[Viridian] Ol' Lads and Ol' Tales

[Declan O'Dwyer]

Of course, Eoghan's mother was out on the front lines. Declan wasn't sure how he could have forgotten about that. He'd definitely known about Vea MacLiuthar working for magical law enforcement. No wonder his friend was in a strange mood. Being an auror wasn't a safe job at the best of times but having to step into escalating political conflict was worse. And it definitely wasn't safe. Declan heard more than he cared to know about the pureblood view on these protests. Further escalation seemed inevitable. People were whispering the word war, though nobody had said it out loud yet. Still, the writing on the wall was clear.

"You're right to worry," Declan confirmed while wishing he had something nicer to say. "And I reckon things will get a whole lot worse before they get any better." He sighed. Talking politics could be hard and he actually wasn't sure where Eoghan really stood on anything. His friend had never been one to join him and the rest of his friends for their debates on everything and anything. Maybe, that was because he genuinely hadn't been interested, or maybe that was being a lot of his friends were pureblooded and sometimes espoused strange views?

"But the ministry trains their staff well. I am sure your mother has all the resources she could need at her disposal." At least for now, this seemed to be true. As far as Declan knew the ministry had withstood various lobbyist attempts to influence their political and economic policies in a way that would ultimately benefit the pureblood cause. There was hope that things wouldn't change easily.  For now, minister Eugenia Jenkins enjoyed the support of the general public. Displacing her would be a difficult goal to achieve for the Dark Lord and his followers.

Declan's attention snapped back to the matter of the fertiliser and he watched Eoghan apply it to the battered looking orchid specimen he had to hand. As usual, a soft flow emanated from the plant before a new bloom stem started to grow from the pot. Without a stake to guide it, it was shooting off into the wrong direction, growing downwards. It didn't take long though before nodes were developing. Then white, typical Phalaenopsis blossoms appeared.  Drop by drop the plant progressed along its lifecycle.

"Don't use too much," Declan advised. "It's possible to push a plant past bloom and into withering again. It just steps it up along its natural trajectory."

[Eoghan MacLiuthar]

Declan's confirmation made Eoghan feel a bit nervous about his mother's fate. He knew that he'd have to muster courage from within to address it, though. It seemed that liquid fate was on his side, as a small buzz began lifting his apprehension. He felt brave. "Yeah, I do fear it. There's no way we can predict what will happen." The statement was solid, his shoulders opened up and his facial features began to relax.

He began realizing that his mindset was beginning to change. It felt as though he was not synched with time any longer. The orcid grew incredibly slow, but he couldn't pull himself to look away. He, himself, felt as though he was moving quickly. The internal disruption in time confused him. Though the internal experience of time changed, he didn't move quicker in the world. He watched as the new bloom stem started to grow, and it began moving into the wrong direction. Eoghan reached out his hand and put it under the orcid as it grew downwards.

The lifecycle continued. "Interesting. I could see how you could use this to increase plant production." A half smile crept on his face, turning into a larger grin. The buzz along with the time disruption made the world more captivating. It engaged Eoghan in the mundane and his appreciation grew. "It's good you gave me a warning, seems the orchid were going to go if I let anymore drip".

From the times he'd used the honey, he found it would distort one individual's senses. The last time he had tried it, it changed the way sound seemed to work. He could hear minute details of the music he'd listened to and it made the notes of the music come alive.

((It will get longer again, I'm really tired X_X but i wanted to put a reply in))

[Declan O'Dwyer]

Suddenly, he wasn't feeling all that well. His chest felt tight, and Declan's left eye was suddenly becoming a bit painful. Oh Merlin, what had he gotten himself into by agreeing to try this honey. He leaned onto the counter of his potions workstation for support and took a few, slow breath, hoping Eoghan wouldn't notice he was having a bit of a reaction. It would be embarrassing to admit to.

For a while, Declan zoned out completely, not really aware of what happening around him. Colours seemed unnaturally bright and more vibrant than usual. It felt mildly disconcerting. It made everything loud and flashy, and the feeling of loosing control unsettled him.

"It's still early days," he said in response to his friend's commentary, trying to mentally hold onto the subject of the fertilising potion. The familiarity of it felt grounding when everything around him bloomed into coloured shapes and fractal patterns. "I am not ready to produce the kind of quantities one would need to handle an entire crop. But there are many great smaller scale applications. You can keep this one to try out in your greenhouses."

He needed to sit down. It was becoming non-negotiable now. Declan carefully made his way over to the far side of the room where there was a sofa and armchairs. He closed his eyes for a moment to test if the colourful shapes would go away. They didn't.

It was a strange thing: he knew of lots of wizards and witches that would pay good money for the experience he was having, but Declan couldn't say that he liked it. The word he would have chosen was disturbing.  

"How long to the effects of the honey usually last?" he asked nervously.

[Eoghan MacLiuthar]

Eoghan missed the social cues from Declan that indicated distress. He tried to focus on the intention of Declan's words he was producing and heard a slight wavering in his voice. The words came at him slowly, but the message was clear. "Yes, yes, that is fine," he smiled. "It's okay. It might work well with producing enough of the rhododendron for that...Ó Dálaigh fellow". He held the thought in his mind, attempting to put together his thoughts. The words produced in his mind were clashing and falling into one another.

Soon, enough, he recognized the patterns of distress and noticed that Declan was trying to hold himself up. He then watched Declan move slowly, steadying himself against the wall, as he made it to the couch. Maybe this wasn't a good idea... he thought to himself as he watched Declan make it to the sofa. Eoghan leaned against the table with the orchid. "Sorry, Declan. I forgot about how potent the honey could be." He snickered, and began laughing. The irony of the situation!

He made brief eye contact with Declan. "Hell, sorry about this." His head fell and his hands held the back of his head. The curly hair peaking out from his outspread fingers. "It takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours for it to wear off." 
Eoghan thought the honey would give him relief from his worries, but he thoughts wandered back to his mother and the ministries involvement with the squibs march. He'd heard a squib passed in the last march from the chaos, and it caused an uproar amongst individuals aligned to the Muggle cause. He believed he heard Professor Dumbledore was beginning to seek out individuals for a secret society. It wasn't clear to Eoghan what side Declan fell. He guessed it was difficult for his friend to make a decision about where he fell.

It took him a moment before he made the conscious decision not to speak the more common english dialect. He began speaking Gaelic, because he knew Declan could follow. "I'll be earnest here. The rumors about some pureblood bloke are growing and I don't feel safe speaking in English about him." He found himself frowning before taking out a potion from his satchel that would lessen the impact of the honey. It wouldn't relieve all of the symptoms of it. He switched back to english as he stood up and walked towards Declan, "Take this. It will help."

"I'm worried, Declan. I came because I wanted to ask you for a favor. I wanted to know if you could keep a secret and help a lad out." He mixed a few english words in, but the gist of his statement came out the way he intended. 

[Declan O'Dwyer]

The colourful pattern before his eyes were eerie and distracting. For a moment, Declan thought he saw something that rather resembled an arithmancy chart he'd seen. A being of magical construction, rather than a natural life form. The pattern flickering in and out of focus and just a moment later it was gone. He felt queasy. Maybe he should have taken one of the cauldrons over to the sofa with him. Just in case.

He took a deep breath. He would overcome the sensation. And just as he was getting worried Eoghan reassured him that the trip would be of short duration. At least, there was that.

Declan couldn't help an awkward laugh. "I didn't anticipate it would have such an effect on me or I might have gone a little easier on the dosage." He still felt awkward that he couldn't hold his liquor, or maybe honey as was the case here. He felt like he'd have done better with this a couple of years back before his life had started to consist of mainly work, work and occasionally also work.

He gave a grateful look as Eoghan presented him with some kind of anti-venin. Normally, he'd have studied to produce of another brewer before imbibing, but relief from his nausea was his number on priority. He took a swig and waited for the symptoms to ease.

The conversation then took a turn for the surreal. Eoghan was switching in Scottish and Declan was struggling to keep us. Some words he could pick out relatively easily, othered he might have puzzled out in a less compromised state but as was he struggled.

"Aodh ár sábháil!" he cursed by the name of his ancestor trying to make sense of what Eoghan had said. Was he speaking about who he thought he was? If that was the case, Eoghan wasn't wrong in that things were getting extremely dangerous out there. Keep a secret? Help out a friend? Declan shrugged.

"An bhfuil tú in ann labhairt níos moille?" And just as he was making his request for Eoghan to slow down he did the same. He figured if he was struggling with Eoghan's Scottish accent, he ought to be struggling Declan's Leinster one for sure.

"What do you need my help with?" he asked and as the world started to feel a little steadier under his feet he thought he would manage to wrap his mind around the answer this time.

[Eoghan MacLiuthar]

"Yeah, I should have warned you. It was an oversight on my part." Though he responded in English, the accent was distinct. It seemed that switching between the languages made him forget the twinge of London posh he carried with him when he came out to the city.

It wasn't until Declan made the remark that Eoghan realized he was speaking too quickly. Distorted time made it difficult for him to gauge the speed of his vocalizations against his. Frankly, he didn't need Declan to slow down because the words seem to linger in his mind, forever. He was beginning to feel queer, his mind emphasizing and de-emphasizing the words he heard. He imagined the words as seeds, placed gently in the ground to bloom. Eoghan also found that as he heard Declan speak, though the dialect was different, it was a comforting sound.

Eoghan held his breath for a moment and focused on slowing his beating heart. He knew that he needed to help, to do something courageous for once. Eoghan spent his life hiding behind his mom, his sister and avoided all conflict. It caused so much cognitive dissonance within himself as he attempted to visualize himself as a hero. But he knew. He knew he had to act and do something for others like him.

He furrowed his brows. "I've been working on a project." The words he produced were slowed. It felt like an eternity. "And I need to keep it hidden. Do you know of any charms that can help me keep a secret?" Eoghan deeply signed. "I want to help." Hed practiced the phrases in front of a mirror before they met. He walked back to the table to grab his drink and he chugged the rest of it down. 

His movements felt fluid, but it was apparent Eoghan was under the influence. He swayed, as he tried to make the 90 degree turn to face Declan. His cheeks were rosy. The lad slightly stumbled back into the table, pushing it slightly. "I think I had too much." He frowned. "I'll have to try this again when I'm not so" he hiccups, "drunk!" His words were a mix between his native English and the language of his home.

The question became...

Could he be brave and stand up to his anxiety? The question burned in his mind, he felt inadequate. Why did he decide to do this now? "I want to forget, today." He slurred his words, in gaelic. He knew what war could do to the mind, he wondered why he was volunteering himself to the same fate as his father. Remember, you left the city so you wouldn't have to do this. Left the city to get away from the politics. Why are you doing this to yourself. Why are you involving Declan in this mess. Whats your problem Eoghan. Why do you want to be your father. Look at how messed up he is. You want to be messed up. You will never do this. You'll fail. His inner dialogue helped no one.

[Declan O'Dwyer]

This was awkward. Declan wasn't sure anymore if it was just the honey affecting him or if Eoghan was being really, really weird. He wasn't sure what his friend was trying to get at and part of him wished he would just come out with it and say it already. However, it was easy to see that Eoghan was struggling to talk about it and even the little he had explained had been exceedingly difficult for him. Just what in the name of Merlin had Eoghan gotten himself into.

"Keep what secret?"

And from whom? Well, he supposed that the whom were probably the Dark Lord and his cronies, but he struggled to think what Eoghan could be involved in that would be of any importance to them. Was this Eoghan's way of asking if he could cast a Fidelius charm? That was a big and dangerous thing to ask for. And why chose him? He was quite good at charms, but this was not a spell he'd had a reason to try before. Soul magic was hard and complicated.

Eoghan seemed to be not feeling all that well anymore either.

"Why don't you sit down for a moment and let this wear off."

Declan got up from where he was sitting to walk over to his friend. He still felt somewhat unsteady on his legs, but the antidote he'd been given was helping a great deal. Declan wondered briefly what Eoghans original plan had been. Get them both high before asking the serious questions? That didn't seem safe. If they attempted complicated spells in this state it could only end badly.

Once he had Eoghan situated on the sofa he took a deep breath.

"I am happy to help you with whatever it is you need. But I need to understand what needs protecting. Why do you think it's in danger?"

All he could keep thinking was that this entire situation was terrible wrong. Something bad had to have happened to bring about this strange conversation. And Eoghan looked like he was viscerally uncomfortable. Declan wasn't sure if he should expect tears or a temper tantrum or something else, but it was obvious that his friend was approaching some form of internal breaking point.