A Minister's Duties! [Jacobi]

[Paige]

It was time. She didn't come here often, it was a little bit of a walk, but hey, she did like talking to Jacobi every now and then, and this was one of those times! Of course no one batted an eye as she just walked into the headquarters of The Republic, they were very used to her.

After all, who was going to deny the kid sister of the vice president anything? If they were sane, they wouldn't. Not because they'd get punished, but because that would cause her to get really sad, and they'd be able to easily see that too. And no one looked like a good guy when they were making a kid sad, they got evil stares and everything. Regardless of all that, the girl gave a smile to everyone she passed, happy that she and Erin had finally found their place. Even if she was nervous about being so...well-known, the girl liked having so many friends and people who were devoted to a cause.

And heck, people were devoted to her too. They had to be, since she was the sister of Erin, but it still came as a surprise to her every time she thought about it. Ignoring those thoughts, the girl hummed as she walked the walls of the building until she finally reached the office of Jacobi. Most anyone else would have to arrange a meeting, save for probably her sister, but she usually just walked straight on in and he didn't mind.

Or at least, she didn't THINK he minded all that much. Perhaps that day might even be the day he let HER be a minister too! A bit outlandish, sure, but she had seen a lot, so it was always possible, right? "Jacobi! What's up today!?" she called out cheerfully as she entered the room. She made sure to knock a little first, of course. Since, y'know, it was only polite to do that before waltzing right in unannounced.

What a shock, a kid like her didn't have a ton of manners.

[jacobi]

Jacobi sat pinching the bridge of his nose in a largely unsuccessful attempt to stave off a migraine. How this much paperwork managed to pile up in a day's time would forever remain a mystery to him. Each day he would arrive in the morning to a fresh mountain of the stuff: agreements to sign, prospective laws to review, quarrels to settle, meetings to schedule. He would spend the day slogging through the lot of it, only to find another stack awaiting his attention the following day. There was no end to it. Unfortunately, there was also nothing to be done about it at this juncture. He'd wanted to monitor every little detail as The Republic got it's start, and that level of scrutiny came with a price. It was also impossible, but nobody had had the heart to tell him as much, and his ever loyal vice president had complete faith in his abilities. In short, it was a nightmare, interrupted occasionally by a small knock – always unexpected, always unannounced.

It came as he sat there, staring at the mountain of work yet to be tackled, and he found himself smiling as, without waiting for permission to enter, Paige made he way into the office, closing the door shut behind her.

Erin's sister was an exuberant girl, full of youthful energy and grandiose ideas, a trait that the two of them seemed to share. However, where Erin's vigor and idealism had become somewhat tempered by the realities of war and the precious state of their fledgeling republic, Paige's remained unfettered. With all of her energy, and her lack of decorum, she reminded him of the children that he'd visited in the pediatric oncology ward, back when he'd worked at the city's hospital. Sick as they were, they'd always been lively, as if they had an eternity of games and important secrets stretched out before them.

When the war came, it couldn't touch them. In a bleak sea of realities, their light had been unexpectedly refreshing and, had he been a less ambitious man, Jacobi might have been content to stay in that hospital, visiting them and making up games and stories during his lunch breaks. But that was neither here nor there now, he supposed, and he had more pressing matters to attend to besides, namely a very bubbly little girl who seemed more than up to the task of distracting him from the mountain of paperwork sitting on the corner of his desk.

“Paige, you remembered to knock,” his tone was light as he said it, colored with amusement. She'd been remembering to knock more and more often these days. No doubt Erin was somehow behind the strange, recurring phenomenon. “Thank you.” He'd made the executive decision to reinforce this sort of behavior.

As for what he was up to today, as she put it, Jacobi glanced from the girl to the paperwork and back again before pointing at the stack. ”You see this mountain of paperwork. It showed up before I did, and I've been told that I have to make it disappear by the end of the day, or I won't be allowed to go home tonight.” His words carried a grave sort of sincerity, or appeared to, at any rate. In actuality, he could choose to leave them where they were if he so desired, but the pile would only grow, and then he would be pulling an all-nighter to reach the bottom of it. ”Do you think you could lend me a hand?”

[Paige]

"Let's hope I remember to keep knocking," Paige said with a smile, her enthusiasm not as high as it was when she had first entered because, well, it wouldn't do to be so loud and exuberant all the time. Yes, the last year had changed her greatly, she was a lot more happy and free, but she realized not everyone was. And besides, a year was not enough time to change one's personality completely. She still could, at times, be quite the reserved young lady, but she was learning not to be. After all, if one were reserved, how could they ever hope to be a grand dancer some day? They couldn't, and it was as simple as that. Of course that meant she probably shouldn't knock as much, but...well, what if one day he was actually not able to entertain her and her curiosity, and had to get paperwork done right away?

Unlikely, since he seemed to be doing it all the time from her perspective, but hey, it could happen one day. The white-haired girl made a face when he mentioned the paperwork, and shook her head as she walked forward a little bit, stopping next to the seat he was in and peering at the paperwork before him. "Eh...I dunno. It doesn't look like it's a lot of fun, y'know? It looks kind of stressful, and us dancers already have plenty of stress," she pointed out. People expected you to be GOOD at what you did if you were dancing for them, even if it was a free service.

It was a bit...well, not good of them, she was sure there was a better word there, but she wasn't going to think about that too much. Who could blame them for wanting to have good entertainment with the shadows of Lux and Nox everywhere? Sure, they were NOT going to get into Unova as long as The Republic was around, but no one could say how long it was before one side or the other got tired of not having access to resources in Unova all to themselves, instead of sharing it with the enemy side. That was what Paige worried about, and it was also what Paige tried to not think about at all. She wanted to think they'd be safe in Unova for a long time, longer than just a flimsy year. Even if it was the best year ever. Regardless, she didn't know how her sister did it.

How she was a good dancer AND the vice president of The Republic at the same time. She had to have a crazy amount of stress, but...well, that was her sister for you. Able to deal well under pressure, and absolutely awesome in every way. "What sort of stuff is it? Ooh...say, I MIGHT help you if you make me a minister. I mean, I'm popular enough that I don't think people would object too much." she said to him, her smile growing just a little bit as she made the offer. Of course, they had this conversation before, and she had no doubt about how it was going to go.

[jacobi]

Each morning, Jacobi passes a man walking to work with his Growlithe at his side. The man doesn't look at him. He keeps his eyes averted, fixed pointedly on the concrete a few paces ahead. Jacobi does the same. In the morning, when the city's unspoken rules are in effect, he feels no need to reach out, to make himself a source of warmth and hope for the general populace. He simply is.

Stuck in the walking trance that comes with moving through the city's morning crowds, he observes without truly observing, a lazy, casual thing made of half glances. Without the paparazzi trailing him, as they often do when he takes the car these days, the world seems almost serene, no doubt a sign that he is being worn down as the weeks pass. Perhaps he will make walking to work part of his routine. His flat isn't far, a twenty five minute walk at best, often longer by car when traffic is thick (as it so often is in the morning).

This morning, there were a couple of drunks standing by a package store when he passed. This is the third time he's seen them. Not those particular men, but men like them. Their faces are interchangeable, their stories the same, he can see it etched in the lines on their faces, their rosy cheeks, the way they slump, and grumble, and belch as he passes. He doesn't hold it against them. He finds it almost amusing the way these men are both different from and similar to the sort of men who usually frequent that particular corner. Perhaps this too will become part of the routine.

Paige looks at him from across the desk with earnestness in her eyes and asks an all too familiar question - this too has become part of the routine. At eleven years old, she believes that she's qualified for a position that only the most competent (or egotistical) adults have taken to vying for. She doesn't understand the intricacies that come with being one of his ministers, the workload involved, she doesn't posses the maturity, but Jacobi doesn't need to tell her that, doesn't need to make the light of hope fade from her eyes just yet. Let someone else do that, many years down the road, when it becomes unavoidable.

Instead, he smiles and offers her words to fuel that hope - this deviates from the routine, but what harm could it possibly do? Everyone needs goals. “It's true, you are pretty popular...When you're a little older, I might have to make you my minister of dance.” he tells her. “How does that sound?” It's the first thing that comes to mind, and Jacobi knows that he's hit the mark when he sees her eyes light up, because what else would please her more than a position tied to that which she so loves? Of course, there won't be a position, but she doesn't need to know that either. Not yet. And soon enough this fancy will pass, as all childish fancies pass, lost with the hours of the day, the week, the month, the year.

[Paige]

That was...different. Unusual, actually, that he'd just go along with what she was saying and appease her. Most of the time he just sort of laughed her suggestions off and said maybe when she was older. Of course, Paige wasn't dumb, not at all. She was well aware that there was no position like that, and there probably wouldn't ever be. But at the same time, she was smart enough to realize when something was different, like how it was just now.

What had prompted such a change? The white-haired young girl watched him curiously for any sort of hint, but there was nothing...huh. Her eyes did still light up though, even if such a position was a bit ludicrous. "That sounds nice, buut...I know there's no such thing. I know! I could fill in for my sister. When I'm older, I mean, and she's busy with stuff. Like...I could talk to people," she explained. It was going to be years down the road of course, but if he said yes to that...? Well, she'd be excited. She liked people, she liked them a lot, and with her in...what was it called? Public relations? Yeah. With her in that, surely people would come to appreciate the Republic more. She wasn't exactly the greatest around when it came to socializing, but she DID try her best.

"And when I ain't doing that I can do something with dancing, like...um. Be the dancing minister." she said with a giggle, just to show she was well aware of just how..silly that idea was, even if she would be completely excited for that position if it existed. A shame it didn't, all people needed a bit of dancing now and then in their life. Or rather, a way to just sit back and relax.