are you in or out, or in or out?

[hehaseatenthepancake]

Who: Hellboy and semi-open to Hellsing personnel.
What: Hellboy calls a meet-and-greet.
Where: Hellsing Guild Hall.
When: Sukkardi, 25 Kavadry, shortly after dark
Notes: This will probably involve a fair share of back-tagging. Players should feel free to mingle their characters around, so they know each other a little when the crap hits the fan in the upcoming plot.
Warnings: Hopefully not, but we'll see.

The call goes out on the Hellsing channel in the morning, a rare burst of text that more experienced members of the guild can probably guess was facilitated by Hellboy handing his CiD to someone from the clerical staff and dictating:

Sol's return reminds me that we've had a bit of churn lately. In the interests of everyone knowing who their fellow guild members are, I'm calling for a little get-together in the dining hall this evening. We'll be starting at dusk, so everyone can do their socializing before the evening's work gets into full swing. Attendance is not mandatory, but it is highly encouraged. Refreshments will be provided.

Come dusk, an area has been cleared out for people to meander and mingle. With Maggie gone, the kitchen hasn't really been the same since, but Hellboy has somehow connived for a couple of tables to have a few platters -- cold cut and cheeses; fruits, veggies and dip; nachos, queso, and salsa -- a couple bowls of punch, and even a bowl filled with ice and some bags of donor blood for the vampires on staff. One of the tables has nametags and markers.

Comments

[heardmermaids]

Plaster dust rinsed out of his hair and the smell of packing plastic washed off his hands, Sebastian arrives to the meet and greet and attaches a nametag before making his way into the room. He's always been rubbish at these sorts of social events, but over the years he's had enough practice that he's confident he'll be able to survive.

[byrightsinhell]

"Alright, LeMat?" Lucius says, as Sebastian happens to be nearby when he enters. Their relationship is, of course, a professional one, but not unfriendly for that, and he really is pleased about the return of Sebatian's magic, for his sake.

[heardmermaids]

"Well, and you?" He's relieved to have someone he knows well enough to comfortably chat and that familiarity takes the edge off work related socializing.

[byrightsinhell]

"I've been worse," he answers, amiably. "It's been relatively quiet, of late." Which could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on one's baseline of optimism.

[diogenesis]

Mycroft, though well-versed in mandatory meet-and-greets, has never been fond of them. They're useful for gathering information and observing people he may otherwise not have much contact with, but they're also crowded and noisy and have far too much easy-access finger food. He'll need to wind down quite a bit after this.

Once he's applied the hateful name tag to his lapel, he decides he'll make the most of his time by talking to someone he's taken a lingering interest in since being hired on at Hellsing. There is obviously much more to the resident groundskeeper than his title would imply, and the more Mycroft knows about the power structure of Hellsing, the more capable he'll be of using its resources to everyone's best advantage (including his own).

"Mr LeMat," he says, approaching Sebastian with a polite smile. "I don't believe we've properly met."

[heardmermaids]

"Not yet, Mr Holmes, is it?" Sebastian offers his hand to shake, but mindful of his missing fingertips he won't be unreasonably put out if Mycroft ignores the gesture. There's a hint of polite, practice to his tone that suggests he has at some point in his past experience with this sort of event.

[diogenesis]

Mycroft takes Sebastian's hand without any awkward hesitation. Not only is he somewhat used to gruesome sights, but touch will tell him more about the injury, even if the contact is brief.

"Yes, that's right. It seems the pleasure must be mine—everyone thinks very highly of you here."

[heardmermaids]

"That's very kind of them to say so." The injury is at least five years old, but there's a raggedness to the scarring that hints at a poor quality of medical treatment at the time. While the missing fingertips isn't uncommon for a certain inept sort of handyman, it's not commonly due to an unclean crush wound. The line of scar tissues is not even, which suggests it was caused by repeated, inexact blows with a sharp, but not honed, edge.

"But I think they've only said that out of fear that I'll end up renovating their rooms next and cover it all in flamingo pink."

[diogenesis]

The injury is indeed a rare one, and it only reinforces some of the conclusions Mycroft has drawn about LeMat. He can't see the whole picture yet, but every piece helps complete the puzzle.

"Not to be contrary, but I've found most people have greater difficulty lying through their actions than they do through their words," he replies, his smile taking on a wry edge. "Considering trends in this organization, I'd think that if someone had said something aloud, it would be much less... forthcoming."

[heardmermaids]

"What you're saying is that if they really hadn't liked me, I'd be sent to fix the water heater?" Or, in other words, pay a visit to Alucard.

Sebastian's smile is easy and highlights that one day, he'll have crows' feet around his eyes. Like many wizards, his actual age is difficult to guess, but it's not unreasonable to deduce that he's somewhere in his mid- to late twenties and spent a few years living rather rough with at least a couple of those years as an underfed child.