over the moon.
—— blckekng·.
it’s tricky. two consecutive terms of advanced potions with professor selwyn’s tendencies to stray from the norms and into his bag of tricks. four days is almost his longest record yet for one potion after the final assignment from last term. granted, the given time frame is much more generous for this assignment –– enough for some quiet indulgence in his partner’s company. a secluded bathroom with a leaky tap, it works almost like a clock when blake isn’t so focused on the way josie’s hair falls just over her shoulders.
ashwinder eggs. right.
a light sting at the heel of his palm when he reaches for the stirrer (courtesy of rose thorns), he slows for the addition of the final ingredient, watching as the concoction begins to bubble. the immediate noticeable difference from their previously failed attempts: the liquid isn’t congealing. a good sign, but he doesn’t want to jinx it yet.
“i hope so,” directs his gaze to the empty containers that have once held the essential ingredients to mark a point. “unless you want to burn through tomorrow sitting in this grimy bathroom again.” the proposition of spending another afternoon with her slips as a subconscious thought. a beat of silence follows, and he resumes the slow stirring. “as a last resort, we could turn in the rest of the results. i don’t reckon professor selwyn’s expecting anyone to succeed with this… treacherous recipe.” for god’s sake.
the effervescence fades, boiling down to stillness. blake picks up a piece of torn page of parchment, skimming through scribbled notes of various outcomes gathered from questionable sources. “someone said it might turn green first.” a pause, a closer whiff of the concoction. “is it supposed to smell burnt?”
their professor really didn’t hold back this time. josie had been beginning to suspect he made some edits to the instructions just to get them off track by the time their second session with a failed concoction finished. thinking back to his other unconventional ways of teaching, she wouldn’t put it past him.
“i’d rather not but, i am also open to a change of scenery that doesn’t involve leaky taps and ominous lighting.”
her eyes flit to the paper beside her again, checking to see if there’s any mention of green. there isn’t. it honestly shouldn’t be this difficult, especially with the two of them partnered up together—as usual. at the mention of a burnt smell, josie shakes her head. “instructions didn’t say anything about that.” she takes a cautious whiff then raises a brow at him. “do you have a cold? because all i’m smelling right now is,” a quick pause. “treacle tarts?”
then something changes again. “wait—now it smells like grass. did you go to the black lake again before coming here?” she lets out a soft yet exasperated sigh, running her hands through her hair before settling on just burying her face in her palms, words now muffled. “i think staying cooped up in here for so long is finally getting to me.”
