hexywitch | Charm ☼ 004 [video]

[Lily's set herself up in the library in her house. There's a cauldron in front of her, a small flame flickering beneath it. She stirs the pot three times clockwise, and then four counterclockwise.]

Hello, Vatheon. There are quite a few new people floating about again, so I thought this was a perfect time to post. I'm Lily. As you can see I've been doing a bit of potion brewing. I finally made it down to the Nostalgia Nook, and the shop from my world is absolutely brilliant.

[She pauses to check her potions book and adds an ingredient, tapping the cauldron twice with her wand. Potions is very complicated and delicate.]

I stocked up on ingredients, so after I brewed a few potions for friends of mine, I thought I'd brew a few other useful ones. First of all a big batch of Pepper-Up. [She gestures to the cauldron.] That'll be a cure for the common cold. And hangovers. So if anyone's feeling a bit under the weather, let me know.

That said, [She turns the heat under the cauldron down.] Equius. Sollux. I'm ready when you are.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I agree.

That sounds lovely. Gamzee will eat almost anything, and I am not particularly choosy, either... although I don't eat the flesh of beasts, so no meat, please.

Ah, a vegetarian. All right, I can definitely work with that. I've been cooking with magic since I arrived here. It's fun.

A what?

[There's no word in Alternian for someone who doesn't eat meat, since it's highly unusual to find a troll who feels that way!]

A vegetarian. Someone who doesn't eat meat.

That's a thing with humans? With its own term and everything?

Fascinating.

Yes. It's a thing. And there's also a stricter version where one not only avoids meat, but also any animal product like eggs, milk, butter, cheese, etcetera. They're called vegans.

Edited 2011-10-09 06:49 (UTC)

Well, I'm not that, because I drink milk.

[Lots of milk. Copious amounts of milk. Epic amounts of milk from various creepy sources.]

Are there many humans that do that? Is it a common thing? I mean, it must be, since there's a word for it and all... on Alternia, they called trolls who didn't eat meat...

[And he abruptly stops talking, his mouth closing with a snap, and he looks away.]

... never mind.

A freak? [She doesn't mean that in a mean way, she understands, really she does.]

[Equius' ears lie flat against the sides of his skull for a moment, much like an enraged cat's, and for just a second, he vibrates ferocious, horrible energy. However strong the potion may be, it's not STRONG enough to calm the associations he has with that word.]

[But then he relaxes again, and just looks sad.]

Yeah. That.

Well then we're both freaks. [She's a bit shaken by that energy, particularly considering the potion, and she backs away, just a little.]

[He notices her retreating, and he doesn't follow, although his expression turns downward further. He's not like that, he's not, he's not the kind of troll who hurts his friends!]

You were considered... that... too?

My sister's been calling me a freak my entire life. And there are other people with other hurtful words as well.

Your own fellow wiggler? That's terrible, Lily, I'm so sorry.

What... what are some of the other words?

[So he can make sure never to use them.]

[She shrugs.]

Mudblood. [She scowls when she says it, like it's a dirty word. That one still hurts.]

Really?

[Now Equius is very glad he asked, since that is actually a slur in troll language as well... one that he used to use.]

Your blood... isn't brown, right?

No...it's...I told you that I'm the only magical member of my family, right? Well there are some families who's been all magical for generations. They call themselves purebloods. They believe that they're superior because of their family histories. The polite term for someone like me is muggle-born. But the purebloods sometimes call us mudblood. Dirtying the magical world with our muggle blood.

[That sounds suspiciously similar to the hemospectrum from his world, and it makes Equius uncomfortable.]

There's a troll here--his name is Tavros--who has brown blood. Sometimes, back on Alternian, he used to be called a mudblood too.

[Equius leaves out the fact that it was him who called him that.]

Some purebloods believe I shouldn't be allowed to attend Hogwarts at all. Or even own a wand.

...really? Karkat mentioned the hemospectrum, but...

But you're very talented with magic. That much is obvious.

[Equius squirms a little on the couch, clearly uncomfortable. Once upon a time, he would have gladly told her all about the hemospectrum, with extra attention paid to his place on it, but now, hearing her story of human cruelty in another realm...]

Maybe... maybe you should ask someone else about the hemospectrum. I'd rather not get into it.

Yes. Top of my class. Head Girl.

Maybe I'd rather not. The two trolls I'd ask first are too uncomfortable about it to tell me.

It's something you're going to need to know about, if you're going to spend so much time around trolls; it's a pretty important part of our culture and background, just... not the most pleasant one. Well, pleasant for some of us... not so good for others.

[He thinks for a moment.]

Perhaps when Gamzee and I come over for dinner, he can help me explain it then.

[Gamzee, explaining something? Yeah, it sounds crazy, but Gamzee's prescence will make Equius feel better talking about it, and his matesprit can point out how Equius has improved in his attitudes about it.]

[Lily really doesn't want to ask about the hemospectrum. Karkat freaked out when she asked if were rude to ask him what color his was.]

Does it really matter that much? I don't care what color your blood is.

Not anymore... but it used to.

It used to matter a lot.

So it's essential that I know, but you won't tell me, even when you're incapable of being anxious or agitated?

...maybe the potion isn't working as well as I thought. Or it's already wearing off. It didn't last long and it was too strong to begin with...

Edited 2011-10-13 00:32 (UTC)

I don't want to tell you because you'll think less of me if I do.

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