@mer.aisava; video

[secretarialhand]

[When the video feed turns on, it shows a pale young elven man with an extremely calm demeanor, sitting at a desk made of heavy, dark wood, and anyone who's been to Gramarye Magic Research will recognize that wallpaper. His hands are folded neatly in front of himself, and he's dressed in a simple blue tunic, pierced ears lifted, alert and attentive.

Lifting his chin slightly, he pins the camera with a serious expression.]

Our name is Csevet Aisava, and we have recently been placed in charge of administrative tasks at Gramarye Magic Research.

[A pause.]

It is clear that whoever preceded us in this position was far more invested in research than paperwork. We would like to request that any in the employ of the Research Center please turn in copies of all necessary receipts and reports since...

[Another pause, and he lifts a hand to shift a paper into better view.]

...January first.

They may be left at our desk, or submitted by mail or electronically.

[That last word sounds awkward, as if he's only said it a handful of times in his life and doesn't entirely understand what it means. Csevet hates not entirely understanding things, and there's an undercurrent of that as well, his ears pulling back against his head a little.]

Our thanks.

Comments

video; @chronicler

[scholiast]

(Lucretia's username isn't chronicler for nothing. After carefully watching the video she reaches for a stack of papers on her desk, licking her thumb and rifling through them. Several sheaves are extracted from there. It takes her close to twenty minutes to find the rest of the receipts and reports owed because she keeps getting distracted by her own work, pausing here and there to read something over, reaching for a book to look up a reference... before she shakes her head and closes it, returning to the task at hand.

Finally she has quite a sizable stack ready for presentation. She reaches to turn on her on video feed as she tries to force a paperclip to hold all of the papers together. It just doesn't seem big enough. How could she possibly have so many things saved to hand over?)

And where exactly is your desk found, Csevet Aisava?

permavideo;

[secretarialhand]

[Ah, this one looks like a person after his own heart. While he doesn't particularly smile, there's a certain lightness in his expression, his ears lift, and he squares his shoulders.]

Our office is near the back of the compound, at the end of the long hallway with the antlers on the wall. Our name has been inscribed on a plaque on the door, it was quite flattering.

[A pause.]

We are pleased to see someone so well-prepared, and admit that it does give us some hope that this job will not be as impossible as it appears.

[scholiast]

(She's familiar with such ear movements and smiles back, though it's a quick, small gesture.)

Alright.

(The paperclip is just a non-starter. Lucretia abandons it, and simply shuffles the papers neatly together in both her hands instead: she'll deliver it as such.) I must admit I... didn't keep these under pretence of having to one day hand them in.

(She's simply loathe to throw anything away.) Why does Gramarye care now?

[secretarialhand]

[It's pleasant, meeting someone who he could see himself becoming friends with, were he to stay here longer.]

We wonder, does it trouble you to part with them? If that is the case, we would be most pleased to accept copies, if the... [A moment, and he fumbles with the word, that slight annoyance showing in his demeanor again.] ...photocopier...is working. We hear that it often is not.

[A pause, and he smiles slightly at that, though it's less a warm smile and more a bit...petty.]

Truth be told, Gramarye has always cared, but this position has been staffed by people more interested in research than paperwork. We are told that is why we were hired, as we know something of magic but do not practice it ourselves.

[scholiast]

No, that's okay. Honestly it's de-cluttered my office a little bit; I'm more than happy to let you have them.

(Just so long as they aren't going to read through them and then throw them out, but Lucretia doubts that's the case. His reaction to the photocopier makes her chuckle. That's a mood, she'd had more or less the same feelings toward it when she'd first learned of its existence.)

It's true. I don't understand why myself; I try to stay away from it, personally.

(Learning he can't practice magic himself is interesting... Lucretia pauses in her final flick through of the papers, checking that everything is in dated order.) Why don't you practice? If you don't mind me asking.

[secretarialhand]

Excellent. We would be glad to receive them. It seems there is a shortage of people who are inclined to keep records of any sort, and we admit to finding it somewhat incomprehensible.

[When she laughs softly, he smiles a little.]

We have yet to try using it, though we do think it sounds like quite a fantastic machine.

[He makes a little considering noise in his throat at that question.]

In the Ethuveraz, being a maza is something that one needs to have a proclivity for. Needless to say, we do not possess such a proclivity.

[scholiast]

Oh, I see.

(She likes that there's a different word for it: maza. She pauses for a moment, pen in hand and poised to write this down... but all the paper she has gathered are records! She writes it on her arm.)

Interesting; and who is 'we'? (Up until now Lucretia had assumed that he was talking about Gramarye's administrative team as a whole, but surely they don't all come from the same planet!)