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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Apr 3, 2009 11:03:12 GMT -5
Andi sighed and wiped at her eyes. "I'm not helping you at all, am I?" she said, a wry smile on her face.
She felt a little stupid for crying, while Riley's eyes were dry. She just knew that if she were in Riley's position, she would be crying now.
She looked at Riley sympathetically. "I wish there was something I could say that could help you. And I know... you're OK. But if you ever feel like you're not and you want to talk, I'm willing to listen. Or if you want to get your mind off of it.... him... I'm willing to do that, too. We can talk about whatever."
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 3, 2009 11:23:28 GMT -5
"I appreciate that," Riley said, taking a slow, deep breath. This was harder than she thought it would be. She was okay until people spoke to her. She could hold herself together, but it was all the apologies and the "I'm here for you's" that made it hard. Maybe it was because she could pretend that nothing was wrong, and they were making her admit that something was wrong.
It wasn't their fault. They all meant well. But she just...
"I just think that we should be reaching out to his family right now."
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Apr 3, 2009 11:31:13 GMT -5
Andi nodded. "You're right, of course," she agreed. "Ted's talking to Hayden right now. I can't believe he's even here."
She sighed again. Just what exactly could you do for a family that you barely knew, who had lost someone so special? She felt so helpless.
"I... well, I imagine it will be a while before his brother and sister and cousin are in class. And his family, obviously, isn't here today... I'd feel stupid sending them flowers, like that's really going to make them feel better. But I'm sure we'll all be supportive of them."
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 3, 2009 11:42:22 GMT -5
Nothing was going to make them feel better, except somehow having Roland back. Guilt tugged at her mind again, and she swallowed, fnished her coffee and tossing it into a nearby waste paper basket. If only she had stayed, found some way to get inside that building. Or if it had been her instead... her family wouldn't have missed her like Roland's missed him.
Riley nodded. "I know what you mean. I don't know what to do, either. I'm going to clean out his desk later."
She glanced towards the door, then at Andi. "See that girl?" Riley asked. "Angelique's introducing her as a new Auror today."
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Post by Ted Tonks on Apr 3, 2009 11:48:00 GMT -5
"Yeah," he said. "I think my dad drank all of what we had." Hayden's attempt at a light smile failed. A smile wouldn't stay on his face for long, even if he did attempt to keep it on his face for Sheena. While walking down the hall with Ted, he rubbed his neck. Hayden didn't want to talk about himself. "How are you and Andromeda doing?" Ted nodded, and smiled gently with Hayden. He made a mental note that he and Andromeda should go out and pick up some coffee for the family... it would be more useful than flowers, anyway. Flowers didn't help you get through tragedies. They just made the tragedies smell like roses. "Andi and I are doing really well, actually." He debated for a minute, telling Hayden, but what could a little good news hurt right now? "She and I married just after Christmas, actually." |
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Post by Kit Cunningham on Apr 3, 2009 12:13:52 GMT -5
Angelique led the girl out into the hallway. "Look, Kit... I tried to contact you. It's not a good time for you to start. You say it feels like a funeral home... well... that's because one of our aurors just died. On New Year's Eve. So the meeting that was supposed to be to welcome you is now pretty much... his wake." She sighed. "He was young... younger than you... and he was very well liked. You starting today... well, you're going to look like his replacement." Kit let out a little gasp. "Oh, crap. Crap... I'm sorry. I didn't know. I feel like such a tool. I think my foot is permanently implanted in my mouth. I have this thing where I have to always say what I'm thinking, when I'm thinking it..." She shook her head. What she had mistaken for a dour British attitude amongst the other ministry employees was actually grief. Well, hell. How was she supposed to make a better impression now? She decided she'd better not get too settled in here. They'd probably ship her off to Siberia next. "Do you, like, want me to go or something? I mean, if my being here is a problem, I can wait and start some other time." |
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Post by Angelique St. Clare on Apr 3, 2009 12:24:05 GMT -5
Angelique shook her head. "You're already here," she said. "And his partner has already seen you. She's the one I was talking to when you made your unfortunate comment. You may as well stay, but please, try to keep it as low-key as possible."
Angelique felt sorry for the girl. In some ways, Kit reminded her of herself. Perhaps it was a product of being raised in America, but Angelique often had trouble with saying exactly what she thought. She wasn't exactly the foot-in-mouth type... but her bluntness often got her in trouble. Or at least she used to. Suddenly, as a product of her job, Angelique had become... a politician. She shuddered at the thought.
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Post by Andromeda Tonks on Apr 3, 2009 16:25:04 GMT -5
Andi's eyes darted over to the door, where the blonde woman was talking to Angelique. "Really? So soon? I can't believe they would replace him that fast... I mean... he just died..."
She was torn. Part of her wanted to hate the woman, but ultimately, it wasn't her fault. She was really in as bad a position as anyone else. It had to be hard coming in to something like that... But if she was truly hired as Roland's replacement, a mere two days after his death... well, she wasn't likely to make many friends.
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 3, 2009 16:36:46 GMT -5
Riley sighed. That was the reaction she was expecting, honestly.
"Angelique swears she's not his replacement. But it really feels like she is."
No matter what Angelique said, Riley wouldn't be able to look at the woman without thinking that way, and there were likely to be a few others that felt the same way. It couldn't... it couldn't be a good situation.
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Apr 3, 2009 16:39:38 GMT -5
"Yeah," he said. "I think my dad drank all of what we had." Hayden's attempt at a light smile failed. A smile wouldn't stay on his face for long, even if he did attempt to keep it on his face for Sheena. While walking down the hall with Ted, he rubbed his neck. Hayden didn't want to talk about himself. "How are you and Andromeda doing?" Ted nodded, and smiled gently with Hayden. He made a mental note that he and Andromeda should go out and pick up some coffee for the family... it would be more useful than flowers, anyway. Flowers didn't help you get through tragedies. They just made the tragedies smell like roses. "Andi and I are doing really well, actually." He debated for a minute, telling Hayden, but what could a little good news hurt right now? "She and I married just after Christmas, actually." "That's good," he said with a quiet nod. His hands were in his pockets. At the next news, Hayden's eyes widened slightly. "Really?" Something good and something bad. The world seemed to be big on balancing things out. "That's good news. I'm happy for you Ted, honestly." Even though his expressions didn't show it, Hayden was happy for Ted and Andi. They deserved something good to happen to them. His expression was still solemn as they reached the cafeteria. Hayden didn't bother reaching for any sugar to go in his coffee. He needed it to be extra strong. He poured another cup for Riley, just in case she wanted more. |
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Post by Ted Tonks on Apr 3, 2009 16:57:49 GMT -5
Ted knew Hayden meant it. He wasn't expecting cartwheels afterall. "Thank you," he said softly, and let it go after that. Hayden was doing exceptionally well... better than Ted thought he would be, and he wondered if he was just really good at handling his sorrow, of if he was refusing to deal with it at all.
"Two cups?" he asked, raising his eyebrow. "You guys must have been out of coffee for a while now." His tone was light. He tried to keep it that way.
He got his own cup of coffee, then decided to get one for Andi, too. "Hold on, I need to grab a bagel for Andi."
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Apr 3, 2009 17:11:34 GMT -5
"Oh no," he said shaking his head. "It's for Riley." Hayden looked to Ted as he grabbed a couple of sugars, just in case she liked it. He didn't understand why Riley wouldn't really look at him, but he was going to make sure that she knew he didn't blame her for anything.
At the mention of food, Hayden tried to drown that out. Like Riley, he wasn't sure if he could really stomach any kind of food at the moment. Coffee was a safe choice to stick with at the moment. He waited patiently as Ted grabbed a bagel.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Apr 3, 2009 17:23:39 GMT -5
"Oh," Ted said when Hayden told him the second coffee was for Riley. He didn't know why that surprised him, but he thought it was an extremely nice gesture. Riley probably felt like the whole family hated her.
Ted grabbed a bagel for Andi and toasted it really quickly and came back to Hayden. "Ready to go," he said, two coffees and bagel in hand.
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Apr 3, 2009 17:33:15 GMT -5
He wasn't sure what the 'oh' from Ted really meant, but Hayden didn't ponder to much on that thought. Inside, Hayden wasn't doing that well, but he had to make it look like he was alright. It was just who he was. He had always been strong and now was the time for him to really be strong. Hayden just hoped that he could hold up.
Nodding, he started to walk back with Ted. "Thanks Ted."
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Post by Ted Tonks on Apr 3, 2009 17:42:36 GMT -5
Ted wasn't sure what he was being thanked for, but he didn't ask. "No problem," he said, taking his time walking back up to the Meeting Room. He magined it was going to be a long meeting that neither Hayden or Riley should really be there for, but they wanted to be. He just hoped they'd both be okay.
"Hopefully this will be over pretty quickly and we can all just get to work. The meeting, I mean."
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Post by Hayden Ferrera on Apr 3, 2009 17:49:52 GMT -5
"Yeah. Hopefully," said Hayden. The new auror, he wasn't sure what to think of her. She was loud, yes, but then again he didn't really pay her any attention. Hayden was left in his own thoughts as she came in. He was good at tuning other people out when he wanted.
He was taking his time as well. Hayden wasn't in any hurry to get back, but maybe time would fly by and he could get back to actual work.
Walking back into the meeting room, Hayden walked over toward Andi and Riley with Ted. Pausing beside Riley, he offered her a cup of fresh coffee. "I thought you might want one," he said with the cup extended out for her.
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Post by Jacob Tanner on Apr 3, 2009 17:53:34 GMT -5
Like everyone else, Jacob heard about Roland. He hated that they lost a great auror. He felt bad for his family, after all, he couldn't imagine what they must have been going through. Jacob walked into the meeting room and was slightly shocked to see both Hayden and Riley in the room. He didn't expect either one of them to be there. Still, he gave them a friendly nod before taking a seat at the table.
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Post by Fabian Prewett on Apr 3, 2009 18:00:27 GMT -5
Fabian didn't know what to think whenever he heard word of Roland. He hadn't too long spoke to him. He didn't know how Riley was doing, and it worried him. Remembering what Roland told him about him and Riley, he knew that something was going on between them. No one just kissed someone more than once for no apparent reason.
It did hurt him a little, but then again Riley was probably more his friend than anything. Swallowing, he left his desk and walked into the room, nearly freezing as his eyes landed on Riley. For one of the first times in his life, he felt awkward. He knew how much Riley put herself into her work, but he was still surprised to see her there. Noticing that Andi, Ted, and Hayden were near her, Fabian took a seat away from them. He didn't want to crowd her and he knew that he wasn't going to ask her how she was, because he already knew the answer to that just looking at her.
He took his seat near Jacob, awkwardly.
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Post by Riley Neves on Apr 3, 2009 18:01:19 GMT -5
Riley glanced at the coffee that was being held out to her, and then up to Hayden, who was holding it, and she was honestly shocked. She had been avoiding his gaze since he walked in, certain that he must blame her for what happened. Certain members of the family had made it quite clear that they did, and she couldn't really take that away from them. She blamed herself, too.
The coffee felt like a peace offering, and she honestly didn't know how to handle it. Her eyes teared up, and she just prayed that she wouldn't cry in front of Hayden.
She reached out and took the cup from him, smiling softly. "Thank you," she whispered.
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Post by Ted Tonks on Apr 3, 2009 18:07:44 GMT -5
Ted was quiet, but followed Hayden to where Riley and Andi were sitting. He gave her a meaningful look, and glanced towards Hayden and Riley. It was actually very nice to see, even if Riley looked like she was about to break down.
"I brought you back coffee and a bagel," he said quietly, sliding the items towards her.
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