"Here it comes," Mallore said a little nervously, bringing over a glass of what looked like (and partially smelled like)
juiced carrot cake. With no additives, that was how the mixture of her eight ingredients had turned out. She was still toying with the name of the concoction - she'd narrowed it down to either Wolfsguard Potion (to reference the well-known Wolfsbane Potion) or Lupinovaccin (to sound a little more professional and scientific). Of course, naming it wouldn't mean anything if it didn't work.
And as
Ashley pointed out, finding out if it worked couldn't happen until someone verified that it wasn't lethal or otherwise poisonous. Mal had the good humour to only
pretend to be offended; if it had been anyone else she might actually have been. She was a damn good herbologist and a damn good potioneer. But, Ash had every reason to not only doubt, but fear, the repercussions of a well-intentioned "werewolf vaccine" and what it might actually do. Especially considering part of the formula was a solution of werewolf blood - Mal's own, in fact.
That was why Ash had himself volunteered for
two tests - one now, without a full moon, with him in no danger, to see if it would be harmless... and one later in the month, under the full moon, just before he got bitten. By Mal. She was touched by his concern for both her and the potion, but she was bothered that he was so willing to not only put himself in harm's way but specifically
this harm, since he was a werewolf hunter and was potentially risking becoming a werewolf himself. That said, Mal was confident in her potioneering so her concern was only with Ash, not with the results of the brew. At any rate, live testing was officially just a formality but in practicality it was absolutely necessary for something with this much potential.
"This thing could run the gamut of tastes, Ash," she cautioned her rescuer / admirer / best friend. "There's bitter, earthy, and sweet ingredients in it. Potions with similar combinations and similar brewing processes tend to taste like broccoli milkshakes and chalk, but, uh, that's the most encouraging hope I have for it." She sat down across the counter from him and bit her lip. "I have everything I need nearby if you have an allergic reaction, asphyxiate, go into shock, or Transfigure. But go over what you want me to do if it looks like it's having any other... adverse reaction." Turning, she meant.
