Hadley was on OFFICIAL business.

She had left Harmony's office with instructions for a task. She stood in front of the Creature Holding Room, almost unwilling to enter. She knew this room contained beasts with the highest Ministry classification. Even though they were locked in caged, she still felt nervous. She had never had a reason to enter this room regularly; spirits did not need to be locked in cages. They weren't beasts. And the last time she had entered this room was many years ago. She didn't remember anything about it.

She sighed, told herself to grow up, opened the door and walked inside. Her first reaction to the noise was an instinct to run out the room, close and lock the door and prevent anyone else from entering the room. That was silly though! She shook her head and tried as best she could to ignore the noise.

As she walked through the room, looking at each cage to see if they were Glumbumbles, her low heals made rhythmic clicking sounds on the ground. She saw a few cages saying 'XXX' on them and thought that was, perhaps, a good place to start. She searched around in that area looking for the little beasts she had been sent there to find; and there they were! AHA!

But… just as she was about to open the cage, she stopped and thought about what she was going to transport them in. Well, they were't just going to follow her to the greenhouse, were they? No, they weren't. She looked around, almost wanting to run back to Harmony and ask her; but then she saw it. The supply closet! She opened the door and peered inside, finding a carrier that looked to be the perfect size to carry them in. She also picked up another container for the treacle which Harmony had also asked her to bring.

She ushered the Glumbumbles into the transport carrier, and scooped some treacle out of the cage, enough, she hoped, for whatever Aron needed it for. Then she left the creature holding room, each hand busy with something.

The once sleeping peacufully Mutant X awoke with a horrendous screech that could be heard throughout the entire level. Its eyes wide with terror, it began running around its cage as though it were trying to escape an a predator...only the cage remained vacant of all other inhabitants.

Suddenly, the creature froze mid sprint and collapsed on to its side.

Dead as a door nail.

Ember had been at her desk filling out some paper work for a particularly nasty case of doxies recently...when she had HEARD it. The same WAILING the mutants had given before--the plant people were working hard on stuff, but they hadn't done anything yet--and Ember shot towards the holding cells almost instantly--

It had only been one creature, too--she could tell. When she slipped into the little room, though--she studied the cells--"Which one of you--" and she saw the mutant.

It was still.

Ember rushed forward, her eyes growing moist as she opened the cage, grabbing the mutant instantly without a second thought--protocol, she was supposed to wear gloves but--this mutant was appearing as DEAD--she didn't have TIME for gloves--""SOMEONE HELP! HARMONY, ANYONE! WE HAVE A HUGE PRO-PROBLEM--"

She choked on that last word. Were the others soon to follow? Ember held the mutant, sniffling back her emotional tears as she peered around--if any of them showed ANY signs of distress, she was removing them from their cages immediate--

Rest in Peace, little guy. Ember was planning a proper funeral the poor little mutant.

After a small vacation, January was back to work and had quite a bit of paperwork today. However, as soon as she sat down at her desk, she heard a terrifying screech. She looked toward where the noise was coming from and paused... and then heard her coworker calling for help.

Quickly rising from her chair, January hurried to the creature holding room and brandished her wand. Inside, she found Ember holding one of the mutants (with her bare hands?!). "What happened?!? she demanded, stepping a little closer. Why wasn't it moving? It looked..... gone...

Ember was doing her best to be calm. She didn't think it was prudent to cry right now. She'd cry later. At her mum's. Over hot chocolate...or something...while she cried her eyes out about the mutant that they couldn't save...

Someone was here. Ember met eyes with January, looking very forlorn, and set the mutant down on one of the many tables in the room. "He's dead. I heard the scream--and when I came in here--he was dead." She said softly, her voice breaking slightly. Pulling out her wand, she cleaned her hands and then went to find some gloves. "We need to make sure the others don't die--something happened to him--Something caused the scream--we need Harmony--and if ANY of the others start screaming we have to act!" she was thinking of what they could do--"Get them out the cages--maybe we should do that now--I don't know--" she didn't want to overstep boundaries OR do the wrong thing--GAH--

Oh, boy. She looked heartbroken. January hadn't been very attached to the mutants, so she wasn't very distraught about this and was mostly able to keep a cool head. She listened to Ember ramble for a minute before stepping in front of her.

"Shhh, it's okay." January interrupted her panicked train of thought and put her hands on the girl's shoulders. Pat pat. She wasn't very good at the whole... comforting thing. "Before we make any big decisions--" like taking rabid mutants out of their cages "--let's think this through. And wait for Harmony before we decide anything. Sound like a good idea?" Yeah? Yeah. Because January really didn't want mutants running around.

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Originally Posted by sarahlooo

Oh, boy. She looked heartbroken. January hadn't been very attached to the mutants, so she wasn't very distraught about this and was mostly able to keep a cool head. She listened to Ember ramble for a minute before stepping in front of her.

"Shhh, it's okay." January interrupted her panicked train of thought and put her hands on the girl's shoulders. Pat pat. She wasn't very good at the whole... comforting thing. "Before we make any big decisions--" like taking rabid mutants out of their cages "--let's think this through. And wait for Harmony before we decide anything. Sound like a good idea?" Yeah? Yeah. Because January really didn't want mutants running around.

Ember nodded at her words. Just nodded. She ran a thumb across the little mutant's head as she closed it's little eyes. Poor thing looked so...she thought he looked kind of scared, "I know. I should send a patronus to Harmony--" she said softly. "I don't want to move them if we don't have to--those are their safe spots--" but if they started all freaking out--Ember didn't know what she'd do.

She flicked her wand, sadly, and the patronus...just...didn't come out. Sigh. She was failing. Looking at the ground, she felt so..helpless.

It was the worst feeling in the world. Her mockingbird patronus wasn't making an appearance today.

There, we goooo, now she was thinking. January nodded encouragingly and then watched as her patronus charm... failed. She pursed her lips. "It's okay," she whispered and then readied her own wand. "Expecto Patronum," she muttered, followed by a brief, but urgent message. A silvery, wispy dolphin floated out of the tip of her wand and then bounced out of the room towards Harmony's office.

January then looked back to Ember and assessed her quickly. "Are we okay?" she asked, making sure she wasn't about to burst into tears or collapse into a puddle. Also, "You might want to sanitize your hands."

She'd been sleeping at her desk, that much was true. The red head was coming down with something but seeing as she refused to call in sick, she had to deal with the piles of paperwork on her desk as well as her scratchy throat and running nose. Somewhere during her third cup of tea and honey, she must have dozed off.

It was the screech that had caused her to wake but in her exhausted state, she couldn't be sure if she'd had another bad dream about the mutants. Receiving the patronus cemented things for her, though. This was bad.

Heaving herself out of her seat, she hurried to the holding room and what she found there was enough to break her heart.

"I don't understand." Her gloves had been pulled on during the trip over so she was safe to check on the mutant, one that was far too still to be living. The department head's eyes began to water but she tried to keep composed, especially given the look on Ember's face. Speaking of, "Ember? I'll take mutant x now, okay? I'm going to bring it over to the table to make an examination and you should get cleaned up." Her eyes flicked to the woman's hands and then to January.

"Did either of you see what happened?"

Ember nodded at January. "I'm fine." Just...just guilty. She hadn't done...anything. Not that she could have--but the guilt was still very much there. But she was an adult. Twenty-three, to be exact? And she had dealt with the death of animals in her care before--but for some reason, this really got to her. Possibly because they had no idea what was going on, and they hadn't really...done anything to try to help. She didn't think it was anyone's fault--you can't cure what you don't know is going on.

But.

Sigh.

She nodded. "I know--" she said softly, going over to a sink to start the washing process when Harmony came in. Seeing the look on her boss' face just did her in. She had to bite her lip and woman up. "No--No. We didn't. I heard him screaming--and when I came in here, he was in his cage--like that--" she said softly. She had almost thought of CPR. But that was--not safe. Like, so unsafe that Ember wasn't even going to ever try it. "He looks scared, though. Look at his face--" she should have left his eyes open. Then Harmony could have SEEN it for herself. She began the...detox process of her hands...and sighed.

And sniffling..

....and not crying.

Oh no, she wasn't going to cry too, was she? January wasn't heartless. But the mutants weren't exactly... cute. And let's face it, she was in the creatures department for the spirits, not the actual creatures.

She cleared her throat and moved on. "No, by the time I got here, it was already gone." January looked around the room at the others. "The rest don't seem to have any issues. Perhaps X was just... done. We don't really know anything about their life cycle; perhaps that's just... the way it goes." The circle of life? She was just making a shot in the dark here. January dealt with already dead things, so...

Harmony handled mutant x with care as she meticulously looked over its body, looking for any physical signs of injury. The red head couldn't see anything, though.

"I'm wondering if this could be stress related," She said honestly. "The poor mutants seemed so out of it the last time they were acting up and perhaps something going on internally was the cause. Like whatever was going on was too much on its heart." Her expression was somber but so far, Harmony was keeping it together. Truth be told, she was focusing all her energy on figuring out the reasons behind mutant x's death so the others wouldn't suffer the same fate. "It's not fair that someone did this to them. It's just-" She sighed, shaking her head. Creature experimentation at it's finest. /Sarcasm It hurt Harmony's heart.

"I'd like one of you to inform Aron about this. He's allowed the Accidents and Catastrophes department to help figure out just what was making the mutants sick before and he should be kept up to speed on their status."

Her mellow was officially harshed and Harmony just wanted to do something productive...and eat some kale chips...and have a cry and a cuddle with her kneazle.

Harmony Skylark had the sads.

Ember cringed. "It." January had called the mutant an IT. She normally would have told January something about this but..her energy was minimal right now. She finished scrubbing her hands down and sighed, looking back at Harmony.

"He sounded like something was IN the cage with him, Harmony--" she said softly. "I know there wasn't--but--that's what it sounded like. Like there was SOMETHING he was scared of." She didn't know. She probably sounded crazier than usual. Sigh.

Sigh.

All the sighs.

"We need to be ...are the Enviro people working on this? I know they are--I just--" she sighed and bit her lip. "I can tell Aron."

She knew he hated her. But she didn't really care right now. This was official and important business right now. "You definitely think the two instances are connected?" She asked Harmony quickly. Ember did. She was absolutely convinced they are.

And she couldn't get the poor guy's screaming out of her ears. ;_____;

Weeeeell, this wasn't really her place. Harmony was here now and being emotional and thinking about things that could have caused this and January just... didn't know. Anything. And she was slightly uncomfortable in this situation and kind of realizing that she was perhaps being a little insensitive (but really, the things weren't that cute).

"Do you need anything else?" she spoke up. If so, she would help, but if not then she would get back to her ghosty things.

"Thank you, Ember. I'd really appreciate that. I know they were working in the Greenhouse on our level so perhaps try there before going down to Accidents and Catastrophes." Meanwhile Harmony would need to decide what they'd do with the poor thing's body.

At Ember's question, the red head nodded seriously. "I'd say so, yeah." She had a gut feeling and hers were usually spot on.

Poor January looked terribly out of place and of the three of them, she seemed the most level headed and uncomfortable in the room. Harmony managed a kind smile and shook her head. "I think I can take it from here but thank you, January. I'll be sure to let our department know of any news. I know many of you have had interactions with the mutants since they arrived."

And with that, she focused on doing checks on each of the other mutants in the room. They were quiet at the moment but that didn't mean they weren't suffering too. The thought made the department head shudder.

Harmony seemed to notice. January gave her a smile, if a bit stiff, smile and then nodded her head. "Well, just let me know if there's anything I can do." It wasn't her department, but she would be willing to help out for the department as a whole.

She gave her and Ember a sympathetic smile and then made her leave. Poor things.

It seemed to have taken him forever to get here from the greenhouses, but he had finally arrived and with impeccable timing nonetheless.

Lacking his usual confident smirk, the department head stepped into the room. "No need to go find me, I'm here," he said, stating the all too obvious as he approached the trio of ladies, passing one of them as she made her way out, and the bellied up creature. "Dead?"

Ember was about to go get Aron--check the Greenhouses first, yes--when he came in.

Aron.

The lavender-eyed woman nodded at January as she took leave, and she just took in a deeeeep breath when Aron said the "D" word. "Yes--" she said quickly, moving back towards Harmony, her eyes wide with...sadness. And worry. She shot a quick glance at the other mutants--keeping her eyes PEELED for odd behavior. "He's...passed. And we couldn't even help him..." she sighed. She wanted to ask how the Plant people were coming, but then again...

Harmony was here. And Ember didn't much feel like talking. So Harmony would probably ask..."Once you're done with..examining him...can we give him a proper burial?" she asked Harmony, though she doubted the animal would be able to have one. They probably wanted to run all sorts of tests on the little guy and stuff...

Ember had to not cry right now.

Dead. Passed on. No longer with us. Harmony ran through the terms in her mind, wondering if one would sound better than the others, less harsh. The sad truth was that no matter how they phrased it, the mutant wasn't going to be housed in this holding room any more. No chance for recovery. No walking softly into the light. If what Ember had said was true, it seemed to be suffering right before and the thought of that made Harmony's heart drop into her stomach. Her aura was officially a muddied blue.

Hearing Ember's question, Harmony glanced briefly at Aron before speaking. "I'm not sure but as soon as I know what we'll be doing with mutant X, I'll let you know." That was honestly the best she could do right now.

"Please tell me that you're on to something in the greenhouse, Aron." She went to grab another pair of gloves for him in case he wanted to take a closer look at the mutant, though she didn't hand them over just yet.

"We've got it," Emmalee said, as she'd walked through the door as Harmony addressed Aron. Walking directly to Aron - she assumed needing permission to enter the space was implied at this point - she held out the small vial. "Derek says this is what we need and is brewing a larger batch in the greenhouse lab."

It was only as she held it out to him that she took a moment to look around the room and really take notice of the "vibe" of the place. That Ember woman looked upset and Harmony didn't look much better. Emmalee's eyes swept the room and... oh. They had not worked fast enough. At least not for that one.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Aron shut his eyes tight in an attempt to regroup and refocus in his own head. He had suspected, based on the creature shriek, that there was a good chance that their time was running out.

Taking the gloves that Harmony offered and slipping them on, he took a quick glance at the other creatures before looking towards Ember. Officially, there were autopsy tests and other things that ought to be performed on the deceased to help give them more insight into what had happened AND if it was even safe to bury the body or if...well...he wouldn't bring that to the ladies' attention.

"Most likely...yes..." he nodded, not wanting to give a solid answer to that before they knew more. Just then, right as he was about to give his colleague a status update, Emmalee came bursting through the doors.

"Great. No time to waste," he said, forgetting that he was about to inspect the body of Mutant X. "Ember, you should grab another mutant from its cage so we can administer the cure immediately."

Ember just...sigh.

Sigh.

She felt really low right now, but for the sake of the other mutants, she was blocking that lump in her throat from ERUPTING. And also not talking much. Her eyes were downcast.

It was reassuring that she might be able to give the little guy a proper burial. Emmalee rushed in--and Ember's eyes lifted a little, hearing that her DEREK had made a proper potion for the mutants! PRAISE MERLIN! She was so...so glad to hear this...she didn't smile, but she did rush to put on some gloves(again) and went over to one of the mutants' cages, opening it slowly and getting him from inside. Holding him like Harmony had showed forever ago, she tried to keep him calm--covering his eyes to make sure he felt at peace. They liked dark paces.

"Here--"

Harmony was definitely more quiet than usual. This situation had taken a serious toll on her and she was mentally exhausted. She'd be hearing mutant screams in her sleep now, did they know? It was not something she was looking forward to.

The appearance of Emmalee was enough to put some enthusiasm back into the department head, though. This meant there was some kind of hope for the other mutants and that was seriously good news. The kind of news she needed to hear right now.

Watching Ember, she noted the mutant that was selected and the way in which it was being handled, happy to see that her employee was taking such care in the poor creature's treatment.

"Please let this work," She said quietly as she turned her attention to Aron.

It probably felt longer than it had been, but Derek was making sure he got everything right again while brewing the larger batch.

After Merlin knows how long, the lab technician had managed to make the exact same Potion as before and was finally taking it to the Creature Holding Room, where he supposed most people were at the moment. The screech had come from there, he assumed, so the entire Creatures Department was probably there and his boss and now Emmalee too.

Aand he was right. Arriving with the cauldron floating next to him, Derek's eyes immediately went to the... was it dead?? It looked like it was. They hadn't been fast enough then.

However, there were the others and they seemed to still be alive, so all their work hadn't been in vain. With a wave of his wand, a few syringes and needles of different sizes appeared also floating in the air, this time in front of him. "It needs to be injected." Derek said, glancing at Harmony then to Ember to see their reactions. He wasn't a creatures expert but if they couldn't administer the cure, he guessed he would have to do it.

Another flick of his wand and the cauldron and other equipment slowly made their way further into the room.

Did they need help or...?

Mutant Y, arguably the most docile of the bunch, squirmed in protest initially...but it was not long before if found comfort in the human's arms and even let out a soft purring-like noise.

However...

...the moment was not to last as suddenly its fragile body went rigid and it too began to shriek in pain.

"REEEEEEEE REEEEEEEEEE REEEEEEEE!"