Accidents & Catastrophes: Training and Trial Room

[sweetpinkpixie]

The training and trial room on level three is a large space set aside for employees of the Accidents and Catastrophes department in order to continually work on their skills, or try out some experimental charms for assessment and tweaking purposes. While the room was originally charmed to behave much like the Room of Requirement within Hogwarts, this is no longer the case. Instead, the large room is relatively empty, though there is a large pool in one corner for practicing water-based charms work, and some heavy duty crash pads in another corner so that if you are levitating yourself, anyone else, or working with objects that are otherwise breakable, dents and bruises won't be an issue. These crash pads are also useful for those who wish to duel as part of their training and trialing.

If you need anything else within this space, you are expected to provide it yourself or speak with your Department Head if it is something a little more questionable, large or dangerous. Many muggle items are available in storage for charms work (including a few automobiles) and you may indeed find some items within the storage cupboard on the other side of the department.

While this room is intended for use primarily by level three employees, those who work in other departments may make use of this space with a written request and approval from Tallulah Gamp, Department Head of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes.

T-.

[emjay]

Early in the workday, Raini stopped by the Trial Room with his paperwork on this month's submissions for new charm approval. He was sure some of his employees would be eager to test some of them out for accuracy and safety before they could be officially approved. But in the meanwhile, his eyes skimmed the list for something that he might want to try out himself.

Origami? Raini knew of a couple paper-folding charms, but this newly submitted one had an interesting variation. He conjured a few squares of paper to get started.

[PhoenixRising]

Chloe had been feeling very restless lately. Was it the lack of events perhaps? She was an events concealment official, after all, but it felt like there weren't all too many events in the healing of the post-wizarding war era.

Maybe she ought to take a walk up to old department for a trip down memory lane. Visit with old coworkers. But for now, the redhead found herself in a sort of daze turning around in the training room. "Eleven o'clock..." She said/sang out.

[emjay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhoenixRising

Chloe had been feeling very restless lately. Was it the lack of events perhaps? She was an events concealment official, after all, but it felt like there weren't all too many events in the healing of the post-wizarding war era.

Maybe she ought to take a walk up to old department for a trip down memory lane. Visit with old coworkers. But for now, the redhead found herself in a sort of daze turning around in the training room. "Eleven o'clock..." She said/sang out.

Deep in the midst of trying out the newest paper-folding charms, Raini was surrounded by origami butterflies fluttering around his head. He was just about to move on to some jumping frogs when he became aware of another figure joining him in the room.

"Ah, hello, Chloe," the department head greeted her warmly, but his smile soon turned into a quizzical expression. "Eleven o'clock? Not yet, I'm afraid, m'dear." Unless... he hadn't been occupied with these origami charms that long, had he?

[PhoenixRising]

Quote:

Originally Posted by emjay

Deep in the midst of trying out the newest paper-folding charms, Raini was surrounded by origami butterflies fluttering around his head. He was just about to move on to some jumping frogs when he became aware of another figure joining him in the room.

"Ah, hello, Chloe," the department head greeted her warmly, but his smile soon turned into a quizzical expression. "Eleven o'clock? Not yet, I'm afraid, m'dear." Unless... he hadn't been occupied with these origami charms that long, had he?

Whatever Chloe had been thinking about had disappeared the moment her department head greeted her. She stopped short of her spinning, and mirrored his own quizzical expression. "Raini, hi," she blinked a few times trying to collect her thoughts. Had he been in here when she walked in? She hadn't noticed. What was going on with her?

"I think ... I need to sit down." She moved slowly over to one of the chairs in there, noticing the origami. "Origami. Can you teach me?" It might do her well to get her mind off the battle healing. And also the stress of thinking about her teenager and whatever shenanigans he was likely getting himself into.

[sweetpinkpixie]

One of his Unspeakables had inspired his thoughts, but on the way to the Atrium from the Chamber of Codes he found himself taking a very obvious detour. His department head status provided him with ample clearance to pass through the Department of Magical Accidents & Catastrophes. His skin felt tight, his throat a desert, and his mouth either hung open or smacks his lips against one another. A man clearly on a mission, he had stopped for no one until he entered the Training and Trial Room, and even then he was an unstoppable lanky force until he stood at the edge of the pool.

Then, without even an ounce of hesitation despite still very much still being in a suit, he hurtled himself in with a lopsided SPLASH.

[MadAlice]

The Death Chamber was lonely and sombre (even moreso than usual) without her colleagues around. Where was everyone? Jane Howard had wandered disconsolately up from the depths of Level Nine, her clothes disheveled and her hair unbound, up and down the corridors of the Ministry, and had eventually found herself in the training room on Level Three. Without a word, she walked straight across the room, stepped down the steps into the large pool, and was currently floating on her back, her long hair spreading around her like seaweed, sadly singing a strange song:

"We live our lives beneath the sea,
A shoal, a school, a pod is we.
We ask just to be left alone,
Beings of water, the deep our home.

But the folk two-legged and bold,
Not content with what they hold,
Disrupt the peace in ocean deep
And seize Poseidon's gifts we keep.

Return to us what wealth you stole,
The staff and carapace you hold.
Your two-legged kin are safe, for now,
But not forever, this our vow."

She sang it over and over again...

[sweetpinkpixie]

Charles actually had business with Kendra on this day, but the pleasant done of whatever track it was someone surely had playing in the training nad trial room had his withered musician bones feeling more than a bit rejuvenated. While he was, admittedly, more than a bit out of tune with the music of the youth of today...Charles did think himself rather well versed and that he had at least a mild familiarity with most music these days. But this song...he had never heard before. Must be something from the new generation of ---

--- oh...no, nope. Not at all.

Charles naturally recognized Jane, he owed her his life in many regards with her diligent potioneering efforts during and after the war, and quickly concluded that she was not meant to be in here AND even if she were...surely she had not been given clearance to do THAT.

"Jane? Jane!?" Charles called out as the Unspeakable continued her singing as she floated in the pool like some sort of an ethereal being. No, less an ethereal being and more like a merperson. He would not go so far as to say a siren, seeing as his only inclination in getting into the pool was to pull her out of it, but one could make the argument for that as well. Slipping off his shoes and rolling up his trouser legs, Charles perked his ear towards the woman as she repeated the song, again, and...there was a certain familarity to her words. Certain nuances that reminded him very much of those spat at him by the Atlantian Merchieftainess. "JANE?!"

Why had he bothered to roll his trouser legs up, by the way? It had become abundantly clear as the Minister began to wade out to fetch her that it had been completely unnecessary.

[MadAlice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

"...JANE?!"

Why had he bothered to roll his trouser legs up, by the way? It had become abundantly clear as the Minister began to wade out to fetch her that it had been completely unnecessary.

Jane continued paddling gently along on her back, singing softly to herself as if she didn't notice the Minister's approach. But as he got closer, she began to slosh handfuls of water up at him. As she finished the last verse one more time, she stopped singing for a bit and fell into a dreamy humming. Suddenly she raised her head and looked at him with grey eyes the color of the ocean during a storm. "Something is very wrong," she suddenly said very clearly. "Things are not as they're supposed to be!" And her last word turned into a grief-stricken wail, which, as it finally died out, turned back into that strange song..."We live our lives beneath the sea...."

[sweetpinkpixie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadAlice

Jane continued paddling gently along on her back, singing softly to herself as if she didn't notice the Minister's approach. But as he got closer, she began to slosh handfuls of water up at him. As she finished the last verse one more time, she stopped singing for a bit and fell into a dreamy humming. Suddenly she raised her head and looked at him with grey eyes the color of the ocean during a storm. "Something is very wrong," she suddenly said very clearly. "Things are not as they're supposed to be!" And her last word turned into a grief-stricken wail, which, as it finally died out, turned back into that strange song..."We live our lives beneath the sea...."

If this was not a flash back to pulling Takeshi out of the lake when he had toppled out of their row boat back when his son was 8...well, no. There was no question. He was having a flash back to it and his son was probably older than Jane now. Probably. Numbers and ages were just some incoherent concept for a warlock of Charles' age. In any event, he was essentially cradling the woman in his arms while she floated there...in the pool...on level three.

He could not even say this was the strangest thing he had experienced...but it was quite curious and revealing? Perhaps revealing.

"I can see that," he nodded with a paternal kind of tender smile, the sort one would offer a small child who had just scrapped their knee and to them the world was absolutely going to end. This was, of course, not to belittle the severity of...whatever it was Jane was experiencing. The man simply felt less like a Minister in the moment and more a concerned parent. "I believe you have been bewitched, Jane." That much was obvious even before he saw the murkiness in her eyes. "I'm going to get you to some help, promptly."

Spell damage was right here on level three, after all.

"If you would be so kind as to wrap your arms about my neck..."

[MadAlice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

"If you would be so kind as to wrap your arms about my neck..."

Jane's continued singing, but now she also began to wrap her long, seaweed-like arms around the Minister's torso and start to slowly try to pull him under the water like some kind of legendary mermaid.

[sweetpinkpixie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadAlice

Jane's continued singing, but now she also began to wrap her long, seaweed-like arms around the Minister's torso and start to slowly try to pull him under the water like some kind of legendary mermaid.

Nope. Nope nope nope, my dear. Nope.

Charles may be an aging may with more grey in his beard than strawberry blonde, but he would not be taking a dip today. "Jane, I am going to need to ask you to refrain from trying to drown me," he chuckled with an out of place joviality to his voice. "Doing so would be quite counter productive to this...finding of Poseidon's gifts you were just singing about."

She was easy enough to carry while in the water, but once he reached shallower ground to wade through...the Minister knew that his knees would not be able to handle it. They could barely manage to bounce his grandchildren these days - though only Yukie continued to tolerate the affections.

"Now, if you would be so kind as to use your own legs," he grunted while adjusting his hold on her and draping her arm over his shoulders. "We will be paying Kendra and her team a visit."

[MadAlice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetpinkpixie

"Now, if you would be so kind as to use your own legs," he grunted while adjusting his hold on her and draping her arm over his shoulders. "We will be paying Kendra and her team a visit."

Jane became more docile as they moved into shallow water, though she still sang softly under her breath, and even managed to stand on her own legs as Hollingberry led her out of the pool, though she leaned on him heavily. But as they moved up the steps and out of the water, she began to emit a loud screeching sound: EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !!!

[emjay]

Kendra had been a little uncharacteristically quiet lately. It might have been a while since she was under the merpeople's enchantment that caused her to act like a complete fool for months, but it was difficult for her to live down. She might not have complete recollection and knew it wasn't her fault, but she knew well enough of how she behaved and it was mortifying.

The department head had already felt like she had so much to prove after she had been unjustly fired. And although she had returned as her confident self, the enchantment shortly afterwards made her feel like she was once again under scrutiny and that she was not viewed as the competent leader she knew she was. So, for the past several months, she had been flying under the radar, diligently doing her job and quietly leading her team.

Today she found herself in the training room, conducting charms trials. She might have been busy getting some work done, but her mind was also working on how to once again come out on top and be the excellent leader she knew she was.

[Holmesian Feline]

Simon had ventured down to Level Three to check in on things. There had seemed to have been a minor flux in a spell as per one of his team, though if there had been, it had worked its way out in the end and all appeared well when the security head had followed suit with his own checks. Nevertheless, he was making his way discretely through the department double checking for anything out of the normal just in case. Coming to the training and trial room, a useful space that was sometime available for the other departments, he found it nearly empty but for the department head.

Curious and wondering just a tad if what was being worked on might have inadvertedly caused the temporary fluke he’d been investigating, Simon quietly approached in hopes to neither startle or overly distract. “Working on anything interesting?” he asked once he was sure she wasn’t actively casting at that moment.

[emjay]

It was fairly quiet in the trial room as she worked since many of her employees were either at their desks or on assignment, so Kendra noticed Simon almost right away as he came into the room. That was probably a good thing because it was never a good idea to sneak up on someone in the middle of spell-casting, but he also didn't strike her as a foolhardy individual who would do such a thing.

"Oh, nothing out of the ordinary," she answered him pleasantly, lowering her wand and turning to face him fully. "Just a run through of some of the new spells submitted for testing and approval."

"Was there something I could help you with?" Or was he just making rounds? It wasn't too unusual to see someone from another department here, but it wasn't such a common daily occurrence so she thought she should make sure.

[Holmesian Feline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by emjay

It was fairly quiet in the trial room as she worked since many of her employees were either at their desks or on assignment, so Kendra noticed Simon almost right away as he came into the room. That was probably a good thing because it was never a good idea to sneak up on someone in the middle of spell-casting, but he also didn't strike her as a foolhardy individual who would do such a thing.

"Oh, nothing out of the ordinary," she answered him pleasantly, lowering her wand and turning to face him fully. "Just a run through of some of the new spells submitted for testing and approval."

"Was there something I could help you with?" Or was he just making rounds? It wasn't too unusual to see someone from another department here, but it wasn't such a common daily occurrence so she thought she should make sure.

Right…experimental spell testing. Thoughts in his head were starting to come together on what might have happened. “Perhaps…though you’re probably already keeping an eye out for weird reactions to your spells.” With a department known for both experimenting with charms and cleaning up after magical mishaps, they were well versed in all the possibilities and how to try and prevent those accidents and catastrophes. So he trusted the precautions being taken.

“I came to check up on being told something appeared wonky in the wards on this level,” he explained. “Though it doesn’t appear to be an issue now, and now knowing about the testing, maybe it was a temporary reaction from one.” And not everyone is willing to interrupt said testing like he had. He was still getting his team back up to his standard since his return.

[emjay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Holmesian Feline

Right…experimental spell testing. Thoughts in his head were starting to come together on what might have happened. “Perhaps…though you’re probably already keeping an eye out for weird reactions to your spells.” With a department known for both experimenting with charms and cleaning up after magical mishaps, they were well versed in all the possibilities and how to try and prevent those accidents and catastrophes. So he trusted the precautions being taken.

“I came to check up on being told something appeared wonky in the wards on this level,” he explained. “Though it doesn’t appear to be an issue now, and now knowing about the testing, maybe it was a temporary reaction from one.” And not everyone is willing to interrupt said testing like he had. He was still getting his team back up to his standard since his return.

Weird reactions? Kendra quirked an eyebrow in response as she listened to Simon's spoken thoughts. Certainly he'd know that she was a professional and skilled enough to make sure her spells weren't affecting the general security of the ministry. "Well, yes of course," she said with an air of nonchalance. "That is the first rule of experimental charms," she added with a knowing smile. Maybe not the first rule, and safety was up there too, but in a manner of speaking, all of her employees were trained in strict observation with new spells.

"We have our own spells cast around the room to prevent interference with the wards due to any activity in here, so it's unlikely my spells caused it." That had been long ago necessary due to the experimental nature they worked with in here. "But if that was the cause, then I do need to know about it to make sure it gets resolved." It sounded like they needed to get to the bottom of it either way. Or at least one of them did.

[Holmesian Feline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by emjay

Weird reactions? Kendra quirked an eyebrow in response as she listened to Simon's spoken thoughts. Certainly he'd know that she was a professional and skilled enough to make sure her spells weren't affecting the general security of the ministry. "Well, yes of course," she said with an air of nonchalance. "That is the first rule of experimental charms," she added with a knowing smile. Maybe not the first rule, and safety was up there too, but in a manner of speaking, all of her employees were trained in strict observation with new spells.

"We have our own spells cast around the room to prevent interference with the wards due to any activity in here, so it's unlikely my spells caused it." That had been long ago necessary due to the experimental nature they worked with in here. "But if that was the cause, then I do need to know about it to make sure it gets resolved." It sounded like they needed to get to the bottom of it either way. Or at least one of them did.

Simon simply answered with a nod at first, realizing how he might have sounded with his previous words. “I apologize if I sounded like I doubted you and your people wouldn’t because I don’t.” Because he trusted the woman and her department. As he had done with various predecessors. But then he had begun doubting his trust of things during his previous absence from the Ministry in response to happenings during the war. It hadn’t helped he had returned to find workers kidnapped from under the nose he had left behind and feeling responsible.

“Right, of course…” The security man remarked, looking a touch sheepish. He should have remembered about said precautions right off the bat. “Then perhaps I shall just make a note of it and have my team keep an eye out for a repeat issue. Perhaps it was a fluke and nothing to worry about.” It was after all, one of the responsibilities of the security division, keeping the wards all spic and span and not having the other areas have to worry in amongst their own responsibilities.

[The Announcer]

The room hummed with potential energy, a silent witness to countless trials and errors. Its bare walls, though unadorned, seemed to vibrate with the memories of spells cast and charms tested. The large pool in the corner lay still, its surface reflecting the muted light, while the heavy-duty crash pads bore the faint imprints of past impacts.

Suddenly, the stillness was shattered, reverberating off the walls.

BANG!

The force of the explosion sent a shockwave through the room, causing the crash pads to tremble and the water in the pool to ripple. The sharp crack of the explosion was followed by a jarring alarm from one of the automobiles, its piercing shriek echoing through the expansive space as headlights flickered on and off.

BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!

[Emzily]

Her clipboard and quill were currently hovering and dancing behind her, keeping up with her steady pace as she passed through level three. There was nothing to suggest something CRAZY was about to happen and Cosima was on track for another productive day. Of course her heels clicked to a halt and a bit of a stumble, upon the ground shaking and hearing an almighty BANG coming from the room she was just passing. Her quill acting as terrified as she was, Cosima attempted fleeing as the vehicle alarm sounded and scared the jeepers creepers out of her, but instead since she was nearby, remained to investigate.

She waved the quill into stillness and exchanged it for her wand as she idled in the doorway of the training and trial room. “Anyone in here?” She called out, her voice a bit shaky.

It wasn’t unusual for accidents like this to happen on level three, hence the levels’ title, but certainly not to this extent and usually there was some warning she was aware of.

[Charely Potter]

It was a good day. Or rather, it was supposed to be a good day. Kreig was on Level 3, returning to the office to fill out some paperwork. There was a muggle involved with the sight of magic earlier and he had to report the situation had been taken care of and resolved. The muggle was convinced that it was a simple light trick proven by science. What an easy fix. What wasn't an easy fix, however, was the explosion.

BANG

Kreig's insides jumped, "Duck your head!" He screamed out before he got down on fours to cover his head. Followed by the alarms. He chanced a look to see a witch already heading towards the noise. Huh, does she know what's going on? He picked himself up against the shakes. Tripping immediately, Oof... Curse his two left feet. Not caring if his outfit was now creased and stain. He took his wand out to follow her towards the training room.

"M-Me, but I'm not inside," He answered in a warning. His footsteps approached to stand by her side. The alarm was blaring on his ears, so he had to shout. "How does it look in there?" His wand was drawn out still. Was there something in there causing it? Gulp. How big of an accident could've caused this, was anyone's guess.

[Zoe]

Perhaps had she worked on a different level, the department head would have ducked under her desk when the sound of the loud bang reached her office. Such occurrences were bound to happen, she knew. However, the blazing horn of a vehicle brought her to her feet, abandoning the paperwork she had been tending to, and out into the corridor. It wasn't the most pleasant of sounds, and she thought it would have been silenced by now.

It did not take long for Tallulah, wand drawn, to arrive on the scene. Despite all the commotion, a gentle smile appeared on her face when she saw her personal assistant and the newest reversal agent. "Are you two alright?" she asked them, her voice raised louder than usual considering the alarm was still blaring. Her eyes looked the two of them over, the former healer in her assessing their current status. As far as she could tell, they appeared unharmed; if anything, they were just a little spooked.

Shuffling her short frame closer, she peered past the two youngins in an attempt to peek inside the room. "Let's press forward and investigate, dearies." First thing she wanted to do was silence that alarm before everyone got a migraine.

[PhoenixRising]

Explosions were not typically her specialty, as she worked more in event concealment rather than calamities and yet Chloe had heard the bangs regardless who hadn't. Stepping from her work area to investigate, albeit perhaps minutes too late since she'd been heavily in the zone, she realized it'd come from the automobile room by the honking beeps.

Curious, very curious.

"Is everyone unharmed?" she asked upon seeing her boss lady a few steps in front of her along with two newer coworkers. An attempted theft was definitely the first thought that crossed her mind. But working in accidents and catastrophes, well, it could be any number of things for sure