Househunting

Who:Mathias and Jocelyn
Where: Babylon
When: afternoon

Mathias had been at Babylon all morning and into the early afternoon. Whilst he didn't actually have set periods he had to be there, he took his promise to Eris seriously - and where else did he have to be anyhow? Some shitty motel room, alone? Or better yet - some shitty hotel room next door with his brother who would be alternating between moping about his house burning down and bitching that he needed some space to make phonecalls. Mathias could tell when Dorian had something in the works - and this was definitely something in the works. That, combined with Caleb's tale of Dorian talking about leaving town - it didn't take a genius to figure out. But, whatever anyone said, Dorian wasn't giving up details, and Mathias wasn't hanging around to push for them - so he'd headed out for Babylon.

That said, he did have things to get done today. Namely, getting the fuck out of that shitty motel room as quickly as possible. And if it didn't look like Dor was going to hang around to rebuild (and, really, even if it did - rebuilds didn't happen overnight, or even in a few days, despite what some networks would like you to believe), then Mathias was going to find alternative accommodation. He'd talked to the lady from the realtors yesterday and she'd given him a list - he'd managed to convince her that he didn't need her personal assistance and he could just pick up keys for a few places, which he had in his pocket. He knew full well what she was risking giving them to him, but he also knew he could be very, very persuasive when he wanted to be. Call it a gift.

And so he'd be leaving the place in a bit - but there was time for a drink as he headed around the other side of the bar for once to pour himself something.

Jocelyn came around the bar just as Mathias was pouring his drink, yanking off the apron around her waist and tossing it on the bar with sigh of exhaustion. She'd agreed to do more manual labor around the bar in exchange for keeping only one client, and today she'd been stuck with waiting tables. Having spent most of her time working upstairs at Babylon, it had never occurred to her how many people the place had come through during the day. She was tired from smiling pleasantly at people who didn't want to be bothered and from carrying trays around.

Plus she'd been up most of the night trying to help Grayson with his ghost visitor that never showed. That was a good sign if it meant her wards had worked, but it didn't mean she and Synnove hadn't wasted their time testing everything out. Which meant when she walked into Babylon in the early hours of the morning she got minimal sleep before turning around and working. Now, done with her "shift," she was too wired to actually lay down and catch up on missed sleep. "Hey Mathias," she greeted him, rubbing the heels of her hands against her eyes.

Mathias turned and, taking one look at the girl, pulled another glass out from under the bar. "What's your poison?" he asked her, setting it down. "You look like you could use it - hard day?"

"I'll have what your having," she told him and tossing a daring half smile in his direction. Jocelyn leaned back, running her hands through her dark hair, pulling it away from her face. "I swear working down here is harder work than working upstairs. I don't think I'm going to be able to lift my arms tomorrow." Letting her hair down she looked back at Mathais, with another half smile. "How's your day been?"

Mathias poured another, adding an extra dash, just because, before pushing it across to her. "Busy day then, I take it?" he asked, not asking the follow-on question about whether she preferred this work to her previous job. That would hardly be a subtle question, after all. "Mine's been... Alright, I guess. The usual." By which he meant that he'd hung around and talked to people. He was getting to know a lot of the regular clientèle around here - name, faces, occupations... Mathias had a knack for getting people to tell him things, and he was of the opinion that a good memory of a who's who around here just made things easier. And, to most people, it didn't even look like work. But then again, that was another knack Math had - he made things look easy.

"I think it's only busy if you aren't used to it," she told him taking the drink and tipping it towards him with with an appreciative nod. Taking a small gulp, Jocelyn paused to relish the light burn the alcohol left down her throat. It did help to perk her up a little though, like a quick jolt to bring her closer to the land of the fully awake and living. "The usual eh? Which, if you don't mind me asking, is what? Besides alternating between looking inviting and intimidating of course." Her smile was stronger this time, but lightly teasing. She took another sip from her drink, watching him over the rim of the glass.

Mathias chuckled a little. "Well, you've hit the nail right there on the head, darling - guess that's it," he joked, almost teasingly. "Go from one to the other, that's me - see which one works best," he laughed, taking a sip of his drink before setting it down on the bar again, considering the packet of cigarettes he always had in his pocket.

Jocelyn relaxed a little, enjoying the ease of conversation, but still considered him closely. Mathais was the type of man that she assumed Doc would find rather interesting. The type that seemed so open and welcome, but with the possibility that there was more lurking underneath the surface. There had to be or Eris wouldn't have brought him on in such a prized position at Babylon. "And which one seems to work best for you? I've found inviting always works for me, but I'm not in the same line of work."

Mathias stepped back from the bar a little and opened his arms slightly, smiling disarmingly. "Well now, do I look at all intimidating to you?" he asked her. He'd never really had height, or build - he was a middling guy all round, though fit enough. Dorian loomed more than he did, and when he wanted to be, Mathias wasn't at all intimidating. He generally found that a smooth word and the right phrase was what it took to get things going his way. But he had a demon for a mother, and he'd been her golden boy - she'd taught him as a child that you didn't need physical presence to be intimidating, not when you'd inherited a certain gleam that lurked in the back of your eye. He'd learned how to hide that, but it was there - and the people he knew business-wise had long learned to be wary of that look. It only meant trouble. Serious trouble.

Leaning back she surveyed the man, taking in more than just his standard build and good looks. It was true, strength and power didn't ripple off him like it did with Grayson, nor did he have the overwhelming stature of Kurt. Jocelyn though, had seen glimpses strength Doc wielded and he was twice her age. "Not entirely," she told him with a tone that teased at the skepticism she already felt. "But I've been here long enough to know that nothing in Babylon is as it seems." She paired her observation with slight smirk before taking another drink.

Mathias pursed his lips a little. "Hmmm, I don't know about that - there's this middle aged vampire that comes in here, Monday, Wednesday, Friday - regular as clockwork. Always orders the same drink, sits at the same stool - gets kinda shirty if there's different staff on? Looks about twenty, but I clock him at well over a coupla hundred? Think he's exactly what he seems," he told her, clearly amused by his own answer.

Now it was Jocelyn's turn to laugh a little, shaking her head from side to side. "Ok, ok, maybe not everyone has some huge secret to hide." Tapping her fingers along her glass, she considered the patrons she'd entertained in the past year. "Their desires though, that would still surprise even you," she reminded him.

"Maybe, possibly," Mathias admitted, giving her that as he took another sip of his drink. "Why - have you met some with surprising desires?" he asked her, knowing that, of the two of them, she was more likely to have done that - and very interested to know what she may have found out.

She took a moment before she answered, intrigued by his curiosity and its origin. "The hunters," Jocelyn answered finally, not giving much information away, but then that was her policy. "The number of hunters whose deepest desire is that what they hunt. I've heard of more than one who even asked Eris for those they're locked in eternal feuds with. Hate has interesting effects on people." Shrugging lightly as if it wasn't as big of a deal as it was Jocelyn continued. "But when you're inside of one of one of the fantasies Eris creates, you don't see what that person sees exactly. And you aren't even sure of what they're seeing. There's a part to play and you play it. Only Eris really knows what they want specifically unless the part you're playing is yourself."

Mathias cocked an eyebrow and quirked a smile. "Well, there's always some with strange fascinations, aren't there," he agreed, sipping on his drink. "Gotta wonder just how much she encourages that. I wouldn't put it beyond her to mess with their heads a little, put the suggestion there if it hadn't been there before." See how much she could fuck them up with that whole thing.

"When it comes to Eris, I tend to assume she's in far more control than anyone thinks, even if that someone is yourself. Although when it comes to people's fantasies...I think it's already there. She probably just gives it that extra push." Jocelyn propped her elbow on the bar and rested her chin in her hand, still watching Mathias closely. "Are you planning on sticking around here all afternoon?"

Mathias have very few illusions about just how much Eris was in control, but he didn't say anything to Jocelyn about that, instead finishing off the last of his drink and setting the empty glass down on the bar. "Me? No - I have to go apartment-hunting. Spirit burned down my last place, so I have this list... and a few sets of keys... To go looking for somewhere new. Have to admit, can think of better ways to spend my time, but I gotta get out of the motel room I'm in right now, seriously."

"Burned it down?" Jocelyn asked with wide eyes. "The spirits seem to be somewhat out of control. Another tried to flood my friend's place." And yet last night she'd waited with Synnove and nothing had happened. Nothing besides her losing sleep. "It shouldn't be too hard to find a decent one bedroom around town though right? Anything is you look at today is going to seem miles better than a cheap motel." Jocelyn didn't think much of him already having keys to the places he was looking at, but prior to living at Babylon the last place she'd lived in longer than a few weeks was her parents' house. "Need any help?"

"Two bed at least - it's not just me. And... You wanna come with? Help me look? If I'm honest, I'm not too good at property hunting. Never really had a place of my own. never really wanted one, so a woman's opinion would be greatly appreciated," he told her with a winning smile that might not have been strictly necesary, given her offer, but that he through in anyway, to sweeten the deal.

Jocelyn raised her eyebrow slightly and looked at him with a teasingly curious look. "Not just you?" She'd already assumed it wasn't another woman; he wouldn't have asked for her help otherwise, but that didn't mean she wasn't interested. "The closest I've gotten to a place of my own is my room upstairs. But I haven't been cramped in a motel room recently or dealt with a burned down house, which means I might have a less desperate outlook on things." His smile was just as inviting as he wanted it to be, breaking down her defenses before she'd realized he'd done it. No wonder Eris hired him, she thought, returning his smile. "Let me grab my coat." Finishing her drink, she set the empty glass and pushed away from the bar, turning to head upstairs to her room.

"I'll meet you by the door," Mathias agreed, allowing her final statement to stand as a way of not actually answering her question. It wasn't in his habit to talk about his family, after all and whilst he wouldn't lie to her about things, Mathias just had a tendency to talk around questions, often leaving people with the feeling that he'd told them more than he actually had - many people didn't realise he hadn't answered their questions until after the conversation was over. Some never realised at all. There were only a few who caught his game each and every time - and they tended to be people who knew him better than more. Unfortunately, one of them happened to be his brother, which caused ructions from time to time.

After hurrying up the stairs and down the hall, Jocelyn ducked into her room to claim her coat off its hook. Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror on her way out, she doubled back and changed her shirt into something that would double as both warmer and less revealing. It would be slow going but perhaps the modesty of being in an exclusive relationship would eventually come to her. Content with her new look, she grabbed her purse and pulled her coat on as she walked out. She found Mathais with ease, waiting for her. "Ready if you are," Jocelyn told him.

Mathias noted that she'd changed as she headed back over to him, but he didn't comment on it, instead giving her another smiel and holding the door open for her, politely and without making a fuss of it, as though that was simply the done thing. "I'm good to go," he told her. "Thanks for this - I really appreciate it, and I promsie not to take up your entire day. I'm sure you have better things to do than help me find a place to live."

Nodding appreciatively of the held door, she made her way out ahead of him, doing her best to gather her bearings. Being unfamiliar with a town and working at a bar that moved continued to wreak havoc on her sense of direction. "Take up as much of my day as you'd like. Outside of my shift waiting tables, work's been a little slow." It was the best way to explain her lack of clients without going into details on the terms of her new contract, and exposing who her current client was, or the fact that he'd left town.

"Such is life at Babylon - you get to set your own hours?" Mathias asked. He knew he did. But then again, he didn't get paid for the work he did there - not that that was common knowledge, of course. Everyone assumed that he was on the payroll and Mathias didn't see any reason to lead anyone to believe otherwise. He preferred that to having to divulge the lengths he would actually go to for his family - even to his family. He was certain Caleb was still bugging about Mathias' refusal to give details about the deal he'd made, and why he'd made it. Well, that was Caleb's problem.

Math led the way to his car - which was a much better model than the heap of junk Caleb was now driving had been, even before vampires had turned it into a heap of junk. He'd offloaded his previous car onto his little brother and bought something much better - and much more suitable for the climate - for himself. Hell, even the central locking on this one worked, as he unlocked it and got in. "It's not too far to the first one, but I'm not exactly a fan of walking in the snow," he explained to her.

Jocelyn was relieved as they approached the car. If she was going to be forced to walk around town again she might very well freeze to death this time. Or pass out from exhaustion. "There are certain clients that come through town looking for the same people night after night, but mostly you're either there or you're not. Eris makes it work provided you bring in your fair share." Following his lead she climbed into the passenger side and settled in.

"Yeah, I'm sure that there are worse employers out there," Mathias agreed. Not that he'd really know, given that he'd held down as many proper jobs as he'd had apartments. He pulled out into the road and headed up and around the corner - a journey of only a couple of minutes before he pulled in again and checked the list that he'd left on the dash. "Well, this would be the first one," he told her, reaching over her knees and opening up the glove compartment, hunting around until he pulled out a key on a red tag. He straightened back up again. "First floor, so this says," he added.

She'd flinched only slightly when he reached across her, not out of fear, just surprise at how casual he seemed even though her personal space had been breeched. Shaking it off she peered around him to take in the building. It was far from glamorous on the outside, but then it was the time of year where everything looks far from glamorous. "Might as well check it out," she said opening her door to the cold. "I keep forgetting first floor doesn't mean 'bug infested' here like it does where I'm from." Even most of the houses in the southern part of the country were built on crawl spaces to avoid unwanted pests. Standing on the street though she wondered if the place was still possibly infested. "Let's hope the inside is a little nicer."

Mathias chuckled at that as they headed toward the building. "Yeah - know what you mean there - I've lived around those kind of states," he told her, not coming right out and saying he wasn't from around here, but then again, it was no huge secret that he travelled a lot, so that wasn't a flat out avoidance either. "Around here I wouldn't much mind having a first floor place though - if it's right," he added. First floor had its advantages, not least that it meant not being trapped on a higher floor of a block when all hell was breaking loose, which he was starting to anticipate, even if the snow kept it away for the winter.

Outside of catering the scary things that go bump in the night, Jocelyn had little experience with all hell breaking loose. She preferred a higher floor though for similar reasons. Few things she'd met were really adept at scaling heights quickly and first floor locations provided far more reasonable entrances. "First floor does mean easy access," she commented, not toning it as either good or bad, since it was easily both.

Considering Caleb's tendency to come in through his bedroom window at times, Mathias didn't count that as necessarily a bad thing. And as for anything wanting to attack, he figured that thing would end up having a very bad day if it chose a time when both brothers were home. "True," he responded, equally non-committally as he unlocked the door and headed inside. The results were immediately unimpressive - given the very strong smell of cats that greeted them.

Jocelyn caught the smell as well, but was less apt to place it. Instinctively she brought her hand to her nose as she followed him inside. Outside of the smell though the place was quaint. "Do you have any idea who lived here before you? The walls are pink." It hardly seemed like the ideal bachelor pad.

"By the smells of it - some little old lady and her gazzilion cats," Mathias said, wrinkling his nose up. "I... Don't think we need to see any more, really," he added, turning right around and heading back out again. He didn't want to rent some place that the landlord couldn't even be bothered to get properly cleaned beforehand. One thing he wasn't, and that was into home repair - he wanted to be sure that that shit was done for him.

"I agree," she told him with a laugh in her voice. "I really can't see you with doilies on your furniture." Following him out she waited by the car for him to lock the door, shaking with silent giggles. "I'm surprised someone even gave you the key to that place. You really must have charmed whomever she was into oblivion."

"One of the local agents, she gave me a few places to look at, actually. I guess I just know how to ask nicely - and I didn't really want her trailing round after me, giving me the hard sell," Mathias told her as they headed back tot he car and he checked the next on the list though. "I don't do cats - but I do like the idea of a first floor. Something with a bit of space..."

"No cats and a first floor walk up," Jocelyn mused, leaning closer to look at the list. "This one might work," she said pointing to one of the listings. "I keep getting lost in this town, but aren't all of the houses in that area like town houses or duplexes or something? And it's a good clip from any retirement homes." Her smile was genuine and still full of laughter.

"Possibly - worth going and having a look, at least," Mathias agreed as he handed her the list and started the car up again, pulling out and starting down the road to a different area of town. "If you're right, and as long as it doesn't smell of cats, I'd be good for taking whatever. It's just somewhere to sleep really, after all." His space requirement was more for Caleb's sake than anything else. Okay, possibly for their joint sanity, so they weren't living in each other's pockets.

Jocelyn slid back to her side, resting comfortably in the seat of the car. She wasn't quick to agree with him about it just being a place to sleep, even though she'd live with that attitude for quite some time since she'd left home. If Mathias was willing to put in an effort to find the right place, she hoped it turned out to be more than just enough. Perhaps it was the beginnings of her new relationship with Doc and friendship with Grayson, but she was starting to feel like settling down somewhere might not be the death of her. Plus she'd almost grown accustomed to Marquette and its quirks.

It didn't take them long to get to the next place on the list and even as they drew up outside, Math had a better feeling about the place. It was nothing fancy, a neat little townhouse with an air of anonymity about it. He pulled over and climbed out, heading up the short path to the front door, which unlocked smoothly - this place was definitely in good repair. Mathias was a fan of that - meant he wouldn't be expected to do anything himself.

Following Mathias up the walk, Jocelyn took in the small place with a slight twinge of envy. She enjoyed her space at Babylon, but something like the townhouse he was letting them into seemed to lack the dark shadows she was trying to claw her way out of. "Already this one seems better than the first," she said with a hint of laughter in her voice, leaning around him to see inside of the place. "And it doesn't smell like my Aunt Agnes' from out here either."

Mathias chuckled. "Well, can't have a place smelling like you Aunt Agnes," he agreed, looking around. It seemed much more like the kind of thing they were going for - small, but on levels, which would give privacy and options. A narrow staircase led upwards, and a passageway led back into the house, opening out on one side to a living area. The place was unfurnished, which would mean shopping for new, but Mathias was hopeful that there'd be somewhere around where he could just go in and throw money at someone to give him furniture enough to kit the place out. The passageway led back towards a decent-sized kitchen, that had a door leading down to a basement. "Yeah, so far, so good," he mused.

Jocelyn followed him inside admiring the space. It was ideal for a roommate, giving just enough shared space as needed and hinting at the possibility of individual space upstairs. "Looks nice enough. You should probably check the basement for creatures or whatever. You don't want to move in and find out something else lives down there." She grinned at her own joke, even though it wasn't entirely funny. "You're gonna have to find furniture too, but that shouldn't be too hard. Want to check out upstairs?"

"Downstairs first - make sure the bogeyman isn't hiding in the basement," Mathias teased, before heading downwards, switching the light on to reveal a decent-sized and clean space. There was a small alcove off to one side that made up a laundry room, but other than that, it was as empty as the rest of the house. Mathias made a show of checking under the stairs - and actually found a shower room there, which he hadn't expected. "No bogeyman," he called up, looking around the space once more, in a new light - there was potential here. Caleb could maybe have the basement, and he could claim the top floor.

Jocelyn stayed put on the stop of the stairs as Mathias tested out the basement. Even with the lights on it there were too many dark corners for her own comfort, but she smiled down at him as if nothing was wrong when he called up to her. "At least it's safe," she answered with a smile, although it was a tiny bit more forced than the others, covering up her own fears.

Mathias caught the look as he walked back up the stairs. It was subtle, but he was good at reading people. "You okay?" he asked her. "Or do you just ahve a thing about basements?" he added, since that seemed to make the most sense.

She wasn't surprised he'd caught her twitch. Jocelyn wasn't the type who could easily hide her emotions and now wouldn't be any different. "Not basements," she offered with a small sigh. "Dark places."

"Well, at least now I know what to buy you for Christmas - a really powerful flashlight," he joked in such a way that it would be nigh on impossible to take offence to. But he moved up and out of the basement, shutting the door firmly behind him. "Upstairs then?" he asked, wanting to move her on from her fears as smoothly as possible.

"Thanks," she told him sarcastically give him a light shove. She appreciated the transition from teasing to moving away from the source of her nerves and she smiled more genuinely this time. "Upstairs it is. Lead the way."

He did just that, heading up the stairs. They were narrower than normal stairs, but not obscenely so, and maybe a little steeper, but they lead up to a small landing area off which ran two bedrooms - one master and another that was slightly smaller - and a bathroom. It was nothing amazingly special, but again, the place was clean and well cared for. "I think this place will do just fine," Mathias said, looking around the master bedroom. "Yeah, this is it..."

Jocelyn was leaning in the doorway of the bedroom as she watched him check the place out. "I like it too. Hell I'm almost jealous. It's a good amount of space for what it is." She waited at the door for him, letting him continue to feel his way around and test out the new space. "Does this mean we're done?"

"Yeah, I think this means we're done," Mathias agreed, grateful that he hadn't have to give the entire afternoon to lookig around substandard properties. Not that he minded the company - the company was definitely a plus there. "Thanks for coming with me - I really appreciated it."

"Don't mention it Mathias," she told him, pushing away from the door frame and flashed him a grin with bright eyes. It was the type of look that had won over client after client, friendly, open and coy, without being directly seductive. "I'm glad I could help."

He appreciated the look - it was a good one on her. "Well, I guess I should get back on over to the realtor and get this place signed up before someone else decides they want it," he said to her, though he doubted that woman was going to be letting anything go if she thought that he'd be even vaguely interested.

"Oh that poor realtor. The one you dazzled so much she gave you keys to everything she had available? I'll bet she's gotten nothing done today and is just waiting to hear from you," Jocelyn teased as she lead the way down the narrow staircase. "Do you mind dropping me back off at Babylon? I'd go with you to sign your papers but I don't think I could handle the possible dirty looks for just being seen with you."

"Sure, I can drop you back - not a problem. Wouldn't want you to get dirty looks for anything," Mathias said, easily, as they headed out and he locked up behind them.

She waited for him to lock the door then followed him to the car. "I appreciate you defending me against the dirty looks. The number of guys out there willing to protect one of Babylon's girl's honor are few and far between." There was a hint of flirtation in her tone, although it came across as harmless fun. Not an offer, but not a denial.

"Well, I guess then I'm just not most guys," Mathias said, flirting right back again. He was good at that kind of thing - and generally didn't make any distinction between whether it would lead anywhere, or whether it wouldn't. Flirting as just fun - and a natural instinct for the eldest Lockwood.

"Thank God for that," Jocelyn replied with another coy smile. Granted for her most guys included her psuedo boyfriend who was far more than he seemed and her best guy friend who also happened to be a werewolf during certain phases of the moon. And a barrage of unique former clients. "I'm ready for a change of pace." Although she doubted that Mathias had less secrets than any of the others.

"They say a change of pace is good for you - at least for a while," Mathias replied, though he didn't put any judgement in that at all. He wasn't sold, personally. he'd liked his life - he didn't much care for his change of pace, but here he was an here he was staying - with a new place by all accounts.

It was true. Jocelyn was ready for a change. Letting Doc into her life, befriending Grayson, and changing her role at Babylon, it was a start of change, a start of something new. She'd spent too long hiding from the rest of the rest of the world, not taking risks with her own feelings and now it was time to unlock that door and come out from those shadows. "Well if the change includes spending more time with you then I can handle a change of pace."

"Anytime you want, darling - any time you want," Mathias said as they got into the car and he started off.