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"Yes, come in." The words were brusque this time, as if the speaker was expecting a particular visitor. Something huffed near the foot of the door.

"Moloch, back," Nadja ordered as the door opened. Large black-striped orange paws backpedaled, giving Kofuku enough room to enter; the elite made a 'tch' in the back of her throat and looked at the grunt. "Oh." The lift of her slim brows suggested she wasn't who she was expecting. Her lips curved up slightly in an smile of professional cordiality. "Yes?"

A large black nose snuffled at the grunt's hair. It belonged to an equally large Arcanine.

While Nadja pursed her lips and quietly pulled the door to, her Arcanine whuffed and stared down at the screaming flailing pink thing now on the floor.

In response to 'a rather large concern regarding a fellow,' the elite arched a brow and uttered a light-voiced inquiry as she strode for her desk. "You're pregnant?"

The large fire dog followed her, tail waving like a feathery pennant.

Moloch whuffed, dancing backward in anticipation. "A different large concern regarding a fellow, then," Nadja mused while she reached up and balanced a Pokeblock on his nose. "Stand." The large fire dog went cross-eyed, perfectly still.

The woman looked back at Kofuku, brows slightly raised over clear grey eyes. Well?

Nadja canted her head slightly, lids half-lowered. Mm hm, her expression seemed to say. She left her Arcanine standing there and strode around to the front of her desk, then hoisted herself up and sat there, legs crossed over the edge. "My impression is that he worries a lot of people."

Nadja and her Arcanine exchanged looks, or would have if one party wasn't intensely focused on the treat hovering in its close vision. But there was certainly a look on Nadja's end.

Then: "Good," and Moloch whipped his head back. The Pokeblock disappeared into his maw, dwarfed by his incisors. The Arcanine made a satisfied rumble and thumped his tail against the floor.

"Have a seat." The elite waved a hand at the chairs near her desk, almost dismissively.

Once the girl was seated, the fiery-haired woman tilted her head over one shoulder to look at Kofuku, less than impressed. "There's a very simple solution to this dilemma of his," she informed her. "Instead he feels the need to have his girlfriend beg for him rather than take it."

Unspoken, but certainly implied by her expression, was 'this action demeans you both.'

She didn't move, but Nadja's eyes dropped briefly and made note of Kofuku's favored foot. She made no comment though, instead tilting her chin up slightly to evaluate the girl's behavior sidelong. Mention of the doorframe drew a furrowed brow.

When Kofuku was done, Nadja's mouth twitched to one side. Then she huffed and rolled her eyes ceilingward. "Sulking. Of course."

"Well," she said crisply after a moment, "you're loyal, though at the moment I'd say it's misplaced. But ultimately the only person who can help him is himself.

"Having his punishment lifted would teach him a lesson, but not the one I intend. What he would learn is that kicking your feet gets you out of unpleasant situations, and that's hardly ever the case.

"When he understands the consequences of and makes the necessary revisions to his behavior, it will have achieved its purpose. When he asked me to lift his punishment I asked him to explain why it was given in the first place." Her tone turned dry. "Unfortunately he seems to think I'm more interested in playing mind games with him than getting my work done and didn't see it as a straightforward question."

Nadja leaned back on her hands, copper hair slipping over her shoulders as she tilted her head up. If not for her nervous conversation partner, she might look like she was wiling away the time listening to office gossip.

"I wasn't aiming for insanity this time," Nadja muttered wryly to the ceiling. She smiled humorlessly and shifted forward to rest her chin in her palm, letting the other hand dangle off the desk. Moloch raised his head and stood up, coming to sit behind the elite. His nose found her palm as she looked to Kofuku again, her gaze level.

"That you feel it necessary to injure your foot - did he apologize, by the way? - is worrisome. I've only met your Panther a few times, but he seems to have a problem with authority. I don't know if he feels the need to test the limits or somehow prove himself through defiance, but he's beating his head against a wall that only exists because he's decided it's so." The elite's voice was as murmury and fluid as ever, patiently instructive as she ran her fingers through her Pokemon's mane, leaning slightly into its side. A contented hum rumbled through the Arcanine's chest.

"I've given him his options. It's in my best interests to have grunts available for missions, not confined to quarters or the brig. However, he needs to understand what is acceptable behavior within an hierarchical institution. He's welcome to come discuss this, but if he's too prideful to talk with me directly the punishment stands."

The elite's boots touched lightly on the floor. "I'm not playing mind games. I have better things to do with my time," she said as she strode around her desk and picked up a file that had been sitting there - what she had been working on before Kofuku knocked.