herbert and olivia

Who: Olivia and Herbert
When: Morning
Where: Apartment

As per usual, Olivia was up before Herbert. She got to cooking breakfast, cleaned up some of the living room and went to his door to knock to make sure he was up for school. It was October already, and autumn would be sliding quickly into winter and she knew she was going to have to do more than beat on the door to get him up once he started... hibernating. Which was really bizarre to think about, but she supposed werebears, even in human form, liked to sleep.

Who: Olivia and Herbert
When: Early morning
Where: Apartment

It wasn't until about seven thirty that Olivia began to think the shadows were gone for good. Everything had been quiet and normal since about four in the morning, and she had dozed for awhile, relaxing with every hour that passed without incident. When she woke up, showered and dressed, she put a pot of coffee on and headed to Herbert's room. She knew she should let him sleep, but she figured at this point, he could be up anyway. And she was still bothered that he was upset with her - or had been yesterday. She told herself it wasn't healthy to have tension between roommates, so she was going to get it out of the way early before he woke up and realized the shadows were - hopefully - gone. No doubt he'd be out the door to check on his friends, and she didn't want to wait until he got home later. Especially if she had plans to be gone as well. Knocking lightly on his door, her hand fell to the doorknob in case he called for her to come in.

Who: Herbert and Olivia
Where: The apartment
When: Morning, 8:30ish

Herbert plodded up the stairs to the apartment tiredly. It had been a long night, without much sleep, and a longer morning, because while he'd been perfectly happy to protect Geo when the shadow-people attacked, he really hadn't been prepared to have to defend himself, and Sammy, at the same time. It'd been a bit surprising, really. He was hoping that there'd be a reprieve inside the apartment, that Olivia and Judiel had busted every mirror from there to school, or... something else equally improbable.

He unlocked and opened the door, coming inside as quietly as he could despite his boots, on the off-chance that the two were asleep. Probably not, though; he could hear the shower running. Darn. He could probably stand to wash off a little in the bathroom. His face and back were a bit bloody still.

Who: Herbert and Olivia
When: Dawn
Where: Apartment

Olivia was up before the sun was having not slept much the night before. She was minorly freaked out by the shadows that seemed to be following her - okay, majorly freaked out. She knew she wasn't the only one dealing with the shadows - but she still didn't know what to do about them, or who might know what they were and how to get rid of them. One had followed her home the night before from Babylon. It hadn't come inside when she made her way into the apartment complex, but Olivia wasn't taking any chances by actually attempting to sleep. She had begun to nod off a couple times, despite herself, but every little creak and noise in the apartment seemed to jolt her awake with a part of her prepared to fight, even if there was nothing corporeal to touch.

As the sun was rising, she'd finished cleaning the kitchen, even though it wasn't that messy to begin with. Grabbing some clean clothes, she headed for the bathroom for a shower. With the mirror replaced, it had been a tiny thing to see that at least the shadows didn't show up in the reflection anymore. Olivia only made it a few feet before she saw the shadows appear from the bathroom door. For a moment she wondered if they would just hover there, like the one had yesterday - keeping it's distance, but watching. Only they didn't. The goddamn things attacked her instead. She wouldn't have thought a shadow could do much damage, but they had claw-like fingers, one of them slicing through her t-shirt into her shoulder. She cried out, dropped her clothes, and swung at them with her arm. It deterred them long enough for her to turn toward Herbert's room. She was almost there when she felt them claw at her back. Dropping to her knees, she instinctively let out a scream, though a part of her wondered if there was really anything one could do at that point. She knew she should have left the damn mirror broken.

Who: Olivia and Herbert
When: Early morning
Where: Apartment

Olivia slept on and off over the course of the night, feeling restless for reasons she couldn't quite put her finger on. She had given up on getting comfortable in her bedroom and had ventured out to sleep on the couch after dumping an afghan over the television. Still, she slept restlessly, dozing somewhere between sleep and consciousness as daybreak began to peek it's way into their apartment. Olivia rolled over on the couch, stretched a bit and lazily opened her eyes. She didn't have time to react to the shadow standing over her because as she scrambled to the back of the couch, a gasp catching in her throat - it was suddenly gone. Olivia breathed heavily, trying to ignore the pounding of her heart in her chest.

Who: Olivia and Herbert
Where: The apartment
When: Near to midnight

Olivia got home from Babylon later than she'd hoped, but it was just bordering on midnight when she walked through the door. Herbert wasn't on the couch this time, but Olivia still moved quietly, pushing off her shoes and dumping her bag in her bedroom. She hadn't waited around Babylon once her shift ended as she'd already been pushed to the edge working in the bar with the mirrors and glasses and... it hadn't made for a stress free work environment at all. Not to mention she'd checked her messages earlier and with Mathias apparently out of town, there was no real reason to hang around. She tried not to let it bother her that he'd left town without telling her. He wasn't obligated in any shape or form, and given he hadn't called her back all week, she really shouldn't have expected him to. Although she hadn't been obligated either and she'd still gone to tell him before she'd went home for a few days. Even still, ultimately Olivia decided it didn't matter. She supposed she'd see him Monday, if he was still willing.

Who: Olivia and Herbert
When: Shortly before midnight
Where: Apartment

Being back at Babylon was strange, but not a bad thing. She had more cash now than she had after her shift at Mya's, which was a reminder of why she hadn't quit the job yet. A part of her wondered if she ought to leave Mya's, with Brian working there and the awkwardness and... she could focus and work more at Babylon and probably not deal with those issues and still make more money. The thought was in her mind as she headed home, smoking a cigarette. It was late, and dark, but she didn't mind it. She wasn't afraid anymore, now that the Acherus had left. But it reminded her of other things, including calling the police department again about her bag. Why she kept forgetting, she had no clue. Flicking her cigarette away, Olivia entered the apartment complex and minutes later, she was pushing open the door to her own apartment, her feet immediately pushing to get her shoes off. She spotted Herbert instantly on the couch and quietly shut the door, unsure of whether or not he was sleeping.

Herbert was, indeed, asleep, head rolled back on the couch back and eyes firmly shut. Elda was even snuggled up next to him on the cushion, also asleep. Given the werebear hearing, though, and the subconscious knowledge that he wasn't in bed because he was waiting for Olivia to get home, even the quiet click of the door, even the opening of the door, had him lifting his head-- wincing a little at the bruised collarbone-- and blinking blearily in the direction of the door. "Olivia?"

Elda stirred and peeped, though whether in protest of the movement or echoing Herbert's greeting was quite vague.

Who: Olivia and Herbert
Where: Tourville
When: Late evening

It took Olivia much longer than it probably should have to get home. She felt good, fuzzy and distracted. So much so that she didn't realize she'd walked around the same block until she'd past the same yapping dog three times in a row. After that she had tried to focus on getting home. A part of her wanted to go to Mathias's but fortunately, there was still a rational part of her awake and she sighed as she passed his house on the way home, sparing it a glance and pushing her feet forward. Wanting to cut some time, she started across the park, pausing once to take off her sandals. She had a blister forming on the back of her heel. Olivia got through the park without incident, only tripping twice and finding it insanely funny. Lord help her, it was barely eight o'clock. She got to Tourville, managed to get inside and stared up the ominous stairs.

Judi was up there. He'd probably let her shower and sleep in his bed, if she asked. But Rational sparked in her again and she knew she shouldn't be doing that either. Sighing, Olivia trudged her way up the stairs, forced herself past Judi's door and got to her own. She stared at the doorknob for several moments, wondering how she'd managed to be carefree and laughing at Domino's to feeling poorly now, and tired. Dumping her shoes and bag outside of the door, she left them there and turned to head back downstairs rather than go inside. She got to the pool moments later and was relieved to find it empty. Screaming kids was not the remedy for her right now. She lifted a hand to her swimming head - ha - and sat on the edge before slipping her feet into the water. Sitting up proved to be far too dizzying, so she laid back on the floor, hands resting on her stomach as she stared at the ceiling above her.

Who: Herbert and Olivia
When: Early morning
Where: Their apartment

Olivia was up, showered and cooking before Herbert had woken. She hadn't slept very well the night before, after having stayed up most of the night playing... video games with Corwin. Video games with a vampire. She wondered if Judiel would find that amusing or not. In any case, it had at least been distracting. She read for the rest of the night until she dozed for about an hour before the sun began to peek into her room. Sipping a bit of coffee now, Olivia was finishing up the omelet she'd made for Herbert - who she was sure would smell it while it was cooking and hopefully lure him out of bed. She found early on that it was hard waking a teenage boy from slumber. Worse when said boy was a werebear. As much as Olivia loved the season, she was dreading winter. Herbert hibernating? She'd have to pound pots and pans together over his head to get him up for school, no doubt. But that wasn't the only reason she was cooking him breakfast that morning. She wanted to talk to him briefly about Corwin and hopefully succeed in it a bit better than she had the night before. She was afraid that maybe she'd hurt his feelings somehow, and she felt a strange, intense need to remedy that if it was true.

Who: Olivia and Herbert
When: Evening
Where: Phone

It had taken some time, but after wandering around the shopping center several blocks from her house, Olivia managed to track down a pay phone. It seemed like in these days of cell phones, pay phones were harder to come by. With the house phone disconnected, and her own cell phone still MIA - along with her necklace which constantly caused inward cringing whenever she thought about it - it was really her only option other than bugging a neighbor, which she really didn't feel like doing.

Picking up the handset, Olivia called collect, hoping Herbert would answer. And when he did, hoping he didn't get confused by the recording and prompts and hang up on her. She said her name clearly into the phone and then heard it connect and begin to ring. She really hadn't anticipated how eager she was to hear his voice.

Who: Olivia and Herbert
When: Early evening
Where: Apartment

When Olivia finally dragged herself from Judiel's apartment, she felt a bit better, if still tired. She would have preferred to just stay there all day... and maybe the rest of the week, but there were things she needed to do, and people she needed to take care of before she left. The second she entered her apartment, she slipped off her sandals and swept her gaze around the small apartment. "Herbert?" Judi had promised he'd check on Herbert while she was gone, but she still wanted to make sure he didn't need anything and he'd be all right.

Herbert was just getting out of the shower-- working all day again had left him gross and sticky-- when he heard the door opening and closing, shortly followed by his name. Olivia was finally back. Oh, good. As much as he had been glad that Olivia was over at Judiel's, probably making things right with him again, he would have rather liked to see her sometime.

So he poked his head out of the bathroom and called, back, "Hallo, Olivia! Be out in a second." Seeing as she had such a problem with naked werebear, and all, he figured he ought to get dressed before he came out.

From his bedroom, Elda peeped at the sound of his voice, and he grinned a little to himself as he shut the bathroom door again and set about getting dressed.

Who: Herbert and Olivia
Where: Their apartment
When: Late morning

After his usual morning bicycle ride-- which he still kept up with, even though he was riding through what looked like a ghost town, buildings vandalized and rubble everywhere, with very few people actually out even though dawn had come and the clouds were thinning-- post-ride shower, breakfast, and the rather new experience of feeding a hungry duckling breakfast of her own, Herbert figured maybe getting Elda into some water would be a good idea. She was a duck, after all, and ought to know how to swim, or just enjoy a little wading if she was too young to swim.

Setting Elda on the bathroom floor to wander about as she would, Herbert set about getting the tub ready: he didn't want the water too hot, or too cold, or too deep. Just in case she couldn't swim. More importantly, he had to find the plug, which he realized was missing somewhere as he turned the water on. While he hunted around the bathroom cupboards and drawers, Elda wandered out into the hall.

Who: Herbert and Olivia
When: Late Afternoon
Where: Apartment

Olivia had gotten home a bit earlier, thanks to a ride from Dexter, and had gone about putting the food away before taking another shower to ease the tension and curling up on the couch with her journal. After writing a lengthy couple of pages in her journal and feeling incredibly refreshed, Olivia went into the kitchen and set about making something to eat, unsure as to where Herbert had gone. Maybe she could try to make a veggie casserole or something and put it in the freezer, then he would just have to put it in the oven later when he got home. It sounded like a good idea, so she got to work, placing a pot of water onto the stove to boil. It was rainy, and dreary, but she was feeling okay. A lot better actually, after having written in her journal and coming to some pretty cemented conclusions about what to do with herself. In fact, she could feel a tiny smile forming on her lips every now and then, despite dreading what she knew she would have to do eventually. No matter. If she thought too much about it, she might revert back to cowardice, and that was something she was determined not to do. Slicing through a couple carrots, Olivia popped a piece in her mouth and refocused her attention solely on Herbert's dinner.

It had been a much better afternoon than Herbert had expected. Charlie had been happy, despite everything; it had been good to see Peyton; and he had a duck! A little baby duck that looked dwarfed in the palm of his hand, but that he carried carefully the whole ride home. It-- she, Edna, if Sammy was to be believed, and he had no reason not to believe him; she smelled a little female-ish, maybe-- was sound asleep when he climbed the stairs, so he tried to do so carefully and quietly.

Who: Olivia and Herbert
When: Early morning
Where: Apartment

She got home without falling asleep in the cab, ignoring the curious glances from the driver. She knew she looked bad, with the bandages and the men's clothing but she didn't care much for having to explain herself to a stranger. So she said nothing but muttered a thanks as she got out and got herself inside the building. She walked slowly up the stairs, wincing with each step until she got to her floor. She went immediately for her bag, and then remembered it was gone. Sighing, she eyed Judiel's door before she stopped in front of her own and knocked since her key was now missing with her bag. She only hoped Herbert was home and okay.

Herbert was home. Okay might have been up for debate, but he was definitely home. He'd made it back to the couch sometime the night before, and actually got to sleep without having awful nightmares. He also slept through his usual wake-up time, exhausted from pretty much getting beat up on the night before.

So he was in the living room, sprawled out on the couch and in that place of dozing between really being asleep and really waking up, when the knock came. He flailed awake-- and a big guy like him flailing was a major thing-- wound up on the floor in a moment of panicked confusion, and then finally realized what had woken him up wasn't anything more than a knock on the door.

Who: Herbert and Olivia
Where: The apartment
When: Early morning, before school

Despite the lack of rain today, Herbert actually forwent his usual morning ride to sniff around the apartment. He'd wanted to rather much the night before, but Stacey had been there late and he'd really had to work on some homework. Stupid statistics. The smell of the magic had been distracting, then, but he'd kept working anyway and wound up just falling asleep in the middle of it all. Different smell or not, it was at least a soothing one.

So this morning, he'd spent his usual around-the-town time thoroughly investigating the new, magic-infused apartment. Well, except for Olivia's room, of course, as he didn't want to disturb her. Then he wound up in the bathroom getting ready for a shower a bit early, hoping to maybe get a head start on the whole day. If he got to school early, he could wait in his first class and work on the homework he'd fallen asleep in the middle of, the night before.

Who: Olivia and Herbert
Where: Streets of Marquette
When: 7:00pmish

Having the night off from Babylon left Olivia in a pretty good mood. It was a beautiful evening outside, she didn't have to work, and she was feeling much better after spending a bit of money at the festival at the college. With a few bags, she entered the apartment, immediately seeking out Herbert - if he was even home. She wanted to do something, and while she had the desire to go to Judiel's, she hadn't talked to Herbert in awhile, and after the news of that high school's girl, mixed with what had happened with his missing friends before, she thought maybe it was better to spend a couple hours with her roommate. "Herbert?" Olivia kicked the door shut behind her with her heel. "Are you home?"

Herbert was in his room, with his brand new, artistic-looking little lamp he'd gotten at the NMU thing, finishing up a little homework that he'd put off since he'd spent all day yesterday job-hunting and all day today socializing. His head popped up the sound of her opening the door, and then popped out of the bedroom door at the sound of her voice. "Hallo, Olivia! Yes, I'm home."

She jumped a tiny bit when he opened his door, but it wasn't like she hadn't been expecting him, so she shot him a small smile and wandered toward her room to set her stuff down. "What are you doing? I mean, are you busy? I kind of wanted to pop over to the carnival one more time before it shut down. Did you want to go?"

Who: Olivia and Herbert
When: 8AMish
Where: Apartment

It was strange, not having to work at 6am. Mya had asked her to work the evening shift that night, and so of course, Olivia complied. She figured the dinner rush couldn't be any crazier than the breakfast rush, and if it was, she could handle it. Even so, despite her not having to work, she found herself leaving Judi's apartment early while he still slept to go home and shower. She didn't know what to do with her day. A part of her just wanted to spend it with Judiel, but the tiny tight ball of anxiety and panic in her stomach was making that decision a tough one. The conversation they'd had the night before, about relationships and...how she'd wanted him. It hadn't bothered her at the time - nor did it really bother her now. But after the alcohol buzz and tiny sparks of pleasure had worn away in the middle of the night, she had found herself mentally flailing big time.

She didn't want to screw things up. But she had no clue how to do this. Not with the emotional baggage she carried around, the curse on her bloodline, her shortened lifespan (supposedly) and her apparent ultra fertility. Those things were dooming whatever it was she had with Judiel already and she wasn't sure how, or if, she could get around any of them. When he found out what she was, what it meant, he was going to walk away - or run, depending on how he found out.

With a headache brewing, Olivia entered her apartment, frowning to herself as she tried to push past all her hang ups. It wasn't like Judi loved her, or she loved him. They were just having fun - without having fun with other people. It never had to go farther than that if they didn't want it too. It didn't help that she was still wearing Mathias's necklace, when she knew she should have taken it off and given it back a long time ago. Hard to do that when he declared he wasn't going to see her again and had thus far stuck to that promise.

Sighing, Olivia began to pad her way to her room, wanting to find some clean clothes to change into.

Who: Herbert and Olivia
Where: The apartment
When: After 7PM

It had taken Herbert a good two hours to finally call Olivia. He'd been waiting for her to come home so he could just talk to her in person, but it looked like that wasn't happening. He didn't know where she was, whether she'd decided to go to work after all or whether she was out with friends. The sad part was, he realized unhappily, he didn't even know if she had any friends to be out with, much less who they were. He'd have to remedy that.

He'd have to remedy that some time that wasn't now. Because he doubted he could really hold that kind of a conversation at the moment.

Right then, he was sitting on his sleeping bag and the bare mattress under it, portable phone in one hand and Olivia's cell phone number in the other. He'd transferred it to a neater piece of paper than the old receipt she'd written it on, and boy was he glad they'd finally gotten a telephone, even though it was "just" a landline. He hadn't called yet, trying to think of what he could possibly say to her when she picked up. If she picked up. For all he knew, she wouldn't.

But he wanted to at least call. At least try. So he carefully punched in the number and waited while it rung.

Who: Olivia and Herbert
When: 8AM
Where: Their apartment

After parting ways with Corwin hours earlier, Olivia had been sorely tempted to knock on Judiel's door for some more company, but since she'd kept him up so late the night before, she didn't want to do it again. At least not so soon. So she'd resisted and instead spent most of the night reading one of the discount suspense novels she'd purchased from the magazine aisle at the grocery store a few days ago. Once it hit eight o'clock and the words began to blur together, she pushed herself to get up and take a shower, during which she'd also decided to try her hand at making chocolate chip pancakes and maybe scrambled eggs. Because if Herbert was home, she knew he'd be hungry and her own stomach was growling at the thought itself. She dried off and got dressed quickly, pulling her hair back into a ponytail and clasping her necklace before slipping it beneath her t-shirt. As she headed for the kitchen, she noticed Herbert's door was still shut, which meant he was either still sleeping, or he'd left and was out bike riding somewhere and hadn't wanted her to see the mess in his room. If he even had a mess. She rarely ever noticed. Once inside of the kitchen, she began to brew some coffee in the small cheap coffeemaker she'd bought and got to work cooking.