Poisons are a bad business all around, but as temporary Magus, Ree makes it his business to know them. This one paralyses the nervous system. This one, in its appealing shade, freezes the lungs so that they do not expand when a person breathes, tightens the throat. This plant, with its beautiful flowers, will cause your tongue to swell until it is black and obscure your air pipes. There are many ways to go, countless combinations, all unpleasant. With Rowan's help he has learned to hate the taste of almonds, fear the brightly coloured. "I only taste test things from the Citadel," Ree jokes.
"Telling the truth is not a joke," Rowan tells him.
"Is it not? What if I laugh when I say it?"
"No."
"Ah," Ree says gravely. "This is complicated." He turns a page, examines a rare wild flower which causes seizures when ingested. "Jokes are difficult, Adept Mata. What if I said, 'we trust the Citadel too much to taste test their dishes'?"
"Not a great joke," Rowan observed. "But it is one."
"Oh, good. I won't be telling that one."
"Don't think they can handle it?"
"I'm afraid they'll believe me and send half a dozen pots of wolfsbane infused stew with a garnish of arsenic. You know how unstable The Occia is. Well, the new one. The one who used to have red hair. The one they put in after they killed the runaway."
"I know the one you mean," Rowan frowned. Finding out Cerys, the young girl he'd exchanged insults and pleasant conversation with was a former Occia had been a strange moment for him, one he still wasn't comfortable with.
Ree sighed, shook his head. "I think I've filled my head with plants enough today, Adept Mata."
"Alright," Rowan stood up and began to put his plants back in their rightful places, to store vials and bottles back in locked cupboards. He looked back up at the interim Magus, who was adjusting his cloak in the doorway. "Will you be back tomorrow?"
Ree seemed lost in his thoughts. He dragged his fingers through his hair, nodded in a distracted way. Already his mind on his next task. He hadn't wanted to be Magus, Rowan recalled. He had put forward Rayna Evandros's name insistently, but having one Evandros lead so soon after the last had brought such scandal upon The Hour - and a vampire to boot - had made things awkward. This was a burden Rowan was glad he did not have to shoulder. Give him his lab, give him his plants, give him his privacy over the teeming complaints and grudges of the Hour; the menagerie of Others, the spiteful, petty academics, the small children thrust into becoming Neophytes. Ree smiled back at him and his smile was exhausted. Ree would be up late tonight, going over accounts, research documents, legal advice. Ree had learned the price of leadership. As he closed the door behind his Magus Rowan thought very clearly that it was Ree who had come for the lesson but (he looked about his quiet little room, thought gratefully of his free schedule) he himself who had learned the greater truth.
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timeasmymeasure
Ree+Rowan
Date: 2013-07-01 08:18 pm (UTC)"Telling the truth is not a joke," Rowan tells him.
"Is it not? What if I laugh when I say it?"
"No."
"Ah," Ree says gravely. "This is complicated." He turns a page, examines a rare wild flower which causes seizures when ingested. "Jokes are difficult, Adept Mata. What if I said, 'we trust the Citadel too much to taste test their dishes'?"
"Not a great joke," Rowan observed. "But it is one."
"Oh, good. I won't be telling that one."
"Don't think they can handle it?"
"I'm afraid they'll believe me and send half a dozen pots of wolfsbane infused stew with a garnish of arsenic. You know how unstable The Occia is. Well, the new one. The one who used to have red hair. The one they put in after they killed the runaway."
"I know the one you mean," Rowan frowned. Finding out Cerys, the young girl he'd exchanged insults and pleasant conversation with was a former Occia had been a strange moment for him, one he still wasn't comfortable with.
Ree sighed, shook his head. "I think I've filled my head with plants enough today, Adept Mata."
"Alright," Rowan stood up and began to put his plants back in their rightful places, to store vials and bottles back in locked cupboards. He looked back up at the interim Magus, who was adjusting his cloak in the doorway. "Will you be back tomorrow?"
Ree seemed lost in his thoughts. He dragged his fingers through his hair, nodded in a distracted way. Already his mind on his next task. He hadn't wanted to be Magus, Rowan recalled. He had put forward Rayna Evandros's name insistently, but having one Evandros lead so soon after the last had brought such scandal upon The Hour - and a vampire to boot - had made things awkward. This was a burden Rowan was glad he did not have to shoulder. Give him his lab, give him his plants, give him his privacy over the teeming complaints and grudges of the Hour; the menagerie of Others, the spiteful, petty academics, the small children thrust into becoming Neophytes. Ree smiled back at him and his smile was exhausted. Ree would be up late tonight, going over accounts, research documents, legal advice. Ree had learned the price of leadership. As he closed the door behind his Magus Rowan thought very clearly that it was Ree who had come for the lesson but (he looked about his quiet little room, thought gratefully of his free schedule) he himself who had learned the greater truth.