Take care, Caretaker PV Marcus Iwasaki Finished

Marcus woke up early that Sunday not because he wanted to, but because his evening had been pretty disastrous. The murphy bed needed a new mattress, being so lumpy that a cushioning charm hardly helped. Plus the grimy windows, the rickety desk and the rattle of the manacles hanging above had kept him awake for a long time.

The office he had been given was positively dreary. There had been no time to "spruce" things up yet considering he only arrived yesterday, but it was on his to-do list. His disdain for messiness was probably one of the qualities that landed him this job. So as soon as he was ready for the day, Marcus turned his focus on cleaning.

A little while later, he was in the middle of perusing the tragedies on the bookcase when he heard the knocking. He grimaced slightly at the still messy room, hoping whoever it was didn't expect an invitation inside. Stacks of books were on the ground, the drink-stained desk had been pushed to one side of the room, and the blankets that had been in the fireplace were tossed over the armchair. It appeared messier than when he first arrived, but it was just part of his process. He felt better cleaning his office by hand rather than by wand.

Marcus pushed a stack of books aside with his foot as he made his way to the door. His amber eyes showed a little surprise when he opened it to reveal a grown man. He didn't know why he had been expecting a student, or perhaps even Ms Jensen.

"Good morning," Marcus greeted, inclining his head politely. "Anything I can help you with?" He hoped to have a good relationship with fellow staff, but he recognized that the professors had much more seniority over him. Better to let them lead the conversation.

Marcus' Intimidation is in effect.

It is a sentiment that enters people's hearts when they are in your presence. They feel dis-ease when you are present, even if the interaction is casual or even friendly.

Caradoc immediately reached out a hand. "Caradoc Browne, at your service." He dipped his head a little, causing his glasses to shift just a bit on top of his head. Realising they were still out in the open, he quickly picked them up and hid them in the pocket of his shirt. "I am the Head of Hufflepuff. I hear you've already met my Slytherin counterpart?" He gave the newly arrived professor a friendly smile. His eyes slowly shifted to the space behind the man. There wasn't a lot to see given how he kept the door pretty closed, and he only popped his head out. Was he... in the middle of something?

Caradoc narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out what exactly was going on. "I hope... everything is okay?" The questioning in his voice was clear. Though it was more of an automatic mental check on the man. The healer in Doc scanning for some obvious sign that something was off. With the knowledge that the man before him was a werewolf, Doc couldn't help but check for scratches or claw marks. He knew those were not unheard of with them. Often victimising themselves if they never had any access to wolfsbane. And with his own ex-wife having suffered under the condition, the pain was real in his head. Experiencing someone go through all that had made Caradoc quite bitter about the entire thing.

In a way, it was why their situation had been so severe. There was a lot more that went wrong for them in a short period of time. But he knew that was one of the reasons as well. Nevertheless, Doc would smile and offer the man a welcoming hand. It was their disease he felt uncomfortable with, not them. Unless he found out the man was an insufferable ass. Then he could hate both parts of him.

Caradoc Browne immediately offered his hand, prompting Marcus to return the gesture. "Marcus Iwasaki." The handshake he offered was firm and decisive. Business-like. He tipped his head in automatic response as well, but had no glasses that might fall because of it.

"Ms Jensen, yes," Marcus confirmed meeting the Slytherin Head of House who had greeted him and shown him to his office the day before. Marcus couldn't muster the energy to return Browne's friendly expression, but he did put on a close-lipped smile of his own, though it didn't reach his eyes. So this man was in charge of the yellow-and-black house, if Marcus recalled the Hufflepuff emblem correctly. And he was one of the staff who knew what he was and still hired him. It made Marcus regard him with a lot more respect, but also a load of caution. He wondered if he would be looked after carefully during his time here at the castle. He expected as much.

Despite looking, the man wouldn't see any scarring on Marcus' face or neck, which were the only parts of his skin really visible. He was wearing long jeans and a long-sleeved Henley shirt, his normal muggle-esque attire. If the man looked close enough, though, he might notice the faint scarring on the back of his left hand that seemed to lead up to the rest of his arm.

Marcus noticed that Browne looked cautious, like he was trying to figure him out. It was only then that he realized how he must have looked to him: suspicious. The fact that he had the door only open enough to stick his head out, and that he had yet to invite him inside was probably a little odd. As soon as he realized this, Marcus took a step back and opened the door wider so that the man could see the absolute mess inside. The door only opened about three-quarters of the way before being stopped by some books that had been placed behind it. "Just a bit of cleaning... It'll be much better once I'm done," he assured him, feeling a little called out despite the fact that the man had not even commented on it yet. He didn't want the staff's first impression to be that he was untidy, but he figured that image could be repaired if he invited the man back after all the cleaning was done.

"Er.. you're welcome to come in, if you'd like," Marcus invited, releasing the door so it stayed open. The only reason he was inviting him in was because he also didn't want his first impression to be that he was unwelcoming. He quickly went about clearing the spare chair of books and the armchair of the blankets. If @Caradoc Browne decided to come in, he would have the option of either chair and Marcus would take the other.

"Ahh, right. Cleaning." Caradoc replied with a smirk curving his lips. "Miss Jensen wouldn't have minded helping you out in that regard, I should tell you." The Head of Hufflepuff accepted the invitation with a bright smile and stepped inside. Boxes, books, and Filch's old chains were all laying about. To be honest, Doc was pleasantly surprised to see that Iwasaki was planning to get rid of the old decorations. Filch had always been a creep. Caradoc often wondered why he was hired in the first place.

Noticing the choice laid out before him, the badger chose the spare chair. It would have been odd to pick the armchair considering he was neither home nor the host on this occasion. Besides, it was the new caretaker that needed to be welcomed. "Apologies to have you experiencing one of the previous caretakers' 'unique' taste of decorating." He added with another smile. "He was awful. I remember him well. I studied here as a child of course. 25 years ago as a matter of fact." The man's face grew serious for the first they had met. "I must be getting old. But don't tell Jensen I said that."

Doc would then wait for Marcus to come sit with him. Not saying a word and simply staring between the man and his chair. If they were to be gentlemen, they were required to be on eye-level for any civilised conversation.

"I believe it," Marcus said in response to the comment about Professor Jensen. The reason he agreed with that sentiment is because she smelled so strongly of soap and general cleanliness, and that led him to believe she prized cleaning as much as himself. Of course, that's not the reason he would give to Professor Browne. Saying that she smelled clean would likely come off as creepy. "She seems like a very organized person," he offered as explanation instead.

As @Caradoc Browne apologized for the less-than-stellar condition of the office, Marcus shook his head and waved away the unnecessary sorry. "It's alright.. pretty interesting to see my predecessor's tastes," Marcus replied, his amber eyes also lingering on the manacles that he had taken down. The man went on to share that he attended Hogwarts in his youth, which Marcus nodded at. It made sense. He expected a lot of the Hogwarts staff probably attended the school when they were young, with him being one of the outliers. "Old?" he repeated in a skeptical tone, taking the armchair since Professor Browne chose the spare chair. "I won't say a word," Marcus said, humoring the man's request with a small grin.

He wanted to ask the man if he was close to Professor Jensen - considering he had mentioned her name three times in the past minute or so - but figured that might be too personal a question. Too big of an assumption to make. Best to stick to the important topics. His duties had already been explained by the Head of Slytherin House, so he wondered if this man was here to offer advice or a map of the castle or something like that. Perhaps he was just here to welcome him. The huge smile he had when first greeting him suggested as much. But then of course was the lingering feeling Marcus was merely being checked up on, considering his disease.

"Any words of wisdom?" he decided to ask, figuring it was as good a place as any to start.

"Wisdom?" Caradoc cackled as his head flew back with a wide grin. "Oh, it is clear you're new master Iwasaki. I'm not exactly known for my spurts of wisdom." His grin would have fit the devil as he explained how terribly unprofessional he must be taken as by his peers. "I'm a healer by trade and an investigator by purpose. I arrived here a year ago for reason of my own. What I can tell you is that we will have need of your services, I'm sure." His face had grown serious over the span of his last sentence. Two bright blue eyes staring straight at Marcus without ever flinching, clearly watching the man react to the words that filled the room.

"The castle has been compromised, and now more than ever, we need students to follow the rules. We need them in check, standing behind the lines we draw for them in order for this school to survive." Hands clenched around his knees, Caradoc leaned forward to whisper. "Evidence has been found of hags. Not the kind that you find at the Ministry gates, vying for more rights. No, much viler than that. Or at the very least some offspring I have never encountered before." He sighed as he fell back into his chair. "Not that I am the adventuring sort. But just so you are warned on the matters we are dealing with these days."

Caradoc's gaze lingered on the caretaker. What sort of man did he see before him? Professors like him were always assigned under the supervision of one of the houses. He wondered whether they found likeness to the traits they were placed by. "How did you find out about the job?"

Marcus blinked rapidly when the man in front of him cackled at his question. Had he said something that funny? It was soon explained that @Caradoc Browne was apparently not the one to go to for wisdom. The new caretaker was only slightly relieved that he had not said something embarrassing, but he wasn't sure how to react to this piece of information. He didn't need to react, though, because the next words out of the man's mouth were of a much more serious (and mysterious) nature.

"Services that go beyond that of a simple castle caretaker, I imagine?" he asked as his own expression became more serious as well. Marcus thought he knew what would be said next, and he took care not to break eye contact. He felt like he was being tested as the healer-by-trade continued to speak. Hags. Marcus did not need to lean forward to hear the man's whisper about the creatures, but he understood the desire to keep this information under wraps.

"Ms Jensen mentioned yesterday," Marcus said with a nod, leaning back in his chair as he mirrored the blond man. "That it isn't safe here at the castle, because of some things lurking around," he added, for context's sake. He'd had a night to process the news and decide he would lend a hand to whatever efforts were needed. There was no wavering of his voice as he continued, "I'm prepared to offer whatever is needed of me. Can't say I'm the adventuring sort either, but.. it sounds like you guys need more bodies than you currently have."

The next question that the Hufflepuff Head of House asked him was a bit more straightforward. "There was an advertisement at the Leaky Cauldron," Marcus said, which was the truth. There was a board there that usually held fliers, menus and/or guides on Diagon Alley. One day his amber eyes had landed on a notice for the caretaker position at Hogwarts. It had some intriguing information on it, so he sent in an application. "I thought it would be a long shot, but.. here we are," he said, gesturing with one hand to the room around them. It was only then that he broke eye contact, Marcus' eyes landing on the window in the corner of the room.

"Yes... here we are..." Doc looked around the room, clearly not impressed with its current theme. "On the next meeting we'll make sure to fill you in with all the details that are left to know. For now, make sure to make this room your home. We all need that at the end of the day." The Head of Hufflepuff rose from his seat and straightened his shirt. "If you need a hand or two with anything, be sure to call upon me. I promise I'm not too annoying." Somehow he would find that line too amusing to be true.

"Maybe we can chat a bit over dinner. I expect you'll be joining us now at the table every meal? If not, you're fine. Just offering in case you wouldn't know what to do." The badger smiled as he swung open the door. "Don't take my chair though." He pointed out with a serious twitch in his eyes. His face all stern in the blink of an eye. "'cause I will kick you off in front of the entire student body..." He managed to stare straight into Marcus' eyes before failing to control his laughter any longer. "I'm kidding, no worries. I'll catch you later. Have fun cleaning all those years of filth in here!" And with that the father of badgers would disappear around the corner, out of the room. Placing his glasses back on his nose when no one's watching.