𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐈𝐗
⏤ Going To Duke ⏤
❝Whatever you say, Buffy.❞
"𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 do you mean acting strange?" Olivia queried Tyler quizzically whilst continuing to follow the faint yet worn pathway that trailed back to the Boarding House. It had been a scarce few days since she'd last heard anything about Katherine and when it came to the brunette, she liked to stay informed at all times ⏤ call it a safety precaution.
Tyler sighed audibly across the line, feeling overwhelmed with confusion concerning his uncle and how strange he was acting recently. Olivia of course already knew why he was acting strange. Mason was trying to hide his werewolf identity from Tyler who was entirely clueless ⏤ though he definitely had his suspicions regarding the situation.
"The other day I found a creepy underground cellar by our house with broken chains and what looked like claw marks on the walls." He responded, feeling strangely comfortable with telling Olivia the truth about what he found as he knew she would never tell anyone else.
"Maybe you're just overreading the situation," Olivia offered a reasonable suggestion.
"No, there's definitely something up with Mason. He keeps looking for this moonstone thing." Tyler told her as Olivia approached the front of the Boarding House and opened the door, not bothering to knock since she knew they always left their door open.
"Moonstone?" She reiterated; the word sounded vaguely familiar but she couldn't quite seem to place it. She made a mental note to look it up later.
"Yeah and ⏤" Tyler began to explain more but as Olivia walked into the house she noticed Stefan, Damon, Elena and Alaric all positioned in various spots around the couches in what seemed to be a serious conversation.
"Hey, Tyler, I'm going to need to call you back." She said, ending the call before he could say anything more.
"Why does everyone look so..." she began walking further into the house with furrowed brows.
"Alaric thinks the Lockwoods are werewolves," Stefan answered, standing up from the couch and approaching the blonde.
"Oh." She replied simply, before realising that she didn't sound surprised by the news at all like she should have been. "Oh. What? That's... that's..." Olivia then began, attempting to fake shock in her voice though she stumbled on what to say.
"You already knew, didn't you?" Stefan cut in, realising by the lack of disbelief that everyone else, including Damon, had felt.
"Yeah." She shrugged simply, finding no use in denying anything.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Elena asked standing up from the couch to stand by Stefan.
"You never asked," Olivia retaliated.
Stefan frowned moderately at her words before replying. "Yes. Yes, I did."
"Okay, fine but now you know, it shouldn't matter too much anyway," Olivia replied before walking past the two to sit on the couch beside Damon and opposite Alaric. "So any news on Katherine?" She asked, hoping to change the topic from what else she knew and wasn't telling them.
"Not yet but we're heading to Duke University to search through Isobel's research and hopefully find something that will help us," Alaric stated hesitantly, still vaguely wary of the girl.
"Isobel as in... the biological mother?" Olivia queried, recalling Stefan informing her about something of the sort.
"Yeah." He replied uncomfortably.
"What about Caroline?" She added as the thought surfaced in her mind.
"I'm staying behind to help teach her how to control her hunger." He said, deciding that he needed to show Caroline the right way of doing things rather than having her struggle on her own. He already had the intentions of teaching her how to hunt animals as well as getting Bonnie to create a daylight ring for her.
Damon, remaining oddly quiet, was focused on watching Olivia sceptically. She was definitely hiding a lot more than she cared to let on and he planned on finding out everything she was keeping for him.
Olivia was also momentarily lost in thought. If Isobel was actually somewhat close with Katherine at one point and presumably recorded vital information about her, Liv could potentially discover to use against her or at least give her the faintest of hints about what her real intentions were. The tribrid found herself impatient to discover Katherine's plans and be rid of the laundering threat she held and so stood up from the couch and said her next words. "Okay then, Let's go to Duke."
Elena raised her eyebrows significantly. "You want to come with us?"
"Yeah, I thought you didn't like us," Damon added with a small smirk.
"I don't... but I would like to find out more about why Katherine's here." She responded reasonably and whilst no one spoke up, they all seemed mutually direct strange and questionable looks at the blonde. Noticing this Olivi looked amongst them before speaking. "Is that a problem?"
"Nope," Damon answered simply.
The tribrid nodded subtly. "Good." She smiled back.
⏤⏤⏤⏤
"So does everyone just have a resurrecting ring these days?" Olivia asked, filling the lingering silence inside of Alaric's car as the two of them waited for Damon and Elena to join them.
"You heard of them before?" Ric returned curiously, looking at the blonde who was casually seated behind him through the rearview mirror. The hunter didn't particularly know much about the rings besides from knowing it brought humans back to life if they were killed through supernatural means.
"Yep." She nodded simply.
"Well, there are only two that I know of. My one and John Gilbert's but he gave it to Elena's brother, Jeremy." Alaric answered her initial question before another brief silence flickered across the small car.
"So, Alaric Saltzman, I guess you're like our very own Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Olivia eventually noted in subtle amusement.
"I wouldn't put it that way but yeah, I'm a vampire hunter." He smiled back at the strange girl.
"And just to clarify," she paused whilst Alaric waited for her to continue. "Your ex-wife is this vampire, Isobel, who is also Elena's biological mother and who just so happened to have had a thing with Damon who killed and turned her..." she confirmed making Alaric raise his eyebrows lightly and release a breath.
"Uh, yeah that pretty much sums it all up."
"And now you're what? Friends with Damon?" She added questionably.
"Well, I wouldn't say we're friends exactly." Alaric began to stress.
"Whatever you say, Buffy." Olivia resorted playfully making Alaric chuckle just as Elena and Damon began getting into the car. Elena didn't notice the amused expression on either of their faces but as Damon got into the front passenger seat, he glimpsed between them both questionably, curious as to what they were laughing about.
Alaric then proceeded to steer the car out of the front drive of the Boarding House and in the direction of Duke University. The journey was already several hours long, but it felt even longer for Olivia as she had to suffer through Elena and Damon's petty dispute the whole way there. Elena was still mad at the elder Salvatore for killing her brother and Damon was trying to convince her he had seen the ring and knew he would come back.
Every now and then, however, Olivia would catch Damon looking at her through the rearview mirror and every time he did she would wiggle her eyebrows at him with a smirk because the blatantly obvious lies leaving his lips to convince Elena that he'd seen the ring. Damon in response would smile and sometimes even laugh, momentarily zoning out of the fight and, just like that, the journey became thoroughly more endurable.
⏤⏤⏤⏤
A light and airy scream left the lips of a young teenage girl promptly followed by the sound of a splash breaking the previously peaceful rhythmic pulse of the waters of the designated swimming hole. Several laughs erupted soon after over the hum of continuous chatter before several more splashes rippled across the pit of water where some others were now swimming and enjoying their time.
Tyler's gathering of people which had quickly expanded into a full-blown party of sorts was in full swing and he was currently walking through the clusters of people speckled around the woodland at the edge of the Lockwood's property line, heading towards his uncle who was getting out of his car.
"You busting us or you joining us?" Tyler questioned as a small amused smile tugged on his lips.
"Neither," Masson responded. "Hoping you can make sure everyone is out of here by dark." He made sure to add, hiding the glint of fear from his eyes at the recollection that tonight was a full moon.
"What happens after dark?" Tyler asked curiously.
Mason brushed off his wary expression, a small forced smile forming on his lips. "Someone ends up wasted and dead at the bottom of the lake." Tyler chuckled lightly at his response whilst Mason's eyes seemed to subconsciously survey the crowds of people quizzically. "So..." he drifted off. "Is your friend I met the other day not coming?" He inquired curiously.
"You mean, Liv?" Tyler quipped up an eyebrow at Mason's interest in his friend but dismissed it shortly after, noticing his uncle nod. "Nah, she's out of town."
"Some sort of family road trip?" He queried.
"Not exactly..." Tyler drifted off with a heavy huff of air making Mason frown questionably and prompting Tyler to explain. "Her parents died a long time ago and, uh... she has no other family." He noted awkwardly. "So she probably just went alone."
Mason smiled sadly at the morbid revelation. It was strange to him as from what he'd seen of the blonde she always looked so vibrant and happy. He would've never suspected her to be so lonely or have a troubled past. Trying to dismiss the morbid thoughts, however, he forced another smile. "Yeah, she strikes me for the spontaneous type."
"You have no idea," Tyler chuckled lightly before voicing his perplexed thoughts. "What's with the sudden interest in Olivia?"
"Just curious," he shrugged with a small smile.
⏤⏤⏤⏤
Olivia lagged behind the others as a woman who went by Vanessa and claimed to be a research assistant there that previously knew Isobel as one of her professors directed them through the main building of Duke University. She navigated them through the halls before winding up in a small office where she grabbed a key and opened up a locked room littered with various bookshelves.
"Feel free to look around." Vanessa offered as the others entered the room and glimpsed around curiously. "It's fascinating, isn't it?" She added.
"Yeah, a bunch of creepy old books and weird objects. The most fascinating thing ever." Olivia murmured to herself sarcastically as she approached one of the bookshelves.
After several moments of silence, Alaric's voice drew their attention. "Where'd she go?" He questioned, the others now noticing she'd left the room.
"Maybe you offended her." Damon mused playfully, sending a smirk over to Olivia who rolled her eyes at his comment before feeling a strange tingling sensation crossing the back of her neck.
She turned around swiftly, being met with Vanessa several feet away from her aiming a loaded crossbow in her direction. The research assistant immediately noticed Elena's resemblance to Katherine Pierce and suspected they were all vampires and so didn't hesitate to pull down on the trigger and fire an arrow towards the blonde. Before the arrow could hit her, however, Damon appeared in front of her, consequently being impaled himself.
He grunted in pain, falling to the ground as Vanessa fired another arrow, this one aimed at Elena. Olivia appeared in front of the brunette within seconds, catching the arrow easily. Vanessa was quick to respond by loading up yet another arrow and aiming this one at Alaric but once again, Olivia appeared in front of the end of the crossbow catching it before anyone could get hurt; well aside from Damon of course ⏤ it was too late to save him.
Noticing Vanessa struggle to load up another arrow, the tribrid approached her swiftly, easily pulling the crossbow from her grip and breaking it in two with a smile before Alaric pinned her against a wall.
A while later, Alaric pulled her aside to talk to her privately where Damon couldn't intrude with any threats or aggressive questioning. Olivia meanwhile watched from the doorway as they talked, wondering why they hadn't just killed her already; yet another reason why human emotions were a mystery to her.
"Elena, pull it out. It hurts," Damon groaned in irritation causing the blonde to turn to him and Elena, noticing the brunette hesitant to pull the arrow from his back. Olivia only rolled her eyes before walking over to them and ripping the arrow from his back plainly without any warning causing him to instantly grunt in pain once more. He then turned back to Olivia who gave him a brief fake smile before shoving the arrow into his hands and proceeding to walk past them both through the doorway where Alaric and Vanessa were talking in the small office room.
Eventually, Vanessa was persuaded to help them out considering she was now informed Elena was not Katherine but her human doppelgänger. She had a relatively nice conversation with the brunette and began to somewhat trust them. Later, after researching and skimming through books for a while, she finally brought out one of some use.
"The curse of the sun and the moon." She stated, placing the large brown book on the table and opening it up to a certain page. Everyone neared the small table curiously, waiting for her to explain the curse and the strange illustrations covering the book. Olivia lingered slightly behind them all, leaning against one of the support beams by the doorway.
"The short story: six hundred years ago the Aztecs were plagued by werewolves and vampires. They terrorised the countryside, made farming and hunting impossible. Until and Aztec cursed them, making vampires slaves to the sun and werewolves servants of the moon. As a result, vampires could only prowl at night and werewolves could only turn on a full moon. When the full moon crests in the sky, whoever's unlucky enough to fall under the werewolf curse, turns into a wolf." Vanessa explained the ancient story to the others who all listened eagerly.
Liv listening in similarly, as whilst she'd already heard the story several times over the years, she had a general interest in wolf ancestry; her ancestry. As Vanessa continued, Olivia was only more grateful she was a tribrid and wasn't forced to endure the pain of every transition, nor was she forced to do so every full moon.
"Can they control the transformation?" Damon interjected.
"If it were a choice, it wouldn't have been called a curse," Olivia answered making Damon turn back to her and roll his eyes.
Vanessa was quick to continue. "Werewolves will attack humans but instinct and centuries of rivalry have hard-wired them to hunt their prey of choice: vampires."
Elena and Alaric's eyes both winded moderately at those words. If what the legends stated were true and the Lockwoods both really were werewolves then this full moon tonight could pose a real risk against the vampires in Mystic Falls; Stefan and Caroline especially and Olivia, Damon and everyone else every full moon to follow.
"Well if werewolves were hunting vampires I would know about it," Damon retaliated and this time Olivia was the one to roll her eyes.
"Not if there aren't that many werewolves left alive," She interjected, causing the small gathering to turn to her. "Hundreds of years ago, vampires started hunting down to the point where they were almost extinct. That's why there aren't as many wolves anywhere anymore." She informed them all and whilst questionable about how she'd obtained the information, Alaric and Elena seemed to momentarily divert their minds with more stressing worries.
"Why would they do that?" Elena eventually queried.
"They wanted to protect themselves because a werewolf bite is fatal to a vampire," Olivia answered.
Elena's lips parted in surprise as she shook her head. "But that's just a legend, right? It's not really true." Elena persisted fearfully, her gaze shifting between Liv and Vanessa.
"I've seen it happen first hand," Olivia answered.
"We need to tell Stefan and Caroline." Elena immediately announced, turning back to Damon and Alaric. "They could be in serious danger tonight."
Olivia pondered her next move in her head before reluctantly allowing a sigh to leave her lips as she spoke up. "I'll head back and make sure they're okay."
"The moon will be up in two hours, maybe less. It's a three-hour drive back to Mystic Falls." Alaric retaliated.
"Well, then it's a good thing I don't pay attention to speed limits." She mused playfully.
"I'll come with you," Damon offered ⏤ well insisted really.
Olivia was quick to shake her head lightly, denying his offer. "No, you guys stay and... research. I'll handle it." She smiled reassuringly watching as the other nodded reluctantly before she turned to leave.
"Liv," Damon called her name, causing the blonde to turn back to him with a questionable look. "Don't do anything stupid." The tribrid nodded in response before she borrowed a car so she could drive back to Mystic Falls. She only hoped she made it back before the moon was full as with Stefan being clueless, Caroline being a newly turned vampire and Tyler being progressively more and more sceptical of Mason, they were all at risk and for the first time in a long time, she realised that she cared.
⏤⏤⏤⏤
The sun cracked in the horizon line sending pink and orange glimmers across the sky as Olivia drove her car through the succumbing darkness, steadily approaching the town line to Mystic Falls. Whilst she hadn't exactly made it back legally, she had made it back just as the moon began rising into the dreary charcoal skies.
Surpassing the town line, she internally considered what she was supposed to do next, though upon hearing faint cries of pain in the distance, she immediately pulled over her car by the side of the road. Pulling out her keys and getting out, she slammed closed the door before wandering into the depths of the dark forest, the cries and grunts of pain getting progressively louder.
"Mason," she said his name so quietly she wasn't sure her voice even grace the stiff air. Looking back at the Lockwood, who'd yet to notice her presence, her brows furrowed significantly. The moon was rising in the midnight black sky and his transition was commencing yet he hadn't retained himself. When Tyler informed her about the Lockwood Cellar by their residence which was littered with broken chains, Olivia assumed that was his sanctuary for full moons...
Glimpsing over at him through the darkness, she noticed his manacled wrists and the chains around him. He was standing by his car as he looked up at the full moon in the sky, screaming in another jolt of abrupt pain. Her lips parted moderately as she realised he was trying to restrain himself, he didn't want to hurt anyone.... but it was already too late as he'd surely turn in the next scarce few minutes.
Olivia took several staggering steps towards, a twig snapping beneath her prompting Mason's eyes to dart from the luminescent moon over to the blonde. Upon seeing her there, his eyes immediately widened in alarm. "Olivia..." he breathed out quietly before another burst of pain exploded within him. "You need to go. Go! Run!" He yelled at her through gritted teeth, cringing at the intense agony radiating over every inch of his body.
Olivia took another few steps towards her, prompting him to instantly stumble backwards, holding up his hands. "You have to stay back. I can't control it. Please, just... just go!" He continued to yell, falling to the ground as a sharp grunt of pain left his lips.
Nonetheless, the tribrid continued to walk over to him. "I can help you." She told him softly, crouching down by his body as he yelled out once more in pain.
"What are you ⏤" he began amidst heavy and breathless huffs of air escaping his lips. She cut off his words by grabbing his hand and somehow by some mystical means, his pain began moderately fading. It still hurt like hell but it became bearable; a lot more bearable. Looking back at her in surprise and perplex, he noticed her eyes flash a shade of gold. Instinctively, his hand turned to hold hers back tightly, feeling a sense of familiarity wash across him.
"You're a wolf," he breathed, evidently stunned for several moments.
"Yeah," Olivia replied with an attempt at a smile. This is definitely going to cause some problems for me later.
"Why aren't you transitioning, the moon's ⏤" another harsh grunt of pain erupted from his lips and cut off the end of his words. "You should go," he told her through gritted teeth. "Once I've turned, I could hurt you."
"Just let me help you, Mason." She told him gently and there was something so beautifully calming about her voice that made him feel similarly tranquil as well. He was barely able to nod before his bones began breaking and his body began twisting painfully. He cried out loudly once more as Olivia backed away moderately, watching as he shifted into a wolf.
"Okay, Mason, I really need you to ⏤" she cut off her words abruptly when her attention was captured by voices in the near distance. The wolf similarly cocked its head towards the sounds, inhaling the scent of vampires. Just as the legends stated, Mason immediately tore his focus from Olivia and headed in the direction of the consuming scent.
⏤⏤⏤⏤
"Listen to me. We need to get out of these woods now. We need to leave." Stefan informed Caroline firmly whilst the blonde was still focused on Matt's unconscious body. Moments prior she'd accidentally bitten him and now he'd fainted from all the blood loss. She was horrified over what she'd done but now Stefan was here he seemed panicked about something else.
Several branches breaking were swiftly accompanied by a collection of low and heavy growls that resembled a wolf. "What was that? Caroline asked, her eyes tearing from Matt's body and darting around her cautiously.
"Matt, stay down. Do not move." Stefan instructed the barely conscious boy before his eyes drifted back to his surroundings, hearing peculiar noises all around him. "You and me, we're gonna run. It's going to follow us; we need to lead it away from Matt. You need to run as fast as you can. Do you understand me?" He spoke quickly yet maintained a calm composure despite fear and alarm underlining his words. Caroline nodded scarcely. "Go, go!"
They ran briskly for a short amount of time before Caroline stopped. "Wait! What is it?!"
"It's a werewolf! He will try to kill us and he can!" Stefan stressed making the blonde's eyes widen before they both abruptly turned at the notice of another voice.
"Hey! What are you two doing?" Tyler called out to them both, approaching them with rising suspicion and perplex. Something was undoubtedly going on.
"What are you doing?" Stefan resorted similarly.
"What the hell are all of you doing!?" Olivia's voice alerted all of their attention abruptly.
"Liv?" Tyler questioned in thorough confusion as he took several paces towards the girl. What the hell is going on? He questioned inwardly.
"Let's just get out of here," Stefan told them all, dreading an encounter with the wolf that was loitering around the woods.
"Finally, a reasonable idea." Olivia resorted, making Stefan throw her a subtle glare. However, before anyone could take a single step in the motion to leave, a grey-coated wolf broke out of a layer of trees, rushing towards Liv and Tyler.
Instinctively, Tyler grabbed Olivia's arm whilst the blonde's breath hitched in her throat as the wolf stopped in front of them both. "Tyler, get back." The tribrid told him quietly but he made no move to comply and so she took several steady and slow steps in front of Tyler and towards the wolf ⏤ Mason.
"Liv!" Stefan called her name with wide eyes as both he and Caroline watched the girl, in their minds recklessly, approach the werewolf.
"Stef, don't move. I've got this." She told him, not casting a gaze in his direction as she edged closer to the wolf. "Mason," she murmured his name softly so only those with enhanced hearing could hear; Tyler was the only one oblivious to her words. "You don't want to hurt me, okay." She told him gently, bending down. The wolf growled dangerously in retaliation, making Caroline grab Stefan's arm with a sharp and fearful inhale.
Olivia's irises unnoticeably flickered to the same faint shade of gold once more and Mason, being entranced by the beautiful colour and the familiarity and warmth glinting behind, slowly backed off, disappearing into the woods. The tribrid exhaled lightly with a soft smile as soon as they were all safe. Stefan similarly sighed in relief and exhaustion whilst Caroline released a shaky breath of air herself.
Tyler only shook his head, his brows furrowed as puzzling thoughts and questions flickered around his mind persistently. What the hell just happened?
⏤⏤⏤⏤
The rush was exhilarating; highly addictive and unlike any other feeling in the world. Every stressful thought within her, every weight dragging her down dissipated into the air as she ran. She always felt so free and alive every time she shifted into a wolf and each and every time, there was nothing holding her back and no disorientation or discomfort could seep through the calming aura circling her.
Olivia was running freely through the woods in her wolf form, her fur pale grey almost white fur coat flickering across the darkness as her eyes reflected similarly being a pale grey colour, reminiscent of her own. The still full moon painted beautiful shadows over the forest floor and beamed blissful rays of moonlight over the trees.
She hadn't really explained everything to Tyler; she didn't quite know what to say. All she did was dismiss his queries and tell him he should get some rest and that they'd talk later ⏤ Olivia thought to prolong that later for as long as possible. At the moment, the tribrid had more pressing concerns. She couldn't let Mason harm or kill anyone else this full moon as unlike her he wasn't in control. She shifted into a wolf in an attempt to feel her senses better to locate him and eventually his lingering scent led her in the right direction. Besides, she hadn't transitioned in what felt like months and she needed to relieve herself of some tension.
It wasn't long before Olivia was faced with Mason ⏤ in his respective wolf form of course. This time he didn't attack her or growl aggressively or try to harm her in any way. They simply ran together through the darkness and resilient beams of moonlight until the moon itself fell from the sky and dawn finally broke free.
⏤⏤⏤⏤
A soft groan left Olivia's lips in response to the faint migraine presenting itself in her skull; residing there due to the piercing rays of sunlight casting down over her skin and warming the side of her face gently. Hazilty fluttering open her eyelids, she was met with an unexpected brightness that she took a while to adjust to, squinting significantly to try to make out the blurry jumble of shapes and colours around her.
Eventually, she managed to make out several mounting trees curving above her, the scent of pine similarly floating around the air in the soft morning breeze. Turning her head to avoid staring directly at the sun, her eyes immediately widened upon meeting with someone's warm brown irises.
"Hey," Mason said sheepishly with an awkward smile.
"Uh... hey," she responded quietly, expressing thorough confusion as her brows drew together. Their faces were only several centimetres away and a bed of crumpled leaves resided beneath them as they simply stared at one another silently for several moments. Olivia's lips parted with the intention of filling the silence but she didn't really know what to say, she was too far disorientated from last night's events to force any other words to leave her lips.
Eventually, she swallowed down the welling up discomfort and her eyes subconsciously flickered over his body in confusion, moving down his bare chest to realise he was naked. Momentarily stunned, the tribrid immediately rushed to her feet, keeping her eyes averted from him as he similarly got up from the ground.
Mason then looked back at the girl, his eyes unintentionally glimpsing over her body before releasing he wasn't the only one not wearing any clothes. "Uh, Olivia," he began awkwardly. The girl responded with a puzzled look prompting him to nod his head towards her body despite trying to keep his eyes elsewhere.
The blonde looked down at her body and her eyes widened once more upon realising he wasn't the only one naked; she was naked. "Oh," was all she could say biting down on her lower lip uncomfortably as she looked back at him. "Last night, we didn't..."
"No," he immediately reassured her. "I mean I don't really remember last night but... I remember seeing you and... your eyes. I remember your eyes." He trailed off, finding himself lost in the once more. Any other guy would be focused on her body; considering she was undoubtedly beautiful and well... naked. Mason, however, found himself unable to tear his gaze away from her entrancing grey irises.
Olivia merely nodded a smile tugging on her lips which Mason returned before eventually, the tribrid couldn't retain a light laugh from escaping her lips and the Lockwood couldn't help but respond with a chuckle of his own. "Sorry, this has never happened to me before."
"Really? You've never woken up in the middle of the woods naked with a random girl beside you before?" She retaliated sarcastically.
"Well..." Mason answered suggestively making Olivia laugh once more before the Lockwood turned to approach his car which was conveniently parked several feet away from them.
The tribrid waited awkwardly, hearing several gentle thuds signalling the car door opening and closing again before Mason approached her with some various articles of clothing in his hands. "Sorry, this is all I have," he said, throwing her a shirt which she didn't hesitate to put on and thankfully since it was his size, it was significantly too big for her and so rested by her mid-thigh, covering most of her exposed body.
When she looked back at Mason, he'd similarly thrown on a few articles of clothing himself and was now ⏤ much like herself ⏤ decently covered. He was watching the girl in mild amusement for several moments before approaching her. Olivia frowned in confusion when he raised his hand, pulling a stray leaf from her hair.
"Uh, thanks."
Mason merely nodded, staring at the blonde with quizzical intrigue before he finally found the right words. "Last night, you controlled your shift... how is that possible?"
Olivia paused, trying to figure out a reasonable answer to his question though her mind came out blank. "I, um..." she stuttered. "It's confusing,"
"Confusing?" He repeated, still pressing her for a viable answer which she couldn't give him.
Olivia merely shook her head lightly. "Can you um... not tell anyone about this?" Those were the only words she found herself able to say.
"About you being a wolf?" He clarified questionably.
"Yeah," she nodded. "I just... I don't want anyone to know yet." She finished, studying his expression sceptically in an attempt to determine if he actually believed the words that left her lips.
"Okay..." he stretched the word with a subtly confused smile.
Olivia paused for a long drowning moment, not saying anything until she noticed his lips parting in the motion to speak. "I should go." She announced abruptly.
"Um, sure," he nodded. "I'll give you a ride." He suggested.
"No, I'll find my own way back." She denied his offer instantly, beginning to turn around promptly after.
"Are you sure, I mean I really don't mind." He stressed but the tribrid didn't acknowledge his words, she only briskly proceeded to walk away from him in the other direction. Mason mimicked several of her steps, calling after the girl. "Olivia!" The blonde didn't make any motion to stop or turn back and so Mason only shook his head to himself with a mild smile tugging on his lips, amusement shafting through him as he proceeded to get into his car and drive back towards the Lockwood Residence.
⏤⏤⏤⏤
Olivia's eyes were pulled from the scarce few messages and voicemails clouding the screen of her phone as the bartender placed a drink in front of her; the one she'd compelled for herself several minutes ago. She sighed gently as she placed her phone on the bar top in front of her and picked up the glass, dowing some of the amber-toned liquid inside.
Night was beginning to submerge the small town briskly and Olivia had essentially been avoiding... well everyone the entire day. She didn't know what she was supposed to do about Mason and she was clueless as to how she was meant to fabricate a lie good enough to satisfy his inevitable curiosity and confusion.
"I'll have the same," Damon's voice sounded from her left as he took the seat beside her, watching the bartender nod before leaving to prepare the drink he'd ordered. The Salvatore then shifted his gaze to Olivia. "You feeling okay?" He asked intently.
"Do you really care?" Olivia retaliated, quipping up an eyebrow. Surprisingly, she felt perfectly fine, however ⏤ no distress of discomfort lingering behind her eyes. She supposed she should be more worried that Mason knew a segment of the truth about her but strangely enough, she figured that she could trust him.
"Nah, I'm just here for the alcohol." He answered with a certain nonchalant arrogance to his tone. Olivia nodded in amusement, taking another sip of her drink whilst Damon tilted his head curiously in her direction. "What's up with you?"
"Nothing, it's... it's not important." She replied making Damon smile in subtle amusement at how blatantly the lie left her lips. However, he accepted her words prompting Olivia to turn to him with a quizzical gaze. "What? You're not going to even try to get the truth out of me?" She queried.
"Nope," he answered casually making Olivia smile. "Unless you want me to," he began with a suggestive smirk crossing his lips. "I can be really persuasive," he murmured flirtatiously, leaning towards her vaguely as he spoke in a gruff whisper.
"You flirting with me, Salvatore?" Olivia retaliated with raised eyebrows.
"Maybe." He answered quietly, continuing to lean towards her but Olivia pulled back slightly, diverting her gaze and shaking her head lightly.
"I'm not being your distraction." She resorted plainly despite being subtly entertained by his attempts to seduce her.
"We could be each other's distraction." He corrected her. "I am really good at distracting people."
"Problem is," Liv began, leaning towards and watching as his focus shifted to her lips; he clearly wanted a rebound after everything with Katherine and maybe even wanted to use her to divert his growing affection from Elena. "I'm better," she whispered quietly, seeing his lips move to meet hers but pulling away with a smile before they could. "See you around, Salvatore." She finished, getting up from the barstool and leaving the Grill, instantly shivering as she was torn away from the warmth and met with a bitter breeze.
"Liv, wait." Hearing her name, she turned to see Damon behind her and only frowned in confusion when he began taking off his leather jacket.
"What are you ⏤"
"Here," He said, placing it over her shoulders. "It's cold outside." He reasoned, adjusting it moderately with a slight smirk in response to her sense of perplex and suspicion. He then leaned in, speaking quietly. "Did that do anything for you?"
"Actually..." she began, grabbing the collar of his shirt and lightly tugging on it to pull his face closer to her own, giving him the impression that she was going to kiss him. "Nope, nothing." She released his collar and pulled away from him with a teasing smile.
"One day, Olivia Campbell, you won't be able to resist my charms." He resorted.
"Well, until that day, let's keep the flirting to a minimum." She patted his shoulder lightly before turning around and walking down the empty streets. Damon let out a soft laugh, watching her disappear into the darkness with an amused smile. She really is something else.
⏤⏤⏤⏤
Shortly after leaving the Grill, Olivia pondered over her next move for several minutes before she somehow found herself outside of the Lockwood Residence. She knew it was late and Mason was probably asleep, but as time went by, the tribrid only grew more and more anxious about what he knew and what he could possibly tell people.
And so, she walked up to the porch of the Lockwood Residence, debating what to do at that moment. Maybe she shouldn't have come. What was she even meant to say to him? At those thoughts, she hesitated by the door, deciding against knocking in the end and consequently turning, about to head back when she heard a light humming noise from inside the house.
The noise was strange yet gave off what she could only describe as vibrant powerful waves and she couldn't help but be drawn to the noise and so she tried the door handle, attempting to get in. Of course, though, the door was locked, but she couldn't help but feel a pestering need to find the source of the humming.
"Dissera portus." Olivia recited the spell silently, watching as the door slowly opened and the click of the lock unlocking echoed gently over the silence. She quietly stepped inside the household, that thankfully she was previously invited into, and approached the room on the left that had the apparel of a small office.
The noise seemed to come from the ground and so she bent down on her knees placing her ear to the floorboard and evidently hearing the strange sound even louder and feeling a more powerful sensation. So she carefully pulled up the floorboard to find a small cloth covering a white oval-shaped stone. She instantly assumed it was the moonstone Tyler had mentioned earlier. The one Mason was looking for and she couldn't help but feel its power and the danger that followed and so slipped it into her pocket before replacing the floorboard and swiftly slipping out of the house.
She didn't know what this moonstone thing was, but she knew she wouldn't let anyone get it purely because of the amount of power it held and the strange feeling that told her it was apart of something bigger; and, unbeknownst to the tribrid, she was right.