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Post by Layla on May 21, 2006 21:50:49 GMT -5
Sitting in the back of the class, Layla stared at Professor Palladium, her eyelids growing heavy with boredom. His lectures always ended this way, with him droning on and on about some potion or another. True, it was probably something she should listen to, but couldn't he at least make it mildly interesting? Actually, scratch that - couldn't he make it slightly understandable? Rolling her eyes, Layla slumped down in her seat as she tried to pay attention. It was just that when he got so eager about his teaching, he had the tendency to start talking in crazy specialized potionology terms that no one could understand. And that was boring. There was just no way around it.
Glancing over at Flora, Layla suppressed a smile. As per usual, Flora was paying close attention to the professor's every word. Looking around at the other students, all of whom were off in their own thoughts, Layla nodded. Yep, Flora was the only one actually paying attention. As usual.
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Post by Demeter on May 21, 2006 21:58:35 GMT -5
Flora would glance up every now and again, her gaze focused on the professor before drifting back down to her notebook and she would add a new note or two to her growing list of notes. Potionology had been her favorite subject and she had taken a good number of related courses during her summer.
Confused at a new term he used, Flora raised her hand to get his attention. "Professor? Can you clarify what you said? I'm not sure I understand."
She tucked a lock of honey blond hair behind her ear, careful to keep it from getting tangled in her hoop earrings. She made a mental note to ask Stella what that latest trend in earrings were. She was just curious - that was all.
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Post by Palladium on May 25, 2006 19:12:10 GMT -5
Palladium nodded as he replied, "Of course, Flora. I was simply saying that by dropping this flower," at this he held up a small violet colored flower, "into this flask of seventy percent water from the lake and thirty percent crushed white tea leaves, you will find that," Palladium swirled the flask as he added in the flower, "you will have a very lovely smelling perfume that also acts as a decongestant!"
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Post by Demeter on May 25, 2006 19:15:50 GMT -5
Flora nodded her head in understanding. "May I propose a hypothetical? What if you inverted the amount of the other ingredients? In this case, you add the flower to thirty percent lake water and seventy percent crushed white tea leaves?" she asked. "Would that change the intent of the potion?"
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Post by Stella on May 25, 2006 19:16:37 GMT -5
Stella giggled as she leaned forward and whispered to Layla so that no one else could hear, "Can you believe him? He acts like his little rinky dink potion is the best thing ever. I mean, come on, you can't even smell the perfume! I say that his eau de flor is a big eau de flop!"
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Post by Palladium on May 25, 2006 19:21:33 GMT -5
Flora nodded her head in understanding. "May I propose a hypothetical? What if you inverted the amount of the other ingredients? In this case, you add the flower to thirty percent lake water and seventy percent crushed white tea leaves?" she asked. "Would that change the intent of the potion?" Palladium chuckled as he said, shaking his head, "But of course it would change the intent. You see, white tea leaves are quite potent and are wonderful decongestants; but, what is that saying? Ah yes: all good things should come in moderation. If you have seventy percent tea leaves and only thirty percent water, well," Palladium laughed again, "to put it mildly, your nose would be running for days! Although, perhaps that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world because, after a few days of torture, I assure you, your sinuses would be clear for the rest of your life - or at least a large portion of it." At this, Palladium glanced around at the class to see if they would find humor in this as well, but seeing that his students were looking at him with blank stares, he sighed and glanced back at Flora as he asked, "Well, then, does that answer your question, Ms. Gallowglass?" |
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Post by Demeter on May 25, 2006 19:26:21 GMT -5
Flora nodded. "So, if I'm understanding this correctly, the amount of water is more important than the tea leaves?" Her grass green eyes flicked down to her notebook and she wrote down what he said, underlining key points. "The flower that's added to the water white tea leaf solution, what's it called?" she asked, thinking about sending the potion instructions to her mother so they could add a new product to the items sold at her mother's shop.
"Further, what if that flower isn't added to the potion? What happens then?"
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Post by Palladium on May 25, 2006 19:44:40 GMT -5
Palladium leaned against his desk as he said humorously, "You pose a very good question, Flora, but I am afraid that my answer will be quite elementary." With a laugh, Palladium picked up another violet colored flower and twirled it between his fingers, "This is the rather common Honeylion Hydrangea; while it once was quite rare, its sweet scent has made it extremely popular in home gardens where such cultivation has enabled the flower to no longer be considered endangered. On the contrary, as I mentioned earlier, it is quite numerous and easy to find nowadays in its natural environment - open fields and other places where they can be exposed to full or partial sunlight. It's fortunate that this is the case because it is quite a popular ingredient in perfumes. You see, according to many, the Honeylion Hydrangea has one of the best scents imaginable and so it is only natural that they would be incorporated into perfume. However, in regards to the potion I described earlier, the Honeylion Hydrangea's only purpose is to make the decongestant double as a perfume. If you leave it out, your white tea leaves and water will still form a decongestant - it just will have a rather bitter smell."
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Post by Demeter on May 25, 2006 19:48:14 GMT -5
Flora nodded. "What if you subsituated a different flower for the Honeylion Hydrangea? Hypothetically, you placed a common rose in its place. Would that change the potion in anyway?"
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Post by Palladium on May 25, 2006 19:56:45 GMT -5
Palladium suppressed a smile as he answered, "No, I am afraid that the Honeylion Hydrangea can not be replaced with the common rose. Though the rose has a lovely scent on its own, it is not strong enough to counteract the overwhelming bitter odor of the tea leaves; I think only a few flowers can do it - the Honeylion Hydrangea, the Peach Morning Glory, and the White Poppy."
Glancing around at the other students, Palladium wondered for the umpteenth time why they couldn't be more like Flora. He enjoyed her inquisitiveness and her well thought out questions; it truly saddened him that he couldn't seem to reach anyone else but her - at least in this hour. In other hours, Priscilla and Ahisa were almost as curious as Flora; it figured though. All three students were nature fairies and so of course they would be interested in his latest lectures that emphasized, what else, nature.
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Post by Demeter on May 25, 2006 20:00:28 GMT -5
"The last two flowers you mentioned, are they rare or as common as the Honeylion Hydrangea?" she asked.
She paused and tilted her head in thought. "Professor, what other uses do the flowers have? Besides acting as perfume? Could any be used to help heal injuries?" She had already started plotting potions out to give to that young seer, something had to be able to help her heal much more quickly.
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Post by Palladium on May 25, 2006 20:17:03 GMT -5
Tapping his chin in thought, Palladium finally replied, "Both the Peach Morning Glory and the White Poppy are more rare than the Honeylion Hydrangea - but they, unlike the Honeylion, have other purposes than just smelling nice. I know for a fact that the petals of the Peach Morning Glory, when brewed with water and a bit of salt, makes a wonderful tea that will cure head colds wonderfully. As for the White Poppy, it can be used in a poultice that can be applied to burns; additionally, its seeds can be eaten and it is said, though not proven, that they can cure virtually any malady."
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Post by Demeter on May 25, 2006 20:19:32 GMT -5
Flora jotted that down in her notebook. Hm... the seeds would cost a small fortune but... No, verify it with the professor first. "Is there any potion with natural ingredients that could help someone who was badly injured internally?" she asked, broaching a delicate subject that she knew only the Winx girls knew fully.
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Post by Layla on May 26, 2006 20:30:04 GMT -5
Immediately knowing that Flora was referring to Christine, Layla sucked in her breath as she glanced over at Professor Palladium, hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't answer in the negative. Even though she wouldn't exactly call herself Christine's friend, she didn't know her well enough for that, Layla didn't think any girl deserved to face the prospect of losing any possibility of ever having children. It just seemed too unfair, not to mention traumatic.
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Post by Palladium on May 26, 2006 20:37:50 GMT -5
Flora jotted that down in her notebook. Hm... the seeds would cost a small fortune but... No, verify it with the professor first. "Is there any potion with natural ingredients that could help someone who was badly injured internally?" she asked, broaching a delicate subject that she knew only the Winx girls knew fully. Palladium frowned as he replied, "I am sure there are many potions that can assist with healing internal injuries; however, I am afraid I cannot be more specific than that because it truly depends on what kind of injury it is as well as the severity of it." Furrowing his brow, Palladium questioned concernedly, "Why do you ask?" |
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