Misplaced Apologies

Who: Olivia and Corwin, and later some Herbert
Where: The streets
When: Late evening

Olivia was feeling much better, being back in Marquette. Which was strange, given all of the horrifying vampire death that had happened before she left. Sure, being back meant having to face all the complications she'd so expertly weaved in her life, but that was okay too. She could deal. She had to deal. Otherwise she would just want to run again, and she was trying so very hard to keep from doing that anymore. To keep herself occupied and distracted from the desire to go see Mathias. Or go knock on Judiel's door again, Olivia found the nearest open bar. She really was broke, but had enough cash left for a couple drinks. She could afford it, since she had every intention of going back to work tomorrow. Besides, having a quiet place where she could relax and think by herself was needed and while the bar might not have been really quiet, it was certainly easier to think there than holed up in her room.

After a couple of hours, she headed out and began to walk along the dark streets back toward home. After turning the corner away from the bar, she began to dig through her bag for her cigarettes, wavering only slightly as she wasn't really watching where she was going.

The continued lack of Olivia in her apartment was really starting to bother Corwin. He'd checked in at everyone else's houses, then hunkered down in a ruined and empty house's backyard, from which he could see the apartment window, for a couple hours. All he saw was the pacing roommate, obviously not terribly happy about the missing Olivia, either-- but, interestingly, he hadn't been the night before. Or the night before that. Just now.

After those couple hours, however, he finally gave up and headed away from the apartment complex, River trailing along behind him boredly. He didn't know where else to look, besides Babylon, but she hadn't been there in days, either. Maybe he'd try it there one more time, just in case. Maybe today he'd be back, and that was why Herbert was pacing.

He didn't get that far before River meowed, catching his attention, and bounded off across the street. Looking after her with mild curiosity, wondering if she'd spotted a rat or something, what he saw was Olivia, digging around in a purse-- a new one-- with River trotting right up to her as if she was a friend and, meowing loudly again, rubbing herself on the girl's shins.

Corwin sighed in relief, and waved, looking both ways before starting across and towards her. "Olivia!"

The cat startled her first and she nearly dropped her cigarettes before she heard someone calling her name. Looking up, she spotted the dark figure moving across the street toward her and instantly recognized Corwin. She hadn't seen him since the night she broke up with Judiel and in a fit of what she assumed was drunken stupidness, convinced him to bite her. Her face flushed a bit but she smiled anyway. "Hi." She looked down at the cat rubbing itself against her leg still. "She must be with you, I'm guessing..."

"She is," Corwin agreed, pulling his scarf down as he stepped up onto the curb on her side of the street, so she could see his shy, somewhat apologetic smile. "You remember River? She's the one I keep sending to you when I want to tell you something." Not that he really expected her to, but it worked for a re-introduction. He crouched and beckoned her over, so she might leave poor Olivia's legs alone and without a solid coating of cat hair, and scooped her up before standing up again. "How've you been?" he asked, a little tentatively. All he knew was that she'd disappeared-- shortly after he'd bitten her.

The cat had looked familiar, but Olivia never paid very close attention to the animals wandering around. Except for the new duck. She was kind of hard to miss. Olivia pulled a cigarette and dumped the pack back into her bag. How was she? Wasn't that a loaded question. She opted for the short story, since she didn't really want to weight Corwin down with her issues. "I've been okay. Busy, I guess." She lit the cigarette quickly, exhaled a stream of smoke and smiled at him. "How are you?" She wanted to reassure him that she wasn't upset with him in the slightest about what had happened, since he seemed a bit hesitant with her, but she really wasn't sure how to say it.

She'd been "busy"? "Not in town", more likely, but he could understand why she might want to tell him. At least she didn't seem angry. She did remember it, didn't she? She'd have to have, at least a little, because of the marks he'd had to have made. It was a little hard to miss when you'd been bitten by a vampire, really. "On edge," he answered truthfully, tucking River up under his chin where she set about chewing on the string to the hoodie. "But better now that the Acherus are gone. I've been looking around for you." It was said carefully, with a slightly nervous look at her, in case she took offense at him trying to find her.

Olivia did, in fact, remember. It was just all very hazy in detail, but yes, she definitely remembered. She had his bite on one side of her neck and the scar from the Acherus on the other. And both bites had felt so completely different. Standing in front of Corwin and remembering both the bite and the fight reminded her she had never found her necklace. Nor had she told Mathias she'd lost it. Wincing, Olivia brushed her fingers over her neck briefly. "Have you? I've been out of town the last couple of days... dealing with some stuff." But he'd been looking for her which sort of put her on edge and she tilted her head to the side. "Is something wrong? Are you all right?"

So she had left town, to "deal with some stuff". Stuff being... what? Getting away from him? And her gesture and expression made him flinch a little, too, looking down and away unhappily. To him, self-conscious and worried as he was and combined with her absence, it looked like a memory of being bitten, and not such a good one, either. "I'm fine... or as fine as anyone's going to be, these days. Just wanted to, er. To apologize. Make sure you were okay." Both after the Acherus and after... himself.

Confusion took over and Olivia dropped her hand back to her side. He looked upset for some reason, and she went over what she had just said, wondering if she had said something wrong or offensive. And then he was apologizing and she struggled to keep from becoming completely dumbfounded. "Why do you think you have to apologize? You didn't do anything wrong..." He'd saved her life, after all, and gotten her home when she'd needed someone to help her.

"For the...." His voice trailed off, and he shifted River so he could point shyly at her neck, hoping she'd get it. The other things just didn't seem that important, next to that; they were what any decent person would have done. "I shouldn't've, you didn't know what you were asking, and I just... I took advantage. And I'm sorry." It was hard not to give in when it was being offered-- Regan was right about that one thing, and it was nearly always better to have a person than a glass; it just felt more right, it tasted better, he felt more alive afterwards-- but he knew he should have. She had been drunk, not thinking clearly, and it hadn't been right.

Her eyes widened briefly as she realized what he was talking about. And then she smiled and reached out to touch his arm briefly. "No, don't apologize to me for that. I did know what I was asking and you didn't take advantage. Sure, I mean, I had a lot to drink... but you didn't hurt me, and I'm not angry about it." Olivia took a quick pull from her cigarette and then laughed a bit. "I can't imagine it was very good for you. I doubted my blood tasted how it should have, what with a bottle of liquor running through me."

It seemed almost unbelievable that she didn't have any hard feelings, or any discomfort.... Corwin met her eyes again, hesitantly, but she didn't seem like she was lying, just to make him feel better. "You tasted fine," he answered. "Interesting aftertaste, really, but not bad. I know what alcohol in somebody's system does to me, that wasn't unusual." Though the sleepiness for days afterwards had been. He still hadn't figured that one out. "You didn't have anything else in you, did he?" he asked, curious but not sure if that sort of question was rude or not. Not even with Delilah had he really discussed taste. It seemed... strange.

Interesting aftertaste. Was that a compliment? She'd never had a vampire say that to her before. Then again, she'd never had a vampire bite her before either. And maybe she did feel a little discomfort at what had happened - mainly over her behavior more than anything. But having Corwin bite her was a lot better - and probably safer - than finding some guy to have a random one night stand with. Still, at his question, her eyebrow arched and she struggled not to be offended by the question. "If you mean something like drugs, no. I don't do that stuff anymore. I probably had nicotine, but that's it."

"Oh, no, no, I'd never suggest that...." Corwin looked a little lost, unsure how to explain himself or if he even should. "I just... never mind." He actually flushed faintly, as much as a vampire could. It wasn't important. Probably just a fluke, or his own fault somehow. "I'm glad you aren't upset, or hurt, or.... You're a good friend. I didn't want to lose that because I was stupid and couldn't keep my teeth to myself, you know?" And when she'd vanished, he was half-certain he had.

She couldn't help but laugh a bit, feeling less tense now. "I'm okay, I promise. I'm not upset, or hurt. I offered to let you drink from me, hadn't I? That was my choice." She had certainly done enough things in her time where she'd lost friends. Or feared losing them, or hell, probably should have lost them, so she could understand Corwin's hesitance and worry. She glanced around the dark street. "Do you want to walk me home? I seem to get there safely when you're around."

The laughter helped him relax a little, too, and he shut his eyes briefly in relief, nodding. It wasn't an educated choice, or a freely made choice, but at least she wasn't upset. That's what mattered. That, and he didn't do it again. He shifted River to his shoulder, looking back up at her, and said with half a grin, "I would have, anyway. You shouldn't be out late, it's still not safe out here." Protective? Him? Naw....

"Safer than it was," Olivia pointed out as she began to walk. "I don't like hiding away inside. Or feeling like I have to hide away. I'm going to make sure next time, if there is one, I can protect myself. " Maybe she'd seriously ask Mathias to show her how to fight. It would probably be beneficial to her in the long run. "Besides," she added with a small, teasing grin, "you're out here too."

Well, he supposed he couldn't fault her bravery, but he still worried. "I can heal in a few minutes if someone tries to hurt me," Corwin pointed out, falling in step beside her, automatically checking his long strides for her. "Not to mention I'm huge and intimidating-looking. And, er. I started carrying a stake. Just, you know... just in case." And had used it. Rather a lot. Or, a lot for him. He still didn't like that, at all. "Besides," he rallied a bit, "then I'd be stuck inside twenty-four seven, and who'd want that?"

"Exactly my point," Olivia said with a shrug. She fell silent, focused on her cigarette for a few seconds before speaking again. "How have things been around here over the past few nights? Quiet?" She hoped so. She hadn't returned to anything horrifically bad other than Herbert's friends and that house fire. Judi hadn't really mentioned anything either, but she doubted he'd been out and about much past sunset like Corwin would have.

"For a couple nights, but Friday night a house burned down," Corwin sighed. He still felt so bad for Sammy and Geo, though he hadn't heard anything else. Maybe they'd been settling in at their sister's better than he'd been afraid they might. "And... hey. You don't know of anyone or anything that disappears into shadows, do you? And maybe, for whatever reason, prefers to be out at night?" Olivia knew more about this stuff than he did, didn't she?

"I heard about the house. Herbert, my roommate... his friends lived there." She still felt bad for them and wondered if she ought to make food and give it to Herbert to take over. Olivia glanced up at Corwin curiously. "What do you mean? I don't really know of anything that disappears into shadows really... maybe a specific demon might be able to, but I'm not positive. And I think a lot of things prefer to be out at night.. why do you ask?"

Glad to talk about the girl Thia in the graveyard rather than houses being burned down-- though if Sammy and Geo knew Herbert, that just made the town seem that much smaller-- Corwin said, sounding puzzled, "Because I met a girl last night who did. Disappeared into shadows, I mean. She didn't say what she was-- took offense to my asking, actually. I don't know whether she actually knows, but I'm curious. I mean, I know there's a shadow-walking vampire bloodline, but she was no vampire." Not with as scared of him as she'd been. Or had started off. One really didn't lecture people they were afraid of, so much.

Olivia thought about it for a few moments, though the drinks she'd allowed herself sort of muddled the information stored away in her head. Disappearing into shadows. She really couldn't recall ever seeing it in a book. And if she had, she knew she would have remembered. "Honestly, I don't know. Do you think she could have been a spirit of some kind? If she was able to just disappear... I guess that could be a possibility. Especially with the deaths around here lately, I wouldn't be surprised if a few confused, misplaced spirits were still hanging around."

A little disappointed, but not terribly surprised, Corwin shook his head. "I've always been able to see spirits." He pointed across the street. "There's one over there, actually. The only thing that looks different about them, to me, is that they can walk through things and people, and sometimes they're hurt, but ignoring it, because it can't actually hurt them anymore. So she wasn't that." He shrugged and smiled a bit at her. "It's okay, it was just a thought, in case you knew more than I did."

"Sorry. I can ask around I guess, and see if anyone might be aware of something like that." Disappearing into shadows. Wouldn't that be a neat trick? Olivia exhaled a steady stream of smoke. "Was she dangerous? Or are you just curious as to what she was?"

"Just curious. She was too scared of me to really be dangerous, I think. Just a teenage girl. Nothing more dangerous than a touchy ego and a little adolescent self-righteousness, as far as I could tell." He smiled over at Olivia. "It's not really important. I was just surprised, since I'd never seen that before, and you seem to know more than I do about this sort of thing."

"Teenagers are full of that... well, most. Herbert is surprisingly, and thankfully, the opposite." Thank God. Olivia didn't think she could deal with the angst teenagers went through. The angst she went through at that age, making life difficult for her dad and everyone around her. "I'm only a few years out of that phase," Olivia said with a smile. "Thinking that I knew everything about everything and no one could possibly understand my problems. Though if she's disappearing into shadows, well..." She shrugged. "I don't know, in this town anything seems to be possible. I'll look into it if you want. I know a couple people who might know what she could be, if you're really interested."

Sometimes Corwin wasn't sure he ever grew out of that phase. Self-righteous, maybe not, but he felt terribly angsty and touchy sometimes. He thought over her offer, then finally said, "Only if it isn't an inconvenience for you. I'd love to find out more about whatever else is out there, if just so I can look out for myself and the people I care about, and I can't exactly walk into a bookstore about that kind of thing." Not that many had been open after dark lately, anyway. "But it's mostly just curiosity, so I don't want to put you out."

"It's not an inconvenience. I work in a diner that has it's fair share of... people who might know these things." Maybe Judi or Mathias would know too. It never hurt to ask, especially if it meant knowing exactly what was lurking about after dark other than vampires. "And I can understand your desire to want to know about these things. Especially now. Hell, I'd like to know myself, to be honest." She gave him a warm smile. "I'm glad you're still around though. A lot of people seemed to have left town after the last couple of weeks."

"I'm not going anywhere," Corwin said firmly. "Not when there are still people I care about here who might need help. Besides, I have this great house now, the animals love it, and my sire got to move into my old one so he's not staying in the dump he used to live in... and I have friends. I'm staying, for better or for worse." He smiled, back, feeling worlds better for having spoken with her. "I should probably be saying that to you, that I'm glad you didn't leave-- I was afraid you had, when you-- you stopped going to work."

She wrinkled her nose briefly before shaking her head. "I thought about it, to be honest. For a short while, but I don't think it had ever been a very serious thought. There are people I care about here too, and I don't think, at this point, I could leave. Everything began to sort of just pile up at once, you know? Work, the vampire attacks... personal stuff. The easiest thing would have been to leave town for good and never look back." Olivia shrugged and studied the tip of her cigarette briefly. "Maybe I'll regret staying here, I don't know. But right now, I guess I'm staying put for awhile. I'm glad you are too."

It sounded like they both had been caught, not by the place, but by the people. Corwin put a hand on her shoulder, a tentative but fond touch. "We'll both be stuck here together, then. We can commiserate not knowing how to handle it, or... something." Seeing as he'd never really had friends like this, either, and wasn't always sure he was doing the right thing. Or people like Delilah-- it'd been so long since he'd had thoughts like that, that he shied away from it even now. Not even Konnor had made him want to kiss or cuddle anyone, and Konnor probably would have wanted that and more. He hadn't the faintest idea what Delilah might want.

Olivia laughed, feeling better as she did so. "Yes, I think that would be fine." She didn't like to think of it as being "stuck". That induced small slivers of panic and the desire to leave. She much preferred to think of it as her choice alone. That was less restrictive. She dropped her finished cigarette to the ground and snuffed it out with the toe of her shoe. "You know, I never did find my bag," she said casually. "The one that disappeared that night. You didn't happen to come across it?" It was a major long shot, she knew, but it never hurt to ask.

"No," Corwin admitted apologetically. "I did look around some, and I did spot that particular Acherus again once." And had tried dearly to stake her, though he'd failed; not every attempt at ridding Marquette of cat-killing beats had met with success, just... most of them. "But I never found your purse. I hope you didn't have anything too important in there. Did you ever ask at the police station?" Another long shot, given he was pretty sure those two policemen didn't survive their encounter, but it was something, just in case.

"I called the police the next morning, but nothing." Olivia frowned, reaching for her neck again. "I had a gift in there from someone important to me... I'd rather try to find it first before telling him I lost it." She winced at that, really really not wanting to have to explain it to Mathias. Even if it wasn't really her losing it as much as it was some vampire taking off with it. "I'm thinking finding it at this point is a long shot. Maybe I can find some witch to do a location spell on it." She was only half-joking about that. She'd really do anything at this point to get the necklace back. "Stupid vampires," she muttered and then glanced at Corwin. "Except you of course."

"Maybe 'stupid Acherus' would be easier," Corwin chuckled, not taking offense. "It doesn't need the qualifier." He was naturally curious who it might be from-- her father, maybe? Her boyfriend, which might mean they were talking again? Her roommate? Some as-yet-unmentioned friend he knew nothing about? "And you didn't lose it, exactly, did you? An Acherus stole it, which I'd think if more accurate, and less likely to get whoever it was upset. What was it?"

Considering Mathias had gotten it in another country - and she doubted it was cheap - Olivia was pretty sure he would be upset. It had more meaning than price, however. At least to her. "Stupid Acherus then," Olivia conceded with a small smile. "I know I didn't really lose it... but... I shouldn't have even taken it off in the first place, and that was my fault. It was a necklace, one that I don't think is very replaceable. A friend gave it to me." She sighed and reached into her bag to get another cigarette. "I've already been fucking up - excuse me - messing up things with him, so I don't think telling him I lost the necklace he gave me is going to make things any better at the moment."

The fact that she corrected her language in front of him actually made him grin, given he'd heard much worse in his time, even if he only wound up using it himself when very angry or very upset. At the same time, though, there was a little something prickling at him-- his usual protectiveness at even a hint of unsavory behavior towards someone he liked. "He'd get upset at you for something that's not your fault, at all?" Corwin asked, a little warily, and tried not to slip into a disapproving frown as he said it. If she hadn't taken off her necklace, the Acherus could have-- and probably would have-- used it to choke her, or ripped it off and damaged it, or stolen it anyway. Corwin was of the opinion that she was better of without it, during that particular evening.

"No, I mean... I don't know. I just feel bad about losing it. I don't want to upset him with it either. Who knows, maybe he won't care at all..." She doubted that, but Mathias wasn't entirely predictable. "Really, I'd rather have it back for me. It means a lot to me and I hate that it's gone." She lit up quickly and inhaled to let the nicotine soothe her nerves. Olivia shook her head. "It's complicated. I don't mean to bug you with it. Maybe at this point someone might have found the bag and turned it in to the police station. I'll just call again in the morning and check."

"Fair's fair," Corwin pointed out. "I bugged you about the girl who disappears, you bug me about your purse. And you're not bugging me. I'm just a bit over-protective when it comes to other people and my friends...." Understatement. Huge understatement. But still fundamentally true. "So don't feel bad. It wasn't your fault, he has no reason to be upset, and you're not bugging me." He said all three with a kind of innocent finality, because that was that, right?

Olivia nodded with all of those points and smiled. "All right... that's fair, I suppose." She nodded ahead to her apartment complex. "Do you want to come inside? You're invited... and all of that." Corwin could distract her from wanting to disappear to Judi's. Or calling Mathias. Man, she was sick. Though invited Corwin up, she wasn't so sure Herbert would be appreciative of it. The again, Herbert was probably asleep for school.

"I'll walk you up to your door, but your apartment...." Corwin looked up at it with chagrin. "I can't go in. I don't think it's an invite problem. I could barely knock on the door, last time." He didn't know about the wards, exactly, but he knew something was different about it. He certainly didn't have that problem with Delilah's house. Maybe it was because it was an apartment? He had no idea.

"Oh! Right. One of Herbert's friends put wards on our apartment to keep out certain people." She frowned and contemplated. "I guess I should ask him if there's a way to amend it. I mean... I assume if I invite you in, you should be okay to come inside. I think that's what Herbert told me." She should have listened better. Olivia's frowned smoothed into a smile. "Want to experiment?"

"I can experiment, if your roommate doesn't try to kick me out first," Corwin smiled. The idea that her apartment was warded against vampires-- he assumed that's what she meant by "certain people" in this case-- was odd and, while a bit surprising and disappointing, was probably a good thing. He wasn't so sure about an invite getting him in past it, but he was certainly willing to find out. "He didn't exactly invite me in last time, after all... maybe that will help."

"Herbert is probably sleeping," Olivia said. "Don't worry about him." She wondered now just how strong the wards actually were. "If, for some reason, an invite won't let you by, I'll talk to Herbert about it. I don't think we need to be that thorough in the protection aspect, you know?" She knew Herbert might wish to keep the wards that strong, since she had a feeling he didn't like, or trust, Corwin, but it wasn't entirely his decision either.

The vampire's thoughts were running in the same direction as Olivia's, both about Herbert's preference and about Herbert not having any right to decide who Olivia happened to want to invite inside. Why did he seem to wind up with friends who happened to have protective someone-elses who didn't want him to be friends with them?

Oh, wait, probably because he was a scary-looking, obviously undead vampire. Duh. Shaking his head at himself, Corwin opened the apartment stairwell door for Olivia. "Let's hope the invite works so we won't have to bother anyone."

Olivia smiled in thanks when he opened the door for her. She moved up the steps to her apartment, without this help this time thankfully, and was mildly relieved to find all the doors ahead were closed and the hall was vacant. She kept her fingers crossed mentally that Judi wouldn't see because that was just an explanation she didn't feel like giving yet. Stopping at her apartment door, she glanced at Corwin over her shoulder. "I guess you're invited - officially - to come inside. Do you still feel the barrier?" She turned the doorknob and pushed it open.

"Won't know until I--" He followed her in, making a face, but he did make it in. "--try it. It's not very comfortable, but here I am."

Further inside, Herbert sat up with a start at the sound of voices from the front door. He blinked muzzily in the direction they were coming from, but from his seat on the couch-- where he'd fallen asleep waiting up for Olivia-- he couldn't see who it was yet. And his nose wasn't any more awake than the rest of him, so he wasn't getting any help from that direction, either. "'Livia?" he called. That's the only person it could have been, right?

Olivia turned to see Herbert blinking sleepily in her direction from the couch. She bit her lip and then looked back at Corwin, holding up a finger to keep him where he was, just in case. "It's me," she said, walking over to the couch. "Everything okay?" Because he rarely slept out on the couch and she hoped he hadn't been trying to wait up for her. Maybe he was so tired she could just sort of help him into his bedroom before he really woke up.

Obediently, and not really wanting to cause a fight with the big werebear boy, Corwin stayed where he was, stayed quiet, and busied himself with petting River, who was looking far more interested in the rest of the apartment than his hand.

"Yeah, jus' didn't know where you were. Again." He gave her a sad-eyed look. If she'd been back to work today, he'd have been fine, but she hadn't, and he was still on edge about the whole people-disappearing, people-dying, vampire-attacks week the previous week, and her just not showing up before sundown had bee very not okay. She was back, though, so it could be okay. One of these days she was going to get used to having someone who cared and worried and wanted to make sure she made it home safe, but apparently that wasn't today.

For some reason she felt guilty for not checking in. Or telling him where she was going in the first place. The feeling was a bit unexpected, as she was used to being on her own enough that she never had to answer to anyone. "I'm sorry," she told him with nothing but sincerity. "I just went out for a bit... to see some friends," she added, even though that wasn't necessarily the truth, but it worked out just fine given Corwin was standing in the doorway. "I'm home now though, and I'm okay. Why don't you go lay down in your room?" Olivia suggested, reaching out to touch his shoulder.

"Good. You oughta have friends. And see them, and stuff." Yeah, he was still pretty sleepy. Herbert levered himself up off the couch, rubbing at his face with one hand. "Who'd you bring home? That Judiel?" He thought he'd heard a male voice, and she did have a faint Judiel-ish smell on her. And a cat-ish smell, actually. That was weird....

River leapt off Corwin's shoulder, though he tried to catch her, and sauntered into the living room to twine around Olivia's ankles. The vampire winced.

Olivia jumped at the feel of the cat at her ankles and she reached forward to grab onto Herbert to keep from falling over. For some reason, she found the situation somewhat amusing. Probably because Herbert was half asleep and couldn't differentiate Corwin from Judiel. She glanced at Corwin again and grinned. "No. It's not Judi. Remember Corwin? He helped me home awhile back. He was walking me home tonight again... and that's his cat River. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up."

The vampire peeked his head around to where Herbert could see him and waved shyly. Herbert, hand still on Olivia's shoulders from automatically catching her, frowned darkly at him, but thankfully held his response to a surly-sounding, "Hallo."

Corwin answered it with a nod, trying not to take offense. Herbert just cared about his roommate. That was all. He even had cause for concern, not knowing the whole story: Corwin had brought her home drunk, dizzy, and bitten. That didn't mean he had to like being glowered at.

It was a bit of a relief, though, to discover Herbert's dislike did not spread to animals connected to Corwin. As River started further into the apartment, eyes firmly on one of the bedroom doors, a slightly-more-awake-looking Herbert scooped her up surprisingly gently. "No kitties back there. Sorry, kitty."

Okay good, they weren't killing each other. She held her breath for a moment when Herbert scooped up the cat, but Corwin didn't seem to mind it. "There's a duck wandering around here somewhere," she explained to Corwin. "I doubt River and... Elda would get along." And she didn't need another reason for Herbert to dislike Corwin because River would probably tear the poor little thing to bits. "I invited him inside to see if your friend's wards would block him regardless... looks like invitation works."

"We'll just hafta be careful who we invite in, then," Herbert said, shooting Corwin another of those dark, disapproving looks-- even over his own cat's head, for River seemed perfectly content to lounge in the werebear's arms. The little traitor.

Corwin focused on the rest, rather than let himself get upset. Just a kid, he was just a kid who had probably heard rotten stories about vampires, especially lately. "You have a duck?" he asked, admittedly a little surprised. He'd rehabilitated a couple ducks before, but he'd never actually kept one. No wonder River had been interested. A duck probably smelled like dinner to a former feral cat.

Olivia sighed a bit at Herbert's response. Maybe it was just in his nature to dislike vampires, especially after the Acherus stormed through town. "Corwin's not dangerous," she finally said bluntly, ignoring Corwin's attempt at civility with the duck question. She walked over to Herbert and River and placed a comforting hand on his arm. "He's not going to hurt me, or you, or Elda, or anyone else. I trust him, so if you trust me, then you'll know I'm telling the truth."

Trying not to make Herbert feel like he was being stared at while Olivia "scolded" him, Corwin turned his gaze up to the ceiling. He really needn't have bothered, as it wasn't the sort of thing that really embarrassed the werebear-- he really hardly noticed. He did droop a little, though, looking back at Olivia a little helplessly, the came up with a strained sounding, "I know. It's just...."

The boy looked between Corwin and Olivia, swallowed heavily, and gave River a gentle hug reminiscent of something Corwin himself would have done if he felt insecure, then mumbled, "I think I'll go to bed now...." He set the cat down and made a not too hasty retreat to one of the closed doors, but he didn't exactly linger, either.

Olivia watched Herbert set the cat down and go to his bedroom before she cursed softly under her breath. She hadn't meant to make him feel badly over it, or come across the wrong way, she just didn't want Herbert to have the wrong impression of Corwin - or worry about her if she was with him. Her own shoulders drooped a bit as she faced Corwin. "I'm sorry... I just think he worries more than he should. At least about me." She would make him a good breakfast in the morning to make up for it." She walked over and picked up River, making sure to hold the cat where she wasn't hurting her. Olivia carried her back over to Corwin. "But at least I know you can come inside now."

"It's all right," Corwin said, hitching a shoulder a bit, once Herbert's door was securely closed. "I'm used to it, really, and at least he didn't yell or growl at me this time. After the Acherus, anyone with fangs is going to be looked at suspiciously around here. More than we normally would." He watched River getting settled in Olivia's arms like she belonged there, forepaws draped over her shoulder. That queen had come such a long way since she'd attached herself to him.... In some ways, maybe he had, too. He gave Olivia a lop-sided smile. "And... well, I did bite you. When you were quite likely too drunk to know any better. If I were him, I probably wouldn't trust me, either."

"I'm never too drunk," Olivia countered with a smile. "I remember parts of that night. And like I said, it was my choice and my decision to ask. Or offer... whatever it was I did. And you didn't hurt me and I came home in one piece. I guess I should be a bit relieved that Herbert is so suspicious because it means he's not completely trusting of everyone who walks into his life. That can be a dangerous thing in this town." She shifted the cat and set it down on the ground at Corwin's feet. "Thanks for finding me... and walking me home. You're always welcome to come up here to my door if you ever need anything."

Constant and repetitive reassurance-- it was definitely something Corwin needed, though he didn't often think about it. Olivia repeating herself about her choice and her certainty in it actually helped, in some small way, for all it was still a bit amazing, after worrying for so long, that she felt that way. But she stood up to her roommate for him, so maybe she really did. "And the same goes for you, at my house." He paused, smiled a bit sheepishly, and said, "I guess I ought to be going-- you're probably tired."

"Tired is one thing. Sleep sort of comes and goes these days." Her insomnia hadn't been as bad lately. Complete exhaustion and grief seemed to be a powerful remedy. She might have had a few drinks in her at the moment, but she knew she wouldn't sleep. And if Corwin stayed, she would stay put too, which was probably for the best. Biting her lip, Olivia glanced back at their television. "You like video games, right? Want to stay awhile and keep me company?" Which was a bit amusing to her, that she was inviting a scary, if harmless, looking vampire to stick around and play video games with her. But hell, nothing was surprising in this town anymore. Least of all to her.

That was pretty much exactly the right thing to say. Corwin's eyes pretty much literally lit up. "Are you kidding, I love video games. You want to play games with me, and I am there." He sounded like a teenager, and dammit, he didn't care. "Maybe I can wear you out beating your character to a pulp and then you'll sleep," he added, with probably the most mischievous wickedness that she'd ever seen out of him. If there was one thing he was confident in, it was his gaming.

Total opposite spectrum of trying to get Herbert to play with her. Olivia laughed and nodded, motioning for him to shut the door. "We'll have to keep it down for Herbert..." Whom she was sure would be awake for awhile anyway as long as he heard Corwin's voice in the living room. "And I can put up a pretty good fight. I'm not great, but my bo - my friend is pretty much a gaming nerd too. He's been teaching me." She stuck her tongue out at Corwin playfully and decided to bypass acknowledging that she'd nearly called Judi her boyfriend. Because he wasn't anymore. "And if you do beat me, no gloating. That's a rule in my apartment."

"I'm very good at the not gloating," Corwin promised, beaming at her, fangs and all, as he headed over to the couch and the tv. He caught the almost-spoken "boyfriend" but politely ignored it. Besides, he wanted to play video games with someone who wasn't a ghost or who wasn't a faceless online entity on WoW or something, and getting into boyfriends-or-not-boyfriends would definitely put a damper on that.

All right, so he could be selfish now and then. He was allowed, just this once.

"Good. Because I still have problems with it every now and then. Herbert's really awful at video games. So I win a lot." She toed off her shoes and joined him on the couch after flipping on the game and the television. Olivia shot him a look, trying to remain serious even though she was amused. "I don't like losing either."

Somehow, that didn't surprise Corwin at all. None of it, actually. Not Herbert's skill, nor Olivia being a poor loser. "I'm a better loser, but I've also been at this a lot longer than you, and, uh, kind of spent my entire adolescence doing it." Pathetic, he knew; he hoped she didn't comment on it. "So I haven't actually lost in a long time. Not with games that aren't so brand new I've never tried them yet." That was one of his few expenses: games. It helped keep Eric entertained, too, given the ghost usually managed to work a controller well enough. At least he rented more often than bought.

"See, this one?" he added, sitting down and grabbing a controller, pointing at the screen. "I've beat it probably four times."

"Doesn't mean anything," Olivia said confidently, getting comfortable and trying to remember the pointers Judiel had given her before. "You could beat it a hundred times, but you haven't played with me yet." Sure, she would probably get her ass kicked, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the trash talk. And she didn't comment on his spending his youth on games. After being with Judiel, she certainly didn't see anything wrong with it. Everyone had their hobbies. Corwin played games... Olivia enjoyed gin and tonics. To each their own.

It was easy to slip into treating Olivia like his only other gaming partners over the past six years-- or longer, really. The trash-talking, in a gentle sort of sense, was a habit and one he wasn't going to bother to break for her, especially not if she was going to instigate. "Yeah, yeah. Let's see you back up your confidence. Hit start and let's see what you've got."