Good Ideas

Who: Herbert and Charlotte with animal and mother cameos :)
Where: Charlotte's house!
When: Late morning

Though he'd only actually been to Charlie's house once, Herbert didn't have any trouble finding it again. The whole evil-cat incident had rather firmly engraved its location in his brain, even if he wasn't already good at that sort of thing. He wished he could be coming over in some situation that didn't involve worrying about whether she was safe, though. They needed to just hang out, sometime, without migraines or evilness or stress. Yes, there definitely needed to be less stress.

After parking his bicycle beside the porch, Herbert climbed the steps to knock on the door. He didn't really look any better than he had the day before, as the bruises were just changing different colors and he had just replaced the band-aids on his neck with fresh ones rather than foregoing them altogether, but at least the Charlie-smell about the place made him smile.

The dogs went on a barking spree when there was a knock, and considering this was the first time Charlotte could actually pick up on their surface thoughts when they did it? It was a little disorienting. She'd heard things before, but never like this. It was going to take some getting used to.

But it meant that Herbert was here! Because it was too late for vampires, and one of them wasn't going to knock on the door anyway. She ran through the house and yanked the door open, and threw her arms around Herbert before actually trying to look at his face. "My powers advanced!" she hissed excitedly. "I can hear -- holy crow, Herbert." All the excitement drained from her voice the second she actually looked up at him. "Are you okay??"

Though Herbert had started out with a laugh, catching her to hug her back-- despite the smaller cuts on his sides and back complaining a little-- and planning to ask her just what she meant by "advanced", her question and sudden change of tone made his smile fade a bit, too. "I'm all right," he promised. "Just a little banged up, that's all. Definitely healing."

It looked worse than Charlotte had anticipated. She'd been hoping the werebear thing would have given him a bigger advantage. She frowned up at him for a moment, before she realized they were lingering on the porch. And even if it was completely safe to be out in the daytime, it still felt weird. Nevermind the subject matter of what they were talking about. So she stepped back and gestured for him to finally come inside. The dogs were waiting at her heels to sniff him out. Safe. she promised, and they calmed immediately. That didn't mean they stopped sniffing. That part was important.

Aaah, the animals. Herbert wasn't so big on telling them to get in line or out of his way, this time, since it wasn't exactly an emergency. Instead, he bent over a bit and offered his hands to sniff. "And it'll be okay if I sniff back, right?" he commented, grinning at Charlie. "Or do dogs take offense to people-sniffing?"

"I think it would be safe to say that they have never encountered people-sniffing." Charlotte replied, having to giggle at the mental image. "I can't imagine a dog would mind. But - I could actually tell you now. When I woke up this morning I could hear them. Their thoughts, and talk with them that way. I used to just pick up little things."

Herbert looked up from sticking his face into the nearer dog's muzzle to snuffle amiably and beamed at her. "Oh, wow, they talk and everything?" That was cool. "Rrr! Congratulations."

Charlotte grinned. "They talk. A lot." she confirmed, which had sort of been a shocker to her, too. She'd known they had thoughts, but English and voices... that was more than she'd hoped for - even though her grandmother had tried to tell her how it worked when she was very little. She'd half-forgotten some of it, and maybe she just had to see - or hear - this herself. "I have to concentrate to hear them, but Anna," she pointed to the smaller dog, the spaniel, "Anna is special." She felt a small beam of pride and appreciation come from Anna, and the dog stood a little straighter. "She belonged to my grandmother, and she was an animal telepath too. So I dunno, I guess Anna's just used to it. She linked to me right away."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Anna," Herbert said with a solemn nod, careful not to show the dog too much teeth. He offered her his hand, more officially. "And seems like you're making little Charlie pretty happy, all talking to her and everything. --Do they understand English?" he asked suddenly, blinking at Charlie.

Charlotte grinned again as Anna gave Herbert her paw. "They understand." she confirmed. "Some animals do better than others, I haven't figured out how that happens. Some animals just seem to be listening." And now she could know without a doubt if they were. "These ones definitely understand." she said, proudly.

"Maybe because they know you're listening, back, so they pay more attention to you and learn more," Herbert guessed, attempting to give Anna's floppy ears a friendly sniff. "Well, you smell smart," he told her teasingly, though he wasn't sure if a dog could pick up teasing or not. Maybe she'd just take it as a compliment.

Charlotte was pretty sure Anna would just take it as a compliment. Or maybe the obvious truth. She kept that thought to herself with a private smile. She heard her mom in the kitchen, and with an internal nervous flutter of organs decided she better get this over with. She'd accepted the fact that her mom was probably going to find a way to humiliate her no matter what. "Let me introduce you to my mom, and see if she can help you."

"Oh. Yes, all right. You're sure she won't mind?" Because Herbert might have been a bit wary about the mother thing and the healing thing, both, but he also thought it was a good idea. He would love to look less like roadkill. "I wonder if she smells like you," he added thoughtfully.

Charlotte chuckled softly. "Probably." she said, thoughtfully. "I guess we'll find out." She gestured for Herbert to follow her as she lead the way through the hall and through to the kitchen. Her mother was kind of a contrast to Charlotte - her skin darker and her hair fairer - but they had similar faces. Though Charlotte thought her mother looked much stronger than she did, and naturally, her mother was a lot prettier. "Um, Mom... this is Herbert."

Isadora smiled immediately, the worry-lines of her face going away completely. "Hello, Herbert. I'm Isadora. Goodness, what happened to you?"

The thought that Isadora might be pretty in any way simply didn't cross Herbert's mind. Charlie was pretty to him because of scent and sound and personality quite as much as, if not more than, her looks. He smiled, a little sheepishly, in greeting. "Hallo, ma'am. I just kind of got... erm, into a bit of a scrap, is all." With vampires. In which he bit one's head off. And ooooh, he was not telling that to the nice lady who told Charlotte what she could and could not do....

Herbert might not have wanted to say it, but Charlotte definitely did. "With vampires." she clarified. "He scrapped with vampires." She would have scowled if she thought it wouldn't worry Herbert. "Can you heal him?"

Isadora looked a little surprised by Charlotte's tact, but it faded quickly to a sympathetic smile. She seemed to realize that her daughter would have told Herbert what she was. "I won't ask how you survived a 'scrap' with vampires, not if I want to sleep at night while I think about you with my daughter," Charlotte's cheeks went dark red, "But no, I can't. I wish I could, but earth elementals can only heal sickness. I'm sorry. It looks, at least, like you faired pretty well."

The werebear actually flinched when Charlie just blurted it all out there, and tried to look as innocent and hurting-ish as he could for Isadora's benefit-- it was a pretty pathetic act, and he looked more apologetic than anything else. Please don't think I'm dangerous, please don't think I'm dangerous, please don't... aw, curse it. "That's okay. My roommate might wonder if I came home all healed up, anyway." Not exactly true-- she'd wonder, but be less inclined to freak out at him.

And he promised Charlie was safe with him. No matter what it took, Charlie was safe with him. But he felt a little funny saying that in front of her, so he kept it to himself and just looked earnest. "I don't really make a habit of scrapping... it just kind of happened."

Charlotte was definitely embarrassed now. This was probably stuff she should actually know. "He doesn't." she agreed. "He just... vampires..." Yeah, she was lame.

Isadora looked pretty amused, and generally not the way Charlotte thought a mother whose daughter had brought home a teenage boy should look. Isadora just delighted with her daughter having human friends - or some variant thereof. "Lottie's told me about you. It's okay, I believe her so far." she promised. "Are you alright?"

"Lottie?" Herbert glanced at Charlie with a little smile. That was a new one. Kind of cute, actually, though he didn't think he'd ever wind up calling her anything other than what he did now. He shook his head a little. "Yes... I'm all right. A little banged up, but I'm healing." And you should see the other guy. Ugh. He swallowed a bit at the sudden-- and ill-timed-- taste of blood in his mouth again. Was that going to keep coming back forever? "Just hoping it doesn't happen again," he finished.

Charlotte wondered how noticeable it would be if she tried to hide in one of the cupboards. Probably pretty noticeable, but it was tempting anyway. She decided to just keep her mouth shut and pretend not to be embarrassed.

"Are you and your room-mate staying somewhere safe?" Isadora questioned.

"We live in Tourville," Herbert answered readily. "And it's got four different protection spells on it. One specifically keeps vampires out." And it worked, too. Ha. Stupid... whatever that vampire's name was. Herbert still didn't trust him.

Charlotte still didn't think the problem was keeping them out so much as it was the vampires lighting things on fire, but they weren't any better off here.

"Good, I'm sure it won't be much longer." Isadora replied, ever the optimist. Charlotte started to feel hopeful herself, as it appeared her mother was getting ready to leave the room. "Well I guess I'll leave you kids alone." she said. "It was nice meeting you, Herbert." And mercifully she headed out of the room.

"And you, as well, ma'am," Herbert said deferentially, but he, too, looked relieved to be left alone, heaving a sigh of relief once he thought Isadora out of earshot. He added, more quietly, "Well, that didn't go too badly. She didn't order me out of the house, or anything."

Charlotte had been all but holding her breath, and she let it out with a small smile. "I knew she wouldn't." she offered. She headed over to the fridge and grabbed a couple of sodas, holding one up to offer Herbert. Just embarrass me. She's good at that. It hadn't gone as badly as it could have.

"I didn't. Especially not with the vampires thing." But she didn't, so it was all good. Accepting the drink with a nod of thanks, Herbert popped it open and leaned back against the counter. "So tell me more about your... your advancing?"

"She knows what's going on." Charlotte said, shrugging. She headed over to the stools at the island and took one. "I woke up this morning and just felt more... aware? There's always this buzzing, and it was like... deeper. And I heard Anna."

"Is it just the talking-to-animals thing?" Animal t...elepathy? His memory wasn't the best right then. "Or the earth thing, too?" She didn't really smell any different, he didn't think-- and he made an attempt at doing so subtly now, just in case-- but he hadn't really smelled her in a while, either. Just her with a bunch of other people-smells around. Maybe it was a gradual thing, advancing, so he wouldn't necessarily notice.

"I think it's both." she answered, though she still wasn't absolutely positive. She'd tried doing things with it, like getting a plant to react to her somehow, but that hadn't worked. But at the same time, she didn't really think that was the sort of thing she'd be capable of for years, and not overnight. Earth wasn't something you saw the effects of right away, like fire. Earth took a long time. "I feel like it's both, but I don't have any proof. I think I'll know in time, I just have to... meditate." Which she felt like she'd been doing all the time now. "I advanced once before, with the telepathy, it just wasn't at the same time as the earth thing. They're separate."

"Ah, right, right." Herbert nodded, setting that straight in his head. Meditating-- the old shaman back home had wanted him to do that before. He'd fallen asleep every time. Hopefully Charlie was better at it. "So animal telepathy doesn't just go with earth elemental stuff. Kind of seems to fit well, though, doesn't it?" Animals, nature, earth... or maybe it just seemed to because it fit well in her.

Charlotte smiled a bit and nodded. "My grandmother had it too. I'm really glad she did too, or I probably would have thought I was crazy. Or my mom would have. I think a lot of telepaths go insane." And she could see why. Without the warning she would have felt insane. It was still weird telling people. She still had to tell Kaysen. Crap.

That thought was disturbing. "Insane?" Herbert repeated with a little frown. "Do they really? You're the only one I know." And at least she wasn't going insane. That was something. "Are there people-telepaths, too, then?" Really, he didn't know much about this kind of thing.

"The people-telepaths are more common, I think. I've never actually met anyone but my grandmother that was a, uh... anything-telepath. I don't really know how it works for other people." she admitted. It wasn't like there were internet support groups for this. Or, there probably were, full of the really colorful and imaginative insane that would bend over in happiness at the thought of vampires.

Herbert nodded, understanding that, at least. "Kind of like how I didn't know what other kinds of weres were out there until I came here." And met several, which he was really rather glad he had met. "Or what kinds of anything were out here. I keep running into people who are other things, too, that I never knew existed. Elementals, demons, vampires...." He shrugs and smiled. "It's... exciting, but sometimes a bit overwhelming."

Charlotte had to grin, and she nodded. "Yeah, a year ago I definitely would have thought we were both crazy." she joked. This place was good for that, though she couldn't possibly bring herself to regret the move. Vampire apocalypse and everything that had happened aside... this place was home now.

"Guess it's a good thing we moved here, eh?" Herbert agreed, following her line of thought unintentionally. Good for their understanding of the world, anyway, even though the whole... vampire biting thing and people dying thing he could live without. "Wonder if I would've learned anything about any of this if I'd kept going, stayed in Munising or farther south, out of Michigan."

"This can't be the only place." Charlotte said. "I mean, well, I guess it could, but it's highly unlikely. I'm glad you ended up here." she offered, though she realized immediately that she probably shouldn't be - demons and vampires of it all. "Where were you going to go?"

"I was just going until I got tired of going and found someplace I liked," Herbert shrugged, smiling over at her. "And I liked it here, so here I stayed. I'm glad I did, too. Even if there are vampires and demons and things, I got to meet you-- first person, even-- and make more friends than I've really ever had."

Charlotte grinned again, happy to be the first person he met. "Me too." she said. "I never had friends that were human before." she said, before giving a small shrug. "Or some variant there-of. Human-shaped."

Unable to help a little laughter, Herbert nodded. "Human-shaped. Most of the time, anyway." Which made him think of Sammy again-- one of those weres he knew, and was also glad to know, now. And who had also tangled with vampires... poor raven-boy. "I know you probably didn't even have a chance to think about this, but did you ask Kaysen about your... meeting thing?"

"We did talk about it." Charlotte answered, though remembering the conversation made her remember what else they had talked about, which she still hadn't recovered from. "It's a good idea. Do they know about the other stuff that's happened?"

"Stacey does-- she's the witch. She made me those candles and the glowing chalk, and this." Herbert fished the pebble out of his pocket to let Charlie see, holding it out for her. He still carried it, as much out of habit as because he figured it might be useful; it did, if Charlie picked it up and felt it, have a couple chips, as if he'd chewed on it now and then absently. Since he had. "It's some kind of protection-- not against vampires, obviously, but it was for the mine. I don't know if Sammy does... oh, and Peyton knows. Though she only started believing me, like, yesterday. She knows about me, too." He fully expected Isaac to invite Peyton along, if anyone did.

Charlotte regarded the pebble with interest, actually getting up to have a closer look. "That's pretty cool." she said, blinking. Her interest at first was something she almost considered selfish - it was earth. What a neat charm. "I think it's the plan for Kaysen to make sure the girlfriend's involved. Chance'll be there too." She didn't tell Herbert that Kaysen and Chance were going together - she wasn't sure if Kaysen had talked to her brother about it yet. "Leija won't. She and Thom broke up and well, no one really knows her. So it's kind of a weird situation. I'm gonna try to see that someone talks to her, maybe, but she won't be there. Unless Thom decides to invite her. I don't really know the situation."

"Oh... oh, well, all right. I think Peyton might have a class with her. Or I know her smell, I could probably track her down, if Thom doesn't want to." That kind of sucked, that people were breaking up in the middle of all this. Herbert felt bad for them. "I haven't talked much to Chance, since the mine thing, though, either." Not that he'd talked much with Leija, either... or at all... but hey. "This could be, rrrm, interesting. All of us in one place for one reason." Interesting in good ways, bad ways, any ways.

Charlotte nodded. "I wish we could have done it before all this vampire apocalypse stuff started." She wasn't silly enough to think that they could have really stopped it, but she still felt like it would have helped.

"I think people're doing a pretty good job staying inside... nobody I know who would've even been there has really been hurt or in trouble." Just himself, really. He offered her a smile. "Maybe the idea's working already, people keeping in touch and sharing what they know, eh?"

Charlotte smiled back. "Maybe." she agreed. And she realized that was pretty true. She'd been checking in daily with Kaysen, Joshua, and Dean. "I guess we've got the start of a good system, then."

"You know," Herbert agreed with a grin, "I think we do."