his plate clean, he set it aside and sat back more comfortably on the beanbag couch.

{Dianne was sitting next to Armin, with Aava sitting in front of them next to Esme.}

Aava: "Never seen fish like that before."

'Well, there's a lot of fish species.'
.
Esme finished eating and turned her full attention to the TV, mesmerised by the softly moving images. Armin shifted a little closer to Dianne.

{Dianne glances at Armin, smiling. Aava continued watching for a while, then yawned and looked back at the pair.}

Aava: "I think I'm ready to sleep. Can...can someone show me to my room? This place is so big...

Armin yawned and straightened up. 'Yeah. It's just across from ours. Here.' He started to get up to lead her to the room.

{Dianne got up as well, following them up. Once they got to her room, Aava looked inside. It looked very neat and comfy.}

Aava: "Wow. This is nice. Better than that pile of hay I had to sleep in last time I was me."

'I should hope so,' he said, with amusement. 'Well, make yourself at home. If you press that switch over there, it'll make it lighter or darker in here.'

{Aava plays with the switch for a moment.}

Aava: "Neato. Alright, I'm off to bed. See you two in the morning."

Dianne: "Goodnight, Aava. If you need anything at all, just ask."

'Night.' Armin backed out of the doorway, leaving Aava to it. 'What about you? Do you want to head up to bed?' he asked Dianne.

Dianne: "Hmm...I want to shower first. Are you ready for bed?"

'Yes, though I wouldn't mind showering too. Maybe we could go in together to save time and water. Or whatever you want,' he said with a slight yawn.

Aava: "That's hot."

{She says through the door. Dianne chuckles and leads Armin away from the door.}

Dianne: "Like you said earlier, you haven't been able to touch me lately. Well, now's your chance."

Armin smirked at the comment from behind the door, then he headed towards the bathroom. 'Alright. Esme might go up to bed soon, but have Barnabas keep an eye on her.'

Dianne: "You heard him, Barnabas."

{Fetching her sleepwear from the bedroom, she heads into the bath.}

Armin followed suit. Once they were shut in the room, he reached into the shower cubicle to switch it on, then leisurely undressed while he waited for it to be warm enough.

{Dianne disrobed, then stepped into the cubicle. Turning, she looks Armin over with a flirtatious smirk.}

Dianne: "Hey, handsome. Awfully lonely in here by myself."

'Impatient.' Armin finished disrobing and carefully stepped into the shower after her. 'But I'll let you off since you complimented me.'
.
Looking amused, he wrapped his arms around her, then dropped his forehead against hers and simply gazed into her eyes for a moment.

{Dianne smiles, wrapping her arms around him and looking into his eyes.}

Dianne: "But it got you in here, didn't it? You and those gorgeous eyes."

'Oh, feel free to go on about how good-looking I am,' he said cheekily. Without waiting for a response, he lowered his head and kissed her passionately, tightening his grip.

{Dianne leans into the kiss, squeezing him tightly. Once it concluded, she ducks under his chin and begins to repeatedly kiss and lightly nip his neck.}

Armin gave a quick breath, tilting his head back in response. His fingers trailed down her back, lightly scratching with his nails. He said nothing for the moment, just breathing and enjoying the attention.

{Dianne began working her way down his neck, biting the side of it a bit more roughly. Gently scraping her teeth along the length of his neck, she bites down on the muscle between his neck and shoulder sharply.}

Armin tensed and reflexively dragged his nails down her back. Shifting slightly, he mirrored her action, sinking his teeth into the same spot beside her neck, roughly enough to leave marks.

{Dianne let out a quiet groan, digging her teeth and nails in harder. She then moves a hand up to his hair and begins kissing under his jaw.}

Armin pulled his teeth out and leaned his head back with a soft growl when she grasped his hair. Breathing quick and uneven, he pulled her close against him, caressing wherever he could reach.

{Dianne lightly chuckles, breathing unevenly. She begins to nip him gently, focusing mostly on stroking his hair.}

'Oh, that's good...'
.
Armin dug his fingers into her sides every time she bit him. It seemed that stroking his hair was less soothing and more of a turn-on in this situation. His hands slowly edged downwards, beginning to get dangerously low.

{Dianne begins to tense, feeling his hands.}

Dianne: "I feel you creeping down there...want to move this forward?"

With a grin, he lowered his head and nipped a sensitive area under her jaw.
.
'If you want to, then yes.'

Dianne: "Yeah...I'm real ready..."

{Chuckling, she kisses him passionately.}

Dianne: "Your move..."

(Skip?)

(Yeh, you can skip to morning, or wherever you like.)

-------------------------------------------
{The next morning, Dianne's early alarm rang out. Silencing it, she snuggles back up to Armin, grumbling.}

Dianne: "...Forgot to disable that..."

Armin half woke at the noise, but not enough to do more than mumble incoherently, drag her closer, and snuggle in. His breathing settled into the slow rhythm of sleep. Dianne's nightmares were among the few things that could get him awake quickly.

{Dianne smiles at him sleepily, settling in.}

Dianne: "Lucky...didn't even wake up..."

{She quickly falls asleep, feeling warm, safe, and comfortable. She continues to sleep well into noon, when there was a knock at the bedroom door.}

Armin stirred. 'Wh' the hell 's that?'
.
Despite the lateness of the morning, he opened his eyes only reluctantly, squinting at the door and not getting up. He figured that if they were just knocking and not yelling, then it wasn't urgent.
.
'What?' he called out.

Aava: "I-it's Aava. Umm, I'm sorry to bother you mr. Armin, but... I'm kind of starving and I have no idea how to use anything in the kitchen..."

{Dianne sits up, rubbing her eyes.}

Dianne: "That's ok, Aava. Go down to the kitchen and I'll be right there."

Aava: "Th-Thanks."

{With that, Aava nervously hurries away.}

Armin gazed at the door with a slightly bemused expression until he couldn't hear her footsteps anymore. '...Am I that intimidating?'

Dianne: "To her, yeah. You're the tall vampire guy that stole her love interest. And, you do sound grouchy in the morning."

{Chuckling, she kisses his cheek, then gets up to get dressed.}

Armin grumbled. He stayed there for a moment, then slowly dragged himself up and reached for his clothes. Esme woke in the middle of all of this and padded out of the room.

{Dianne got dressed and went into the kitchen. Aava was sitting on a chair, looking unsure as to how she'd react to being woken up. Dianne just smiles at her.}

Dianne: "Ok, let's teach you how to cook in the modern century."

Armin came down shortly afterwards, dressed as he'd been yesterday and looking more awake. He didn't go straight into the kitchen, but paused to look through a window. A very light flurry of snow was falling, but it wasn't settling.
.
//Coldest winter we've had in a long time... I wonder who's going to come with us on our trip? I don't want to endanger anyone, but I think we'll need people to help with the spiders.//

{Dianne teaches Aava how to cook before cooking for herself and Esme. With food in hand, Dianne walks into the dining room.}

Dianne: "Today I need to talk to the king, Luxia, Jerry, and Frederick."

'I need to talk to Rex. I messaged him about what's going on and why I need to leave again, but he's not happy about it. I need to talk to him in person.'

Dianne: "Ok...we should probably introduce her then..."

{Dianne fell into contemplative silence. This definitely wasn't going to improve Rex's opinion of her.}

Armin made himself some coffee to pass the time while they ate.
.
'Hey, what kind of weapons do you use?' he asked Aava curiously. 'We'll have to find you something when we go to the spider city.'

Aava: "Huh? Oh, I really don't use weapons. You see, I can turn my hair into magical wood, and I generally just use that. I can make fists, spikes, shields, whatever I need for the moment."

{To demonstrate, her hair begins to become animated, twisting up and forming into wooden hands. She waves at him with one of them.}

Armin followed the hand's movements with his gaze, impressed and intrigued. He hadn't been sure the ability was really Aava's, or the beast's.
.
'That's useful. Being able to have any weapon you need. Just watch what you're doing with that, I don't do well with wood.'

Aava: "I know. I won't use it unless it's a life or death situation."

{With the wood turning back into hair, Aava finishes her meal. Also being done, Dianne stands and stretches.}

Dianne: "Ok, who do we go see first?"

'I think Luxia's shop is the closest from here,' said Armin. 'If we want to drive to each person's house in order, we'll visit her first. Then Jerry.'

Dianne: "That works. Also, I need to talk to Pythia. Someone needs to take care of Esme while we're gone."

'Yeah. I hope she doesn't mind that we always get her to be our babysitter. Also, depending on how long we're going to be away, we might need someone to feed your ferret and check in on the horses.'

Dianne: "I think Rex can feed Reginald. But we need someone with equestrian experience to look after the horses."

Aava: "You have horses?"

Dianne: "Yes, out in the stable. A pair of Ferrosian Hares."

Aava: "Wow. Always wanted to ride one of those."

'Maybe we could pay one of the local farmers to take them in. There's plenty around here.' Armin glanced at Aava. 'You can sometime, if you want. They're good horses.'

Aava: "Yeah, but...After..."

Dianne: "Yes, I suppose we could. But, who would be trustworthy enough to give them to while we're gone?"

'I don't know. But we don't know anyone personally, with equestrian experience, who also isn't coming on the trip,' Armin pointed out. 'I don't suppose you could just order a draugr to look after them?'

Dianne: "I could. Would have to have Bufo do it and have the training skeleton and prototype automaton help around the house. That should eliminate the need to hire someone else."

'Whatever works. The horses shouldn't be scared of a draugr.'
.
Armin stepped into the foyer and started to pull his boots on in preparation to leave.

{Dianne grabs her coat, then gets one of her leather jackets for Aava. Scooping up Esme, Dianne leads Aava out to the truck.}

Dianne: "Ok, Luxia it is."

(Posting new room)