K emptied the crushed leaves from the mill, dumping them into the bowl at his side. He looked at the sack of herbs he had to finish crushing and let out a long, sad sigh. Steeling his mind, he grabbed handfuls of herb, packed them into the mill, and continued crushing.
"You know, there's an easier way to do that."
K spun around to find a young woman lying comfortably across the table, idly checking her nails. The woman did not look a day over 30. Her hair was raven black with violet highlights. Her magenta nails, which seemed more interesting to her, were long and sharpened like claws.
He had seen similar nails before... Looking the woman over entirely, he confirmed his suspicion. The woman possessed a long, scaled tail, which danced lazily in the air.
"You're a dragon."
"Yes. You're Red's student." She said glancing sideways at him through half-open eyes.
K kept his wit about him and observed every detail in the environment. His wards and traps were still in place. The dragon didn't seem to be a threat to him.
"Yes."
"Obviously. You're using her inefficient and tedious methods."
"There are lessons important to nature and magic that can be learned this way."
"Yeah, sure. Regurgitate her excuse too."
K's brows furrowed. This dragon was rude and insulted his teacher. Before he could respond, the woman continued.
"Listen, elf boy, you're wasting the herbs. Your roller absorbs some of the oils and liquid from the herbs you crush in it. Then you waste days and energy refining your potions because bits of herbs float in them!"
The dragon woman jumped off the table and took the bag of herbs away from him. As she walked towards the fire, she snapped her fingers to start the fire. Her tail grabbed the biggest pot and set it over the fire. Next, she pulled a water skin from a pouch on her belt and filled the pot.
K watched in silence as she worked. She dumped the bag of herbs into the pot, then gently stirred them a few times. Then, waiting until the water had just started to boil, she removed the pot from the fire.
"We'll let this sit until tomorrow."
The next day, the woman added crystals and powder to the liquid and stirred it vigorously. An hour later, she bottled the liquid.
"Sample it."
K took the vial that the woman offered him. The turquoise liquid was rich in colour and scent. He carefully drank from the vial. The taste of the herbs and their effect was stronger.
"How?" He asked, bewildered.
"Yeah, tell me about those lessons you learned grinding the herbs away," the dragon mocked.
K remained silent as she continued.
"Soaking the leaves overnight allows them to release their oils. See the thin layer on top? You lose those oils when you crush them; they strengthen the potions. That's real magic!"
ns 15.158.61.46da2
