A few days had passed, Alexei was setting up the equipment needed to start replenishing his stock of potions and poisons. The basement was empty as usual.
The silence was broken by the sound of a dull grinding as pestle met mortar. Alexei carefully ground down his ingredients into a fine paste, frowning in thought as he worked. After years of experience Alexei could do all of this in his sleep, his mind was occupied by other things. He was free now. For the first time in sixteen years, no one was deciding his future but him. What now?
Alexei placed a root on the table and began finely chopping, not even looking down, trusting his muscle memory to do the job without removing a finger tip. No more murder. He had enough blood on his hands, no more. It was time to help. He dumped the chopped root into a beaker of boiling water.
Askier. He owed Askier much, whether the miqo'te knew it or not, but it was more then that. They were friends. He would protect him, all of them. Sizha'to, Kahn'a, Askier, they had accepted him and become like family, even if he deserved nothing. Alexei absentmindedly measured out the next ingredient and dumped it into the concoction. He would protect them, he had lost his family once, he would not lose another.
The silence was broken by the sound of a dull grinding as pestle met mortar. Alexei carefully ground down his ingredients into a fine paste, frowning in thought as he worked. After years of experience Alexei could do all of this in his sleep, his mind was occupied by other things. He was free now. For the first time in sixteen years, no one was deciding his future but him. What now?
Alexei placed a root on the table and began finely chopping, not even looking down, trusting his muscle memory to do the job without removing a finger tip. No more murder. He had enough blood on his hands, no more. It was time to help. He dumped the chopped root into a beaker of boiling water.
Askier. He owed Askier much, whether the miqo'te knew it or not, but it was more then that. They were friends. He would protect him, all of them. Sizha'to, Kahn'a, Askier, they had accepted him and become like family, even if he deserved nothing. Alexei absentmindedly measured out the next ingredient and dumped it into the concoction. He would protect them, he had lost his family once, he would not lose another.
