Blue Forest Banshee Diversions Part 37
ii kibarashi - Resume
The baby made a soft little gurgling sound and the Witch got up from her chair and went to the playpen.
"Oh, my," she cooed. "Such a long nap you took." She gave the auburn-haired child a big hug and carried her over to the makeshift changing table.
Five minutes later, newly diapered and contentedly working on a sippy cup of milk, Dael was once again bright-eyed and alert.
Such a cute little thing, Tiffany thought again. She'd be willing to bet Duo looked very much like her when he was this age.
~*~
Teal came through the doorway, already divesting himself of his jacket. He stopped when he realised that the room was nearly deserted.
"Where is everyone?" he asked plaintively, looking around.
"Here we are," called Tiffany. "Just having a little wash up." She came from the restroom with Dael in her arms. The child squealed with delight when she spotted her father.
He came to take her. "Did Duo run off and dump her on you? I'm sorry."
"No, no, no," she interrupted. "He's in a meeting with Q. I already know what's going on, so I said I'd look after your little angel." She patted the baby Banshee's head gently. "She's such a sweet thing."
Teal bowed gracefully. "All the work of her lovely mother," he smiled.
"Come and sit; they should be back in a little while. It's just a heads-up meeting for our department and a few others. Some things to keep an eye out for."
"Anything major?" he asked, sinking into the sofa she indicated and toeing off his sneakers to pull his feet up onto the cushions.
"Just some little oddities. We get these periods every few years; the incidence of magic-related events out in the Mundane world goes up for a while." She shrugged. "The brains are always working, trying to predict when it'll happen, but so far it seems to be just random fluctuations." She handed the baby a stuffed toy and Dael immediately fell to gnawing on its ear. "How is the job-hunting going?"
"Not so well," Teal sighed. "It's been a while since I worked in the Mundane world; things have changed. And of course, I never had a baby to consider before. Apparently, the concept of taking your child to work with you is... laughable." He hugged Dael and she giggled at him. "I can't put her into daycare, but I need to start earning some money. I don't want to exhaust what I have at Gringott's; that's for her future."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Tiffany said slowly. "I guess I've never thought about child care issues either. I know there are some Witches and Wizards who bring their small ones to work, until they're old enough for dayschool, but I don't recall any of our resident Magical Creatures doing so."
"Magical Creatures generally have a Clan to rely on for that," he explained. "Duo and I are pretty much out here on our own. For myself, it's not a big deal, but..."
"But it's different now that you have her." The Witch nodded thoughtfully. "Are you looking for full time employment, or just pick up work?"
Teal shrugged. "I would rather be part time, so that I can have more time with her and with Duo. I don't need a lot; just enough to cover rent and food and general expenses. She'll be out of diapers in another few months, so I won't have that expense for much longer."
"Have you ever done any office work? Computers, reception, filing?"
"Oh, yeah. I'm a little rusty on my computer skills; it's been a few years, but I'm not afraid of them. Phones, fire; done both. Filing is basic. Why?" he asked curiously. "Do you know of something?"
"I just might... Duo told me that you refused a guest room at the Castle because of the free roaming magic leaks; is human magic a real problem for you?"
"I can deal with it if I have to, but I don't like being swamped by it 24/7. It tends to make me twitchy after a while. Duo doesn't seem to have the same sensitivity, fortunately. I could handle it for a few hours a day on a job, though. As long as I can get away from it overnight."
"In that case, I have a great idea." She stood up and reached for her cloak. "Come with me; we have some rounds to make."
Mystified, he followed her from the office and down the long stairway.
"It's coming up on vacation season," Tiffany explained. "And sabbaticals and internships and all that other nonsense that happens as soon as the sun is high. All the departments run shorthanded this time of year, and we're forever poaching from each other to keep from being tsunamied. If you don't mind doing the basic clerical stuff, you can probably work as much or as little as you like all summer and into the fall."
"And Dael won't be a problem?"
She snorted. "You'll be doing them all a huge favor; they will accept and adore your daughter or I'll send Heero after them."
Teal blinked. "Heero would bother to do that for me, why?"
"Heero would carry you on his shoulders for the rest of the year if it makes Duo happy. The Wyvern is so besotted, it's funny."
Teal blinked again. "Oh, I have got to have a talk with that Banshee," he muttered to himself.
~*~
In the first office, they were almost run down by a Wizard chasing a stack of parchments that seemed to have grown legs and were intent on eluding him.
Tiffany snorted and flipped her wand out. "Alto!" she snapped, and the parchments froze, huddling down on the floor like a herd of odd-looking sheep.
"Thanks!" said the breathless Wizard scooping the parchments up and shutting them into a file drawer. "The darn things won't listen to me at all."
Tiffany eyed the cabinet. "What are they and where did they come from?"
"Oh, they're the project logs from R&D. Since Heero took charge of the labs, the Freaky Five have to turn in weekly logs. They... uh... like to be creative," he muttered, checking the drawer to make sure it was securely closed.
Tiffany snorted and looked at Teal. "What do you think? Could you handle galloping logs?"
Teal grinned back at her. "I think I can rustle those doggies."
"Excellent!" she crowed. "Hannibal, this is Teal; he's Duo's uncle. He needs a part time job for the summer. You get him on - what day do they turn in the logs?"
"Um... Tuesdays."
"You get him on Tuesdays, then. We have some other offices to visit, then a stop at Personnel. This is Teal's daughter, Dael. She will be with him."
The Wizard blinked. "She's a cute little thing... Um... Do baby Banshees do any automatic magic I should know about?"
"She might break glass if she was to start screaming, but she's not a screamer."
"Wish we could say the same for some of the Human females around here," Tiffany muttered. "Next stop, Supply."
Teal shook hands with Hannibal. "Welcome aboard," said the Wizard, looking much more cheerful.
"That was surprisingly easy," murmured Teal as they crossed the green to the supply warehouse.
"Most of our Wizards and Witches here are less than enamored with paperwork in any form. As you saw with the R&D parchments."
"I'm not all that crazy about it myself, but everybody has to keep records, one way or another. Might as well do it right the first time, as do it over," he shrugged.
"Oh, everyone is going to love you!"
OWARI
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