MROW!!! [Jean-Loup and Dorian] on Potions

Ailuros

September 01, 2020 8:26 PM

MROW!!! [Jean-Loup and Dorian] by Ailuros

Ailuros' tiny feet pounded on the floor they normally padded on as she ran from the potions classroom. She had a mission. She wandered the school enough to know exactly what that mission was even if her jasmine person hadn't given her a name to work with. She knew most people's names pretty well, even if she didn't need to. Between sitting on 'Mary's' desk and 'Tabitha's' desk (seriously, why did humans have such odd names??), she heard nearly everyone in the school's names at some point. Besides, the person she was sent after this time was a name that came up often when Ailuros' jasmine person was talking to the tea boy. 'Jean-Loup.' Of course, her jasmine person hadn't exactly told her to go get him, but Ailuros knew. Ailuros was smart. The tea boy had gotten big now, but Ailuros was sure that she was far more sophisticated than most humans, whether or not they were technically adults, and she was content to have the tea boy be her kitten - and her jasmine person's kitten - as long as they were alive.

She shook her head to focus. She was a kneazle and kneazles could find and right now a certain person needed found. Sniffing and wiggling and pounding through the school, Ailuros finally found him. The tall one was with tea boy - he'd just been in her jasmine person's class actually -, which was good because tea boy knew her better than the tall one did. In fact, she didn't even know him well enough to have anything better to call him than 'the tall one'. That was something people often said about Ailuros' rose person, which was ridiculous. Sure, she was tall, but she was also a fierce tomcat - except a lady - and Ailuros had nothing but respect for 'the tall one' of her two mistresses.

Dashing up to the tall boy's leg and rubbing herself against him, she meowed and yowled, trying to get his attention. She did the same against tea boy, even going so far as to hiss and snap her jaw before running back towards the door and looking to see if they followed.

22 Ailuros MROW!!! [Jean-Loup and Dorian] 0 Ailuros 1 5

Dorian Montoir

September 02, 2020 6:31 PM

Oh really? by Dorian Montoir

Dorian closed his revision folder, reading the hand-written note on the cover - spiky, awkward lettering spelt out words in one of his home lanuages, reminding him to 'eat, drink WATER, sleep and breathe.' He remembered getting that letter, those instructions, during his CATS, and feeling buoyed by the fact that he had a friend. It had felt like another light in the very dark tunnel, glowing alongside Professor Brooding-Hawthorne's. But one he had when he had to face the darkness of home. Of course, he had had the same worry with Jean-Loup back then that he had had with everyone else - would he turn on him if he knew he was gay? He smirked at the irony of that. Jean-Loup definitely had not turned on him. Same words, different order - that he did, very definitely.

The letter was a good reminder, not only of some essential things that he might have neglected if he was by himself, but also of the fact that he wasn't. He didn't have to face his stresses alone. Given that he had Jean-Loup right here, he frequently got the live version of this advice, and he hadn't actually skipped a single meal so far this revision season. Sometimes, it felt a little like nagging, but the paper served as a reminder of just how sweet the person next to him was. He had felt so good about all this when it had been beginning.

"I finished a chapter. Kisses please," he requested, turning and leaning in for sweet, soft kisses which tasted like peppermint with just a hint of honey. Because, apparently, if you were a big tough sports guy who spent all your time running and being outside, it played havoc with your lips. Jean-Loup had first stolen Charlotte's lipbalm when he was twelve, and kept up this habit ever since. He had tasted of synthetic cherry right up until Christmas when Dorian had figured that his supply might run out, and got him a new one, in a nice new flavour. He felt the arm around him shifting, going from casually draped around his shoulder to pulling him in. He kept stressing. He couldn't always keep the future or his exams off his mind, and both of them made his stomach turn backflips. But this must've made it flip in the other direction, because it was exciting but calming at the same time. And distracting...

"I should do one more chapter..." he stated, pulling only far enough back to mumble this against Jean-Loup's lips, and slowly, almost experimentally, kissed him again. He should study but what else could he do... Hmm...

Before he could decide whether or not he was going to be good, he heard and felt something playing around their feet.

"Xiao Ai!" he stated in surprise, as he looked down. His surprise doubled as she hissed and snapped at him, "Huh, weishenme, Xiao Daoli Mao?" he asked. Why, Little Right-Path Cat?

"Maybe Xiao Ai is judging my work ethic?" he suggested, leaning away a little from Jean-Loup.

"If I study, you will come and cuddle nicely?" he asked, clicking his tongue and wiggling his fingers to try to attract Xiao Ai back to them.

13 Dorian Montoir Oh really? 1401 0 5

Ailuros

September 03, 2020 12:42 PM

MRRRRROW!!!! by Ailuros

Tea boy and the tall one were doing the same sorts of things that Ailuros' mistresses got up to at times but she wasn't here for that and didn't hesitate to interrupt. Kneazles never stooped to anything so uncivilized as smashing their mouths into each other's mouths but she wasn't about to judge the oddities of human mating rituals. At least, not at this particular moment.

Unfortunately, her kitten did not seem to be understanding what she was trying to tell him and she hissed again, pressing her ears flat against her head and pawing at the doorway. His fingers were wiggling at her and she took this as an opportunity, running towards him again and nipping at his fingers. She caught one in her mouth and tugged as gently as she could - human kittens had much more sensitive skin than kneazle kittens, and thus a much lower tolerance for being bitten, she had discovered - wondering what else she could do. Not wanting to actually rip off his fingers, she let go and turned to the tall one, pressing her head against his leg as if to push him out the door by force. Humans were dense, both cognitively and physically; she was having a hard enough time getting through to them but she certainly wouldn't be able to push either of them back to her jasmine woman's room.

Then she meowed and darted back towards the door, waving her tail in her best approximation of a 'come here' movement. She even went so far as to step all the way outside of the room before poking her head back in as pointedly as she could manage, demanding their attention with the sheer force of her gaze, and meowing at them again.

22 Ailuros MRRRRROW!!!! 0 Ailuros 0 5

Jean Wolfe

September 03, 2020 8:34 PM

Is Timmy stuck down the well? by Jean Wolfe

Jean-Loup sat in the library, doing his best to study companionably. He had the luxury of reading at his own pace, working through material that Katey and Killian thought it would be useful for him to look at, whereas Dorian was cramming for exams. He remembered how stressful that was, and was doing his best to be Supportive Boyfriend Guy. They weren’t exactly the most fun date nights they’d ever had, but he dismissed any of Dorian’s worries and apologies over that fact. It was, admittedly, kind of true, but exams happened, and they were important. It was still nice to be around each other all the time, to just openly snuggle whilst they read, and there was the whole of the future stretching ahead, in which they could have more romantic evenings than this one. And more privacy… They would go for picnics in parks, and go hiking, and visit museums, and then at the end of each of their dates, he would get to take Dorian home…

“Very good,” he stated approvingly, when Dorian declared his chapter finished. He leant in for kisses which, however much mint got laid over the top, always tasted faintly of tea. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he could swear the whole of Dorian was slightly infused with it, and his mouth in particular. These were just quick break kisses... He tried to stop his mind doing the automatic shift that the feeling of Dorian’s mouth on his meant it was make-out time, even as he pulled him in a little closer.

“Mmhmm,” he agreed noncommittally, when Dorian stated he should do another chapter. He should. His exams were important to him, and Dorian would be disappointed in himself if he got anything less than straight Os. And Jean-Loup would feel bad if he felt he had in any way contributed to that happening. He wanted Dorian to prove to the world that he was straight out Outstanding at everything, because it was true. He also wanted to throw his books on the floor and press him hard against this couch.

If Dorian got kisses for completing chapters, Jean-Loup wondered what he was allowed to do to him if he got perfect results… But he kept that to himself. He knew from experience that suggestions of greater physical intimacy tended to make Dorian freeze up and back away. He wasn’t sure whether it was residual Pureblood guilt or shyness or just Dorian not being the most adventurous person. When Dorian kissed him, or traced his hands over Jean-Loup’s body, he was pretty convinced there was just as much pull from his direction. Dorian wanted more, he was just a little afraid of it. Jean-Loup was trying to slowly and carefully unpick why, and to reassure him, without feeling like he was pushing. He didn’t want Dorian to do anything that made him uncomfortable. He just wanted Dorian to be comfortable letting him do absolutely everything to him…

Naturally, he would have let him return to studying. He was good, and responsible. However, before he could quite get around to pulling himself away from his boyfriend, something was hitting their ankles.

He blinked and looked down, assuming Melodie was being a pain, but it was actually a little… not cat. He clocked the ears and the extra fluff in the tail. He had heard about the other Brooding-Hawthorne, but not yet had the pleasure of meeting her. He was not sure this counted as a ‘pleasure’ seeing as she was hissing at Dorian and interrupting. Although perhaps she had a point. He should be studying. Jean-Loup decided not to rethink the thoughts about how he had been going to let him do that, any second now, because he knew that kneazles were not fond of dishonesty, and this one already seemed agitated.

However, as he watched more of her behaviour, he reconsidered. The kneazle was still hissing and snapping, but she was also running about, back and forth to the door. It reminded him of some books he’d read as a kid, with an especially intuitive crup. They were solid, action packed boys’ books, with the crup helping its young owner to bust up dark magic rings or rescue people in distress. He had stopped reading them after the crup got hit by a curse in one them, and you didn’t know if it was going to be okay. It was, of course, but that scene had made him bawl his eyes out and he was pretty sure boys weren’t meant to cry at books, so he hadn’t gone back to them after that.

“Does she ever make you follow her? he asked Dorian, feeling even faintly ridiculous as he said it. But also faintly worried. Animals were smart. Animals acted weird when their people were in danger. And Ailurous seemed to be hissing and trying to get rid of Dorian but definitely trying to get him… Okay, surely if she was really smart enough and there was a problem, she would go get Katey. He really hoped so, and that he was wrong here, and that he’d just read way too many animal stories as a kid. He also didn’t want to worry Dorian - an act which was a little akin to trying to keep a snowball from melting in your hands. “Kneazles are bothered by untrustworthy behaviour,” he added, choosing to play that angle instead, “Maybe she saw something she didn’t like? She seems spooked.”

“Hey. Something is upset you?” he asked Ailurous softly, following her to the door.

13 Jean Wolfe Is Timmy stuck down the well? 1506 0 5

Ailuros

September 04, 2020 11:44 AM

Mrow, but actually mrow. by Ailuros

Ailuros let out a more pleasant meowing sound and actually purred when the tall one got up to follow her and she darted off, making sure he was still coming and giving an occasional nip if he dared to give up the pursuit. She led the way through the school to the potions classroom, where a commotion could be heard even before they arrived. If Ailuros could have rolled her eyes, she would have.

The door to the classroom was still open some because Ailuros had only recently vacated through that way and now she pushed it open a little further as she reentered the room, making the way for those coming after her.

There, near the doorway coming out of the potion professor's storeroom, was the professor herself. Her hat was on the floor beside her, in a puddle of some sort of gurgly looking liquid that was oozing out from the storeroom and bits of broken glass. The professor was sitting on the floor, tear streaks running down her face, and both hands clutched over her stomach as she giggled and laughed apparently uncontrollably despite a bleeding cut on her forehead.

"Dorian!" she cried around another fit of laughter. "Jean-Loup!" For a moment, she looked as though she might manage to pull herself together, but the effort made her face turn pink and she burst into another fit of giggles. "They fell on me," she giggled, pointing at the broken glass.

Ailuros jumped onto her jasmine woman's desk and paced anxiously, looking up at her kittens and waiting for them to fix it. She meowed again and the professor thought this was terribly funny, as she began giggling even louder.

22 Ailuros Mrow, but actually mrow. 0 Ailuros 0 5

Dorian Montoir

September 04, 2020 7:16 PM

You may have to be more specific by Dorian Montoir

Dorian withdrew his fingers sharply as Xiao Ai nipped at them. He knew she liked to play that way sometimes but he was surprised that she didn’t seem to know by now that he didn’t. However, he found himself reaching a similar conclusion to Jean-Loup… There was definitely something odd about the kneazle’s behaviour right now.

“Sometimes,” he admitted, when Jean-Loup asked about her leading him. Previously, she’d only led him around when she wanted to make him play with her and he was quite tempted to try ignoring her behaviour right now, especially if she was in a biting mood. He had studying to do, and if he wanted to neglect that, he actually had more fun options than playing with her right now. However, he felt guilty thinking that, and she obviously wasn’t going to stop bothering them short of them pushing her out and shutting the door. That was a gross betrayal of feline friendship, and he was not sure how long the haughtiness resulting from such an action would endure. Part of him wanted to ask why it was his responsibility if someone was misbehaving but then he remembered he was head boy.

“Alight, alright,” he agreed with both of them, packing up his books and following. “What’s the drama, hm?”

He followed along. Kneazles could be quick, and Jean-Loup… Jean-Loup wasn’t exactly running, but he wasn’t sauntering either. He was keeping pace with Xiao Ai as best he could, occasionally verging on jogging. Even when he wasn’t, he was just striding and… fricking long-legged… why did he have to go so fast? Dorian kept having to scurry every three steps to keep up. He was going to get a stitch if he had to keep up that pace. Had Jean-Loup forgotten how short he was?

“Oh,” he stated, as they neared the potions room, “Do you think something happened to Professor Brooding-Hawthorne?” he asked in alarm, speeding up slightly, especially as he heard strange noises from inside. It sounded like laughter? But also like crying? They reached the door at about the same time, and Dorian saw Professor Brooding-Hawthorne, bleeding but giggling. He made to rush forward but felt a hand grab him and pull him back.

13 Dorian Montoir You may have to be more specific 1401 0 5

Jean Wolfe

September 04, 2020 7:33 PM

I think I got the gist by Jean Wolfe

Jean-Loup followed the kneazle, finding himself wanting to break into a run. If something was wrong, time was of the essence. He felt guilty for not running. However, he also still half disbelieved his own conclusions, and wasn’t really sure how he’d explain why he was sprinting through the corridors if he got caught. Also, Dorian ran about as well Killian. He settled for making the most of his long legs to set a good pace, and took advantage of being able to jog a few steps when he was pretty sure he was out of sight of other people.

As they got closer and closer to the potions room, however he became more and more convinced of his hypothesis. Although he was surprised to hear what sounded like strange peals of laughter? Dorian, however, finally seemed to have cottoned on, and Jean-Loup was forced to break into a… well, kind of a run. Dorian was doing what constituted running for him, and Jean-Loup broke into something beyond jogging to catch up. And to catch his boyfriend by the shoulder before he went barrelling into the middle of a potions spill.

Step one, check for danger. There was plenty of that.

He cast a quick bubblehead charm on himself and Dorian in case the potions were giving off fumes, although the sight of it probably wouldn’t help the Professor bring her hysterics under control.

“Go sit,” he directed Dorian to the front row of tables. “Let’s see if we can get her out of there instead of going in,” he suggested. “And write a note to Katey, please.” Step two, get help. He was only a first aider, not a full blown medic, and even if he began sorting out the situation, he would need to get her input too.

Step three, check for responsiveness. Well, that was pretty easy, she was clearly conscious as she was laughing, but hopefully that meant she could work with him a little.

“Hi Professor,” he stated, crouching down at the edge of the contaminated area. “It looks like you are hurt on your head,” he gestured. He took account of her surroundings, of the fact she was liable to fall over if she got seized with fits of the giggles and muttered an incantation to push back the mess of broken glass and spills so that it was further away from her. He didn’t go for just sweeping it all into nothingness, as there were potentially valuable clues there as to what had happened. Also, depending on the nature of the potions and how they had mixed together, some of them might be recoverable. Pushing the ooze back also had the added benefit that he could get a little closer. “You come sit with Dorian?” he suggested, gesturing to where he was sitting.

“Can you transfigure those into armchairs?” he asked his boyfriend, gesturing at the stool he was sitting on and the one next to it, and figuring that something low and squishy might be a safer place to put the professor.

“You can come?” he asked, holding out a hand to Professor Brooding, ready to help her up if need be.

13 Jean Wolfe I think I got the gist 1506 0 5

Mary Brooding-Hawthorne

September 07, 2020 9:03 PM

Gist. Giiiiiist. Gist. That's such a funny word. Giiiiiisssstttttt. by Mary Brooding-Hawthorne

Dorian and Jean-Loup were here! But they looked very funny. Mary giggled because it was very funny and so of course she giggled. There was something . . . she was sure that she couldn't stop giggling and that she should stop but it was easier to just keep going. When she explained what happened though, Jean-Loup looked very serious. She tried to match his face, pulling her eyebrows together before giggling again. Dorian looked worried and that almost sobered her up but she couldn't help it! He just looked so funny in his bubble.

She gaped when Jean-Loup said a lot of words that didn't sound like words at all. "You speak FRENCH!" she remembered, giggling again. "It's so fancyyyyyy."

Then he was speaking English though, and Mary tried very hard to pay attention. He was a handsome young man, even with his bubble, and Mary was glad that Dorian had found him. He seemed like a good young man, even if - or maybe especially because - he punched Dorian's crappy brother. It was another thought that almost sobered her up but also she couldn't help cracking up a bit at the idea of him punching someone through a bubble.

He was suggesting she do something in a very serious voice - not that she do it in a very serious voice, he was suggesting it in a very serious voice - and Mary thought that she should probably agree. She took his hand as her stools turned into armchairs - "WOW good job, Dorian!" - and let him lead her, doing her best not to giggle but doing a terrible job and giggling a lot. She was almost afraid she might pee herself but that thought only made her laugh harder. It was actually starting to hurt rather a lot and breathing was not very easy. Also her head hurt. Why did her head hurt? She giggled some more.

"You're so nice," she said to them both. "I love you both very much." And then she giggled some more.

22 Mary Brooding-Hawthorne Gist. Giiiiiist. Gist. That's such a funny word. Giiiiiisssstttttt. 1424 0 5

Dorian Montoir

September 09, 2020 6:59 PM

...hilarious by Dorian Montoir

Dorian did as he was told, scribbling a note to Katey which briefly explained the issue and requested her help.

"Hey," he asked Xiao Ai, "You know where the hospital wing is?" he asked. He was unsure whether she would consent to play owl or whether that was some kind of insult. "Please," he added, because good manners never hurt. If she seemed unwilling or unsure, he could always just charm the note to fly there itself.

He watched as Jean-Loup began to take charge of the situation, feeling very relieved that he was there. Professor Brooding-Hawthorne seemed to be surprised by them speaking French, like she'd forgotten that. She had called their names, so she knew who they were but everything else was still a bit disturbing. He was used to coming and leaning on her, she was the one who knew things and made them better. He didn't like that being turned upside down, nor the seeming loss of control - both that she could not keep control of herself, and that he wasn't able to do anything to make this go away.

He followed Jean-Loup's instructions, creating two arm chairs. He was relieved that she wasn't sitting in the mess of spills any more both because it was a bit more safe but also because it was a bit more normal. Still, he found himself wanting to shrink back as she sat down because this wasn't the person he knew. Except she sort of was. She was praising him, and being sweet and kind, just also giggly and weird too. He had sympathy for that - it was unfortunate, and not her fault that she was being like this - but he didn't like it.

"We love you too," he said, deciding he was qualified to use the plural and answer for both of them. He reached out tentatively to touch her hand, hoping she'd calm down a bit.

13 Dorian Montoir ...hilarious 1401 0 5

Jean Wolfe

September 09, 2020 7:00 PM

Heal-arious? by Jean Wolfe

"Yes, I do," he agreed amicably regarding the fact he spoke French. He did not pass comment on the fact that it was fancyyyyyy, partly because he was not entirely sure what that meant but also because he suspected it was neither here nor there. Mary seemed liable to confusion, so it was probably best to stick with what was important.

They were making progress. He had got her out of the mess and into a chair, uttering gentle words of encouragement whilst he did so. He would have to remember to check for signs of other spills on her clothing, and any cuts or burns those had caused - or get Katey to, depending on where they were located. Right now, the priorities were the cut on her head and the giggling, as much as he could deal with them, or at least keeping everyone safe until Katey got here. He could probably patch her head up, so long as it proved not to be a complex.cut affected by the potions, as that was a thing that teachers and parents often did without resorting to a medic.

A quick glance at Dorian suggested that he wasn't doing great with the situation. Jean-Loup knew that dealing with anxious or otherwise emotional family members was going to be part of his job, and it wasn't like he'd never had that situation when first aiding. Still, he hadn't expected to have his own boyfriend as one of his first solo missions. He tried to offer him a reassuring smile.

"Okay, I will clean the cut on your head," he told Mary, "And then fix it. That might hurt a little bit," he had that phrase on a flashcard of medical English phrases, so he dropped it in with almost unnatural perfection, "It also helps me if you not move. Here, you can watch Dorian," he suggested, "Dorian will do nice slow breathing, and you try that you do the same," he suggested, hoping that forcing Dorian to breathe normally too would help him. He just had to hope that he wouldn't get upset if Mary didn't follow his lead or feel panicked that he hadn't done a good enough job, which was often Dorian's reaction to imperfection. Everyone just needed to keep nice and calm.

None of the charms he was using would exactly be problematic if they missed, so he could cast them anyway, it would just be easier if she was calm and still. He drew his wand, choosing his moment for a quick sweep.

"There, that is clean now," he stated, after doing the first spell. "Now fix," he wished he didn't have to keep up a running commentary in English but it was important to let her know what was happening. "And cool," he added. Hopefully it wasn't really needed if the healing charm had done its work, but it wasn't a bad idea in case their were bumps or bruises that weren't showing yet. That just left the big stuff to deal with.

"Do you know how many things fell on you?" he asked, deciding to see if he could get any useful information from her before he investigated the ooze puddle.

13 Jean Wolfe Heal-arious? 1506 0 5

Mary Brooding-Hawthorne

September 15, 2020 9:32 AM

GET IT BECAUSE HILARIOUS! HEAL-ARIOUS?! by Mary Brooding-Hawthorne

Mary was terribly distracted by Ailuros darting back out of the room with a piece of paper in her mouth and she giggled at the thought of an owl who was an Animagus but their Animagus form was a kneazle. Or a kneazle who thought they were an owl. Or a human who thought a kneazle was an owl. She laughed so hard she snorted, which made her laugh even harder.

She was pretty proud of the fact that she'd gotten Jean-Loup's language right and he was speaking French. French. French. Freeeeeeeeench. She got it right.

When she was helped up and Dorian said they loved her too, Mary grinned, feeling euphoric about that. She accepted his hand and made squinty, happy eyes at him like a cat. It wasn't really on purpose, but it seemed the only natural response to being loved. If she could have purred, she probably would have.

Ooooh an Animagus who was a human except they could be a kneazle or an owl and they always had some of the traits of all those things which meant they were terrible at all of them! She giggled again.

Her giggling paused when Jean-Loup said he was going to clean her head because there was a cut and she pulled her free hand up to touch it, finding sticky blood on her fingers. It made her a bit woozy and she didn't want to laugh but she kept laughing. Why was she laughing? She didn't want to be laughing. Laughing suddenly seemed scary then and she was breathing very hard. Her eyes teared up but she just kept laughing, so she clutched Dorian's hand a little tighter and did as she was told, breathing with her dear student as best she could as she continued to panic and continued to laugh.

Jean-Loup did a very good job because soon he was done and Mary could laugh without feeling so panicky. She'd tried really hard just to breathe with Dorian but she couldn't help giggling. He looked very serious which made her feel more panicky and more giggly all at once. This was not any fun at all anymore, but she just kept laughing.

"Just one," she giggled when Jean-Loup asked about what fell on her. "Maybe two?" She put her hands up to show how big the jars had been and then burst into laughter again because it was such a silly thing to be describing. She stuck her tongue out, talking around it entirely without meaning to: "Ih splathed im mah mouth," she explained, remembering the taste of the potion and then giggling at the sound of her own silly voice that way. She withdrew her tongue. "Potions taste awful!" she added.

22 Mary Brooding-Hawthorne GET IT BECAUSE HILARIOUS! HEAL-ARIOUS?! 1424 0 5

Jean Wolfe

September 16, 2020 6:40 PM

Correct by Jean Wolfe

Mary looked decidedly worried, and Jean-Loup felt his stomach twist anxiously. He was meant to be making her better, not scared. She was still laughing, but her eyes were widening and her breathing was wrong. He tried to make as many soothing noises and comments as he could, even though his repetoire in English was limited. He didn't want to try any more French, seeing as that had set her off giggling before and, well, she hadn't really stopped giggling yet, so that was something he didn't want to aggravate. Still, she was now giggling and being worried... He wondered whether double giggling and no worry was the lesser of two evils...

It was just one potion! Hurr-urgh or two. The trouble with multiple potions was that they could combine and do strange things. They could make antidotes much less straight forward. Obviosusly, he would not be making any decisions without Katey present but it made the whole thing more concerning and more complex.

He looked puzzled as she stuck her tongue out and said... something.

"I will go look," he informed them both, nodding to the spilled potions. He thought Dorian looked a little anxious at being left, and he couldn't exactly say Mary was much improved, except for having had her cut healed. "How about you try to count slowly up to one hundred?" he suggested, "If you get all the way, you can count back down again. Nice and slow. One...two..." he demonstrated. Mary clearly was not capable of making sensible decisions for herself right now, so giving her things to do seemed to be the safest way to keep things from getting out of hand, and to try to reduce her giggling.

He made his way back to the spillage area, taking care not to step in anything. Given Mary's symptoms, a laughter potion seemed the most likely. He just wasn't sure whether her worry was a natural side effect or a manufactured one, or whether her general demeanour was just down to the one potion. She seemed easily amused but also a bit off in her reactions.

The first thing he found was a spill which, by its colour, clearly resembled a laughter potion. There was a second smashed jar next to that, their but, whilst large globs of the laughter potion still flecked the floor, the second potion had been entirely subsumed by the first, creating an oozy, sticky mess. He didn't think Mary had ingested any of that - from what he could see, that would have happened after they hit the floor, but it limited his ability to guess what it was. He tried a reparo, but whilst it could pull the pieces of the jars back together, and pulled in the leftovers of the laughter potion, it couldn't undo what had been done where they had fused. The label also seemed to have been disintegrated in the mess. He took the second jar, in case there were any trace amounts he could swab from it, or history spells he could use on it, plus collected a clean vial and carefully siphoned some of the oozing brown substance into it with his wand. He also grabbed a jar of glumbumble syrup.

He set the things from the accident down on a work bench at the back of the room and took the syrup back to Mary's desk. He conjured himself a honey spoon, running it through the substance and holding it above until it stopped dripping. He was relatively confident in it as a cure. Firstly, if it was just laughing potion this straight up was the cure. Secondly, pure ingredients were less complex than potions and had a lower chance of causing a reaction even if combining with multiple potions. Of course, he would wait until Katey got here before administering anything - he just wanted to be prepared and to reassure Mary and Dorian.

"Laughter potion is probable," he informed them, aware that he probably wasn't saying much they didn't know. "I think I know how to make better," he stated, holding up the spoonful of syrup. He had been going to add that they would, of course, wait for Katey. What he hadn't factored in was that, in her current state, Mary might be a little more impulsive than she normally would be.

13 Jean Wolfe Correct 1506 0 5

Mary Brooding-Hawthorne

September 17, 2020 5:57 PM

It's . . . it's . . . oh. It's not very funny. by Mary Brooding-Hawthorne

Mary focused very hard on counting to one hundred but every time she got to an especially fun number, she started giggling again. "Dorian," she said as a bright new idea occurred to her. "What are all the numbers in every language?" Everyone seemed so serious and she wasn't precisely sure why. It was a bit aggravating and also a bit funny and the whole of it was just a mess. She didn't really know what was happening except that her head felt much better now.

Jean-Loup returned and he said that she was laughing. Well he said something like that. And then he had a spoonful of something and said it was going to help. It seemed reasonable to Mary that the next thing to do was to ingest it and she promptly took the spoon and put the bowl in her mouth. The sticky liquid did not taste good, which was a shame. In fact, it was a terrible shame. Everything was a terrible shame. Her head. Her hair. Her office. Her life. The fact that Dorian and Jean-Loup were here to see it. Why were they here again?

Mary blinked, trying to focus now teary-eyes on the two young men that she cared so much about. So so much about. And they were going to LEAVE. They were LEAVING. Where were they going? She sniffed and her lip trembled a little as she leaned forward to hug Dorian, if he'd let her. "I don't want you to go away," she moaned. "Why do you have to go away?" She said it like she really didn't know, because she really didn't know. She was pretty sure he had to go away and there was a reason. It was such a shame.

She took a breath and sat up. She'd been laughing recently, she was sure, and she'd recently remembered that Jean-Loup spoke French, which was funny. But she didn't feel so funny now. She also had just recently been real sad, but even that feeling was fading. She knew why somewhere in the back of her head, she was pretty sure that that would have been funny to her recently. Pressing a hand to her forehead, she put her head down for a moment before looking up at Jean-Loup. "Sorry," she murmured, feeling wonky. "I'm not sure what's gotten into me."

OOC - To be clear on this one, one of the effects of coming off of such things as laughing potions is melancholy, especially when using glumbumble.

22 Mary Brooding-Hawthorne It's . . . it's . . . oh. It's not very funny. 1424 0 5

Dorian Montoir

September 26, 2020 10:29 PM

Not really, no by Dorian Montoir

"Let's finish in English first, then I will tell you," Dorian answered, deciding that humouring her was the better option than trying to explain that he didn't actually know all the languages. He knew enough of them to keep her busy for a while, he suspected. Especially if she wanted 'all' the numbers. There were quite a few, after all... Still, she was struggling through English, laughing at half of those for no apparent reason (what was at all funny about sixty nine, for example?) and he didn't really want his languages giggled at. He didn't want anything giggled at. He wished she would stop.

He glanced anxiously over at Jean-Loup, pleased to see that he seemed to be making some progress.

Dorian recognised the glumbumble syrup, although he wasn't quite braced for Professor Brooding-Hawthorne just grabbing it out of Jean-Loup's hand. He knew that the side effects were melancholy, and that there really wasn't much to be done about that, but it didn't make what happened next any more pleasant.

"I know," he said sadly, as she bemoaned the fact he had to leave. He returned her hug, trying to be bigger than she was and reassuring. That should have been easy on paper, he was taller than her, but he had still always been the child here. The one exception was when her hands had been too shaky to braid her own hair at her wedding. And sometimes, in their conversations, he had tried to take care of her. Just a little. Dipping a toe in the water... This was being thrown in at the deep end. He hugged back - because what sort of monster wouldn't? - but it wasn't a comfortable hug. "Me too," he stated, for lack of anything better to say. He wasn't sure what to make of her reaction. She would miss him, he knew and believed that much, but was she really this upset at it? Or was it just the glumbumble syrup? Was it bringing out what she really felt, or exaggerating the worst feelings? It was sometimes hard to say which effect things had, or what the real difference was between those two.

She seemed to pull herself together a little bit after that, though Dorian was still concerned. She didn't seem quite like her usual self yet, and was also talking like she didn't know what was happening. Did she remember taking the glumbumble syrup? He shot Jean-Loup an anxious look, one which said he still needed to fix this, though Jean-Loup still looked worried about the accidental medication he'd just administered.

"Would tea help?" Dorian suggested helplessly. It was the only way he knew of making things better emotionally. "Or hot chocolate?"

13 Dorian Montoir Not really, no 1401 0 5

Jean Wolfe

September 27, 2020 3:26 AM

Really, really not... by Jean Wolfe

Jean-Loup had barely time to make a small, strangled noise. With more air, it might have turned itself successfully into 'Don't' but the spoon was in and out of Mary's mouth before it had the chance.

That was not good. He was not supposed to medicate people. Technically, he hoped he would be able to argue that she had medicated herself. It still was, he was acutely aware, not great. Okay, reflective practise. He had learnt something important about not placing medications in reach of people who were not operating with all their normal faculties. He would do better next time. There would be a next time, right? He hadn't made a mistake with his treatment, just with letting her grab hold of it... Given that the giddiness induced by a laughing potion shouldn't affect her memory, she could back him up, and hopefully would.

In terms of it not being actively bad, she was no longer laughing. He grimaced as she swung too far the other way. It was a common side effect, though he had hoped they were dealing with small enough doses that they could avoid it. He knew it was normal - that the treatment was what it was, and the chances were Katey wouldn't have done it any differently - but he still felt like her sadness was his fault, given that he had given her the medication that caused it. Or allowed her to give it to herself. Important difference.

"It's okay," he said, using his softest, most reassuring healer voice as she apologised. Except she then wasn't apologising for grabbing the remedy out of his hand and possibly getting him into a whole heap of trouble. She seemed to be unsure about her own recent behaviour. There were two possibilities here - she was still on the come down from the glumbumble and was speaking metaphorically and self-depricatingly, or she really did not know what was going on. Which would be very bad for her use as a witness to her own behaviour.

"You had a giggling potion. Then some glumbumble syrup. Your feelings go all over," he explained, deciding that a clear and straight forward explanation of the facts was a good approach regardless of whether she was beating herself up or genuinely disorientated.

"Hot chocolate sounds good," he confirmed. He did not think giving her caffieine was a good idea, but chocolate was good for almost anything emotional, and would most likely take off any remaining edge from the glumbumble syrup, even though he was pretty sure that wasn't what he was dealing with here.

He called one of the elves (thank you, borderline almost sort of staff privileges) and got them to fetch hot chocolate for the three of them. He figured it would do Dorian good too. He offered his shoulders a squeeze and kissed his head.

Everything was fine. Nothing to panic over. Killian wouldn't let him get fired, right?

He set to work with the sample he had collected, beginning an analysis, whilst also keeping an eye on Mary for further behavioural signs and symptoms. And keeping everything that wasn't her own drink well out of her reach.

13 Jean Wolfe Really, really not... 1506 0 5

Mary Brooding-Hawthorne

September 30, 2020 1:00 PM

Wait, what's not funny? by Mary Brooding-Hawthorne

"Hot chocolate," Mary repeated quietly. "I like that one," she said, although it was almost a question. Dorian seemed confident in offering that or tea and tea made her think of Tabitha so she was pretty sure that wasn't the one she liked. Hot chocolate sounded good she thought.

Jean-Loup explained some of what had happened and then summoned an elf to get hot chocolate, which was very exciting. Then he was all affectionate with Dorian which was great because Dorian deserved it. He'd need it when-- when what? What was happen-- oh he was leaving, that's right. Why was he leaving? Mary frowned and sipping on her hot chocolate when it arrived which seemed very fast.

She took a deep breath and enjoyed the first drink she had which was nice. In fact, everything seemed mostly okay now. Which was odd because Dorian and Jean-Loup didn't look like everything was okay. She didn't remember calling them for a social visit either, so that was odd. "Why do you look like that?" Mary asked Dorian, gesturing at his face and squishing up her own eyebrows to try to mimic his expression. "And... why are you here? Were we talking about homework? Or just a social call?" She smiled a little before providing some reassurances. "I'm always happy to see you, but I'm sorry, I seem to have forgotten why you're here."

22 Mary Brooding-Hawthorne Wait, what's not funny? 1424 0 5

Dorian Montoir

October 02, 2020 7:17 AM

All of this by Dorian Montoir

"Do I?" Dorian asked, squishing his own face into an approximation of Mary's approximation of his face. Funnily enough, he found he wanted to make her laugh. Or at least smile. He did not miss the scary laughter and was very glad that had gone away, but he didn't want her to feel sad or worried either.

"I am a little bit worried, but I am okay," he assured her, even though that was abusing the notion of 'understatement' until it was practically an untruth. This whole thing made him wonder how many of the times he had fallen apart in front of her she had been as calm on the inside as she seemed on the outside. Was she able to remain genuinely calm because she was a real adult, or had she felt this?

"We came because Ailurous brought us," he answered. "You are... not very well. So we are looking after you. Here," he held out his arms for her to lean into.

"You will feel better soon," he assured her. Again, that sounded awfully similar to a lot of the reassurances she had doled out over the years, and did he actually know that? He supposed he knew that Jean-Loup was here, and that he would know what to do, and that Katey would join them soon, and be even more certain. But he didn't know for certain that he was promising something possible. Had she? Or had she just had a strong convinction, or even just a hope? Or was he doing it wrong? Was he wrong for making promises he could not be sure of, and was that something she would never have done?

"We will look after you," he reiterated, confident of at least that much.

13 Dorian Montoir All of this 1401 0 5

Jean Wolfe

October 02, 2020 7:39 AM

But it will get better by Jean Wolfe

Initial 'revelio's and the like revealed that the sludge was made of a potion and another potion. Spells could be annoyingly literal like that at times.

Jean-Loup kept an eye on Dorian and Mary, glad that his assistant was leaning into the role a little more, and seemed to be working pretty effectively on keeping Mary calm. He could see from the frightened look Dorian continued to give him over Mary's shoulder that that was clearly not the case inside. He himself was strangely calm. Or maybe it wasn't strange. He had dealt with people who were hurt and sick before. It was admittedly personal here, and he didn't like the murky part where his personal life was mixing in with his professional one - the thought of letting Dorian down made him want to panic. The fact that he had accidentally medicated Mary was still worrying him. But the rest of it was...fine. He could analyse samples. He could observe symptoms. And it didn't make him want to panic. It made him want to help.

Mary's symptoms were pretty consistent with a particular potion, and testing the sludge in front of him for whether it contained Lethe water and valerian returned affirmative answers.

"I think forgetful potion," he informed them, trying not to be wounded by the look Dorian gave, which clearly read 'Wow, you think?' He suspected he would have to get used to that look from patients and families, though he hoped never to get it again from his boyfriend. He was also not touching trying to cure this. They would wait for Katey.

13 Jean Wolfe But it will get better 1506 0 5