Food Poisoning is Magical! (Eckhart)

[Pips]

@Eckhart_Von_Musel

It was Thursday, shortly after lunchtime. It would be just another day at Wyrdwood Academy, but the meal was odd. Not in taste, no; this was better than most days. After eating, some students started reporting strange effects: some started coughing cinder, others started floating half an inch from the ground, and there were even reports of split-second phasing through objects. A learning day ruined. People could get hurt.

And Sainav was to blame.

All he wanted to do was lift the students' mood, and to do such he decided to grab some edible leaves from the school garden where some students went to practice their magic after class. What he did not know, because he hadn't read a book called "Magic and its lingering effects on bystanders", was that frequently casting a spell near some plants left an imprint on it, enchanting their leaves, stem and roots with that spell's essence, and those essences were now in many stomachs around the Academy.

The other cooks promptly identified the cause and went to help the affected students, leaving Sainav with a warning: they would let it slide this time, it must not happen again. And the first person to cross his mind was that professor. The one that said his cakes were safe to eat. The one that would probably have some spare time in the moment, as he does not know anybody who signed up for disenchantment class. The one and only, Alabaster Zinc.

After asking around and getting far more puzzled faces he could handle before feeling bad for not taking the subject, he reached the fifth floor. The classroom door, slightly ajar, revealed his target, sleeping at his desk, the rest of the seats completely empty. Sainav knocked on the door.

- Mister... Mister Zinc? - his voice showed he was slightly sad for seeing a professor like that - Sorry for interrupting, but I need your help... I need to learn something from you.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Alabaster Zinc rummaged through his drawers, trying to find a pair of socks that matched. The Masquerade Ball was starting- if he didn't get dressed soon, he'd be late! Finally finding a pair of bright orange slippers, the man put them on his feet and hopped backwards down the stairs. His neck strained as he tried to see where he was going, trying very hard not to stumble and fall...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Mister... Mister Zinc?"

A student's voice echoed through the fog, snapping the professor out of his dream. He looked up groggily, groaning. "Oh. You." he said, slowly sitting up. He'd looked over a project the boy had been working on earlier in the day, though he hadn't been paying too much attention to what it was the student was doing. "What now? I thought I told you they looked fine..."

[Pips]

Sainav's posture straightened as the teacher woke up, not needing to reduce any noise he could produce. His expression denoted confusion as he the room while thinking what were "they" that Zinc referred to.

- Oh, the cakes? No, no, they're fine. I'm here to learn how to Disenchant.

He looked around the classroom, so empty his mind pictured the desks as if they were covered in cobwebs. It is true Disenchanting is not among the flashiest of the Arcane Arts, but it was something pretty useful in day-to-day life, and even Mageknights could use some from time to time. At least this was Frage's impression of the field.

- I know your field is not... - he paused, glancing at the chairs again. They looked normal now - much sought after, but I think it's useful, and I need to learn it to prevent trouble again.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

The professor blinked. It wasn't often that students came to him asking for lessons, and the few who did typically would use the class as a study hall rather than trying to learn the subject. Not that Zinc minded when they did this- if anything, he encouraged it. He'd been burned out on this job since before he got it.

He stared at the student, scratching his cheek. He hadn't bothered to shave in a few days, and had had grown an awkward stubble He began to say something, but cut himself off with a drawn-out yawn. "What- *ahhhhhh*- what do you mean, "prevent trouble again"?" he asked, squinting in confusion. "What did you break?

[Pips]

It was hard keeping his posture when the professor behaved as Sainav would often do during offense-related classes back in his first years. It brought discomfort, and had he not met Zinc before, he would be a bit offended. However, he now knew, or thought, Zinc was taking him seriously.

- Well, you see... - his eyes slowly changing which element of the room to focus, clearly avoiding eye contact with the professor - While working at the kitchen, I might have used some stuff from the school's garden, - he made short, but noticeable pauses between sentences - and such stuff might have caused strange side effects to whoever ate them. This is what was broken.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Alabaster stared at the student for a few moments, his gaze piercing. After a while the man let out a sigh, hanging his head in defeat. "Alright." he said reluctantly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Let's see what you did."

The professor stood up, taking a moment to try and unwrinkle his robe. He gave up after a while, shrugging as he made his way out of the classroom. "They're in the healing ward, I presume?" he asked, walking duckfooted down the hall. "Or are they still where you left them?"

[Pips]

The professor's piercing gaze brought tension to Sainav's heart, so much that they sighed almost in synchrony, one in defeat, the other in relief. The student backed away slowly as Alabaster stood up, his mind estimating how worse could the effects he has seen get.


- The few serious cases should be, yes. Most of them were... mostly harmless, so the staff should take care of them easily. - his voice was quiet, although not hard to hear in an empty room - We should probably head to the ward, then. Even I don't know how tragic this could get.


With Zinc's approval, they both left to the rearranging corridors, in a slightly slower pace than the situation asked for, going down floor by floor. The lower they went, the more small oddities they passed by, although most of them were first years fooling around with their recently learned elemental effects. 


Zoom.

Thump.

Zoom.


Behind the duo, the unmistakable sound of a Red Wyvern racing broom speeding through the hallways of the first floor. It was hitting walls and flying books, out of control of its rider, the otherwise legendary broom racer and student Plutonius Kingshield.


- Help! I can't get off it! - he shouted as the expensive artifact and its hopeless rider paased by Sainav and Alabaster.

The cook-student halted, looking at the teacher, shocked as he recognized who just went by:

- Oh no... He ate two plates.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"Ah. Only mostly harmless." Professor Zinc repeated dryly, rolling his eyes. "Thank goodness. Why, I was almost worried you'd-"

*CRASH*

The professor' snide remark was cut off by a loud slamming noise, followed by a yelp as a student whizzed past them on a broomstick. "Help! I can't get off it!" the boy cried, slamming into the ceiling with a dull thud. Abruptly shifting course, the broom threw itself against the wall, dragging the boy against the masonry. "I can't control it!"

"Oh, thank- *weeze*- thank goodness you're here."

A second student had stumbled into the corridor, completely out of breath. Sweat was running down the boy's face, caking his bangs to his forehead. "I- I've been trying to get him down for- *gasp*- for thirty minutes!" he exclaimed breathily. "I- I can't keep up!"

The professor took a step back, drawing his wand from his robe pocket. He attempted to take aim at the broomstick, but it was moving to quickly- if he misfired, he could end up hitting the boy by mistake. "Tch. We need to find a way to slow him down." he grumbled, lowering his wand. "I don't suppose either of you have any ideas?"

[Pips]

Sainav didn't stop walking for a bit. He was worried about the boy's wellbeing, almost not noticing the second student, breathless as he soon would be if he started producing magic. He started enumerating everything he could do in his head, but also he needed to know what the newcomer could do.

- The only thing I can help with is using my shield magic as a wall, as far as I can tell. - his posture changed, his legs widened and arms positioned resembling a martial artist, his hands closed except for the index and middle finger, raised and ready to draw his shield sigil - And what about you, boy? What can you do?

As he spoke, the Red Wyvern slammed against the ground sideways, possibly hurting Plutonius's leg a little. The broomstick raised its tip and pointed it towards the trio. It felt challenged, now moving sideways as a way to taunt the three mages, still probably too quick to be hit.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"What do you mean, "what can I do?" I can do lots, thank you very much."

The boy glared at Sainav, resting his hands on his knees as he attempted to catch his breath. Zinc rolled his eyes. "He means "what spells can you use", obviously." The professor raised an eyebrow. "What else would he mean?"

The student's nose wrinkled. "I don't "use" magic." he said defensively, crossing his arms. "Some of us have-"

"Oh. So, you're useless then." Zinc said dryly, cutting the boy off. "Didn't realise admissions had become so... inclusive." Ignoring the shocked expression on the teenager's face, he turned to Sainav. "Frage, can you use shield magic to box him into a corner? I'll be able to aim properly if you do."

[Pips]

Sainav took a deep breath as the boy said he didn't "use" magic. Had it been a different situation he'd feel bad for him, but now there was no time to spare. His eyes were locked on the flying broom when Professor Zinc asked if he could box the Red Wyvern into a corner, a flash of light filling the cook's mind as he now knew what to do.

- I can push him. - he muttered, fingertips glowing with arcane energy. Each hand brought a different color of light: green on his left hand and red on his right, each tracing a radius starting from almost the same point, producing a quarter-circle in opposite quadrants and finally crossing upwards. This sigil quickly became a large circle of energy, which Sainav pushed with a right-hand palm strike in the middle, throwing the newly formed shield at his target at a fast speed, though not enough to outrun the vehicle.

Now, the mage was in the same position as the supposedly non-mage of the trio: exhausted, breathless and almost useless, gasping for air just as the shield was pushed, ready to cancel it if needed be.

Sigil

Made by me!

[close]

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

The professor watched as the sigil was conjured, raising his wand as it was pushed towards the renegade broomstick. It seemed to be working- The Kingshield boy was being pushed towards the wall...

"Damn it."

It was no good. Seemingly having a mind of it's own, the broomstick abruptly diverted it's course. "It's not working!" Plutonius cried, now picking up speed. "The broom won't- AHH!"

The non-magical boy had seen an opportunity and rushed towards the broomstick rider, flanking him. The broom bucked, slowing down so as not to crash. "About damn time." Zinc muttered, aiming his wand at the tail end of the broom. "Now stop."

The broomstick twinkled and became still. Plutonius dismounted dizzily, falling to his knees. "I thought- hrgg- I thought it'd never end..." he said, covering his mouth with his hand. "Th- hrg- thank you guys so much..."

[Pips]

As the broom stopped, Sainav took a deep breath, trying to re-regulate his beathing pattern. This was too early in the semester to be using exhausting spells such as a moving, pushing shield, but his work wasn't over. Plutonius was dizzy, nauseous and could probably cough up some of the food Frage inadvertently poisoned.

His left hand reached for a small biscuit in his pocket, especially infused with healing for emergencies. Holding it between his teeth, he started walking quickly, face red and expression cold, towards the rich kid, a burning sensation filling his legs and arms. Chewing, his right thumb and index finger produced the silhouette of a leaf in the air, its healing energy flowing towards Plutonius's stomach.

The spell was especially weak, only consuming as much physical energy as the biscuit provided. It wouldn't cure his nausea, but probably delay hurling until the broomstick kid could reach a bucket.

- We're glad - he needed to swallow the rest of the bland cookie before finishing. - to help you.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Sainev cast some sort of spell, sending a sigil towards Plutonious. The broomstick racer's nausia seemed to quell slightly, and after a moment he pushed himself back up. "Whew. That's that's much..." He clutched his stomach, groaning. "...Never mind. I'm going to the healer's office..."

The boy shuffled away down the hall, dragging his broomstick behind him. Once he was out of sight, the non-magical boy glared at Sainev. "What are you doing? Did you even test that beforehand?" he snapped, resting his hands on his hips. "It was your magic that caused all of this. How do we know you didn't just make things worse?"

Professor Zinc raised an eyebrow, but remained silent. While certainly rude, the boy had a point...

[Pips]

The student-cook watched as Plutonius dragged his broom towards the healing wards, the furious words of the magically inept boy only making him more worried. When his ears met silence, Sainav turned towards the kid:

- I'm sorry... - his eyes downcast, as if fleeing from the conflict. Voice soft as a kid facing its mother - I'm a healer since I was little, and it wasn't my magic that caused this mess, it was the ingredients I used - his stress was only building up until now, when it made his words venom -  He's nauseous from the movement, you can use your magic to check it.

Sainav took a deep breath, making a "tsk" sound before exhaling. This was not an easy day for him, but that's no excuse to be rude, even with a rude stranger.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

"How dare you."

The boy glared at Sainev, seething with rage. He took a step towards the cook, almost looking as if he was about to strike at him. "My father didn't pay for my attendence at this school so I could be mocked by commoners like you."

"Whoah. You need to cool it."

It was at this point that Professor Zinc stepped in, positioning himself in between the two boys. "Fairbairn, go with Kingshield." he barked, eyes turning towards the non-magical boy. "Make sure he gets to the infirmary without slipping in his own vomit."

The boy opened his mouth to say something, but held his tongue after the professor gave him a stern glare. With one final glance at Sainev, he stormed after the broomstick racer...

[Pips]

"How dare you." marked that it was Fairbairn's turn to deliver blows. Each word the magicless boy said hit Sainav like a punch, as if he had just committed a crime and stood in front of a tribunal announcing them. Head low, no air entering or leaving his nostrils before the teacher's intervention.

After Fairbairn left, Frage could finally breathe again, like a kid trying to make themself invisible coming out of hiding. One quick glance towards the direction pure rudeness went, then his gaze turned towards Zinc, his posture still making himself smaller.

- It's that bad... - he didn't want to focus on the recent altercation - The magical anomalies, I mean. What should we do about them?

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

The professor watched as the non-mage left, a flicker of annoyance on his face. He scratched his neck before turning to look at Sainev, one eyebrow raised. "What do you mean, 'what should we do about them'?" he asked, eyebrows drooping. "We're mages. Unlike our rich friend back there, we can actually fix issues like this."

Zinc's expression softened slightly. "Don't stew too much on what he said." he said awkwardly, beginning to walk down the hall once again. "If it makes you feel better, I, ah... didn't come from money either. It's what you can do that really matters."

"Yeah right." he added to himself bitterly. "Because look at where it got me."

The professor shrugged half-heartedly. "Let's go. There's still work to do."

[Pips]

The cook really didn't want to be angry at the magicless kid. It was not his fault he only got there through money, and in due time he would develop his own powers, or at least that's what Sainav wanted to believe.

- And you're pretty good at fixing things... - he silently noted, reconstructing the moment that saved Plutonius.

His posture relaxed a bit after Zinc's reassuring, yet awkward, speech. Frage was now looking forward, a subtle hint of a confident smile on his tired face.

- To the healing ward, then. - in his mind, he pointed forward heroically as the legends' heroes. In reality, though, only his voice mimicked them.

[Eckhart_Von_Musel]

Normally quiet, the healing ward was abuzz with activity today. The majority of beds were now occupied by students suffering from a variety of ailments, from minor to serious. Gazing across the room, Professor Zinc sighed. "Well. This is just great..."

"Professor, thank Kia you're here!"

Alabaster turned to see an older man hobbling towards them, a gnarled cane in hand. Recognizing it as the lead healer, he nodded slightly. "Yeah. Thank Kia." he said dryly. "Who has it the worst?"

"That one, right over there." the man said, gesturing towards a girl in the back of the room. Large flakes of skin were slowly peeling off her body of their own accord, before turning white and fluttering away. Upon approach, Zinc had to do a double take...

"She's turning into butterflies. That's... wonderful."