Quote:

Originally Posted by fanficfanatict

He wanted his notes back, please. Ferris NEEDED those for work and such and the last thing he, um, needed was to have them taken away. Not that he would take them back forcefully. This girl frightened him. Human beings in general frightened him.

The more he waited, though, the more she stuffed his parchments into her pocket. He cringed with each stuff because it meant, you know, they would be wrinkled. Oh bother. Oh no, no, no.

Squeak! She was talking at him again. Why was she TALKING to him, didn't she know that conversation was an odd social conformity that made him break out into HIVES?! No, he supposed not because that would mean that he would have to tell her that.

OH! She wanted him to answer that, gulp. Like a question and answer type thing. Ferris continued to squeak his shoes and whispered, "H-h-habit." It helped keep his mouth busy when he gamed. For hours. And hours.

Now could he PLEASE have them back? Please?

Why was he whispering?

Aspen knew that the low lighting would encourage quiet voices, but that didn't seem to be what inspired Sir Squeaks to almost whimper at her. She found herself shrugging in response to his answer. Lunch was over, so she ignored her company and packed up her lunch.

She stood and wiped her hands on her pants, definitely a loud and clear well, we're done here yep message. "Well. Until we meet again." Aspen gave him a little wave, then headed up the stairs, though she was certainly cautious of Sir Squeaks at her back. "I wonder," she called back, her voice sort of eery and echo-y off the closed quartered walls of the stairwell, "is your Patronus a mouse?" Honestly, she did wonder.

Oh no, no, no. He needed those notes, um, for work. Ferris was so close on perfecting them and any time AWAY from them would be, uh, bad. Could she, please, could she return them to him at once? The mousy man would be very much obliged if she did and would even utter out a thank you, which was what social norms dictated he did.

But then she started to walk up the stairs, he began to work in panic mode. Miss? OH MISS? His designs were in her pocket, HIS designs and he needed those back and, meep, please?

Finding a little voice, he called after her-- or to the average person he spoke at a normal tone, "N-no." His patronus was not a mouse, "Please! I n-need, um, those."

EEP.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fanficfanatict

Oh no, no, no. He needed those notes, um, for work. Ferris was so close on perfecting them and any time AWAY from them would be, uh, bad. Could she, please, could she return them to him at once? The mousy man would be very much obliged if she did and would even utter out a thank you, which was what social norms dictated he did.

But then she started to walk up the stairs, he began to work in panic mode. Miss? OH MISS? His designs were in her pocket, HIS designs and he needed those back and, meep, please?

Finding a little voice, he called after her-- or to the average person he spoke at a normal tone, "N-no." His patronus was not a mouse, "Please! I n-need, um, those."

EEP.

"Interesting, that," Aspen called back, only slowing once she was sure he wouldn't be able to see her anymore unless he chose to follow, "If you needed these, they why, I wonder would you turn them out of your pockets? For someone you don't know, at that." It was a curious thing!

Meep.

The human female had a point, but the BIGGER point was that she was scary and he had turned out his pockets in fear. Couldn't she see that he was visibly shaking? Oh, um, well, he supposed not being that he couldn't see her. Eeeeep.

"B-b-but!" But nothing. Maybe he should just let her go. Sigh. He really did need those though.

"...................but?" Aspen was listening. She might be out of sight, grinning, and making copies of his papers - but she was listening. Go onnnnnnnnnnnnn.

It was still amazing to Krel how often she got lost in the Ministry despite her attempts to acquaint herself with the building (if one could call an underground complex a building). She wasn’t exactly sure where she was, only that she had probably gotten off the wrong lift and turned the wrong way. I swear the hallways around her move, she thought, thinking of the stairwells at Hogwarts. She just hoped Security didn’t show up and fine her for being in a classified area.

She shifted the files and mail in her arm and pushed her hair back off her forehead as she stood at a cross-hall looking up and down and left and right. She mentally wished she had put her hair up today, but for some reason she’d left it down and loose and now it was bothering her and falling into her face. When she got back to her desk, she was going to shove it up into a bun even if she had to stick a pencil into it in order to make it hold. When? she snorted mentally. More like if. There was nobody around even to ask for directions. She took a right hoping she was going in the right direction.

Simon had promised to show Alexa the other main floor of the MLE and it seemed for various reasons, the task had been delayed. He had his own rounds on various levels and the other former lion was off exploring on her own. Thankfully things had finally calmed down even a little and the security man snagged the younger girl before she could wander off elsewhere. A debt was a debt to him, even if there was other stuff on his mind.

Maybe it would distract him from possible trouble.

They had gotten off the lifts at Level 9 and were greeted by the familiar blackened stone walls of the Department of Mysteries. Though instead of heading into the crazy mazes of the main department, Simon took a detour towards another corridor. It was during a short walk down said corridor that they came to a door which the former auror opened and held open for Alexa to take while he led the way down the stairs on the other side of it.

"Because the lifts don't go all the way down and the anti-apparition charms in place, this is one of the only ways to get down to Level 10," he informed his companion as they walked.

Lex had become used to all this walking by now, mostly because when she did patrols sometimes she opted for the stairs instead of doubling back to get to the lifts. Granted, it wasn't often she got slated to patrol this far down in the Ministry but she wouldn't complain. It was either follow Simon or sit in her corner on the floor with a pile of paperwork she'd watched growing all week. If nothing significant happened...why did they keep asking for reports? It was a waste of parchment and time she could spend doing something else.

"I've noticed the lifts don't go beyond this floor." She said, catching the door as it swung back toward her then walking through. "Do you know why it doesn't?" Surely they didn't want to have to be hauling struggling prisoners down a flight of stairs. It didn't seem like the best option.

Up until now, Lex never really had a reason to come this far. No major court cases she wanted to watch and nothing to see except the courtrooms themselves. Was it too much to hope they'd walk in on something epic?

There was, of course, the chance that people might not be aware of the final level of the Ministry given the end of the lifts. But it was good to see Alexa hadn't been taken in by the deception. It wouldn't do for the clues to have gotten past one that was supposed to be training to be aware of the little details. "Security reasons..." he answered in response to her question, briefly glancing behind him over his shoulder as they moved.

"One way in...one way out. For the general public that is," Simon added for further explaination. He'd show her the other way to get to the courtrooms when they moved to leave the level eventually on the end of this little tour. One that was only used by law enforcement to travel back and forth from place to place. And something he had only shown Jory last year if memory served in that direction.

But why ruin the surprise in one fell swoop?

She had to admit, this was better than meandering her way through the labyrinth that was Level 9. Nothing but dark corridors and solid walls if you didn't know where you were going. The former Gryffindor liked to think that she now had some idea of the layout but in truth she was terrible at directions even when she knew where she was going so....it just wasn't a good idea.

"One way in and out? Has that been proven for a fact?" As in...had they searched around in case there were little openings in the walls? Trap doors? Hidden floors and portkeys? It had only taken a couple months but the MLE suspicioun was starting to sink in. Lex no longer took things at face value--though she did have her distracted moments when her brain didn't bother trying to think things through clearly.

No one said she'd perfected it as yet. It would take time.

"Don't suppose we might actually walk in on a case?" Yes, she was still stuck on this thought. Work stories to tell Lottie when she got home were very important.

Suspicion...number one trait of most if not all of Magical Law Enforcement workers and Alexa had that mixed in with her outgoing curiousity. "Mmhmm...it has," he assured her. "And I've double checked it myself a few times." Just in case she doubted the official standings.

"I'm not aware of any cases going on at the moment," he answered truthfully. Granted there was always the chance that there might be something going on that he wasn't aware of...he wasn't on the wizenmagot after all. But security usually was notified if non-ministry personal would be within the ministry for most official reasons. They would at least have been recorded by one of the wand-weighers on duty.

With them reaching the bottom of the stairwell, Simon paused on the landing momentarily as if to let Alexa catch up. Though she was right behind him, eager as she tended to be in most times he had witnessed. "And onto Level 10," he mused, opening the door and checking for anything off out of habit before holding the door for her as he passed through.