Stella nodded at Violet, "Thank you so much. I'm sure I'll be taking you up on your offer very soon!" Stella kind of wanted to get to know people in her division, so she figured after she got through her paperwork she'd walk around a tad and maybe meet her division head and such.

Helena smiled at Violet, "I'm good, actually... I feel like I ate too many cookies in that meeting though. hehe. How're you?" The woman grinned with excitement as she brought up the amassadorship, "Ooh, I'm SO interested. Even if I was a hydrophobe, I'd still be very interested." It was weird. She was one of four people in her family who weren't completely terrified of water. Ah well.

Elaine had stood by the door for only seconds before she heard an introduction. "New employee papers, huh? So I'm not the only new kid on the block! I should go introduce myself. And.... I should probably fill out all of that paperwork too."

Elaine wound her way towards who she thought had called herself Stella to introduce herself. "Hey I'm new here too. I just overheard your introduction-Pardon my eavesdropping. I'm in the British Seats division. Where did you work before? Oh uh... Sorry I always get these things mixed up. I'm Elaine Pierce."

Stella smiled at the woman who introduced herself as Elaine. "Oh, it's no problem. It's nice to meet you!" She stuck her hand out for a handshake, from Violet's introduction, it seemed like a perfectly normal thing to do. Right? Stella instantly felt so young again, and kind of naive. She knew she wasn't. She knew she'd graduated with high marks, rankings, all that jazz. She knew she'd traveled around, but she didn't really know how to answer this question.

She really didn't even know how she'd gotten a position in the Ministry on such a whim. "Well, I just graduated a couple years ago. I just recently turned twenty, you see... I was sort of off traveling for the last couple years. So, I didn't really have a job. This is my first. Official job, that is. While traveling I did a few odd jobs... muggle and magic alike." Stella smiled again. She'd learned a lot while she was gone, and that was the important part.

Even if it totally embarrassed her now, in an office setting. It had been the right choice.

" I see you looked at your son's picture" J.J. Starr told Violet. " I know how it is to be so close to your family " Joe Jon Montcenaggio said to Violet as he looked at his picture of his wife Katalin and his children, William and his newborn Amelia. " I am going to Atlantis and talk to the mermaids and my wife said I could go " J.J. explained to Violet.

"That's great! I would love to go, but the Division heads are completely out on this one." Violet smiled at her, she was one a the few people from her division that came into the office regularly. "Did you talk to Gina about what all is going to happen?" Violet hoped that Helena would be picked to go for sure. Violet wondered how many people that Gina was looking to go to Atlantis.

"Hello Dear!" Violet chimmed when she hard another new voice in the office. "I think I heard that you belong to British seats? Am I correct?" Violet hoped so, she would love to have another activie person around the office. "I'm Violet Reed, Division head of British Seats." She stuck out her hand for another shake. In the past few weeks that seemed to be all she was doing, since Violet herself is pretty new in the Department.

"Hello J.J." Violet added when he came over to join them. "Yes my son is very important to me, since it's been just me and him for the past ten years." Violet left it at that, because she didn't think she could stand to talk about Corey with so many people around. It just didn't seem right, now right now anyway.

"Well, I am glad to hear you and your son are so close" J.J. Starr told Violet. " So will we both be working together in Atlantis?" Joe Jon Montcenaggio asked Violet. "I would love for us to talk about our families in the near future since we are just part of a handful of people who have familes" J.J. said to Violet.

Helena looked at Violet, "Aww, that's a shame..." But when she thought about it, it was probably to show the merpeople that the Ministry gave such important jobs to employees of all levels. "Actually, I'm getting ready to head over there now." Nodnod.

"Oh so you are applying to go to Atlantis as well?" Violet smiled at J.J. he always seems so enthusastic about work, Violet wished she could be that up beat all the time. "Actually, the division heads are out on this one. We are hanging back." Violet told J.J. about the Department Head's decision on not allowing the three of them to go along.

"OH! Well don't let me stop you." Violet told Helena. "If you have any questions after your meeting then I'll be in my office." Violet motioned over to her desk. "Or if you just want to talk about how excited you are I'm there for that to." Violet was hoping to get to know her employees as friends and not just as co-workers.

Elaine was taken aback by Stella's offered hand. She's half-blood and was around her mum enough to know how to shake a hand, but hadn't ever been offered a handshake by magical folk. She reached for Stella's hand eagerly and gave a firm handshake. "Where all did you travel? That sounds fascinating! Not to mention-I'm sure it's given you lots of experience, especially for working in the department of International Cooperation! I'll bet you're a lot better qualified than you give yourself credit. My husband and I just moved here from Ireland to be closer to family. Good Merlin, I miss it there though!" Her mind turned briefly to the little cottage they left behind and just as quickly turned to how fun it would be to travel around the world and visit different places. It'd been years since she'd been able to get away for awhile, especially to do pleasure travelling instead of for business or visiting family here. A thought occurred to her-"By the way, do you have any idea what you or I do here?"


Elaine turned toward the new voice and was surprised to see that it was directed at her. "Yes, I am in the British Seats Department. The memo I received said my division head was someone else, so you must be new here too. It's GREAT to meet you! Where did you work before? Are you from around here?" Elaine took the proferred hand and gave another hearty handshake. She got a warm feeling that she was really going to enjoy working here. "By the way, what did I miss at the meeting? I saw the memo as I was coming in but by the time I got over there it was already over."

"Well, I guess we both applied for the interesting job" J.J. Starr told Violet. " Oh well, if I can't go, I will just work hard here" Joe Jon Montcenaggio said to Violet. " I hope both of us get to go so I could work with you" J.J. explained to Violet.

"Oh does the memo still say Alyssa on it?" Violet wondered if Gina even noticed, not big deal Violet thought, she's just make note to change it a little later. "I'm fairly new yes, but I've got the hang of things now." Vi giggled a little and then started to fiddle with her hair, she did when she had nothing else to do with her hands. "Yes I'm afraid that you did just miss the meeting, but I can fill you in on what happened." Great! Violet thought, she finally felt like she was being useful. "The meeting was to get to know our new Department head, as well as to let all the employees know that we are looking for ambassadors to go to Atlantis and talk to the mermaids about water pollution. The mermaids are realy upset and we are hoping to call the situation before things get out of hand." Violet explained to her. "If you are interested in applying all you have to do is talk to Gina. She'll explain the rest of the detials." Violet took a deep breath in, she talked much faster than she needed to.
Hmm....J.J. must have misunderstood Violet, "No J.J. I will not be going with, the Divisions heads are staying here in London while you guys go speak for our Ministry." Violet hoped that she gave a better explination this time. "How I do enjoy working with you and if you need any help around the office feel free to speak to your Division, as well as myself, the other division head or the Department head" Violet forgot which division J.J. belonged to.

Helena smiled at Violet as she spoke, "I'll make sure that I do pop in after the meeting, I promise." And then with a cheerful grin, she left Violet to get on with her work, and she went to Gina's office.

Malachi walked back into the work area some time after he had left the conference room with an almost foolish grin on his face and a spring in his step. he walked over to his desk and checked to see if he had recieved any memos in his absence and then looked around to see if Camila had found her things.

" Oh, well I am sorry I misunderstood you" J.J. Starr told Violet. "Well, I hope I get picked to go" Joe Jon Montcenaggio said to Violet. " Ok, maybe we will work together some time in the near future" J.J. explained to Violet.

Stella smiled and felt a surge of confidence rise from within her. "It was an absolutely brilliant experience. I went... well, just about everywhere for some period of time. Ireland, France, Turkey, Norway, Sweden, China, India, Tanzania, South Africa, America, Spain, Peru, Scotland, you know... everywhere. But it was definitely a learning experience." Stella relaxed as she spoke, the tension that she'd felt on her first day of the job started to melt away.

"Well, you said you were a part of the British Seats, right? You happen to represent Britain in international affairs of sorts. I'm in a body that regulates Trading Standards. But, as far as I can tell, it's mostly just paperwork." Stella smiled at her little joke. She'd just made her first office-joke!

Madrigal sat at her desk, doing the tedious paperwork that was needed to apply for ambassadorship. She'd finished an essay not long ago and had submitted it to be reviewed, but was now filling out templated submission forms asking for all of her personal and contact information. Beaurocracy, she thought to herself incredulously, the corner of her mouth upturning slightly. Both and wonderful and irritating ideal.

She sighed heavily and put down her pencil, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She'd spent so long looking at the sheets of paper half a meter in front of her that her head was beginning to throb slightly, just behind her eyes. When she opened her eyes, they fell on the picture frame sitting on her desk. It was the only non-professional item that Madrigal had allowed to clutter her workspace.

A young man with black hair and slightly sad eyes smiled at her from the photograph. He raised one hand and waved sullenly. Ater had always been a sort of sad person, but she could tell that his eyes sparkled whenever he looked at her. Forgetting her paperwork momentarily, Madrigal reached forward and caressed the frame of the photograph with gentle but sure hands. She smiled at the photograph and said, "Oh, where are you, Ater? Where have you gone?"

The man in the picture placed his hand against the edge of the frame where Madrigal's thumb touched it and he looked at her with regret and shrugged silently. Ater had been sent on an assignment for the Ministry nearly a year ago and... well, he just hadn't ever come back. Madrigal pressed her lips together and her forehead wrinkled slightly. Anyone who knew her well knew that this was the most emotion she ever showed and the pain would have been obvious in her expression.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, pulling her wand from her sleeve. She tapped on the picture frame lightly and it vanished from her desk, leaving the cubicle completely bare of any personal touches. She took a deep breath as she looked at the place where the picture had been sitting a moment ago and, recomposing her features into one of resignation, she started once more on her paperwork.

As Elaine listed to Violet, she began to think about what it'd be like working as an ambassador to the mermaids. Her father had died when she was 16 and before then she hadn't really cared to ask what he did at work. Her mother was of no use since she always got magical terminology mixed up and probably didn't really understand what it was. She'd probably try to tell Elaine that her father was a dementor before offering any useful suggestions, just because it sounded familiar. However, Elaine did remember her father talking in different languages at dinner and story time to entertain his kids. And boy did it work! He always told her that their family had a special gift with languages but that you still have to work on it. Elaine wondered if she'd be able to pick up Mermish quickly and if she possessed this gift. Her interest was certainly piqued. The pragmatist in her head said that it was her first day on the job, and that she really enjoyed the job and that it was steady and dependable and that she wouldn't have to spend much time away from her family. She did have a couple questions for Violet though. "Before I go talk to Gina, would you mind answering a few questions? This is my first day here and I love it here so I was wondering if it was even possible to go-especially since I'm not very familiar with how everything is run yet. Also, Would that mean I wouldn't work here in the British Seats department anymore, or is that part of our work here, or in addition to it? I'd hate to leave this job so soon."

Elaine laughed appreciatively at Stella's joke. "So do you actually speak any of those languages? Where were your favorite places to go? Do you have any intention of looking into the ambassadorship? That sounds really interesting but I feel like I'm just barely getting settled in here, unless it's part of the job. Then I think it'd be fascinating! Who said your travel had to stop by getting a full-time job?" That was another bonus to the job-Elaine had only heard good things about Atlantis-it's mesmerizing beauty, the hospitality of the merpeople, etc. She'd love to visit there.

Camila turned around and saw that Malachi had walked back into the office. She flashed him a wide grin and a thumbs up before returning her gaze to her new desk. Right, now this looks right, she thought satisfied. It did need a bit more work to make it look more comfortable which meant that she needed to go shopping soon.

Stella shrugged a little, "Well... I'm not sure that I'm really qualified. I've only just began my job here. I think after attaining more experience I'd be more suited for the task... I picked up a little in every country, of course. But, for the most part I didn't know any when I got there. I knew French... A fair amount of Italian, Spanish, and German. But, I was only fluent in French and English. It wasn't as difficult as it sounds. So many people across Europe are bilingual... And most wizards speak some amount of English anyway. Most."

Stella had yet to meet any people in her own division. She wondered idly where all of them were... perhaps all were applying for the ambassadorship?

But... ALL of them? Really?

Violet smiled at Elaine, "That's okay that it's your first day here, every one needs to start work some where." Violet looked for papwork to give to her for all the ambassador information. "Well, no you are still part of the British Seats division, but yes you will have to leave London at go to Atlantis to speak to the mermaids. They would not be able to come over here to speak to us." Violet hoped she did a well enough job explianing the job and hoped that Eliane was still interested in doing the job.

Malachi noted that Madrigal looked... less than happy, even in his own state of elation. He decided to let her work it out for herself, afterall if it was a work matter she would come to him and if it was a personal matter, well it didn't need to be discussed at work. Malachi had never been very good with women who were upset, he never knew what to do to make them feel better.

When Camilla gave him a thumbs up, Malachi nodded and then settled to deal with some of the paperwork that had accumulated on his desk. When he was done, he walked over to Camilla. "Did you find your things? I understand that they were boxed up carefully before everyone was moved in here." He indicated the large, airy work space. "Any thoughts on Atlantis? Has anyone filled you in? I know I was a little longer than ten minutes." He blushed just a little.

"Oh yeah, I found my things alright" She answered him brightly, pointing at the organized pile she has put them in. "But the desk looks too plain, I'm planning a shopping trip to lighten things around here." She added, looking around at the dead-looking desk. She didn't like that at all, it was too plain. Her old cubicle was all colourful with all the posters she had put around and the quilt she had put up on a side of her wall which she had made herself. She really did need to liven this desk to feel comfortable and more at home.

"Oh no, I haven't seen anyone of the old crowd yet." She answered him, "Everyone here seems new." She added a slight edge to her voice. She didn't like to work in crowded places. "But what about Atlantis?" She asked him, her interest peaking up at once. She wondered how much have happened since she was gone, and decieded to get to know more people around here.

BAM!

That was the kind of entrance Harland would have liked to make to his first day on the job. Unfortunately, he didn't think that was the smartest idea... yet. Tall and dark, Harland Flynn was the newest, average Ministry worker.

His almost-electric blue eyes scanned those around him as he wound his way through to his new cubicle and set down the single cardboard box he had brought with him. There wasn't much in it as he one by one placed the items on his desk. - a cup of quills, a few bottles of ink, some rolls of parchment, a framed picture of he and some his friends at an Italian bar, and his more important framed picture of him and his dog.

Okay, so it wasn't the most glamorous workspace in the world, but he'd add to it. Harland ran a hand through his wavy dark brown hair and, in the meantime, looked around at the people who would be his coworkers.

Violet could see the excitment in the people around her. The trip to Atlantis was growing very close, she wondered how many people had applied for the position and wished that she could be part of the group going along. She had made one trip there a few years ago for a different job. But that was such a long time ago that she didn't even remember all the details. The city is beautfiul though, she did remember that. After watching J.J. and Helena go talk to Gina about the trip, she hoped that more people would want to go as well. Vi moved back to her desk and began signing the paper work she had left undone for the past few weeks. They would be wanted it soon and would start to send Howlers if she didn't get it done pretty quickly.