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

[heardmermaids.livejournal.com]

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.

Comments

[rose-obfuscated.livejournal.com]

Brie smiles. This guy isn't half bad.

"And you? What did you do in your world?"

[heardmermaids.livejournal.com]

"These days, much the same as I do here, but when I was younger I was a soldier." Which might explain a few things about his demeanour and the visible injuries.

[rose-obfuscated.livejournal.com]

A look of recognition washes over Brie's face. She had seen his hand injuries earlier, but held her tongue.

"That was awfully noble of you."

[heardmermaids.livejournal.com]

Sebastian's expression is a bit odd as he debates whether or not to be wholly honest with her or not.

"Not particularly noble, actually, but it was a necessary thing."

[rose-obfuscated.livejournal.com]

Her voice was softer now, treading lightly.

"Necessary, like a draft? Or were you forced into it by outside circumstances?"

[heardmermaids.livejournal.com]

"Six of one, half a dozen of the other," he answers casually. It's not easy to explain, nor is it polite potluck chit-chat to go into the details of how and why one was a child solider. Although, if he is somewhere in his mid-twenties, been a handyman for a few years, it's fair for Brie to guess that he began to fight relatively young.

[rose-obfuscated.livejournal.com]

There's a five second pause, as Brie tries to estimate Sebastian's age. She didn't mean to pry, and if Sebastian wasn't proud of being a soldier, then this was not the right time to talk about it. Brie did make a mental note however, to ask him about it later, if the right time ever came.

Then, unexpectedly, Brie realized who exactly it was she was speaking to. But just to make sure, she'd ask.

"On the other hand, I think you've already met a young woman here who comes from the same place I do. Jones?"

[heardmermaids.livejournal.com]

"We've met, briefly." They've run into each other a few times and he even worked up the nerve to call her and invite her out to Réjean's post-disaster party. He's not really sure what else to say about Jones, other than she's a lovely young woman, but that's a bit too stodgy to actually say aloud.

[rose-obfuscated.livejournal.com]

Not the eyes-lighting-up reaction Brie was expecting, but a neutral reaction isn't bad. It meant there was potential, and seeing how much Jones tried to hide her interest, well, it was probably safe to bet that these two would eventually figure things out on their own.

"Ah. Jones and I are roommates now. She's spoken of you once or twice."

[heardmermaids.livejournal.com]

Be necessity, Sebastian has become an intensely private man and is now only slowly learning to offer his opinions. There is a short list of men and women he's willing to be entirely frank with and currently they're all somewhere in the guild, if not in the dining hall.

"I don't think I've done anything too terrible in front of her."

[rose-obfuscated.livejournal.com]

Brie lets out a laugh.

"Probably not. From what I've heard, you've been a charming gentleman."

She scratches Velcro a few more times behind the ear before asking, "So Mr. LeMat, why Hellsing?"

[heardmermaids.livejournal.com]

"I've worked with them before, I trust and respect Sir Hellsing and the Princess a great deal." It's all true and there's a marked softness to his tone when talking about Nuala -- he really does care about her. Unsaid, there are other reasons for working with Hellsing: he likes the structure of it, that they're doing good work, that they include people of all different walks of life, and so on.

"And you?"

[rose-obfuscated.livejournal.com]

"Remember the female crime-fighting group I told you about before? Hellsing was the closest thing I could find here. I think the group and I, we're trying each other out for now, and seeing how we fit."

Brie glances around at the other guests.

"It's a way for me to meet and work with people who share common beliefs."