Nathan Xavier
July 26, 2020 7:15 PM
Beginners: Pepper-up the Peppermint by Nathan Xavier
Nathan's second child wasn't even born yet and was already costing him sleep. Or rather, they were costing Isis sleep. And he woke up every time she got up to use the toilet, so neither of them was sleeping entirely well anymore. It was a kind of training for them, he supposed. It would get much worse than this once the baby was born and he'd be called upon to do more than mumble something vague as he commiserated with her frustration with the squashed size of her bladder and her inability to find a comfortable position to lay in, despite the body pillow and cushioning charms. At least the nausea had largely passed, or else the crackers and water next to her side of the bed were doing their job sufficiently that it was a negligible problem.So he was reacquainting himself with a coffee habit (that, too, would surely worsen later, but he was currently at a single habitual mug every morning now, up from the occasional one he used to get only when Dora slept poorly or he was up half the night harvesting under the light of a full moon). His students were probably noticing he was looking slightly more haggard sitting at the staff table now than he had been prior to the midterm break, particularly the beginner ones who didn't know what a Truly Haggard Looking Professor Xavier looked like. To the advanced students who would remember when Dora was born, though, he was most likely still looking pretty normal once he'd imbibed his daily caffeine.
The good news for the Beginners was that their class was situated right in the middle of the day, after he was fully awake, after he'd gotten the energy boost from enjoying his lunch break, and before he started to crash again. During their class, he could almost still feel normal.
So today he met them at the door to Greenhouse One with his usual smile and the homework essays he'd graded and was returning now with personalized comments about their work or letting them know when his office hours were.
Once everyone had arrived, gotten their homework back, and taken seats at one of the two long work tables that ran down the center of the larger of Sonora's two greenhouses, he began his lecture. "So today, we're going to talk about a plant everyone here should have heard of before. It's an interesting one, in that it's used in a number of potions but doesn't actually have much of a magical effect. Though it can be used to help with potions dealing with alertness and improving memory, it's usually there for just one reason: It's got a very powerful taste that can cover up some of the less appealing ingredients in elixirs intended for ingestion. So."
He used his wand to float trays of fragrant leafy plants in front of each student. "What you've got in front of you are some peppermint plants. They're getting too big for those trays, so we're going to moving them into larger planters until it warms up enough outside to move them into the garden. We learned repotting techniques just before the break, so this follows the same pattern. Get your pots from that shelf over there," he pointed over to the shelf full of orange ceramic pots.
He then reminded them all of the steps involved, because the first years had only done this twice before, and the purpose of this lesson was equally as much to review the re-potting process as it was learning anything about peppermint. "Fill the pots with soil, dig your hole, pop the peppermint plant out of its tray, tuck it into the hole, fill in more soil, pat it pretty tight but don't crush the plant, then water it. Repeat for the other two plants in your tray. If you want, you can add fertilizer either on top after its planted or to the hole right before you add the plant. Second years, you should be getting to be old hats at this, so if you see a first year having trouble, please help them out, if you can. I'm also available for questions if you have any or run into trouble. You may begin."
Subthreads: I...understand? by Sadie-Lake Chalmers with Valentine Duell
With plenty of pep! by Theo Spurn with Quincy Wright
Even for wizards. by Alexander Pierce-Beales with Josephine Clyde
This sounds so much easier on paper. by Graham Osbrook
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Nathan Xavier
Beginners: Pepper-up the Peppermint
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Alexander Pierce-Beales
August 07, 2020 11:01 AM
Even for wizards. by Alexander Pierce-Beales
It turned out that life had gotten better but no less complicated since Alexander had found out he was a wizard. That had continued to be true over break, although Alexander was feeling much better about his own sense of existence at this point. He was worried about a lot of things, and he didn't have high hopes that repotting a peppermint plant would be enough to blot those out. At the same time, though, he found that he rather enjoyed this sort of task. Perhaps it would be enough after all. If it wasn't, he could just go faster, or do better, or help someone else. If none of that worked and he got done early, he could draw. He'd brought his notebook (as he always did) and was ready to turn to his personal hobbies if academic pursuits weren't up to snuff. Perhaps he would draw a giant peppermint plant eating his brain or something. That would be nice.Peppermint was one of those smells that he loved and he hated all at once. It was the smell of candy canes and fancy gum that he normally couldn't afford, but it was also the smell of a foster parent trying to cover tobacco and smoke on their breath. Luckily, that wasn't anything he'd had to smell for a long time now. In fact, in a few months, it would be a year since he'd had this foster family. He'd never had one before at all, not for more than a week or two, and it was nice. It was almost weird that it was so nice, because it was really super easy to be at home and to think of the house he shared with Mab and Bel as home now. He could say "Oh, I live in Boston," even though he'd only seen a little of the city. He got the feeling that that was more normal for wizards anyway, who might live one place and Floo or apparate all sorts of other places anyway. It was nice to live in this world now because he was well and truly sure he hadn't lost his mind, and that was a pretty nice thing to be sure about.
"Smells like candy canes and tea," he told his neighbor, figuring that he should make small talk since he was in a world of busting violently out of his comfort zone and barreling into new territory as a regular pastime. "Do you like peppermint?"
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Alexander Pierce-Beales
Even for wizards.
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Josephine Clyde
August 08, 2020 2:04 AM
It's difficult even then by Josephine Clyde
What was Josie’s relationship with peppermint? Practically non-existant. Her father told her that she had a severe allergy and she tried as much as possible to stay away from it. Peppermint? Evil. But…she could have sworn that her mother used to make peppermint desserts for Christmas. And she distinctly remembered enjoying peppermint candy canes when she was younger. Maybe she was only allergic to the peppermint plant? But when would she have had run into a peppermint plant? There was no ‘when Josie was young’ story to explain it and neither of her parents had been gardeners. But Minnie was. She liked to have certain plants readily available was her answer and one of them was peppermint. She couldn’t remember which one was peppermint, but she remembered spending enough time in the garden with Minnie. Enough time to at least touch each plant once and lo and behold no deadly allergic reactions.This class would tell her the truth. She’d read that some people formed allergies when they got older. One of her cousins said they used to love eating seafood, but then they suddenly couldn’t eat it anymore once they got to college. She wasn’t that old, but either way this class would be able to help her figure it out once and for all. If it wasn’t the plant then maybe it was something about the candy, but she’d find out today. She would. As soon as she stopped staring at the plant like it was going to eat her. Any second now. Yup. Soon. Ugh.
Josie slumped forward and her forehead hit the table with a silent thump. It was just going to be a test. She wouldn’t die if she touched it, would she? Had she really touched the peppermint plant in Minnie’s garden? Were there peppermints in her garden? Should she tell the professor about her maybe allergy? But then what if nothing happened and she was healthier than a horse? What then?
The question was a very welcome distraction. Her neighbor was a Teppenpaw she remembered seeing last year, so he was at least her year. What was his question?
“Oh, um, yes? I did when I was young. Haven’t had a lot recently. Do you want to work together? I’ll do the filling and digging and you can do the planting and tucking.”
She was most definitely not afraid of a plant. She was just being careful. Maybe her father was right and she was deathly allergic. Or maybe she was just remembering things wrong. It didn’t matter. Hopefully her neighbor would help her avoid all of those things.
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Josephine Clyde
It's difficult even then
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Alexander Pierce-Beales
August 09, 2020 8:36 AM
It does seem so. by Alexander Pierce-Beales
Alexander had been concerned when his neighbor's head hit the table, but he was glad to see that it seemed to be more an expression of some emotion that he didn't understand rather than some medical complication he couldn't help with. Probably.He nodded, although he was a bit surprised. They were just coming out of candy cane season. And tea season if she wasn't the sort to drink it all year. So if anyone was ever going to have had peppermint recently, returning from the winter break seemed the time to have done. Perhaps she didn't celebrate Christmas. There were religions and non-religions that didn't celebrate Christmas, right? He didn't know what they were but there probably were some. He still thought it was weird that so many wizards seemed to celebrate the distinctly non-witchcraft-centric holiday.
"Sure," he agreed to her plan for working together, a bit surprised there too. "But are you sure you don't want to work together on both parts? Repotting might come up again later with something harder," he pointed out. He shrugged, showing how little he was invested in either option, prepared to fellow her lead. "I can help get the supplies and stuff. We need dirt and some pots."
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Alexander Pierce-Beales
It does seem so.
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Josephine Clyde
August 30, 2020 2:59 AM
It IS so. by Josephine Clyde
The Teppenpaw’s suggestion was a good one for sure. Josie bit the inside of her cheek. Would bringing up her maybe allergy sound more like an excuse to get out of work than the actual maybe medical excuse it was? Might as well try. If he believed her then at least one of them would.“My father,” she began a bit unsteadily, “Said I have an allergy to peppermint, but I don’t know. Maybe I’m remembering it wrong. I definitely had candy canes when I was younger.”
And she had, hadn’t she? Christmas events at her primary school had practically revolved around the striped sweets. The entire holiday revolved around that candy. The entire winter season was represented by the candy cane just like how the pumpkin was the representative of fall.
Josie looked around the room at the other students working away. None of them were crippled by fake diseases and awkward partnerships. Obsessing over her maybe allergy wasn’t going to get them anywhere. They needed an alternative.
“How about this? I’ll get the dirt and you get the pots. Then maybe we can put the peppermint in together. If I die…well, I guess I die then.”
At best, he’d laugh, at worst, he’d look at her strangely and never talk to her again. That was fine. Her step-brothers had definitely prepared her for being ignored.
“Oh, I’m Josie, you’re a second year, right? I remember seeing you around last year.”
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Josephine Clyde
It IS so.
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Alexander Pierce-Beales
September 01, 2020 10:12 AM
Does it have to be? by Alexander Pierce-Beales
Alexander blinked, not sure what to make of the girl's tone. That being said, he hated when people read too much into what he said or how he said it so he wasn't about to pry into her personal life. "Maybe it's different because of how the extract is processed for candy or something," he suggested, not wanting to say she was wrong, even though it sounded like maybe she was wrong.His reaction was not so neutral when she spoke nonchalantly about her own death. That was dark. And a bit . . . not random? That was the sort of thing people said because it came from some other thought, even if it wasn't anything so serious as really meaning it. But happy people didn't say things like that. There had been a time when Alexander felt the same way in a sort of que sera sera sort of way, but he wouldn't say that now.
"I won't let you die," he promised, wondering if it was just anxiety that made her say it. "Not because I'm great at this," he clarified, realizing how it sounded. "But because I'm real good at yelling and I'll get the professor's attention. I am pretty sure they've got something better than epi-pens here."
He nodded at her introduction. "Nice to meet you," he said. It was a bit odd to go a whole school year through a school this small and never really getting to know everyone, but it could happen obviously. Still, he was pretty sure he would have known the girl's name if he really thought about it, just from hearing her be called on or something. Maybe. "I'm Alexander," he said. Their year had an Alexander and an Alexandra and they were in the same House, but he was pretty sure Josie didn't need him to clarify that he wasn't the girl one.
They went their own directions to get the pots and dirt and then met back at their desk. "Do you wanna touch a little bit of it before you dive right in, so you can see?" he asked hesitantly, not sure what would be most helpful.
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Alexander Pierce-Beales
Does it have to be?
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Josephine Clyde
September 07, 2020 1:12 AM
Maybe it's just me? by Josephine Clyde
Alexander’s reassurance did make Josie feel better. She was being so silly! The professor was nearby enough and a little brush with a peppermint leaf wouldn’t kill her. His explanation definitely made sense too. Leaves were leaves and candy was candy. There were loads of chemicals added into candy, maybe that’s what she was allergic to. Yup, that made total sense.At least Alexander was being nice and understanding. She wasn’t sure if she’d be as patient with someone who was getting in the way of her schoolwork. No point in prolonging the inevitable. It was best to just get it over with. With the pots and dirt on the table it was time for the star of the show to make its appearance. There was no reason for all this nervousness! Her fellow second year’s suggestion was a good one.
Nodding at him Josie reached out a hand to pet the plant. She tried to think of it as kind of wary animal that might bite her, so she needed to give off a calm feeling. If she was feeling neutral then surely the plant’s possible poison would feel the same way. Her other hand came to wrap around the stalk as she continued her exploration of the peppermint. This wasn’t so hard. Actually, this wasn’t hard at all.
One leaf slipped between her fingers and curved around them. It almost felt like the plant was shaking her hand or rather her finger. How cute. With that simple thought the plant lost all of its scary mystery and just looked like what it should: green, leafy and waiting to be put into its new home.
“Hey,” Josie turned to look at Alexander with a big smile, “That wasn’t so bad! Let’s get to re-homing them. I think it’s okay. Thanks Alexander.”
She pulled one of the pots in front of her and filled it with soil, put a layer of fertilizer on top and stood over it with her little gardening shovel. She gave Alexander another smile and began digging her plant’s new home.
“Are you the only Teppenpaw boy? There aren’t that many boys in our year. Or maybe there are and I just haven’t them yet.”
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Josephine Clyde
Maybe it's just me?
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