Liesel? What are the odds? While I focused on having my own mental breakdown, I could hear Dustin calmly explaining that he was, in fact, not a Witch in the slightest.

"I have to say, I am a big fan of your culture though, and find it really cool!" he finished. "It's always been a dream of mine to do magik someday, even though I know that's silly. But, nterestingly enough, my other friend here is a Witch. It's actually pretty ironic, because he's-"

My eyes snapped open. "He's about to be leaving now actually," I cut in.

"Aw really. That's a shame. We'd make a great team." She seemed to pause for a moment. "Hey, do I know you by any chance? Your voice sounds super familiar to me. My name's Liesel!"

"You shouldn't give out your name online. Anyways I have to go, have fun without me bye." With that I clicked the x on the chat room, and closed the lid of my computer.

Reclining back into the plush of my swivel chair, I swung my legs out of the desk before leaning into a full rotation. Unfortunately, I hadn't realized my headphones were still plugged in, and as I turned the wire yanked the computer to the floor with a crash.

"God damn it!" I cried, picking it up and inspecting it. At least it seemed to be okay.

"Crow! Not in this household!" my mom called up the stairs.

"Fine! Gods damn it!" I replied snarkily.

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

I rolled my eyes. My sister was out of the house anyway, so I didn't feel too bad. I placed the computer back up and put it on my desk before flopping onto my bed. Why was this girl everywhere lately?

Maybe I should have asked her how her dog has been with the potion I gave her, but still... She was definitely a person that I could only take in short doses at a time, and today was not the day. I lifted my head off my pillow as I heard my phone ding with a message. It was from Dustin.

Hey guess what! You'll never believe this, but that girl we just played against actually goes to our school. I just said I knew a real life apothecary, and she said she actually got a potion from you the other day, and you were able to cure her dog from this nasty disease. Isn't it crazy how small the world can seem sometimes? Like everything is connected.

Yeah, crazy, I replied, trying not to laugh at his random enthusiam. At least he was happy. I was about to put the phone down again, when another text, this time from Elliot, caught my eye.

How have you been, Crow? For once, I don't have a large amount of projects or homework to do this weekend, and I was wondering if you would like to come over? I'm very interested to hear what you've been up to, especially with your new "classes". Let me know if you can whenever you are available.

I thought about what I had to do for the day. No work as of yet, and I had managed to fulfill my promise to Dekoran that I would have all my books read, so my schedule was pretty open. I saw Dustin texting me back, asking if I could play a few more rounds, since we only got the one in. I glanced at the computer, then at Elliot's messages.

Oh what the hell. It's been forever since I've seen him. With that, I told Dustin I had already promised to hang out with a friend today, to have fun with Liesel, and let Elliot know I'd be there soon.

☾⛤☽

With a swerve, I pulled my bike into Elliot's street, tucking it on the side of his two-story house. I went to text him to let him know I was here, but before I could even pick up my phone, Elliot was standing on his front porch, his thin frame lying on the support beams.

"Wow! It's been so long since we've hung out! How have you been? You're looking the same as ever," he commented, looking at my casual outfit, a total opposite to his usual button up shirt and tie.

"Wish I could say the same for you," I joked, sticking my tongue out at him. "You look tired, man." If I was being honest, that wasn't the only difference. He had definitely shot up in height over the Summer, not to mention he was styling his hair more. It looked less gelled and nerdy, for lack of a better word, and more wind-blown. It suited him better, in my opinion.

"That's what happens when you take long classes. They wear you down, even if it's only been a week. But let's not stand outside. Do you want something to drink?" He waved me inside, holding open the door for me.

"Depends. Your mom still make that blueberry lemonade of hers?" I hoped so. It was the homemade kind, with lots of pulp, and mint from their family's garden. I used to look forward to it every time I came over.

"Of course, though I'm sure you're making better drinks now, what with your after-school activities," Elliot mentioned as he pulled a pitcher from his fridge, draining the purpley contents into a tall glass for me. He tapped a finger against his chin thoughtfully before turning to me. "I am correct in thinking they're meant to be drunk, right?"

I took a sip, the cool fruitiness slipping through my insides. "Yeah, they are usually meant to be a drink, but some you can apply directly to your skin. It all depends on what it is meant for, and what it's made out of."

He hummed a bit in acknowledgement, gently pulling a stool out from the table to take a seat next to me. He had that distant look his brown eyes again, like he always did whenever the gears in his mind were turning, or at least, turning more than their usual, break-neck pace. "So could any drink that has plants in it be made into a potion, by that logic? What about juice, or that lemonade you're drinking?"

His idea struck me for a moment as I blinked at him. Could I use my magik to activate the mint, making even a simple drink like this actual medicine? Doctors hate him... my mind immediately filled as a headline. I tried to think back to the one section the book had had on fruits. Blueberries were mainly used for strengthening auras and protection, and lemons were notorious for fighting off negative energies, and even used in modern day cleaning products. It didn't seem like too far of a stretch, when I thought about it like that. Sure, it wasn't the 'original intention of our ancestors' or whatever old-fashioned, textbook rules Dekoran was obsessed with following, but wasn't that what learning things was all about? Taking your base knowledge in something and applying it to new things? 

I shrugged at him. "Maybe. I'm not sure what it would necessarily do though, maybe warding off curses or spiritual attacks?" I guessed. Without Dekoran or the Historical Collection of Apothecary Writings that we were using as a recipe book, I couldn't give him a straight answer.

"So it would be great for me then?" Elliot suggested with a laugh.

I stopped for a moment, taking another sip. "Yeah, probably." With his natural talent for element manipulation, I had almost forgotten that his specialty was connecting to the dead, something that had always creeped me out. Spirits weren't inherently good or bad. Technically, they were just a part of everything: the land, the forest, a rock. It was what gave them the energy that a Witch could tap into to perform magik... but actual ghosts I'd always considered dangerous. If someone's soul decided to stick around in this hell of a planet, then they'd had a traumatic death, or they wanted something, and they would do anything to fulfill that desire. Not something I wanted to mess with. I could still remember the time I was only in Kindergarten, and Elliot had walked up to me, asking if I could see the woman standing next to him. Of course I couldn't, but it turned out he had unlocked his specialty much more early in his life than most other Witches. It was just a very freaky one.

I tried to shake the chills away. "Why? Do you want me to try making this a potion?" The more I thought about it, if some magikal lemonade really could protect people from spiritual attacks, it was probably in his better interest to have something like that.

"If you'd be willing to." Elliot smiled softly at me, eyes widened in curiousity. "I think it'd be cool to see you doing magik for once. Not to mention how many times I have to communicate with spirits daily at school for tests." Elliot shrugged, like this was a casual topic. "Having a break once in a while, or at least some level or protection against the more desperate ones would be nice."

"Yeah, I don't know how you get by like that." I shuddered at the idea of having dead people just following me around, the only person able to give them attention while I brushed my teeth or went to sleep. He'd tried to mention it to me a couple times, mostly as small rants or complaints that he'd apologize for bringing up later, but everytime I'd just sat there, awkwardly standing there or telling him it'd be all right. It sucked. It was like watching the world burning on the news, while you were stuck on your couch. Get upset, realize you couldn't do anything, rinse and repeat.

But this was different. If a potion could give him some peace of mind, if I could do that for him... Wasn't it at least worth a shot? I finally glanced up from the table, nodding at him. "I can try then. No guarantees though, and it looks super gross, just to let you know," I mentioned, with a shrug, trying to stay casual. No matter how many potions I had made so far, the sight of my magik literally oozing out of me and into the pot still bothered me slightly.

"It's fine. So what would you need for this? I don't have to cook the lemonade, right?" He titled his head at me with the question.

"No, I don't think so. Normally I boil it to get the plants into a liquid form, but here that's already been done for me. I guess I just need a spoon," I muttered, almost to myself, as I plucked one off the counter.

As I eyed up the container the lemonade was in, I instantly saw a problem. All the potions I had been making had been a gallon, or two gallons at a time. Maybe this would have been a two gallon pitcher, but some had already been drunk out of it. It looked like a little less than two-thirds. How many breaths of magik would that even be? Two gallons usually averaged at four or five breaths, which made two per gallon. So one? Maybe?

"Hey, can you do one and a third breaths of magik?" I asked, causing Elliot's head to turn away from staring intently at the blue glass pitcher. He went to the Magikal Academy for Exceptional Students, after all. I figured if anyone knew, it was him.

"Um, of course? A breath of magik is a full, complete breath, like what you would do at a doctor's office. To put that into other measurements..." He frowned a bit, thinking. "Although Math and Magik are almost opposites, if you needed to put less magik into a spell, you would just take quicker breaths, like when you're scared or running. Magik is all about breath control. Don't they teach this to you in public school?"

I bit my lip, embarassed. "No, and I'm kinda... Re-taking Basics to Magik this year, since I failed it the first time." I watched Elliot's face grow stern for a moment, almost mirroring my mom's level of disapproval, but he quickly perked out of it, no doubt trying not to seem rude. It wasn't like I could blame him though. I messed up. I knew that already.

Pushing the thought aside, I stared down at my spoon in the lemonade. Something I had begun to notice myself, though I hadn't mentioned it to Dekoran at all, was that the concoctions I'd made so far had only managed to work when I had a connection to them. If I thought about what or how I wanted to heal, it would. If I thought about how much I wanted to read faster so I could get through all those books, it would. If I was thinking about something else at the time, it would be one of the two duds I'd made so far. So if this "potion" was meant to protect Elliot, then...

Without me having to even think all that had on it, memories began to resurface. Elliot asking me at seven to say hi to his 'new friend', a vase getting shattered inexplicably, an ouija board asking him to meet some spirit in a reclusive location... When I had to look at his small self on a hospital bed after he had gone there. I took in one deep breath. I would not let it happen again. I let it out. They'd have to get through me first! A quick breath, exhaled firmly, and I stirred in whatever white drops slunk slowly off my arms, trying to ignore their light, smooth dampness. With that, I removed the spoon and took a step back, clearing my head as the unused magik evaporated off me. For some reason, I felt a little exhausted, despite having only stirred some lemonade. Maybe I needed to start eating better. I was a little stocky.

"Wow, your magic is white? That's cool. I had no idea what color Apothecaries counted as. And the fact you can see it pour out of you, that's so unique!" He sounded almost breathless as he brought his face closer, examining my arms.

I instantly yanked them away from Elliot, and back into my certified personal space bubble. "Actually, it changes color depending on whatever I'm making. It was green when I wanted to heal a dog, red when I wanted to do something harmless for myself, and now it's white. I guess that's because it's just for you." It made sense, considering that was what the color specifications existed for, but I knew it was just as weird to specify out loud. Most people's magik usually stayed at one color. Sure, everyone knew there were four colors of magik, but it was just a term for a category, a quick moral glance at a very flexible subject. Even now, Elliot's fingers sparked a hot pink as he drew water from the sink towards him in a small stream to wash his hands. Just because that was Red magik didn't make it red magik. The only time it consistently matched was if someone suddenly started to delve into Black Magik. But that was taboo, and while mine constantly shifted to match its own classification, I wasn't about to test out my personal theory on how that would go. 

"That's interesting. Well, I guess I'll try some then." Without any hesitation, he reached in front of me to grab the pitcher, quickly filling a glass before sipping at the contents.

I just stared at him awkwardly, feeling like a chef on a cooking competition presenting whatever weird dish they'd gotten sabataoged into making. "Does it taste any different?" I asked, spreading my hands out in question. I'd never tried to change a pre-existing drink before.

"Yes, it tastes like your disgusting, magikal sweat." He laughed. "No, I'm just joking. It actually tastes the exact same but... it's strange. It's almost as if you carbonated it. Like television static in my mouth."

"Oh. They're all like th-" I started, remembering the sweet, bubbly flavor of the focusing potion I'd tried, when I suddenly saw his eyes widening. "What is it? Is something wrong?" I watched as he swiveled his head to the left, then the right, looking almost bewildered.

"No, nothing is wrong at all. It's just... I'm so used to seeing them. Spirits, everywhere. I can still feel their presence, but it's almost like they are dulled quite a bit. I can't hear them. I--" He took another, final sip, putting a hand to his forehead in disbelief. "Crow, this is mind-blowing! Do you know how much this would be helpful at M.A.F.E.S.? The teachers would love this!"

"...You really think they would? I mean, do you want me to make more?" For some reason, the idea of a M.A.F.E.S. professor finding me talented at magik put an almost giddy grin on my face.

"Absolutely! Everyone needs to hear about this. And just think, if you can do this, imagine the possibilities. You could make potions that could do anything. You could help so many Witches!"

"Well in that case..." I mused. I certainly didn't want to be renowned as a Witch, but if Elliot, Elliot the Magikal prodigy, thought that I could do something, then I wanted to prove him right. If I could make working potions from a prexisting drink, what else could I do? What was the harm in finding out all the possibilities? "Let's start making some lemonade!"