Witches' Brew [Urs]

[Sivan]

The elf regained what passed for aplomb and nodded at the question. He put a sack in Urs' hands, noticing too much how their hands touched briefly.

"I know where everything is, so I'll pull them out and drop them into the sack for you."

Sivan had grown accustomed to his work and so he could be efficient on his own, though Urs would help if he allowed Sivan to keep both hands free. And so he pulled everything from the list: lavender; ginger; alchemically enhanced willow bark for pain; butterbur for allergies; etc. When they had gotten everything from the list—herbal, alchemical, and hybrid—Sivan paused and listened to Urs hem and haw and finally get around to offering him a drink when they went.

"Well, ah... yes, of course..." He figured that if things went well, they could revisit the question of friendship. It wasn't necessary to bring it up here and now. Besides, with his luck, Master Jacun would show up at some inopportune moment, and he knew Exael would think things at him the whole while.

"Oh, hey... I don't know if you get allergies, but I've been bringing honey in from my hive for the people who take their tea here with us. I should send you home with some."

He started awkwardly toward the door back to the main room where Exael was keeping an eye on things, then halted, waiting to make sure Urs was coming with him. All of his awkwardness flooded back.

[Urs Wardell]

Where their hands touched Urs felt fire.


Urs was sure Sivan could hear his heart. He felt it everywhere. His chest was suddenly heavier than the rest of his body, his heart beating and beating and beating. Urs’ thoughts spun ideas between friendship and more and between more and something else. He tried to distract himself with the medicine list, which seemed all of sudden like it was the least important thing in the world.

Lavender, to soothe. Ginger and alchemically enhanced willow bark for pain relief. Thimbles of pollen. Vials of oils and things Urs recognized from Mother’s work. They were clearer, here, clarified by the magic Sivan and Jacon had cast. Alchemy could make these ingredients all the more stronger.

And then Sivan said yes, and of course, yes, because friendship is what the elf wanted. And it must be, Urs told himself, what he wanted, too.

Friendship could feel like red, like fire, like something that burned him from the inside out. Yes. This is what friendship felt like, he thought.

“I don’t,” Urs said, “But I’d love some - it’s good for baking, for teas,” he paused, thinking, “And, probably, good for the patients that asked me for the butterbur.”

Urs waited, unsure if he should follow, but then Sivan stopped - and stood there a moment or two before he realized he should go along with the elf.

And so he went over, feeling his heart in his throat all the way. “...have you kept bees for a long time?”

[Sivan]

Sivan flushed again and let Urs out into the shop and over to the tea room to pick up a little jar of honey from his bees.

"I was foraging back in Searing," he explained, "and I found a hive broken open on the rocks. I can talk to nature spirits... a Dratori thing... and I was able to communicate with... well, the spirit of the hive. I persuaded it that they could rebuild in my garden, that the city wasn't as green, but there were plenty of pockets... parks, gardens, and such, enough to feed the new hive, and less competition. So I had my air sprite lead them home and when I got there I set up some structural things in the branches of the tree so they could be separated from anyone walking around down on the ground. The bees aren't quite sure what to do with me. I'm not a drone, not a worker, and not the queen, but they accept me as some strange cousin, and while I'm not a trained beekeeper or anything, I've learned how to help them and they share their bounty with me. Usually propolis for tinctures and sometimes honey. They're doing well, so there has been a lot, though winter is a slow time for them."

Sivan didn't normally talk this much in one go, which he seemed to recognize. He put the honey in Urs' sack, noticing that his hands were warm, his skin soft.

"Ahh, if you want to see them... I can show you next time you come over. Or after our drinks." For a moment, he second-guessed his Common. 'Drinks' ought to be plural in this instance because they would both have a drink, which was two drinks. He didn't know if it implied they would both have more than one drink, though, or whether that was all right. It was probably all right, though, given they met at a bar and even if Urs wanted to remain friends, Sivan usually had multiple drinks with his friends when they were drinking together.

Apropos of his foraging trip, but not this moment, his mind raced back to remind him that he hadn't used those thorns from the Florist's Folly.

"I also adopted a squealmouse."

Awkward.

[Urs Wardell]

Urs listened while Sivan explained the bees.

A broken hive. Dratori gifts. An air sprite put to task. An uncertain acceptance. He played the story out in his mind. He played it again and again and again. The golden elf with kind eyes, a hero to bees one and all.

Again, their hands touched, and again Urs felt the sting of heat on his face. He wondered if Sivan thought his face red, as a rule.

And then he wondered if Sivan liked the color red.

“...you could show me now,” he said, and he heard the red in his voice that was surely coloring his face. Or was it pink. The sound wasn’t heavy but light, but quiet, and it felt like such a thin thing, like spring ice. Like breaking ice. Like ice, at the cusp of melting.

And then he fumbled, “Oh - uh. I mean. Drinks. We could do -,” his lips were clumsy, his tongue trying to organize the stream of consciousness that flooded from his brain. “Yes. After drinks. I’d like to see how you work with the bees. I like bees…” his sentence finished lamely.

But luckily, Sivan saved whatever regret he might feel with a change of subject.

“A squealmouse?” Urs asked, “I - what’s that?”

He wondered - well, no. He didn’t especially care what a squealmouse was. That wasn’t where his thoughts were inclined. His eyes and ears and everything were very much attuned towards Sivan.

No, Urs thought, no, no, no. He could distract himself. He was being silly. Urs wouldn’t risk his friendship. No, he wouldn’t let it be burned by his carelessness. He could control himself. Urs could think of other things. There were other things besides the soft blue of Sivan’s eyes. There were other things besides the wheat of his hair. There were other things besides the gold of his -

“...I don’t think I’ve ever seen a squealmouse.”

[Sivan]

Perhaps it was because Common wasn't his first or even his second language. Perhaps it was just his general social anxiety. In any case, he took Urs' word at face value and gave him some pertinent facts about the tufted squealmouse, both in general and the particular one who preferred his garden—and, in the winter, his home—to the wilds of the Astralar Mountains, even though they tended to be social animals.

"We could go now or—oh, or later. Whatever you prefer." He tried to smile, tried to be free and easy like Destyn was. Of course, Destyn had elfin features and a childlike innocence that made even his awkwardness charming. "And you don't need to pay for those. The Tranquil Gardens has an account with Master Jacun, so I'll just add it to the list."

It wants to procreate with you, but two males cannot procreate.

Please, shut up.

I want to understand—

Think of it as recreation, then! Besides, I think you are mistaken, and I wouldn't even... I mean...

You are strange.

I know.

The celestial was too interested in courting and mating rituals of mortals for his liking. Perhaps he ought to introduce Urs to Destyn and Torin and see what they thought. His friends might be good resources. Torin had a lover, after all, and Destyn always had an interesting perspective on things. He couldn't talk to Master Jacun about it, though. He wanted to keep their relationship professional, and the man would likely just suggest some sort of a lust potion, which would be a bad decision.

[Urs Wardell]

Urs would listen to Sivan talk about bees. Urs would listen to Sivan talk about squealmouses. Tufted or otherwise. Here or elsewhere. Anywhere.

“Now,” Urs answered far too quickly. “I mean -,” his eyes looked anywhere besides Sivan. He felt so clumsy. So awkward. His thoughts were muddled with gold and blue. “I’m free. If you are. I just need to drop the things off at the Tranquil Gardens.”

It was unfair to Sivan. Urs shouldn’t feel this way. The elf had only ever been kind to him. He’d only ever wanted friendship.

Urs hated that he couldn’t control his own feelings. He still couldn’t look Sivan in the eyes.

The garden was beautiful, he thought, desperate to look at anything besides Sivan. He saw the beehives and heard their song. He saw the trees and the flowers and the beginnings of Glade. He saw the start of green, in everything.

Urs looked at Sivan and saw blue.

“I think,” Urs began, his voice soft. He felt his body tremble. A well of something pushed against him, from the inside, and it felt like he might explode. Words and thoughts and feelings and nothing was wanted or maybe he wanted everything. Urs wanted honey. He wanted friendship. He wanted more. And, Urs felt the warmth of sunlight and the space between him and Sivan, and he wanted nothing more than to close it forever.

“I like you, Sivan. I like you as a friend and -,” he swallowed, “-maybe more than a friend.”

[Rune]

R E V I E W

Lore:

Sivan:
Semblance:
Examining an Unknown Alchemical Substance
Comparing Relative Strengths
Assessing Alchemical Components

Urs:
Herbalism:
Recognizing Poisons

Negotiation:
Negotiating a Date
Negotiating Emotions

Semblance:
Altering an Aura
Aura Echoes
Replacing Mundane Senses

Points: 10 each,
Sivan may use for: Semblance, Alchemy, Summoning
Urs may use for: Semblance

Injuries/Ailments: Embarrassment?

Loot: None

Notes: If Urs wants lores, just let me know =)
Adorable. Totally.