4921/A Matter of Morale

A Matter of Morale
Date of Scene:	23 December 2016
Location:	Hellsing-1 Earth <HE1>
Synopsis:	Several Paladins converge on Ferdinand Luke's orphanage to hand out some Christmas cheer. They're met by Heinkel Wolfe.
Cast of Characters:	Heinkel Wolfe (Dropped), 20, Maya, 1084, Sir Gawain, 437

---

Heinkel Wolfe (Dropped) has posed:
  Twenty miles outside of Rome's city limits, situated amidst pastoral countryside, there lies an orphanage in a small valley. It's one of the premiere orphanages in Rome, widely regarded as both spacious and extremely concerned about the well-being of its young charges. It's had such a reputation for many, many years.

  This is Ferdinand Luke's Orphanage. It has a special place among the orphanages of Rome. Many of its young charges are inducted into Vatican Section XIII when they come of age; volunteering even before they can be recruited. As a result, despite its seemingly safe location, it is frequently under heavy guard. At least one member of Iscariot is there at any given time, and more often more than one. From the outside, they're not present as guards.

  No, these busy warrior-priests are simply passing through on their way to their duties. Many of them grew up with Father Alexander Anderson as a defining figure in their lives; as a Regenerator, he has not aged since the day the surgeries were done.

  Many more of those visiting warrior-priests linger an extra day or two for his cooking if their duties aren't pressing. They're always made welcome in the orphanage, treated like extended family by both the faculty and the children.

  As a show of trust, members of the Paladins are permitted to come here to visit if they like... although they may be watched at all times. 'Trust,' those of Vatican Section XIII say, 'but verify.'

  Today, the orphanage sports a fine layer of snow, the earth blanketed in white. Cold wind flings powdered snow across the valley. All in all, it's the perfect site for winter games, and that's what many of the kids are doing, under the watchful eye of an aged grey-haired Italian man wearing spectacles. He has a winter coat on over his cassock, and a scarf wound about his neck, mittens on his hands, and snow on his shoulders as he helps two little girls and a little boy in habits build a snowman. One of them has fashioned a little cross from twigs for the snowman, and seems to be trying to find something to tie them together with.

  The valley floor is dotted with stout trees, some of them wild olives. It's high in the crook of a branch that one dark-clad figure is draped. Heinkel Wolfe looks more cat than human in her boneless sprawl between branches, gloved hands folded behind her head. Instead of a cigarette, she has a toothpick between her teeth, which she periodically rolls from one side of her mouth to the other. Her sunglasses are in place over her eyes, though one lens is cracked and the other side's arm is tweaked at an awkward angle. One leg dangles from the tree, combat boot left to bob in the air.

  Very softly, a carol drifts through the air toward the children and Renaldo.

    "Cantet nunc io, chorus angelorum;
    Cantet nunc aula caelestium,
    Gloria, gloria in excelsis Deo,
    Venite adoremus, venite adoremus, venite adoremus
    Dominum~"

  It sounds like a man's voice, somewhat grizzled, but smooth and shockingly well-suited to song. Some of the children at the outermost fringes of Renaldo's group join in.

    "Ergo qui natus die hodierna.
    "Jesu, tibi sit gloria,
    "Patris aeterni Verbum caro factum.
    "Venite adoremus, venite adoremus, venite adoremus
    "Dominum."

  Heinkel keeps one eye half-open behind her sunglasses, though, and she's watching the road into the valley like a hawk. Rome has thus far established itself as safe territory, but she doesn't trust anyone in these times, and she doesn't trust that Rome will stay untouched forever. Freaks can seem to reveal themselves in any place, at any time.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Orphanages seem like dreary places if what she's heard is correct. Having grown up in a completely different environment makes it hard to imagine what it's like, but somehow Toph imagines that it can't be an easy life. Especially with Christmas coming up. Upon hearing that this place allowed visitors a plan did form in her mind, and so the metalbender gathered what she could...

    While Heinkel might see the rough teenager's approach first from her vantage point, she's likely to hear it as well as there are some mutterings and curses that carry on the wind as Toph Beifong voices her displeasure with the fact that there is snow on the ground and that it's cold. There's also a loud 'wark' that echoes, as she's bringing a sleight with her, drawn by a red chocobo. The cargo is visible too, as it glints in metal. Sheets upon sheets of metal, along with some lumps of ore tossed in.

Maya has posed:
Maya had heard about the children Father Anderon took care of, a monster and heratic hunter who in his off time took care of a number of orphans? Maya knows that well. She with the man known only as Uncle raised over half a dozen orphened children and she is the only mother they have ever really known. She however had hit uncle up who was a baker by trade and the pair had worked for a good part of the day. So it's a bit of why Maya didn't come till just now, she's got a green santa hat on an scarf a friend made for her a long time ago with the rune of maduek and the union logo on it and several large boxes under her arms. It's full of all sorts of baked goods she's brought with her.

After all Maya is an orphen herself in the end...too so she gets where these kids might be coming from.

"Sorry I'm a bit late, Uncle and I went a bit into overtime in the kitchen!"

Seras Victoria (1084) has posed:
Since the Paladins were organizing a small get-together at Ferdinand Luke's, Seras Victoria found herself wondering if going would be smart. Those people don't really like her, and she wonders if giving Heinkel some distance after that escapade isn't called for. But, on the other hand...

    It's Christmas. It's Christmas, there's an orphanage, and it's Christmas.

    The answer is really, really obvious.

    And whatever answer Seras reached, it probably has something to do with the toboggan she's hauling behind her over the snow. A toboggan that's helpfully piled full of some brightly colored packages... and circular tins with various Christmas themed print - snowflakes, nativity scenes, Santa Claus, all sorts of things.

    All in all, the load - so large that it had to be secured with ropes - must weigh over five hundred pounds and she's dragging it across the snow like it's nothing. Straight towards the grounds in front of the orphanage.

    And the person dragging this? Well Seras, of course, but it's not so easy to tell that at a glance. The girl's all dressed up in a 'Mrs. Claus'-like getup - basically a long red dress with the iconic fuzzy trim, boots, gloves, and the floppy conical santa hat. Except over this she's wearing a pink winter coatwith the hood up, and all in all it makes identifying her from afar pretty well impossible...

    FORWARD MARCH, CHRISTMAS IS ON THE MOVE.

Sir Gawain has posed:
When he last impromptu-visited Heinkel, Sir Gawain learned about the orphanage and offered to come give gifts to the various children, as well as let them meet a real-life knight. And of course, it's almost Christmas, so he should come early instead of late. Being Gawain, he actually had no idea other Paladins were doing this, he just has A-Rank Luck.

And so, that is why a man in full-plate knight armor and a santa hat is approaching with a VERY large bag being easily hefted over one shoulder. The Knight of the Round Table approaches the orphanage in a brisk pace, but stops when he hears a familiar singing voice. Gawain waits for the song to finish, before cheerfully looking up towards Heinkel's position. "Chevalier Wolfe! I'm sorry for dropping in unannounced again. How are you?" And then, he glances to the side, noticing Toph, Maya, and Mrs. Claus. "Oh, hello, everyone! You all here for the same reason, I imagine?"

Annie Sandberg (437) has posed:
Annie's not an orphan, and (as she likes to insist) isn't a child anymore either. She certainly isn't the toy she once was. But, she still has a soft spot for kids. And, it's Christmas time. So, what better thing to do than to visit an orphanage? This happened to be the nearest one to her at the moment, which is why she's here specifically. Behind her, she's towing a red wagon with a pile of presents in it- albeit one that's stacked carefully enough to keep the boxes from falling out. As she approaches, she can't help but sing along to the Christmas carol, and then give some big smiles to those who are gathered- especially Toph, with whom she's familiar. "Hello, friends," she says. "It looks like the kids here are in for a good holiday!"

Heinkel Wolfe (Dropped) has posed:
  The caroling priest draped in the tree looks up at the sound of something approaching, but she neither stops her caroling nor does she straighten. Heinkel is tall and lanky, and right now her languid body language is as at ease as a panther draped across a treetop.

  ...Sure, she can spring at a moment's notice, but right now she's relaxed. Besides, she can hear if they're carrying weaponry or moving into a more purposed stride, neither of which apply. She hears no weaponry and the sound of their approach doesn't suggest any intent to harm. In fact, she can hear Toph's voice, before Toph is even in eyeshot of the orphanage, and recognises sound of the Earth Kingdom girl's voice.

  The wacko in the pink coat is given a languid look every so often, because she can hear the nuances of Seras' boots crunching against the snow, and the heavy load she's dragging.

  As soon as Seras is near the tree Heinkel is at -- which is really more of a watchtower out on the fringes than anywhere near the others -- she might hear from above the click of a pistol being primed, and the gleaming silver of Heinkel's special-issue Iscariot pistol pointed at her head.

  "I suggest you stop und identify yourself before you go down this road any further, ja? This ist property of the Holy See... und it's not open to the public. Either tell me who you are und vhat you're carrying, or go avay. Please don't try to go ahead anyvay, because I'd be forced to shoot you, und that vould upset the children." Indeed, their distant laughter as bunches of them dissolve into snowball fights can be heard even on the outskirts.

  The gun wavers a fraction of a second, because suddenly there is a Knight of the Sun approaching her. Frowning, because Gawain is probably better backup than the unknown quantities that are Toph and Maya, Heinkel replaces her gun into its shoulder rig, tugging her coat closed. "Guten tag, Sir Gavain. Don't vorry about it. Ve don't like the public coming in here, but Paladins are velcome. It gifes the children a little hope, you know?" Her mouth thins into a line again; it's invisible behind her damaged sunglasses, but her eyes have darted to Seras again, whom she apparently doesn't recognise as Seras.

  So she folds her arms over her chest, idly swinging her leg at the knee as she watches the arrivals play themselves out, somewhat bemused. Is it a day for travelling, or what?

  It isn't until Annie speaks that she actually recognises the android; at least she knows the voice from the old Union frequencies. "Hunh. Hallo, Fraulein Sandberg. I vasn't expecting to see you here. Did you bring presents for the children, too?" Heinkel actually smiles, and for once it's not the creepy intimidating predatory kind. "God bless you. Charity is an excellent virtue to uphold, ja? You can take those over to Father Renaldo. He'll see that they're tored somevhere safe until Christmas. Danke."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Well, it seems that the holiday spirit has gotten to more of them, huh? As Toph spots the others approaching the orphanage she grins, looking rather pleased as she holds onto Nugget's harness. "It's nearly Christmas, isn't this what we're supposed to do? Spread some cheer and crud?" she replies to Gawain. The others might be able to tell that Toph is observing them too, even if she's not looking directly at them. "Cookies is a nice touch, Maya. Good of you to bring that with you, Seras. Maybe we can give the kids rides later if they want. If somebody wants to try steering Nugget, you're welcome."

    When Annie shows up Toph turns towards her, smiling widely. "Wolfie girl! Good, even more presents. Let's make sure that these kids get an awesome Christmas!" Heck, she herself didn't have Christmas when she grew up, and nobody should get the feeling that there aren't people out there who don't care.

    There Heinkel speaks up, and Toph blinks as she hears the sound of the pistol being primed. As Toph can't see the gun being pointed at Seras it seems the blind teenager assumes the gun might be pointed at her. "I'm Toph Beifong, and I'm here to make presents for the kids! I even brought my own materials!" she states and gestures to the filled sleigh that the red chocobo is pulling along.

    It seems that Paladins are indeed welcome as she heard, and so Toph tugs lightly on Nugget's harness. "Now come on guys, Maya's cookies will get cold if we keep on standing here, and my feet are already freezing! Into the orphanage they go! And once inside Toph takes charge, raising her voice to call out with a big grin on her face. "Okay kids, gather around! Santa has sent us to give presents to all the good kids, and he asked us to stop by here specifically!"

Seras Victoria (1084) has posed:
Ack, someone's pointing a gun at her again. Seras stops in her tracks, blinking a few times and slowly putting a few things together in her head. Blink blink. God is she ever on the spot! There's kids around, a familiar voice's covertly threatening her with a gun (AGAIN) and there's other people dragging things this way she wasn't expecting.

    Like Gawain over there.

    But in short order she turns to face Heinkel's direction, doing her best to maintain composure and not let her nervousness or fear show. The Santa Girl reaches up to remove her hood and show her face, but...

    But the smile she's trying to show is forced, and both those things she's trying to hide are squeezing through in torrents. It's a trembling, quivery, mousey smile of such a critter looking right at a snake, childish and wide-eyed. "M-Merry Ch-Christmas, Wolfe. A-are you re... r-really pulling a gun out w-with k-kids around?" Put it away, put it away, her nervous tone suggests. For the kids' sake!

Maya has posed:
Maya says "I'll keep that in mind in the future Heinkel." She grins a littlebit she'd just come honestly to bring thekids some holiday cheer and with Septerra getting off easy it was. She'll hang on to the packages and grins. "Cookies seem to be a pretty universal thing. So just lead the way to where I can set them down to be shared as these are mostly for now or when your caretakers say they are all right."

Annie Sandberg (437) has posed:
So, everyone else here was a member of the Paladins. It made Annie feel like a bit of an outsider. She had valid reasons to join the Watch, but she thought she could have done well in the Paladins too. It was mostly the idea of having to be part of a hierarchy and take orders that rubbed her the wrong way. Unfortunately, the Paladins didn't have an "ally" classification the way the Union did. You were either in or out, and Annie was definitely out. Instead, she'd wound up with the Watch- a group which also had some friends of hers in it. She hoped the two wouldn't come into conflict... *too* often.

    "Yes, Ms. Wolfe," Annie answers, bringing the wagon over towards the priest. The presents were mostly board games, including some pretty obscure ones. "That's what I'm hoping for," she adds to Toph with a smile. As the others head inside, Annie returns to Heinkel. "Are you sure it's only Paladins allowed inside?" She'd understand if they didn't want to make any exceptions. Considering how much the Multiverse had rearranged itself politically and geographically, it wasn't always clear who could be trusted, or who might not be who they say they are. Paladins at least had badges, and presumably went through checks to ensure their trustworthiness. "I don't want to cause any trouble."

Sir Gawain has posed:
Sir Gawain frowns slightly and blinks a few times at the gun. His omnipresent smile returns once its put away. Oddly, this doesn't actually faze him, mainly because Heinkel emphasized that this orphanage is protected. "I'm glad! The children deserve hope, especially after all of this. I'll go set these aside for now." The bag is carried over to Father Renaldo and handed off to him. It is full of various toys, stuffed animals, and other fun things for kids, and some of these weren't cheap. Gawain: not good with money.

Gawain then goes to join Toph and her own present-giving. "Hello, boys and girls! I am Sir Gawain, and I'm here on behalf of Santa as a Knight of the Round Table! Please be patient, all of you will get something nice!"

Heinkel Wolfe (Dropped) has posed:
  Heinkel leans over enough to look down at Toph, squinting behind those opaque and somewhat cracked lenses. She rolls the toothpick to the other side of her mouth, idly chewing on the end. While not expressly forbidden to smoke around the orphanage, it would feel somehow wrong, and she's too attached to that habit not to have something to chew on.

  She frowns, eyes darting from one figure to the next, though her head barely moves to suggest any shift in focus. Paladin, Paladin, Paladin, former Union, unknown factor. These people should be fine, for the most part, with a few exceptions. Her attention is mostly fixed on Seras, because she doesn't yet know it's Seras, and paranoia isn't so much a hindrance as a necessary survival skill in her life these days.

  A brief glance is cast as Toph ushers Nugget over to where the children are playing, but her head snaps back to Seras.

  There's a frown as Seras makes her presence known, and the priest exhales sharply in an exasperated sigh. "Stop doing stupid things, Police Girl, und maybe use your head vonce in a vhile. If you're going to come someplace off the tourist maps like this, somevhere Section XIII has a /guard/ over, you'd damned vell better announce yourself as a division ally vhen you do."

  She'll get a nicer reception than a gun shoved in her face. Or maybe she'll still be greeted with a gun shoved in her face. One never knows.

  "They can't see me over here," she adds, to Seras. Between distance and trees blocking line of sight, Heinkel is probably not even visible from the orphanage building itself. "It's really more of a deterrent, although if I think something's threatening the children, ja, I'm going to shoot vhile Renaldo gets eferyvon inside."

  Mama Wolfe indeed. Seems the gruff, grizzled priest has a hidden soft spot.

  Meanwhile, Maya's given direction to the orphanage building by way of a flick of one hand. "Off that vay. Renaldo vill handle it."

  Heinkel's head dips slightly to watch as Annie approaches the priest's tree. There's a bit of a squint given to Annie, though her face never seems to change behind those opaque lenses. She does frown around her toothpick, though. "Ugh. Look, you look pretty harmless, so I don't think it's going to be too much of a problem. I'll vouch for you as a former Union ally... but normally, no. Not just anyvon is allowed here. It's too much of a target othervise."

  Inside the orphanage, Toph will quickly find herself the focus of a very large huddle of children. They're excited to see a stranger and naturally excited at the prospect of presents, though some of the newest additions seem quiet and uncertain; still in shock in the wake of the multiversal upheaval and the worldwide disasters.

  Father Renaldo follows them in, too, laughing at their eagerness. "I suppose you've all been good this year! It's alright, children."

  Oops. Toph might be mobbed, then, by curious and wide-eyed children, ranging from small toddlers to children older than her -- the older ones are still a little aloof, though, and their curiosity about foreign people is enough to mask their curiosity about presents. So do Gawain and Maya get mobbed as Toph had, because /presnts/.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    With the Paladins and Annie here the kids might be even safer, one might conclude. And when Annie speaks up Toph nods in agreement. "Annie isn't a Paladin, but she's not a danger. She was in the Union, and I can personally vouch for her too if anybody gets on your... butt about it," she says. There are kids nearby, and even if they don't hear as well as she does, well... no need to upset the priests this time of year. Let's save that for April 1st.

    It doesn't appear that Toph is upset nor worried when the kids come running towards her. No, she asked them to come, and this is kinda fun! The shyer ones will come sooner or later anyway, and there's no need to whine at them. Who knows what these kids have been through? Let's focus on the happy stuff now. "So you've all been good? Then let's not wait anymore! We will do this one at a time, and you will /all/ get something from me, so no fighting! Those who push or annoy the other kids go to the back of the line!" The blind teenager raises her hand and points it directly at one of the first kids who ran up to her. "You! What's your name, and what kind of toy do you want?"

    Perhaps the kids will wonder, because there are no wrapped presents in the sleigh behind Toph. Just... metal. But that might change as she raises her left hand and twists her wrist slightly, causing some metal to tear off of one of the metal sheets. And then she uses her other hand, motioning the metal forward as it begins to twist and shape. "If you explain it to me then I can pretty much make anything! A doll, a car, a toy weapon, animal shapes..." she explains, perhaps a bit softer than is usual for her standard rough and tough demeanor.

Seras Victoria (1084) has posed:
THAT gets a scowly look out of Seras, though she doesn't argue. Probably because it's a reasonable thing to note. Though... like she wouldn't get a sour reception at any gate also comes to mind. Whatever the case, with Heinkel no longer threatening her.... Seras resumes yoinking that sled and its load of goodies towards the entrance, falling into step with Maya and Gawain while giving Annie a curious glance.

    "It's been ages since I've seen an orphanage. It wasn't very fun living in one... so any way to brighten things up's fine and dandy in my book! Asked around the normal Paladin soldiers for a little fundraising and we got this assembled. Eheheheh."

    SEras is rather proud of the arrangement. What she isn't saying is that she somehow got stinkered into promising to wear this outfit by some of them.

    But she's doing it, for the kids!

Annie Sandberg (437) has posed:
"Thank you!" Annie says, following Toph inside. She looks intrigued as Toph crafts her presents right there on the spot. "Well... my presents are for everyone here to share," she explains. "They're games that you can all play together." She tries her best to sound like her old, cheerful childish self as she speaks to the assembled children. "I really hope you like them!"

Maya has posed:
Maya is moving ith Seras, Gawain and anyone else heading thier way as shey go she has a gift to deliver and she'll seem like the sort who would be happy to play with the kids as well and maybe share a story or two with the kids she seems in good spirits and honestly she needed something like this just as much as the kids did.

Heinkel Wolfe (Dropped) has posed:
  Inside the orphanage, the children are excited to receive gifts. The raw gratitude they show is touching and probably refreshing to any jaded sorts. These children, who have most probably lost everything, are now being given a chance to just... be children again, for the evening.

  The one called out by Toph looks up, startled. It's a little girl who can't be older than four, clutching at the hem of her habit nervously and regarding Toph with wide green eyes.

  "W-well... I... I like 'orses," the little girl says, in a voice heavily French-accented. One wonders how she wound up all the way in Rome. "Zey're pretty. But... but you don't 'ave anything in that sleigh."

  Outside, Heinkel Wolfe sighs, hauling herself upright with a grunt and bracing a hand against one of the branches. She cocks her head to look down at orphanage's visitors and frowns a little, rolling the toothpick to the other side of her mouth. It's an expression she seems to wear often; one of mild annoyance, mild exasperation, and a weary sort of resignation.

  There comes a double /thud/ behind Gawain, Maya, and Seras as the priest drops out of her tree, landing in a three-point crouch with no apparent difficulty in spite of that height. Okay, a normal person shouldn't be able to do that without at least /wincing/, right?

  Her footsteps are regular as she trails after the three, hands slipping into her coat pockets, toothpick sticking out the side of her mouth.

  "The children here are taken care of. Father Anderson's been personally looking after this place for decades. He can't alvays be here because of the crises, though, so I drop in vhen I can, as does the rest of Iscariot." Heinkel's mouth quirks in a half-smile, but it seems more of a bitter expression than anything else. "Makes me vish I'd had a place like this." Hmmm.

  Heinkel shrugs. "Danke. I von't lie; vhat little respect I haf for you vent up a few notches, left-legger," she states cheerfully. "I'll be surprised if anyvon else from Hellsing bothers, though."

  Heinkel takes up a place leaning against the doorframe, folding her arms and stoically ignoring when a dark-haired little girl detaches from the group and starts edging closer to her.

  Annie receives plenty of assent from the children, who seem delighted by her generous offer.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    So the little girl likes horses, huh? Toph nods at that, and then bends the sheet of metal, making it creak. It will take some seconds though, but slowly the metal shifts as Toph bends a doll sized horse for the little girl, all in shiny metal. Sure, it's not soft, but it's sturdy. With that Toph crouches down a bit and holds out the horse for the girl to take. "Here you go! Your very own horse!" With that Toph points to the kid behind her. "Your turn! What do you want?" Already she's bending another piece of metal forward, already in the process of shaping it dependant on what the next kid wants.