In a Daze. on Labyrinth Gardens

Maximilian Joshua McLachlan

January 18, 2013 12:22 PM

In a Daze. by Maximilian Joshua McLachlan

If Josh hadn’t been in a daze before, he was certainly in one now. He was working furiously on a potion in his favorite little dry spot in the gardens, sweating in the heat of the desert sun and the fumes coming from the cauldron. He had received two letters today and both had sent his heart racing and his hands shaking. Josh stirred the draught, throwing in the meticulously measured ingredients with little care. He was making a Calming Draught and goodness knows he needed it.

The first letter had been from the patriarch of the McLachlans, his eldest uncle Allister. In it, his uncle asked what Josh was planning to do with his life after school and wanting to know whether or not he was interested in helping the family business. The “family business” was merely a euphemism for “loan shark” or the mafia. It wasn’t in Josh’s line of an ideal business at all, but there was an underlying threat of disownment if he didn’t take it on. That was to be expected, but Josh found himself fearing his family a little and he hated that. He knew what his relatives were capable of and, if he was disowned, he didn’t doubt that “disownment” was just a euphemism for a “mysterious disappearance” which was a euphemism for something he didn’t want to think about.

Josh had a few decisions to make concerning his future. Either accept the “family business” by combining it with his dream to own an apothecary or be disowned, whatever the word meant for McLachlans. Or he could run away, but he didn’t expect to get very far. The McLachlans were everywhere, and since he was a particularly notable case within his family, he wouldn’t be difficult to spot. He still had one more year to officially answer his uncle, but for now he would have to send a vague reply saying he was thinking about it.

The second letter had been completely unexpected. When he had been sitting in Cascade Hall that Saturday, enjoying his breakfast as best he could after receiving the first owl, he hadn’t had any idea of the course the day was going to take. That letter was the one that was lying on the table next to him, far enough away that it wouldn’t burn up in the fire underneath his cauldron. It was from Cecilia.

To the Josh I once knew,

You don’t know how happy I am to write you. I have been looking for your address for years. I didn’t even know which school you transferred to. I overheard some people talking about you at school recently, though I don’t know what the context was, but they said you attended Sonora Academy in the States. If this doesn’t reach you, then I’m out of ideas. But if it does, I will be so much more than delighted in finally being able to reach you.

Things have changed since you’ve left. I know you may not care, but it’s gotten quieter. There are still whispers of you around and I can’t help but get angry whenever I hear people bad-mouthing you. No one understands what really happened here, and I wish people would believe Jenna and I when we say it wasn’t your fault at all. If Jenna could only remember who really did it then we’d be able to blow this all away. But it still wouldn’t bring you back here.

Now that we’re in our sixth year, I’ve been thinking more and more about what I want to do after I graduate. I’ve been thinking of being a healer, or going to university here in New Zealand like my parents want. But near the top of my list is finding you and where you’ve gone. I mean, we were best friends. I really miss you.

I tried to convince your old roommates that you weren’t at fault, but only Robbie seems to actually believe me, although he doesn’t totally buy it either. I wish you were here, but I think it was for the best that you went. Whenever you find yourself out from under your family’s thumb, I want to meet up. There has been so much time lost between us and I want that time back.

I really hope you get this and I’m sorry for everything that happened. I wish you the very best and please write me back if you can.

Love,
Cecilia Madison

Josh crushed the moonstone passionately, needing to let out his aggression though the potion was already settling. He wasn’t sure if he was the Josh Cecilia had once known anymore. He had changed for the worse. Since leaving the New Zealand Academy, he had become quiet and standoffish, earned an infamous reputation here, and had come to terms with his aura of bad luck. As soon as he had finished reading the letter, he had wanted to write back to her immediately and pour out his heart on the parchment. But now, as he worked furiously and thought seriously about it, writing back seemed more and more inconceivable.

Cecilia Madison could no longer be his friend not only because of his family, but because of himself.

The potion was done brewing and Josh’s nerves were shot. He stood there, sweating in his thin robes, exhausted both mentally and physically, thin and vulnerable. He shook his head and poured himself a glass of the draught before drinking it in one gulp. He picked up the letter, his shaking hand still now thanks to the potion, and folded it up and placed it in his pocket. He had made the draught so strong he was starting to feel a little sleepy, though he had so much still to think about.

Josh was going to do the best he could here, keeping the letter close to his heart where she would be. But that was going to be the last connection he had with her ever. Right now, his place was with Brianna and helping her as best he could. He would try to give her everything he had never had the opportunity to give Cecilia. At least with Brianna he wasn’t putting anyone, including himself, in purposeful danger. Cecilia could remember the Josh he had once been fondly while he would wreck himself here in reality.

This decision didn’t change the state of his heart, however, and Josh sat down on the ground, needing to compose himself.

19 Maximilian Joshua McLachlan In a Daze. 184 Maximilian Joshua McLachlan 1 5

Henny B-F-R

January 22, 2013 5:27 PM

In a panic by Henny B-F-R

Henny enjoyed walking in the gardens. Whilst she was quite happy to sit in the library virtually all day, she rarely go so absorbed as to forget to eat, and usually took in at least a short stroll too to get a bit of fresh air into her lungs. She wasn't a very sporty person, or even a real outdoor girl but she was a firm believer that a few breaths of clean air a day did you good.

She rounded a corner off the main drag and spotted Josh sitting a little way off. She wouldn't really say they were friends. She suspected they never really would be, as the age difference between them was a bit much for it to really happen naturally. It was a difference that would barely matter as adults but at school they always just seemed a little far apart. But she usually enjoyed the conversations she had with him and, as she wouldn't be seeing him in class this year, she decided to avail herself of this opportunity.

However, as she approached, something seemed... off. There was a general lack of reaction or even really movement on Josh's part. He was something of a thinker, usually pretty quiet and serious anyway and a person with even minimal observation skills could guess why he might have more than usual on his mind at the moment. But the cauldron worried her. Josh had never admitted to anything but an academic interest in Potions – when she had asked after his own ideas for improvements, he had even explicitly stated that he wasn't trying them– but she hadn't really believed him. He was far too clever to want to stop there. And apparently far too stupid to as well.

“Josh?” she called hesitantly but clearly, her steps quickening a little as she worried about what had been in the cauldron. “Are you ok?” she asked, her eyes giving the cauldron a quick, nervous sweep.

13 Henny B-F-R In a panic 211 Henny B-F-R 0 5

Josh McLachlan

January 23, 2013 12:58 PM

In a strange state by Josh McLachlan

There was so much going on in Josh's head that he barely registered the sound of someone's voice. But when his eyes focused, he saw Henny there, looking a little worried. About him? He was sitting on the ground and hadn't been paying much attention to the world. His head was still a little fuzzy, but he felt much calmer than before. It was amazing how well Calming Draughts worked. He would have to bottle some up to carry it with him if he ever had panic attacks.

"Fine," Josh replied. He got up and took a whiff of the cauldron. It smelled normal still and he poured enough to fill four vials. These he put into his potion kit and vanished the concoction. He appreciated Henny's company because she seemed interested in what he had to say about potions. It wasn't everyday that he came into contact with her or anyone like her. Contrary to popular belief, he liked to share his ideas and experiments; it was just that they were done without the school's approval and he didn't want to get into trouble.

"I was making a Calming Draught," he explained. He was feeling just a tiny bit woozy now that he was standing, but he fought it. "I tweaked it so it's a little stronger than normal." Josh packed up his kit and began to clean off his materials by charming a rag to do it for him and then filled his cauldron with water to rinse it out. The materials he had he wanted to conserve for years and they had served him well, as old as they may be. He didn't want to depend on his uncle's fortune to get him by.

The thoughts that had been plaguing him about his eldest uncle and...her, were difficult to push away, but the Calming Draught at least kept him from making a scene about it. He wouldn't start crying here in front of an acquaintance, and he was grateful that Henny had discovered him after he had taken it.

Seeing that Henny was still standing there and probably wondering why on earth he was making a Calming Draught in the first place, Josh decided that he didn't care to answer. He did, however, need something else to say. He couldn't let his emotions get the better of him in front of her. "Are you just taking a walk around?" he asked, looking up at her briefly.

0 Josh McLachlan In a strange state 0 Josh McLachlan 0 5

Henny B-F-R

January 23, 2013 2:17 PM

Alert level has been downgraded to 'severely concerned.' by Henny B-F-R

Just a calming draught. Although that begged the question of why he was regulating his emotions with drugs, at least it was a Potion that she knew to be well within his capability. Whilst she herself was wary of taking anything she'd brewed herself, in spite of her good grades in the subject, she doubted Josh could have done much harm with a calming draught, and it did explain his vagueness. And then he mentioned having made a few adjustments. Concerns over why he was taking it were pushed aside in favour of the more practical and straightforward issue this raised.

“Oh?” she asked, trying to sound curious. Academically, she was, and had such curiosity not been put on hiatus in favour of worrying about his well-being, she would still would have asked. Same question, different reasons. “What kind of tweaks?” she asked, lest he passed out or started suffering other ill effects from his modifications and she was charged with dragging him, unconscious or incoherent, in to the medic. Watching him make his way methodically and flawlessly though his tidying up helped to reassure her that none of these things was about to happen imminently but she felt she still needed to keep an eye on him. And perhaps work the conversation around to why he was taking reinforced calming draughts, although she wasn't sure there was any way of broaching this subject that would induce him to answer. Not to her, anyway.

“I was but I was thinking of heading back to the school soon. The route back's quite pleasant though,” she added, wanting to get Josh back indoors but thinking that, if he'd got it into his head to have a nice walk that she would need to make that idea sound appealing.

13 Henny B-F-R Alert level has been downgraded to 'severely concerned.' 211 Henny B-F-R 0 5

Josh McLachlan

January 25, 2013 9:59 AM

How long till "not concerned at all"? by Josh McLachlan

It always took him just a bit off-guard how curious Henny was about his potion work. He was proud of his tweaks though he kept his meticulous notes to himself. This particular draught had been done and tested before, making him confident enough to let others test it. Of course, this draught had to be measured out according to one’s height and weight otherwise overdosing could be too easy. “Nothing too crazy,” he assured her. “I added a drop of chamomile oil and a sprig and a half of peppermint.” The usual brew didn’t mention any chamomile oil and only one sprig of peppermint, but allowing the oil to dissolve nicely with the moonstone had made the texture slightly softer and the draught more calming. It made the potion’s light amber color seem stronger in a way which was how Josh knew it had worked.

He didn’t mention, however, that he had put in one extra drop of belladonna which was probably why he was feeling drowsier than normal. It would be good to walk back to school before dark or he might not make his way back. He took his black notebook out of his inner pocket and scribbled down that perhaps one extra drop of belladonna was perhaps a little too much. He would try a smaller portion next time and perhaps add a bit more chamomile oil. He was pleased with the effects. This inexplicable calm was something he would like to feel all the time.

Josh’s experiments done at school were usually tested on creatures, plants, or on himself. Only when he was confident enough to take them, of course. He never took the potions outside of his bedroom and didn’t experiment with highly dangerous potions that could be easy to ruin with too much heat or just too much of a certain air. At least at school. He would never want to go to the school’s Hospital Wing and have his potion experiments be discovered.

Henny seemed to be offering to walk back with him which, again, surprised Josh. Henny always seemed to be surprising him. “Sure. I’m done here anyway.” He hadn’t wanted to walk back with anyone, but Henny would do. He collapsed his cauldron once he had dried it and put it into his bag along with his kit and the rest of his tools. The potion made Josh feel a little more amiable than he had been just minutes ago, another wonderful effect. He would have to work hard not to overuse the draught on himself.

Josh slung the bag over his shoulder and transfigured the table back into the large brown leaf it had been. He took a step forward, indicating that he was ready to go, but allowed Henny to walk ahead of him. When he got back inside, the first thing he was going to do was try to sleep. If he couldn’t do that, he would write back to his uncle. If he couldn’t bring himself to do that…he would write a letter to Cecilia and put it away in his trunk, never to look at it again. Though he was under the influence of a Calming Draught, he still felt the pang of loss and longing deep in his chest.

0 Josh McLachlan How long till "not concerned at all"? 0 Josh McLachlan 0 5

Henny B-F-R

January 31, 2013 1:47 PM

Let's take it one step at a time by Henny B-F-R

“Chamomile is meant to be very soothing,” Henny managed to nod. Not that she really wished to encourage Josh in his meddling but she doubted her disapproval would do anything to dissuade him. It was a relevant thing to say and she mostly concerned with keeping some semblance of conversation going. She wasn't sure whether that was for her well-being – so that she could maintain a little grip on normality – or whether she was monitoring Josh for ill-effects, such as slurring. Perhaps it was simply that, even on autopilot, her brain liked to contribute things to the conversation.

They set off back towards the school together. The most obvious question around the start of term was that of summers but she had harboured a suspicion that Josh's weren't generally that pleasant after he had returned to school last year with a black eye. Clearly something bad had happened to Brianna over the summer and everyone knew Josh was her friend, so that alone indicated that it had probably been a pretty miserable time. As if that wasn't clue enough, he looked physically dreadful and was self-administering behaviour modifying potions.

“Seems like this year will be different,” she commented. If you couldn't look back then you could try looking forward, even if Josh probably had bigger things on his mind than the challenges.

13 Henny B-F-R Let's take it one step at a time 211 Henny B-F-R 0 5