May 7th, 2008
12:45 PM
Department Heads Office
Ana's Outfit

Chime Chime

"...Mm..." Analiza moaned, cracking open one tired golden eye. Even though it had been nearly a week since 'the incident', her head still felt like a troll was poking it with a fence post. Combined with the exhaustion and the nausea, Ana had not slept well at all for the last several days. This was her first day back at the office and she hadn't been able to get any headway in the piles of reports on her desk before her eyes drooped shut and she took the first ferry to dreamland. Only the insistent chiming for the last 45 minutes managed to wake her.

It took a moment but her blurry vision cleared enough for her to focus on a large gold pocket watch sitting a foot from her head, the golden owl on it's shell eying her wearily. Picking it up, she slowly sat up and wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth. Sniffing, she opened the watch and glanced at the picture of herself on the left panel. The miniature oil painting of herself glanced up from the triangle she had been tapping arrhythmically and huffed. "About time... I have been banging this damn thing for an hour..."

"Forty five minutes and you could at least make it chime more rhythmically... Are you trying to drive me insane?" Analiza correctly icily, glaring at herself. The painted Ana rolled her golden eyes contemptuously before banging loudly on the chime. Her eyes narrowing, Ana shook the watch roughly, tossing the girl in the picture around the frame violently. "Ow ow! Stop it!... Are you trying to KILL ME? I was JUST reminding you that it was lunch time...."

Ana sighed, rubbing her eyes wearily. Her head hurt too much to think and her stomach was far too upset to think about eating. "I'm not hungry... what else is on the schedule?" she muttered as she searched around her desk for a bottle of Pain potion. She found one tucked between some Time reports and quickly downed it as her mini-Ana hemmed and hawed at some papers in her tiny hands ".. Oh... You have an interview with Jade Corin at 1... "

"Ah yes... Him. My new researcher..." Ana nodded as she pulled out her wand and a small hand mirror from her bag. She looked atrocious and that just wouldn't do. Using her wand, she wrapped the flat and errant curls that were either plastered to her cheek or floating erratically around her head, around the tip of the wand to curl them neatly back into place. She then went to work on her smudged make up. The whole process only took a few minutes, but a loud chime sounded early, causing Ana to smear her lipstick across her cheek. "Its Five Minutes to One!" The mini-Ana said in an obnoxiously cheerful voice, obviously pleased at the expression of fury on the larger hers face. "Oh dear... You got a little.. right...there..." She said innocently, touching her cheek where the lipstick was.

"SHUT IT." Ana snarled, poking the painting with a sharp manicured nail. The other Ana winced and huffed angrily "I don't have to put up with this! I'm LEAVING!" and just like that, she disappeared to another painting somewhere. If Ana had any guess, she would be in the foyer, mocking the fashion sense of the patrons and other ministry workers with another painting. "Why did I buy this stupid thing..." She muttered as she fixed the smeared lip color. No sooner had she finished tiding it up did a knock sound at her door. "Come in!"

Jade made it his business to be punctual. It was the first time, well, ever, that he had decided to pursue honest employment. An acquaintence had tipped him off to this unbelievable opportunity, and he jumped at the chance. Jade had spent the last decade using his knowledge of Necromancy to experiment on dead bodies. He was close to breaking the discovery on what makes a Wizard capable of magic. Unfortunately, the need for free range Inferi was at a low. Half of Jade loved the idea of him not creating those vicious mongrels for a quick buck.

It surprised Jade when the Head of the Department of Mysteries, Analiza Snark, actually responded to his bid for the job as her assistant. Her idea for Project Cupid was revolutionary, even though no one was supposed to know about it. Jade would have to play it right, and let her feel like she's the one in control.

Jade adjusted his robes. They weren't too flashy, and the stains washed out quite well (arteries tend to gush in the most unpredictable ways). It was what he was comfortable with, leaving only his neck and head exposed. They were enchanted to fend off the more uncomfortable environmental temperatures. They would be absolutely necessary today. For the first time in his entire life, Jade was actually a bit... nervous? Yeah, nervous. Without this job, Jade would have to resort to a... civilian job, to get by with his experiments.

A loud and too-shrill, "Come in!" echoed throughout the halls in which Jade was standing in. Jade calmly entered, with his hands behind his back. Not as a means of hiding anything, but merely as a casual stance. A small, amused smile crept up on Jade's face as he walked into the Department Head's office. "My my, it's almost as if you weren't expecting me," Jade said as sarcastic as possible. Hopefully it would allow Ms. Snark to calm down a bit. Plus, Jade was so good at it. He stepped towards the nearby chair and waited for his potential boss to take her seat before he took his.

Finally taking his seat, Jade felt all of his nervousness fade away. He laughed lightly as a response, then realized that Ms. Snark was looking at him oddly. "Oh yes, I... remembered a funny joke I heard earlier." Jade smugly tossed aside that patch of social awkwardness and said, "Shall we begin?"

"My my, it's almost as if you weren't expecting me,"

Hm, he was cheeky. Apparently he was overly confident that he would get the position. While this wasn't necessarily untrue, Analiza wasn't fond of overconfident people, at least, when they were making sarcastic and insubordinate comments towards her person. Sitting back in the chair, she decided she would join him in his little game. "Hm? Who are you? I was expecting a job applicant not a has been mortician..." she quipped back coolly, glancing up at him with disinterested half-lidded eyes as she awaited his response. A crestfallen expression would be sufficiant.

To her surprise, he chuckled. Well, she hadn't expected him to enjoy the banter considering most people didn't. He was stronger then she expected and Analiza found herself smiling slightly as he took his seat and abruptly changed the subject.

"Oh yes, I... remembered a funny joke I heard earlier. Shall we begin?"

"Oh we already have, Mr. Corin, we already have." She said with an equally smug smile, making it clear that he wasn't exactly off on the right foot. Picking up his application from in front of her, she looked it over with an air of disinterest as she continued, "... Tell me... Aside from your rather telling criminal record, what exactly interests you about this job? There's no dead bodies involved..." She glanced up at him from the papers as she casually drove her point homeward "... yet."

"Mm, yet indeed." Jade smiled at the repartee between him and Ms. Snark. It was rare to find someone who didn't find him incredibly off-putting. Either it meant she was an intellectual equal, or he had her fooled the most. Hopefully both. "Quite simply, working here with you introduces me to a new challenge. I do get so bored with what I do now, which is to say nothing." Jade made sure to draw out the sentence to give off the sense of exasperation.

"Also, please keep in mind that I've never actually been convicted of any crime, though I would imagine your dear Minister of Magic would prefer the opposite. It was quite a shame that he wasn't around to testify at my hearing all those years ago." Jade adjusted the robe/labcoat that he frequently wore in leiu of actual wizard's robes.

"Despite the way I may be coming off to you, I am actually quite adept at following orders. I have an extensive background in experimental magic, as well as lab work, improvised surgery, and managment experience. Unfortunately, I don't have any references. They've all, let's just say 'passed on.' Completely unrelated to anything I may or may not have done in my life, I assure you." If Jade was less than a monster, he may have winked. He hadn't quite learned how to perform the more detailed human emotions. Or rather, never cared to.