Chương 13: Basics of alchemy
A/N: The last chapter that was once a note to you all, is now an actual chapter, so check that out if you haven't yet.
My laptop kind of died and I'm writing in my phone now, which is bugging a lot so the two chapters a day for a week will have to wait until my laptop is back from the repair place thingy, I need sleep, love you all, thanks for being so understanding about everything.
Water, sand, blue skies for as far as the eye can see, warmth, happiness, blue eyes that keep shifting to green with ease.
Anxiety, fear of getting caught, but at any time these emotions get to being too much she just looks at those eyes and feels the peace she once forgot.
Sneaking and laughing around with the one that holds her heart, knowing the familiarity a green eyed girl brought her from the start.
"Good morning, Talia, did you sleep well?" Maddie asks jumping to Talia's side and hugging her tight.
"What?" Talia holds her tight still feeling a little disoriented from sleep.
"I said good morning, sleepy head, come on, your mom just called us to have breakfast so we can go back to town today" Maddie explains.
"Oh" Talia answers sadden that she'll have to part with her friend soon enough.
"Come mommy, I'm hungry" Morgana says immediately starting to fly her way to the kitchen.
The girls laugh at that and run after her.
"Wait for us" Talia calls.
"Did you girls sleep well?" Georgia asks as they enter the kitchen.
"Yes, I dreamt of this beautiful beach, and the water didn't even scare me this time" Maddie says to which Talia looks at her wide eyed.
'Uhm, Clover'
[Yes, Talia]
'What are the odds this is just a coincidence?'
[Not as low as you think, I'm assuming your dream also involved a beach?]
'Yeah, but you're right, the dream was blurry anyway, and anyone can dream of beaches'
[Blurry?]
'Yeah, why?'
[Oh, no reason]
'Clover what are you' "Come on Talia your food is getting cold" Maddie interrupts her questioning.
"Sorry, I'm just a little sleepy, still" She smiles at Maddie and starts eating.
'I'm not done with you yet, we'll talk about it later'
[Of course, Talia]
"Are you girls excited about going back to town today?" Tim asks.
Talia pouts looking down at her plate.
"What's wrong sweetie?" Tim asks seeing his daughter's face.
"It's just that…" she takes a hold of Maddie's hand and squeezes tightly "I don't want to go, cause we'll leave Maddie there and then I'll have to come back home, and she'll be all the way back there without me again."
"Oh, honey" Georgia goes to her daughter and hugs her from behind, "It's okay, I know you missed her, but she lives in town now, you'll get to see each other every week, I'll make sure of it".
Talia looks back at her mom and holds up her pinky "Promise?".
"I promise" Georgia holds her pinky with her own. "Now finish your breakfast because her daddy is waiting for us to bring her back to him, ok?"
Talia nods and goes back to eating her breakfast, never letting go of Maddie's hand. Meanwhile Maddie tries to finish her breakfast left-handed, not wanting to let go either.
They finish their breakfast in silence, the mood a little down with Talia still upset and go back to town.
…
"There you are" John smiles seeing his daughter is back. "Did you girls had fun?" he asks kneeling in front of Maddie and opening his arms for a hug.
Maddie nods excitedly "Talia taught me magic, daddy" she hugs her dad tightly.
"Oh" He says surprised, "I didn't know you wanted to learn magic"
"It's just that, I'll teach her some alchemy and she teaches me magic, we made a deal" she bites her lip, nervous about upsetting her dad.
"It's fine sweetie, don't worry about it, magic is not for me, but you can do whatever makes you happy, okay?" he boops Maddie's nose.
"Thank you, daddy" she answers giggling.
"So, when are those alchemy lessons starting?" He asks Talia.
Talia shrugs "I don't know".
"We can start now if you want" Maddie proposes.
Talia smiles "Okay".
The girls run to Maddie's room to start their lessons.
"Thank you for taking her yesterday, I hope she didn't give you too much trouble" John tells Timothy and Georgia.
"Oh it was no problem at all, she's a really good girl, they just spent most of the day practicing magic and talking in the backyard" Georgia tells him.
"They seem really attached to each other don't they?" Tim asks.
"Yeah, and I'm incredibly glad for that, the truth is, Maddie really needs some stability in her life and I've been ignoring that for way too long." He looks in the direction the girls went "A friend like Talia, I think she never really had any, always keeping a safe distance from the kids she met, knowing she would be leaving soon, but with Talia, I don't know if it was the whole traumatic experience they've been through together or if they just clicked, but she didn't stop talking about her for years, and seeing the girls now, there's none of the distance she kept with the other kids or anything like that. It's like she can be herself with her and as her father there's nothing else I would ask of a friend for her."
"I get it, we're glad they're friends too, we raised Talia kind of away from everything, we come to town every week and all, but it's not really enough for her. Maddie is her first real friend, she has Morgana, but that's not the same, Morgana it's like a little sister to her, even a daughter sometimes, as weird as that might sound, she takes care of Morgana, teaches her everything she can, she was even the one to teach her how to talk, with Maddie she's more herself, she's childish, she's happy, she's free to be herself without having to be responsible for her, you know." Tim tells him.
"I know what you mean" John says.
"Well, let's just hope their friendship lasts a lifetime and do what we can to help them with it, they're both good girls as long as we don't separate them I think they'll be fine." Georgia says.
"Agreed" Both dads answer together.
…
"So, where do we start?" Talia asks as they enter Maddie's room.
"Today we'll start with the basics, theory, next week we can start actually practicing, but it's important to know the theory first, at least that's how dad taught me" Maddie shrugs, wringing her fingers afraid of disappointing Talia.
"Sounds fun, go ahead." Talia tells her.
[Oh, wow, I'm impressed, you didn't sound anything like the impatient girl I've known for over six years]
'Well, I'm not a monster, she's clearly trying, and I know that to learn anything it takes time, focus and patience, just because the rest of what I've learned so far came easier to me and was mostly practical training, that doesn't mean I can't take some theoretical lessons as well'
[That's really wise of you to say, I'm almost proud]
'What would it take for you to be actually proud?'
[If you actually go through with it without complaining I can consider it, maybe]
'Yeah, right, I know you love me already, no need to pretend Clover'
[Oh, what an incredible imagination you have]
'Whatever helps you sleep at night'
"So, first, it was thought that alchemy could only create something of equal value to the materials used, but that got discarded later with the people creating things that were more than the sum of its components you know? Like cooking, where you have a lot of ingredients that don't seem much by themselves, but when you mix and cook them, they can become a full delicious meal" Maddie starts explaining.
"Makes sense, so like if I want to take one thing and make it better, I'll just need more materials?" Talia asks.
"Technically yes, but they would have to be the right materials and the process would have to be done properly and everything" Maddie answers.
"Okay got it, you may continue, Teach" Talia says smiling.
"So, alchemy has seven basic elements that are used as base for whatever you want to do, if you don't have at least two of them in the mix the alchemy will fail, they are: earth, water, fire, air, metal, spirit and will. You'll need will for whatever you try, everything fails without it, its basically belief, I think, like you need to believe in what you're doing and guide it with it, or it doesn't work. If you don't believe in yourself neither does the materials, it's for reasons like that, that alchemical recipes can be so random, people can use the same materials and follow everything the recipe says and get totally different results, within reason of course, the materials used do guide the final product, but it's the will that actually shapes it" Maddie tells her.
"That sounds so fun, like I can follow everything it says and still get something entirely new?" Talia asks for confirmation.
"Exactly."
"That's awesome"
"Yeah, some new books put in what you must 'will to happen' now, as an attempt at universalizing some recipes and stuff, but it's not many yet. Most still focus on what kinds of directions certain mixtures of materials follow and every single alchemist make up their own recipes from that, like a personal grimoire of alchemy that only work as expected for its maker and becomes a hectic book of chaos for anyone else." Maddie explains.
"That sounds even more fun now, can I see yours?" Talia asks eagerly.
"Sure, I'll show it to you later, now I'll just tell you some of the basic mixtures so you can start planning for your first recipe for next week, then I'll show you my own recipes just so you can see how the materials reacted with each other, and you'll be able to create something for yourself in no time" Maddie tells her.
The girls spend a while going over the basics and analyzing Maddie's recipes together when Georgia calls them down for lunch.
"So, how was your first lesson?" John asks once they finish lunch.
"It was fun, I can't wait to be able to try what I learned next week" Talia answers.
"Was she a good student to you, Maddie?" Tim asks.
"The best" Maddie smiles at Talia, "didn't interrupt my explanations, asked all the right questions, a delight to have in class"
[If only she knew how you truly were]
'I didn't even do anything'
[This time sure, every single other moment in your life, not so much]
'You're so judgy today, what's going on with you?'
[Nothing, I just don't see how you paying attention to a single class is a big deal is all]
'I don't buy it, what is it, really?'
[Maybe I just don't like her, I'm allowed to not like people, you know?]
'I know, but I don't think that's it either, and I know you're not jealous of her, so don't even try that excuse next, just tell me, what is it?'
[I don't think I should]
'Clover, we're in this together, remember? Whatever it is you can tell me, I won't judge you for it or get mad or anything'
[Promise?]
'I promise'
[I don't think you should be around Maddie]
'What? Why?'
[Because whenever you're around her, you start remembering things from your past life]
'You said that would happen anyway, what's the problem if it's now?'
[You're not ready yet, this shouldn't be happening so soon]
'Ughh, it was one time Clover, and it was after my first mission, maybe that's what triggered it, you don't know that it was Maddie'
[And the dream you had last night?]
'Just a dream, nothing wrong with it'
[Really? Think about it]
'Fine, it was blurry, and more rooted on feelings than my usual dreams, but definitely not as strong as the memory dream from all those years ago'
[Of course, it wasn't as strong as the dream with the memory of your own death Talia]
'What?'
[What?]
'Did you just… Was that how I… Died?'
[You hadn't piece that together yet?]
'No, not, not really'
[You even described all the blood Talia, you literally told me you felt like you were dying]
'I don't know, okay, I didn't think too much about it, it was all so fast, fuzzy and blurry, I didn't connect that with how I actually died'
[Well, sorry for letting you know like this, but this just proves you're not ready to know everything yet]
'No, no, it just shows I might need a heads up that's all, I'm not going to stop seeing Maddie for this'
[Talia, listen to me, you're not ready, just give it some time away from each other, if you start getting memories every week it could mess up your head, badly]
'I don't give a shit, it could kill me for all I care, I'm not going anywhere, as long as Maddie will have me, I'll be by her side, do you understand?'
[Yes, Talia]
'Good'
"Time to go sweetie, say good bye to your friend" Georgia tells her.
"Oh, uhm" She runs to Maddie and hugs her tight.
"It's okay, Talia, we'll see each other next week, don't worry about it" Maddie tries to calm her.
"Promise?" she offers her her pinky.
"Promise" Maddie intertwines her pinky with Talia's.
"Good bye, Talia, Good bye Morgana, Good bye Talia's parents" Maddie says.
Talia giggles at how Maddie says bye to her parents. "Good bye Maddie, see you next week, don't forget to practice your magic, ok?"
"Okay, bye Talia"
"Bye Maddie"
"Don't forget your alchemy lesson too"
"I won't, see you next week"
"Okay, Good bye Talia"
"Good bye Maddie"
The adults start laughing, and dragging the girls in different directions knowing that if they don't, they'll end up stuck in that loop for days.
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