Office of Department Head Harmony Skylark
 

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As you stand outside the office of Harmony Skylark, you'll notice a handmade crocheted sign that reads Check your harsh vibes at the door. It is wise to follow this advise before knocking as the department head will no doubt be checking your aura before you enter.

When you step inside, you are overcome with the feeling that you've entered a giant blanket fort. Colorful fabrics cover most of the walls and where there is empty space, pictures of creatures magical and mundane are featured in over-sized bamboo frames. Please take a seat on one of the comfy couches that may remind you of your grandparents in both how they smell and feel, all the furniture here is second hand. And as the scent of incense fills your nostrils, your eyes will wander over to where Ms. Skylark is seated, cross-legged on a pillow right in front of her desk. Best not to ask questions.

OOC: Feel free to come play! Visitors are always welcome!

Jose walked by Harmony's office.. then stepped back. knocking on the door he called out "Harmony?" he knocked again and this time on his last knock it creeped open enough for him to peek his head through. "are you in here?" this time his whole body was in her office.

Placing the box down he pulled out one of the bottles. "if I'm here might as well spray her office too, she did say spray the empty ones" he thought while starting to spray the back of her office.

Harmony had finished spraying the work area and was headed to her own office to get the incense she'd discussed with her employees. Soothing scents could only help what with the spaces in their level having been disheveled by the Chizpurfles and the red head was all for putting people back in a positive state of being.

When she did arrive at her office door, the creature lover was surprised to find it already ajar. Hm, that was interesting. The Department Head creeped closer as much as one could creep with jingling ankle bracelets and peeked through the crack in the door. Ah-ha, JOSE!

Smiling to herself, the red head continued to sneak into the room and right up behind him, waiting until she was close to call out, "BOO!"

Ehehehehe.

Scared yuh.

Jose was bent down to make sure he got the corner of the room real good because he didn't want those nasty little creatures to come back again. spray..spray..spray.. then he dropped the bottle and screamed "Ahhhh" someone had yelled BOO behind him.. clutching his heart he turned his head around to see who it was.. Harmony! he thought while standing up.. "you scared the creatures out of me" he said but now he was laughing..

"do you need me to do anything else? this was the last room that hasn't been sprayed yet so I thought I'd do it for you." he needed to explain why he was in her office, he didn't want her to think that he was snooping around or stealing anything, yeah that would be bad.

That reaction? PRICELESS. Even better that Jose was being a good sport about it. Laughter increased blood flow by 22%, after all. No wonder it was the best medicine. And Jose had just received some from the red headed department head free of charge. You're welcome.

Harmony had herself a good laugh and when she was done, she wiped at the tears that had formed in her eyes and straightened up, clearly pleased with herself. "The opportunity presented itself and I simply could not pass it up." Seize the moment and all that, that's what Harmony lived by.

And no, she wasn't bothered at all that he was in her office. Harmony was the trusting sort. Besides, she'd dealt with dragons in her past so a snooping employee didn't threaten her in the least. Since Jose wasn't snooping and seemed trustworthy, she simply smiled and picked up the bottle he'd dropped. "I appreciate your hard work, Jose. And no, I think that you've helped plenty." She did do a walk around the office, observing the spray job he'd done. Hopefully the Chizpurfles would get the message that their presence wasn't going to be tolerated any longer. Poor dears had been evicted as of now.

"Tell me, did you spot anything suspect in your travels around our level?"

Laughing as he bent over to catch his breath "that was a good one. Bravo Harmony" he said as he stood up to wipe the tears from his eyes.

"oh your too kind" he bowed as she mentioned anything suspect, was he supposed to be keeping an eye out for anything other than the Chizpurfles, oh no.. Think Jose, Think….. "oh no sorry Harmony, I didn't see anything at first glance but if you wanted me to take another walk around and see if I spot anything I can" atta boy Jose, way to offer to do more work, thats just the way he was as he smiled at her some more.

Picking up his transport coffee mug he felt its weight and it felt almost empty, shaking it lightly he confirmed that it was almost done.. "looks like I need more" Jose didn't go anywhere with out his coffee mug.

It was a good one, wasn't it? Pleased Department Head was pleased. Maybe she could tell this one at the next staff meeting! Heh.

Very polite, this one. Harmony appreciated his manners and bowed her head, a small smile playing on her lips. As for his report on the happenings in the other areas of their level, she was relieved that he hadn't found anything. "No, no. You've done more than enough, Jose. I really do appreciate your work ethic." And Harmony turned and went to her desk, rummaging around in the top draw. "If you'll just...bring..." WHERE was her sandalwood incense? It had do be here SOMEWHE-OH! "This incense!" The red head held it up with a grin and wandered over to him. "If you'll just bring this to the work area on your way to refill your cup, that'd be great. That way others can light them as they see fit." She could tell many weren't enthused about the current smell permeating throughout level 4 so change was in order.

Jose just had to smile, he was please that he had done enough. "thank you" he just loved to work for Harmony she has only been his boss for a little bit now but so far she was in the running for becoming his favourite boss of all time and believe me it was a high honour. Jose has met plenty of people that were amazing but Harmony was just blowing them all away.

Taking the incense in his hands "sure, no problem" and wait was she a mind reader too?? "always need a cup of coffee" he laughed as he said his goodbyes "now if you ever need anything I'm always free" well he wasn't always free, he has been spending some time with Elizabeth he had just met when he first moved here and things were starting to get serious… well he thought so.. *cough*

"have a great day Harmony" he left as he closed the door behind him slowly so it wouldn't slam.

Harmony was just finishing up some ginger tea when she heard a knock at her door. Glancing over at her owl wall clock, she was pleased to see that William was RIGHT on time. Unless, that is, she had the pleasure of meeting another coworker so early in the day! Visitors were allllways welcome here.

Rising from her seat, she sauntered over to the door and opened it slowly, head peeking out first before the rest of her was visible. "Ah William, so nice to see you! Please DO come in!" The red head stepped back to let him through, a radiant smile playing on her lips. It was so nice to be back!

Harmony always looked so happy, William realized once she peeked around the door. It made him feel a little less nervous for his meeting, but his hands WERE still pretty clammy. And so was his shirt. Why had he buttoned it up to his neck anyway??

"Hiiii," he replied awkwardly, shuffling in and making his way over to her desk, though he waited to sit down. He had to be on his BEST MANNERS today, as per his father's coaching. "Having a cuppa?" Willy thought he might try for some small talk, since he saw the mug on the desk and all.

His aura was a bright lemony-yellow, did William know? It made Harmony wonder what he was struggling to stay in control of but she didn't ask. Best to keep aura matters to herself unless they were positive ones. Didn't want to mess with the vibes of the day, oh no.

Wandering along behind him, the department head followed towards her desk and settled behind it once again, indicating with her hand that he should sit. "Just finishing one, actually! Would you like some tea? Or maybe some baked kale chips? Just made a batch!"

See? That was the kind of attitude Harmony hoped to see! She beaaaaamed at William and then turned her back on him, setting to work.

She'd selected a dolphin mug from her collection because if she recalled correctly, he'd looked rather stunning in her dolphin print sarong, was it? Seemed fitting he'd keep the dolphin trend alive where tea drinking was concerned. And while the water was heating up, she brought out a container of baked kale chips and set them on the desk in front of him. "Did you know kale is good for the eyes! Keeps 'em healthy and all. I've found my eyesight has most definitely improved since I've started eating it!" YUP. She could definitely give him the recipe if he wanted!

Once the water had warmed, Harmony poured it into the mug over some mint tea leaves. She then carefully placed it in front of William. Once the sugar and milk were set out, she sat back in her chair once again and smiled at him expectantly.

"So, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Surely he hadn't just come for the tea.

"Ideal snack if you're trying to eat healthy but still crave crisps," Harmony shared, helping herself to a few too. She was thinking of bringing her recipe down to the food court in case they too wanted to share them with the ministry as a whole. Healthier food choices would surely encourage a healthier lifestyle and who could argue against that?

The red head snorted at William's pun, clearly pleased with the word play. How very clever of him! And he was such a good sport about the whole mutant situation too which she had appreciated. A sense of humor and positive attitude were positive attributes and ones Harmony was pleased to find in her employees. "I'll have to remember that one for the future!"

Ah yes, Harmony had expected to hear from him about this at some point. The department head sat back in her chair, an unwavering relaxed expression on her face. She was slightly hurt by his assumption that he'd been overlooked but she remained passive, letting him finish before she said anything. And yes, there was plenty to say.

"First of all, thank you for coming to be about this. I appreciate when people are honest and open about their feelings and I'm glad that I heard your grievance from you." Because hearing it from someone else might have broken her creature loving heart, honestly. "And I assure you that your hard work has not been overlooked. I appreciate your dedication to this department and your willingness to help in all areas when needed, though there have been some concerns about your actions that were brought to my attention." She paused here and poured herself more tea, letting everything sink in.

After adding a bit of milk to the tea, the red head continued on. "I was told, during our time in the vet clinic, that you were off doing some exploration, of sorts." And calling it that was probably generous as the department head who had approached her had deemed it trespassing, basically. "And in areas that you were not authorized to be in, according to the source. While I assured the concerned party that I had seen no issues with your behavior where your work was concerned, I could not let the complaints go unnoticed." Which was unfortunate. "In the higher positions, as I'm sure you're aware, you need to collaborate with other departments when necessary. I hope you can see why complaints from other departments about your motives were somewhat alarming. And so I decided to watch you and see if any more complaints came in."

Deciding to let William speak up at this point, she clasped her hands in front of her and watched him curiously, her expression not unkind. "Do you have any comments before I continue?"

hehehehehe
 

As Harmony was somewhat an expert at sensing vibes, the red head could immediately feel the change of vibes in the room as the topic of discussion shifted in a more serious direction. Not only that but William's aura was now quite muddied red, reflecting some anger. Harmony took this into consideration as she shifted in her seat, expression impassive. She was willing to hear everything that he had to say just as she'd heard the complaining party out at the time. It was only fair and as the dragon enthusiast seemed particularly upset about what had happened, perhaps it was best to give him a safe space to express his feelings without adding too much to the discussion.

"Harassment is a serious allegation and I do hope that this matter can be fixed so that no one experiences any negativity like this in the future." As for the complaining party, Harmony had no qualms about saying who'd voiced concern to her. "Emily Browne was the one who came to me though she was speaking for more than just herself when she expressed displeasure with some of the things you were doing." The red head had not appreciated some of the things that had been said during that meeting but she kept an open mind all the same. "And I made it clear to her at the time that where your personal relationship is concerned, I had and have no desire or right to get involved. I do, however, have a duty to make sure that everyone's rights are being respected in the workplace."

"Can I ask you what you were doing that created this animosity with the other departments? I don't mean to imply that it was mischievous, just that your presence in another department seemed to spark the conversation I had with Emily." Also, she was curious how things were now. "I'm also wondering if there have been any other altercations since we've returned to the ministry."

WELL. Harmony was extremely upset to hear that William's pants sacrifice was being used as the punchline to some joke and her face fell a bit which was usual for her. It took a lot to irk the red head but unkindness and mocking were not things she dealt with lightly. "Why I'll have her know that it is extremely common for men and women to wear sarongs in the home in many culutures!" And the sarong Harmony had given to William had been GIFTED to her on a journey to India so she did not appreciate any sort of digs at the use of it considering it had special meaning to her. "It all seems quite childish, honestly. And here I thought we were all adults." Holding up a finger to let William know she needed a minute, the red head reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a smiley faced stress ball. She then proceeded to squish it at a rapid rate as she breathed deeply. Innnnnnn. Ouuuuuuut. Innnnnn. Ouuuuuut.

Okay. She was good. She was centered.

"As I've said, anything that took place between the two of you in that setting, though I do frown upon it, is none of my business." So no, she was less concerned with that than with the other things Emily had brought to her attention during their talk. Things which William was shedding some light on now, actually. The now slightly more relaxed department head rested the stress ball on the desk and folded her hands, her attention on what the dragon expert was saying.

"What happened in the Department of Mysteries alarmed several people." Harmony understood that William and his accomplice had good reason for going but still. "Pointing fingers and trespassing, no matter the reason, only points accusing fingers back at you and that seems to be what happened this time around." Which was unfortunate. "And while I do trust that you had the best intentions and I admire you wanting to get to the bottom of the lockout and the mutants, I think there were better ways to go about it." But all that was in the past, yes? Apparently so from what he was telling her.

"Listen, William, I quite enjoy having you in my department. You're a hard worker and you're willing to get your hands dirty. You're also a team player which is something I value." And that's what she wanted to see more of. "Now while I do not have to justify my hiring a new Dragon Commissioner from outside the office, I do have another rather exciting position I've been wanting to fill and I'd like to promote from within." She just needed to see someone rise to the occasion and show that they could handle the job. "So I assure you that there is still room to grow but I need you to assure me that I can count on you to be more careful. Your actions reflect back on this department and while that may be unfair, it is life."

Well it looked like they were ending this meeting on a positive note which pleased Harmony because she so hated to see any of her employees suffering from negative vibes. The red head shifted in her seat, regarding William carefully as he assured her he'd be more mindful. She believed that he was telling her the truth and where his aura had glowed a muddied red before, it seemed to be a deeper red now. A welcome change, if you asked the department head. "I appreciate that, William. I'll take you at your word."

"Now as you may or may not know, the ministry has spent a considerable amount of money what with the lockout and changing locations among other things." But the departments endured as they always did, making small sacrifices here and there to help. "But due to your hard work and dedication, I am willing to offer you a two percent raise." She smiled now, hoping this was something he would be receptive to. "How does that sound to you?"

Harmony watched William carefully, wondering what he was thinking and how he liked his tea. Surely it was cold by now though cold tea could be just as lovely, the red head mused.

When the dragon man did speak, Harmony let out a little laugh and shook her head at him. "You're something, William. Unfortunately at the moment, there is no wiggle room on this issue." But that didn't mean there wouldn't be another raise or promotion in his future. "Keep up the good work and perhaps we can meet back in a few months and re-visit the subject of a promotion. How does that sound to you?"