Tempest needed coffee! And despite the fact that the coffee on level 2 was possibly the worst coffee on the face of the planet earth it seemed a little easier to pretend it was good by adding a lot of sugar than to go somewhere else for a cup of that miraculous substance.

It had to get her through her day. IT. HAD. TO.

She wasn't sure why she was feeling down.. Maybe it was homesickness..
but ever since she woke up (Or rather her dog, Chewie woke her up) she'd felt in a bit of a down mood. Sluggish, tired. Not at all like her usual self. Then there was the letters from home, making her miss her city, her people!

Sure she'd made a few friends here.. There was Rod, who frankly she wished she had more time with but she understood how his job occupied his time. She considered River a bit of a friend too even though she hadn't spend much time with him. But she needed more friends.. Auror James had been friendly, could she be considered a friend? Hmm...

Perhaps the blonde was just lonely. She heard that was a thing that bothered other people.. It just hadn't gotten to her before.

Her eyes were beginning to hurt. Coming in early to get some of the extra paperwork filed had seemed like a good idea at the time but between settling a fussy kid and a mile of old arrest warrants, search warrants, leads both false and worth a second glance...she was in need of a serious break and possibly an idiot resisting arrest. Nothing quite like getting a few in before taking them to a cell.

Not nearly as willing to settle as her co-worker was, the young woman made her way to Level 3 (everyone knew Level 3 had the best coffee since the days of Aron Ashburry-Hawthorne) then made her way to the breakroom.

Lex kicked her feet up on the table--a habit she developed at her own desk back in the office and sipped appreciatively before turning those inquiring hazel eyes to her coworker. "Did'ja nick that from Level 3? If not, you're missing out." Head Auror by day, Level 3 coffee advocator in her spare time. Seemed legit.

"You look like death." She went on, casually observing. "Long night or a rough case?"

The Alexa Cambridge she was always hearing about walked into the room. The girl looked very young to be so well known. Tempest herself had quite the reputation back in America. But MACUSA was a different beast all together. She felt it would take her time to move up in the ranks here.

"Level 3? nope.. this is from that stupid coffee maker." She pointed to it, Someone had to do something about this coffee. Maybe she'd be that someone.
"I felt too lazy to go to a different level." But the first sip was a horrible as she'd thought and so it was levitated into the sink so it could go down the drain.

"I feel like death.. I couldn't sleep last night and my dog decided it was time to get up before the sun." There was also her workload but that wasn't something she would ever complain about. She had her taskforce and was thankful for the chance to prove herself. Things had been going decently so far even if she did have to put her own life in danger to make an arrest.

"Ah, see that was the first mistake. Level 3 coffee is always worth getting. Next time I head that direction, reckon I'll snag you a cup." How else would she understand the worth? It was one thing to say 'hey, yeah that coffee's worth it' and a whole other to show them. Just so happened that Level 3 had a habit of hiring very good looking Department Heads, leaving the Head Auror with no issues visiting.

The wrinkling of her nose had nothing to do with the sudden change in the taste of her coffee, no it was entirely linked to the mention of the canine. "Never really been a fan of those four legged beasts." Her kneazle was enough, he had always been enough. "My alarm clock is blonde, obnoxious and hopefully on her way to learning any other word but 'no'."

In all honesty, she was usually awake by the time Emmerson decided to start making demands, but there were days when she would have appreciated the extra sleep.

"Doesn't help that it's a slow day all around." Keeping her eyes open? What was that?

"Oh, well thank you." Because the younger Auror didn't have to do that but maybe she was just trying to spread the good news of superior coffee. "Maybe i just need to invest in a new coffee maker for the break room." It wouldn't cost that much and she'd rather spend a little extra than have to go up a floor every time she wanted coffee.

"Ahh well, i'm too old to want to deal with a room mate and i don't have any children so a dog it was." She smiled though. Tempest adored her little Chewbacca. He was a sweetie.. When he wasn't making her get out of bed at the crack of dawn.

It had been a slow day. And it was always the worst because it wasn't like you wanted to wish for a busy day? That seemed like a bad thing to do because you'd be hoping for bad things to happen to others. "I guess a slow day is better than a bad one?" She didn't really believe that herself but it sounded better out loud, didn't it?

"There's an idea." A new coffee maker would make taking her coffee breaks in office a little more tolerable, but she couldn't help thinking it gave her one less excuse to take a trip down to Level 3. Granted, she could go anyway, but a cup of coffee in hand usually made it seem more legit.

Sip. "I remember that roommate phase. Don't reckon I could stand to have one around anymore." Half because she already had Emmerson and didn't want her growing up with just anyone around and half because now, if she needed company, she knew exactly where to go. "Why not a kneazle? They're brilliantly loyal and make for the best of company." Felix had been around for years and she still adored the little ball of fur. If nothing else, his violent tendencies were a major factor in why she kept him around. Bless her little feline baby.

Lex couldn't help but snort at that statement. Whether Chandler meant it or was just trying to remain politically correct was still to be determined, but suffice to say, she didn't agree.

"I'd take a bad day over a slow one any day of the week. What's an Auror to do when the world's in perfect harmony? Retire early? Start hugging trees and baking cookies for goodwill?" Nah, she liked the chaos. Liked the adrenaline. Liked having bad guys to deck. Liked not being in an office all day.

"I'd rather pay for a new one personally than go to another floor." Was that lazy? maybe. But Aurors already had a lot to do and worry about without thinking of going somewhere else entirely for coffee.

Roommates were a thing one shouldn't really do in the stage of life she was in..
unless it was a boyfriend maybe but that was different.. And not really something she had to worry about. "Yeah, i don't think i'd want a roommate in any case." Why not a Kneazle? Crups and Kneazles always seemed so...
weird to her. Something about them rubbed Tempest the wrong way. "I'm just more of a dog person, i guess." Right.

Oh good, so Cambridge wasn't one of those Aurors then. "Merlin, i'm glad you said that. I was just trying to be nice.." She laughed a little bit. "Though, Honestly i'm more of a fan of looking for the trouble instead of waiting for it to find me." Because why not control the situation. There was always something happening someone if one only kept their eyes open.

It was near afternoon here when the seemingly empty room was no longer empty. The six-year-old leapling had taken a moment to check the supplies before deciding on fixing himself a nice cup of cappucino. Delicious.

Luc's work had its moments of freedom as he kept things in tip top shape. After checking the latest security protocols, he decided to take a break and have a good cup to relax. Ahh.. He sighed after taking a sip of some nice cappuccino, for reasons he kept the sugar low. Outside of work he had his own things to fret over. Family, self, friends, others.. etc.

Sometimes his job took a lot from him; relationships, time, energy, sleep. On this particular day it had deprived him of breakfast and a morning run. Payton was a creature of habit.

Needless to say, he was not in his best mood.

His humorless moans announced his entrance to the break room before his stocky figure did. His fingertips pressed against his sinuses, and around his eyes, disfiguring his face on and off--an ugly sight to see for the aesthetically hard to please individuals.

"I'm not dealing with noise complaints until I've had three cups of coffee. At least. AT. LEAST."

There were productive days, and there were nothing-days, and then there were days that were so busy that Jake could barely keep track of what was going on. Today had so far fallen into the category of the third option, and, for that reason, it was time for a well deserved break. Crime and the associated (and frankly unnecessary) paperwork could just wait for a few minutes.

From the noises of discontent coming from the individual he had just followed into the break room, he assumed he was not the only one currently of that mindset.

"Drinking three cups of that stuff is akin to prompting a medical emergency, McNiven," he remarked, already in a better humour than he had been back at his own desk now that a chance to decompress for a moment was finally in his sights. He bypassed the coffee, tea, and the fridge and instead headed straight for his favourite couch, which had sunk so far down over time that he felt rather like he was in a meeting with his own knees. He compensated for this by stretching his legs out and propping them up on the coffee table, which was conveniently at equal height with the couch. Auditore wouldn't mind; he was a tall kid - err... bloke, rather - he understood the need for stretching out the legs from time to time.

Jake looked back over to Payton again, considering him for just a moment. "... Though I wouldn't dare deny you any caffeine right now."

Frankly, Payton had ingested worse.It wasn't appropriate to talk about certain things at work with your coworkers. The law was there to serve and protect, and McNiven would use office policy, in this case, to serve and protect his dignity.

"Don't worry," he said lightly, maneuvering his heavy body towards the coffee pot. "I'll just drink two then, if you're worried about the paperwork that would come with me going into cardiac arrest while on the job."

Well darn if that wasn't right on the money. It always seemed to come down to the paperwork in the end.

"Perhaps save all that for a slow day," Jake suggested. "Maybe when we've got some new YATIs in. What an initiation that would be."

Shutting his eyes, he took of his glasses, before pinching the bridge of his nose and attempting to massage away the ache that had started to form there. Even then, he still tried to stay aware of his surroundings, not because he felt particularly suspicious that day, but so that he could listen out for anyone else approaching the room. All he needed was for some upstart Auror to walk in, see him relaxing, and start spouting the age-old and very quickly tiresome phrase 'constant vigilance'. Wise words, but terribly irritating. As if anyone could truly let their guard down after a few years in this job.

Striding into the break room, note book and pen flying behind her, matching the woman's pace, Aurora immediately took notice of the two other gentle men in the room as well. Two of my co workers? She asked herself in her head. She barely had seen anyone actually around the offices besides Gid. Politely nodding her head in their direction, she said "Good morning, gentlemen."

Then she as well made her way over to the coffee pot and poured her self a cup. Mixing it with some cream and sugar, Aurora had walked over to one of the tables, and the notebook glided down onto it as well.

Sip

After that last mission, Frankie was hungry. Hangry, even. He was still fuming over the mission he had just been on, having had to apprehend some jerk that had the audacity to fight back. While the challenge had been welcome, the blond did not appreciate his face being messed with by the bloke. Cuts and bruises elsewhere were fine, but the face was going too far. Some people had a lot of nerve...

He was still thinking about it as he rummaged through the refrigerator. His blue eyes darting from left to right with the hope that someone had forgotten to label their food, clearly meaning that it was free for the taking (and if he got caught, well, he'd just buy whoever the food belonged to lunch, no big deal). Seeing nothing at first glance, he started moving items around. The good stuff was always hidden in the back.

Bingo! There was a container that had what looked like to be some leftover lasagna in it. Best of all, there was no label on it. So, he took the lid off, nuked it up, and started to dig in after hopping on the counter because right now sitting at a table was the last thing he wanted to do.

As he chewed, the fresh cut on his cheek broke and started bleeding a little. But pay no attention to that. Frankie certainly wasn't. It was part of the job, after all.

Getting hospitalized due to appendicitis was quite a wake-up call for her. Even thought the cause was unknown but Ava admitted that she had abandoned to eat healthily ever since she started working. Coffee and some kind of junk food were two things she mostly consumed here and now she had to change her diet. Every day now, the auror-trainee always brought her own lunch that she or her sister had prepared. On a positive note, bringing her own lunch actually saved her galleons so she could keep them for down payment for her new flat.

After she finished with her magical psychology course, the 19 year-old headed to the break room. Merlin, she was so famished! She had put her lunch box in the refrigerator and left a sticky note on it so hopefully nobody stole her food. As she stepped into the break room, Ava found someone was already there. "Dude, you're bleeding." She told her senior. Was he really starving so the cut on his cheek went unnoticed?

He had been too busy munching away on the lasagna that was currently in his possession. Too busy, in fact, to even notice that Ava had entered the break room. Even though his focus was elsewhere, Frankie still managed to not jump when the her voice sounded. Instead, his face shot up and he temporarily hid the container behind his back.

That ... err ... wasn't hers, right? Because that would have been AWKWARD.

Rather than bring any more attention to the leftovers he had been devouring, the blond played it cool and latched onto the words that the younger one was saying. His check was bleeding? A few fingers brushed up against his face, which ended up getting blood smeared on them. Well, would you look at that!

Unphased, Frankie simply shrugged his shoulders as he swallowed the bit of lasagna that was still in his mouth. "Thanks, Captain Obvious," he replied, grinning. "Something you should probably get used to, considering." Naturally, though, Ava wouldn't have to worry about too much blood. First year of YATI was like being a baby learning how to walk. There wasn't much action, and everything was very baby-proof.

"What brings you here?" And was that lasagna hers?

Grinning, Ava looked at her upperclassman. "You must be famished." To be honest, the former Gryffindor thought it was kind of gross. What if the blood dropped into his food and then he ate it? Ewwwww... At least he should've managed to get it cleaned first but again, he seemed too hungry to make a fuss about his small wound."I have murtlap essence to heal that cut." It's just a small cut so murtlap would heal it quickly. Ever since she joined the YATI program, Ava always kept the first-aid kit on her just in case she needed it, even though on her first year it wasn't as intense as her seniors.

What makes her being here? "It's lunch time." Simply she said as she walked to the refrigerator. I bring my own lunch now because my personal healer said so.." And by personal healers she meant her sister and father. Ah, here's her lunch box. She wondered what Zhenny had made for her. Grilled chicken breast salad and egg whole-wheat sandwich? Such a very healthy menu. Not that she's complaining but sometimes she missed eating food from the cafe across the street or the ministry food court.

Axel had never much appreciated coffee when he was home. No flavor, really. unless it was the kind people considered to be 'good' and then it was just plain bitter. He wasn't much of a fan of tea ether, so in a manner of speaking, the son of Durmstrang was out of luck when he was feeling particularly thirsty and in need of waking up at work.

Long fingers tapped each k-cup as he read them off, none of them sounding anything but lackluster.

Mint Julip? Wasn't that one of those femme drinks? White chocolate mocha? Sounded to him like the kind of thing you ate more than drank. Charleston chew??? Kona Kona Island? Dingleberry?? English Breakfast-

There were in england. Was the Ministry aware? Did the maker of these k-cups aware? then it should have been straight out /breakfast/.

Annoyed, Axel left the cups where he'd dropped them on the counter and walked instead to the water cooler in the corner of the room. He grabbed a cup, his fingers curling harshly around it's diameter as he filled it up to the brim, the water cooler bubbling and gurgling away.

Unsatisfied, he pulled out his wand from his waist holster and changed the water to apple cider. and then, just because he could- he changed all the water in the water cooler into apple cider.

He grinned, mentally congratulating himself as he took a triumphant sip of chilled cider. One thing you couldn't deny about Axel Upstead, he was an inventive young man.

It was shaping up to be another long day, though most of them generally were when he found himself stuck in the office. Paperwork. Always with the paperwork. If someone had warned Jake before applying to the ministry of exactly how much paperwork was involved, he probably would have reconsidered. Except that, you know, he already had left this job once and then willingly returned to it, so sort of already knew what he was getting himself into.

Jake was planning to head out to Diagon Alley that afternoon, to do some patrols and work on this kidnapping case, but first, he needed coffee. He was flagging.

Just stepping foot inside the break room was enough for Jake to recognise someone familiar... more familiar than his other colleagues, that was. And it felt weird, seeing this particular individual as a 'colleague', because he also happened to be Jake's nephew.

"Axel," he said with a smile, as he crossed the room and went right for the coffee. "What are you up to?" Grinning to himself like that... suspicious.

Paper work?? in my government job? It was more likely than you'd think.

Axel, felt none of that weirdness. the teenager been itching for his family to see him as an adult since he'd turned thirteen and now- here it was, the ultimate stamp of adulthood. A real job only a step beneath Jake's.

"Mister Upstead." He said, his lip curling in an amused sneer, he even raised his cup in greeting like he'd seen others do. Take it in, uncle, because Axel was here to stay and yeah- he'd not gotten Yati but it wouldn't stop him. He'd climb the ranks and be the best law enforcer the Ministry- No- England-No- Europe, had ever seen. "Working hard? or hardly working, amirite?"

Mister Upstead. Merlin, that did sound weird. Jake quirked an eyebrow, as he waved his wand at his personal cafetiere that he kept in the kitchenette, lifting the protective enchantments from it - okay, maybe a few years on the job had made him plenty paranoid. He glanced over at Axel as he started making up a batch of proper coffee; he'd never much liked that K-cup stuff.

"Working hard, I hope," he commented, trying to make it obvious that he was being fake-stern. Jake may have been technically above Axel in rank, but he wasn't his boss or anything, and he certainly wasn't his father. The kid - ... err... man - could look after himself, and hopefully felt somewhat at ease around him in the work environment. He leaned on the counted and turned to look at Axel while he waited for his coffee to brew. "How's the job been treating you?"

Jake was the uncle you wanted. Funny, understanding, with a cool job and house full of warmth, food and lately- a strange girl and her baby. He was good at keeping secrets, and good for advice but not so good at imposing authority- Jake needn't worry about his nephew feeling comfortable around him in their new, shared work environment, because if anything it was the opposite.

"Courseeeee." Axel purred out, abandoning his k-cup coffee and staring longingly at his uncle's nicer setup. He was making Axel a cup too, right? right? it was only polite and they were blood. The German born boy- for he was still, very much a boy, leaned with his elbows flat against the cool surface of countertop and watched the cafetiere as steam rose. "They've got me doing paper work, it's like they don't even know who I am." he said, rolling his dark brown eyes up to high heaven. He was from durmstrang, he'd been on the combat team (secondary but still) and he was an Upstead and that meant something or at least it should have.

Glancing up from his brewing coffee, which he had gone back to watching with an expression of poorly suppressed longing, Jake saw a similar look upon his nephew's face. Just about keeping himself from laughing, he gave a small nod - more to himself than anything - to indicate he'd pour a second cup out.

"Well, they probably don't," he pointed out, drumming his fingers on the counter with growing rapidity. His cafetiere was bewitched to brew the coffee faster than a regular mundane one, but he still needed to wait at least a few moments, and Jake's patience levels were a little unpredictable. "But... yeah, the paperwork is hardly the best part of the job. And there's always more to do." Deciding the coffee was good and brewed, Jake poured it out with his right hand while simultaneously conjuring up two mugs with the wand suddenly held in his left. "Don't worry; you'll be in the thick of it before long. Always something to do in this department." He pushed the second mug towards Axel, and started sipping from his own.

Axel grinned. Family, always coming in at the clutch. Ready to save his bum from whatever terrible choice he might've made - in this case a terrible cup of coffee. Casually, he turned his mug upside down in the sink and grinned broadly as the brown liquid went splat on the silver surface before sloshing down into the drain.

The point was well made but something about it - possibly the underlining truth that he wasn't as well established as he pretended to be - irked Axel and he grimaced, his displeasure unhidden. "They should." He muttered without any further explanation, turning away from Jake to turn on the sink. the German-Born wizard's mug still retained a stain from and he busied himself washing it clean to avoid any further conversation regarding his lack of... agency.