The Golden Gift

Chapter Thirteen, New Sight And Insight

I followed Daryl back to the cauldron and watched as he popped open each jar and set aside the exact ingredients. "Are you excited? It's a pretty high-class potion, after all." He said with a warm smile. I stood beside him and smiled as well. "I'm mostly happy that you're the one teaching me." I told him with a look of admiration. He gently kissed my forehead and hummed. "Good, making you happy makes me happy too." He said with a sweet tone. I happily looked into the cauldron and heard him laugh. "Hunter we have to fill it up with water first." He reminded me and I blushed out of embarrassment. "Oh, right. Of course." I mumbled and rushed to fill up the cauldron. He helped me to fill it up with buckets of tap water. "There we go, much better." He said and set down his empty bucket. I set mine inside of his and looked up at him. His glittering pale blue eyes were so welcoming, especially compared to Belos' sickly, old, dull eyes. I wanted to say something, but I suddenly couldn't remember what it was.

"What's up little dude? Your mouth is open, but it's quiet." He asked and I closed my mouth, turning back to the cauldron. "... Alright, well, let's begin." He hummed and picked up the first ingredient, which was the common blood of a witch. He slowly stirred it into the cauldron as I watched. Potion brewing wasn't as exciting as other fields, well, aside from being a bard maybe, but it's still cool to know that I can use them without a staff. And I don't even have to memorize and practice a spell to use it. It's like a spell in a bottle. Actually, that's different, but it has a huge similarity. Gah, I'm rambling to myself again... "Hunter, could you hold this spiderfruit for me while I stir?" He asked and handed me a fruit covered in silk and webbing. "Why is it called a spider fruit..?" I asked, both curious and terrified. "It's a fruit that spiders, and only spiders, help to pollinate. They also reproduce inside of them, and store the eggs inside because it's safer. It's needed for this spell because the flesh of it has the nutrients of dead spiders, as well as the properties of any other fruit." He explained and I stared at the cocooned fruit with growing anxiety.

"Don't worry about it Hunter, the spiders aren't going to burst out and get all over you. It's alright." He told me and gestured for me to drop it in the stew of ingredients. I eagerly let go of the strange fruit and watched as it dissolved in the demon blood. I didn't see any spiders, which somewhat relieved me. "Now let's see, next is ground up faze lemon. Quite common in potions that need transference of any kind." He hummed and handed me the jar. "I'll keep stirring, you dump it in slowly." He instructed me and I slowly tipped the jar, watching as the glittery powder poured out into the strange mixture of ingredients. The potion slowly changed as Daryl continued to stir, and emitted fumes of a light yellow tint. "Wow, that powder is really strong." I observed and took a breath. It definitely smelled like a citrus fruit, but also strangely spicy. How strange. "Yeah, a little can go a long way when it comes to this stuff. Now, take this." He said as he handed me a jar of... white powder-? "What's this?" I asked and twisted off the lid.

"It's just ground up bones. It's used as a neutralizer for some of the more undesired effects in the potion." He explained to me and stopped stirring. "Pour it in, and then stand back." He told me and walked backwards quickly. I nervously fidgeted before dumping the powder in, backing up just as quickly. The cauldron bubbled and fizzled and shook before a large bubble formed and popped, scattering what seemed like acid onto the stone ground beside the iron cauldron. "And that is also why it's in the mastery book- if not handled carefully, these ingredients can combine to make a very toxic potion. Also hence the bone dust-." He pointed out and walked back over to the cauldron once the acid dissolved. I hesitantly walked up beside him and hugged his arm. "I wonder if people have died trying to make this potion." I thought out loud as he got out another jar. "Yeah actually, but it's not usually during the creation process. Usually it's if they digest an unbalanced potion, and then they either explode or dissolve." He told me with such a carefree smile. Gosh, he's pretty brave to not be intimidated by that.