Fragments - A Cookie Run Fanfiction

Chapter Forty: Beryl

// Blow on it till it's cool, just cool, into the mouth- schhhummptk- n o i c e. //

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The gray skinned man had been turning the knob on his door for a minute or two, now. He seemed a little frustrated with himself for not being able to open it right the first time, but eventually, Gingerbrave was brought into Licorice's room. The room looked nice, despite the lack of colors. It was well put together. It even looked like there was traces of the dark-magic weilder having more hobbies than just standing around a couldron all the time.

"Sit down over there. You can ask questions, but only ask them if I am NOT measuring something, got it?" the man slightly demanded over to the child, who went and sat on a grayish-purple beanbag chair.

Because he was less lanky than Licorice was, Gingerbrave leans back in the chair, just to someone be eaten by the resting seat. He flopped his legs around a little bit, before crawling his way back out, and looking to the man of whom he had followed.

Re-processing the question, he nodded to Licorice, before sitting up, and putting his hands under his bum, as a means to keep himself from being tempted to touch anything that he saw nearby.

He had to admit, there were a lot of cool objects in the room, though he needed to respect that this was someone else's space. He had no right to just go and touch something that wasn't a seat of some kind.

Noting the child being comfortable, and sitting down away from the cauldron set-up, Licorice nodded, before walking over to a large closet, and pulling out several items. Many of the things he had were from questionable looking plants, condensed minerals, candies, and some dried-out animals such as frog legs and a couple insects.

Not sure if he should talk or not, Gingerbrave continued to stare at them. He tilted his head, a few questions running through his mind, for sure. However, he kept them to himself.

Licorice, though he was a little bit zealous, and a bit awkward, did take notice of the itnerest in the objects that he had put down near the cauldron he was using. So, after he finished putting a couple pinches of a ground-up mineral into the liquid of the large pot- he stirred it and waits for it to turn color, before setting the object he was using to stir the cauldron with down.

"By the expression on your face, I would assume you are interested in what I have over here." the man gestured his head toward the pot, before pulling down the sleeves of his cloak.

Gingerbrave felt himself get a bit embarrassed, from being that easy to read. Though, knowing he was caught, he nodded to Licorice, before looking the man in his eyes.

There was silence between the two, before the black haired child-sitter nodded back. He went over, and scooped up a few of the jars, before walking over to Gingerbrave. Being careful, the man kneeled in front of the borderline enemy, before presenting one of the jars he had.

Inside, there was a fine powder. Not quite the grainular structure of powdered sugar, or flour- but it was certainly close. The powder itself was a red color, in hue.

((OMG GLOWSTONE THAT U? /j))

"This right here, is fine-ground and treated Red Beryl." he opened it, before pulling an almost comically small spoon out of his pocket, and scooping a modest amount out of the jar. "Don't touch it with your fingers, it may taint the powder- but this is what it looks like up close." he brought the red powder over to the child.

Gingerbrave brought his shirt over his nose, so he could avoid breathing too hard, and sending the beryl flying off anywhere. He nodded, though, so the wizard knew he was paying attention.

A few seconds of close observation, and the Red-Hued Beryl powder was gently put back into the cork-capped jar. Another thing Gingerbrave took notice of- was the fact that Licorice used a napkin to clean the small spoon off.

"A..." Gingerbrave was starting to speak, but he stopped, thinking maybe he would be annoying, if he started to ask too many questions. He looked away, and fell silent, before hearing the black haired man look over to him.

"Go on. I'm listening."

'Might as well talk now. If you say nevermind, that will be even more of a waste of his time. I shouldn't have opened my mouth-' Gingerbrave scolded himself for a couple seconds, before nodding and sitting back up in the beanbag chair he had chosen. "Yeah... I was going to ask if the reason you were cleaning the spoon off was because you were trying to avoid contaminating other stuff that you were using..."

Licorice seemed a little bit surprised, but he just let out the smallest laugh, before setting the jar of powdered beryl down on the small counter-like space he set up next to the cauldron.

"Yes, actually. You're pretty smart, kid." the black haired man admitted, before dusting off his cloak. "Cross contamination for things in a cauldron work area can lead to a lot of problems. Sometimes even deadly ones, if you are not careful." the gray skinned male admitted. "Everything is a matter of precision, patience, and endless attempts at trying. You can never start working with such tools, unless you have had good training beforehand."

For a moment, Gingerbrave had forgotten his negative thoughts. He was more invested in what Licorice had to say. He leans his head forward, before putting his chin into his palms and resting his elbows on his legs, which were criss-crossed at the moment.

They were starting to tingle again, because of how little they were mobile, in comparison to being in the cell earlier- but that was okay.

The child continued to listen to Licorice speaking, fully invested in what the dark-magic wielding wizard had to say. He was happy, it seemed- talking about his passion. Despite them being associated with the dark arts, there was a lot of care that seeemed to be put into the proceedure. A lot of thought, and precision.

Something he didn't see with quite a few of the cauldron-magic users in the kingdom. In fact, some of them were quite careless, sometimes...

As for Licorice... he was... happy? Excited?

He had a small blush on his face from smiling so much. He noticed he had become more animated while talking to the guest he had welcomed into his chambers. Unlike most anyone else he had met, Gingerbrave was invested in what he had to say. He was listening, and seemed to share some thoughts about the process.

It was a first, honestly.

Licorice wasn't going to complain, but Poison Mushroom wasn't really interested in watching him, whenever they were in the room. They listened, sure, but there was no actual interest in what the magic enthusiast was talking about.

It felt nice, sharing thoughts with someone who was invested in what he had to say. Someone who wanted to learn, or hear about things.

It was like a breath of fresh air.

Calming himself down a bit, so he can get his smile back under control, the black haired man shook his head, before grabbing the Beryl again, and walking over to Gingerbrave. "Do you want to know what Beryl often Symbolizes?" he offered, before pulling the cork-topper back off of the small jar.

Without hesitation, Gingerbrave nodded, and looked down at the fine red powder again.

Licroice gently swished the jar around, and some of the powdered beryl moved around in messy clumps. Much of the powdered granules stuck to the side of the jar, leaving a small red misting over the otherwise clear glass.

"According to a gemstone encyclopedia I read, it is said that Beryl possesses the capability to keep demons away. It is also said to aide in producing happiness and marital love. Comically enough, it is also said to cure laziness, protect travelers from danger, and maintain youthfulness. Sometimes, it can also be used to help aid in curing ailments, or diseases associated with the spine, the heart, and the eyes."

Licorice continued to ramble on about his fine collection of powders, herbs, plants, and minerals.

Gingerbrave listened to it all. He didn't forget a single thing.

He too, was smiling uncontrollably- happy to see the otherwise somewhat nervous and slightly angry man enjoying hismelf- happy to talk about his passion and share his knowledge on the subject.

(To Be Continued)