Gris stretched out as she looked over her desk, mostly now being a mess, not a huge mess. This was improvement, this is how you make your situation bearable. Most of the mess was from her finishing work so there was this as a massive improvement. It was something she really should get to cleaning more, mostly coffee mugs she duplicated to keep a track of how many cups she was having through the day, but also paperwork. Which was the more important part she had to keep an eye on, she had several pieces of important paperwork scattered about, she thinks its in the right order, she is fairly sure. Okay not at all but...

She groaned and rested her head down onto the papers, no one told her being an Auror would be so boring, she expected to be beaten, or tortured, or hurt in some way. That she could manage, not the torture part very well maybe. But she could cope with being hurt, but the amount of paperwork. This wasn't right,  she'd seen several full Aurors ignore paperwork, so why does she have to do...what was this work again? She remembered someone making her copy and file several incident reports so that they had non magical copies of it.

She needed a break, she really did. She was ahead of her work, surely she can try to get some extended weekend? Does that even work with Aurors? She has extra work given to her due to finishing early, it's due next week, she could get it done tonight, or by morning if she gets a pizza...

She stood up briskly and tapped her wand onto the papers, making them neatly flatten themselves and lay ontop in a clean stack. More then anything, she could do with friends at work, Fauna was nice, that was about all she knew, most assumed she was lazy, which she resented, she was lazy, but for the good reasons. If she can make an Auror friend, then work would be much easier right?

She spotted another trainee in the office, that would be a good target for friendship, she hoped. She probably appeared a sight, having long ago shed the Auror robe, now being dressed in a torn with age hoodie about twice the size of her, with some short jean shorts and tights. What was the trainee's name again? Reine? Reina? She thinks that.

"Hey Reina." She said with a dozy smile, eyes darkened slightly with bags and hair only slightly frazzled. "How are you doing?" She asked as she combed at her hair with fingers.

She had commandeered one of the desks that were reserved for junior use, in a relatively quiet corner of Auror HQ. Raine wasn't even supposed to be in for a shift today but she had come anyway, to sort out paperwork so that she could say she had finished all of hers the next time someone wanted to borrow a trainee for an investigation.

That nonsense at St.Mungo's on Valentine's had been... exciting. Doing the paperwork for it was less exciting though. It made her itch for trouble, for hexes and shields and sprinting about town in her animagus form.

Comfortably dressed with her hair up in a curly knot, the redhead was proofing a report from the hospital when she heard someone approach.

       "Hey Reina. How are you doing?"

"It's Raine," she replied tonelessly. "I'm trying to get all these reports out of the way."

She finished reading the paragraph she was on before looking up at the other witch. Hericho was one of those girls she never paid much attention to at school. Outside of dating a Hufflepuff, she hadn't fraternised much with that house. Raine had been surrounded by the protective aura of haughty Slytherins and Ravenclaws, to say nothing of her own riotous Gryffindor kin.

Life had been simpler, give or take one murderous aunt.

"What do you want?" she raised a fiery eyebrow, appraising her peer's appearance - it was a contrast to her own sense of neatness and style. "I imagine Fauna has a comb in her drawer you can borrow."

"Raine, sorry." She made sure to apologize and correct herself quickly, giving it a few utterances under her breath to help it stick in her brain, it was a good tactic and she didn't want to get it wrong again did she? That would be ruder then it was originally and the goal here was to make friends after all. Antagonizing was never a way to make friends out of people. Unless they were into that? Or you wanted to be Frenemies? Gris didn't want a frenemy though.

She was taken aback by her comment however, a comb? She didn't need a comb, why would she? She was perfectly groomed, okay actually her hair was somewhat frizzy and out of place, but she blamed that on work not her own groomed, she had organized it this morning with magic and that was fine. She might rely on magic too much but it was all fine. Although she did find it somewhat rude to insinuate she needed to comb it.

"I brushed it this morning." She said softly as she moved her hand to pat her hair and try to make it somewhat decent. She didn't need to nick a comb from Fauna, and plus she didn't like combs at all.

"I just wanted to see how you were, and if you wanted to take a little break." She gave off a friendly but tired smile, almost like the smile a sloth gives you, but on a human. "It's getting sort of late and it'll do you good." She tried to sound friendly and joyful, she didn't want to come across as if she was bullying the girl to stop her work for being a good worker after all.

With a little smirk she leaned down a little onto the desk, careful not to get too close or disturb anything as a playful smirk lifted the corner of her mouth.

"We need to keep you relatively stress free to ensure you stay as cute as possible after all~"

Raine checked her watch, which had been turned around to the inside of her wrist. Time flew when you were doing paperwork. A break was probably preferable - she marked the page in the folder with her quill before shutting it and pushing her chair back. It was always annoying to interrupt work momentum but this wasn't life and death.

            "We need to keep...ensure you stay as cute as possible after all~"

The redhead stood, fixing her eyes on her fellow trainee. Do you good? Keep you stress free? Cute?

"Keep talking to me like I'm a child," she unstuck her wand from where it was resting behind her ear, speaking casually, "I'll hex you so hard Tulojow will need a pay raise."

She twirled her wand - a habit she'd picked up as a child - and grabbed her bag. "Where are we going? Canteen or Diagon?"

Gris couldn't help but laugh at Raine getting angry, it was cute! And it was a fun threat! Half the time when people were angry at her they just called her names or said they'd knock her lights out, this may be the threat she has had so far!

"Alright, don't get your knickers in a twist." She giggled as she watched her twirl her wand, but the question was who kept their wand behind their ear? Seems like a good way to accidentally cast on yourself.

Question of canteen vs Diagon was a good one, the canteen is much closer and more likely to be open, although Alohomocha would likely be open still. Giving off those cozy late hour vibes.

"Up to you, canteen means less distraction from work. Diagon will mostly be finding a place open and me getting distracted by any still open magazine stands." She mused it in her head. "Canteen won't be as good most likely." She wasn't sure if that would deter, its not that the canteen was bad by any chance.

Gris gently shrugged and moved to stand ready, fingers moved out of her hair and into the pockets of her hoodie, it was comfy and warm and comfy. So exactly how she liked clothes to be.

She slung her bag over her shoulder, glancing at Gris. Laughing and telling her not to get her knickers in a twist. Gris sounded a lot more like a condescending auror than a trainee, which rather put her off wanting to get to know the other witch.

"Why are you talking to me like that?" Raine crossed her arms, quizzical. "I mean, friendly? I don't know you Hericho."

Nobody could say she didn't have strong boundaries. It was natural - she had been one half of twins, the most exclusive kind of club, and everything outside of that was viewed with a critical eye before being let in. Gris was just another trainee whose life she was oblivious about unless relevant to their work.

She didn't seem to be liking the friendly speak, she'd need to try something else, if they did get along with eachother, then it would be a more serious thing, or perhaps they wouldn't get along well? And only interact casually and briefly? Decent terms acquaintances were always good too! Like the Barista you meet daily and get on good talking terms with, never really friends, but get along well.

Raine could be like a Barista!

"Sorry, I thought to try to be friendly." She said with a slight shrug, toning herself down, she could be too much, so she'd try to mellow out for her.

"I figured could be good to atleast get along. If I make it to being an Auror." If the paperwork didn't kill her that is. "Would be nice to have potential friends about."

She stretched herself out and stifled a yawn. "Plus you were an inspiration during the Tetra. And I think that alone should have me buying you a coffee atleast."

She wasn't impressed with Gris' social acumen, and regretted giving the other witch the opportunity to do what children do: ask to be your friend. It was silly but at least it was honest.

"You're too obvious." Raine informed her with a shrug as she began to move off, expecting Hericho to follow. "Just ask to go on a break without all that nonsense about staying cute and buying me coffee. You're flattering nobody's intelligence, least of all your own."

They navigated the bullpen with ease, it was late enough that things were slowing down before the evening shift. Raine pulled the tie off her hair and fluffed her curls. "I really hope duelling is your forte. Your brains certainly aren't. We're going to Alohomocha by the way."

She wasn't quite sure if Raine was trying to joke or insult her, she thought she had quite a good brain, just maybe not in regards to pleasing Raine, but a good brain nonetheless. She bit her lip with a small smirk, she wouldn't get mad about it either way, she didn't know too much about her, for all she knew this was how Raine naturally was, or how she showed affection.

"I think it was more for my ability to spy and transfiguration skills." She shrugged while keeping pace with her, she could duel, she knew that, she wasn't a world class but she was confident unless they were proficient or very experienced she could take them on. She reckoned she likely could take on some of the better duelists, not win, but if she had to fight say Professor Storm, she thought she could hold out until backup arrived, which for her in any case, seemed like the right thing to do in the situation anyway.

Alohomocha seemed about right, it was the coffee place to go for Aurors, or atleast where she was sent often. Which reminded her of the loyalty card she had in her pocket, she pulled it out swiftly. "That's good, I got a full card, drinks are on me." She looked over the stamp card listing she'd bought the ten coffees required for a free basic coffee or money off for a special coffee.

She was fine with paying when they get there, its not as if her work allows her the time to go and buy stuff, if anything all she buys tends to be coffee, her rent and occasionally groceries. Or perhaps it was just how she worked and others didn't struggle to balance time as much.

Ability to spy? She supposed that sounded right - Gris' animagus form was better suited to inconspicuous observation than her own. Caracals looked like the kind of odd cat wixes might have for a familiar but they were also larger, more noticeable. Raine didn't genuinely think the other witch was a bad trainee... that is, she thought more highly of her seniors' judgement.

They were waiting for the lift when Hericho pulled out her loyalty card, which earned her an unimpressed glance.

The lift doors slid open and they boarded, the only occupants for now. "No," she rolled her eyes. "I'll get drinks. You should save your galleons for the inevitable lobotomy."

Ding!

Some beast handlers from four joined them in the carriage but Raine remained by the buttons instead of shuffling to the back. She looked at Gris, her own voice joining the boastful chatter around them.

"What have you been working on?"

The inevitable lobotomy, she wasn't sure if that meant her buying enough alcohol to go numb, the amount of paperwork or having to pay for an actual one...Wait was Raine implying she had too many emotions and needed to be emotionless for the job? If so that was a bad take at the work, if anything they needed the emotions so that they can be fired up about the job, or get emotional over something to further drive yourself for taking someone down.

"If I'm to go with archaic medical practices, I'll take the NHS." Her tone soured somewhat, she didn't mean entirely to sound so annoyed with it, the topic and organization had been somewhat spoiled for her by...heated discussions with her mother. "Sorry, that was unwarranted." She sighed as she shook her head.

Soon they were joined in the lift by a few people from Level Four, just as Raine was asking about what work she had been doing, was now really the right time? She couldn't exactly disclose cases in this kind of environment, certainly she must know that right? Or is she trying to test Gris, taking it upon herself to challenge if Gris was right to work here? It was a good test if so, or was she just overthinking things?

"Mostly the mind numbing paperwork, earliest stuff is due Wednesday and its only organizing the papers." She sighed softly. "The other stuff is not appropriate here." She said with a tone that tried to imply she wasn't insulting Level Four, just trying to be professional. She hoped they didn't get mad and hide a Niffler in her bag. "Perhaps once we get there yeah? Unless you meant transfiguration work."

She decided that maybe Gris operated on a plain of existence that rarely required conversation. Maybe that was it - maybe she wanted to be friends because she didn't have any and was out of practice. Raine resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

            "Mostly the mind numbing paperwork... other stuff is not appropriate here."

"Obviously," the redhead did, then, roll her eyes. "I meant what you were doing here. Are you on shift? I'm not supposed to be, I just came in for the paperwork."

The lift doors open and the group streamed out, beast handler oblivious to the young witches conversations'. Raine followed the now-routine walk towards the atrium. She had floo'd in today and left her coat at home, but they wouldn't be out in the cold for long in Diagon.

"The Gamp incident left behind a lot of red tape to cross reference against St.Mungo's," she fell back on talking about work because she suspected the other witch might try smirking or being friendly or start talking about knickers again. "And then level nine submitted their report, because Morgenthau was there, and their format is just nonsense."

Between the head of Mysteries showing up at the hospital and Abby being exorcised, she had noted the usually invisible hand of Nine being not-so-invisible lately.

Oh, right, her shifts, yes, that made some sense. What were her shift times again? It was somewhat hard to remember, she mostly just showed up at five-AM and left around twelve-AM, if she did things right anyway, she just knew that Weekends were her days off typically and that was good enough for her. If she remembered right Fridays were a bit earlier then normal?...that would put it at...

"I think I was meant to start at seven and leave at three? But by then I was only halfway through what's due Wednesday and I didn't want to leave it unfinished." She shrugged, she'd came in at five anyway, half her life was powered by coffee now, she'd only passed out in public once this year.

Ah yes, Level Nine, the boogey-wix of the Ministry, she wasn't entirely fond of them, too much weird stuff down there, the fact that their members were called Unspeakables and weren't allowed to talk about anything they did was more disturbing, she didn't even want to know what they did down there, she'd heard one person say that they had to go there and saw an arch with a shimmering veil of black, her mind went straight to the questions of how much was weird things found and moved there, how much was the ministry built around to contain?

Also surely there must be a better location for Level Nine? If they're performing dangerous experiments down there, surely it would be better to do it somewhere else then the seat of the magical government in the UK? The magical world wasn't safe, that was obvious, but that just seemed reckless.

"None of the reports from us will mean anything then if the head of Level Nine was there." She said with a sigh. "My only real thing is sorting evidence from the Mcboids." It was a bit weird to think, but she thought her photos from the scene had developed fairly well, perhaps she wouldn't be a top level photographer, but if Auror didn't turn out, Photographer could be a viable path...

Gris' life sounded so inefficient, it nauseated her a little. She wondered if there was a time management workshop on two. Raine's own life was neatly ordered - there was room for flexibility but she took pains to create routines that gave her a sense of structure and context. Well, she had to. There was a lot of things that needed doing.

"Sorting evidence is much more interesting than reports," she commented blandly as they approached a free fireplace with its tongues of green fire. "McBoids? Is Moira involved? Hold on, tell me when we're sat down."

The redhead called out the name of their chosen coffee shop and stepped into the flames.

***

The coffee shop was busy, though there were free tables to be had. Everything smelled wonderful, of coffee and baked goods and someone nearby was wearing a divine Oud perfume. Raine dusted off her buttercup sweater primly and then shook out her curls; she needed a haircut soon.

A tall barista behind the counter gave her a wave and she waved back at him with a quick smile before turning to make sure Gris had gotten through. Who knows? She could be lucky, and Hericho could be spat out on the other side of the island right about no--

Nope. She'd gotten here, and in one piece.

"What do you want? I'll order, you grab a table."

She supposed it was true that sorting evidence was somewhat better then filing paperwork, but that depended on the type of evidence. She'd much rather file paperwork on finding Misses Smith's Cat after it ran up a tree in her garden, then she would sort photographic evidence of the Dunnigan Brothers when they were found in the phone booth. She figured that would be somewhat normal to most people, you'd rather look at paperwork no matter how mind numbing then see photos of mutilated bodies.

***

With a woosh she emerged from the fireplace, letting go of her nose as she did, it always smelt awful, well she supposed it smelt of chimneys, but that didn't mean it smelt good in the slightest. She often had it when she had a load of soot up her nose from the suddenness of it all, atleast with Apparition you controlled all of it, this was like a death slide, your only control was when you went.

She saw the Barista who was waving over, perhaps to her, more likely to Raine as she was first, she shot him a playful smile before it went quickly, right yes pick out a table and give her the drink order. That made sense, she was still somewhat annoyed that Raine wouldn't let her pay for them. But fine, its not as if she had much else to use her money on after all.

"Hebridean Black, its my favourite." She said softly as she offered her the loyalty card again to use, before she made her bid to get the right seats, if Raine wasn't going to be impressed or like anything else about Gris tonight, the one thing she will like, is her seating arrangement.

And she thinks she managed it, getting seats by the window in the corner, one seat is sat right in the corner, enough space to move in and out and relax, but means you're only visible from one angle, yet you yourself can view out at everything outside. While the other person is more directly in view, and can see out easily, which would be her own seat. Raine can take the more secluded, she thought she might like it, its the more tactical seat meaning if someone were to attack for whatever reason, Gris would be the obvious target.

Atleast she hoped she liked the fact that Gris had picked the seats in a strategic way as such.