You Again (JayVin)

Potioneers In-Training Posts : 36

Jaycie yawned and stretched her stiff muscles. It was only about 6 o'clock, so the afternoon sun was still high in the sky, its bright yellow light glinting off the glass in the greenhouses. She pulled open the heavy glass door and stepped inside, her face immediately swamped with a blast of warm, humid air. Jaycie took a deep breath, relishing in the familiar scents of damp soil and blooming flowers.

The door clicked closed behind her and Jaycie picked her way through the concrete-floored jungle. She reached a small table at the end of the greenhouse and dropped her bag on the floor. Reaching down and pulling out a notebook and pencil, Jaycie flicked it open to the latest page. She scratched the date into the top right-hand corner before placing the pencil on the page and turning to search for her seedlings.

The small row of seedlings she'd planted a few days ago were her new project. Jaycie padded back up the greenhouse into the seedling cupboard, a small, bright and strictly-managed area of the indoor gardens. She quickly located her tray and brought it back out to the work desk where her notepad lay. Small pink shoots had wormed their way out of the dark soil since yesterday. Jaycie jotted down their progress in her book.

They were Moly flowers, very powerful plants with specific protective magical properties. In a few more days, the tiny pink shoots would hopefully start to darken until they were finally pitch-black, like tar. A few more weeks and they would start to bud and finally flower, with brilliant white petals. Jaycie liked them; they were beautiful flowers, of course, but they were very hardy and immensely magical. It had been documented that Moly flowers could cure any enchantment and were widely renowned for counter-acting the affects of dark magic. Jaycie was growing them in the hopes she could produce a good enough quality to try a Wiggenweld potion, sometime in the near future.

Sprinkling them with some water, Jaycie shut her notebook and lifted the tray. Just as she stepped out from the desk, turning in the process, she collided with something - no, someone. Shocked, Jaycie jumped and her tray of seedlings fell to the ground with piercing clang, soil and sprout flying everywhere. She stared down at them in despair. Oh, damn.

Potioneers In-Training Posts : 41

It had been a fairly typical day. Devin had gone to classes, done some homework, and was just getting ready for a try-out practice when the information came that it had been cancelled, for some reason or another he didn't particularly care about. It meant that, for the rest of the day, he didn't have much plans.

So, he decided to pay a visit to the Greenhouses. While he didn't have anything particular in them, there was a common section for potion students that he liked to stop by once in a while to check for ingredients. Sometimes, he was luckily and caught one of the rarer plants in full bloom. Besides, Cassana was in need of some other more common items and he said he'd pick them up for her.

Stepping inside, he made his way straight towards the end of the Greenhouse, knowing exactly where the items he needed were located. But, as he approached it, he caught sight of someone else already there, and slowed his steps. He wasn't particularly in the mood to deal with the formalities of conversation, and so he lowered his head and moved to the side as to avoid looking at said person, whoever it was.

Moving past the witch silently, he was just reaching his destination when she stepped back into him. Blind. Unobservant, he thought to himself, wondering how anyone could miss something as huge as a person walking behind them. Still, she had dropped something, and while Devin wasn't always one to follow social norms, he knew what had to be done. So, slipping out his wand almost instantly, he muttered a spell under his breath and righted whatever it was that had been dropped - a tray of soil and a newly growing plant, it seemed to be.

Not bothering to bend down or pick it up, he instead looked up to the person, a warning to be more careful on the tip of his tongue, when recognition hit him like a train at full speed, and he hesitated just a second. Then, catching himself, he said, "You need to be more careful next time."

Potioneers In-Training Posts : 36

Jaycie stared in disappointment down at her ruined experiment, which was now scattered chaotically over the Greenhouse floor. She felt the breath leave her body and a tiny bit of resentment enter it; resentment towards the doofus she had collided with. It wasn't like the corridor was that narrow. Now two weeks' effort had just gone down the drain. As she stood and lamented the waste of her hard work, tiny bits of dirt began to shift. Suddenly the mess on the floor had piled itself back into the tray, the way it was before it had clanged to the ground.

She stooped and collected the tray. Jaycie had the sneaking suspicion that the roots would still be damaged, though. She'd have to start over. But, it was nice of them to fix it for her as best they could. Jaycie stopped examining the Moly sprouts and raised her eyes to thank whoever she'd bumped into when she stopped short and nearly dropped the tray for a second time. She stared as Devin's face mirrored her flash of recognition. She felt her mouth gape open a little as she went to say thank you, or sorry, whichever one her mouth decided on, but he beat her to the speaking thing.

Her mouth quickly shut tight and she lowered her eyes back onto her tray of Moly's. She felt like a child again, getting berated for her carelessness. Something in Devin's tone hinted that he was intending on being a bit harsher, but then he'd realised who it was. Jaycie wouldn't have minded if he'd been a bit harsher, because she was kind of used to it from other people when she got in their way. "Um, s-sorry," she mumbled, fingers curling tightly around the tray. Jaycie shuffled backwards, trying to get out of his way so she could continue on hers.

Despite them being in the same major, this might have been the first time Jaycie had noticed Devin in the Greenhouses. She didn't doubt that he frequented them; after all, she'd literally just failed to notice him then. But usually, she was quite good, and because she spent much of her time down here she had learned to clock the comings and goings of other students and professors. Her face creased into a slight frown and she wondered.

Potioneers In-Training Posts : 41

He still didn't know her name. Then again, he didn't know many people in his year, let alone his course; if they talked to him, he talked back. If they introduced themselves, he did so right back. But he never initiated, never started a conversation, and never spoke to anyone about anything personal. So names were not something that he particularly held interest in.

This was no exception. When the apology came, he nodded, acknowledging it. Adding a, "Apology accepted," as was only polite, Devin had no need to say anything more. So, he turned to continue what he had come for in the first place, and made to the cupboards against the wall. Opening it, his eyes scanned the shelves, picking out what he came for almost at once. That was the good thing about the Greenhouse; he need not waste time searching for something, because everything was always in the same location.

Grabbing a small vial of fig tree root extract, he slipped it into a small bag. Moving along, he took a couple of mushrooms and a bark from some plant he didn't even bother to try and pronounce.

Closing the door, he stepped sideways, to the next set of shelves. Automatically, his hand went to the location of the last item on his list only to find something else was there instead. A frown crossed his features. That wasn't right. They had been there two days ago, when he had come on a personal errand.

Letting out a sigh, he murmured, "Who moved the shrivelfig petals?" Idiots, he thought to himself, as he braced himself for having to search the entire stock of supplies to find its new location.

Potioneers In-Training Posts : 36

He'd quickly and easily accepted her apology and moved on to what ever he'd come to the Greenhouses for, leaving Jaycie free to return to the seedling cupboard. She set the tray down on one of the shelves lining the small, tucked-away room and gingerly unearthed one of the Moly roots. Jaycie wanted to see how bad their roots were and if they could be saved, but at the same time she didn't want to inflict any further damage. Out in the main corridor, she could hear the clinks and shufflings as Devin sorted through the supply cupboards for whatever he needed.

The pink roots were starting to look like they were sweating. Jaycie frowned, knowing they shouldn't be weeping but soaking up the moisture from the soil. She sighed. One by one, she checked and uprooted the unsalvagable sprout, discarding them to the compost bin. She re-lay the tin with fresh soil and pattered out to the seed storage to find a new packet to plant. It took a bit of digging but she finally found what seemed to be the last packet of Moly seeds and scored a tiny packet of dried mooncalf dung while she was at it.

Devin's shuffling continued behind her like a soundtrack of some sort. Jaycie sprinkled the dung over her soil, making a mental note to write that down in her notepad once she was finished. She tore open the packet of seeds and began pressing them quite deeply into the soil, watering them with her wand as she went. Finally, her tray had been successfuly re-planted. Jaycie pushed it onto one of the lower shelves and brushed her hands on her jeans, smearing them a little slightly with the dirt before she realised and scowled at herself. It suddenly seemed very quiet outside; Devin's shuffling had ceased.

Wondering if he'd left, Jaycie cautiously poked her head out of the seedling cupboard door in time to hear him mumble something about the shrivelfig petals in vexation. If he was looking for the shrivelfigs, they got moved on Tuesday because a tiny bit of rot was starting to appear in the back of the cupboard and the grounds keeper didn't want to risk it. Jaycie paused. Surely he'd know? Obviously, he didn't, because he was looking for them in the wrong place. She weighed up her options, feeling her stomach twist itself into knots.

She could pretend she hadn't noticed and write up her new experiment in her notebook. If he asked, she could help, but she got the feeling he would rather tear the place apart than ask if she knew. Or, she could save him the trouble and point them out to him; after all, they were on the other side of the room where there was more sunlight, and it might save him an hour or so of looking. But that was the helpful option, and that meant acting on initiative. What if he didn't want her help, anyway? Jaycie chewed her lip. She couldn't decide.

Then a third option sidled rather lazily into her mind. It made a lot of sense. Jaycie didn't hesitate; she padded across the room to the cupboard the shrivelfig pieces were now kept and she flipped through the bags until she found the ones full of petals. She picked it up and brought back across the room with her, before setting it down in a gap on the shelf in front of Devin. Then Jaycie rather hastily retreated to the desk she'd been using before and began writing out her new notes.

Potioneers In-Training Posts : 41

The witch was quite an interesting puzzle, and as he slowly went through the shelves and cupboards, carefully and methodically searching each and nook for what he needed, he let his mind wander. He thought a lot, which might be why he hardly spoke; unlike some who shared their opinions out loud for the whole world to hear, Devin kept them private, mulling over them until he was sure they were fact. What was the point in sharing something if one wasn't confident in what they were saying?

It was foolish to a point of idiocy. He spoke for one of __ reasons, or a combination of them if the situation called for it. One was if he was asked a question he couldn't avoid otherwise, such as when he was in class or a social gathering where he had to be polite. The second was when he had to make conversation about something, and even then, he only spoke the bare necessities. Lastly was when someone was very obviously wrong about something and he knew the truth; it wasn't confrontation as much as a correction. If he was wrong, he would want to be told, so he doesn't make a fool out of himself by saying things that weren't true. And so, he did the same for others.

Except with Cassana, of course. She was the one exception, the one person he didn't mind ranting. Okay, perhaps that was being a bit too lenient - he did mind sometimes, but tolerated it instead of walking away.

But with this witch, this stranger he had met twice now, things were very different. She was very different. The first time, she had tried to give him something after having overheard a private conversation. It also meant she was observant, watching people and her surroundings and taking far more in than he was sure people gave her credit for. Like him, she hardly spoke, and when she did it was no more than a few words at a time, showing she was either extremely shy, or put a lot of thought into her sentences, or both.

He frowned a little at the idea of being shy; it was never something he understood. What was so scary about speaking or being heard? Unless you were dumb and everything that came out from your mouth was something stupid and, unfortunately, Devin knew a few of these people) there was no need to be afraid of speaking. But that was what the witch appeared to be - scared of something, be it the idea of talking or he himself - for whenever he addressed her, she had this look of almost terror written on her face.

It was just at this thought that he heard movement beside him and turned his head slightly to get a better glimpse, only to find the witch approaching him. Watching her silently, he waited as she placed something on the shelf before him the one he had just been searching - and moved back to her previous position. He allowed himself to wonder for a brief second before turning his eyes to look at what she had put down.

Shrivelfig petals, he thought, picking it up and placing it in the bag he had. "Thank you," he said, raising his voice a few tones above his usual volume so he could be heard. Then, because he knew he would need the information later on, should Ana need more of them for whatever project she was working on, he added, "Where are they?"

Potioneers In-Training Posts : 36

September 2016. Renewed Moly Analysis Log. Day 1.

Jaycie could feel Devin's eyes staring her down, like he was a cat and she, a bird. She stared down past the feathers of her quill to the inky letters on the fresh page of her notebook. Her heart was just about to give up, or so it felt. Like every time she found herself in these situations, her heart started screaming at her but now its voice was turning hoarse. There was a sharp, stabbing pain in the back of her ribcage and Jaycie reminded herself to breathe. This was fine.

She dipped her quill tip back in the ink and continued writing, pretending she was fine and hoping maybe if she ignored the fear hard enough it would get bored and fade away.

The last Log was unfortunately terminated early due to an accident in the greenhouse that damaged all of the Moly sprouts. I have re-planted seven new seeds in the same ratio of soil to fertiliser -,

Devin was speaking to her again. Jaycie hadn't been prepared and had startled, smearing some ink over her page. She frowned, replaced her quill and turned to face the wizard. There was always two parts of her brain having an argument at this point in a conversation, generally "Why is he still talking to me, can't he see I'm uncomfortable? Also, I look so stupid and awkward, why does he even want to talk to me?" against the "I should just leave, I am very uncomfortable and don't really feel like embarrassing myself any further." But today there was a third voice up the back saying, "Actually, this isn't so difficult." Which shut up the other two briefly and for a moment, Jaycie's whole internal monologue was silent with surprise.

But then he asked her where she'd found the petals and the moment was over, the noise had returned. She blinked rapidly, pulling herself back out of her thoughts. Jaycie glanced to the cupboard across the room she'd just rifled through and gestured toward it. She swallowed and quickly tugged her hand back out of the air. What was that? Did people even use their hands like that? That had felt very strange. Jaycie moistened her lips, which were very dry and chapped, and took a small breath. She was very aware of the silence draggiing out between them.

"Uh, they were moved last Tuesday. Because of, um, the rot. In that cupboard," she managed to stammer out quietly. Hopefully he would be leaving soon. But why does he need shrivelfig petals? Her brain hushed with surprise again. Interesting question. There weren't many potions that needed shrivelfig petals, specifically, and she couldn't think of the few off the top of her head that did. Most shrivelfig parts were pretty versatile when it came to magical properties, though, so it could be just about anything.

As Jaycie stood frozen, waiting tensely for his acknolwedgement, she realised he hadn't struck her before as the kind of Potioneering major to do anything but the required work outside of class. Perhaps she'd missed a cue? Whenever she'd noticed him around the university he'd always seemed to be off somewhere else. Jaycie had never got the impression he was overly... interested in his chosen major. So why was he down here stocking a bag with half the usable contents of the greenhouse's stored supplies?