Aiden, Tyler,
Darren and Minerva strolled to the Alchemy & Nutrition class, which was
located in the wing opposite the arena. Vines crept along the outside of those
walls and shrubs and bushes grew beneath the windows. However, the tops of
these were periodically singed, since students occasionally created explosives
instead of potions. (To each of these cases, Minerva would wager, “They added water,
didn’t they?”, and usually, she ended up being correct.)
‘Good
morning, you four!’ their Bellossom teacher called once they entered. ‘Are you
ready for today’s lesson? Actually, why do I even ask? Of course you are! The
three poisons are already set up on each of your benches, so instead of waiting
for the rest of the class to arrive, you may start immediately. Have fun!’
Minerva
barely glanced at the first phial before sending Darren off to the cabinet at
the back of the class. Tyler was already there.
‘What did
she send you to bring now?’ he asked.
Darren spat
the list onto the ground and squinted at it. ‘Err, three Mago Berries, five
Kebia Berries, two White Herbs, a Big Root, an Energy Root, Bright Powder, and
Light Clay. And you? What are you looking for?’
‘Pecha
Berries,’ Tyler replied, shoving the reagents and ingredients around.
‘I removed
them, Tyler,’ the Bellossom called, chuckling.
‘I told you
so!’ Aiden called from the front of the class.
‘Hmm.’
Tyler frowned, but quickly resumed shoving ingredients around.’
‘What are
you looking for now?’ Darren asked.
‘Lum
Berries.’
‘If Miss Antoinette
removed all the Pecha Berries, then you can bet she removed all the Lum Berries
too.’
‘Oh yeah?’
Tyler asked sarcastically, waving a dark green fruit with a yellow stalk in
front of Darren. ‘Then what do you call this, hmm?’
‘That’s a
Tanga Berry.’
‘Really?’
Tyler frowned at the fruit.
‘I could
use that!’ Aiden called again. ‘But also bring me the stuff I asked for in the
first place.’
‘Which is
what, again?’ Tyler asked Mareepishly.
‘Light Clay
and Sandslash Quills!’
‘Okay!’ Tyler
collected the ingredients and headed back to his desk.
Darren shook
his head and began searching for the items on his list. The Light Clay was easy
to find, since he had seen from where Tyler had taken his, but the other items
weren’t at their usual spots. Fortunately, Miss Antoinette came over and helped
him find the rest, rearranging the shelves thereafter.
‘Finally,’
Minerva remarked once Darren had returned. ‘Hand me those Kebia Berries.’
He did so,
afterwards sniffing the first phial. ‘Bleagh, that’s disgusting! What is that
stuff?’
‘What does
it look like?’ Minerva asked nonchalantly, crushing the berries into a bowl.
‘Like
sludge.’
‘What
colour?’
‘Black,
obviously.’
‘There you
have it – Black Sludge. It’s the first thing in the chapter.’
Darren
banged his head against the desk.
‘Please,
don’t do that. You’re going to make me spill.’
‘Sorry.’
‘You can
make it up to me by powdering those herbs so long.’
Darren
placed the herbs in the mortar and picked up the pestle. ‘Done,’ he announced
five minutes later.
‘I’ll be
right with you. Drop the clay in the powder and knead it so that the powder’s
spread evenly throughout it.’
Darren
muttered rebelliously, but obliged. When he was done, he scowled.
‘It’s probably
going to take me weeks to get that out from underneath my nails.’
‘I haven’t
even poured the Kebia juice over it yet, which I actually have to do now. Hold
it closer.’
‘It’s gone
all squishy,’ Darren complained, pulling a face after she handed back the clay and
he continued to work it. He looked to his right, past Minerva. ‘Why couldn’t we
use powdered Sandslash Quills, like Aiden and Tyler did?’
Minerva
glanced at the pair to her right. ‘I don’t make cheap alternatives.’
‘Hurtful,’
Aiden responded.
‘Truthful. How far are you with that,
Darren?’
‘Unless
you’d like to get your dainty little paws dirty,’ he retorted, ‘you can wait until
I’m done.’
‘Humph.’
The Vulpix opened the bag of Bright Powder and threw some into the second phial,
causing the purplish liquid to give off a puff of green smoke.
‘Always so
dramatic,’ Tyler commented. ‘Why’d you do that, anyway?’
‘Your
blatant attempt at fishing for information notwithstanding,’ Minerva answered
coolly, ‘it’s because I needed to test a suspicion. Unlike the pompous pair at
the back, I can’t simply taste it.’
‘True.’
‘You should
totally try it though, Tyler,’ the Ivysaur called. ‘Poisons have very distinct
tastes.’
‘It’s
Tri-Toxin,’ Minerva stated exasperatedly.
‘I thought
you said I was fishing for information.’
‘You were,
but in your case, you might actually eat a wild Quilfish if you caught one, if
only to be sure that it isn’t a Seaking.’
‘Rude,’
Tyler muttered.
‘There!’
Darren announced, dumping the clay into Minerva’s bowl and pushing it towards
the first phial. ‘Now what?’
‘Now you go
wash your paws and fill a jar with water. And hurry, since the Energy Root
needs to infuse in hot water for an hour before we can actually make the
antidote.’
Sighing,
Darren got up, did as he was ordered, and returned with the jar of water. ‘You
know, I pity your future husband.’
‘Pfft, do I
look like the marrying type?’ Minerva countered.
‘Nigel
won’t be too happy to hear that…’
‘Oh,
please! He’s a Pansear. He knows our relationship isn’t serious. The same goes
for that Venomoth – what’s her name?’
‘Sara
Earhart.’
‘For her
and Malcolm. She’s a bit dim-witted, if you know what I mean?’
‘Hey!’
Malcolm protested.
‘Minerva,
don’t be mean,’ Miss Antoinette admonished.
‘It’s
true,’ she whispered when the teacher wasn’t looking.
‘Disregard
what I said earlier,’ Darren advised. ‘Nobody would want to be in a long-term
relationship with you.’
‘Actually,
I’d probably be the one to dump the other person.’
Darren
slapped his forehead with his right paw. ‘I rest my case.’
Points: 2954
Reviews: 88
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