+Potions+ [Class]

Alchemy Lab:
This is the classroom where the students will work on combining ingredients to make potions under the tutelage of Jarus Gal'sen

"Well, not yet," Jarus answered, closing the door behind them and walking over to his desk. "This will be my first year here. But I will be once classes start up." He squatted down behind the desk for a moment, then came up with a hefty backpack and three pans. After setting them on the desk, he gestured with a hand, eyes still on her, and three sparkers emerged from a cupboard across the classroom, moving to hover above three Bunsen burners. All three clicked, creating sparks that lit the burners, then floated back into their cupboard. He reached into the backpack and pulled out a container of pre-cooked rice, some carrots, peas, some small strips of chicken, and four eggs, followed by a small container of olive oil and salt and pepper shakers. Two of the pans flew over to the burners to heat up, but his eyes never left her. "What about you? What will you be teaching? A demolitions class?" he asked with a wry smile.

"Holy guacamole." Mai's voice was filled with awe; he did all of this with such grace- grace that she lacked. Of course, she was not going to comment on how he managed to keep eggs in a backpack without them getting squished. There was probably some scientific logic about it that was beyond her. She stared at the pans with awe, barely even conscious of the fact that Jarus did not look away from her. His telekinesis was very interesting to her- well, most powers were interesting to her. After all, her gift was not really a physical one at all. "Well I do teach a little bit of demolitions in my class." Mai replied in all seriousness, "But I teach non-magical combat. Basic hand-to-hand combat, weapons... Of course there are basic healing techniques without magic to be taught there, as well. It's not limited directly to combat, but everything is related- but no magic. What if there was a time when your powers simply.. Stopped working? How would you manage if you did not learn how to live without magic?"

"Well," Jarus replied as olive oil dribbled into the two pans, followed by chicken into one and rice into the other, "I don't consider my abilities to be magically related. Magic, at least in how I've experienced, draws from the forces of nature, the elements, as well as one's spirit. I pull my powers from merely inside myself, which is why it has taken me so many years to gain the kind of control and focus that I have." A wooden spoon rose from a side pocket of the backpack and began to stir the rice, while a pair of tongs moved to flip the chicken over. "But to answer your question, if I suddenly, for some reason, lost my powers, life would be inconvenient, but by no means unbearable. I usually practice Alchemy without the aid of my telekinesis; mostly because of tradition, but also because part of one's focus and attachment goes in to making a good potion." The pan with the chicken floated over to the rice and dumped its contents in, as the carrots rose and suddenly split into diced pieces, dropping in amidst the rice and chicken. "I assume your question was defense-oriented, though. I am not without combat knowledge." He gestured with his head to the corner of his desk, upon which rested Ujere, his bladeless sword. "I spent a year surviving the wastes of Grinala, and I would not survived had I not learned how to defend myself against raiders and bandits."

Her face paled- but her behavior and body language remained exactly the same. Mai looked at Jarus as he spoke, nodding at appropriate times. She remained silent for a few moments, deep in thought. "What kind of sword is that?" Mai asked quietly, curiosity written all over her face. "And what fighting style do you favor, or do you have your own?" She paused, "Hn, just answer the first one- I want to figure out the second one myself. Simply speaking and explaining to me verbally does not cut it." She stretched her arms, shoulders popping. "It looks bladeless.." She murmured, though to herself more than anybody else.

"What was Grinala like, in general?" It was then that the young teacher realized just how many questions she was throwing, "Oh jeez, I haven't even given you time to respond. I'm sorry." She shook her head. "I just have a natural curiosity."

"I don't mind. Telling you about Grinala will actually help explain my sword, Ujere." He leaned against the desk for a moment, just letting the food heat over the burner. "It's mostly desert, with sporadic oases, and bordered on one edge by a treacherous mountain pass that is populated by the High Elves, who are known for their exceptional combination of martial arts and magic. I crossed the desert, avoiding what nomads I could, using my powers to defend myself from brigands. It took me almost a month. When I reached them they would not let me enter their monastery, not until I had waited two days and a night standing alone in the pass. Thank the Mother that I have the gifts I do, else I would have been easy pickings for a group of brigands. It was when they saw the brigands being defeated even as I stood still that they let me enter. I trained with them for ten months, and when that time was up the presented me with Ujere. It is a bladeless sword, for that is how they fight. 'Incapacitate your opponent, and there is no need to kill him.' That was one of my first lessons. Their style is called 'Saast Pi yao Chen', which means 'Way of the Unbleeding Wound'. They specially make these swords, weaving protection and strength enchantments into them as they are forged, making them not only unbreakable, but also unable to be sharpened, so that they may forever protect their bearer without being able to shed blood." He paused for a moment, cracking the eggs open into the third pan over the third burner and tossing the rice a little before continuing. "I did all this for one reason: in the wastes of Grinala there is a rare herb called the Fortarus Plant. It's supposed to be able to help the body of any sick person recover, and it can even grant temporary boosts to a fully healthy person, if made into the right concoction. But the Grinalan Nomads guard what plants they can find very jealously, so I was going to need to know how to fight without killing them in order to get my hands on some." He heaved a sigh, flipping the eggs before adding them to the rice, which was stirred around by the spoon once more, then smiled as the plan floated back to him. "More than you asked, I know, but it feels nice to be able to regale my adventures to someone."

The story seemed to mesmerize her- in her eyes, Jarus was an extraordinary storyteller. Though with his softly-spoken words, she knew that he did not talk often, and frankly she felt honored to be holding such an interesting conversation with him. "Wow." Mai murmured under her breath. His unwillingness to shed blood intrigued her. Most people, if they wanted something enough, they were willing to take human lives in order to get it. This story showed her that he was a patient man; one who found a way to get through obstacles instead of getting frustrated and simply giving up. She leaned against a counter, crossing her arms casually over her chest.

"I like hearing stories, you know. And you are a gifted storyteller." She raised an eyebrow, "But I'm curious- is there any particular reason why you wanted the Fortarus plant?" Mai's voice softened a little bit, there were many reasons why people would want a plant that could not only aid in the recovery of a sick person, but enhance the body of a fully healthy person as well.

Salt and pepper dusted the top of the fried rice dish, but Jarus was looking down at his feet. "It's kind of a selfish reason. There were a good deal of other applicants for this position, and I needed something to make me stand apart. You see, the headmaster of this school, Mr. Nakamura, is not whole in body. He's not necessarily in danger of death yet, but he's not as young and able to fight of disease and infection as he used to be." He heaved a sigh as he set the pan on his desk and reached into the backpack for a couple plates, the Bunsen burners shutting off with an audible whuff. "So I thought that if I could get my hands on Fortarus plant, I could help ensure his recovery. And it worked. I got locked in for this position for at least two years."

"Yeah, that is selfish." She admitted, "But not completely so. You're helping somebody else- somebody who needs it." Mai brought her hand up to her face, tapping her chin with her thumb. "You went through all of that... Stuff in Grinala... Just for a job?" Her eyebrows furrowed together. "Why this job? Why so much work for simply a job at this school-" She stopped, though it was obvious she was not done talking. Her eyes glazed over, giving her a dazed, sleepy, daydreamer look. A myriad of images, scenes ran through her head- but they were all so fuzzy... So unclear. It literally caused a chill to go down Mai's spine. A scream and just... Disappearances. She snapped out of it quickly, eyes widening, hands shaking.

"Woah." She whispered under her breath, along with a few French phrases very inappropriate for a school setting. In English, it would simply be described as 'she had the mouth of a sailor'.

Jarus opened his mouth to answer, but froze when he saw Mai. She was stock still, staring out at nothing. Then she shivered, a motion which would normally have been appealing, but felt off somehow. Maybe because it was actually a fairly warm day. He set the plates down and quickly crossed to her. "Mai? You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm good." She sounded a little stunned, "Man, I hate when that happens." Mai let out a laugh, though she seemed a little uneasy. "I.. Err, well I guess you could call me a seer." She explained, "It's not limited to the future- which is of course, something that is very.... Changeable. But I can see the past and the present in a different area. But with this vision, well... It's really hard to tell." She murmured, "The past I see through items more, so it's most likely not that... But the present- it could be- and the future, if it is the future we might change it.." Mai shook her head, "I think there's something at this school- maybe it's a curse- I don't know- and the hallway was unfamiliar to me- but... Students are going to be disappearing, Jarus."

Jarus took everything she said in stride. But when she spoke of the students, his face went hard. He had known that he had felt a strange attraction to this school. Could it be that he was meant to be here to help the students? "Disappearing? What do you mean? Is there a kidnapper in the area or something?"

"I don't know- it was a little fuzzy. That's unusual- for it normally feels like I am right there- and it's usually vivid. It seems more like they're vanishing. Whatever it is, I don't think it's human. If it is human, it's somebody with extraordinary powers." Mai looked concerned, but then to ruin the complete seriousness of the moment, her stomach growled. She laughed nervously, face blushing due to embarrassment. "Wow, that was inappropriate for the situation, wasn't it?" She fiddled with her hair in an anxious manner, not really sure what to say. For once, she was speechless.

Worry crossed Jarus's face, quickly followed by anger. "If anyone tries to harm even one of these students, they'll have me to deal with." He didn't realize that he had spoken aloud until he saw the dark look on his face reflected in a beaker.
He stopped and let his face soften. Then he put a hand to her back, gesturing with the other for her to approach the desk. "Shall we, then? We can discuss this with the headmaster once we've had a chance to get some food in us.