In the Name of Science!

[DragonSong]

Ally winced, but nodded. "Alright," she murmured, returning her attention to her food. She really wasn't all that hungry-- in fact she felt a little sick-- but she knew she should eat while she had the chance.

[Kingfisher]

Eventually, the meal ended and Samuel began to clean up, stowing his crockery after cleaning it.  In that time, he calmed down, feeling less put out by his guest's earlier inaction.  He offered the tense girl a calm smile that likely seemed empty of all feeling as he made for his basement door.

"Shall we?" he offered, gesturing for the alchemist to follow him back down to his secret laboratory.

[DragonSong]

"Oh. Right. Yes." A little shakily, the alchemist got to her feet, already wringing her hands nervously in front of her body. She tried to take deep, steadying breaths as she followed Samuel back down into the laboratory.

[Kingfisher]

Predictably, the moderately small chamber had not changed since they had been their earlier and Samuel set about collecting his tools.  He gestured to a raised stand, saying, "Put your book there, please."  The tilted device would keep the tome visible while also keeping it away from the the various reagents.

The mage quickly returned to setting up, calling over his should.  "Let me know what else you need for your potion and I'll grab that too."

[DragonSong]

Cautiously, still moving as though she was afraid any wrong step might set off some sort of booby trap, Ally laid the book on the stand and took a few steps back, already wracking her brain.

"We need a quartz base, along with the, um...dragon parts. And gold for perfection, mercury for changeability, and a few basic herbs. What do you have in your stores?"

[Kingfisher]

Samual had been retrieving his components as Allaeya listed them off.  He found himself pausing rather that continuing, finding the odd list of inorganics off putting.  Though he had all the ingredients, he had never found them useful in the making of potions.  Most of them were nothing more than inert substances, according to his own study...

The assassin kept these thoughts to himself.  Whatever magic the girl thought they had, they likely drew from her belief in them.  After all, he had never had dragon components so he had know idea how much magic they might carry with them.

Pulling down a few vials of quicksilver, thumbing a few gold coins form his belt and placing all of that beside a hardy quartz crystal, he pointed toward a cupboard behind the dragonic mage.  "Dried herbs are there.  Grab anything you think you need."

[DragonSong]

"Thanks." She turned to the cabinet he'd indicated and set about sorting through the jars of herbs, murmuring to herself under her breath as she did.

Once the supplies were in her arms, she turned and moved back to the pedestal, reading the book with a quick glance before dropping her armload of herbs and fetching out her mother's grimoire. She flipped to the page she needed, reading quietly to herself.

"Quartz for grounding...quicksilver for change, yes yes..."

[Kingfisher]

There was little for Samuel to do.  He simply stood back, reading the tome over Allaeya's shoulder as she set to work.  He doubted he would find much use from it now, but one never knew.  Either way, whatever came of the book's magic would be on the girl, not him.  Still, he had a pair of hands and if the dragon-girl had need of those, they were there.

[DragonSong]

"Um, Samuel?"

Ally glanced up at him, eyes brighter than they'd been in days. The thrill of her work was taking over, though she tried to keep herself in check. "I need to make sure the heat stays steady while I make this potion. I don't suppose you have a set of bellows or something?"

[Kingfisher]

Honestly, Samuel could do better than brazier and bellows.  Ducking back into a the cupboard, the assassin retrieved an odd looking box covered in strange warding.  The wards were painted in a flowing script in an almost iridescent ink that glittered in the demon-light.  Setting it on the table, he slide of the wooden lid, revealing a polished golden plate set into the top of the box.

The box housed a fire demon and would be able to maintain its a constant output based on which wards were triggered...

Grabbing a knife from nearby and a cotton blotter, she set the heat box up, asking, "How hot do you need?"  He did not exactly trust her to use the device, but it he could turn it on for her with a series of bloody fingerprints...

[DragonSong]

"Keep the liquid boiling," Ally replied briskly as she moved her supplies to settle over the apparatus. Now that she was more in her element, she seemed almost a different person, her stutterings and flinches fading away to be replaced with cool professionalism and a brusque sort of confidence.

[Kingfisher]

There was little more for Samuel to do at this point.  The heater was designed to be self maintaining and would only stop when the blood was washed off.  That aside, curiosity got the better of him and the assassin stayed close, watching the project over Ally's shoulder.

He could tell this was her element.  She seemed infinitely more certain of herself now, meaning she was less likely to make a mistake.  He did what he could not to change that, lest the girl wipe out his workshop.  Still, he would be there in case another hand was needed...

[DragonSong]

Ally worked for close to two hours, sweat beading on her brow and her face drawn in stony concentration as she darted between ingredients in her pouch and the recipe in the book.

Finally, she stepped back and allowed her shoulders to slump forward with a long sigh. "Okay. Do-- do you have a place where I can expose this to moonlight? It needs to charge for about three hours."


She looked exhausted, but somehow thrilled. Her face was flushed, eyes bright with excitement.

[Kingfisher]

The assassin had stood off to one side for the duration of the girl's project and now that she seemed finished, he moved to join her.  "You could put it outside?"  He suggested.  Again, this was not a part of his alchemy so such a think would have been useless to him.

There was space in his garden to set up a stool so that the potion could charge.  He scraped dried blood from the heat box so it might begin to cool down before leading the way back upstairs to grab a basket to flip over as a short table outside.  It was honestly the best he could manage at this late stage...

[DragonSong]

The young alchemist blinked at him, considering the idea. "Will it be safe? I mean-- you can put it somewhere that no one will move or touch it?"

In her own practice she typically charged things with moonlight by leaving them on a windowsill, but direct exposure by leaving it outside would be preferable, if he was sure they could keep it safe.

[Kingfisher]

Samuel lived within the village limits, but his few neighbors knew well who he was.  His home and garden were warded and several would be thieve had died in the attempt to trespass.  He did not bother telling Ally that much; it would have only concerned her.

"Most know not to bother me; It should be perfectly safe."  Grabbing a wooden pale, the oddly accommodating assassin left to set up the stand, bleeding an extra layer of security into the wood so that the potion would not be disturbed.

[DragonSong]

Ally smiled, a little relieved, and nodded. "Then yes, I think that should do very nicely. Thank you." She sighed and rolled her neck, rubbing absently at her shoulders. She was stiff from so long hunched over potion and book.

Almost to herself, she murmured, "Three hours under moonlight, then boiled again, and the color should change..." She continued muttering, a line drawn between her brows as she sank into contemplation.

[Kingfisher]

Once the potion was set aside, the assassin returned to a tired Ally.  "If you wish to rest, you should lie down upstairs.  I will clean up down here..."  He had caught the tail end of Ally's brief monologue and after wiping the blood off the heat box, left it on the bench before putting away the various reagents.

He made no direct move to usher the girl from the lab, despite his suggestion, though he continued to pass glances to the tomb, hoping she might fall asleep, offering a chance to rifle though its pages.

[DragonSong]

"Oh. Um, well..." Ally hedged awkwardly, her eyes wide as they flicked from him to the book to the potion and back several times. "I don't really...like leaving an unfinished project," she mumbled slowly. "I mean, if it's just the three hours I can...I can..."

A massive yawn cut her off and she flushed, clapping a hand over her mouth. Alright, maybe she was a bit tired, but she could still keep going!

[Kingfisher]

Samuel caught Ally's motion.  She very much was tired, but clearly resistant to the idea of respite.  "Why?  You've had a stressful day.  None of this will be going anywhere.  I can wake you when things are ready."

However, the assassin made no move to press the issue, heading up to his garden to arrange his trapped station.  He took his time, hoping it would give the girl time to slip into a light nap; hoping she would let her defenses fall so he might leave through the tome at some leisure...