Tutelage Abnormalis (Private/closed)

[Deleted]

Cloud Drop chuckled as the rain didn't bother him. most would attach an umbrella to a saddle. Cloud Drop? he had smarter ideas. as he stood by the side of the fountain, as dry as ever, he couldn't help but grin to himself. A cloud hung over his little body, like a balloon. But it was large and blocked out all the rain like an umbrella. All he had to do to keep it under him was raise his mobile wing and softly push it in the direction he was walking. He grabbed out one of his saddlebags and looked inside, checking if he had the ingredients he needed for now.

Looking over the ingredients, he started mentally recollecting what he needed, staring over the fountain. A sense of deja vu washed over him. A while ago, when he did not yet live in ponyville, say, about two months ago, he stood here aswell... observing a very different mental list.

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The Gray pony grunted and held a wing over his eye to block out the sun. Sun and snow at the same time. Cold but still stupidly bright, how annoying. With a grunt he held up his list. he grabbed a quill with alchemical ink and striped off the third name and address. "Bugger all, just a chemist. No aspirations or anything interest to teach me either. i thought i had noted down all NOTEWORTHY scientists in the area, not just everyday ponies." he snidely remarked, his tone as rude as ever. He checked the next on his list. A certain Unicorn, most definitely an alchemist and not a normal chemist. He had noted this one down with a little reminder. He could probably learn very much from this next candidate, but it wasn't the easiest to communicate. He had managed to figure out where to send a letter though, somehow, and had written Dream Gaze an extensive letter expressing his interest in taking a part time apprenticeship with him. He also attached a resumé, which was an impressive list for that of a pony who wasn't even adolescent yet. Cloud Drop's hard work had earned him twice the experience any other his age would have, probably even surpassing a lot of unicorns his age on the subject of alchemy.

He took off his saddlebag and with a soft crunch, placed it on the snow. He scoured the insides of the bag, past all the notes and letters he had. He grabbed out his resume, which he didn't need right now. He mumbled as he searched for a reply. "if.. i remember... i asked him to meet me in the square at an hour after noon... or was that somepony else? Was that today or another day..?" Cloud Drop said, continually mumbling to himself as he searched in his saddlebag, not letting the snow bother him as he looked for a reply, if the alchemist even sent one...

((OOC: Left it open for you to decide if Dream Gaze ever sent a reply! Hope this is logical enough, most things considered.))

[Dream Gaze]

It wasn't often Dream Gaze received mail in his mountain home and even when he did it was usually from orders he had placed or his good friend in Manehattan. But when Azure came to him with a résumé and a long letter of somepony that had heard of him and was looking for a part time apprenticeship he couldn't help but raise a sceptical eyebrow before taking the notes with an amber aura and glanced it over... reading off important parts toward the end. "Ponyville town square... 1:00pm... Wednesday... That's tomorrow isn't it?" The Dragoness gave a nod next to him and gestured "I think you should go and see them. A fellow Alchemist willing to learn from you is quite an opportunity." Dream glanced at her for a moment to acknowledge her answer before looking over the letter again "I suppose so. I was dreading if it was just some kid trying to get into something way over their head... but looking over what they've done this... uh..." his eyes drifted back to the top of the page for a moment to recall the name before resuming "Cloud Drop?... yeah. They seem to be very ambitious when it comes to the craft... better then some of the colts I knew in school at the time." Azure gave a smile and gave the Unicorn a nudge with her tail "Well you're in the area for ingredients tomorrow... why not go and meet them on the way back?" Dream Gaze gave a sigh and nodded "Very well... I'll send off a reply via dragonfire. Least then we know it'll find him." He said before leaving to the back room to write his response.

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Dear Cloud Drop

After reading your letter I've decided it would be beneficial
to meet face to face to discuss this further.
I will be returning home from the Everfree forest on the day and
should be passing through the square around the appointed time.
Bring a sample of your work if possible and speak with you soon.

Dream Gaze

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It was pleasantly cold this afternoon as Dream's hooves crunched along through the snow. He had managed to gather a few more ingredients during this morning expedition near the Everfree, few mushrooms, flowers, insects and the like within his saddlebags while the occasional chink sound of glass could be heard from the bag on the other side. The glare of the sun on the snow was alleviated somewhat by his hat and cloak but every so often the light would catch the side of his vision as he glanced at his surroundings... looking for who he was supposed to meet. He eventually reached the square and while there were a few out in the snow today he did spot a Pegasus looking through his bags for something by the fountain... Dream would have paid this no mind however his eyes fell upon the familar résumé... one he had read before... Well only one way to find out if this was the right pony. "Hey. You wouldn't happen to be Cloud Drop would you?"

[Deleted]

Cloud Drop had found the reply and read it to himself, although, just before he was done, a voice asked him if he was indeed Cloud Drop. The small gray Pegasus turned towards him. "Ah, yes! I am indeed Cloud Drop. I take it you are Dream Gaze?" he said with a smile, glad to meet the unicorn in person. he offered a hoof to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you! You told me to bring a sample of my work if possible. I uh, couldn't decide which to bring, so i ended up bringing a few. I hope you don't mind! I've got all kinds, including Biological potions for plants or ponies, magical potions to attempt to replicate spell effects, my special signature potions, some special oils which have consistent effects to alter potions and for good measure some chemistry stuff too, like a set of potions that can be mixed to create a lightweight but relatively durable material!" he smiled in glee as he went on and on about the variety of potions he had taken with him. He grabbed his résumé and Dream gaze's reply with his wings, of all things, and nimbly placed them back in his saddlebags, closing said bags up with said wings.

The pegasus, whom's résumé insisted he was a late teenager, while his body insisted he wasn't even a teenager yet, was filled with glee and excitement. He clearly took great pride in his work and/or showing it. He opened his other saddlebag, this one going a bit slower, as his right wing didn't seem to move with the same speed as his left wing did. In a moment of thought, he closed it again. "Where should i show you them? Do you have a safe and regulated environment for your potions?" He asked, not letting his excitement exceed his professionalism too much. He definitely cared for safety protocols.

[Dream Gaze]

So this was Cloud Drop? Being honest he had never met a Pegasus that followed this line of work. He knew weather manipulation fell under a plethora of different roles but he never looked into details... too busy with other projects. He took the friendly greeting with a small smile of his own and took the offer of the hoof shake before responding "Indeed I am... Must say you look younger then what I was expecting." Though as the Pegasus went on it was confirmed in the Unicorn's mind that he was indeed dedicated and passionate about his work. The number of different potions he had brought as his examples sounded impressive and he had to admit that he was indeed curious about sampling a few and making comparisons to stuff he had learned "Potions that replicate spell effects? A fellow connoisseur I see... I tend to work with such potions myself. Though, I have the strong belief that anything is possible with alchemy or magic. Just need the right ingredients and conditions for it to work."

His eyes followed the swift motion of the Pegasi's wings and his brain went into analytical mode for a moment 'Very dexterous with his wings... seems to favour the left side for such motions instead of the right so that could suggest left is his dominate side...' Cloud Drop's last comment gave him pause for thought for a moment... his eyes narrowed ever so slightly before his train of thought resumed 'Safety protocols huh? Might suggest that they aren't much of a risk taker... Not a bad trait by any means but... I’ll need to learn more to reach a verdict.' After a moment he turned his head and gestured to a mountain in the distance "My lab is up there. It seemed to be the best place to avoid getting pedestrians caught up in my work. If you don't mind the trek... that's where we should go."

[Deleted]

The moment Dream Gaze had said anything is possible with alchemy, a sparkle shone within the eyes of Cloud Drop. He couldn't agree more. The feeling was akin to that of his heart leaping in joy. Finally, Somepony who believes in infinite possibilities, and is likely willing to research more. Cloud Drop watched as Dream Gaze pointed to the mountain. Cloud Drop went into quick calculations. It was a very traditional alchemist thing to stay somewhere far apart from the pedestrians. It wasn't always the best place to get your equipment towards, but it didn't seem impossible.

It's not like Cloud drop had always worked in the stereotypical 'safe laboratory' environment. He had worked in the 'isolated and non-regulated' locales as well. "Alriiiight.. let me.. check my agenda." he said, using his wings once more to reach into his saddlebags and grab a parchment. Again, his right wing moved slower, but nonetheless, it managed to grab the parchment. "No, it doesn't look like i have anything else planned. i suppose i'll make the trek." He said with a smile. he looked to the mountain and added onto his own analysis. 'as expected, unicorn shows more talent in alchemy than desire to sell or collaborate. probably won't learn much of safety norms and shopkeeping. will need to find secondary method to gain shop experience and will need to keep on the most recent safety regulations books to cross reference my knowledge.' he thought to himself, as he started in what he felt was the most intuitive direction towards the cave, namely straight towards it. He was completely unaware if the necessary route required going around. nor would he realize such a thing, since he usually floated around on his cloud.

[Dream Gaze]

Upon hearing he would have company he smiled and walked ahead a bit as he spoke "Excellent. Then we should make our way onwards. My assistant should be waiting for me on the outskirts of the town... We'll meet up with her and we all should be back at the lab in no time." He stopped in front of Cloud Drop for a moment before gesturing to his left with a tilt of his head "We'll go over this way... If we went in a straight line to our destination we'd end up going through Froggy Bottom Bog. Not the safest of routes considering Hydra's are known to be in that area." He explained before taking the lead down the pathway ahead. In the case that he did had to bring a guest back with him he had told Azure to wait for him outside the town to help transport them back if necessary... after all they would cover a lot more ground in a short amount of time from the air. However there was one thing he remembered and after a moment of pause he turned back to Cloud Drop and asked "That reminds me... Might be a strange question to start with but... How do you feel about dragons?" He asked curiously. He knew his assistant was a little sensitive about first impressions so it was good to deal with any awkwardness that could happen now. "I ask because my assistant, while not a very big one, happens to be a Wyvern."

[Deleted]

Giving dream a nod of acknowledgement, Cloud Drop remarked on the other route. "Good to know the route's quick... and not running into hydras might be beneficial for both our longevity and that of my work, yes." His mouth uttered with a strong feeling of smugness emanating from his tone. A few beads of sweat formed across the small fellow's neck, but he went over them with a wing. He told himself to be a little more patient. Ah well, atleast nopony was asking him to fly. Whoof, that would have made him nervous.

Dream Gaze then mentioned a dragon... as assistant! Cloud Drop was surprised. he hadn't really heard of such things! "A.. Dragon? Hm. i've... i've never met one." he stated quite bluntly. Dragons were obviously not abnormal for unicorns, but Cloud Drop was born in blizzard-filled mountains and raised a true Cloudsdale-er. "i... i actually don't know much about them, haha. Makes me realize how much i tunneled into my talent's studies." he said with a nervous laugh. thinking about it, he actually felt something like an idiot. As it was an unpleasant and unusual feeling, he tried to shake it off. He put on a grin and continued in confident tone. "well, surely there won't be any issues if she's an assistant of an alchemist like yourself.". His assurance, while pleasant to hear, seemed to hide something else. A psychologist might recognize him hinting towards something in his choice of words, even though it was subconsciously. However, as he said, it likely would not arise in the near future.

[Dream Gaze]

"Then it's unanimous. We take the less dangerous path. Hard to continue working after being eaten..." He said rather bluntly in response as they continued on their way through the streets. His surprise on hearing about his assistant was to be expected and he commented "I can guess you've never met one. Some dragons can be quite territorial and greedy so if you did see one I'd expect the initial response to be to run the opposite direction to avoid being roasted."

but what caught Dream's interest was the fact that he didn't know much about the magical reptiles. In his experience he knew that the shedding's of a dragon... be it claws, scales, horns, teeth, barbs etc. were very potent in alchemical recipes and spells and his comment about his tunnel vision into his studies suggested to him that Cloud Drop didn't know this... well a little education to start couldn't hurt. "Is that so? Dragon shedding's happen to be very potent alchemical ingredients. Might be worth looking into it, you may be able to make something interesting out of it." He suggested as they turned a corner and continued straight along the road with the outskirts now in sight.

His final confident comment was met with a quick "Flattery will get you nowhere with me." He said with a slight smirk before continuing on "Besides while I may have studied at Celestia's school for gifted unicorns in Canterlot, I'm technically a dropout. Most of my alchemical experience is self taught but if history has taught anything... you can learn from the mistakes of others. In our case, we can probably improve upon ideas that another alchemist may have failed before... possibility is there." An outsider's opinion on a project is usually very useful to have and valuable if the individual was well versed in the subject. Dream managed to expand on what he knew after finding some old tombs belonging to other alchemists and he even managed to finish some of their projects with improvements of his own so he knew what he was talking about.

A cloaked figure stood at the edge of the town waiting for the two ponies... One was able to make out the glowing coals of her eyes under the hood as they got closer. Dream took a moment to say "Azure, my assistant, was hatched during my entrance exam to the school. She was raised among ponies and lives as they do but her draconic instincts and appearance have caused her problems before from those fearing what they do not understand. She serves as both my familiar and a childhood friend. As such... I will not tolerate any mistreatment of her." He explained

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Cloud drop listened to Dream Gaze's education about dragons, including him reciting the value of certain dragon-based ingredients. "Hmm.. i think i recall reading about them. Maybe i dismissed the notion because of a rather.. limited budget. Well, i'm glad to be learning from the very start." he noted. he wondered on what kind of chemical properties they had from what he read, but having little experience with them, he simply could not remember the various effects that the alchemical ingredients had.

"Back in cloudsdale alchemy was... rather limited i suppose. even with the best of my studies, a lot was chemistry and some engineering. You know, stuff that you learn for weather factory." He said. He was honestly a bit ashamed that he wasn't up to his own par. Most ponies were impressed when he threw his knowledge about many ingredients, mostly plants. He didn't really realize it himself, but what he just said was more an excuse to hide his imperfections, as little and realistic as they were. he felt he needed to be the very best alchemist he could be.

Dream Gaze shared his wisdom on learning, and how others made mistakes one could learn from. Cloud Drop was far from the wisest pony, so he didn't know many of these things yet. Aspirations are one thing, but wisdom is only acquired from experience. Cloud Drop, naturally, knew the exact wrong thing to say. "so, their misfortune is our fortune, right?" He didn't seem to realize the real rudeness of his statement, as he simply continued on. "Suppose i should pay attention to the failures in any scientific journal i see aswell.. I do note down everything that occurs in my experiments, regardless of success. something my teacher always taught me to do. Something about 'no results it's also a result'. Helped me learn a lot about the ingredients i use." His tone was somewhat mumbly, but it was audible to anyone who listened. His voice unsure, it seems the wisdom behind those words had not yet been found.

Dream Gaze had made it very clear that azure was to be treated with respect and without prejudice, his choice of words intimidating Cloud Drop slightly. He was definitely at his most careful, because he didn't want to harm his chances with a good teacher. "U-understood." were his only words. He would say more, but he decided to keep silent for he didn't feel ready to share anything yet. Cloud Drop felt he should play the role of the silent one for the majority of these interactions. Ponies got mad at him often, and he had no clue why. With the stakes so high? he'd 'play it safe', being too immature to see the many foolish things he did and will be doing.

[Dream Gaze]

Dream Gaze frowned a little and sighed as it seemed the lesson to be learned here went right over the Pegasus's head. "Put bluntly that is one way of looking at it. But as such misfortune in alchemy can turn you into a frog and eaten by whatever happens to come by... I wouldn't want to wish that on another just for personal gain... and that isn't even the worst case scenario..." The words quoted from Cloud's teacher gave Dream a small smile as he added "Well your teacher wasn't wrong there. One should learn from their mistakes. Not repeat them. Progress won't get made otherwise."

Glad to see his warning had got through he gave a nod and walked forward to greet the cloaked figure in front of them with a smile "Azure. No trouble with the locals I hope." She shook her head in response "None. Things have been fairly quiet. Most ponies are inside today it seems after the heavy snowfall last night. A few fillies and colts seemed quite happy to have a snow day." Dream chuckled "I can imagine having no school in the middle of the week is reason enough for that." He then turned back to the Pegasus and introduced him "This is Cloud Drop. He'll be accompanying us back to the lab." Azure gave a short bow to the Pegasus before fixing her gaze on him, her eyes like burning coals underneath her hood "A pleasure to meet you... I'm Azure Nightshade." She then turned back to Dream and asked "So what's our next course of action? I wasn't expecting an extra passenger." Dream walked ahead of them and gestured for the others to follow "We'll get a little further from the town and make the necessary preparations to fly back. Our friend here has wings so you shouldn't need to carry him."

[Deleted]

Cloud Drop looked away, slightly ashamed as Dream Gaze sighed. He had gotten that it meant something bad. Was he not as smart as he though he was? Ah, it was nothing to worry about. "True... Alchemical mishaps should be prevented as much as possible, or have their damage regulated." he said. He knew about the dangers of alchemy, which is why he was very strict on the rules himself. That progress was one of the most important things to him, did not mean that lives were any less important. While he was a fool, which he would not admit, he wasn't insane. He nodded once more as Dream Gaze told him of progress.

Dream Gaze had started his conversation with the dragon, who introduced herself. Cloud Drop replied similarly to Azure Nightshade herself. "A Pleasure to meet you." His tone was somewhat fabricated. He was not used to using polite words or pleasantries. It was his best attempt at a polite tone, although it was not that great. The only tones that he spoke with honesty were entrepreneurial, sarcastic, snide and/or lazy.

It was then that Dream Gaze mentioned flight. "A-Ah, yes... W-We'll be flying?" Cloud Drop said with a startle, his nervousness making him a horrible liar. "A-Allow me to make some preparations for that?" he said, reaching with his wings into his saddlebags and messing around with potions, observing some of them. He eventually shifted a few potions from one saddlebag to the other one, Apparently letting that serve as preparation. "All right! just.. Tell me when we're going to fly!" he said, his nervous voice and sudden talkativeness obviously hiding something. although he did not openly oppose their plans. It appears there was a hidden issue which was solved with a hidden solution.

[Dream Gaze]

"Still an Alchemist should take some risks for their research. My grandfather once said that if an Alchemist's work doesn't explode once in his career then they're doing it wrong." He said somewhat jokingly... granted he may take more risks then necessary when it came to his own personal health but he couldn't deny that the results were valuable.

Cloud Drop's nervousness wasn't missed by the two but Dream just motioned to Azure not to pry into it and lead them away from the town. In his mind this was an exercise in problem solving... The mention of flying made the Pegasus nervous so it was either a fear of heights or this Pegasus had difficulty flying... Still if he had a fix to whatever it was he was nervous about then there was no point dwelling on it. Besides if they were to be working together Dream would learn about this sooner or later.

When they got a good distance from Ponyville Azure removed her hood before glancing over to Cloud Drop "We'll be taking off shortly... Best get ready." She explained before walking over to Dream. Azure parted the cloak she was wearing and wrapped it around her neck a few times, revealing her lithe form before raising up on her hind legs and spreading her wings out wide. Dream climbed onto her back a moment later before glancing over to Cloud Drop and asking "Ready to go?"

[Deleted]

The moment Dream Gaze mentioned explosions, Cloud Drop couldn't help but bite on his lip. He shiftily looked away ,indicating he has had similar experiences. possibly with his own experiments as well. True, it wasn't a fireball but a pressure explosion, meaning nothing burnt, only some glass broke... But it did create a tornado afterwards.

at the words that they were going to fly soon, Cloud Drop grabbed the potions he set aside. he carefully grabbed one, swirved it a few circles with his wings, before pouring it's contents infront of him. the liquid fell down in a straight line, but only a few inches away from the vial he poured from, it made a soft "fshhhhh" sound, and the liquid seemed to be expanding. The liquid no longer was liquid by the time it came to the ground, looking more like a dense fog. The fog rolled against the ground before moving upwards, combining with the rest of the fog that left the potion. In time, it formed a cloud right infront of Cloud Drop. Suddenly, the name made a lot more sense now. Drop might refer to the liquid, and Cloud refers to.. well, making clouds with potions.

True to his Pegasus nature, Cloud Drop clambered onto the cloud. He did so by moving his right hooves onto it first, flapping his left wing to help him gain altitude and climb onto the cloud. His right wing did unfold, but kind of just.. awkwardly stayed there, only moving slightly. With much effort, he got onto the cloud and grabbed the second potion he set aside. Pouring the flashy red contents into the cloud, first a few drops, made it ascend slightly. he grabbed a third vial. When Azure took off, he poured more of the red potion to make the cloud hover to the correct altitude, and by pouring a green a purple potion on one side of the cloud, it moved in the other direction. he was controlling the cloud like it were some kind of hot air balloon, using his potions to manage it's height, speed and direction with surprising precision.

"T-The flight won't be too long, right? i've yet to perfect the cloud potion... the cloud isn't stable for much over an hour.." he mentioned, hoping the flight wouldn't be that long. If necessary, he could always just purposefully hover it higher though and try to glide the last part. He was thankful that he could still glide, as it saved his life now and then.

[Dream Gaze]

Dream watched on with intrigue as Cloud Drop poured a cloud out of one of his vials, the liquid's reaction when exposed to the open air and the way it condensed into a form fascinated him and reminded him of something similar he had read in a book once... though that was more about controlling an existing nimbus where Cloud Drop made one out of thin air... impressive. As he observed the Pegasus mount the cloud however he delved back to his previous thoughts of the Pegasus and the nervous chatter he did at the mention of flight and it did appear that Cloud Drop was incapable of flight by traditional means... possibly because he didn't have as much control over his right side as he would have liked... a form of paralysis? Deformity during development? Hard to say but lots of areas to speculate on. Whatever the case Dream Gaze didn't care... he was here to access his potions not his flying skills... he was an Alchemist, not a Wonderbolt.

Azure soon took to the sky with no effort at all with just one beat of her mighty wings and hovered in place as Cloud Drop joined them at the same altitude. His enquiry on how long it would take them gave him pause but he soon showed some understanding as the Pegasus explained that the cloud would become more unstable as time went on... it was still a work in progress it seemed... made sense in a way as a normal cloud would dissipate if a Pegasus or similar hit it with some force. Azure glanced at their destination for a moment before answering "I don't wish to sound boastful... But I could make it there in about 10 to 20 minutes at full speed." Dream just chuckled a bit before looking back at Cloud Drop, his gaze narrowing on the potions he kept to one side before asking "I'm assuming you use this just for short trips? Given the limited supply of liquid you have to control it... How fast can you go on this Cloud? You've tested it's limits to some extent right?"

[Deleted]

It took little to no time at all for Cloud Drop's cloud to catch up to Azure's flight. They took a moment to think on the question he had, and Cloud Drop had hardly noticed Dream Gaze's analytical observation. Naturally, he wasn't given much time to observe it either. Azure made her statement with a view of their destination, and tried to sound as factual as possible while stating her speed, although it sounded showy all the same. Cloud Drop took a breath and was ready to say something, but as if something shot into his mind, he closed his mouth again. No time for his usual sass now, not when it could give him trouble.

Upon Dream Gaze's question, Cloud Drop smiled, being glad to explain all about it. "Oh, i do use it for longer trips sometimes, but that's with a set of potions i have which also benefit stability. Since i have other potions and papers with me too today, i didn't have the space to carry all that. The supply of liquid i have to control it actually works quite efficiently." He said as he poured the potion to get the cloud headed in the right direction, stretching out before lazily laying onto his cloud, seeming far too comfortable.

Cloud Drop started talking from his comfortable position, in something that seemed it would be a long chatter on his findings from the very start."I've found potions which allows me to harvest some of each potion expended back from the cloud, and even in their experimental state and the cloud's own experimental state, i'm finding safe and reliable return values over fifty percent. I'm not far from breakthroughs that will improve the cloud's longevity and the return efficiency of all the potions i use for it to over seventy percent according to my calculations. I'm currently testing the capacity of the cloud and what amounts of acceleration influence it's stability and in what ways," he spoke in monotone but factual voice, pulling out a notebook slowly from his bag while the cloud moved on itself, thanks to his potion. Inside the notebook, as he opened it, were notations. Many, many, many notations. Every single result and bit of experimentation was noted studiously and properly in his notebook. What work ethic. "but i can never make much heads or tails from the numbers without a Physicist by my side, so i'll have to review those numbers back in weather school in Cloudsdale. Right, that reminds me, did i explain my situation in the letter? I was rather.. Excited to send it, i'm not sure i explained everything." he long string of words and science talk brought itself to a much less detailed halt the moment he started talking on something else. Cloud Drop by far preferred to speak of science than other details. His cloud just continued on in moderate pace towards their destination, and if Azure ever picked up the pace, Cloud Drop did the same with a few drops of his potion.