The Auror Files NPC Blog

She can see something there behind Langer’s eyes when she talks about being able to easily find someone who’s family members have been hurt by this whole mess, and she thinks maybe she’s starting to understand Langer better than she did when she first stepped into this office, assuming she knew exactly what she was looking at because of Marleigh’s messages. It doesn’t undo the damage, and the broken trust, and the pain caused, but she thinks that Langer regrets it all, that maybe she regrets getting caught up in all of this in the first place, and that’s why she’s giving Emmy anything now, to do the little she can now to stop anything like that from happening again.

And her reply only seems to confirm that thought, because even though she doesn’t think there’s a way to stop an unbreakable vow, it seems clear from her words that Langer’s loyalties aren’t in the same places as Hattori’s. It’s hard to trust it all, especially when there’s no way to speak outright, but she doesn’t think Langer would have a reason to lie about this, especially given how Hattori had been acting after their talk. Emmy thinks she means it when she says she’ll do what she can to help, and if she leaves, it won’t be of her own choice.

It’s a surprise that she’s been able to get so much, and yet it still feels like being stuck in the same place, because there’s no way to know what Hattori has or hasn’t been told to do. She’s going to have to get Becca’s opinions on it all, probably get her mom’s opinions on it, too, but she’s inclined to believe her, and to take her words to mean she isn’t as much of an enemy here as she used to be. “Thank you…for all the help. I know how risky it is. I know it doesn’t look like it, but I can be discreet, keep things quiet, especially when it’s something like this,” Emmy nods. She doesn’t think there’s anything else she can get right now, not without hopefully getting more on Becca’s sides of things, so she gets up, ready to start to try to parse through it all.

“And if you need anything from me, you know where to find us, too,” she offers, something a little softer in her features for a second, before she turns to leave.

She doesn’t bother hiding how she’s watching Langer, because they both know that nothing about this conversation can be outright, so she needs to be able to rely on all those tools she learned in the no-maj world, being able to read body language, and tone, and the slightest change in look to mean something more. And she gets the feeling that Langer wants her to, that she’s willing to try to give her some information, which is a strange thought, but fits with what Becca had thought this meeting might be like, given the way Langer had been during the case.

Hattori having learned more than he wanted seems like an understatement, given how shaken he looked when he reappeared. She wishes it was possible for her to just tell her what they talked about, but she’s well aware that’s impossible. The likelihood of her getting something concrete spoken out loud is beyond low, it’s negative. But she thinks she gets the message that Langer is trying to give her, and it brings some things together in her mind, because it feels suddenly a whole lot less like talking to an enemy, and more like talking to someone stuck in enemy territory who’s trying to give a warning. That makes her heart speed up.

“In my experience, pureblood boys like that are never really wise with where they put their eggs. So I have a pretty strong feeling it’s the latter,” she says. Because it’s true; there’s never been any indication he cares deeply about anyone on the squad, or would feel any sort of loyalty towards them, especially in the face of legacy. Especially in the face of a fucking unbreakable vow. It almost sounds like she’s suggesting trying to get him to swing their way, but that feels impossible, when she thinks it would be hard enough to stop him if he ever tried to do anything against any of them, despite how many of them on the squad know about Appius. A wakeup call is easier said than done when you’ve got a century of an oppressive, corrupt system passed down from generation to generation to contend with.

She hums That’s good news, at the very least, and it makes sense; what better way to prove you can get shit done and deserve some power than by helping to dismantle an enormous terrorist group that’s been working for two decades. It doesn’t wholly convince her, though, that there might not be connections there that even Langer isn’t aware of. She had said it to Becca, not entirely seriously, but it’s a thought she can’t shake, because who is more desperate for power and willing to do anything to get it than blood purist terrorists?

“Yeah, that was clear,” Emmy nods. “But common enemies don’t undo harm already caused. And the legacy he’s loyal to…you could close your eyes and point at random in the bullpen, and you’d land on someone whose parents or relatives got fucked over with or without knowing because of it. Trust is harder won than that, which you know, of course. And like I said, doesn’t seem like he wants it, anyway.”

. 

The familiar pang of guilt hits her again when Yaxley mentions vaguely what happened back in the Central Squad. Nothing that she does now will ever make up for the mistake she made back then, but she’ll try her damnedest to at least make sure that something similar doesn’t happen to the children of the aurors she failed so long ago. Hattori seemed like somewhat of a lost cause, likely much more loyal to Appius than she ever was, but she has to have faith. 

“He’s aware of my loyalties at the very least,” she replies. It may have been a mistake to do so, especially if Hattori was loyal enough he’d turn her in, but if anything, seeing what he does with such information would be a good litmus test to see how much of a threat he was to the squad itself. 

“If I should suddenly leave my post here, I will make certain to leave you with what you need to move forward,” she adds, and the look she shoots the other auror is one that hopefully read that the only reason she should leave her post, is if by force or by a more final method. 

It’s not that she’s expecting Langer to turn her away––she actually assumes she’s been waiting for this to happen, if not her, someone else of the half a dozen people in the office who have a connection in some way shape or form to her own old squad––but it still feels like a feat that she agrees, motions for her to come inside and take a seat. Maybe it should feel more like walking willingly into the belly of the beast. If Langer wanted to do something, needed to do something with her because someone who was wearing another person’s face told her to, it would be simple. Emmy has her telekit, yes, but there’s only so much throwables can do, and she didn’t even tell Becca that she was doing this right now, since she’s off on a case, planning to text her after, not wanting to distract her while she’s on it. But she doesn’t really think she needs to worry about that with Langer.

She smiles at her, after all, which isn’t necessarily unexpected in and of itself, except that the smile isn’t sinister, or vindictive, but something a little soft, a reminder again of the look she’d given her when she first came in with Hattori, the same sort of thing that had nearly thrown her off, considering how Marleigh had described her. It makes her curious, makes her wonder exactly what she’s thinking, how she sees all of this, but she knows it’s going to be very hard to get real answers, given the predicament. But Marleigh and Becca’s mom managed it, without anyone ending up dead, so she likes to think she can, too.

Langer’s words just confirm that, an artful way of talking around it while clearly talking about exactly why they both know she’s here. It’s a specific word choice, though, that she was grateful that the two of them were paired up on the case. This feels like a logic puzzle, like the sort of thing that her mom taught her how to do when she was little, something she ended up loving doing with her, finding the bigger picture in the clues.

“I think he learned more about me than I learned about him. He’s pretty much an open book, especially when you grow up a Yaxley. I just had what I already suspected confirmed, which is appreciated, so thank you, for that,” she says a little slowly. “But I’m glad we managed it without any problems. He wouldn’t even look me in the eye after that chat of yours at first.”

 . 

Yaxley was a clever wix, she knew should would be what with who had raised her. She trusted Baron, all those years ago to be able to talk to her in a way that wouldn’t quite literally force her hand into doing something she didn’t want it to do, and she trusts Yaxley as well. The true task here was just what all she herself could give the young auror, how much guidance she could pass along without saying too much or getting either one of them into trouble. 

“I imagine he learned quite a bit more than he necessarily wanted to,” she nods in agreement. Hattori looked white as a ghost when he left her office that afternoon, but she still wasn’t so sure what to make of the young auror. The deck is stacked in Yaxley’s favor at the very least, and she believes Baron Savage may have had something to do with that. From what she could gather Hattori and herself were the only individuals associated with the squad with an unbreakable vow cursed into their arms, while there were several allies of Savage. 

“He is a smart auror, with plenty of ambition,” she adds, again choosing her words delicately, “with a legacy such as his, his loyalty would be incredibly valuable to anyone that he should give it too. I hope he is wise with where he places it,” she sighs, “although at this time I’m not so certain just who he holds in the highest of favor, between his position in your squad and that legacy.” 

She was trying her best to give Yaxley a warning without spelling it out too much. Hattori was no doubt a fellow member, that she could guarantee, what she couldn’t determine was if Hattori had been given any orders yet that’d put his squad mates in jeopardy, or if he ever would if the time came.

at some point post arresting the hermit probably, during the work day     ( @theaurorfiles-npc​. )

She’s not exactly sure what she’s doing, in all honesty. It would be a lie to say that most of the time she comes up with detailed plans before jumping into things; she’s more of a follow your instincts sort of person when it comes to things, only vague outlines of ideas beforehand, those concepts forming fully once she’s out in the thick of things. And that works on cases, but she’s not sure it’s going to work here.

Even after being filled in more fully, Emmy doesn’t know if she fully understands everything that’s been going on for literal decades, possibly even a damn century, with these Appius people. She knows that there are way more of them than any of them could probably guess, even their own members, and that it feels pretty unlikely that anyone could ever take them down completely, unless somehow high up members decided to cut things off, but that doesn’t feel particularly helpful in seeing what she might be able to find from Langer. Especially because she also knows now, thanks to the long talks she’s had filling her in on everything, that Langer’s not actually going to be able to talk about it, without risking literally dying.

Becca seems confident that Emmy’s going to be able to manage to get something helpful, but she’s not as convinced. The reasoning makes sense, of course, Langer wasn’t exactly secretive about everything during the case, after all, to the point where it’s clear that Hattori knows that she knows now, but it could’ve been a play far beyond what she could comprehend, she thinks. There’s nothing to do but try, though, and it feels imperative to do it, given the danger from two separate corners lurking––at least it feels like she might be able to do something about this one.

So she heads down to Langer’s office, just after lunch, before she needs to get back to things, and takes a deep breath before knocking on the slightly ajar door, and poking her head in.

“Hi… I was hoping we could talk for a few minutes, if you have the time. I figure Hattori got his private meeting, I should get mine,” she says, voice more serious than usual despite herself. It’s hard not to focus on how her heart is racing, but she tries to ignore it, stay confident.

. 

When she was first put on the NBO Task Force, she’d been in MACUSA for long enough to know what the point of it truly was. The point being to make a show to the public that things were getting done, that they didn’t need to worry, because MACUSA and President Roche had things all taken care of. She hopes though, she’s at least managed to do something here, especially now when she’s working with a squad that someone clearly made a point of filling to the brim with old ghosts of her own squad from years past.

She’s fairly certain its a test of some kind, assigning her of all people to this squad who half clearly hated her to some degree. She’s not certain she’s passing the test, and frankly, she’s at the point any more she doesn’t really care. 

When Yaxley’s head pokes through her door that afternoon, she still can’t help but see the small six year old she once knew as she looks to the fully grown adult in front of her. Which is why, despite everything she’s certain the young auror must think about her, she smiles at her softly before motioning her to come in and take a seat. 

“I have the time,” she says with a nod. Face falling for a moment, she studies Yaxley, trying to discern just what all she’s likely to know. Given how close it seemed the “Children of the Central Squad” as she liked to call them were, she can only assume Baron or Marleigh has since filled her in on what they knew back in 1998 about the complexities of just what she could and couldn’t say. 

Sometimes in the middle of their sleepless nights when the world is silent, especially lately as they’ve been trying to get better at reaching out again, instead of retreating into themself, Lex thinks about just how lucky they are that things worked out the way they did. They don’t actually know how much their father had known about Camden when he sent them in search of him for safety, but they’re certain the most he had been expecting was for him to pass them off to the proper channel. There’s no way he could have known he was giving them a family in his absence, that they’d gain two more parents, an aunt, an uncle, a cousin who’s more like a sister. There was a long time where they wished things had been different, that their dad might’ve made it that far with them, but they’ve stopped wishing for that; they were always going to find them, no one can run forever, and it feels a little like the universe caught up to them when it did exactly so they could have this instead, at the perfect time for all of them.

It’s not lost on them how badly things might have gone if it had been even a year sooner. But instead, they have this. They have Liv fondly waving off their worry, and they have the horrifying mental image of what Liv handling Camden means. “Please don’t say anymore,” they grimace jokingly. It would probably be disgusting just how deeply in love they still are if it wasn’t also a sort of blueprint in Lex’s mind, albeit an unconventionally immortal one, of the sort of thing they should aspire towards. The sort of thing they had found, and lost. 

They nod seriously when they tell them to be careful, and to look out for their friends in the office, too. “You know I will. Got too many other things to worry about to let that become a problem,” they insist. It’s a change they can feel, the seriousness beneath the lightness, and it’s just another reminder of the mess that all of them had been forced into when they were aurors, and how fucked it is that it’s still a problem, that all the work they did against it had barely made a dent. And that, on top of the quiet, much more personal wars they know Liv, Camden, Becker, and Baron had been facing. It almost makes it possible to believe Liv when he says that things will settle if they can make it through, because Liv did, they all did. So it has to be possible. “Only way out is through,” Lex repeats, as they finally come to their spot, make their way in. 

Taking the menu, they barely give it a glance having been to this place regularly. “I’ve been working out with Jal again, thanks for noticing, but I’ll never miss a chance to spend your money…” Halfway a joke. “Really, Liv I’m fine,” they insist more seriously. Comparatively, they are fine, although they’re aware they’re a long way from being able to convince most people of that. They have to keep working hard for that sense of normalcy, just as important to feel it themself, as to convince everyone else of it. “I’m seeing Becca’s place tomorrow, getting drinks with Jal tonight. Even have a park playdate lined up this weekend with Keira. I’m damn near thriving.”

.

Liv feels an uncertainty in their chest, this feeling they get sometimes like they want to protect Lex from every hard thing in the world. They know better than most people how unfair things can be, and it hurts to think of how long they lived believing that they deserved to be miserable, that they deserved every unfair thing that the world threw at them. They hope thet Lex never has to feel that hopeless, not to the same extent that Deliverance did. But they know, at the same time, that they might as well. They’ve been through the unthinkable already, but if this NBO thing keeps going the way it has been, their life is only going to get harder at the same pace that their job does. 

But they’re not here to fret endlessly at the worn edges of Lex’s life. They’re here to offer the comfort and the familiarity that they think Lex needs right now, a return to old behaviour that will get them ready for living the rest of their life. Liv hopes that they know they can always come to him, that they know he’ll always be there –– literally always, which is still a strange thought all these years later. And there’s a part of Liv that’s learned to be optomistic, conditioned now to believe that Lex will find their way to real happiness again. Happiness is a boundless thing, after all. It waits for you around every corner. It’s a lot like love –– eternal, wide reaching, without limitations. There’s no quota to how much you can feel, how much you’re allowed to recieve. It took Liv a hell of a long time to learn that, but its a truth that they’re comfortable with now. 

It doesn’t matter that they see Liv so often, at the very least every few days, if not every single day, slipping back into the habits they had had before slowly but surely, trying to reach out instead of retreating in, they still can never really help the smile it brings, something easy and warm, made even easier by Liv’s own smile. After all, it’s a special thing, not something easily won from any of the Savages, so it’s easy to feel for a second like every’s going to be alright if that smile’s turned on you.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed,” they say with a breath of laughter. Understatement of the century, all things considered. Lex watches them put the cigarette out, giving them a nod. “Secret’s safe with me, but you better have a damn powerful spell up your sleeve to get rid of any hint of the smell. You remember the night I came home after my first drink? One single drink, that’s it. He knew before I even opened my mouth. So good luck with that one.”

They follow after Liv as they start off towards the same little place they usually go, and already they feel some of the stress slipping away, at least until they get back to the office. It doesn’t feel like they have to worry about finding that normal as much around their family. They still try––it wouldn’t work so well if they only tried hard at work––but their guard doesn’t have to be quite so defensive with their family. But they don’t want any of them to worry, which they’re well aware is a pointless battle, considering who all they’re talking about. It feels important that they all know they’re okay, though, or at least getting there, after everything they’ve done for them.

“Been a bit of a mess over in our office this week, I’m sure Baron’s told you already your old deputy chief’s there helping with the attack investigation. Too damn much to think about all at once, but guess it’s all a good distraction, in a way, having so much to think about even on top of a full case load.”

.

They feel warm and light as Lex makes the little comment. Every memory that springs to mind makes Liv feel grateful for the life they have, the one that they’ve been given. They never thought they would live like this, they never thought that they would be happy most of the time, that they would feel loved nearly every moment of the day. It was more than just Camden, it was everything that they had now. Close friends, a family bigger than just one person, someone to treat as a child of their own. Liv is a tender thing, with far too much love to hand out –– that’s something that they’ve realised about themself as they’ve grown older. They’re someone who takes in strays. The dogs. The lost kids in the world who need a helping hand. And Lex. Lex who clawed their way into Liv’s heart and stayed there. Lex who made Liv really feel like a parent, in any way that they were allowed to do that. 

“Oh, please” They drawl. “I know how to handle Cam.” A wave of their hand, even as they’re walking. Camden was delightfully easy, actually. Which Liv didn’t really see coming either. After all this time, they knew each other inside and out, with an intimacy Liv didn’t know existed before they were already there. They resist the gentle urge to reach up and thumb over the necklace around their neck, the mark of their love hanging there against their heart. 

They let out a soft hum, at the comment. Baron had told them all about it, and it made worry spark up in Liv’s chest too. Langer. Fucking Langer. Liv spent enough time with Marleigh and Baron to know that couldn’t mean anything good. “Bit of a mess might be the understatement of the century, kiddo.” They say with a shake of their head. They spare a look toward Lex. “I’m sure Baron has already given you the speech, but... just be careful around Langer, okay? Look out for yourself. Those nuisances you call friends.”

He tries to sound light about it, but there’s something serious about it when it comes out. They feel relieved when they reach their little spot, pulling the door open for Lex to step through. They think about what it was like, when all the stuff surrounding the war had been going on back in the old days. The Scotland Mission, the way that everything seemed like too much to handle –– their friends hurt, their own distant pain, the relationship drama and everything else. “I know thinks seem like they’re crazy right now, but it’ll all settle. Sometimes the only way out is through.” 

 noon, sometime in the week after the party, outside of the main macusa building, nyc           ( @theaurorfiles-npc​ )

Stability, and routine are nice, they make it easier to keep moving forward instead of falling into the trap of getting stuck in the past, which is tempting. Luckily, they have plenty of people at the ready to help with that, and even if they kind of threw off their own routine for the week already by spending a few nights away from home with excuses given hiding reasons wholly rooted in the past, today is a day to get things back on track.

Of course, it’s not much of a surprise that in their attempts to focus on making today something wholly normal, they end up getting wrapped up in the mundanity of paperwork, something strangely relaxing now about going through the motions of something they never really liked much, before their manufactured calm. Enough so that they only get drawn out of their focus and realize they’re late when Hazard starts bothering Fortune about wanting to go to some new, probably very bougie place in LA for lunch. They ignore whatever argument is happening on the other side of their desk, though, putting the files away, getting their things together, and heading to the New York offices.

Not in their office, Lex finds Liv exactly where they’d expect, leaning against the building outside, waiting for them, looking more like a delinquent than an important, serious MACUSA inspector. Even now, they still can’t really help the little smile as they approach, nothing can dampen how lucky they count themself for having ended up at Liv and Camden’s doorstep, and for everything they’ve done for them, especially considering the utterly bizarre circumstances of every single bit of it. They like these lunches alone with Liv, they’re a nice change of pace, a nice chance to breathe. And there’s a lot less eye rolling, too, than at family dinners, which they certainly don’t mind.

“Hey, sorry I’m late, lost track of time doing paperwork. Never thought I’d live to see the day I don’t actually mind filling out reports, but here we are,” Lex shakes their head. “Made it out of the office before Baron could invite herself this time?”

.

Liv always gets a sense of deja-fucking-vu, leaning out here against this wall. They’ve been taking this spot for a hell of a long time. Something like twenty-two or twenty-three years, now. So many times they’ve stood here, waiting for the people that they hold most dear in their life. Smoking a cigarette and watching the smoke stretch out before them, feeling the familiar burn of it in their lungs. 

It’s natural to stand and worry about the people they love. Camden. Baron. Becca, setling in to her new job. Lex, doing the hardest thing in the world, moving on from far too much grief. It was what Liv could never have done. It was what they almost killed themself to make sure that Camden never had to experience. They’re not sure that they could survive what Lex is surviving, what Baron survived. Loss. Hopefully, they never have to. Their heart aches for Lex, as it always has. Something sunk into them when Lex came to their doorstep, when they took in this teenager and helped raised them. Lex was a revelation. It made Liv feel parental. Liv loved them. Loved them beyond reason, with a feirce protective surge. 

Liv is just glad that Lex is coming for lunch with them. The old tradition reborn again. They glance at their watch. Lex is late. But Liv knows how that can be. The way you get caught up in things, the way time can slip away from you when everything seems hard. They smile, anyway, when they see Lex finally approaching. It’s a warm thing. It feels like the sun spreading across their face, just for a moment in time. It’s a smile reserved for special people. Lex. Camden. Baron. Marleigh. Becca. Even Becker had earned his fair share before he slipped away. 

“Hell of a spy mission, sneaking away from her.” They deadpan. “Us Savage’s are notoriously clingly like that.” 

The lies start flowing, and it’s hard to stop as he gets into the drama of it all, which it usually is, when he hits his flow while caught up in his lies. Maybe it’s not the best story he’s ever told, definitely not the best approach he could’ve landed on, considering it relies on an arbitrary half connection that’s probably boarding on rude to make like he is, but he’s tipsy enough that he doesn’t think the better of it in the moment. And if he lands himself in the middle of a shitstorm for it later, well, it wouldn’t be the first time his lies did that, and he knows it certainly won’t be the last. 

Besides, here in the moment it at least seems like he hasn’t fucked it up too royally, considering Maia doesn’t immediately turn around and leave, but actually prompts him to keep going. This is something he can work with, much better chance of winning and potentially doing some good, if she actually gives him a second, and he doesn’t have to run after her. 

“I’ll be honest with you, Maia, I’m a little drunk, and I didn’t think that far ahead,” he admits, as if that’s a big secret here, and takes another bite of his cauldron cake. And sure, maybe he’s playing it up a little, but he needs a second longer for the idea to form. Luckily, it does. “You’ve been down at the beach with some of the others, right? I saw them heading inside alone. Maybe you could just extend the proverbial palm leaf, see if they might wanna join, instead of sitting on the periphery. If they say no, they say no, but worth a try. Sometimes sitting in silence with someone else, is better than sitting in silence alone.”

.

“A little drunk?” She repeats, brows raising in question. She was getting the feeling that if she hung around any longer for this conversation, she was going to give herself a migraine from just trying to figure out why in the hell she’s being dragged into this. The simple solution, it seemed, was just to say fuck it, and track Luxford down. It’d mean less time having to talk to Hazard, and she wasn’t necessarily opposed to adding Luxford to the party down at the beach, anyway. 

“Fine, whatever, I’ll give it a shot,” she sighs as she shrugs her shoulders. Setting the platter down that she’d been using to collect desserts on, she begins scanning the crowd and spots Luxford right as they disappear into Harbird’s house. 

“Alright, guess I’m doing this then,” she says mostly to herself as her eyes follow Luxford inside. 

He doesn’t have a plan, but that’s not a problem. Some of his best ideas are the ones that happen in the moment, when he’s flying by the seat of his pants and has to think quick to keep up a charade, or get what he wants. He wouldn’t have lasted so long without getting caught in the first place all those years ago if he wasn’t good at that sort of shit. It’s a skill that’s just as useful for stupid things, as for life and death situations, he’s learned. So he doesn’t bother considering what the right move is to make sure Goodwin gets up to one of those rooms as soon as werewolf-ly possible before he heads her way, over at the dessert table.

It’s a good start that she’s even still here at all, considering he’s noticed as well as anyone else could that she’s one for these things. There’s already a wide smile on his face as he saddles up to her, stocking up on desserts. He grabs a cauldron cake, and takes a bite, giving a shrug as she so clearly sees through him. “You caught me. But you might be surprised to know it’s not a selfish favor,” he grins, the picture forming in his mind like he knew it would. He’s a seasoned liar, after all, and one thing that he’s learned is that sometimes the best lies have a hint of the truth mixed in.

“I know it’s not my party, but I feel responsible for making sure everyone’s having a good time, and I couldn’t help but notice Luxford’s having a particularly rough go of it tonight,” Ransom say, shaking his head sadly. “I’d try to coax that beautiful smile of theirs out myself, only problem is, I already promised I wouldn’t say a word to them for two weeks, and let’s be honest, I’m not necessarily the one they’d want to have a heart to heart with anyway. I would ask Jal, but of course the moment I look is the first moment he’s not in his spot in the pool. I think they’re missing their other werewolf.”

.

Hazard was always wanting something, that had been the reason why she reacted to him the way she had. Of course, the very nature of her job meant any auror who approached her usually needed something. Most aurors didn’t come up to her to “have a chat”, unless it was Jal, most saw her as a tool to use in the field. Which largely she was okay with, she liked to keep her work life professional and simple, and not over complicate it with relationships. She does have to hand it to Hazard though, the favor he asks of her certainly was the last thing she’d ever have guessed he needed. 

She feels like she should be offended, that when faced with the dilemma of not finding the werewolf he wanted, Hazard simply went to the only other one in the place. And okay, you know what, maybe she is. Because merlin, it wasn’t like she even knew Lex enough or held the social prowess to make them feel better in the first place. 

“And how exactly do you suggest, that I help them with that?” She asks with a sigh, her tone not biting, but more genuinely curious. She may not have been a fan of Hazard’s reasoning behind asking her, but she could at the least sympathize with Luxford. Especially if their grief was at the point Hazard felt like stepping in. 

time: late in the evening

status: closed to @ransomhazard​

Maia was never one for office parties, in fact she usually made quite the point of politely turning down each invitation that would come her way, until most of her coworkers just assumed she had no interest in attending anyway. It wasn’t that she didn’t like spending time with her coworkers, it was more the fact that after spending all week around the collection of various aurors and fellow specialists, she would much rather spend her weekend actually at home, and allow her head the break from having to think about everything waiting for her back at the office. 

It was Eli, her fellow medical examiner, that had managed to talk her into going to Harbird’s party that evening. His method of doing so had been bribery- which seemed to be the running theme of the night considering how much of it was involved in the detective game. She’d been swamped at work lately with a huge smuggling case Monday and Hattori just wrapped up, which involved her having to go through a whole shipment of smuggled dragon heart string wands to determine just what kind of dragon and how many were involved in the smuggling operation. Eli promised to help her with the mass of paperwork involved should she go to the party, and she agreed, even though she was fairly certain he would have helped her anyway, but hey, she might as well return him the favor of helping her out some way. 

Having spent most of the party by a campfire on the beach, surrounded by Eli, Trixie, Fareed, and a collection of other office misfits, she ends up being actually a bit glad she went anyway. Not that she’d ever let Eli know that. Well over halfway through the evening, just at the time she’d usually be finding an excuse to leave, she instead finds herself at the dessert table, loading up a tray of baked goods for those back at the campfire. She’s got a chocolate covered pretzel stick sticking out the side of her mouth, and just about done collecting her loot when she hears the footsteps of another come up behind her, his scent hits her first, and even before she turns around to face Hazard she already knows its his face that will greet her. 

“Before you make some kind of wisecrack about me taking half the dessert table with me, these aren’t all for me,” she says by way of a greeting, the pretzel stick still sticking out of the side of her mouth. Fully intending to end the conversation there, and return back to her evening by the fire on the beach, she picks up the tray to leave, but gets the feeling Hazard had showed up for more than to grab a treat for himself. 

Ugh... so like Castor wrote this whole overly complicated plot, where Madeline knew her wife would drink the wine, because she’d started drinking in the tub to cover the fact she was drinking again. But honestly you got the killer, the motive, and how she died, so like you totally got it, babe.

Now, please take this deer-hat thing. And if anyone has any complaints they can take them to Castor. I, in the meantime, will finally be in the pool, preferably on Jal’s chiseled shoulders. 

Also, I swear to Merlin, if someone mistakes me for a Hazard daughter one more time....  Like guys, I literally work in the office, and have been there for the last six years. My name has been Eames this whole time, okay?