tampered | Log, Ongoing

Current Mood: anxious

Log, Ongoing

When; Afternoon, ordinary day.
Rating; PG?
Characters; Alucard (

thekingofpain), Walter (

dark_butler), Integral (

steeldame) and Seras (

draculinaseras) if she wants to drop by later.
Summary; Under the curse of humanity, Walter meets his former comrades.
Log;

Integral didn’t know why she had appointed Cafe Juliet as the location to meet Walter after so long. The atmosphere was too sweet and innocent for people like them: small, wood tables and chairs with magenta and cyan cushion were the restaurant main furniture that day. The air smelled to cocoa and chocolate.

The cakes and pies were indeed the best she had tasted, but Integral still preferred how Walter fixed tea as how it was served in that place.

He’s no longer going to fix that, she reminded herself as the knight glanced at the door direction. Her right hand searched anxiously for a cigar, fishing the box out her jacket pocket. Were there any rules against smoking inside? Not that she particularly cared at that point.

“Walter told me that you met him already,” said Integral to Alucard without looking at him, eyes fixated on the entrance. She would feel uncomfortable with them sharing a table. Walter was a young man and Alucard was human. Even if that had happened before, Integral was still unused to her servant’s transformation from monster to man.

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Walter took in the interior of the cafe with a sweeping glance, corners of his mouth quirking up slightly at Integral's choice of meeting place.

His expression dropped into unreadable neutrality as his eyes passed over Alucard and stopped on Integral. "Sir Integral," he said, with a slight inclination of his head as he approached her table.

Vlad (as he was calling himself for the day) could not sense Integral's ill ease with his human state, but he could pick up on her body language that implied her discomfort with his current incarnation of humanity.

"I have." Vlad replied, though before he could elaborate (or would) Walter appeared. Eyes narrowed ever so slightly as they fall on Walter, a smirk turning up one corner of his mouth as he inclined his head without a word.

Integral dismissed Alucard's response as useless. That was not the reply she sought. The knight wanted details, not an evasive affirmation of what she knew had taken place.

But she was not paying attention to Alucard, not that day. Before she had a chance to light her cigar, Walter entered. She stood quickly, placing the lighter on the table and expected him to approach.

His greeting was so formal, almost void of the usual warmth.

"Walter," Integral greeted, forcing her voice as neutral as his.

Awkward? Why yes. Quite. Thankfully, with Walter's age, experience, and training, it was impossible to read that from his face or bearing.

And Alucard, in his oh so human state, could not even smell it.

Walter only regretted that death here was only temporary.

"Please, do not stand on my account," he said, nodding toward Integral's seat. "And I do hope the tea here is of acceptable quality."

"We won't," He replied with a cheshire smile, all blunt, even, white teeth instead of the mouth full of shark fangs usually flashed in a twisted grin.

"Shall we talk or shall we eat?" Then looked directly at Integral as he said in a lower tone, "I am rather . . famished."

"The tea is... decent enough," Integral replied, still up, hesitating before returning to her seat. Unlike yours, perfect point.

She schooled herself to display a business like visage, trying to not betray how conflicted she felt.

A nice, light-hearted meeting. That was what this must be.

"There is a great variety of pies and pastries to go with it, if you hunger," she added, giving Alucard a quick glare for his lack of manners.

Walter would not dream of taking his seat before Integral took hers, regardless of the distance he was keeping between them on other levels.

"Decent shall suffice, and yes, I shall be taking advantage of this situation to indulge some human pleasures before it passes." His eyes flicked to Alucard before returning to Seras, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. "Unlike Miss Victoria, I have not felt it necessary to masochistically attempt human food."

"Though you never were -only- human, were you Walter?" The former vampire replied with a chuckle and dropped eyelids to Integral's chastisement. "Of course, Master. I intend to indulge in something . .edible." Pie, perhaps. Or a tart.

With another Cheshire grin, Vlad returned his brown eyed glance back to Walter.

Integral picked up a menu to select what she was going to take. She did was certain they would ruin the flavour of the classical Earl Grey but she had to ask it, nonetheless. As for food-

She lowered the menu and shot Alucard a warning glance.

"I want this to be a peaceful reunion, Alucard-Vlad," she pointed out sharply. "If, in the future, you must utter those unsavoury comments, you are free to speak and act as an immature child outside the Cafe." She straightened her posture on the back of the chair. "Apologise to Walter."

"An apology is neither needed nor desired," Walter demurred, looking, if anything, just a hair closer to smug. "I have better self-control than he, it would appear."

And he'd kept up appearances for a very long time; he could certainly do it for this brief meeting. Particularly if it meant, once again, not giving Alucard what he wanted.

"I believe I shall have a few different things to sample to refresh my memory against the future."

Eyes narrowed ever so slightly, Walter, he knew, was enjoying the scolding. Alucard, however, gave a rather dashing smile and replied, "I will apologize anyway, my behavior was uncalled for."

Then sank blunt teeth into his tart, catching Walter's eyes before smirking.

Integral inclined her head at Walter's request but her warning gaze lingered on Alucard for a while. Until he apologised, a brow was lifted in response of that.

Even when he tries to be polite, he comes out as childish.

"I believe my grandfather's statement of his child-mind extends even at his human state," Integral added with a large smirk, opening the menu once more. A slice of blueberry pie sounded delectable.

"Taste as much as you desire. I insist." She invited them, therefore she would pay for the food. Integral waited for her guests made their orders first, before she asked for a cup of Earl Grey and a piece of blueberry pie.

Seras hummed to herself as she headed toward the Cafe Juliet. Her stomach growled in anticipation of a true meal to process. Dessert first? No. A nice meal then dessert. Would it be as delicious as she remembered food being?

The wafting smell of chocolate urged her feet faster. Worry over the amiability of the rendesvouz definately threated to break its way through her enjoyment of the days curse.

"Your grandfather was a perceptive man. It has always been a great regret that I was unable to meet him." He didn't mention that he still questioned the entire family's wisdom in making Alucard any more powerful than he had been as Dracula.

Walter's expression changed not a whit at Alucard's overt attempts at provocation. Certainly his old companion had never suspected many of the things that went on behind Walter's well-practiced mask.

"I believe the tarts do look delicious," he said with a chilly smile. "I shall have to start with those and a cup of whatever passes for darjeeling in this city."

Seras' entrance attracted his attention, although he barely looked away from Integral.

"Police Girl," Alucard greeted, diverting his attention to the fledgling for only a moment. Her chest was looking a bit smaller, but that was usual. Vampires of his line were very sexual creatures by nature and becoming one did tend to add a cup size or two, if the brides were any evidence of that.

Attention turning back, he noticed Walter's fixed fascination with Integral. He did not seem worried for her, only, scrutinizing. "The tarts are quite good." He offered up, taking another bite of his own, catching the berry filling as it oozed out, with the tip of his tongue.

Seras felt a blush creep into her cheeks. Her master was staring at her chest? She shook her head before that train of thought could continue.

"Walter," she approached the former Hellsing retainer and hesitated. Her first impulse was to embrace him but that quickly disappated at the air of indifference that surrounded him. "Erm...it's-it's nice to see you."

Walter rose from his seat out of habitual politeness upon Seras' approach, but definitely did not appear to be particularly approachable for someone who might want a hug.

"Miss Victoria. Humanity suits you." A backhanded comment for her master? That was something Walter was pleased to leave open to interpretation.

If Vlad caught the insult, he didn't show it. Perhaps he was simply not paying attention or perhaps he did acknowledge that he had done a very bad thing. Either way the vampire finished off his tart.

"I would have liked to meet him as well," Integral admitted with a touch of nostalgia. She would have hoped he trusted her with the family secrets, her father had been unable to tell her. That was a source of much frustration to her. No one ever told her anything. They were training her to fight monsters and become a shadow ruler, yet they sought her to remain blissful ignorant of what her bloodline hid in the basement?

Her mood was mildly lightened when Seras arrived. Thank God for the Police Girl. The tension between Alucard and Walter was increasing every passing minute, she could tell and Integral alone was not sunny enough to fix that.

"Seras, do take a seat," she indicated with a fond smile. "Order what you like. I'm certain you must be famished."

Walter's polite yet oddly formal greeting was what struck Seras the most, not the content of his words. She was aware that he had been altered but this gathering of the four of them together again for a tiny stretch of time in her mind was a pleasant reunion.

"T-thank you, Sir!" Seras smiled and sat down. Her stomach growled again.

She flipped through the menu and stole glances at her companions. Apparently this was not a light hearted-meeting for anyone with the way they were looking at one another. Acknowledging this, the Police Girl decided to proceed with caution but still try to enjoy her one day humanity.

"I heard that the sandwiches are rather nice," she said, unsure of what to offer to the conversation.

"And Integral has spoken highly of the pies and pastries with your Master's rather obvious agreement," Walter said, with a ghost of a smile and a nod to Integral.

And now they were gathered. What had been, for a time, the core of Hellsing.

And all human. How novel. At least to him.

"Yes, and even Walter wishes to partake of them. I believe he expressed his own desire to sample as many wares as he could while human once more," Vlad replied.

Integral picked up her cup immediately after was poured. She needed to take a sip and face this "family" crisis (they were no longer in the organisation to call it a work situation).

She almost regretted to have brought Alucard, he and Walter did not appear to get along at all. That was so bizarre, in her mind, they had always agreed.

When Walter smiled, Integral could not help but smile back at him. A faint, weary smile, but still one, nonetheless. She set her cup down and nodded.

"They are highly praised by all the citizens," added Integral to the mundane conversation.

They were speaking about food. That was a rather odd choice of subject.

Yes. Next they'd be speaking of the weather.

It was all so very tedious. Or so Walter chose to tell himself. This was easier when he kept a thin veil of hostility over all his thoughts.

"Tell me," he said, addressing his question to Alucard. "How do you find being human after all this time? Not that you are having the full human experience when death is still meaningless here."

Tilting his head, ever so slightly, Vlad replied, "I have been given humanity here before." Choosing not to say cursed, because it was not, at least to him. Except for the time he had forgotten the time period. Now that had been interesting.

"I enjoy being human once more," An honest confession, words a touch wistful.

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