[thd] muddy waters [nerys]

There was a loud groan followed by a very sudden and deep thwacking sound. Varvara Stepanovna was up and out of her desk chair in one fluid motion, wand in hand, robes sweeping behind her as she left to investigate the commotion. The other offices slash labs of the other potions-oriented healers weren’t far from her own, and it was rather simple to find the one she was looking for. Underneath the door frame was seeping a rather foul looking purple-ish brown liquid. She took a step back, careful to not get any of the filth on her new pair of boots, and used her wand to open the door.

Her suspicions were confirmed immediately: a half exploded cauldron, more potion everywhere, and one @Nerys Blevins was looking just the slightest bit less put-together than normal. “Everything alright?” Varya asked, a small smile on her lips, once she had determined that Healer Blevins wasn’t in any sort of immediate danger. Her wand was still out and she started working on the mess closest to the door first, bringing it all back into the room. “Did you want to try to salvage this?”

She wasn’t completely sure what Nerys had been working on, but there was always the possibility that it could be saved. Either way, the rule on the floor was ‘make a mess, buy Zakharova a drink’ so one way or the other she was getting something out of this.

Even the best potioneers made mistakes sometimes, and Nerys knew it, but she couldn't help feeling the whole thing would have been easier to handle emotionally if she had her own lab. There were benefits to shared spaces too, of course, namely the fact that if you melted your cauldron and were working on something dangerous, there were others around to discover and potentially save you. It wasn't a safe career, though those were few-and-far-between in the magical world, anyway. It had been months since Nerys had made a mistake this big, though.

She had been trying to improve her latest version of a particularly-complicated antivenom solution when the whole project had gone under and she had found the table suddenly covered in purple potion. She should have known better than to increase the amount of hippogriff talon powder without first diluting the solution, but her mind had been a bit all over the place lately. Fortunately, she was able to move out of the way of the potion and up onto a chair before the stuff got all over her. Nerys had just whipped out her wand to start vanishing the ruined product when Varya came in.

"I'm so sorry, Varya," she said at once, getting straight to the apology rather than answering the clearly-rhetorical question. Things were far from alright. "There's no need," she added as Varya began trying to recollect the spreading liquid. With a wave of her wand, the mess vanished. At least she could still say she was competent in household spells. "I guess this is a sign I should be done working." It was well after 6pm when her shift had ended, but Nerys was determined to keep focused on her potions work, especially on nights when her son wasn't at home. Besides, Nerys knew full-well that her supervisor was probably expecting the traditional repentant repayment after such a disaster.

“I would think so,” she agreed about the sign to be done working. She certainly would be using this a sign to quit, anyway, and as she was the one who made the schedules for her floor, she was fairly certain that Nerys was a couple hours past the end of her shift already. Varya understood the necessities of research of course, but as she did have her own lab no one was really a witness to how much time she was spending doing things herself. Thank goodness for that face-cream potion that whisked those under-eye circles away.

Varya nodded curtly, though she smiled a bit. “A drink, then?” It wasn’t the first time they had done this, but Varya had had a particularly trying day and would probably be staying after the compulsory ‘one’ that Nerys know owed her. “I know just the place.” Apparating was easy as it was just a few blocks away, and Varya didn’t warn her ahead of time that it was a goblin-run establishment. That usually seemed to turn people off of the place. But Varya? She was drawn to it all the more, as they had her preferred brand of vodka.

She had been quite the frequent customer in the short six months that she had lived in London once again, but it was enough to be recognized and poured a short glass of her vodka, neat, without having to put in a request. “Thank you,” she said more to Nerys than to the bartender, smiling before taking a large sip of her drink.

Nerys packed her things up quickly, ready to leave the scene of the crime. Even if she hadn't been exhausted, there was no way she was going to be able to be productive after such a dramatic and foolish potioneering mistake. She needed a reset. When everything was put back in its proper place, Nerys stepped over to Varya and vanished alongside her, emerging in a rather small and extremely dark bar. The ceilings were low and everything seemed a bit on the small side. Nerys was about to ask where Varya had took her when she spotted a goblin working behind the counter. Well, that explained the low tables and chairs.

It wasn't her style at all, but Nerys wasn't in the position to choose. Not only was she out with her boss, they were out because Nerys had made a mess of the lab and disturbed Varya. This outing was not for her benefit. She half-wondered whether Varya had intentionally chosen it to make her uncomfortable, but it was also possible the woman genuinely liked this sort of thing. She had certainly been mysterious in the past.

Nerys ordered a white wine, but was told they didn't have anything of the sort. Magical and hard liquors only was the policy. With a sigh, Nerys requested instead a gin and tonic, hoping the stuff wouldn't be mixed with some odd goblin potion to give it unusual effects. Nerys drank when Varya did, leaning against the bar casually since the chairs out in the open area looked too low to really be comfortable. At least she wasn't so tall that it was difficult to stand; for once, being short seemed to be an advantage.

Although she had only taken a few sips, she was already feeling a bit light-headed. Perhaps it was the strain of the day, or the particular goblin brew, but she felt already much more relaxed than she normally did. "Is this stuff goblin-made?" she asked, wondering whether Varya had known the strange effect the drinks might have.

“The tonic? Oh yes, it’s a point of pride for them I believe.” And it always seemed to have some sort of equally embarrassing effect on whoever drank it. She peered down at the other woman as she drank and followed suit with her own drink, finishing the glass in a few swift swallows. Once Nerys had a healthy amount of her own, Varya hit the countertop of the bar a few quick times with an open palm. “You are almost done,” she said with a very serious nod. “You can ask Healer Jones if you think I am trying to trick you by telling you to hop up here and apologize for making a mess.”

She shrugged as she waved her glass the slightest bit for a refill. She downed that in one go before turning to lean fully on the counter, using her arms to lift herself up into a sitting position. The goblin bar was at the perfect height for that, and she extended her hand to help her employee do the same, as she was a considerable bit smaller than she was. “Up, up, we haven’t got all day, I’m sure there’s more cauldrons you need to be exploding.”

There was soft music coming from somewhere, and Varya wiggled her shoulders the slightest bit in time to the beat. It was a common courtesy to stand there for their first time, and she could certainly confirm with Healer Jones that the second, third, and fourth times they made a mess were much worse. Jones’ next time would certainly involve some sort of costume as well, she thought, maybe maracas and a hat, but she wasn’t really that picky.

Nerys nodded before taking another drink, finishing the glass off in one go. The woody flavor wasn't her favorite, but the cocktail was simple and had been the first one to pop into her mind. Nerys really wasn't much of a drinker, partly because she hardly had time and partly because she was not a fan of embarrassing herself. It seemed Varya wasn't concerned with either fact, though. Nerys stared at her in disbelief. She couldn't be serious? The deal was a drink for the mess; she hadn't been aware there was some kind of incremental system involved. "I'm really sorry," she repeated, though she knew in her heart that wasn't going to make much of a difference now. Varya ordered a second drink without agreeing to the deal, and in a moment of panic Nerys asked for a second. She knocked the beverage back in three long drinks, shivering slightly at the tingling-floaty feeling the goblin liquor was sending up and down her arms.

"I don't deserve this," she told the other healer. She placed both hands on the countertop and heaved herself up, landing gently on her rear end on the counter. Nerys swung her legs around, grabbed on to a post for support, and stood. This was possibly the most ridiculous thing she had ever done, but there was something in the drink that made her just brave enough to do it. Besides, her job was on the line. A couple patrons whooped and Nerys shut her eyes, determind to get it over with quickly as possible. She began to swing her hips back and forth to the music, getting into the groove of it as best she could. It turned out not to be as hard as she would have imagined, and Nerys opened her eyes to look down at Varya. "Are you going to join me, or what?" Without waiting for an answer, Nerys grabbed the woman's hand and helped her up, feeling that if she was going to do something, she might as well do a good job of it.

Varya arched a thin eyebrow at the younger woman, but she joined her on the bartop without any protests. It was the least she could do not fully embarrass her employee on the very first go; there would be plenty of time for that later when she faltered a second time. She wasn’t as enthusiastic about the dancing as Nerys was, clearly handling her liquor a bit more gracefully, but she was certainly participating. Her hips swayed gently from side to side, but she hadn’t had quite the amount of vodka she needed to get any more into it.

Much like the goblins themselves, their music was also rather short. The song ended quickly and Varya hopped gracefully off the bar, her hand wasting no time in finding her abandoned glass of vodka and reacquainting it with her lips. As she took a sip, she glanced down at the thin gold watch on her wrist before setting her glass down with a final thud. “I have to be getting back to the hospital. Thank you for the drink.” She smiled, patting her lips with her middle finger and shooing away a stray drop of vodka.

She didn’t delay her exit any longer, dipping her head down as she left through the slightly shorter door back into the alley and apparating swiftly back to St. Mungo’s.

[[out]]

The song was over fairly quickly, and Nerys looked down in surprise when Varya hopped gracefully off the counter at once. She was feeling light and airy, and try as she might to worry, it seemed the drink wouldn't permit it. Though she had never been much of a drinker, it was hard in this moment to remember why; the complete lack of weight was such a welcome change that she couldn't help feeling that keeping a bottle of the stuff around for 'emergencies' might not be the worst idea.

Nerys had hardly gotten off the counter when Varya was out the door, and Nerys stared after her, a little dazed. She was tempted for a moment to stay, but the thought of sitting alone at a bar drinking while surrounded by goblins was hard to justify, even in her addled state. Nerys dropped a few coins on the counter and followed the other woman out, but she had already gone. Feeling that it was probably best to wait a bit before operating back to her apartment for the night, Nerys turned randomly, hands in pockets, feeling she might as well enjoy the summer evening in London before getting back to home and reality.

[end]