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Pequod Café and Bakery Nestled on a street corner, just a few blocks from the entrances to the Ministry of Magic, sits the Pequod. Brushed aluminum tables and matching curved seats stretch down the block from the door, inviting anyone who wants to stop for a cup of coffee or a scone to take a seat. Pale green and white umbrellas protect customers from the elements. |
Kat/Simon Arms laden down with shopping bags Sophie Connolly made her way through London in search of the new Cafe and Bakery her mother had been raving about in her latest owl. A scone and a cup of coffee would sit nicely after spending most of the her day running in and out of shops on her day off from work. Heading into the small cafe when she finally found it Sophie made a beeline for a empty corner booth. Sitting down she signalled a waitress that just past by her both. Ordering a large cup of coffee and tray of scones from her Sophie fished out her latest edition of the witch weekly. She took care to not flash around with it since she was sitting amongst muggles. |
Mariel was doing her best to keep her frustrations at bay. She wasn't so sure it was just about the Muggle atmosphere, because normally she didn't mind those things even finding some of it quaint, but being immersed in it, well the most dilapidated bits of it, was wearing on her patience. She was sure it was more about her building needing to be condemned more than anything and the fact that it was difficult for her to help keep the spirits of her employees up long enough for them to get any work done. The 28 year old needed to get out of the crumbling rubble all around her even if just for a few minutes and decided to head out for a lunch break. Unable to find Victoria to see if she wanted to accompany her, Mariel headed towards a more inhabited part of London, taking the horrid bus again. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she was getting somewhat used to the public transportation. Not that she would ever prefer that over anything else. Once off the bus, she walked through the street, green eyes glancing to the building that hid the Ministry underneath. She certainly hoped someone would figure out this mess soon. She was anxious to get back to some semblance of normalcy. It was her intention to go to Diagon Alley and she walked that way, but a small cafe caught her eye. Was it new? She knew this was still a Muggle area and had even visited some of the establishments here, but she was sure she had never ventured into this particular location. It looked promising and why not try something new. A smile instantly came over her face as she pushed open the door and stepped inside. So chic and the aroma wafting around her was so enticing. Taking a few minutes to make up her mind as everything looked so tempting, Mariel ordered a tuna salad croissant and a caramel cafe latte. She would have to order some of the pastries to take home later, she thought, as she found a table in the somewhat crowded cafe. |
While not the avid coffee drinker that most in his department were, Simon didn't mind the occasional cup in difference to his preferable cup of tea or even hot chocolate. And so the auror had decided to check out a new local that he had heard about through the grapevine of ministry employees. Ironically it was closer to the actual ministry of magic than most of not all of the new arrangements which made it just a tad odd to be finding it now. Crossing the street from where he had spotted it, the young man stepped inside acting normal. Muggle local, muggle behavior, though it wasn't as if Simon was one for flashing his magic and such around. He looked around to spot a seat and to see if anyone familiar was around. It was a Ministry hot spot after all. Instead he did a double take as he spotted a seemingly familiar face not from the job but from school. "Sophie?" he questioned curiously as he walked closer. |
Cynthia came into the Café. She wouldn't normally have eaten at a restaurant, but after an incident with the Ministry toilet entrances, her lunch was soaked. The thing was, Cynthia had a little bit of a fear of restaurants. She always made her own food because you never know when something could be baked in peanut oil or have made cross-contamination with peanuts, which would make her go into anaphylactic shock and die. TMI, she thought to herself. She was still surveying the menu as the waiter came. "What can I get you, ma'am?" he asked. "Do your tuna sandwiches have anything with peanuts?" She doubted it, but she had to make sure. "No, they have tuna, lettuce, mayonnaise, and bread." "Okay, I'll get that, then." "Would ya like a drink with that?" "No thank you." |
SPOILER!!: Mariel Perhaps the best thing to have come out of today thus far, was an appointment cancellation. This effectively left a forty minute gap in her schedule for the day, and provided her with enough time to surface from the underground and grab herself some much needed sustenance. She had always anticipated a hectic and full start to the New Year, but with the lock out among other things, her time was scarce and more limited than before - if that were even possible. She'd considered a stop-in at the Ministers Office, but for such a short excursion, without food, well.. it'd have to wait, again. Entering the cafe, Emily immediately approached the counter, knowing full well what she wanted. With a cinnamon scroll and a double shot latte, Emily turned to survey the space. She needed a seat, because there was no way she was going to go back to her hole in the ground just yet, a bit of vitamin D would do her wonders. It was then that she picked out a familiar face in the crowd. "Mariel, mind if I join you?" she asked the woman upon her approach, she hadn't had the opportunity to congratulate the woman on her promotion, this might be that opportunity now. |
SPOILER!!: Emily She was soon snapped out of her reverie by a voice speaking her name and she looked back at her table to see a familiar face. "Emily.." Mariel allowed a small smile to appear on her lips at the sight of the woman. "Please.." She gestured to the open spot across from her at the question, though she would have likely offered anyway. "I could certainly do with the company." Things had been rather tense at G&S lately and maybe a change in conversation would be helpful. She took a sip of her latte. "So, how are things in your neck of the woods.. or.. below the ground?" She was rather curious how the other departments were making out and that's where MLE was, right? |
SPOILER!!: Mariel There was no hesitancy in claiming the seat the moment Mariel greeted her. "Thanks," it was appreciated, cue reciprocated smile. Placing her glass down, Emily proceeded by pulling out the seat and plopping herself on it, setting her pastry in front of her. It didn't look nearly as filling as Mariel's order, but it was the cinnamon she craved more than anything else. Company was not something Emily usually did, no, she preferred to avoid people at all cost, but today she'd make an exception - especially for a fellow Head. Her neck of the woods? Emily sipped at her latte before shaking her head side to side in thought. "It could be worse," she concluded, "I mean, it's hardly ideal, but we're settling into a routine." Needless to say they didn't have a great deal to work on, which seemed to pose a problem for some. Honestly, did they not have any initiative when it came to adapting to situations out of the norm? ... ... "How about yourself? ... not the best of timing for you, and, congratulations by the way." If she hadn't stepped into the role last year, she'd have had a much harder time wrangling her employees into line and setting them on task, so she could appreciate how Mariel must have been feeling, all things considered. Lockouts were exhausting in that sense. With any luck they'd make some headway with that soon enough. |
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Sophie was just about to turn a page when a familiar voice addressed her. Tilting her dark brown haired head around, she exclaimed in happy surprise. "Simon?" Giving her fellow ex- Gryffindor a hug she smiled. "How have you been?" |
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"I've been alright," he answered, debating a move and finally joining by sitting across from her. "Busy actually. " Boy had it been busy these past few years. "And yourself?" Simon added, being polite and returning the favor on her. |
Cynthia wasn't sure, but she thought she recognized some people from the Ministry. She was overwhelmed by all the muggles. Normally she wouldn't have, but she was also wearing robes, which probably meant they'd recognize her eventually anyway, so she made her way to sit down with two witches she barely knew. Blech, this was uncomfortable. As she was coming to the other table, the waitress arrived. "Bring it over here," Cynthia said, motioning to where she was headed. She plopped down at the table, and once the waitress had left, began to speak. "I'm Cynthia de la Rosa," she introduced herself stiffly. "I work in the IMC department. And you two?" |
SPOILER!!: Emily She listened to the MLE speak of her own experiences regarding the new arrangements and she nodded a bit in understanding as she sipped on her latte. She seemed to be remaining as positive as one could in such a situation and Mariel certainly knew the feeling. "Routine is crucial especially when things are so.. out of the ordinary," she mused aloud, agreeing with a thoughtful nod. An organized chaos perhaps, but she felt it lent some stability to being thrust into their less than ideal environments. Green eyes found their way to Emily again as she offered her congratulations and Mariel could not help the small smile to cross her lips. She was rather happy with her appointment, no matter how dire the circumstances. "Well, thank you," she said with a small, appreciative bow of the head. "Certainly not the best of timing, no," she added with a shrug. She thought it difficult enough to slide into the managerial role without the added stress of relocating to a falling apart Muggle building. "Though I've always loved a challenge." She grinned a little at the thought, that indeed it was. "It does add considerably to the workload though, what with the cleaning, getting appropriate protection into place, and just keeping up worker morale." In addition to other things. She took another sip of her latte as she considered the woman in front of her. She hadn't been a Department Head long either and had any of her own challenges, she was sure she could relate. "Have you found any difficulty in moving from being a peer among your co-workers to becoming their supervisor?" Just hypothetical, from one Head to another. Quote:
She raised an inquisitive eyebrow as the woman unceremoniously seated herself at their table, then shot a questioning glance at Emily. Friend of hers? But apparently not as the woman introduced herself to both of them, asking them the same rather abruptly. She was a little taken aback by the woman's boldness and simply gave her a side-long glance as she considered things. "Mariel Morgan.. Games and Sports," she finally answered, still watching her carefully. She supposed the woman recognized them from the Ministry though Mariel certainly couldn't place her. But it might do her well to be a little more careful in a Muggle establishment. |
SPOILER!!: Mariel Tucking into her scroll, Emily teared away strips of pastry, essentially undoing the tight pastry coil to reveal the heavenly cinnamon sugar within. She didn't think it rude to eat with her fingers, and the thought hadn't even crossed her mind that it may be off-putting to her company. It was food. It was pastry. Cutlery only served to be an inconvenience in such circumstances. Raising a finger to her lips, Emily sucked off the sticky icing glaze that had clung to her fingertip. Emily nod her head in agreement. Out of the ordinary, that was one way of putting it. "It will work for now, until they get restless..." which was possible considering how tightly strung most of them were. Taking a sip of her latte to wash down the pastry, Emily listened, curious to hear how Games and Sports were faring and how Mariel was finding her time as Head. Her lips curled in both amusement and understanding as Mariel conveyed her experiences. It wasn't easy, and it was certainly a heavier work load, especially now. "I completely understand where you're coming from," she mused, picking at her scroll again. As for how she handled her promotion. Well that was going back some time. Though it was only a year, she felt it'd been a life time, the experience was certainly ageing her in that respect. "My views on life are skewed, apparently," she started, giving Mariel fair warning, "so I would assume my definition of difficulty is too." She didn't seem to see challenges in the same way that others did. Her smile extending to her hazel eyes, Emily continued. "I'll admit, it wasn't easy stepping up when I did, all things considered. And criticism was always to be expected regardless of my age or experience..." The whole de Talone and Ferguson was certainly put a spanner in the works for her from the word go. Picking up the department as it had been was not an easy task, and to think they had just been getting back on track when this all went south, again. At least it wasn't her fault, or at least, she didn't think it was. "However, I'm fortunate enough to have some great staff, so I can't say it was all that difficult. There have always been challenges, these ones are just different to what I was used to at the time." It was just one of those things. If she wasn't a workaholic to begin with, then she'd have had a hellish time, but it was nothing new to her. Her years of service and unparalleled work ethic had paid off in the end -- even if she missed being an active Auror. Quote:
........ Oh? Emily exchanged a look with Mariel, it seemed this one wasn't hers which left her sitting and staring blankly. She knew muggles were weird creatures, but surely even they had their limits, no? It wasn't until the woman introduced herself and her department that she blinked. IMC? ... Righto then. "Emily Browne, Law Enforcement..." she supplied after Mariel's introduction. ... Well this wasn't the least bit awkward. Emily popped some more scroll in her mouth and raised her glass to her lips, downing a considerable portion of her latte. Welcome to the party? |
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Taking a sip of her coffee as Simon sat down across from her she smiled. "I've been okay too." This Cafe full of muggles probably wasn’t the best venue to drag up all her family drama. “And busy, I work at St Mungos now.” "So where do you work? Do you still keep in touch with any of the old housemates from School?" Sophie asked curiously her words almost bouncing over each other. |
SPOILER!!: Sophie Simon settled into place, his arms casually placed on the table before him as he listened for an answer of any type from her. He couldn't place anything from within his memory that gave him an idea on what to expect. Anything he had heard her say about her future from back then. Not that he needed to search back for Sophie answered straight away anyway. St. Mungos...certainly seemed fitting in some ways. "That's great." And it was. And given how she had been in school, how they both had been at Hogwarts, was it any real wonder that they had both followed paths into public service? "At the Ministry," he answered before adding in clarification. "I work in law enforcement." No specifics at the moment because auror was kind of something limited to the wizarding world after all. And mention of security, a normal, muggle-sounding profession, didn't come to mind at first to attach it at the end of his statement. |
Quoting Mariel and Emily... Cynthia was feeling like a daredevil just for going over. These two women, she was pretty sure, were department heads. Where did she fit in? But the regret of her infrequent bout of sociableness didn't show on her face as she bit into her tuna sandwich. "I'm new," she explained, though they could maybe tell, "and so far it's hectic. How are your departments dealing with...you know...the problem." She jerked her head toward the regular entrances to the Ministry. Cynthia was surprised at her own new nature. She guessed it was out of curiosity. The witch really wanted to know more about the blocked-Ministry situation. |
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And apparently the last place Sophie wanted to work at this point in her life was just where Simon worked. She could almost giggle at the funny coincidence but kept it to herself. She didn’t want to potentially offend him. "So why law enforcement? Why not quidditch? I seem to remember that you were pretty apt at quidditch when we were in school." Sophie asked curiously as she took another coffee sip. |
SPOILER!!: Emily and Cynthia The 28 year old did wonder about her fellow Head's opinions on changing relationships once one was a supervisor instead of just coworker. She had been having something of an issue there since she had been with her own department for four years now and maybe this was something of a change for some of her now employees, not that Mariel exactly had issue with commanding authority, but it was more of an issue of friendship and how that might change. Perhaps Emily didn't have that issue in her own department though and Mariel was reluctant to expand much more on the subject now that they had company at their table. Green eyes shifted towards the newcomer as she spoke up and Mariel took a long sip of her latte as she mulled over her words. She was new.. to the Ministry or the area in general? The brunette was unsure, still a bit off-put by the woman's intrusion, though she supposed she could attribute that to.. a desire to make acquaintances within a new community? Still, there were more conventional ways of going about that. But she'd give her the benefit of the doubt for now and play nice. Her eyes casually followed the direction of where Cynthia had jerked her head before settling on the woman again. "Hectic is a word for it," she started, somewhat amused. "Certainly isn't ideal," she continued, choosing her words carefully. "But we're managing. An airplane hangar probably would not be my first choice, but it suits our needs.. for now." She had to internally chuckle at the idea of actually being in charge of airplanes had she worked there as a muggle. Just.. no. "You're not enjoying your arrangement?" she asked, tilting her head curiously towards her. She said IMC, right? She had spoken to Gidyun about his department. Didn't seem nearly as bad minus the muggles sticking their noses in their business. |
SPOILER!!: Sophie Simon had caught the waitress and managed to get himself his own drink without causing commotion. A slight but almost natural pause in the conversation between the two former classmates as the young man awaited a reaction from Sophie. And when it came he almost laughed, catching himself in time given he had just taken a sip from his hot tea. That was an accident just barely avoided and he was glad of that and keeping himself from a scalding burn. "You actually wouldn't be the first one to ask that of me." It might have been Jacob, the Ravenclaw captain who had been majorly surprised by his choice or could even have been from someone earlier than that. "But to be honest I've always wanted to be an auror." Okay so he was gonna use it since she used quidditch and no one seemed the wiser. "And it seemed a better use of my academic and physical skills then just playing professionally." |
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"Oh, really? Who asked first? Someone I know?" Sophie queried curiously. Drinking some more coffee as Simon revealed that his dream had always been to become an auror not to play quidditch professionally. "I suppose we both chose wisely then given our academic and physical skills. So do you like your job? Is it how you imagined it to be?" Sophie was actually genuinely interested because her parents never spoke of their jobs in law enforcement much if any. |
SPOILER!!: Mariel Grace under fire... That was one way of looking at it. Emily could see how it seemed that way, so she couldn't argue against it, but it wasn't something she would openly want or need to acknowledge. She just did what she did best, she got on with things. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Indulging in a bit more cinnamon scroll - pausing between small bites to suck the sugar off her fingers, Emily nod her head. Yeah. Grace, under fire, all that jazz. "When it's called for, we do what's necessary to progress." Unless your fight or flight reflex was broken and you were the type to opt to flee, then no, hardly progressive. But those were minor details and completely irrelevant to her. In the silence that followed, Emily contentedly finished off her scroll, washing it down with a bit more latte before engaging with her company again. Solitude was still her preference, even if people were somewhat more tolerable. Mariel of course, was different to people in general. School, Quidditch and now work was seeing to that. No complaints here but... Newbies... SPOILER!!: Cynthia This newbie still had her attention. It was a little uncouth of her to simply make herself welcome at their table. Emily herself had at least had the decency to ask if the seat was available. Not simply helping herself to it like this one had. Being new, was hardly an excuse for her behaviour... but it was done now, so she would live. Mariel seemed more the conversationalist in the group, and Emily was more than happy to let them do the talking while she sat and watched and perhaps pretended for a moment that she was sociable. Sitting with people counted, right? Maybe. It was only after a short moment that she figured she could make an effort. "We're dealing..." was her contribution. Not seeing any need to elaborate on the fact, or discuss locations, nope. No need for details. But indeeedddd, how were IMC holding up? Emily leaned forward in her seat, a hand cradling what was left of her latte. |
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She chomped on her tuna sandwich with determination. Surely she could get something out of these women. Mariel seemed the more likely choice. They were both Heads, so they would know things Cynthia wouldn't. |
Jorgeeeeee This little café was totally a cute joint for a cup of joe. Tori moved her sunglasses to the top of her head and marched right in. She snagged a table firstly, since one was just opening up, and couldn't help but notice who all elllllse was in the bakery. Mm, maybe she'd better keep these shades on for now. She tipped them back down to her nose and got out her little notebook, ready and waiting for her coworker to show. It was notes-comparison timeeee! |
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So when he made his way into the cafe the first thing the man did was pull his hat down a bit, usually he'd take it off, but he had caught a glimpse of Simon with some girl "Tori" he greeted with a nod as he sat down. "I think you pick a perfect place to have lunch." Oh yes with Simon here he might be able to find out a few things. Maybe some MLE news as well as what was he doing with another woman when it was clear New Years Eve he had eyes for Jorge's cute little friend. |
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But onto their news and lunch and such. "I got a coffee, I didn't know what you wanted." She pushed him her notebook as she said that so that he could see what was written on it. And while he read that, she would keep the conversation light and totaaaaalllllllly non-suspicious. "I've heard this place has great pastries, but I don't know if they'd be on my diet." Quote:
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