Olivia Jensen is on her way to ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ғᴀsᴛ (sprinted) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2016-05-15 22:34:00 |
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For the most part the so-called Lending Library that the LBJ ran was a disappointment, since a former president’s papers and the related government records held no interest for Dani whatsoever. Nor did most of the thin selection of novels, which seemed to be made up primarily of romances for some reason, with a small number of titles from other genres mixed in. Almost since the Lending Library’s founding, she’d been pushing for the addition of medical texts, which were surely still housed within the University’s own library and therefore not at all difficult to procure. The little blonde girl that worked there (and who, unaccountably, seemed in charge of the whole endeavor) had been good-natured enough about fulfilling Dani’s requests, but it had still been some time before any progress had been made on that front. When, at last, she’d received a message to the effect that new books on her subject of interest had been acquired, Dani had been hesitant to visit, given the tension surrounding the Capitol’s relationship with the LBJ. She had delayed for weeks before finally admitting defeat -- and boredom -- and joining an outgoing group of regular patrons from the UMCB. (The rule about traveling in parties of no less than three seemed only selectively enforced, but she wasn't taking any chances.) Now, sitting at a table with a stack of books as she sorted through which were worth the cost of a canned good, Dani was as close to content as humanly possible post-outbreak. In front of her was the prospect of hours spent absorbing new information, and even the sound of someone moving like a herd of elephants through the reading area couldn't diminish her good mood. That is until, with a quelling shhh, she looked up to see Olivia Jensen. “Of course it’s you,” Dani sighed, before she could think better of it. "And you!" Olivia wore a look of horror on her face as she came to a stop right in front of Dani. Maizie had asked her to put a few errant books away, but she put them down at the end of the table. How could she focus on such a task when her archenemy was right there? It didn't make a bit of difference that the two of them hadn't seen each other in months. Nearly a year, in fact, had gone by. Her hackles still rose immediately at the sight of Dani as a long-standing grudge rose up and settled in like a sudden thunderstorm. "Wow. You actually left the hospital." Olivia wasn't sure what resonated more, irritation at Dani's mere presence or glee at the prospect of the inevitable fight that was to come. "Daniela Diaz finally grew a pair. It figures, though, that the only thing that could draw you out was a bunch of boring books." Although she'd never been the kind to get easily flustered, Dani felt her face growing hot at Olivia’s words. How dare she? While it was true that Dani’s greeting hadn't been the most polite, neither was it objectionable enough to warrant a reply that launched immediately into a personal attack. “Frankly, I'm surprised to find you here, since it's obvious you've never willingly cracked open a book in your life.” Mindful of the fact that this was still a library, even if it was a poor one, Dani kept her voice to a volume that was barely above a whisper. It was slightly ridiculous, to argue in such quiet tones, but it wasn't as though she could just let Olivia’s insults stand. "I only didn't when you were around, just to piss you off." Olivia almost added something about how she wouldn't have been able to go to UT if she hadn't kept her grades up, but Dani didn't seem worth the time or effort needed for self-validation. She picked up the books she'd just set down, putting on a sickly sweet, fake smile. "Have a super day." Tossing her hair over her shoulder, Dani pointedly turned back to her stack as Olivia shelved two of the books a couple of feet away, though she was much too worked up to be able to read now. A moment later, she was looking back up again, her brows drawing down into a frown. “Or maybe you finally gave up your beloved runs to become a librarian. The child that runs this place certainly needs the help, but you would think they could find someone more suitable.” Olivia shoved the last book back into place on the shelf, not even caring how much noise it made. When she turned back to face Dani, her eyes were narrowed and her fists were clenched as she just barely suppressed the urge to punch her smartass mouth. "Don't talk about her like that," she hissed, practically stomping back over to make sure Dani could hear her at the lower volume. "You don't know shit about her and you don't know shit about me." Before Dani could reply her attention was drawn to the sudden appearance of the face of the blonde-haired girl in question, as she peeked out from behind a shelf of books. Looking over at the two of them her eyes grew wide, her mouth formed a small ‘o’, and then she popped out of view again. What on earth? Dani’s frown deepened. Between the girl’s unsubtle eavesdropping and Olivia’s overreaction to a comment that barely qualified as offensive, she could only conclude more of a connection existed between the two than she had previously grasped. With that thought in mind, the obvious fury in Olivia’s expression suddenly made more sense. “Alright, fine. I simply thought that an undertaking of this kind might be beyond her experience, but I retract my observation.” It wasn't often that Dani backed down, but she did so now without any further hesitation. Olivia crossed her arms, her confusion at the sudden retreat tempering her rage, and scowled. "Your observation was wrong, for the record." Dani looked at Olivia for a moment longer, noting a new scar on the other woman’s cheekbone, the white line of it standing out against her livid skin. It could have been the result of any number of things -- athletes were always getting banged up one way or another -- but it lead Dani to make another comment. “Honestly, good for you, Olivia. I'm pleased that after what happened to you last fall you've come to your senses and stopped scouting.” "'After what happened'?" It took Olivia a moment to remember that Dani worked at the hospital, had possibly even been involved in her stay without her even knowing. The thought of Daniela Diaz examining her bodily fluids made her visibly shudder with disgust before the rest of her statement kicked in. Suddenly, it didn't even matter that she had indeed considered quitting, many many times. The fact that she had gotten back into it in the end felt like a personal triumph, one she tried to cherish even as her temper spiked again. "Because the best thing to do after stuff goes weird is to give up, right? Pick something safe and boring and twiddle my thumbs day in and day out wishing I was brave enough to face the scary outside world again?" Olivia paused then, looking guiltily in the direction of the eavesdropping girl, but it wasn't enough to make her stop. Not when her hands were shaking and she felt as though she were on the verge of exploding. "And what exactly did I have to 'come to my senses' about? Was this inevitable or something? Because of last year? Andrea and everyone else? They were my friends. I can't keep -- you can't just stop because shit happens." For the second time, Dani found herself taken aback by the strength of Olivia’s reaction to something she’d thought rather innocuous. She looked at the other woman for a moment, completely bewildered, as if she could find the answers in Olivia’s face just by looking at it long enough. When Dani did speak, only the fact of their surroundings kept her voice lowered -- well, and the fact that they already had one eavesdropper and could easily gain others if the volume of their discussion were to increase. “Is that supposed to be a dig at me? ‘Wishing I was brave enough to face the scary world outside’?” Dani shook her head, and made a quiet, scoffing sound. “Clearly you don’t know shit about me either, since my ‘safe and boring’ job nearly got me killed. So I don’t know what it is that you think the Annihilator’s murders are supposed to have to do with you, of all people. I’m very sorry you broke your ankle tripping over a curb or however it happened, but I don’t really think it compares.” "That's not how they broke --" Olivia took a deep breath, forcing it out, and pinched the bridge of her nose as her deep hatred for Dani warred with the sudden realization that she was skirting the edge of making a scene. She could barely cope with having Maizie see her mess half the time; she didn't want to invite the whole Library into her business. The smartest thing to do just then, she knew, was just walk away. She was still too mad, though, and leaving would give Dani the satisfaction of knowing she'd won. So she stayed in place, her breathing still off-kilter, and pulled her hand down. "What do you mean?" she said then, her curiosity about an off-hand comment getting the better of her. "What happened?" “What happened when?” It took her a moment to work out which part of her reply had drawn that question from Olivia. The realization that she didn't know what Dani had been referring to was difficult to reconcile at first, but there had never really been any mention of her ordeal in the aftermath of Zeckendorf’s death. It was an attempt to protect her privacy, she supposed, despite the fact that she had been left unprotected in every other sense. “Oh.” Dani’s gaze dropped, but only momentarily as she gathered herself. She hated to show any weakness in front of Olivia. Wetting her lips, she looked back up at the other woman and deliberately held her gaze. “As repayment for the sin of processing forensic evidence for the APD’s investigation, the Annihilator stalked me, sent me threatening messages, kidnapped me at knifepoint right from the lab, and -- if not for a timely intervention -- would have made me his fifth victim. They may have been your friends, but that's a different matter entirely.” Olivia nodded needlessly, fiddling with her hands for lack of something better to do with them. The Annihilator was a sore point for her already, after having lost so many friends to him, but the thought of her archenemy nearly falling victim as well? "I'm glad you're not dead," she said, meaning her words despite the shocked tone in which she said them. As poorly as they got along, it wasn't like she'd ever wanted Dani to die. Just, like, go away for a while. It wasn't a topic on which Dani wanted to linger, so she shrugged off Olivia’s response and immediately tossed back a question of her own, “How did you break it, then? Your ankle.” The surprise from Dani's admission was still affecting Olivia, apparently, because it took her a moment to realize she'd said something else. "I didn't," she said, vaguely aware that this was a linguistic distinction that only she cared about. Unlike Dani, though, she couldn't yet manage conversation about her ordeal without showing just how strongly it affected her. "The cartel, Los Nop -- Nahuales -- They broke it. With a crowbar. Among other things. They were going to kill me, too." Her hands found her hips and she shook her head, exhaling a long breath. "So." Though Los Nahuales had been common fodder for gossip around the UMCB for months, as far as Dani knew no one from their shelter had ever had quite the experience with them that Olivia had. She grimaced, barely suppressing a shiver as her imagination, coupled with her textbook knowledge of the physical effects blunt force trauma, readily supplied an idea of the experience of receiving such an injury. It wasn’t pretty. And what could one say after that? Any thought Dani might have had about continuing to argue with Olivia was completely banished now. In fact, she felt rather -- well. She hated to admit to being wrong, but nevertheless there was a certain sheepishness to her expression as she glanced down and cleared her throat to speak. “I apologize, Olivia, for speaking thoughtlessly about an incident I clearly knew nothing about. The offense you took at my implication that you had abandoned scouting for good would seem to indicate that you’re still engaged in that occupation. If -- ” Dani faltered, and gave up the pretense of formality with which she’d been speaking. “Well, we both know I don’t have the necessary fortitude to do what you do. I doubt I’d ever leave the relative safety of a shelter again if I’d been in your shoes. So I’ll try to be less condescending toward you in the future.” Olivia looked sharply up at Dani, confusion evident on her face despite her narrowed eyes and downturned mouth. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but an actual apology ranked at the very bottom of her list. And even though it was the best possible kind of reaction, Olivia was at a loss for how to respond. She and Dani had only ever dealt in insults and throwdowns before. "Thanks," she said, worrying at her lip as she wondered what else to say. Did her own behavior warrant an apology, too? It probably did. "And, you know. I'm sorry, too. I probably didn't have to be so angry about..." Olivia waved one hand in a vague gesture. "Everything." God, she could barely say ten words in response to the thesis statement Dani had somehow managed in response to her. “Thank you,” Dani replied, clearly just as surprised that they were managing to behave less like sworn enemies and more like civilized human beings. It made her painfully aware of all those past interactions in which she had not behaved with anywhere near the same amount of decorum. At least, if there was any consolation to be had in this awkward conversation, Olivia clearly found their momentary truce as uncomfortable as she did. There was more silence then, while Olivia clearly grappled for something else, before she blurted, "It sucks, right? It's not like we don't already have shit to worry about." Her throat felt tight, suddenly. "I just wanted to do my job. I guess you probably did, too." “That's very -- yes. It does suck.” Unbidden, Dani found her gaze darting over to the spot near the shelves where their blonde eavesdropper had previously been hiding, but she saw no sign of the girl -- young woman -- now. After a moment, she turned her attention back to Olivia. “I would imagine it must be a relief, when you go out, to know Los Nahuales are no longer a threat. With my work, I’ve found -- well. I'm sure it isn't the same for you.” For once, these words were spoken without any hidden insult. "It's better now." Olivia was like, 98% sure it was really over, after what had happened with the water truck and the Dogs' last face-off with them, the details of which she'd gleaned from eavesdropping here and there on Savannah's conversations. "I mean..." She paused for a moment, studying Dani almost as though she were seeing her for the first time despite the fact that she was one of two people Olivia had known pre-apocalypse. A super weird, uncomfortable realization hit her, then: Dani was like, probably the only person in Austin who really got what she felt about what had happened. "It's not like we're ever really safe these days, right? Even if we think we are." Olivia bit her lip then, wondering if Dani even wanted to have this conversation after their weird mutual apologies. "But like, I didn't mean to interrupt you. Even though, like. I interrupted you." It was an out. A better, more empathetic person might not have taken it, might have tried to walk a little further on this unexpected common ground. Dani was not that person. She took the out gratefully, already uncomfortable with the subject at hand and further unsettled by having the discussion in the middle of a public place. That she found herself actually relating to Olivia came in a surprisingly distant third. “Safety is an illusion,” Dani agreed, with a grimace. Reaching for her stack of books, she quickly sorted out a reasonable number to bring back to the hospital, then pushed back her chair in order to rise. “But now that you mention it, I probably ought to make sure the group I came here with isn't waiting for me to finish. It's been … nice, actually. Take care, Olivia.” "I -- Yeah." Olivia backed up, giving Dani plenty of room to move around her. She was glad for the end of the conversation and the fraught awkwardness that she was sure they'd both felt as they attempted to navigate the weirdness of the whole thing: relating to each other after hating each other for so long. Still, she couldn't help the pang of regret as the one person who could really relate to her started to make her leave. "You, too, Dani," she said, just before she was out of earshot, before she turned to go find Maizie and explain what had just happened. |