No verbal response from Derek? Sigh. Ashley tucked a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear and sat back with crossed arms. This sitting in silence thing was going to be pleasant. ...Not.

But then others arrived and the blonde perked up immediately. "Hello, it's great to meet you." Ashley said to the woman who'd introduced herself as Roxanne, extending a hand. "I'm Ashley Green." And she was ready for camping and checking out these new plants, that was for sure.

Next up was Jade and Ashley let a soft smile play on her lips as she eyed her coworker. It was nice having familiar faces around. "Hey there! Looks like you're right on time to me." Unless the others were just extremely late.

And then there was Elizabeth, another woman Ashley was not familiar with. She reached out and shook the woman's hand, giving her a friendly smile. "Hello, it's nice to meet you. I'm Ashley."

Oh, dear. Laura didn't think she would be late. Was she late? Her department head was already in the reception area, so that was a clear indication that she wasn't early as she thought she would be. Juggling a novel in one hand and adjusting the strap of her duffel bag over her shoulder, Laura waved to her boss. "Morning, Miss Carter. My goodness, I've always wanted to visit Skye, and I've been excited ever since I saw the announcement," she said cheerily, clearly having forgotten it was seven in the morning.

Nearby, Laura noticed one of her office's employees and gave her a small wave too. "Hi, Elizabeth Jones, you said? I'm Laura Miller, I don't think we've been formally introduced." The novel in her hand switched to her left as she offered a hand for Elizabeth to shake.

Okay, all this Ms. Carter (and the one Mrs., really, did she look like she had a ring on her hand?) stuff was making her uncomfortable, and not just because it reminded her of a certain former coworker of hers. "Hello, everyone. And please, call me Roxanne." Blanket greeting, because she was too tired to handle anything else. Seriously, why had she thought meeting at seven was a good idea? Then again, maybe she was feeling tried for other reasons that had something to do with the ever so slight protrusion of her tummy. Anyway..... "We'll wait a few more minutes for anymore stragglers, then we'll get going!" So, nope, no one here right now was late, they still had a few minutes. Though, those of hers were about to find themselves as the only employees of DERP if their coworkers didn't get a move on. Maybe sending roosters home with the others might've been a good idea after all....

Jade smiled at Laura, "Nice to meet you. I'm Jade."

Jade also nodded at Roxanne. She would always and forever think of her as 'Roxanne' so she was good on that front.

Looking at her department co-workers and the three Environment department employees (including Roxanne), she couldn't help but think that this trip wasn't going to include as many people as she first thought. It sure would be a cozy intimate trip.

She let out a little giggle. She didn't think that Derek realized just yet that if no other man showed up, he would be the lone man on the trip. Now she would worry about flirtation, etc IF it was any other man besides Derek. In all the years that she had worked with him--she had never heard him discuss a significant other EVER.

Roxanne took a look at her watch and decided that no one else was going to show up. Seriously?! Anyway, she unzipped her duffelbag and pulled out various little muggle objects that wouldn't cause a stir if they were found on the ground and passed them out to everyone. "As you've probably already guessed, these are portkeys. In about minute, they will activate and take you to where we are spending the next two weeks..." Right the word weeks, hers activated and sent her swirling through the air to their destination.

OOC: Just pretend that she's handed you one directly on click on the link to begin the adventure!

Her hair in a mess, Jade run into the level 4 reception area. She looked around and saw no one there. The receptionist wasn't there in her usual spot.

They needed someone to help them with the crazed creature up in the Toxicology lab on level 3.

Hmm maybe if she headed to the Department Head's office she could get some help?

There was a bright, new day of surveying in store! Laura was confident in her surveying abilities, thanks largely in part to the successes of the previous day when she and Jasmine had surveyed Levels One and Two of the Ministry. Hopefully, they would be continuing the process smoothly today.

It had been Roxanne's idea to send the Environment employees out and about to survey the rest of the Ministry. Anyone they could get their hands on, if they had the time and were gracious enough to answer just a few simple questions. Well, perhaps to a witch or wizard outside of the Environmental department wouldn't think them so simple. Laura had to remind herself that although it was her job to know about all that stuff about being "green," most everyone else was busy being the cream of the crop of their own fields and much too busy to think extensively about how they were impacting the environment.

With the same clipboard she had before tucked under her arm, a click-pen peeking out from behind her ear, and a stack of 'Reduce, Reuse, Recycle' fliers bulging from her work bag, Laura stepped out of the elevator and into the reception area of Level 4. She scanned the room silently with her blue eyes. It seemed it was rather slow in the reception area at the moment, but she wasn't about to parade through the cubicles, waving her clipboard of survey questions under everyone's noses. Besides, she had to wait for Jasmine.

Instead, Laura took a seat, happy to be rid of the extra weight she was carrying in her bag. She held onto the clipboard on her lap, though if Jasmine came before any Level Four employees came inquiring and agreeing to the survey (she figured she looked conspicuous enough in her bright green attire), Laura had agreed to switch surveying duties and flier duties with her coworker. For now, she waited for Jasmine and for any curious Ministry employees to engage her.

Manolo came back in from the kennel and slumped down in his seat behind the reception desk. It looked like someone was waiting there for who knows how long. He raised an eyebrow and leaned on his desk, bringing his hands together and placing them in front of him, "Hello!" He greeted, "Sorry, I wasn't here to greet you. Can I help you with something?"

"Hi!," Laura said, noticing the man who had appeared in the reception area. She straightened up and offered him a hand to shake. "Yes, you can help me! I'm Laura Miller of the Environmental Department, and I'm surveying Ministry employees. If you have a minute, could you just answer a couple of simple questions for me?" she asked. Handing the man a flier, she took out her clipboard and pen again. "First question, what are you doing personally to be more 'green' and environmentally friendly. And second question, what could you be doing to be more 'green'?" she said. Short and sweet enough. She smiled and waited, pen poised to her paper.

Manolo shook her hand gently, "Hello, Laura. I'm Manolo. Nice leaf earrings." He scanned over the flier she handed him as she prepared herself with the pen, nodding to let her know he would.

He stroked his chin as he thought of something 'green' he did, "Umm....OH! My sister and I have a compost bin at our home that we use to fertilize our garden." He was pretty sure that was earth friendly. His mother had made it a habit. He ran a hand through his thick, black hair. "I suppose I could recycle more or something." Well, he felt uncool. He oughta know more about these things.

Ahh, first names? Well, that didn't bother Laura in the least. She was much too laid-back for all the formality she was usually faced with at the Ministry. "Nice to meet you, Manolo," she said with a smile.

"Hm?" Laura said, glancing up wide-eyed as she registered his next comment. "Oh!" Her hand reached up subconsciously to lightly touch one of her leaf-shaped earrings, making it swing a bit as she let out a small appreciative laugh. Merlin, she hadn't counted on anyone complimenting her silly little earrings. "Thank you," she said, regaining her composure and adjusting her grip on her pen and clipboard, ready to jot down notes as Manolo answered her questions.

Ooh, a compost bin? She hadn't come across one Ministry employee who had one so far. Laura's face lit up. "Yes, excellent! That's a rather original one," she said, scribbling on her clipboard. She glanced back up at him. "And actually, keeping a garden is 'green' as well," she said matter-of-factly. "I keep a small garden on the roof of my flat's building." Oops. Laura left it at that before she got carried away about gardening. Merlin, it was one of her guilty pleasures. "And absolutely, everyone could recycle more," she said, nodding. "And recycle better. Did you know there seven types of plastic alone that need to be recycled in different ways?" Wow, that sounded boring when it came out of her mouth. No one wanted to hear about that. Changing the topic, she said, "So, anything else you think you can do for the environment?"

Manolo straightened his posture a bit as pride overcame him. Look at that, he's original. Hmmph, hmmph! "Oh, well I guess I'm more green than I thought!" He winked.

He chuckled as the 'interviewer' began to ramble about recycling. It reminded him of Annalise. "No, I did not know that. I'll have to think twice about the things I recycle then."

He ran a hand through his hair and drummed his fingers from his other hand on the desk. "I can honestly say I have no clue, Miss." Or at least he couldn't think of anything at the moment.

"That's just fine!" Laura assured him with a smile, tucking her pen behind her ear and holding her clipboard with both hands in front of her. "Thank you so much for your time." She held out a hand for him to shake. "Oh! Don't forget a flier," she added, taking one from her pile inside her bag and holding it out to him.

Manolo sighed of relief that she wasn't getting angry at him for not being more environmentally friendly. He scolded himself mentally, he should know much more about the environment and shouldn't need anyone to remind him! Anyways, he shook the nice lady's hand, "It was a pleasure, Miss." He took the flier and folded it nicely before putting it in his pocket. "Thank you. Hope the rest of your day goes well, Laura!" He smiled, waving slightly.

Zoe entered the room a bit worried. She had never thought that owning a magical plant could cause so much trouble. Not that her plant had done anything, but she did need to report she had one. Smiling brightly, she took a seat and waited her turn.

As she waited, she glanced around the room. There were some folks there she thought she might have seen around, but she was still new to the Ministry and faces began to get muddled. She was horrible at remembering people and names, unless they were under the age of 5, and always felt more at ease waiting to be approached rather than striking up a conversation with others.

Blegh. More coffee was going to be required to get through today, she could already tell. The article detailing the plant registry had finally been printed in the Daily Prophet, and she kept expecting an angry Headmistress to come bursting through her door any second. After all, schools were included in this thing, meaning Hogwarts too, and Truebridge couldn't exactly ignore it. Unless she wanted the students to not have plants to study.

Anyway, Roxanne was on her way out to get some more coffee (deciding to go to the cafe across the street for some fresh air while she was at it) when she noticed someone in the reception area. Hmm, someone here for the plant registry already? Wait a moment, wasn't that the woman that worked in the daycare? "Hello, is there anything I can help you with?" she asked politely. Best not to assume.

Penwyn was surprised they weren't getting that many visitors. The Minister had signed a law saying that ALL owners of magical plants had to register them with the Ministry. Maybe the owners were just taking their time and would all come in on the last registration day. She wasn't even sure how a register would help stop accidents anyway. How did knowing who had a plant stop the accident?

But it wasn't for her to think about it, she wasn't a lawmaker. So instead Penwyn just sat down and waited. She didn't have to wait long though, because the first person came in. She stood ready to assist in case her boss needed help, but for now was content to let Roxanne talk.

Still wearing his muggle animal control officer disguise, Aron made his way from the Atrium, up the lifts, and into the Level 4 reception area with his two cages containing not one but FOUR yipping and yapping crups. Holy holly was his department busy these days and he was pretty darn sure that chasing crups had NOT being in his job description when he had been offered the position.

First an explosion in the lab on his level. Then some mutant creature mucking things up more. Then fixing all the muggle spottings with the wonky floo network. NOW chasing crups and sending his Obliviators out to fix muggle memories after seeing crups WITH their forked tails. What was next? No, wait, he didn't want the answer to that.

He probably should register all his plants while he was here too...but he didn't have the list of Seren's babies with him. Eh. Some other time. Right now he had a crup emergency.

There was simply no way to continue meditating with the incessant yipping of crups that sounded from outside of Harmony's office. The red head, sensing dismay, slid her feet into her shoes once more and sauntered out into the hall and towards the sound. Her relaxed smile remained fixed as she passed her employees, happy to see people peacefully at work. The lavender Potpourri seemed to be working wonders.

As for the yipping...

"Greetings. I see you've stumbled on some of the lost crups in your travels." And the Creatures lover knelt down to peer into the cages, offering the crups warm smiles and hushed greetings. Peering up again, the red head BEAMED. "Thank you for bringing them here."

She then continued to stare at the man, eyebrows raised slightly as if expecting something and she was. The department head was waiting for the man to offer an account of what happened and she was also trying to get a feel for his aura.

SPOILER!!: XD

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow

There was simply no way to continue meditating with the incessant yipping of crups that sounded from outside of Harmony's office. The red head, sensing dismay, slid her feet into her shoes once more and sauntered out into the hall and towards the sound. Her relaxed smile remained fixed as she passed her employees, happy to see people peacefully at work. The lavender Potpourri seemed to be working wonders.

As for the yipping...

"Greetings. I see you've stumbled on some of the lost crups in your travels." And the Creatures lover knelt down to peer into the cages, offering the crups warm smiles and hushed greetings. Peering up again, the red head BEAMED. "Thank you for bringing them here."

She then continued to stare at the man, eyebrows raised slightly as if expecting something and she was. The department head was waiting for the man to offer an account of what happened and she was also trying to get a feel for his aura.

Aron knew that there had been a new hire for the Department Head in Creatures, but he had not had the pleasure of making their acquaintance just yet. He just hoped that whoever it was was no honking daffodil. There were already far too many of those in the Ministry for his liking and, seeing as his department tended to have to clean up messes caused by creatures being where they should not, he hoped for his own sake that they were personable.

He wasn't too sure about Roxanne, which was a pity considering she was heading Environmental which was a department he wouldn't have minded being a part of himself.

And there she was...talking like she had been meditating with jars of dirt. Earth magic had always been, well, mysterious to him despite he and Seren getting their hands dirty with it once or twice. Literally. You literally hard to hold dirt sometimes. "Stumbled upon? There was no stumbling at all considering it has been on the bloody muggle news." You know, MUTANT dogs loose in London. Thankfully his Obliviators were already on the scene and handling things. Accidents and Catastrophes was on top of things like that. "They were in a convenience store in muggle London. Had some muggles cornered but were surprisingly more concerned with eating than anything else."

Zoe had been quietly waiting, reading a copy of "The No Cry Nap Solution", Witches and Wizards edition, when she noticed someone approach her. "Oh, hello. Yes, I'm here for the plant registry. Is this the right place?"

She wasn't sure if she was supposed to register her plants, but she would rather be safe than sorry. Especially if it she might encounter a fine or worse...

Zoe placed her book in her bag and took a deep breath. It was pleasantly quiet in the reception area and she momentarily wondered what it would be like to work in a different department of the Ministry.

As she was waiting for the other woman to answer, Roxanne managed to catch a little of what Aron was saying to the new Creatures head. Crups loose in Muggle London? With their forked tails? And they had been spotted? She didn't envy the two departments in the slightest. Cleaning that up was going to be a mess and a half.

Anyway, it had been as she'd thought. Ms........ well, she was here for the plant registry. "Yep, this is the right place. Just follow me, please," she replied, leading the woman into the Enviro. offices.

OOC: You may post in the Environmental Work Room now!

"Wonderful" Zoe said as she gathered her things and followed the women to the Environmental offices.

As she followed, she thought about all of the people who wouldn't register their plants. Would they just live each day wondering if that would be the one the Ministry officials would show up? Would they even care? No, they probably wouldn't. She, however, cared a great deal. Rules were in place for a reason and were meant to be followed.

"Ah yes, the muggle news. Television has never been of much interest to me." She preferred reading as a way to gather information. Did she also detect some annoyance in the man's tone? That just wouldn't do. This was a calm zone and the negative vibes were only harshing the mellow of her workers.

Standing up and smoothing her skirt, the red head observed the man curiously, her gaze calm and steady. "Food is comfort for many, even crups." Besides, the poor things were probably stress eating. Being terrified and in an unfamiliar environment could do that to a creature.

"Again, I appreciate your assistance. The crups will be dealt with accordingly and they will be safe here." As for whoever was behind this situation, she had words for them, words that would not be spoken aloud because they would surely change Harmony's aura from green to red.

Oh, and introductions. The department head straightened up and smiled brightly. "I am Harmony Skylark, by the way. You may call me Harmony or whatever your heart tells you is a suitable nickname." And she raised her hand, giving the man a peace sign, her usual go-to greeting.

SPOILER!!: *snort*

Quote:

Originally Posted by TakemetotheBurrow

"Ah yes, the muggle news. Television has never been of much interest to me." She preferred reading as a way to gather information. Did she also detect some annoyance in the man's tone? That just wouldn't do. This was a calm zone and the negative vibes were only harshing the mellow of her workers.

Standing up and smoothing her skirt, the red head observed the man curiously, her gaze calm and steady. "Food is comfort for many, even crups." Besides, the poor things were probably stress eating. Being terrified and in an unfamiliar environment could do that to a creature.

"Again, I appreciate your assistance. The crups will be dealt with accordingly and they will be safe here." As for whoever was behind this situation, she had words for them, words that would not be spoken aloud because they would surely change Harmony's aura from green to red.

Oh, and introductions. The department head straightened up and smiled brightly. "I am Harmony Skylark, by the way. You may call me Harmony or whatever your heart tells you is a suitable nickname." And she raised her hand, giving the man a peace sign, her usual go-to greeting.

He gathered as much. About the TV that is. Most wizards he knew had no interest in it to be honest. He had just grown up with it and now, given his department, it was almost an obsession.

And he wasn't going to comment about food either. He wasn't here to chit chat. Just doing a job.

"Just glad they got here without biting any muggles," he said as a subtle wave of relief washed over him. "I hope that mutant your department collected from the lab is behaving itself." Which was also his sort of round about way of asking how research was going on it. He also needed to touch base with his own employees about this. Not to mention go pester Speciality AGAIN about sending someone up to repair the lab. Derek was going to have a heart attack otherwise. All his precious test tubes and whatever other things the man mumbled about on a daily basis.

"Aron Ashburry-Hawthorne, Magical Accidents and Catastrophes Head," he returned, eyeing the woman up in his head for a moment. He was going to refer to her as Madam Alihotsy, at least in his head. She was no honking daffodil, but she wasn't sane either. It's what his heart was telling him anyway. "Pleasure."