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Post by nagana on Apr 17, 2018 20:20:00 GMT -5
Callista HemmingwayCallista Hemmingway was on time for work. She may have been dozing off at her desk in the early hours of the workday, but she was indeed on time, which was not always the case. Her eyes drooped closed as she balanced her chin on her hand, long blonde hair tumbling messily around her face. Her lips parted slightly as she drifted off, thinking longingly of her soft, comfortable bed and warm, inviting duvet… PLOP! Something fell directly onto the top of Callista’s head, and her eyes snapped open as her hand fell away from her cheek. She looked around warily, attempting to discover the source of the surprising sleep disturbance. When she found her office empty, she looked over at her desk and picked up the object—a folded piece of parchment with the word “REMINDER” emblazoned on the front in deep purple. She looked at it reproachfully—she was not aware of anything she needed to be reminded about. She flipped open the memo and read it quickly: Greetings Ministry Employee,
This is a friendly reminder that Employee Team Building Day begins at 8:00 AM this morning. Please report to the Atrium promptly at this time to begin the festivities! Attached is a handkerchief in the color of your assigned team building group.
Callista’s eyes rolled after reading the message. She pulled out a turquoise colored handkerchief and tucked it into her pocket. As much as she adored working as an Auror, it was things like this that made her feel very unenthused about working at the Ministry. She loved the Auror community and even enjoyed a few laughs with some of the folks in Improper Use of Magic—but anyone off of Level 2 she was not very familiar with. She shrugged her shoulders and glanced at the clock on the wall above her desk. 7:57 am. Her eyes widened—she dropped the note, grabbed her wand, and ran hastily toward the lift. The floor was deserted; it seemed the rest of the Level 2 had already made their way responsibly up to the Atrium. She darted into the lift, tapping her foot anxiously as she waited for it to arrive at the Atrium. As soon as the doors clicked open, she ran full force out of the lift and directly into someone. “OOPS! I am so sorry!” she said quickly, reaching out to help the poor girl up. As she did, she saw a turquoise handkerchief in the girl’s hand. Callista reached into her pocket and produced her matching one and held it out for the girl to see. “Great first impression, eh, teammate?” she gave her a smile, hoping to be received well after the debacle.
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Post by katey on Apr 18, 2018 19:29:28 GMT -5
Nadine Beck
Nadine had hoped that working in the Dragon Research and Restraint department would be a little more hands-on. She had spent her first year out of Hogwarts doing an internship in Romania, working directly with dragons every day. It was like heaven, and she had been eager to get a job with dragons as soon as she got back. She had worked at the Ministry for six months now and could count on both hands the number of days she had spent in the field. She should have known that working for the government would be mostly paperwork. A memo rushed into the cramped office she shared with two other junior officers and fluttered onto her desk. More paperwork, presumably. She skimmed it, then re-read it to double check. They had sent her a reminder about this thing a week ago, and she had already forgotten. She grabbed the turquoise handkerchief and shoved it in the pocket of her jeans. Her Ministry robes were hung on the coatrack in the corner of the room--no one in her department cared what she wore, so she only put them on when moving around the Ministry at large. Just before eight, Nadine headed down to the Atrium(with her robes fastened appropriately over jeans and t-shirt). She looked around curiously, wondering if she could spot the other person or people who might be on her team, or if they would be called out at some point. She didn't mind socializing, even if it wasn't her favorite thing. It was better than sitting at a desk all day. At least she got to stretch her legs a bit. Nadine was craning her neck to try to figure out whether a mustachioed man's handkerchief was turquoise or aqua when someone slammed into her from the other side. Already off-balance, she fell to the floor. She was embarrassed, since she had held her own against much larger creatures than this woman. When the woman offered her hand, Nadine took it, but mostly out of politeness. She righted herself on her own, using well-developed core muscles, and looked at the person in front of her. "It's fine," Nadine said, avoiding eye contact. Great, apparently this tall, intimidatingly beautiful woman was her partner, and she had already embarrassed herself in front of her. "I'm Nadine," she said, putting out her rough, calloused hand for a handshake.
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Post by nagana on Apr 19, 2018 21:26:02 GMT -5
Callista Hemmingway
"Pleasure to meet you!" Callista responded energetically. She was pleased to see that, already, someone younger than the other typical Ministry workers would be on her team for this dreaded day. She shook the girl's hand vigorously with a wide smile on her face, barely noticing or minding the roughness of her hand against her baby-smooth palms. That was one of the biggest drags about working at the Ministry--so many of her coworkers were so much older and so much more boring than those she would usually spend her time with. It was one thing to be office buddies with a 57-year-old man from the Improper Use of Magic Office, but definitely another to think about going out on the town with him. Callista was thirsty for young blood in her life to go on more exciting adventures.
"So," she said out of the side of her mouth to the girl, "what kind of rubbish do you think we are in for today?" Callista was not one to speak in measured words or consider the potential negative affect her words might have. She was very much a go-with-your-gut kind of girl, and spent much of her time very much in the present. While some considered this a strength, others found her quite abrasive or even offensive. Despite this, Callista had no intention of attempting to reign in her bluntness, and thrived when she was able to exercise it freely.
She ran her hand through her long blonde hair and gazed around the room, attempting to figure out what was going to happen. At this point, everyone seemed to just be milling about. Some were comparing handkerchiefs, some were twisting their wands aimlessly in their hands, and a few were nodding off in some of the squat chairs near the fountain. No one seemed to be taking charge just yet, and Callista had half a mind to make a run for it.
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Post by katey on Apr 20, 2018 19:47:28 GMT -5
Nadine Beck
Nadine couldn't help but smile back at Callista considering the enthusiasm she radiated. Her smile was much smaller than Callista's, but it was genuine. Callista's energy was infectious.
"I don't know," Nadine said. She really wasn't sure about what this day might comprise. She had hardly remembered it was happening until this morning, and she expected a lot of the people around her had been the same way. Ministry employees weren't known for their inter-office cooperation. That was probably why this sort of stupid thing had been thought up in the first place. On the one hand, it was a respite from the paperwork for a day, but on the other hand, she'd have double the paperwork to do when she got back...
"How many people are supposed to be on our team?" Nadine asked Callista. She wouldn't mind if it were just the two of them. She wondered how old Callista was. She seemed young, just a few years older than Nadine at most. Nadine didn't remember her from Hogwarts, but that didn't mean much. Nadine hadn't been the most social kid. Still, she figured Callista was probably at Hogwarts around the same time she was, so she was probably also in some menial, entry-level job. It would be nice to talk to someone who could relate to that.
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Post by nagana on Apr 23, 2018 16:06:24 GMT -5
Callista Hemmingway
Callista shrugged at Nadine's question, blinking her eyes dramatically. "It seems we've been given very little information about this whole thing, eh?" she smirked light-heartedly in Nadine's direction just as a voice boomed through the Atrium. A Ministry witch stood at the base of the fountain, her voice magically amplified to fill the room.
"Welcome Ministry employees to our very first Team Building Day! I hope you all have found your handkerchiefs and are ready for an exciting day of cooperation and teamwork!" Her voice was way too cheerful for this early in the morning, especially about such a topic. Callista crossed her arms reproachfully, but listened on.
"The instructions will be simple: the color of your handkerchief matches one other person's handkerchief in this room. When you find your match, put them side by side and a clue will appear embroidered on the fabric. You will be led throughout the building on a scavenger hunt! Once you have located the final prize, your handkerchiefs will change color. Bring the piece back here to finish the game!
On your mark, get set, GO!"
At her signal, some people started darting about waving their handkerchiefs while others lazily gazed around. This was set up to be a fantastic failure, Callista was sure of it. She held out her handkerchief to Nadine so they could put their together, grateful to not have to search around for her color match.
"Looks like it's just you and me," she said cheerfully, genuinely appreciating the fact that she didn't get stuck with some old Ministry wizard. Maybe this day wouldn't be as bad as she had assumed it would be.
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Post by katey on Apr 24, 2018 17:33:52 GMT -5
The announcement came at just the right time, almost as though it was answering Nadine's question directly. She briefly wondered whether it had been--she wouldn't put it past the Ministry to be listening in on conversations in order to make it at the most appropriate moment. They had clearly put a lot into the planning already.
"Looks like we're ahead already," Nadine said. She looked around the room at people scrambling to find their partners, then smiled at Callista. It had been lucky that they'd found each other before everything officially started. Nadine lifted her handkerchief to match it up with Callista's. "Let's see what the first clue is, then."
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Post by nagana on Apr 27, 2018 10:22:30 GMT -5
Callista Hemmingway
Callista's nose crinkled as she returned Nadine's smile and touched her handkerchief to the other. She no longer thought longingly of her bed or even her desk in the Auror's office--she actually felt excited about running around the Ministry with this new acquaintance. What she had dreaded to be a boring, mind-numbing experience was actually shaping up to be somewhat of an interesting potential adventure.
As the two pieces of fabric touched, they seemed to fuse together to make one long piece. Almost immediately, embroidered words begin stitching themselves onto the fabric in a deep blue thread. It read: "To find your first clue, you can't use the lift. Think deep down where judgment is swift."
After reading the first hint, Callista felt some true enthusiasm seep into her. This was a clear opportunity to explore the Ministry with no boundaries--something that wasn't exactly acceptable on a normal day. She looked around the room again and saw witches and wizard scratching their heads, while others were already darting off to the stairs or the lift. She looked back at Nadine who was still gazing down at the clue.
"Well, I suppose we had better hit the stairs, eh?" she said with a bit more energy in her voice than before. She didn't know how Nadine felt about this new development in the day's plan, but hoped she would be as excited as Callista was to do some major exploring.
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Post by katey on Apr 28, 2018 20:37:26 GMT -5
Nadine was much more excited than she had expected to be. She thought this would be a boring day full of ancient Ministry employees and endless review of policies. She had been glad that she at least got to get out of the office for a bit, but she hadn't dared to hope for adventure. Now it seemed like she was going to get to do something cool, with someone who seemed really fun and nice. She could hardly believe her luck.
As the clue appeared on the handkerchiefs, Nadine's excitement rose. It was one of those magic things that was just too magical, too good to ignore. Even if you grew up with magic, certain things amaze you every time. That was how Nadine felt about dragons, too.
At Callista's statement, Nadine's broke into a full grin. "The courtroom!" She exclaimed.
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Post by nagana on Apr 30, 2018 8:12:22 GMT -5
Callista Hemmingway
Callista's eyes widened a bit at Nadine's exclamation--she was both enthused by the sudden collective shift in energy they were sharing, and also excited at the fact that Nadine had picked up on the answer so quickly. She seemed like a smart cookie. Perhaps with her quick wit and Callista's exuberant will for adventure, they could actually have a chance at success in this activity.
"You're right!" Callista agreed eagerly. She pulled gently at the handkerchiefs and hers separated from Nadine’s easily. She stuffed hers into her pocket and reached out to grab Nadine’s hand, tugging her toward the stairs, keen to get there before too many other pairs plugged them up.
“So,” she said conversationally, completely out of place as they began to dart toward the stairwell. “What department did you say you were from?” Due to possessing a mind that was constantly on and whirring, Callista had a habit of not remember these kinds of details, and therefore often assumed they had already been shared and that she had not taken them in. She preferred to be upfront about not remembering them instead of trying to figure out what information she was missing through context clues, as it made it much easier to encode the facts without any baggage. It also allowed people to really understand her as someone who did care, but who also struggled with concentration and being in the moment.
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Post by katey on May 1, 2018 11:15:30 GMT -5
Nadine allowed Callista to take her hand, a little embarrassed but pleased that Callista agreed with her. She followed her quickly to the stairwell, which she hoped wouldn't be too heavily occupied. Plenty of people were still milling around trying to find their partners, so they might even be the first ones there.
"Magical creatures," Nadine said. She hadn't realized they had failed to exchange this information. It seemed like such a basic thing that one would start with when meeting another ministry employee, but the dramatics of the day and the clues had overshadowed it. "Dragon research and restraint," she added. "What about you?"
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Post by nagana on May 6, 2018 15:13:33 GMT -5
Callista's eyes brightened when Nadine told her what department she worked in. It sounded so exciting and fascinating, and it was something Callista had no personal experience in. She was always searching for new things to learn about and experience, and it sounded like this girl could offer some pretty cool insight.
"That is SO interesting!" She exclaimed sincerely. "So, I guess you know like, a lot about dragons, eh?" Her mind was racing as she thought about everything she knew about dragons. It wasn't much--aside from their appearance at the Triwizard Tournament, she was fairly unfamiliar with them.
"I'm from the Auror Department," she said with a grin. "Although, I'm still kind of training. My supervisor is pretty cool so I've got a bit more freedom than you might expect, but I am still in my last year as a Trainee. Next year I will finally get to do stuff on my own!" she said with excitement. They had reached the stairwell at this point and she held open the door. "After you!" she gestured dramatically to allow Nadine to go in first, smiling widely.
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