Thomas smiled at Jetson and said "Pleasure to meet you Jetson, so what brings you to the park on this fine but cold day"

The man shrugged. "Just trying to clear my head is all." Jetson told the man. "Yourself? What brings you to the park? I'm sure it's not some kind of short cut?" He tried to joke. He was never good at making jokes. What was there even to do in a park in the winter time? More things normally go on when it's summer time.

Thomas smiled at Jetson and said "Just getting my daily exercise in, i walk regularly and the park is part of my route"

If it was meant to be a hard truth that left her unsettled, it hadn't done its job. For all the bad it sometimes got her, Lex still quite liked the idea that she wasn't everyone's cup of tea and that not everyone could handle her. It helped to sift through the people in her life. All that mattered was that the people she liked also liked her and so far that hadn't been a problem. "Hazards aren't bad once you know your way around them." She replied, not only in relation to herself but life itself. Some of the best things out their were also potentially life threatening and/or bad for ones health.

"At this rate though, I wouldn't share a single thing with any of them. Not dental hygiene tips and most certainly nothing that could save their lives--unless there's something in it for me." As it happened, Alexa Cambridge had never been raised to be nice to those who'd slighted her. It just didn't work that way.

If she looked carefully enough, she could see the way Rhydian reacted to Fox's name and it might have prompted a whole nother conversation in itself but then he mentioned Downtown London and all the noises and dinner.

"That's perfect though! You don't need to muffle the noises, they're meant to remind you you're alive and not living in a bubble. If I decided to stay in the country for the night I'm usually on that side of town--you should have told me sooner, I really could have popped by!" On those few nights she ever bothered to be in England anymore that is. "We can leave together after work." She was becoming more cheerful by the moment. "Do I get to pick what you cook?"

Jetson nodded and understood very well. "This does seem like a nice park for a goo exercise." He was surprised that he hadn't thought of that sooner.

All her words really needed was a knowing smile. Wasn't it just the truth, the words she spoke? Really, why hadn't the examiners let her in? He couldn't think of the foggiest idea. And his grin, said just as much.

Stuffing the rest of his sandwich down his gullet, Rhydian replaced the smile with a shrug. "Think there's something called 'passing the bar'." Or was that some sort of muggle term? At any rate, the concept stood.

Lex was going to have to give something if she wanted to become an Auror. Having her stubborn attitude repeatedly, while endearing for those who knew and appreciated her, was not going to serve her well on any sort of test or examination. But they could work on that later. For now, the sun was getting high and the hour dragging on.

"I like living in a bubble." Didn't she totally know? Standing and cracking his back, Rhydian offered his hand down to her to help her off the bench. Not that it was needed, but chivalry and such. Or so he liked to think. "And I wasn't done decorating. Didn't want to get the full ear about lacking furniture of mismatched colors."

Lex and her family did seem to have a thing about interior decorating after all. "As long as it has something green in it, I suppose you can pick."

She didn't know what he meant by 'passing a bar' or what it had to do with hazards and health advice to Examiners but Lex was willing to chalk it up to Rhydian being Rhydian so she would just...munch her sandwich with a small nod of agreement to whatever it was he might have meant. Passing bars, yup.

The last of her meal had just gone into her mouth when he was rising and offering his hand. Were they heading back already? An hour wasn't enough. The Ministry was still the last place Lex wanted to be at the moment--but she didn't fancy losing her job for as much as it sucked right now and being put on some disciplinary probation for truancy would only add insult to injury. With a VERY reluctant sigh, Alexa took hold of his hand and pulled herself up from the bench.

"Bubbles are boring and I don't care how much furniture you have." He was on the right track with the mismatched stuff though. It had a certain...intrigue to it. "I'm still not done decorating my other apartment so..." All good. Not even gonna mention the third that needed a full scale remodel. A project for a time she needed an especially large distraction and too much time on her hands she supposed.

As for something green...."Does food colouring count?"

Bubbles were boring, huh? Rhydian gave her a quizzical look for that statement. As far as he was concerned with his interpretations, Lex had her own type of bubble. He doubted she would try and classify it as boring, but Merlin help the person that tried to pop it.

Still, that was a point that would likely earn him a microwave dinner all on his lonesome, so he kept his mouth shut. Instead, he opted for the furniture route. "I'll remember to invite you into the bare bones of the next house I purchase."

She'd probably be better at decorating than him. He gave her a side eye. "Surprised you don't have any of those natural 'nesting' habits to take the edge off your stress." As in, instead of wandering around the world at all hours of the evening. Why not rearrange furniture? Wasn't it easier and simply more....simple?

Then again, this was Lex and simple didn't seem to be a thing often in her vocabulary. Tossing a grin her way, Rhydian shrugged. "I suppose it's a start."

Mariel was slightly surprised that a former classmate was working at the Ministry now, but she was happy at the chance to catch up. Juniper Goodwin was a name that she hadn't heard in a while, but it was one she remembered well. Mariel remembered pretty much everyone she played with on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team rather fondly.

Lunch was a good a time as any to have a visit without thinking too much about work or worrying about children, and being a nice day, she thought they could head out of doors. Working as hard as she had been with the youth games, Mariel needed to get out of the office and what she remembered of Juni, she was sure she could appreciate the park. She had been quite the tree hugger the last she knew.

Carrying her packed lunch and coffee, the 34 year old headed to the park on her extended lunch break. Finding a suitable bench near the pond, she took a seat and waited for her company to arrive as well.

Ah, the great outdoors! Juniper appreciated every breath she took on her way to the park. She did not think she would ever get used to working inside all day every day. Even if she was still in the greenhouses fairly often, they were still indoors, and it was a big change from the last time she'd had a regular job, when most of her days had been spent traipsing through rainforest or studying the samples they had gathered. Living in a big city like London was wonderful and all, but she still missed living among nature.

She was actually surprised she hadn't been to this park sooner. She hadn't really explored the areas around the Ministry much, but when her old classmate Mariel had suggested a picnic in the park, Juniper had been thrilled. She didn't remember much about Mariel other than her being sprightly and pretty good at Quidditch, but the park meeting place itself made her glad she had reached out.

Juniper pursed her lips as she reached the pond and looked around. Where was Mariel exactly? Oh! There! On a bench! Juniper breathed a sigh of relief and waved to the other woman as she approached. Juniper had barely recognized her. "Hello, Mariel! You look well!"

Mariel allowed her eyes to wander to the edge of the pond as she waited and she watched a couple ducks looking for food a few moments. Her thoughts began to wander and she thought about tossing the crusts of her sandwiches to them. Once she was finished eating of course. She glanced into her bag. Maybe she could get started on her lunch as she was growing quite hungry. It wouldn't be rude if she didn't completely wait for Juniper to take a couple bites, would it?

But she didn't have to wait any longer anyway as she soon caught sight of a woman approaching her with a wave. Mariel gave her a smile and a nod in return as she neared. "Hi, Juniper! It's so good to see you." Not normally a huggy person, Mariel got up from the bench and gave her a hug anyway. She would make an exception for a former housemate and member of her team. "I hope you didn't mind the park," she added as she returned to her seat. "I think I remembered you to be a nature lover... plus I sort of needed to get out of the office." Or else she might have suggested the food court. But with all the planning she had done lately, it was nice to take a break from it and get out.

Gooood. It really was Mariel. Juniper breathed a sigh of relief, cut short by the hug from Mariel. Hug? Ok. Luckily Juniper had grown out of the personal space issues of her childhood. She hugged her old friend back and then smiled broadly at the woman. "I don't mind the park at all," she said as she took a seat next to Mariel on the bench. While Juniper wouldn't have minded sitting on the grass, she understood that Mariel probably did not want to get dirt on her work outfit. "I get plenty of nature in the office, but it's still a nice change of scenery," she agreed. And Mariel had needed to get out of the office. But which office? Juniper couldn't remember if she knew what Mariel actually did for the Ministry or not.

"Remind me which department you're in again?" she asked after a brief pause during which she dug a sandwich out of her pocket and started unwrapping it. Yeah. Surely Mariel would love talking about her job. Most people loved talking about themselves and their accomplishments, and that meant Juniper could mostly just listen and eat her sandwich.

Good. Mariel was glad to know that the park had been a good choice to meet for lunch today. She had figured it would be a fairly safe bet and truthfully she needed a little fresh air herself. Even if some of her event planning led her out of doors to the stadium, much of her work was in the office paperwork.

Now that Juniper was there, she thought nothing of getting started on her lunch and she pulled the sandwich from her bag. Taking a bite, she glanced back at the other woman as she spoke. Nature in the office... That meant DERP, right? Mariel was fairly certain that was where she ended up. "So what is your position in the Ministry?" There was a time when she couldn't care less about Herbology but since Ethan got more involved with that type of thing, she at least held a vague interest in it. And she wondered if that was what Juniper did too, though she knew that department did other things as well.

Ah, and of course the same question was posed to her as well. She supposed that it would make sense to start with talking about one's job when catching up and she smiled lightly. "I'm the Department Head for Magical Games and Sports. I've been with the department for... hmm, almost ten years now." Wow. Where did all that time go? "Department Head for six... We have a pretty big event coming up, hopefully you'll be able to come." She was actually pretty proud of it and the hard work her team was doing with it.

Magical Games and Sports. Cool. Juniper smiled when Mariel talked about her job. Ten years at the Ministry of Magic... whoa. Ten years ago, Juniper had just quit her last regular job. Herbology research in the rainforest didn't really lend itself to motherhood, after all. "That's amazing," Juniper said, a little bit in awe. "You were always good at Quidditch, so it's not too much of a surprise." After all, Ravenclaws like them were high achievers.

Then Mariel asked about her own job. Juniper took a quick bite of her sandwich so she could have a quick minute to collect her thoughts. "I'm the Lead Caretaker in the Department of Environmental Regulation and Protection," she said. "It's a recent change, but so far I'm enjoying it. I get to work with the upkeep of the Ministry's greenhouses."

Oh. Wait. But what had Mariel said about an event her department was planning? Juniper was not very involved with all the goings on at the Ministry. She had the bad habit of going in and out of the office without really speaking to anyone outside the department. "What sort of event are you planning? Is it family friendly?" She was sure the kids would like to see whatever sporting event was coming up, if they could.

Meredith Stewart had not meant to keep anyone waiting. It wasn’t anything she ever intended on doing. She had even intended on meeting up with Mr. Reed the moment he had inquired about her expertise but seeing as she was one of the only active Hag Agents in her department things had gotten a little…pushed back?

She had yet to even meet the Foreign Relations officer…which was a shame considering the handful of people that she had managed to know from work seemed to consist of people from her floor, her brother, and well…she grinned to herself and continued wondering what to say when she finally met the Foreign Relations officer. ”Hi I’m Meredith…I like animals more than people” probably wasn’t a stellar way to start any conversation about well…anything.

Sitting down at one of the park benches the Hag Agent looked around at everyone as they walked past…the act was foolish really, it wasn’t like she had any idea what Ryden looked like.

Text Cut: the note

Dear Ms. Meredith Stewart,

I am Ryden Reed, Foreign Relations Officer from Level 5. I am writing this note to ask you a thing or two about your specialty in handling Hags. I was referred to you by the HR on Level 1 regarding this matter.

I would like to request a meeting with you, at a mutually convenient time and place.

Thank you for taking your time to read this note. I look forward to meeting you.

Best regards,

Ryden Reed

After checking out the scene in Exmoor for the final touches in the Youth Quidditch League, Ryden had to literally ran to the City Park to meet with Miss Stewart. The whole Ministry was very preoccupied with the event that he himself overlooked to do a follow-up on their meeting.

Reaching the park, he unbuttoned his shirt's collar and looked around...wildly for the Hag specialist. Merlin. He too doesn't know how she looked like. Surely, she doesn't resemble her...specialty?

Walking further, he eyed every patch of green in the park...as well as the occupied benches. "MISS MEREDITH STEWART??"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stefan

After checking out the scene in Exmoor for the final touches in the Youth Quidditch League, Ryden had to literally ran to the City Park to meet with Miss Stewart. The whole Ministry was very preoccupied with the event that he himself overlooked to do a follow-up on their meeting.

Reaching the park, he unbuttoned his shirt's collar and looked around...wildly for the Hag specialist. Merlin. He too doesn't know how she looked like. Surely, she doesn't resemble her...specialty?

Walking further, he eyed every patch of green in the park...as well as the occupied benches. "MISS MEREDITH STEWART??"

There was yelling…wait there was someone yelling her name? Meredith stood up and looked around until she spotted the person and began walking over. “Ryden? Ryden Reed?” She asked and smiled before pushing her hand toward him…what was with this ministry and well…attractive people? She thought to herself momentarily before just smiling at him.

“Hi. I’m Meredith Stewart,” she chewed her lip “sorry I took so long to get back to you about meeting up – I know you wanted to speak with me about Hag related business?” She asked and grinned…gosh maybe she’d actually get some field work and be able to get away from her desk?

Mariel took another bite of sandwich and thought over her own words as she chewed. Ten years was such a long time to be in one place. Especially in a job that she hadn't been completely sure about at first. Where had the time gone? It was Juniper's words that snapped her out of her thoughts though. "Oh.. well, thanks," she smiled. "I actually played pro Quidditch for a short time before I went to the Ministry. Well, I was on reserve, but it still counts," she added with a light chuckle.

Yes, Mariel had figured Juniper to be in the Environmental Department so her answer was not much of a surprise. "Oh, Lead Caretaker... you must have a lot of experience to be placed there as a new employee. What did you do before coming to the Ministry?" She figured that it would also be plant related. "My nephew works in the same department in the German Ministry," she added as an afterthought.

Mariel was rather excited to talk about what they were planning in the coming weeks. "We'll be hosting the International Youth Quidditch Tournament. We just got word that the two top teams of the U17 division are Ireland and Norway." She would have loved it if England was one of the teams, but it was still exciting to be able to host the tournament. "And yes, it is family friendly, there will be lots to do including watching the match. I might bring my children, but we'll see, since I should be working it as well." She tilted her head as she gave Juniper a side-glance. "Do you have kids?" It was always interesting to find out who from school had little ones of their own, and she was pretty sure at their age most did.

Sandwiches were just such a great lunch food. Juniper had almost finished her sandwich, though, so she paused before her last bite to marvel at Mariel's Quidditch experience and explain how she had gotten to the ministry. Weird circumstances, to be sure, but she would calm it down for Mariel's sake. Short and sweet, that was how Juniper told stories.

Smiling wistfully because she had really loved her first job, Juniper thought way back to before her kids. "I worked for a herbology researcher in the Amazon right after I graduated," she said. That had been so much fun. She missed the brainpower that job required. "Then later, I ran my own small greenhouse that supplied the local apothecary and a few potions-makers. The greenhouse didn't have any dangerous plants, though. Just the basic flutterby bushes, some vegetables, not too many mandrakes." After all, there was always the chance her kids would wander in and try to play with a pretty plotted plant. She couldn't have any Devil's snare sitting around with those risks.

A youth Quidditch tournament? That was something her sons and daughter would absolutely love. If it had been Gobstones, maybe not, but those kids loved the action of Quidditch. And maybe they would want to make some local friends who also liked Quidditch. Maybe even Gabriel would come. "That sounds like quite an undertaking! I'll try to bring my family, I'm sure they'd love to support the Ministry and see some sports." Oh, Mariel had children, too! Juniper hadn't thought to ask. "Yes, I have three boys and one daughter," Juniper said. "Isabella's about to start at Hogwarts, actually. She's very excited about it."

"How long until your kids go to Hogwarts?" Juniper asked. She was assuming it would be a few years, since she was a bit older than Mariel.

Mariel turned slightly towards Juniper as she ate, listening as she spoke. "Oh, the Amazon? I actually have a vacation home in Brazil. I got married there." She didn't know exactly which part of South America Juniper had worked in or how close it would have been to her house, but it seemed enough like a small world coincidence to her. She did wonder where her greenhouse would have been, whether it was local or not. Not that she held much interest in plants, but she did brew many of her own potions and would find it interesting if she had purchased something Juni had grown herself.

She laughed lightly. "It has really kept us on our toes these past few months, but I know it will be worth it. It will be a great time for the community and it will be the next step in hosting the World Cup." That was what her goal was and she knew if she could pull this off it would look so good in her favor. Oh good, she would love it if she brought her children. Four? Mariel wasn't sure she could handle that many. "Oh, really? Mine are still pretty young yet. Regina is four and Alejandro is two." It seemed like most people she knew from school either had children quite a bit older than hers or none at all. Funny. "I'm not sure that they'll be going to Hogwarts though." Not after what she experienced or knew about the school since, but she wouldn't judge someone else for that decision.

"Oh wow!" Mariel had been relatively close to Juniper, and Juni had never known. Well, relatively compared to the entire world. "I lived in Brazil briefly, but I lived in Peru for most of the time I was in South America. When our children were born, we wanted to be closer to my husband's family." She hadn't been about to leave South America just so her babies could be close to her own parents, so they had compromised by living near Gabe's siblings.

Juniper nodded as Mariel explained the youth Quidditch event. She was sure her family would enjoy the event, it was just a matter of making it fit in their schedule. Hmm, Mariel's children seemed a bit young to have playdates with her own children. Six-year-old boys didn't get along great with four-year-old girls, she knew from experience with her own children and her niece. But Mariel's children weren't going to Hogwarts? Juniper found that odd since she worked for the Ministry. But who was she to judge? "We had originally planned to send them to Castelobruxo, since it's such a great school, but things changed," she explained vaguely. "I think we'll still send them to Castelobruxo on exchange, though, I did that towards the end of my schooling and it was incredibly rewarding." And then she had just... stayed in South America. Because the plants were so great. "It seems like you have plenty of time to decide where to send them, though!"

Well, it really was a small world, wasn't it? Though as Juniper spoke about it, Mariel realized that they were probably there at different times. Still, it would have been interesting to have run into each other while there. "So what brought you back to England then?" Certainly not to just get a job with the Ministry here as it sounded like she had a decent job back there, so she figured she must have a story. There had been a reason for Mariel to return this way after years in another country as well, but she didn't find it necessary to mention.

Castelobruxo, yes, Mariel knew of that school and she nodded at the mention, having had it on her mind recently. "Oh, you went there?" She hadn't realized that, though she knew her and Juniper's years at Hogwarts overlapped for a short time. A year or two perhaps. And it had been a while ago for her to remember all that clearly anyway. She briefly wondered how much it would have changed her life if she had been spent time there instead of Durmstrang when she did, but she knew that didn't matter now. "Castelobruxo is actually on the short list for my children also. I had thought about looking into it, but there is also the Spanish school my husband went to." It was a smaller school, but she thought it was good enough for him and his side of the family. Though they did have residence in Brazil, so it was still up in the air. And it was good to hear another person call it a great school. "But yes, you are right. There is still a little bit of time to decide yet."

Juniper was done eating her whole lunch, she realized. She tried not to look at her watch, but she could guess how much time had passed. Longer than she normally took to eat lunch, for sure. But why did she move back to England, Mariel had asked? Juniper sighed. She didn't want to go into the nitty gritty details. "There were some family issues," she said. "We needed to be closer to my parents for awhile, so it just worked out to send the kids to Hogwarts." She nodded again when Mariel mentioned some Spanish school. She always forgot that there were schools other than Hogwarts and Castelobruxo. She never really had a reason to think about them.

"I'm really glad we were able to get together to catch up," Juniper said after a brief pause. "We should do this again sometime."

Mariel had been finished with her sandwich and decided she wasn't quite hungry enough for the rest. Funny, when she had been so hungry before Juniper had arrived. But she might have a bite of her fruit mid-afternoon. It had been nice to just sit and enjoy the nice weather and company though.

She got the idea that Juniper didn't really want to talk about what prompted her and her family to move back locally. And she could understand that need for privacy. "Well, I hope everything works out," she smiled. "It is always nice to be closer to family." Not that Mariel had much choice in the matter anymore for her own situation.

"Me too," she said, gathering her things and getting up from the bench. Mariel knew that they had been at the park for at least their allotted lunch time. "It was good to see you, but I suppose we should be heading back." They really should make a point to meet for lunch once in a while.

It's always good to be back to London.

He just arrived in London after a leaving for Spain for ten days. It wasn't for working purpose, Gary just did a short getaway and have so much fun there. And now he's back and decided to spend some time around this park before heading to his apartment. You know, let him enjoy London's weather and getting used to it.

Putting his backpack down, the Canadian took a seat at one of the bench.