multiversallogs | new beautiful things come in the first spit of snow on the northwest wind

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new beautiful things come in the first spit of snow on the northwest wind

Who: Any and all Hellsing Staff & guests they invite.
What: Fall dinner.
Where: Hellsing Guild Hall
When: Shundi evening.

At some point during the week, Sebastian posted a brief notice up on the staff bulletin board:

Autumn Dinner
Sunday Evening. Dining Hall. Potluck. BYOB.

When Sunday rolls around, Sebastian has brought along a tray of fruit, cheese, some preserves, and fresh bread.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Any attempt Brie made at cooking real, edible food for humans had ended in total failure. She had never learned how to cook before she was turned, her parents had coddled her too much. And after she became a vampire, well, she didn't really need the cooking skills.

Now that she was mortal again and needed normal nourishment, she had been largely depending on Jones. But she wanted to meet new people and to perhaps find a partner, so she had to come to this dinner. Had to. But after starting three fires in their kitchen, Brie decided that perhaps it would be better to get something store bought.

So there it was. Fruit salad and chocolate cake.

Walking into the guild hall, she looked around for the potluck table.

"Hullo, do you need any help with that?" Sebastian is miserable when it comes to small talk and isn't a particularly good host, but he is polite. The potluck table isn't far, but when you're navigating whatever other chairs and tables are in the room a little extra assistance can't hurt.

"Oh!" she squeaked at Sebastian. "Yes, that would be extremely helpful."

"Um, would you like to carry....fruit salad? Or chocolate cake?" The whole gesture looked kind of silly.

"I'll take the bowl, if you don't mind?" The fruit salad looks more forgiving and easier for him to hold onto and so, if she doesn't object, that's what he'll take. Should Brie worry, despite missing part of the fingers on his right hand, his grasp hasn't been overly compromised.

"I'm LeMat." He doesn't offer to shake, but she might recognize his name from others at Hellsing mentioning him as the handyman.

"Of course not," Brie said, handing over the bowl and thankful that she now could use both hands to hold on to the cake.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Brie." After a quick pause, she added "I'm new."

"I think we all are. Within a few months, at least." The potluck table isn't far and Sebastian's dog, Velcro, stays nearby but out from underfoot. Only under exceptional circumstances can one find them separated. "Thanks for coming out."

"Thank you for organizing this."

She was eyeing Velcro now, resisting the impulsive desire to pet him without asking. "To be very honest, I haven't met very many people since I've arrived in the city at all -- and well, this seemed like a wonderful opportunity."

And then she just couldn't resist anymore and had to ask, "Could I -- pet your dog?"

"Sure. His name's Velcro and he's very well trained," he replies while unloading the fruit salad. While he does provide support, Velcro isn't official working tonight and can be petted, fussed over, and generally bothered.

"And, it's nothing, really. Just a good idea to get to know the people you're expected to work with." The 'and fight alongside' is unsaid.

Brie moved her right hand to behind Velcro's ear and began scratching. Dogs always liked that, and she enjoyed seeing animals happy.

"So what department are you in LeMat? Your name sounds slightly familiar."

"Groundskeeper, general repair, that sort of thing." When he was younger, he often wondered what Hagrid got out of his position besides being able to indulge in his odd, monster-favouring hobbies. Now that he's older, Sebastian knows that was the point all along.

"And you?"

"Field agent. But I haven't gone on a mission yet."

Sebastian nods appreciatively; that's a good job.

"And back home? What did you do before coming here?"

"I was part of a female organization that fought crime," Brie said. "Sounds cheesy, I know. But I wanted to join ever since I was a little girl. When I turned 20, they finally let me in."

She was going to avoid telling Sebastian that she had to get embraced for that to happen. Plus, she was mortal now.

Lucius needs to meet more people. Hellsing, for better or worse, was where he'd cast his lot in Baedal, and the need to build new alliances was growing daily more apparent to him.

He lets Narcissa take most of the men; she'll do better that way in any case. As for himself, someone he'd seen Sebastian talking with might not be a bad place to start. He eventually makes his way over to Brie.

"I'm not sure if the fact I don't know many people indicates I've been in the field too much or too little, lately," he says by way of introduction.

"Brie Cormac," she says. "I wouldn't blame you for not knowing who I am. I was just hired as a field agent recently."

Brie is quite stunning to look at, but the man in front of her seemed to demand a sort of respect.

"To whom do I owe this pleasure?"

"Lucius Malfoy. I'm one of the wizards on retainer." The significantly less mad one! "I've mainly been dealing with wards, but that's because it's what's been needed."

Brie imagined that wizards were like mages then. Mortals who possessed magical powers.

"Sounds like you're more interested in doing other work?"

Lucius smiles, politely. "I don't mind wards. It's just that I'd no plans to specialize, prior to Baedal. What about you? What's your weapon of choice, if you're in the field?"

"I am quite fond of knives, actually. They're easy to hide beneath a lady's skirt or in her boots."

She smiled, and you could tell many targets died after such a smile.

"But physically attacking monsters isn't my speciality, though I'm competent enough to not get killed. Instead, my focus is on breaking and entering, so to speak. I can go nearly anywhere undetected."

"I see." Unlocking muggle doors doesn't impress him, terribly, but he assumes there's more to it than that, if Hellsing finds her worthwhile to hire. "So I keep the monsters out while you go in the back window."

"Something like that. I usually prefer the front door. But I guess the back window has a certain noir feel to it."

She probably should have specified that undetected meant hidden in plain sight, but she's sure Lucius will find out soon enough. If they get paired on a mission together, she'll want a much better exchange of skills info.

"Bold." He considers her for a moment. He's not sure just yet quite what to make of her.

"Which is your focus, goods or information?" Once she's in.

Brie ponders for a moment. She's was extremely handy with security systems, but only what was around during her time. She imagines that anything in Baedal has far exceeded the technologies of her day. She'll need to brush up on those skills. That said, all she needs to do is get someone to open the door for her, and she's in.

"I can get to either, and I'm fast. And you? No intentions to specialize in wards, so all types of magic then? I have to admit that I'm only slightly familiar with what mages are capable of."

Mage is the right word, right?

"Wizards," he corrects not unkindly, "though I suppose I'm a type of mage." It wasn't a term that came up much, at home.

"I don't work, where I'm from. Didn't. But I served on the board of a school, supported various political causes, that sort of thing." If it sounds like old money, there's a reason. "A wizard is what I am, it wasn't how I made a living." It's an odd thing to have to explain.

Lucius was starting to remind Brie of her father, someone who had money and spent time giving it away strategically. It's just that instead of schools and political causes, her father focused on pirates and operas. But she quickly put those thoughts to rest. She hadn't thought of her father for quite some time, and she didn't want to.

Point is, the man in front of her now seems a bit more familiar, and Brie is acting slightly more comfortable.

"If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did you make a living?"

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