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

[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."