take these broken wings and learn to fly

[ruinedu2.livejournal.com]

Who: "Fauxlivia" Dunham and you.
What: Coffee.
Where: Mog Hill, Queequeg's.
When: Veerdi (or any given) morning.
Warnings: None as of yet. Probably language?

Olivia would like to be one of those people waiting at the door when Queequeg's opens at 7, but in good conscience, she can't bring herself to add to the rush when she hasn't got any place to be in the mornings just yet. She waits a respectable hour before making her way from her room at Valhalla Inn to the sunken ship motif'd coffee shop.

It's become a bit of a game, ordering a coffee with the instruction surprise me. Sometimes this turns out to be a pleasant surprise, and those combinations she writes down for later reference. Sometimes she discovers that she should stick to what she knows. Today she's fortunately enjoying the results of flavour roulette, her hands wrapped around the hot beverage, a contented smile on her lips after a tentative sip. Out on deck, the warmth of it is appreciated.

Comments

[thenormalsquint]

Angela's all for living on the edge and embracing the surprises of life, but when it comes to her coffee, her lifesource, she plays it safe and close. She's learned from her short time in Baedal that when she orders without paying attention, most times her luck runs short and into the gross. Mornings are hard enough. No need to make it harder by ordering something that needs a dash of this and a dash of that.

With a coffee filled with milk and sugar (and consequently boring), Angela steps outside with her trusty sketch pad under her arm and a pencil securing the bun in her hair. She's hoping to get a couple random customers today, or everyday, really, until she finds something steadier.

[ruinedu2.livejournal.com]

Olivia lifts her gaze when the dark-haired woman steps out onto the deck, following her with her eyes for a moment. Seeing someone (outwardly) human isn't necessarily an uncommon occurrence, but it still instils in Olivia a sense of kinship that wouldn't otherwise be fostered in her own world.

Raising a hand, she calls out to get Angela's attention. "Hey. You take requests?"

[thenormalsquint]

With a glint in her eye, Angela makes a beeline for a table off in a corner that's out of the way but still attention catching just in case. Her luck holds out on at least one thing today because just as she's about to pull out a chair to sit, somebody--hopefully a potential paying person--is waving her down.

"I also take money," she answers with a smile that broadcasts "Of course!" Hey, closed mouths don't get fed.

[ruinedu2.livejournal.com]

Money Liv has got. Not in spades, but she's got it. She gets up from her table to approach Angela's instead, where she sets down her coffee so she can reach into the back pocket of her black cargo pants and procure her wallet. "Can you work from a photograph?"

[thenormalsquint]

"I definitely can." This is the second time somebody's asked her to refer to a picture when doing a sketch. Somehow, it seems normal to Angela. When in a place where you know no one and miss the people you do, a little extra something to stare at might help.

[ruinedu2.livejournal.com]

The wallet is flipped open so she can work free a photograph of herself wearing a dark bathrobe and a tired smile while holding an infant who's been turned outward for the benefit of the camera. "I know it's a bit small, but is it clear enough to work from?"

[thenormalsquint]

Angela carefuly reaches for the photograph, giving it the utmost respect because it's clearly means enough to Olivia and who is Angela to degrade that?

"I've worked from less," she says with a comforting and reassuring smile. Less would be the top of a skull, but there is no need to mention that. "I only have a pencil with me so I'm not going to be able to color it in. Right now, anyway." There are options to fix that later, but for now, Angela settles in to begin working.

"Do you want an exact copy?"

[ruinedu2.livejournal.com]

"Doesn't need to be." The photo is relinquished without reluctance. "Doesn't have to be colour, either." She smiles a little in spite of herself, fondly. "That's my son, Henry." To say she misses him would be both obvious and an understatement. "It'd be nice to have another picture of him."

[thenormalsquint]

"I don't blame you. He's a cutie. Mini-heartbreaker," Angela assures Olivia, letting her know that is absolutely no problem in multiples. She sets the picture to lean against her coffee cup, a fine place for her to work from. "How old is he?"

[aviophobia]

This isn't the closest place to the apartment McCoy shares with Jim, and it's sure as hell not on the way to Hellsing, but the coffee's the best in the city, so he's willing to make a detour for it. It means leaving a little earlier, but he'll take it.

He's waiting for his own coffee (black, strong enough to stand up and bark) when he hears her ordering.

"Brave," he says.

[ruinedu2.livejournal.com]

Olivia hands her money over and moves to stand where McCoy waits for his own order. She smiles at him. "I'm reasonably certain I won't find any arsenic in my coffee. That'd put a damper on my continuing patronage." A shrug. "This whole place is one new experience. Coffee may as well continue the trend."

She offers her hand out toward him. "I'm Olivia."

[aviophobia]

"McCoy." He takes her hand and shakes it with a brief nod. "Have you been in Baedal for very long, Miss Olivia?"

[ruinedu2.livejournal.com]

"I'm a fresh arrival," Liv admits easily. She seems to be at peace with her new locale, save for the slightly forced quality to her smile. "How about you?"

[aviophobia]

He waggles a hand in a 'so-so' gesture. "I'd been here for about three months before I got zapped back home for a month, and I've been back for a week or so. So ... three months ... ish?"

[hehaseatenthepancake]

Hellboy isn't really a regular at Queequeg's, but he's distinctive enough that when he trudges in, the staff apparently recognize him anyway. His hugeness is blunted slightly by the progression of his usual slouch into a full-on hunch. To say that he's carrying a sword would be stretching the point slightly, as the baldric holding the scabbard in which golden Excalibur is sheathed looks like it would take any opportunity to slip off the one shoulder it's looped over. The tan canvas-and-leather duster he's wearing has numerous bloody gashes, although there don't appear to be any injuries underneath them anymore.

He makes his way to the bar, plops down a small handful of coins from a pouch on his belt, and in his rumbling crushed-rock voice, asks for coffee and, "Breakfast. Surprise me." Either the coinage is very good or they take pity on his run-down state, as a few minutes later, he walks away with a large mug in his left hand and a sizable plate piled with assorted breakfasty foods palmed in his massive stone Right.

In the hopes that the chill might brace him a little, he steps out onto the deck, picking a table with one of the sturdier chairs to handle his weight. As he sets his cargo down, his sword-baldric finally slides off his shoulder, but it's a short drop before the strap catches on his forearm instead, and he hangs it off the back of his chair before sitting down himself. He doesn't start right in on the food, or even the coffee, but rather slumps a bit and stares at it while he takes a few big, sighing breaths, as though he's finally given up the effort of keeping himself upright for a moment and has to work back up again.

[ruinedu2.livejournal.com]

It isn't so much curiosity that has Olivia's green eyes following Hellboy's imposing figure as it is recognition. There's a moment where she wavers, and realises that others might be watching her watching him, and it makes her conscious of her staring.

After a breath, she pushes herself to her feet and approaches his table, ungloved hands wrapped around her warm mug of java. "Hi. Hellboy, right? I'm Olivia. We talked over the network."

Not generally one to be awkward, she does find herself feeling a bit without a plan of action at the moment. "I wanted to thank you for talking with me when I arrived. I really appreciate it."

[hehaseatenthepancake]

Hellboy's head tilts up when Olivia starts addressing him, and his recognition sparks first about being addressed at all, and then that it's by someone he is at least somewhat acquainted with. After one more deep breath in, his exhale is accompanied by a weary but friendly, "Hey."

That seems to be enough to get him to get it together, and with a noise like clearing his throat, he shifts to sit more upright. "It's no problem," he says, his voice gaining quickly picking up strength. "Nice to finally meet you in person. Have a seat. How've you been settling in?"

While she either does or doesn't sit, he finally starts digging into his breakfast and coffee. He eats like a man who's been starving, but mostly on auto-pilot while he focuses most of his conscious attention on Olivia.

[ruinedu2.livejournal.com]

Olivia takes advantage of the hospitality and settles down across the table from the well-equipped Xenian. "It's an adjustment," she admits, tucking a strand of her auburn hair behind one ear. "I'm used to things that defy conventional Earth logic, but this... This is different."

She falls silent long enough to take a drink from her coffee. "I'm just kind of searching for something to keep me busy. That'll help the transition."

[hehaseatenthepancake]

"Mm." He swallows his current mouthful of food and quickly washes it down with a sip of his coffee. "Yeah, if your job was all science weird, that makes sense. For me... well, this is my second city like this, actually. Even before that, though, back home had me bouncing in and out of Faerie lands so much I mostly stopped keeping track of time. Long story."

As he eats, Olivia may notice that he does so almost entirely with his left hand. The Right, massive and rocky though it is, is not just an immobile attachment, but it's also quite obviously not a thing built for any task requiring any delicacy, so he mostly just rests it on the table.

"Well," he says after a pause in what are some truly quite excellent pancakes, "if you're looking for something similar to your old job, that's pretty much what Hellsing's for. I don't know if we're hiring right now, but I can put you in touch with Princess Nuala. Personnel's one of the things she handles."

lj is such a pita :(

[ruinedu2.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, science weird is a good explanation for what I deal with at work. Dealt with." Before. It's difficult referring to her life in the past tense, like it's something she won't be going back to. It's sort of necessary to keep moving forward, however.

"It does sound like it'd be right up my alley. I'm not really well suited to waiting tables or working retail." Olivia smiles. "If you could point me in the right direction at least, I'd really appreciate it."

I knoooowwww. :-(

[hehaseatenthepancake]

"Mm. I know the feeling." He chomps down some more pancake, then fishes into his coat pocket for his CiD. While he fiddles with it, he continues, "Before I retired, I was with the BPRD... almost fifty years? Most of my adult life, in any case. I don't really have any other job skills."

He finishes with the CiD and lets it flop down onto the table so he can focus on cutting up the last of the sausage patties and the pancake. "There. The Guild Hall's on Grenadier Street in Sobek Croix. I've sent you directions from the Salacus Fields El stop, and contact info for the front desk. Call ahead, make an appointment; building security gets cranky about drop-ins. Once I've gotten some sleep, I'll drop a line to the Princess, let her know to expect you."

at least it is behaving for the moment

[ruinedu2.livejournal.com]

Olivia smiles, glad to know that there's someone who can empathise with the notion of being married to their career path. "Thanks for this. It's a big help. I'm not quite sure what's socially acceptable around here sometimes." Can one just show up and ask for a job, for instance? In her line of work, people are generally recruited.

"Who's responsible for Hellsing anyway? Is it government-sanctioned?"

for *now*

[hehaseatenthepancake]

"S'no problem. I was lucky to find my place early on. Only seems fair to do what I can for others." The pamphlet does mention that there are employment agencies, but it's not uncommon for people to disregard the pamphlet five minutes after getting out and it doesn't really make it clear that the employment agencies have probably heard it all. He never talked to them anyway, having been directly recruited.

His breakfast finally finished and feeling halfway sentient now, he takes a cigarette out of a silvered case, strikes a wooden match off of his Right Hand, and lights up. The leisurely smoke helps take the edge off of the large coffee he's just had to wake him up.

"Hellsing's basically sanctioned as a trade guild, like a union. Some guilds handle things like construction or risking their necks in the fog for valuable prizes; Hellsing officially fills the role of the previously-defunct Guild of Battling Preternatural Horrors. We're mostly funded by donations, I think. Princess Nuala oversees that, while Sir Integra Hellsing runs the guild as a whole." After a pause for a puff, he adds, "And yes, she's descended from that Van Helsing. Her second in command goes by 'Alucard' these days. I'm sure you can do the math."

...Yes.

[ruinedu2.livejournal.com]

In her experience, employment agencies aren't used to dealing with people with her skillset, so yes, Olivia did (unfairly) dismiss that as a proper channel for employment. That and there's something defeatist about it to her. As it stands, this may all work out in the end anyway.

The explanation of guilds, specifically the one Hellsing's replaced, draws lifted brows from the former DoD agent. "Well, that's not the strangest thing I've heard since I came here." Really, it's to the point where Olivia feels like she could just shrug and say, oh, naturally there's a connection to vampires. "In a place populated by demons and aliens and whatever else as a norm, though, what even qualifies as a preternatural horror?"

And more importantly, why does she find herself slightly eager to find out?

[hehaseatenthepancake]

"Yeah, even for me, this place re-adjusted my ideas of 'weird' a little." He chuckles, swallows down the last bit of coffee in his mug, then relaxes back into his chair with his cigarette.

"Baedal's still human-centric enough that some of that stuff still counts, and we do get called in for it if it's beyond what the Sheriffs or the Militia can handle. Sometimes it's a haunting, or a possession." He takes another puff, as much inhaling to prepare himself for the next bit of description as for the smoke itself. "Even aside all that, though, there are things -- and sometimes they are also considered either aliens or demons -- but things from outside space and time. Kinds of things that defy even our looser concepts of what's possible, and can drive the unprepared mad just at the sight of them. I've never been out in the fog, but my understanding is that the things to be found there are similar in some ways."

Iä, Iä, etc.

[ruinedu2.livejournal.com]

Olivia sips at her coffee, listening with interest, nodding her head slightly to show she's following along well enough. "Makes sense." As much as she expects anything to make sense these days. "So nobody really knows what's out there in the fog?"

It seems like a superstitious notion, an antiquated hold-over from another time - things lurking in the fog. The human imagination is always so much worse than the reality in 'Liv's experience, but even back home she's seen the bleed from imagination to reality.

[hehaseatenthepancake]

Hellboy pinches at the bridge of his nose. "I don't know much, 'cause I got enough trouble in town. I'm sure there's someone knows something, although probably not everything. Like I said, there's a guild of folks who go out there and bring stuff back. I know a group from our cohort got a boat and tried their luck out on the ocean five minutes after getting here, and they were lucky to make it back."

With a grunt and a bit of creakiness, he stubs out his cigarette, then stands up and slings his sword properly onto his back. "Listen, I gotta get going. It's a bit of a hike back to Sobek Croix, and this coffee and breakfast are going to keep me awake only so much longer." He extends his left hand to shake. "It was nice talking to you."

[ruinedu2.livejournal.com]

It crosses her mind that some things just don't change, no matter where you go. Universal constants, maybe? Olivia extends her hand to shake the one offered by Hellboy, a genuine smile on her lips. "Thanks for taking the time to talk with me. Have a safe journey back. Hopefully I'll be seeing you again soon."