Simon watched as Emily turned his way, clearly curious as to what he was bringing up at least she seemed to be given the eyebrow raised in his direction. He let her have the folder to briefly look over, smiling softly as the YATIL agreed that he just might have come across something that could prove to be fruitful in their search. "Alright. Will do," he agreed with a nod, taking the folder back to follow her further instructions.

Come on...there had to be something here....right?

The YATI shifted to a nearby desk and set down the open file upon the half-covered surface. Taking a seat, Simon then went to work, slowly but surely filtering through the records looking for a needle in the proverbial haystack.

He nodded as Emily told him that she hadnt found anything as yet, mm now where were those files and things they were supposed to be finding? All that was here were old records from before he had even entered the Ministry as an employee, he wanted something that was here from when he arrived here. But none of that was here. He listened as Emily told Simon that what he had looked good, finally something they had found. He looked through his pile and started seeing a familiar pattern, there were dates on these.. and the dates were becoming more and more recent as he went through them. He was sure that if he continued looking that he should find files that were created from around the time that all this had started and thats what they wanted.

So he continued looking and found nothing, though they were the more recent files there were none from when he joined. So that was out! bummer. He then moved to a box that had been put there that had more files in it, these were records of who had entered the Ministry.. right? looked like it. It would seem that that these would show who entered the Ministry at what time, he looked through and didnt find anything out of the ordinary. It all looked normal to him, just the usual employees entering, no packages yet.. though this file was about people. Just then his eye caught something, a file that was sitting on the top of a pile of files inside another box. He put this box away and grabbed that one, this now seemed to be a list of packages that had entered the Ministry. Bingo! was his nameo this was the kind of things they were looking for, now the dates were what he was interested in. But nothing recent.. maybe there was another box just like this one that was more recent.

Just then his gaze went over to where Emily was searching and he noticed her looking at some cabinets that were there, good thinking Emily.. thats if she was going to look in that. He watched her as he saw her try to open it but it was locked, locked??? why was it locked? Unless it was something valuable that they didnt want anyone to steal or see.. like.. like.. pensieves for instance. Man wouldnt that be good! pensieves would be so helpful, if they were in fact in that cabinet they needed to get that opened up. "You think something could be in there? something of value to us?" cause he sure did, lets get it open!! Bash it open now!! But who better to open that than an experienced MLEer.. like one of these two, so he went back to looking in the box while he left Emily to see if she could get that cabinet open. Cause that did seem like a good place to put a pensieve, in a locked storage place within the security office.

With the slightest twitch of her wrist, Emily summoned her wand from its holster. The smooth mahogany felt at home in her grasp. Her eyes searched the cupboard, for any visible signs of tampering, protective charms, anything.. but to no avail.
Emily considered how she might advance. Unlocking it wouldn't be a problem, but if this cupboard was anything like her desk, she wanted to open it and survive...

Looking up briefly at ... whatshisfaceagain? ... she nodded. She wasn't one for stating the obvious, but yes. It was possible that something valuable to their investigation lay inside. "Pensieves perhaps... confiscated items, sensitive documents..." did she need to go on?

"Revelio."
She had to be certain it wouldn't blow them all up first... but it was only security.. they weren't nearly as paranoid as her. Clearly.

It was a new day...

And it was a fabulous day for camping. Bright and early, Emily had been tinkering around getting some things together. With a coffee in one hand, and a breakfast burrito in the other, Emily entered the Security Office and settled herself down on a table top.

Swinging her legs, and stuffing her face with food, Emily waited to see how long it would take for her team to gather, and she had a newbie too! an Odessa no less... sounded promising. Or so she hoped.
Wiping some barbecue sauce off her lips with a serviette, Emily took another unforgiving bite from the burrito, then washed it down with some coffee. It was going to be a long day.. or two, or three. Hehe.

Field experience.

Thats what the notice had said in the department. And other than mentioning to pack lightly for a possible few days and wearing comfortable outdoor shoes there wasn't that much detail about what would be actually be going on. Though Simon was sure that was part of the experience...being able to deal well with one's surroundings.

So upon doing as the notice said and dressing appropriately and making sure he had some things packed in his sachel (lightened by magic of course) the auror made his way to the Security office as ordered. Spotting Emily, he made his way over to the head auror. " Good morning," he greeted opting to remain standing as they waited for the rest to show up, including a new YATI and hoping all would be well now that he had finally made it out of training.

Time for more doing and not guarding.

"Morning," Emily managed with a mouthful of burrito. She let out a small grunt as well, for good measure. Casting an eye over Bennett's attire and his satchel, Emily smiled, amused... and continued chewing her food. Ooohhh this would be such fun!

Swinging her legs, because she could, Emily downed some more of her coffee. It was probably the one thing she would really miss on this trip, so she needed to savour the moment while she had the opportunity.
"Excited?" she asked once her mouth was void of any food/drink substance.

Simon couldn't help but take note of the look Emily gave him as she looked him over. The auror wondering more now just what was on the agenda for them all. The head auror would after all be in total charge and that could mean a lot of things. Oh well...it wasn't like the job was known to be easy and Simon was more than ready for it.

"For the most part," he answered honestly not about to totally gung ho about it and he wasn't dreading anything...yet. "Does feel good to be back at work doing something," the auror added as he set down his bag for the moment. Break was over and Simon wasn't exactly yearning for more. Until perhaps some time in the summer or the occasional weekend in-between.

Polishing off the last of her burrito, Emily licked the lingering sauce and juices off her fingers. It was delishhhh. Wiping the remains in a napkin, she then threw it into the wastepaper basket. Where were the others?

Examining her watch, Emily noted that the others were not yet late, but losing brownie points nonetheless. She was eager, super eager, to get this trip going. They had a lot to learn, and a lot of, bonding stuff to do.
Nodding, she agreed with Bennett. It DID feel good to be back. Though she wondered how the troops would feel after the camping trip. To say it would be exhausting, was an understatement. And if her aurors and YATI's weren't deadbeat after it, then it would tell her they weren't working hard enough.

Doing one last check, Emily pat her pocket. Her bag, shrunken with its undetectable extension charm was nice and snug against her thigh.
"Think you've got what you need?" she asked conversationally. Pushing up her sleeves to her elbows, her phoenix tattoo popping its head out from the hem, peering around the place. Its crown of scarlet feathers puffing up slightly, making it appear bigger than usual.

Seeing one look at watch reminded Simon they were technically on a schedule, at least on when to meet up. He hadn't been that early upon his own arrival so surely everyone else was running slower. The auror mentally counted out who was around to come to his knowledge, wondering at least where Josh and Persephone was. They had to set the example as the leading members of the division, other than Emily that is. Too bad Sabel was out on assignment but he didn't miss Legend at all.

Simon nodded as the head auror sent another question his way. It wouldn't do to be ill prepared, especially of anything that couldn't be handled by magic. And even then one couldn't depend on magic...just in case that was taken away. "At best estimate." He still didn't know the details after all so he could only try to cover all bases and be aware of possible surprises.

It was Genevieve's rule of thumb that if she was stopping for coffee, she got some for Emily too. It wasn't a sucking up thing, because Branxton's did NOT suck up. It was a... CYA thing. She'd get sent out for coffee eventually, so if she showed up with it, then she was already ahead of that task and wouldn't miss any of the good stuff.

Which, honestly... this was not. Yes, Genevieve showed up to work wearing denim and flannel and a big puffy coat, her bag packed with shrunken camping equipment, but it didn't mean that she was excited by the idea. Wizards and witches had left the wilderness to build houses and offices and pizzarias, so why in the world would they head back out? That was called devolution.

"Emily," she offered the coffee before spotting the young woman's cup. Sigh. Someone already brought her coffee. "So who's excited to go freeze off our bums in the wild?" She offered the cup of coffee to Simon instead.

He was here and he wasn't late. Nope. He'd made sure of that. Kennedy also had coffee and oatmeal cookies on either hand. His favorite and his little sister had baked them for him, so he couldn't say no. Especially when she looked up at him with those big'o gray eyes of hers and did the eyelash batting thing girls did. Besides, she wasn't that bad at baking, though the cookies looked like clumps of deformed stones.

After taking a chunk of the cookie and downing it down with some coffee, Kennedy spotted his coworkers. Unlike last year, when he would've walked in all nervous-looking, the YATI seemed more comfortable. Mostly because he wasn't one of the newbies. Apparently there was another newbie so the title has passed on to them.

"Morning, everyone," he greeted. Simon got a nod because now Kennedy considered him one of his buds. The older guy had been Kennedy's role model last year during the whole de Talone case - and still was.

Kennedy caught Genevieve's question and raised his hand, the one holding an oatmeal cookie. "I love the cold." True fact. And he was genuinely looking forward to this. A lot.

....

Estimate huh. Emily was bored with waiting, and she was never good with chit-chat, and especially not very good with chit-chatting to Simon.. he was a good egg, but an odd one. Not his fault she was sure, and not that it was an issue. It wasn't...
Instead, Emily evaded any further attempts at chit-chat by drinking her coffee, in one continuous flow, only slowly.

Still she was pleased to see two of her YATI's enter the office. "Genevieve, Kennedy," she greeted with a nod and a cool smile. Oh lookit! Genevieve had coffee for her! This girl really was on the money, or at least, definitely well adjusted to routine. Sadly, she offered the cup to Simon. Boo. Oh well, she had some dregs left, and Simon would need the energy for the trip too, more so than her.

As for freezing their butts off, Emily couldn't help but smirk. She could relate to Kennedy in that regard, the cold was rather pleasant, but considering the circumstances... "The cold will be the least of your worries, though thermal underwear helps."

With another quick glance at the time, Emily pursed her lips. They could wait a few more moments before departing, the late comers would experience her wrath lat a later time, should they not turn up soon. Unfortunate.
"Has anyone met the new girl?" ... or seen her.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hera

....

Estimate huh. Emily was bored with waiting, and she was never good with chit-chat, and especially not very good with chit-chatting to Simon.. he was a good egg, but an odd one. Not his fault she was sure, and not that it was an issue. It wasn't...
Instead, Emily evaded any further attempts at chit-chat by drinking her coffee, in one continuous flow, only slowly.

Still she was pleased to see two of her YATI's enter the office. "Genevieve, Kennedy," she greeted with a nod and a cool smile. Oh lookit! Genevieve had coffee for her! This girl really was on the money, or at least, definitely well adjusted to routine. Sadly, she offered the cup to Simon. Boo. Oh well, she had some dregs left, and Simon would need the energy for the trip too, more so than her.

As for freezing their butts off, Emily couldn't help but smirk. She could relate to Kennedy in that regard, the cold was rather pleasant, but considering the circumstances... "The cold will be the least of your worries, though thermal underwear helps."

With another quick glance at the time, Emily pursed her lips. They could wait a few more moments before departing, the late comers would experience her wrath lat a later time, should they not turn up soon. Unfortunate.
"Has anyone met the new girl?" ... or seen her.

"Not formerly, but I see her around from time to time," Aspen answered. Unlike the rest of these people she found herself surrounded by, she wasn't attached to a caffeine capsule. She was dressed entirely in black, sweater, skinny pants that tucked neatly into her mid-calf length boots, and a pair of ear muffs hanging loose around her neck.

Shrug.

Of course, Aspen was well acquainted with Vi. She also knew Kennedy. She didn't bother introducing herself though. "New Girl" it'd be. It beat "Weird Girl", but didn't quite have the ring of "Scary Girl" she was used to at Hogwarts.

"The cold is all I worry about," Genevieve gave a cocky grin as she settled on another desk and sipped at her coffee. It was true, though... she didn't handle cold very well, and winter at Hogwarts had been a misery. And now she was choosing to go out and stay in the winter woods? Miserable idea, really. Who could she blame?

Her eyes went wide and pleased when Aspen appeared. She'd known Asp would be there, but now she'd made her appearance and... she was going to freeze to death. Straight up truth. "Oi, that's what an Odessa looks like," she nodded toward Aspen for Emily's benefit. "How's it, Aspen?"

Hearing the tell-tale signs of another person joining them, Simon turned slightly just in time to spot Genevieve enter the security office obviously packed and with two cups of coffee. He debated an answer to her question, finally settling on "It wouldn't be the first time." Anyone who spent a good deal of time playing quidditch usually had played at least one game in the freezing cold and even snow. And brooms didn't come heated.

When the second coffee was passed to him, he raised a slight eyebrow but didn't comment. Maybe some would do him good even if he wasn't as avid a drinker of it as others. "Thanks," he replied quietly, offering at least something in return. The auror taking a small sip before looking over as Kennedy approached joining the trio. At least now he wasn't the only guy there and they were back even.

"Morning," Simon said, returning the nod he received from the younger man. The former Slytherin was good people as was the Ravenclaw young woman beside him and wasn't afraid to listen and ask questions if he so desired. It would certainly be interesting to see them train through the program. Not that Simon had any doubts they would go through with flying colors.

At the mention of a new girl, the auror couldn't help but shake his head. Nope...he had spotted no one that would fit that description, his only new acquaintances had been his two tour members and they had both been from Level 6. However it wasn't like Emily had really needed an answer for almost as soon as she had asked it, the supposedly aforementioned girl made her appearance. Someone apparently Genevieve knew.

"Welcome then," he offered to be polite with a nod.

The cold wasn't the least of their worries? Emily didn't have to say anything else to excite this YATI. He was ready to go. He wondered if they'd be going against monsters. Chimeras. Trolls. Three headed dogs. What ever it was, he was ready.

Unfortunately they had to wait for the new person. Kennedy leaned against one of the desks and finished off his cookie. That's when he heard a new voice.

Ah, Aspen. Yeah, he remembers her. She used to stare at him. Back then it had made him uncomfortable.

"Hello," Kennedy said with a wave.

Could they go now?

Talk about timing, Emily was mildly impressed. New Girl, had a sense of humour too, bonus. She did however, exchange a glance from Genevieve to Aspen. Why did she get the feeling the two of them together would equal trouble?
She only hoped this wasn't going to get girly and weird, she didn't want to regret having so many women on the team.
"Welcome to the team Odessa," she offered, by way of greeting. "Emily Browne, Head Auror," she added with a nod. They'd have words later. Official words and the like. Plenty of time for that stuff.

"While I admire your confidence, cockiness will get you killed.... on your toes Genevieve." The cold was one thing, but any decent witch or wizard with a wand, or without, could handle the cold. There were other dangers, particularly in deep, dark forests.

Now that all greetings were exchanged, they could get on with it. Hopping down from the edge of the table, Emily's expression took on a semi-serious expression.
"Firstly, it's good to see you all on time and prepared..." as well as they could be, considering, heh. "... the primary purpose of our trip is to identify our weaknesses, as individuals and as a team. Some areas of focus will be magical combat, enchantment detection, stealth and tracking and of course, problem solving. With this in mind, it will also be a team building exercise." Only, without any of that hold-handing-sing-along-bat-crap-crazy stuff.
Emily strongly disliked hearing how the department wasn't strong or efficient enough, Rusty's analysis still lingered in the back of her mind. Things were going to change. Or at least, in the Auror office it would.
"In times of trouble or crisis, we need to be alert, efficient and united, we need to be able to work like a well oiled machine... so that is our mission."

"Are there any questions before we depart"

Aspen rubbed at her nose in Vi's direction in a pointed way, though there was a hint of a smile there. If these people didn't know the relationship between herself and Vi though, then Aspen sure wasn't divulging. Though, she was outed now as "New Girl", so everyone got simple nods from her, nothing committal whatsoever.

She was already feeling squidgy - not a typical Aspen feel - about this teamwork speech. Aspen was pretty sure she'd checked "works best alone" on her job application. At least on that part, she hadn't lied. So... that'd be interesting.


Assuming that raising hands was something for classrooms and not for Emily Brown, Head Auror, Aspen simply said, "....Go team." No questions here.

Kennedy listened to all that Emily was saying. Yes. Yes. Yep. True. But really, he was just playing scenarios in his head. Would a choke-hold hold a chimera down? A troll would be trickier to get into a choke-hold, that's where magic would come in. What about...

Snap out if it, Escalante.

The YATI blinked and tossed the empty coffee cup away and shook his head at Emily, as in he had no more questions. He was ready... Now.

No questions. Suited her just fine. They could leave now.

Emily spared a glance at the portkey, an old letter opener, before focusing her attention on her troops.

"Hold hands, we're portkeying" she instructed the small group, holding out one of her own. Touch activation was so awkward in that respect, but more efficient than timed. At any rate, they ought not get left behind. "C'mon," she added for good measure.

Once everyone was holding hands, Emily reached out with her spare, and took hold of the letter opener. Very suddenly, as if a hook had snagged her, them, around the navel, they were yanked from their reality to their predetermined destination, the forest.

As the others were about, Josh stood in a corner in deep silence, watching Emily with his arms folded before his muscular chest. He was silent for good reasons, all the racing thoughts in his mind eating him inside. Maybe he had to just blurt it out and at least find some comfort in sharing his...issue. He was not sure if he was going to be able to focus on the task ahead like this. He knew he had to try though. But maybe if he could share it...things could be easier.

Leaning against the wall, the young man sighed as he considered the idea. Simon was his best friend. He could get the news then and Emily...she was not completely a stranger either. He had shared a secret with her before. Sooo...

Oh...they were moving. Pushing himself off the wall, Josh held the hands of others to portkey travel without saying anything.

Simon had noticed Josh finally entered the room, tempted to check in with him or at least say hello. However his best friend seemed to be in one of his quiet moods and he wasn't sure what was up. Then Emily spoke up about their departure and the auror was stopped from taking any action other then holding hands with his nearest collegues and awaiting the familiar feel of portkey travel to take them away.

Guess this was it. he mused to himself just as the pull came and they disappeared.

The flames of the floo deposited him in the security office and it was clear to Simon upon his arrival or maybe more correctly his departure from the fireplace, that the office down here was just as quiet as the area up on Level Two. Perhaps that was one of the issues that caused trouble to the department. Not knowing where security was at any given time which lead to weaknesses in the security to which they were supposed to be working towards.

Simon shook his head and proceeded to look for signs of life that someone had been there and upon finding none, took the chance to look for anything case-related himself. It took some time but eventually gave up and decided to move on. This time heading out of the office by the door to go into the atrium. Time to investigate on his own elsewhere and that was a perfect place to start.

It had been one of those days... lots to do, limited time, but on the up-side, there had been progress. Emily liked progress, and at this time the only thing she liked more was the half a cup of coffee in her hand. Running between meetings had its pitfalls, and its perks.

Deciding to check in at the security office on her way up, Emily hoped to catch up with Simon. See how her Security-Auror was handling things. She knocked once on the door before allowing herself in, it was merely a courteous heads up of her arrival. No need to go startling her people by barging in.
"Tell me some good news," she said casually by way of greeting, before closing the door behind her. She was grinning, so this was a good thing. Good mood, she only hoped to keep it that way.

Simon had headed into the security office after a couple of more levels were gone over. His list of areas slowly dwindling. He had kind of taken up a perch here in an attempt to separate the two tasks he had been given since the main security area shared the space with the auror division. Looking over the papers he had taken any notes on as he sat in a chair, including the prophecy in his pile, the auror had gotten distracted in work until a knock was heard on the door. He ever so briefly thought he might actually have a run in with one of his fellow security workers, but as he turned and looked up at the door way, he came face to face with Emily instead.

He had to fight the urge to raise an eyebrow as he noticed the good mood that surrounded her, the aura seeming a bit off knowing her persona. Instead Simon opted for simply giving what she wanted. At least he hoped it would somehow be considered good news. "Well...its still debatable if this is good," he remarked handing her the parchment Jasper had given to him.

SPOILER!!: Prophecy

A bird of prey, under the cover of darkness, she belies the ages.

Faster than an owl's hand, yet of an owl's hand. She has gone.

Until one who is one with the enemy of time seeks her out.

"A prophecy from Level 9."