The Minister was insane if he thought he, Javier Miguel Hernandez, was actually going to go skiing with a bunch of people he didn't particularly care about. This was a retreat, which translated to vacation for Javi, and he absolutely refused to do anything that resembled any kind of work out. Nope. He had time away from his daughter and the cat, with no drama to worry about, so he was going to make the most of it.

So instead, he had made a beeline for the sauna. He did want to try and find Victoria at some point, and congratulate her on the promotion, but for now, he wanted to just relax. If they weren't going to be having a nice dinner party, where he could eat his weight in shrimp cocktail, he was going to enjoy himself by taking advantage of the sauna. He had to be here, so he was going to make the most of it. Javier's ideal vacation was always being alone, doing nothing, so the sauna made perfect sense.

Except they were, for some reason, insisting they all remain clothed. He stared at the sign, a little confused as he read over the notice. WHY even bother with the sauna if they couldn't fully enjoy it? He wasn't planning on getting NAKED obviously, he had been planning on wearing his swim suit - but it looked like that wasn't happening. He wasn't crazy. He wasn't going to sweat all up in his shirt and jeans. That sounded sooooo unbelievably uncomfortable! Even if they had turned the heat wayyyyy down.

Oh, wait, it said swimsuits WERE allowed. OK then. That was better. That was what he had been planning anyways. What sort of weirdo didn't wear a swimsuit in the sauna? Seriously?

Commence the relaxation. Hopefully he'd have the sauna to himself for a while, and he wouldn't be interrupted by small talk although he doubted that would happen. The ministry workers were so CHATTY.

Megan was actually enjoying herself a lot. These were the kind of activities she thrived on so why on Earth would she want to miss out on this year's orientation? The new employees couldn't have even been enjoying themselves as much as she was at present. Wearing her one piece light green swim suit and with her long blond hair let down, the woman practically pounced into the sauna.

"Hi, hi,'' she called to the man (Javier) there. Oops. Did he want to have a conversation? "Enjoying the retreat so far?" The question popped out of her mouth before she could stop herself. She shrugged to herself as she moved opposite to the man.

Now this was the life!

So relaxing.

This year's orientation was held at a ski resort. When Sophie had read the invitation she thought she had read wrong, but no. Minister Nickels had picked a ski resort for the venue and by now she thought it had been a good idea. Those dinners back at the ministry could get pretty boring.

Changing into a black and white bikini, and feeling a bit self conscious about being almost naked with a bunch of employees that she probably didn't know Sophie entered the sauna. Two guys were already there, enjoying the warmth. She murmured a quiet "Hello!" to (Javier & Lucas) them before sitting down and relaxing.

When Josephina first received the notification about the ski resort orientation, she considered turning in her resignation. Josephina Nairne didn't do outside activities. It was enough that she had played in a student versus staff game one year at Hogwarts. But it would be silly to resign from her job over a resort; besides, no one said she HAD to ski and you could bet your galleons that this brunette would NOT be engaging in any activities. No, it was all about the cocktails and the sauna when she discovered the resort would include one. And no, going in without clothes did not appeal to her, so no worries there. No one needed to see that but Addison, as she was not twenty-eight anymore and it would have been naive for anyone to think as such.

Sweatpants and t-shirt, she slipped into the sauna, recognizing one person (Megan), who was in her department. She could get comfortable in here, maybe even lose a pound or two from the heat. "Hello, good day everyone."

Cypress wanted to hit up that sauna as soon as he got there. It was a pity it couldn't work like a real sauna, but no matter. He changed from his thick winter clothes into his swim trunks and quickly went inside with a towel about his neck. His deep set eyes surveyed those around him, looking for a familiar face.

"Hello everyone, I don't think I know any of you here--I'm Cypress, unspeakable," he said with a nod and a wave. His levels of friendliness depended on his mood, and right now he was relaxed enough to not be miffed by the presence of other people. It was sad he couldn't drag Elise along tot his, but then again, he doubted she would have come. "Anyone doing that ski race later?" he asked curiously. He thought he might try his hand at it, honestly. "What a nice place, eh?" conversation extraordinaire, he was, Mr. Macnair.

Not.

Having already hit up the slopes a bit earlier, Ryu was looking for a little relaxation and warming up. Hot chocolate was...quaint and all, but when he had gone over the orientation's information packet and arrived a day early to survey the area for potential security breaches, well, it was hard to beat a sauna. Not unfamiliar to the cold, the temperatures in Great Britain were nothing Niigata's as far as the man was concerned, Ryu had changed into something a little more comfortable before slipping into the sauna and was, somewhat, disappointed to see that it was quite popular.

Small towel draped around his shoulders - to collect and dab any perspiration away - Ryu simply offered a polite nod of the head to everyone before settling himself down beside Sophie - the one familiar face in the den, honestly. "Hey there," he greeted with a bit of a cheeky grin as he stretched his legs out and leaned back, hands behind his head and letting the cedar (that was the wood of choice in here, yeah?) saturated steam fill and warm his lungs.

Morgan sported short shorts swim trunks showing off his beautiful legs peppered with all that white hair! For an older man, he was handome! To be desired, most likely, by ALL the women at the ministry. There was no doubt in his mind!

"HELLO PARTY PEOPLE." Morgan yelled as he stepped into the sauna, waving at everyone. That angry new guy, two attractive ladies and ONE attractive man. "If you all would thank me for this wonderful excursion by simply humoring me in conversation, that would be smashing! Smashing, I say!" Morgan P. Nickels loved to hear himself talk. It was a favorite pastime.

Oh, hello beautiful man who just WALKED IN. Hello. Wink. HELLO.

Sam had no interest in falling down a mountain in a ski race, so she decided to make her way to the sauna. She had in fact brought a bathing suit for this purpose, and she wore it with a wrap on top. She had already committed to coming in and settling in when she saw some familiar faces... including the Minister himself. She flashed him a smile of course, and then a more realistic smile to Cypress, a fellow UnSpeakable, and then to the others. A quiet "Hello," and she took a seat. Were they expected to make conversation? Because... this was a retreat after all, wasn't it? ...What had she walked in to?

Sophie was sitting there, playing with a dark hair curl around a finger and seeping in the warmth of the sauna. She was debating if she wanted to try some skiing later on when the door to the sauna opened to let in a woman that made Sophie blink and blink. If her memory wasn't playing her a prank then that woman was her arithmancy professor which made Sophie blurt out with a smile "Hello professor Hadley! Do you remember me? I'm Sophie Connolly you taught me Arithmancy at Hogwarts." What a coincidence. So professor Hadley worked for the ministry now?

A slight draft chill made Sophie look up as a guy walked in wearing swim trunks and a towel around his neck. As their eyes met she smiled and waved to him in response. "Pleased to meet you Cypress. I'm Sophie. I work in Magical Creatures." Unspeakable though that sounded creepy but he didn't seem creepy. I didn't make sense. Shaking her head she shrugged "I might give the ski race a try. Do you think they'll teach you how to ski before you have to hurtle down the mountain?"

Nodding Sophie said "I think so too. It's a very relaxing place." Which heaven knew they all needed to relax and recharge the energy batteries from time to time.

Sophie felt a butterfly flutter inside her chest come to life as Ryu came into the sauna and took a seat next to her all casual like with a slightly cheeky grin in his face and tone. Nudging him in the side with a smile pursing her lips Sophie murmured "Hi Ryu, how have you been? Did you have a good vacation?" It had been very needed. What she didn't look forward to was how her table would look, flooded with memos and letters.

Sophie was not prepared for what happened next. In came Minister Nickels yelling at the top of his lungs and waving to each of them. Edging just a little closer to Ryu she hoped that he would be able to save her from their ministers crazy antics. Licking her lips Sophie said tentatively "This is a very nice resort."

And to the woman that followed in Minister Nickels shadow Sophie smiled "Hello!"

Sweet Merlin. The Minister was here.

Ryu had taken it upon himself during his Ministry patrols to keep a careful eye on the bloke because...something just rubbed him the wrong way. Lack of credentials aside when it came to politics. That was simply cause to want to create his own private investigation.

.......and speaking of private investigations, the way the man was looking at him right now was feeling more than a little intrusive. Which caused the man to tug on his blue swimtrunks a bit and adjust the manner in which his towel hung around his neck to cover a bit more of his chest. Thanks...but no thanks.

Though Ryu had enough sense about him to offer the man a half-hearted wave.

Which was why he was all too eager to allow his attention to be drawn to Sophie as she spoke...and was once again acting the social butterfly. Well, at least now he had confirmation on everyone's name in the sauna. "You been in here long?" he questioned, smirk only tugging more on his lips as his eyes briefly glanced at her cheeks. "You're looking particularly flushed."

Easier than flustering Evangeline.

"It was all right. My sister had triplets a little while back so was mostly helping her and her easily overwhelmed husband handle that." Though he was hardly complaining. He could never get enough of his nephews and nieces - for reasons. "Took a short trip back to Japan to visit Himitsumahou and run a kendo camp. Handful of blind dates that went no where. Mostly ready to get back to work, honestly. Yourself?"

It was getting hot in here. Quite literally, given the fact that they were in a sauna, but also because more people filtered in, including one outgoing person who even went so far as introduce himself. Unspeakable, too, which made it all the more amusing that he ... spoke, but oh well. "I don't ski," Josephina said simply to Cypress mostly. It was truth; she would watch and support though, but no one wanted to see HER on skis. "I'm Josephina, Curse Reversal Specialist."

The minister was confident, which honestly, the woman HAD to admire because she wouldn't be caught dead showing that much leg. Not that she found herself unattractive, but it was just, she recognized the fact that she was no spring chicken anymore. She also admired his enthusiasm. Did he go to Hogwarts? Because he was most certainly a Gryffindor with his chivalry; or a Hufflepuff, but she would bet more on him being in the house of red and gold. "Hello, Minister Nickels. Well, you wanna hear a joke? Knock, knock....." And after that, she would remain silent, because nobody was there. GET IT NOBODY. HARDY HAR HAR. He did say humor him.

Speaking of humoring ... Professor Hadley. She hadn't heard that in over a decade and if she was being honest, by appearances, she would not have recognized the former Gryffindor Prefect. But she knew the girl as a teenager, so who could blame her? So thank merlin the girl said her name, because with a name, she remembered. Of course. She remembered the names of ALL her students, which was something that was both a blessing and a curse. "Wow, Sophie. Of course. Gryffindor Prefect," she smiled warmly. "You may call me Josephina though, please." For one, she was no longer her Professor and two, she was married now, something she hadn't been when she taught the girl. As it was her second year at the ministry, she also wasn't terribly surprised at seeing former students working alongside her; not as much anymore, at least. "So where do you work in the Ministry? How long have you been here?" She had always taken a keen interest in what happened to her students, even if she didn't always keep in touch with all of them.

Sam returned a smile, and the "Hello." Wait... That was Professor Hadley?? She hadn't even realized. Call her Josephina... it sounded like that would be an all around thing, but it would take some getting used to now that the name had come back to her. She would need to reintroduce herself as well in a little while. Hmmm Sophie had been a Gryffindor Prefect? Had she been there with her? Sam could hardly remember now... She stopped eavesdropping and went back to relaxing, feeling the sweat beading on her forehead. With the Minister here, Sam felt a little awkward, but she did her best to not mind him.

Mr Nickels staring and intrusive eyes made her feel pretty umcomfortable and a look around told her that that feeling was shared by not just her. Focusing on Ryu and not the minister was something she was more than eager to do. She assumed that her cheeks were pretty flushed and Sophie felt sweat on her forehead "Well, I had been here a little while before you arrived." Maybe she needed to step out and take a cold shower?

Beaming she said "Congratulations Mr proud uncle there!" It seemed at least to her that he hadn’t minded helping out with the triplets. "Kendo, I’ve never tried that particular martial art sport. Is it hard to learn?" But she hadn’t tried karate or tai chi either. "I went on a week long trip to mallorca with my mother, brother, and his girlfriend, went on a few dates i wished i hadn’t gone on and well just relaxing and reading romance novels. I’m mostly ready to get back to work and I'm eager to meet my new department head."

Had she offended her? Sophie hoped not. It had just blurted out. To her Hadley was still very much her professor until the picture changed. Blushing Sophie swallowed and said hastily "Of course, Josephina. I hope i didn’t offend you by calling you Professor…" And she was no longer a Gryffindor Prefect either. Hadn’t been in a while. Sophie was happy to change the subject and responded excitedly "I work in the Magical Creatures department. When we go back to work tomorrow then I’ll start my second year at the ministry."

Why a sky resort had been chosen for this years orientation she didn't know but it wasn't all that bad. Addison had no reason not to attend and enjoy herself. So here she was entering the sauna in a black and white swimsuit. Perhaps she would lose a pound or two while sitting in here.

There was more people in here than she had expected. "Hello, everyone, hello," she smiled warmly. Finding a spot to sit she did just that. "It sure is warm in here," she laughed mostly to herself. It felt rather nice. Relaxing.

Luckily she wasn't stuck with the man alone for company. Megan gave Sophie a mega-watt smile. "Hi. Pretty good idea the Minister had, keeping the orientation here, right?" Yes, she was in a chatty mood. "Josephina. I've missed you over the holidays.'' It was true; she liked most of the Accidents and Catastrophes department.

"Hi, Cypress! Megan here. I'll take you up on that offer and I'll be kicking your butt.'' There was nothing but friendly competition from her. The blond returned the man's (Ryunosuke) nod and another woman's (Sam) greeting but her attention immediately shifted to the loud, expressive Minister. She laughed. Was he for real? "A fun brainwave you've had, Minister. '' Also, wasn't that the former Myteries Head?

Sam was quite pleased when the door opened again and in came one Addison Anders, her former Department Head! It was unfortunate that they saw less of each other nowadays, since the meetings that she used to hold had stopped. Ah, those were the days...
When she was brand new, and she would fill up on plenty of snacks and get to know the others in the department. She was always such a sweet person, and Sam was quite fond of her. "Addison!" she said happily, "it's ... so... good to....................see... y o u!" She smiled at her. "Ihopeyou'reenjoyingyourself?"

Addison was quiet for the first few minutes upon entering the sauna. She did manage to continue with her greeting of those around her, a warm smile being given to Megan when the women looked her way.

The blonde had ever intention on staying quite and simply soaking up the warmth around her. At least until one of her fellow unspeakables spoke to her. "Sam! Hello," she smiled at the women. Why was she speaking so slowly? And now.. so quickly? Was the women getting to warm being in here? Addison would keep an eye on her for a moment since she appeared to be alright. "I am, it's rather lovely here, dont'tyouthink?" In her own momentary worry about a friend she hadn't realized her own speech had blurred together just a bit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FearlessLeader19

Megan was actually enjoying herself a lot. These were the kind of activities she thrived on so why on Earth would she want to miss out on this year's orientation? The new employees couldn't have even been enjoying themselves as much as she was at present. Wearing her one piece light green swim suit and with her long blond hair let down, the woman practically pounced into the sauna.

"Hi, hi,'' she called to the man (Javier) there. Oops. Did he want to have a conversation? "Enjoying the retreat so far?" The question popped out of her mouth before she could stop herself. She shrugged to herself as she moved opposite to the man.

Now this was the life!

So relaxing.

Of course. Not more than two minutes into his little sauna excursion and he was already being chatted up with small talk. SIIIIIIIGH. Javi hated social obligations. So he smiled at her anyways, even though he didn't want to, and nodded. Because it was the right thing to do.

"Yes, it's going very well," he told her with a grin. Nope, no it wasn't. But he wasn't about to go in to that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nordic Witch

This year's orientation was held at a ski resort. When Sophie had read the invitation she thought she had read wrong, but no. Minister Nickels had picked a ski resort for the venue and by now she thought it had been a good idea. Those dinners back at the ministry could get pretty boring.

Changing into a black and white bikini, and feeling a bit self conscious about being almost naked with a bunch of employees that she probably didn't know Sophie entered the sauna. Two guys were already there, enjoying the warmth. She murmured a quiet "Hello!" to (Javier & Lucas) them before sitting down and relaxing.

And another chatty one. Javier just smiled at her and nodded in greeting. "Hello," he said politely. It was getting rather crowded in here rather quickly, wasn't it? At least both of these women weren't immediately jumping in to rather tedious small talk, and were just exchanging pleasantries. THAT he could deal with.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

When Josephina first received the notification about the ski resort orientation, she considered turning in her resignation. Josephina Nairne didn't do outside activities. It was enough that she had played in a student versus staff game one year at Hogwarts. But it would be silly to resign from her job over a resort; besides, no one said she HAD to ski and you could bet your galleons that this brunette would NOT be engaging in any activities. No, it was all about the cocktails and the sauna when she discovered the resort would include one. And no, going in without clothes did not appeal to her, so no worries there. No one needed to see that but Addison, as she was not twenty-eight anymore and it would have been naive for anyone to think as such.

Sweatpants and t-shirt, she slipped into the sauna, recognizing one person (Megan), who was in her department. She could get comfortable in here, maybe even lose a pound or two from the heat. "Hello, good day everyone."

OH MERLIN. Now his old professor was here?! This was like the nightmare that would never end. He had run into her once and it had been terrible then - and now they were together in a sauna. What even was his life right now.

"Hello Pro - I mean Josephina," he greeted her, blushing slightly. He sincerely hated the Minister right now for creating such an embarrassing situation for him. Because he'd slip up, she'd almost CERTAINLY remember him now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kayquilz

Cypress wanted to hit up that sauna as soon as he got there. It was a pity it couldn't work like a real sauna, but no matter. He changed from his thick winter clothes into his swim trunks and quickly went inside with a towel about his neck. His deep set eyes surveyed those around him, looking for a familiar face.

"Hello everyone, I don't think I know any of you here--I'm Cypress, unspeakable," he said with a nod and a wave. His levels of friendliness depended on his mood, and right now he was relaxed enough to not be miffed by the presence of other people. It was sad he couldn't drag Elise along tot his, but then again, he doubted she would have come. "Anyone doing that ski race later?" he asked curiously. He thought he might try his hand at it, honestly. "What a nice place, eh?" conversation extraordinaire, he was, Mr. Macnair.

Not.

Ah, another person whose name he was not going to remember. Still, he smiled at the man who went through all the trouble of introducing himself - it was a nice distraction from his former professor as well. "Nice to meet you. Javier. Games and Sports," he said. Speaking of, where were the rest of his co-workers? How come no one was here to share this humiliation with him?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morgan P. Nickels

Morgan sported short shorts swim trunks showing off his beautiful legs peppered with all that white hair! For an older man, he was handome! To be desired, most likely, by ALL the women at the ministry. There was no doubt in his mind!

"HELLO PARTY PEOPLE." Morgan yelled as he stepped into the sauna, waving at everyone. That angry new guy, two attractive ladies and ONE attractive man. "If you all would thank me for this wonderful excursion by simply humoring me in conversation, that would be smashing! Smashing, I say!" Morgan P. Nickels loved to hear himself talk. It was a favorite pastime.

Oh, hello beautiful man who just WALKED IN. Hello. Wink. HELLO.

Javier just stopped and blinked as Morgan walked in - very loudly - and immediately began talking about how they should be grateful for this awful, embarrassing excursion he had forced them all on. Was this man serious?

Ugh. He missed Scabior. Mostly because she didn't ever force him to talk and pay homage to him.

"It's great, thanks Minister," was all he could muster himself to say. Oh, and a small smile. There. Obligation fulfilled.