multiversallogs | [closed] - and maybe you'll be there

Who: Lucius Malfoy and Sebastian LeMat

What: Catching up and sorting out

Where: Queequeg's

When: ~~Friday~~ Veerdi, early afternoon

Notes: too many notes?

Warnings: none anticipated

Lucius has kept a low profile, for his first few days in Baedal. Most of his connections have been reconnections - people he met in Bête Noire, and Rodolphus. He tries not to think too deeply about Rodolphus, with only the ghost of a scar where his Mark should be, and only a flicker of the man whom Lucius had considered a friend left behind his gaze. That was before one of the two of them had gone to Azkaban. It was sobering in more than one way, and he hadn't sorted it out yet.

Of course, thinking about that was also better than thinking about how brief his reunion with Narcissa had been, and wondering if he should expect her to follow him here, too. He wanted her home, in truth. Wanting her with him was his own weakness. He felt less guilty, if more conflicted, about being glad of Sebastian's company.

He arrives when and where they'd agreed, promptly. He's split the difference in clothing, with what he was given for currency; he bought muggle clothes, but finer ones than he'd been using as a disguise, and has enchanted them to be as impeccably tailored as his robes had been. He would give at least some effort to trying to blend in, for the time being. He sees no reason not to resume the plan of appearing to be a model citizen as he attempts to orient himself.

He can break rules, if necessary, once he understands them.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I have and I've been in contact with Sir Integra. They haven't been here too long either and the hall is in need of rather a lot of work." He's both pleased by the prospect of a steady job and a little put off when he remembers Cassandra's vague disappointment in him. "I'm quite sure that they'll have work for you too, if you need it."

"Indeed. I've made some early contact, but I see no good reason not to pursue the connection." Then again, Lucius was in the habit of pursuing any connection he could get that might be of use, especially in such an uncertain situation.

"Still, other than being plucked out of your own time once again, you look well."

"If you want, I'll probably need some help right away, doing assessments and working up a proposal. It'll be mostly muggle work, but it won't be technical." Hellsing might want him for warding, but if not, Sebastian will gladly work with Malfoy.

"If they don't have anything else," he agrees. "If I've learned anything since the beginning of all this, it's the value of having something to do with one's hands while looking for a way out."

Not instead of, certainly. But in addition to.

Sebastian hopes that there will be something more suited to Malfoy's skills, but if not, there's always some sort of work to be had. He's recently had to examine just why he's willing to help Malfoy when and where he can; with Lestrange in the city, he can't lie to himself and say that he's aiding Malfoy out of a vague familial connection.

They may, in fact, be something approaching friends. How odd.

"Have you had a chance to explore much of the city?"

"Not much, yet. I'm beginning to search for a more private place to live, which is getting me out more."

He adds, thoughtful, "Have you run across anyone else you know, as yet?"

"Hellboy's here, and Princess Nuala, too." His voice softens when mentioning the Princess and it's clear he's pleased to have the opportunity to see her again.

At this point it might be fair to mention that Sebastian occasionally has terrifying taste in friends.

"I encountered Hellboy by Network here, but hadn't met him before." A pause, then he adds, "Also the vampire." Either Sebastian will know which one he means, or he won't.

"I didn't know him well, but he's a good man. Easy to work with, I'd say." Sebastian does know which one he means, but so far he's had the good luck of not yet meeting Alucard.

"I suppose I ought to ask about your brother-in-law."

"There's not much to say, as yet," Lucius' expression was a bit closed off, at that. "You said he can't be your version?"

"The Lestrange that I knew died in 2001 during the Harrowing of Kent," he says with an equally shuttered expression. It was after the Harrowing that Sebastian acknowledged that 'winning' the war wasn't possible, just survival.

"His war's over at least," Lucius says, "The Mark's gone."

"Good."

There's a long pause as he looks into his coffee and takes a slow sip, thinking over what it must mean that Lestrange lives without a mark.

"For what little it's worth, you do know that I have no desire to bring any of that horror here."

"I know." Lucius stirs his tea, idly. "I've never seen someone that... it's Azkaban, but it's not just that." The complex and deep ways in which Rodolphus were broken weren't all incredibly obvious, but they were notable when taken together as a whole.

"It may be a combination of the end of the war and time in Azkaban, but..." He frowns and tries to figure out how best to explain this. "But if the mark was removed improperly, it could've scooped out a piece of his soul."

"How would you tell the difference, after that much dementor exposure?" Lucius asks, low.

"There isn't a difference, really. They both do the same thing -- one by nibbling at the edges and the other just pulling out a piece." Yet another reason that using dementors in Azkaban was a terrible idea. "The prevailing theory is that it doesn't have to be permanent. Care and attention, finding something greater than oneself, being a 'good person' -- all of that can rebuild lost portions of the soul."

All of them terribly likely for a wild-eyed, broken Rodolphus Lestrange.

"His younger brother was just a little younger than me, you know - between my group and Severus', really, in age. The first time I met Rodolphus..." Lucius waves himself off.

"Well. Never mind. The important thing, I suppose, is that it's probably best for you to avoid each other, if possible."

"I would like to be something other than a greasy smear on the floor." Which is to say, it's a very good idea that he keep as far away from Lestrange as he can. "And, if you need to do the same for your own safety or ease, I won't hold it against you, Malfoy."

"I don't know. I'm playing it by ear. But thank you." The truth is, LeMat is more useful than Rodolphus, in his current state, but he feels he owes Rodolphus his first loyalty. It's something he's still sorting out himself.

"He's gone off, for now."

[closed] - and maybe you'll be there

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