Alex is pretty sure Baylee and Kylee are scheduling more Beast meetings than necessary just to torment him. They barely even talk about creatures anymore, spending more time focused on family. And the most insulting part is that they obviously think they're being subtle, and that Alex has no idea what they're up to. Honestly, he isn't the dense idiot on this team.

But Undersecretary Hard- won't let him miss any of the meetings, saying that 'until he picks a few proper specialties himself he can help out the other three.' Alex is honestly about ready to go ahead and cave on that front, but he still really doesn't know what he wants to specialize in - everything seems pointless to him anyways. So for now he's stuck as the 'general specialist', whatever the that's supposed to mean.

Today they have another meeting just before lunch, which thankfully means they can't drag it on past the scheduled one hour. Small blessings in that at least.

He wanders into the meeting room mere seconds before the consultation is scheduled, avoiding any possible before-meeting informalities, and immediately tries to get things on track.

"Any news from Jarvis on the Beings?" He asks without preamble, sitting in the chair furthest from the twins who had both turned fully attention to him the moment he'd opened the door. "I know Miles and Veena had that guest appearance on The Living World yesterday to talk a bit about some of the second-level animals, but otherwise I don't believe anything has changed drastically enough to warrant yet another meeting." He says it pointedly, crossing his arms and staring the two girls down defiantly. Let them know he's on to them, see if they actually take heed of his irritation or keep pushing.

"Actually," Baylee drags out the word rather smugly, and Alex's grimace deepens, "Something has changed thank you very much. We've had our first Muggles start intentionally poking around magical creature habitats. Namely the Welsh Green reserves in Snowdonia - and if they succeed in pissing off the flight nesting there right now we could be looking at a second Fire of London situation, which in the current climate isn't ideal."

Alex slumps back in his seat, unimpressed. "The current climate seems to mostly be Muggles trying to learn things and wizards shooing them away - same as always." He points out dryly, and is surprised when Baylee glares back. He didn't think her face could bend that way.

"You obviously haven't been keeping up with the news." She says sharply. "Which you should be considering your current employment. But allow me to enlighten you on your own job: America is dealing with a massive division over magical people being allowed into Muggle society."

Alex rolls his eyes. "It's America. When are they not having a meltdown about something?" He points out. "Especially with their current idiot in chief."

Kylee snorts, though Baylee looks a little confused by the jab. "Well, as you ought to know, America tends to have first say in a lot of things, especially when it comes to Muggle politics." She continues, with a bit less certainty.

Alex rolls his eyes. "Oh please, only America thinks it has any sort of power. The rest of the world knows they're all just hot air."

Kylee looks at him carefully. "You... don't actually think that, do you?" She asks, and Alex looks at her flatly. It's not exactly rocket science to know that America thinks more highly of itself than reality reflects, and it's not his fault she's bought into their bull. "You realize that every time America has entered an economic downturn in the past century, the entire world economy suffers, right? And if things don't go smoothly over there, their economy is going to tank." She pauses thoughtfully, then adds, "Harder than it already will thanks to the current idiot in chief." She offers him a small smile, obviously hoping that using his phrase will for some reason make her less irritating. It doesn't work.

He doesn't reply, won't give her the satisfaction of knowing that he actually hadn't remembered that, but now that she says it, it lines up. Instead he slides lower in his seat, and Baylee takes that as an indication to get back to the actual point of the meeting.

"Anyway, I was talking to one of the MACUSA Beast specialists and they're already dealing with Muggle hunters intentionally trying to track down mythical creatures and accusing the preservationists of defending creatures that could kill hundreds of people in one go. As if we haven't had a solid handle on these creatures for thousands of years." Baylee grimaces. "Regardless, it's causing a lot of grass-roots mistrust of magic and the Internet is already swarming with anti-magic propaganda."

"Ugh, I hate the internet." Kylee grumbles, and while he somewhat agrees (comment sections can go die in a fire) Alex doesn't speak up, just wanting Baylee to finish so he can escape to lunch.

However, as Baylee begins elaborating on the Internet show that's starting up, Mrs. Morgan knocks on the door, interrupting the meeting.

"Apologies for the disturbance, but we need Alex to run this up to the Head of International Cooperation's office." She says, holding up a rather thick file. "Mind if we steal him?"

Baylee shrugs. "Kylee can catch you up after lunch." She tells Alex, who grimaces but can't really say no when the leader is right there.

"Sure." He mumbles, standing up and quickly following Morgan over to the leaders' office, where Undersecretary Weasley is waiting for them.

"Oh good, he agreed." She greets them, and Alex pushes down the urge to roll his eyes. Of course he'd agreed - she knows full well he hates the Beast consultations and would do anything to get out of them. Including whatever errand boy nonsense this will turn out to be.

Mrs. Morgan hands him the files she'd waved around earlier. "These are the monthly status reports on all angles of the Initiative from this month. Since you've seen a lot of this first-hand we thought you'd be best equipped to look them over and give a short overview to Department Head Scot before lunch. Noah Thompson will be taking up the Hunter's report in about twenty minutes - would that be enough time to look these over?"

Normally Alex would say no, but like Morgan had alluded to he's actually vaguely familiar with all aspects of the Initiative, minus social media which he can skim easily enough in the given time. So he nods slightly and Morgan grins.

"Great! You can look them over at your desk - I'll tell Thompson to grab you before he heads out."

And Alex still isn't allowed to go do things himself. Even if it's a Hunter rather than an Initiative member this time, it still feels patronizing, but he supposes it's better than going back to the Beast meeting.

He flips through the reports idly at his desk, eyes half on the clock as he does so, and within fifteen minutes he's pretty sure he's confident enough with the material to be able to present it efficiently. So he stands up and decides he won't let anyone else dictate his schedule, at least for the moment, and walks over to the Hunter that he's pretty sure is Thompson.

"Hey, you're Noah?" He says more than asks, and the slightly older boy startles as he looks up at Alex.

"Oh, uh, yeah. You're the guy doing the Initiative's report?" He guesses, standing up awkwardly and offering a handshake.

"Alex Zhang, yeah." He says, taking the offered shake. He doesn't know this guy, and it's unlikely he realizes he's being used for babysitting, so Alex won't hold it against him. Not until he gets to know him a little better, anyway. "Ready to go up?"

Noah blinks, then looks down at the papers he'd been reading when Alex came over. "Yeah, I think so." He says after a moment. "Just let me get these back in order?"

Alex tilts his head and leans against the desk as Noah scrambles to put the files away, taking the time to look around the Hunter's half of the room. He's never really paid it much mind before, but it's weirdly empty compared to the Initiative's end - he can only spot five people, and he's pretty sure there are supposed to be more than that.

"Where is everyone?" He asks as Noah finally closes the folder and stands up from his desk.

The other man turns out to be shorter than Alex, a fact which obviously makes him uncomfortable. "Oh, a few are on a stakeout responding to reports of suspicious activity, and Edward is helping coordinate the rest of the week with Finn and McKay." He offers a bit stiffly as they head over to the lift and Noah presses the call button.

Alex raises an eyebrow. "Wizards do stakeouts?" He can't help asking as the lift arrives and they walk in, Noah pressing the button for the fifth floor.

Noah shrugs. "Not usually, but Finn wanted to try some Muggle methods - we did hire on a Muggle consultant after all, so it makes sense to actually ask him for help."

Alex blinks, honestly startled into silence. The Hunters are using Muggle techniques? Gotten from a Muggle consultant? That... he wouldn't have expected that, honestly. Maybe the Hunters are better than the Initiative. Maybe he'll try to meet this Muggle consultant and see if he's really being listened to, or if this is just a token gesture so they can pretend they're catering to the non-magical world.

"Interesting." Is all he says aloud as the lift shudders to a stop and slides open, the female voice informing them they've arrived at the Department of International Cooperation. Alex lets Noah take the lead - the guy is obviously comfortable on the floor, waving to several of the staff members they pass.

"You usually work on this floor?" He guesses aloud after the fifth time they're stopped by somone Noah knows asking how the 'special project' is going. Alex assumes they mean the Hunters.

Noah nods, grinning now and far more relaxed than he'd seemed at his desk upstairs. "I'm Mr. Scot's secretary actually, have been for about two years now, but even before that I worked in this department. I always knew I wanted to help out in International Cooperation, so I admit I wasn't too thrilled about being loaned out to the Hunters, but at the same time I'm still basically doing the same job so I can't really complain."

The two of them finally reach the office at the back of the floor, and Noah gives an interesting pattern of knocks before letting himself in, not bothering to wait for an answer. Alex follows him in.

Edward Scot, or the man Alex assumes must be him, is leaning back in his chair, arms crossed behind his head, the picture of relaxation. It's not what Alex expected, but based on how relaxed and unhurried the rest of the department seems, he's not all that surprised to see this display from the leader of the whole bunch.

"Hey Ed, we've got the reports from the seventh floor." Noah announces, and Alex is taken aback by the informality. He'd picked up that this department is pretty relaxed, yes, but that seems a bit much. Not even Mr. Hayashi lets Alex use his first name, and they're on very good terms.

Edward Scot doesn't seem phased though, and he leans forward to rest his elbows on the desk. "I figured. So what's going on with the big special project upstairs?"

Alex actually takes the energy to listen to Noah's report, curious to hear more about the Muggle consultant and his (so-called) contributions. He learns the man is named Edward Clarke and that he usually takes lunch in the offices, which means Alex can probably catch him when they head back up after this. When it's his turn to share the report, he makes it as concise as possible so that they can leave quickly.

"The Initiative has met with all their consultants at least twice. Beasts and Beings have a five step plan for creature integration, which you can find in the provided files, and Gringotts is in the process of establishing a way for Muggles to open accounts. Not much movement has occurred with education or transportation yet, as they're still working to create comprehensive plans for smooth integration." He takes a quick breath. "We have secured access to watching both Muggle Parliament and the Wizengamot meetings and our two political representatives will begin attending both regularly starting next week to get a handle on the political situation in both worlds. The lawyer is still familiarizing herself with magical law, and the three PR members are all reporting generally positive reactions overall from the general public." Or at least from the Muggle public - Alex hadn't really seen anything on the magical one. But he doesn't add that because frankly it doesn't really matter to him, and he wants to get back to the seventh floor and hopefully corner Edward (the Muggle, not the one in front of them) for a chat.

Luckily Scot doesn't seem to need any further elaboration, and he thanks them both before sending them back out of the office.

"He seems..." Alex looks for a word that means "unprofessional" that also doesn't sound like an insult, but comes up empty.

Noah laughs. "Yeah, that's about right. He's a great boss though, and we get things done so you can't complain."

Alex instinctively bristles: he wasn't going to complain, and he doesn't appreciate the implication that he would. He leaves Noah to chat with some of the other IC employees and heads straight back to the lift, pushing the button for the seventh floor and instantly turning towards the Hunter's side, hoping Edward will be obvious.

As there's only one person (they're a good ten minutes into lunch now) in the offices at all, Alex feels pretty good about his chances, and he walks over to the man chewing distractedly on a ham sandwich.

"Are you Edward?"

Edward glances up in mild curiosity. He'd heard the lift ping, but hadn't thought the person in it would be looking for him. As it is, he recognizes the kid as one of the Initiative members, the grumpy one Edward had quickly pegged as a teenager.

"I am. You are?" He opts for professional but detatched - he really has no interest in dealing with kids right now.

"Alex Zhang. I just couldn't believer they'd actually ask a Muggle for help." The boy drawls. "Are you actually contributing, or is this just something they're doing for the PR cred?"

Edward pauses, then lowers his sandwich and takes a proper look at the boy in front of him. From the sounds of it, this boy isn't much a fan of the magical world either - and it sounds like he's got experience with the ugliest parts of it.

Edward smiles. "That's a bit of a long story. Would you want to grab lunch?" This could be the opportunity he's been waiting for.

Estelle had been pumped when she was selected to be part of the rotation for the stakeout. Rumors had been circulating about strange figures being spotted around a few of the docks, and Finn had decided it was a good chance for them to practice some Muggle methods of observation, since if the figures are indeed dark magic fugitives then they'd likely not be expecting Muggle observers. They're teaming up with Jarvis's Aurors to cover the entire pier, and Estelle had been buzzing with excitement an hour ago when Minerva Seo and Edward Clarke had dispatched them for their shift. Finally some field work!

She's been paired with Noah Travers (which she's pleased about, since she knows him) and Isaac Harrison (who she doesn't really know well but has heard he can bit of a stickler about protocol), the latter of whom was named field leader for their team.

So far nothing has happened, and Estelle is far less excited about the entire situation than she had been an hour before. Now she's honestly just super bored.

"How do Muggles do this for hours?" She grumbles, grabbing the binoculars from Noah to once again scan the exits of the massive building (a warehouse, according to Edward) that they've been charged with watching. They can't even use magic to entertain themselves - Finn says they could be detected and trigger a full evacuation.

Estelle is starting to think there's no one to trigger though - wouldn't they have seen something by now if there were?

"They probably have more patience than you do." Isaac says dryly from where he's sitting against the edge of the roof, leaning on the surprisingly high walls blocking them from tumbling to the concrete several stories below. "These guys are trying to stay hidden - they won't move unless they have to, regardless of if they think we're watching them or not."

Estelle huffs out a breath and passes the binoculars back to Noah. "Doesn't change that this is boring. It's no wonder there are so many unsolved Muggle crimes if this is the best they've got."

Noah tosses the binoculars over to Isaac, who manages to catch them but is obviously startled by the movement. "They have plenty of things we don't - Tristan was telling me about DNA sequencing yesterday. That's something we don't have any idea of, but it can solve crimes decades after they've been committed. In magical cases, once something goes cold it tends to stay that way."

"Not unlike this whole Yurina business. No one's even gotten close since Finn." Isaac adds, shifting so he's crouched just high enough to be able to peer over the edge of the building with the binoculars. "Who knows, Muggle technology and science may just be the key we need to break everything open."

"I'm more worried that we still don't know what her goal is." Noah observes, settling back agains the wall in the same position Isaac had just vacated. "Assuming she even is the one behind the New World Order - she never claimed credit after all."

"She doesn't want to be found, though." Isaac counters, still peering over the roof's edge, still as stone. "Any sort of announcement would jeopardize her whereabouts, and she's incredibly well organized - she wouldn't do anything that would tempt fate. Her criminal profile says as much."

"That's actually a tactic we borrowed from Muggle law enforcement." Noah pipes up brightly. "Tristan was telling me about it - apparently criminal profiles were started officially in the 1980s, but it was something used unofficially for nearly a hundred years before that. I think we picked it up via a Muggleborn Auror at some point, though Tristan's just learning the Muggle side of things so I'd have to do more research."

"I'm sure you're thrilled for the project." Estelle teases. For all she abhors paperwork, Noah seems to actively enjoy it at times, especially reports on some of the weirder crimes they see. It's something Estelle utterly fails to understand, but she's always happy to listen to the results of Noah's Archive dives, which admittedly are usually pretty interesting. She just isn't sure it's worth slogging through dozens if not hundreds of ancient, faded, poorly written reports.

He grins. "Absolutely, though I imagine I won't be able to really go into it until all this is wrapped up."

"So possibly never, if Yurina really is that good." Estelle sighs. "Does anyone else think it's optimistic for Finn to only take out a one-year directive for the Hunters? I mean, twenty years didn't catch her, why would one more make a difference?"

"It was probably just to parallel the Initiative - Auror directives are easy to extend or diminish as needed." Noah replies thoughtfully. "In addition, in all those twenty years Yurina hasn't made any movements - at least none that we've seen. Now she's actively working again, so she'll have to appear at some point. We're just making sure we're ready for that moment."

"Seems more like you two are chatting away when we're supposed to be working." Isaac cuts in a bit stiffly, and Estelle rolls her eyes.

"Working on what? Sitting in silence, staring at an empty building through some Muggle zooming lenses?" She counters. "You're watching it right now, and no one can hear us way up here - there's no shame in engaging in something entertaining while we wait."

"It's unprofessional." Isaac grumbles, but he hasn't put down the binoculars to actually look at them as he speaks, so it's easy to shrug and ignore him and his pessimistic whining.

"Anyway, that's a good point." She admits to Noah. "I honestly hope this is shorter rather than longer though."

He grins. "Because you still haven't worked things out with your boyfriend?" He guesses coyly, then rolls away when she kicks a shoe at him, resulting in the projectile hitting Isaac instead.

"Seriously you two? This isn't Hogwarts, quit acting like children!" He hisses, but as he still doesn't move from watching the warehouse Estelle decides to ignore him. This is way more fun than sitting in silence waiting for nothing to happen.

"He's not responding to my messages, and I can't exactly just walk up to him in the middle of the office and spill all our problems out where anyone can see them." She groans. "I'm honestly considering breaking into his house - I know he's overthinking everything and it's only compounding him avoiding me."

"And he's probably pretty buys with work." Noah adds, settling back on his hands now that he's moved away from the wall. "I've heard bits and pieces from Diana about how swamped the Initiative already is when we get drinks after work."

Estelle raises an eyebrow. "Hang on, who's Diana?" She asks. "I've never heard of this Diana."

Noah laughs. "My best friend from school - she's working with a couple Initiative members to help out with her work on Relocating all the people the Incident put out of a job."

Estelle hums. "Jeez, that's a lot for someone our age. Does she have a partner on the project or anything?"

Noah shrugs. "Not officially? She's the head of the effort, but she's doing a lot of outsourcing and consulting with different departments. But honestly, if anyone could pull it off single-handedly it would be her."

Estelle grins. "Am I sensing some reverence in your tone there?" She teases. "She sounds like quite the lady."

Noah actually blushes, which Estelle admittedly hadn't expected. So he really does have a crush on Diana.

This diversion is proving more and more entertaining the longer it goes on.

"Oh my gosh you like her!" She leans over to poke Noan, though he once again dodges. "That is so cute, have you told her?"

He shakes his head. "I like our friendship the way it is." He insists. "And why do you care? Aren't you the one who always says crushes and lust are illogical and bad bases for a lasting relationship?"

Estelle shrugs. "Because they are, statistics don't lie." She replies briskly. "But you two have been friends since school - best friends! You said so yourself. That's a fantastic basis for a lasting and healthy relationship. You should go for it - just ask. If she says no, so be it, but at least you'd know."

Noah sighs. "Maybe. Our other friends have given me the same advice though and I don't know. It never seems like the right time to start a relationship."

Isaac finally looks away from the binoculars, obviously giving up on the conversation fizzling out on its own. "What counts as the right time though? Life isn't exactly known for catering to convenience." He points out. "Sounds like a convenient excuse to get out of committing."

Noah grumbles. "Nope, don't need this today." He complains.

Honestly Estelle is glad Isaac hadn't jumped in until now - she'd acted relaxed about it, but she really is still upset about Desmond and the massive amounts of awkward acting as a seemingly inpenetrable wall between them at the moment. If Isaac has tried to get her to talk more, she probably would have gotten legitimately upset, and now is really not the time for unhelpful emotional outbursts.

"Well then, how about you Isaac? Got any special someones?" She asks, saving Noah so he'll owe her one later and also keeping the conversation steered away from her own love life for at least a few minutes more.

Isaac rolls his eyes. "No. And it's not like you know any of my friends anyhow, so even if I did you wouldn't know them."

"Don't you know Petra? From the Initiative?" Noah pipes up, and Estelle grins. This tangent is looking like it might be longer than anticipated. Excellent.

She grabs the binoculars from Isaac and settles in to watch the warehouse, even as she keeps an ear focused on the continued conversation.

"Well sure, but she's my little sister's best friend is all." Isaac says, and even though she's isn't watching him, Estelle can tell he's lying.

"I call owl pellets." She declares cheerfully, not turning away from the warehouse but grinning cheekily since she's certain Isaac is glaring at her.

"I don't like Petra." Isaac inisists. "Not like that anyway. She's a friend."

"Suuuure she is." Estelle gives one last tease, but decides to let it drop. He sounded honest, which means he either really doesn't like her in that way, or is in denial about it. Either way, pushing would probably be rude.

The rest of their shift remains utterly uneventful, though at least Isaac has loosened up somwhat so they're able to keep chatting quietly over the course of the stakeout. Just as the sun is touching the horizon the next shift arrives, composed of Tristan, Demelza Robins, and Jack Abbott, the latter of whom talks briefly with Isaac before Estelle and her group head down the building.

"Well that felt utterly pointless." She sighs once they're safely out of earshot of the warehouse. She pulls out her wand and prepares to Apparate home. "Do you need us to help with the report Isaac?" She asks before spinning on her heel, and to her surprise he nods.

"It will look more professional if we all go. It won't take long though, I'm tired too." He admits. The three of them finish the walk to the Ministry in silence and are greeted by Minerva Seo and Clarke when they step off the lift on the seventh floor.

"Anything?" Seo asks, and at Isaac's negative reply she sighs. "I assumed as much. These aren't tactics we're used to."

Clarke gives the Hit-Wizard a measured look, but frankly Estelle is too tired to care about whatever the two of them are obviously disagreeing about.

"Is there anything that should be reported immediately? Otherwise you're dismissed." Seo adds, and the three of them turn back to the lifts.

Estelle personally thinks she shouldn't have had to come at all, but at least it really was quick. She's going straight home, taking a nice long shower, and passing out. It's kind of amazing how doing nothing all day can be so exhausting.

Aruna is used to only having to see people on Saturdays - namely Willow - so she very nearly forgets she has another meeting on Friday with one Diana Shafiq, whom she'd met briefly two weeks before in a short and generally uncomfortable (for her) meeting with Rose and Landon. She honestly hadn't thought she'd be hearing much from the younger woman - Aruna personally doesn't think Relocation really fits into her role in the Initiative.

But when Diana had reached out earlier in the week to schedule a meeting, Aruna hadn't really had an excuse to turn her down. She's still in the process of reading through hundreds of magical laws related to the Statute, and those aren't exactly going anywhere fast. So she accepted the request and then proceeded to mostly forget about it for the rest of the week as she buried herself in now semi-familiar legalese. It was only this morning coming int that Mrs. Morgan had mentioned the meeting, and now Aruna is distracted worrying about it. She's been looking at the same page of text for nearly thirty minutes, her mind whirling away trying to work out what Diana could possibly want, when the woman in questions raps sharply on the door.

Aruna startles, and then quickly calls for her to enter, pushing the files to the side of her desk and putting on the appearance of professionalism that once upon a time had been her default state of being. Now it feels more like a barely held together façade.

Diana at least doesn't seem to notice as she sweeps in and settles in the chair that Aruna mentally has designated as 'Willow's', even though she knows it's technically for any visitors. She just doesn't usually have visitors, something she frankly prefers, and she's already hoping this meeting will be a quick one.

"I know you're incredibly busy, so I'll try to keep this as brief as possible." Diana announces, not bothering with initial formalities. "As I'm sure you've heard, the Hunters and a few Auror teams engaged in a failed stakeout the past few days after possible dark magic sightings in the shipping yards."

Aruna frowns. She hadn't actually heard about that, and she's not sure why Diana would think that she had. The Hunters aren't her jurisdiction after all - she just needs to focus on the laws. But she doesn't say anything, hoping that Diana's one-sentence summary is all the information she'll need on it for their conversation.

"It was, to put it bluntly, a bit of mess, I'm sure you'll agree. But it sparked an idea, and I believe you're best equipped to assist me with this particular avenue of my work."

Aruna shifts nervously - maybe she should mention that she doesn't know about the stakeout.

But Diana continues speaking without waiting for further comment from Aruna. "Many of the on-the-ground Invisibility workers are more familiar with Muggle police methods than the current Aurors are, so I believe between the two of us we could set up at least the start of a training program or consultation positions which would give those people a place to share their skills as well as help the Aurors with these new tactics."

Aruna blinks slowly. "I... apologize, but wouldn't you need to consults with the Aurors on this? Or the Hunters? Why would I have any jurisdiction over that area?" Even as she says it her mind is locking the puzzle pieces together to give her an answer, but she doesn't like the picture they're forming.

Diana's lips quirk down as an eyebrow quirks up. She adjusts her hijab slightly before leaning forward with her hands steepled pointedly in front of her, her elbows resting on Aruna's desk. "Because your job is to analyze the law and order of both worlds to determine how best to either merge them, or set up complimentary alternatives that will allow each system to work in cooperation as much as possible. I was under the impression you were in charge of the law, correct? Well there are two key parts in the justice system - the courtroom and the enforcers. Each assists and balances the other, am I correct? Therefore, as the person in charge of law, shouldn't you be aware of both sides of the system?"

Aruna swallows hard. It's exactly what she had realized moments before Diana spoke. "I... see your point." She finally says, glad she sounds relatively stable. Once upon a time she would have had no problem going toe-to-toe with someone as strong-willed as Diana - heck, she used to be the go-to person at her old company to handle people like Diana - but today she just feels cowed and fraudulent. She probably should have figured this out weeks ago, not have to be told by someone who isn't even a part of the Initiative.

Diana sighs. "We should reschedule this." She says, clearly annoyed by the interruption in her schedule. "You should look into what the Hunters are doing and famliarize yourself with Auror methods and we can talk again next week. Does this time work for you again?"

Aruna nods meekly and Diana sees herself out. After going through a few calming breathing exercises, Aruna stands up and heads out of her office as well, turning to go towards the leaders' shared office to clarify exactly what she'll need to do for this new angle of her job.

She knocks lightly and waits for Mrs. Weasley to call her in before opening the door.

"How did the meeting with Ms. Shafiq go?" Mrs. Morgan asks. Mrs. Weasley had apparently turned back to her work after inviting Aruna in, which isn't uncommon. Mrs. Weasley seems to always be buried in work.

So Aruna turns to Mrs. Morgan fully. "Actually we had to reschedule. I was not made aware of my role working with the enforcement side of justice as well as the legal one?" She does her best to keep her guilt out of her tone - the longer she thinks on it, the more she realizes it's something she should have figured out on her own. More proof that she's still a nonfunctional mess. Her therapist says it will take time, but Aruna thinks that this job might not have been the best one to start out with.

Not that anywhere else would hire her.

Mrs. Morgan doesn't look dissapointed, however. Instead, she turns to Mrs. Weasley, who's paused in her work to glance up.

"That's a good point actually. We did consider hiring Edward to help with that, but Finn had already laid claim." Mrs. Weasley muses, and something in Aruna loosens ever so slightly. It was still an inexcusable screwup on her part - as the legal expert she should have caught this and brought it to the leaders' attention ages ago rather than having to wait for them to realize the implications of her work themselves on top of all their other work - but at least she won't lose the job because of it. "I'll speak with Finn and Fiona during lunch and set something up for you to consult with some of the Hunters a few times a week. For now, focus on what you were doing, we'll update you when we know more."

Something in Aruna sinks. A few times a week? Working with more strangers - and probably not the same ones each time considering how the Hunters are always rushing in and out of the offices (she's seen them through her office window, the movement sometimes distracting her from drier readings) - at multiple points? Not just one day where she's working with Willow, who she's managed to get used to, and knows?

She knew the meeting today would be stressful, but this is a level she hadn't been expecting. And she still has to do the actual meeting.

But she doesn't voice her concerns, instead nodding and letting herself out of the office to return to her own, where she dutifully opens up the book she'd been perusing prior to Diana's arrival and procedes to stare at the pages without processing the material on them, her mind spinning uncontrollably and unable to properly focus. Eventually she gives up and lays her head on the cool wood of the desk, going through a few more breathing exercises and trying to make a list in her mind of what she'll need to address the enforcement side of her work. If she goes into the first meeting with a pre-set idea of what to do, she'll probably handle the situation better.

By the time lunch rolls around she's managed to peel herself off the desk and started putting together a comprehensive list of not only the enforcement work she'd like to see addressed but also the law-based developments she's already been working towards. She's definitely feeling a lot better now that things are being written down, and she doesn't pause in her work as she pulls out her packed lunch and eats in her office, as she always does.

She even manages to not stare nervously out her window when she spots Mrs. Weasley crossing the office to speak with the Hunters' leader, as promised. Instead she reads back through the 'order' side of her list to confirm to herself that she's familiar and comfortable with the items included. Ideally she'll have tonight to go through it all again, taking time to memorize it and add some details to the vaguer entries (the item "police" is mocking her with it's broadness, but she's just not famliar enough with either system to have more on that point just yet). More likely, knowing her luck, she'll need to be ready as soon as everyone comes back from lunch.

Sure enough, an unfamiliar red-haired woman lets herself into Aruna's office shortly after the bustle in the main portion of the offices resumes, knocking twice to announce her presence before opening the door.

"Ms. Kandasamy?" She checks, and Aruna straightens up and nods briskly. The woman smiles and closes the door behind herself. "I'm Fiona McKay, but you can call me Fiona if you like. Audrey - Undersecretary Weasley - and I just had a discussion about you possible consulting with some of our team to work out the enforcement side of the law and I think it's a great idea. I was hoping we could take some time now to set up a schedule to start next week?"

Aruna blinks, and then nods once. So she will get time to actually go through everything before her first formal consultation, which is much luckier than she'd expected to get. "I think that would be ideal, yes. It would give both of us time to put together what we think should be focused on and what order we should address each concern in."

Fiona smiles. "Precisely." She agrees. "I know Willow Kiddell consults with you on Saturdays, so perhaps we could take Monday and Wedesday afternoons?"

Aruna tilts her head. That gives her a lot more time to work out the details - all of Sunday in fact, which she has off this week (everyone gets one day off a week for 'mental health reasons' which is surprisingly progressive considering none of Aruna's past places of employment had anything remotely similar to it). "That sounds agreeable." She confirms. "May I inquire as to whether I will be working with the same people on these days, or if you will be implementing a rotation between all twelve members of the Hunters?"

Fiona hums. "Most likely we'll have a rotation." She says after a moment of contemplation. "After all, more input from more varied sources means a more balanced outcome at the end of everything. I'll be sure to give you the list of who's on which days at the start of the week, if that works? And I'll take this coming Monday."

Aruna relaxes slightly at that, though the concept of the rotation does raise her overall stress levels even if she was expecting it. Fiona so far seems like she'll be respectful of Aruna's space and ideas, so starting this whole experiment with her makes it slightly less overwhelming than if Monday was taken by a total stranger. "That works." She agrees.

Fiona smiles brightly. "Great! Well, I'll let you finish your work. Have a good afternoon Ms. Kandasamy!"

Aruna blinks, and nearly forgets to reply as Fiona turns to leave the office. She hadn't told Fiona to not use her last name after all, but she thinks it would probably be polite since Fiona had extended the courtesy of familiarity already.

"Um, Aruna is alright." She says awkwardly. "And good afternoon to you as well Fiona. I look forward to working with you on Monday."

Fiona's grin lights up the office one more time before the woman officially leaves and Aruna lets out a long, heavy breath before folding up the list she'd been working on and sliding it into her messenger bag to be brought home and reviewed after work. She then grabs her notebook and the same law text she's been unable to focus on all day. She may be off the hook for both Diana and the Hunters for now, but she'd still like to actually accomplish something before the work day ends.

At least the words on the page are actually making sense now. Very little else in her world seems to be these days.

Author's Note: So an update on IRL stuff: grading is killing me and there might not be an update next week because of it OTL If that happens I will give a double update at some point, but right now I literally have zero creative energy - I haven't written anything since last week. Luckily I won't have anything like this again until mid December, and hopefully I'll have built up a decent buffer by then so this won't happen again! I'll keep you all updated if things change, but for now just assume there probably won't be an update OTL