The Peculiar Alchemist

81 || Disconcerting

The night was surprisingly peaceful and uneventful, there was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary except for the fact that nothing out of the ordinary happened yet. Maybe it was a cause of worry since this was Agnes' cottage they were in, but there was something a little bit more concerning than that.

It was hard to believe that anything was wrong on a quiet night like this, but Kellen didn't know if the cold he felt was from dread or the chill of the night. So many things were wrong.

Not even sitting by the fireplace made him feel better and he distractedly kept lighting the fire inside before putting it off only to light it up again. Something was cathartic about it, especially when it mildly annoyed Aubrey who was busy doing what he usually does whenever he's there. He had a stack of books in his hands but he was also browsing for more and Kellen didn't understand how one book wasn't enough.

Then again, this wasn't what he should be focusing on.

He sat up straighter when Aubrey turned around to look at him and he realized he might have been a bit too engrossed in his thoughts to realize he might have overdid it with being an annoyance in general. The fire thing was a bad habit.

"Before you say anything, yes. I know. That was annoying." Kellen said, dropping his hand in his lap while Aubrey silently raised an eyebrow at him. Kellen decided to keep the fire lit because it was honestly a cold night. "Just carry on with whatever you're plotting, I'll stop."

That raised eyebrow arched as Aubrey looked at him amusedly. "Plotting?"

"Don't pretend you're not planning something. Knowing you, it's most likely sadistic and sinister."

"I was wondering why you were staring holes into my back." He walked over to Kellen and placed his stack of books right beside him since they were getting heavy. If only he could do what he saw Val and Agnes do and make them float and follow him. Life would be much easier. "I'm not plotting anything."

Kellen eyed him suspiciously as he went back to browsing more books. "Do you promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

"Okay, you're lying. What are you planning?"

Aubrey didn't turn back to face him when he spoke. "Your ability to detect when I'm lying is amazing."

"Your nose twitches when you lie." It was amusing to see Aubrey place a hand on his nose when he said that, but it wasn't exactly a lie. It even twitches whenever he's annoyed. "You'd still be a horrible liar though."

"Comparing me against you is totally unfair." Aubrey grumbled, still not able to let go of the fact that his nose was giving him away. It was one other thing to be conscious about and he was not very excited about it.

Meanwhile Kellen picked up one of the books Aubrey had chosen to study and since this is Agnes' little library, everything there was about Alchemy. However, his suspicions only worsened when he saw the topic that was chosen.

He was still looking at the book in concern when he spoke. "Be honest with me, are you trying to kill me?"

"Aren't I always, Kel." Aubrey snorted not really knowing why Kellen was asking that. Even if he died, he'd just come back which made Aubrey assume a few things when he turned his head to look at Kellen only to see him read one of the books he had placed earlier there with a sour face. "Just so you know, I'm not going to stop making painful poisons."

That sour look didn't go away. "I still don't like this."

With a sigh, Aubrey left the bookshelf and closed the book in Kellen's hand before placing it back on the stack. This was getting a little bit too distracting for him, he couldn't focus with Kellen like that. "You're actually being quite annoying right now."