Pumpkin Pie #3, Persimmon #11 + gummy bunnies +malt
Story: Trick or Treat
Title: Silence
Prompts: Pumpkin Pie #3: potions, Persimmon #11: outgrabe (a sound between a deep bellow, a whistle, and a sneeze) + gummy bunnies (500themes #150: silent watcher) + malt (Summer Challenge 2011 #191: Pass it over here, will you?)
Rating: PG
Words: 646
Characters: Gwyneth Tremayne, Danielle Rashke
Summary: Gwyn makes a potion. In Gwyn's defense, she...well no, there is no defense. She just doesn't like chatterboxes. XD
"What are you doing?"
Gwyn looked at her apprentice from the corner of her eye. "Making a potion."
As expected, Dani lit up. She hovered right at Gwyn's elbow and watched her set up a pint-sized cauldron.
"Oh, this is so cool! What sort of potion are you going to make? Could I make it? Is that why you're making it now, so I can see how it's done? Should I take notes?"
Dani made to go get her notebook but Gwyn opened the cupboard on top of the long wooden potions table. The cupboard was full of small glass vials and cubbies with different ingredients. Dani rushed forward and made to grab for the cabinet but Gwyn pushed her hands away.
"A potions cabinet! What all do you have? I imagine you've got the standard list of herbs and stuff but what about minerals? Spices? What makes a potion magical anyway? Do you have to put in your own magic or is it really just the mixture of ingredients that makes it work? But if it's just the ingredients then shouldn't humans be able to do it too?"
Gwyn worked with a speed begotten of experience, measuring all the different powders and multi-colored liquids by eye.
"What sort of weird stuff do you have? Do you have chicken lips? So many authors have used that ingredient in their magical universes I figured there must be some truth to it. And what about things like dragon scales and stuff? Do you just get that off of Adrian? Would that be a breach in etiquette?"
Gwyn pulled open one of the small drawers underneath her potions table and grabbed a clear glass swizzle stick. She tapped the glass rod against her palm a couple times and the glass lit up with color, glowing the same bright orange as her magic.
"Oh is that what you stir it all together with? It's made of glass, right? That's so you don't add other impurities like what you'd get with wood or metal. Now do you wash it after every use or do you have to get a new one? And what would you wash it with, anyway? Salt water would work but then you have a salt residue left on the stick and that would weaken your potions."
As soon as Gwyn put the swizzle stick in the concoction, the whole thing began boiling. The orange color faded from the stick and the whole potion stopped boiling. All the ingredients had come together to form a homogenous liquid that looked a lot like tea.
"Shouldn't it still be steaming? I mean it was just boiling after all. Oh, I guess it could be fast-acting, like a flash boil then a flash freeze. So what is the temperature now? Could you put a thermometer in?"
Gwyn grabbed a short glass and poured the potion into it. She offered it to Dani, which she eagerly took.
"I've never had a potion before! Well, my friends and I have tried to make a few but they weren't real obviously. Does it taste weird? Is it hot or cold? What does this do anyway?"
"Just drink it," Gwyn muttered.
Dani did as she was told and took a small sip. "Oh this is good! Minty but spicy too." Gwyn gave her a look and Dani put the glass to her lips again, downing the rest of the glass quickly.
"That was really good! It kinda made my tongue tingle but in a good way-"
Her sentence became an odd throaty grumble that ended in a high squeak. She grabbed her throat and tried to talk but nothing came out.
Dani pantomimed a panicky squeal. Gwyn rolled her eyes and took the glass away. "Oh, stop being a baby. It'll wear off when you go home. But for now..."
Gwyn sighed blissfully.
"Silence."
Title: Silence
Prompts: Pumpkin Pie #3: potions, Persimmon #11: outgrabe (a sound between a deep bellow, a whistle, and a sneeze) + gummy bunnies (500themes #150: silent watcher) + malt (Summer Challenge 2011 #191: Pass it over here, will you?)
Rating: PG
Words: 646
Characters: Gwyneth Tremayne, Danielle Rashke
Summary: Gwyn makes a potion. In Gwyn's defense, she...well no, there is no defense. She just doesn't like chatterboxes. XD
"What are you doing?"
Gwyn looked at her apprentice from the corner of her eye. "Making a potion."
As expected, Dani lit up. She hovered right at Gwyn's elbow and watched her set up a pint-sized cauldron.
"Oh, this is so cool! What sort of potion are you going to make? Could I make it? Is that why you're making it now, so I can see how it's done? Should I take notes?"
Dani made to go get her notebook but Gwyn opened the cupboard on top of the long wooden potions table. The cupboard was full of small glass vials and cubbies with different ingredients. Dani rushed forward and made to grab for the cabinet but Gwyn pushed her hands away.
"A potions cabinet! What all do you have? I imagine you've got the standard list of herbs and stuff but what about minerals? Spices? What makes a potion magical anyway? Do you have to put in your own magic or is it really just the mixture of ingredients that makes it work? But if it's just the ingredients then shouldn't humans be able to do it too?"
Gwyn worked with a speed begotten of experience, measuring all the different powders and multi-colored liquids by eye.
"What sort of weird stuff do you have? Do you have chicken lips? So many authors have used that ingredient in their magical universes I figured there must be some truth to it. And what about things like dragon scales and stuff? Do you just get that off of Adrian? Would that be a breach in etiquette?"
Gwyn pulled open one of the small drawers underneath her potions table and grabbed a clear glass swizzle stick. She tapped the glass rod against her palm a couple times and the glass lit up with color, glowing the same bright orange as her magic.
"Oh is that what you stir it all together with? It's made of glass, right? That's so you don't add other impurities like what you'd get with wood or metal. Now do you wash it after every use or do you have to get a new one? And what would you wash it with, anyway? Salt water would work but then you have a salt residue left on the stick and that would weaken your potions."
As soon as Gwyn put the swizzle stick in the concoction, the whole thing began boiling. The orange color faded from the stick and the whole potion stopped boiling. All the ingredients had come together to form a homogenous liquid that looked a lot like tea.
"Shouldn't it still be steaming? I mean it was just boiling after all. Oh, I guess it could be fast-acting, like a flash boil then a flash freeze. So what is the temperature now? Could you put a thermometer in?"
Gwyn grabbed a short glass and poured the potion into it. She offered it to Dani, which she eagerly took.
"I've never had a potion before! Well, my friends and I have tried to make a few but they weren't real obviously. Does it taste weird? Is it hot or cold? What does this do anyway?"
"Just drink it," Gwyn muttered.
Dani did as she was told and took a small sip. "Oh this is good! Minty but spicy too." Gwyn gave her a look and Dani put the glass to her lips again, downing the rest of the glass quickly.
"That was really good! It kinda made my tongue tingle but in a good way-"
Her sentence became an odd throaty grumble that ended in a high squeak. She grabbed her throat and tried to talk but nothing came out.
Dani pantomimed a panicky squeal. Gwyn rolled her eyes and took the glass away. "Oh, stop being a baby. It'll wear off when you go home. But for now..."
Gwyn sighed blissfully.
"Silence."