Tutelage Abnormalis (Private/closed)

[Dream Gaze]

Seeing that the cloud could keep up with her with no problems Azure continued at a moderate pace without having to worry about leaving their guest behind. The explanation that the Pegasus gave was a fascinating one Dream had to admit. Recycling some of the potion used to extend its usage wasn't anything new but he had yet to come across potions that allowed this kind of thing. He himself had managed to get multiple uses out of some of his more rare potions by using a little something called Alchemical Allocation. He tried Dilution once but he found that it could also weaken the potion he was doing it with so the former was definitely the better option... Hearing Cloud Drop's explanation though, gave him some insight into other possible routes he could take. "Returning values from the potions and cloud would definitely increase the amount of time you have control over it. Most impressive." He commented as he glanced around at the scenery around them... with their current altitude they had quite a view and they were still climbing to reach the mountain peak.

Cloud Drop's next question gave Dream pause for thought before he looked over to the Pegasus and answered "The letter seemed to be tailored to the job at hoof. You let me know of your alchemical skills and what you had accomplished and that was about it from what I read. If there is anything I should know of your situation then please inform me."

15 minutes passed them by and Azure came to rest on the Cliffside outside a colossal cave overlooking the vast horizon behind them. The temperature was rather cold at this altitude but Dream didn't seem too bothered by this as he dismounted and stopped to look at the view with a smile as he muttered "Never get tired of that view... Thank you again Azure. You've been a great help." The Wyvern gave a polite bow in response "My pleasure Dream. I'll get the entrance opened and see you inside. I could use a gem break after that exercise." She said with a laugh before giving another bow to Cloud Drop and leaving ahead of them into the mouth of the cave in the mountain side while Dream took a moment to look around the area at various vines and plants... soon finding a flower that had yet to bloom and he muttered "hmm... not quite matured yet. Not much longer though." He then turned back to Cloud Drop and said "Well... this is your testing area. You should be able to use any potions you have out here or just inside the cave as my living quarters are sealed off by a hidden staircase."

[Deleted]

When furthering the details of his personal situation came too light, Cloud Drop was not feeling all to talkative. he wanted to get back to the science. "I only plan to stay around for 2 weeks a month. Doing stuff in Cloudsdale, too." He said, not intentionally remaining vague or evasive of what he was doing, It was simply his less than talkative nature when it came to business outside of science.

He observed the surroundings as they closed on in, Cloud Drop seeming the least bothered of the cold. It was almost as if he didn't even notice the difference in temperature. His history in Blizzard-ridden mountains as a young colt were to thank for this. He guided his cloud with great care to a good spot to drop himself off. "Ergh. Time to walk again." he said, bother ringing in his voice. He would rather lay upon a cloud than walk, evidently, but for now, his clouds weren't long lasting enough and he didn't carry that much potion with him. He stepped off his cloud and grabbed another set of vials. He dripped them with care into the vials he had poured the cloud out of, and swirved them in a circular motion with his wing. Now opening the old vial with a few drops of content from a new one, He held it to the cloud, which seemed to be forced into the vial. Evidently the reaction the new fluid caused both reverted the cloud into a superdense liquid state and drew all of the cloud into the vial for change into that state. Once the process was done, he had a completely new coloured vial, one that he had not shown yet. Before anything else, he grabbed a sticker, a little marker pen and wrote on it. a few soft squeaks of marker echoed in the room before he finished labeling the sticker and he put the label on the vial. It was informatively written, he knew exactly which cloud potion he used, and which cloud-absorption addition he used, how much, when and other details. It wasn't hard to imagine he met little in the way of notational errors.

Dream gaze had informed him this would be his testing area, straight after checking a flower. Cloud Drop nodded. "You said you were particularly interested in spell-replication potions, correct? Then perhaps i will present one of those first. Now, this isn't my proudest work, as it's still ineffective in use." He said, grabbing a soft purple potion. he swerved it a little, and from the way it stayed on the side of the vial before slowly going down and settling as a whole told Dream Gaze that like water, this was a fluid which held itself together, and didn't split into droplets unless forced. Cloud Drop looked around for a small pebble on the ground, and after quickly having found a very small pebble, he started dripping the liquid on it. It took quite a few drips before the pebble did start to levitate. "it's experimental-state is to thank to me trying to overcome the problem with it being impossible to cause objects to float with potions, as most only take effect when consumed. And a rock can't drink. Other attempts to fully coat the rock in fluid to make it float have been disrupted by the fluid going in separate directions and not remaining on the rock. I've managed to solve both issues, but i've run into a wall concerning the efficiency of the potion. As it stands..." he watched the rock fall down back to the ground, splatting little drips of the potion in some directions. "levitating an object requires an amount of liquid which weight correlated to Ninety-six point seventy times the weight of the object in question being levitated. Furthermore, it only lasts for 20 to 40 seconds at best. I really haven't found any formulaic changes to apply to this to further it's development, so i was hoping on a fresh perspective."

[Dream Gaze]

The explanation regarding this new potion of levitation that Cloud was showing him and the problems he faced while trying to get it to work on objects got Dream thinking for a few moments. He'd admit that he was no mathematician but it stood to reason that if the potion took too many drops for a lacking result then it was probably not strong enough... perhaps an ingredient to increase its potency? His horn glowed and a similar aura surrounded the purple vial before it hovered over to the Alchemist before he took a sniff of its contents... closing his eyes for a moment as he muttered "Cloud Cotton... Pegasus Down... Slime Gel as the bonding agent... Nice choice considering its susceptibility to magic... Hmm... many of these ingredients were gathered at a high altitude... Spark Beatle? That could be good to exploit..." His muttering analysis done he turned back to Cloud Drop and said "I was going to suggest something to increase its potency... something like a Cloud Dragon scale... but with something like this, make it too powerful and said object may just keep going up and not stop... whether it comes down after or not is always a mystery..." He placed a hoof on his chin before offering another suggestion "If the Spark Beatle was added to this like I'm detecting... you may get a more potent result if you run an electrical current through it. Maybe of a negative charge so the slime gets magnetic properties... repelling whatever object you pour it on from the earth at a set altitude depending on how powerful it is."

[Deleted]

Cloud drop listened to the advice and nodded. "Spark Beatle does have connection issues with Heliroot though. Heliroot already influences the charge, and i use it in here because it both increases the potency of slime gel as bonding agent and acts as a connector for ground pegasus down with slime gel. Normally pegasus down is insoluable in Slime Gel. Other emulsifiers may work, but their main flaw is they tend to make Slime gel less viscous, making the whole fall apart and not solving the issue at all. The addition of heliroot is the main difference in mine, i suppose. Going back to the cloud dragon scales, is there no method to reduce the effect? Use dragon scale shavings instead of a full scale? Perhaps there's a method to extract and dilute it's properties within another fluid which we could use for research or making the potion afterwards? Please do excuse me for any ignorance towards new ingredients, I'm not used to the prospect of having a better selection." he mentioned, thinking and grabbing a small notebook, jotting down notes hastily but neatly. He refused to shorten his notes to 'work on them later', insisting to instantaneously come with a full notation, to prevent the possibility of forgetting things.

After giving Dream gaze a moment to reply and listening to said reply, Cloud Drop decided to move it to the next subject. "Well, enough about that subject. I'm here to show just as much to learn after all. But on a somewhat related note, i have managed to find a set pattern of ingredients which allow me to create oils, which have a consistent effect when added to a potion. For example, this oil made out of sunflower oil, from a healthy sun-absorbing sunflower, a mix of Mint and nettle refluxed over a medium or better quality column over exactly 92 degrees gives this wonderful oil which increases any invigorating or energizing effect of a potion. If i, for example, would add it to my levitation potion or my cloud movement potion, i could make the object move.. more. Ifnot somewhat erratically. Would i add it to any potion meant to be consumed, it would give it's consumer a bundle of energy, albeit at the cost of a slightly stinging taste." He explained, grabbing the oil. He had given a mix of alchemical theory and normal chemistry theory. It appears he had mixed his knowledge left and right to discover new things.

[Dream Gaze]

"Heliroot you say? Interesting... I'll have to make a note of that." At least Cloud had tried combinations he hadn't considered yet. It was both refreshing and enlightening to converse with another alchemist with different experiences. The information provided could be of great use in the future... When and how it would be useful he was unsure but it was still good to know. "Dragons are notoriously resilient... However I can use a process called Alchemical Sequestration which will allow me to liquefy the scale without disrupting its effects... From there it would probably need diluting to lessen its potency but it should work if you want to try it." He couldn't help but chuckle a little as Cloud expressed his ignorance on more powerful ingredients and he simply responded with "Rarer ingredients can be as difficult and dangerous to gather as they are to work with. My travels normally take me to great obstacles to obtain these and I'll allow you to try a few if I can spare the supplies." He would be keeping a close watch on the Pegasus if he requested to work with said ingredients of course. He wasn't exactly made of bits so replacing any unfortunate loss to his stock wouldn't be easy... He'd prefer to do it himself anyway if he could help it. If you want something done right... as the saying goes.

The explanation on the oil didn't catch as much interest with Dream he had to admit. Oils didn't work too well with most liquid based potions so they usually had to be used in combination with powders, pastes or sometimes other oils to get interesting results. "I can see this oil being useful in a healing remedy. Perhaps some utility in some offensive potions as well as the erratic movement could make it difficult to counter." He said thoughtfully

[Deleted]

The moment that Dream Gaze had mentioned processes and other methods, Cloud Drop halted him for a moment. "one moment please!" He grabbed his quill and some papers. "continue." he gladly said. he quickly wrote down 'alchemical sequestration, dragon scale, dilution, further research.' as a maniac as Dream Gaze spoke, nodding and listening. he explained how he went to retrieve rare ingredients, and how he might be able to spare some. While Instantly excited, Cloud drop was capable of containing this excitement with a deep breath, before continuing. "Ah, well, worry not. I have no qualms with earning my keep. I will gladly prove myself worthy of those ingredients." He said with confidence, smiling and nodding. "And at the very least, i'll give you exact updates on how much i need and of what. Aslong as i have parchments and ink, i'll have every single thing documented. And when i don't have parchments and ink, the first thing i'll do is get parchments and ink." He reassured Dream Gaze. It was hard to tell if he was trying to make an impression or this was his genuine attitude. It was a very strong mix of both factors, as a matter of fact.

As he then went on to the next subject, Dream gaze nodded in some sort of acknowledgement, and did further on the details. Cloud Drop lacked the social skills to notice his disinterest, and enjoyed the notion of what it could be used for. "offensive potions... i honestly never had considered the use in combat of any of my potions. i do not believe ponies commonly find themself in such activities." He mentioned, despite the first years of his life being the exact opposite of a safe and cozy life. He must have been better protected than he himself realized.

[Dream Gaze]

"Your meticulous notes should be a good help on keeping stock on ingredients. At least then I can work on replacing what was used." It would probably involve a bit of travel on his part but he was fairly confident he could locate and retrieve any ingredients he offered the Pegasus... He'd have to do a risk assessment before any items were offered however as some items were harder to acquire than others. Cloud Drop's reaction regarding offensive potions got an eye roll from Dream as he muttered "That doesn't surprise me in the slightest..." He then glanced out over the horizon as he explained with a thoughtful look in his eyes "It's true most ponies don't find themselves in such situations often. However, as I said previously, Rarer ingredients can be as dangerous to gather as they are to work with. There are times where I have to defend myself or use what I know to survive be it with magic spells or volatile potions... greater risks usually yield greater rewards."

Dream Gaze turned toward the cave after a moment and gestured the Pegasus to follow behind him "Come on. I'll show you inside and then you can look around my lab... I think you'll be impressed." He said with a slight smile. The Unicorn lead the Pegasus into the cave which was a little dark... however various light sources in the form of crystals hung from various places on the walls. Deeper within, there were many stalagmites and stalactites that made up the natural beauty of this place. If one were to look a little closer they would see various markings... some old... some fresh... some may have been caused by a spell or a bad potion... Other markings seemed to have been caused by the claws of a beast. The two eventually reached the back of the cave and Dream stopped infront of a strange circle on the floor and spoke a phase in a strange ancient tongue... Like she was using a password "Nia-cod arphe" After speaking these words the circle began to glow with various symbols before sinking downwards in a spiral... A new staircase was now before them and Dream turned back to Cloud Drop with a smile "The living quarters and everything else is just down there. Come on."

The two soon reached the bottom of the stairs and Cloud was treated to the sight of a dining area with various cushions surrounding a small table. The room was also surprisingly warm... the heat seeming to radiate from the red ice that decorated the area. To the left and right were some hallways filled with many doors with a notably large secure looking door down the left corridor and on the north wall sat an entrance to a small round room. Azure soon appeared from the right corridor and gave a bow to the two before asking "I assume we'll be going down to the lab shortly yes?" Dream Gaze gave a nod "Yeah I need to drop my bag off. Back aches a little if I carry it for to long."

[Deleted]

Cloud Drop kept taking notes, those that seemed relevant, and those that seemed personal. he paid close attention to Dream gaze's words with a nod. The two would soon head in deeper, into more parts of the cave to see it. While most would stand with their mouth agape for the brilliant spectacle before them, Cloud Drop kept his mouth shut, and his expression showed general disinterest. The cave was a wonder to be seen, and was almost objectively beautiful. However, Cloud Drop would be the last pony to agree with that statements. Caves were musty, earthy and not pleasant to his pegasus nature, through and through. Didn't matter how beautifully lit it was by whatever phenomenon.

Despite Cloud Drop's general disinterest for caves, just the mention of an impressive lab did make him feel slightly giddy inside. a -real- laboratory. Hopefully there was enough space for Cloud Drop to set up his chemical equipment and his alchemy equipment. Cloud Drop made mere mental notations on the strange markings that were left in the area. had he known what caused it, he might have made extensive notations, however useless they might have been. After that experience, they found themselves in the rather warm room of the dinner areas, the red ice piquing Cloud Drop's curiosity. "it's warm. Enchanted or alchemically created ice?" He asked, short and direct, to Dream Gaze as he observed the unique red ice which seemed to be giving off warmth.

They ran into Azure again, and while his mind instantly knew what he -wanted- to say, he stopped himself from speaking. The change in expression when he stopped himself from talking was clear to anyone observing him. Instead of saying what he had on mind, he smiled and nodded, somewhat awkwardly, as he didn't do it often, to Azure, moreso acknowledging her than anything else. the prospect of arriving at the lab seemed closer than ever, and honestly, Cloud Drop could hardly contain his excitement. once his attention shifted away from Azure, his excitement came back in full and he even tapped his hooves a bit for any second he stood still.

[Dream Gaze]

Dream turned to the red ice in question and smiled before answering Cloud's question "Alchemical. I developed a liquid that freezes at warmer temperatures and melts when met with extreme cold. I can easily melt this stuff as I have an affinity with Cyromancy but... in a unique circumstance I can manipulate this ice just as well as I can normal ice. Ice magic that burns like fire... it's a funny thought, wouldn't you agree? It did give me some inspiration to try and develop a flame that chills to the touch but you'll probably see that when we're in the lab." Azure had began to eye the Pegasus suspiciously, probably taking note of the repeated silences when addressing her... she would probably confront him about the odd behaviour later.

Dream led them to the large door in the left corridor and after twisting various magical locks the door slid open slowly as a strong magical miasma hit their senses. "Better brace yourself before you enter. It can be a bit overwhelming." He muttered before walking inside with Azure following shortly behind. They traversed down a set of stairs into a very large dome like room that was littered with various selves and tables full of various potions, plants, crystals and lots of other ingredients used for some of the bubbling concoctions. There was a large cauldron sitting near the edge of the room and a stone table against the wall with a mirror hanging above that. There was so much going on in this room it was amazing that the Alchemist was able to keep track of it all. The air in this room was thick with a strong magical aura and a strange mix of scents from the potions in the room and it was obvious with a glance that the Alchemist had several projects going on in this room as they sat on various tables or rooms formed of natural crevices. Dream Gaze placed his bag on a nearby table before removing his hat and cloak, shaking his white mane a bit before turning back to Cloud Drop. "Welcome to the lab. Forgive the mess, I don't get guests."

[Deleted]

Cloud drop listened to Dream Gaze's tale of the development of red ice, and apparently, a cold icy fire aswell. He spoke of Cryomancy, a term unfamiliar to Cloud Drop, but not something too difficult to pull apart. He knew well the meaning of Cryo and Mancy. As Dream Gaze told the tale, Cloud Drop was continually muttering very softly, speaking to himself. Anypony listening might derive that he was naming a variety of ingredients, those he suspected were or could be used to cause such a thing that could happen. The distraction had served well enough that Cloud Drop did not notice Azure in the slightest. Had he noticed it, it might have been harder for him to keep his 'best behaviour', so perhaps it was for the best.

Cloud Drop was introduced to the room, filled with a variety of experiments. He had braced himself based on the factories and likewise mass production rooms he had walked in on, his experiences served well to keep him well grounded, but that did not stop his rapid assessment of his surroundings. his eyes zipped from up to down, left to right, mentally recording as much as he could, mentally assessing the experiments and their possible reagents. He tried to access the most important things first, the locations where he could do anything, the locations where all the ingredients were stored and the method to their sorting. he noted there was no form of ladders or anything of the like. in a soft mutter to himself, _{"ofcourse, unicorn, levitation spells..."} he reminded himself of why that would be. although slightly irritated, he did his best not to let this show. The attempt was laughable, really, as the furrowing of his brow could not be missed.

Dream gaze made a comment about not expecting visitors, to which cloud drop could manage a more sincere smile. "well, that's fine, it was never my intention to simply be a visitor." he grinned. "i see a variety of things here, all alchemical, i'm presuming most of these are long duration experiments, or experiment preparation." His eyes zipped to a cauldron and the fire below it, which he observed closely. "Burnt on Twice cut redwood, slight added airflow from the left, expected fire temperature approximately 800 degrees centigrade, With thickness of of cauldron added ontop of that, likely would bring 10 litres of water to boil in probably 45 minutes... Considering the ingredients next to the cauldron and the speed of the bubbles popping at the top... This Cauldron has been on from eight to ten hours, or from twenty seven to thirty hours, depending on the order and method the ingredients were added." Cloud Drop said to himself, making assessments of the expriments all around. Even while finishing the calculation, instead of only looking at the ingredients by this set ,he looked over to the other sets and made mental notes on them. he probably should buy multiple notebooks and keep them all updated close to each experiment, if Dream gaze didn't do so already.

He looked back to the table he was focusing on, partially wondering what the experiment was that used Piranha Teeth, Hydra's Wail flowers, and Firewater cooled down with dragonfly's wings put into it. "i'm.. going to assume this is a waterwalking potion in the making, from the ingredients. Could be waterbreathing..." he said, observing it closely, familiarizing himself with the way Dream Gaze worked and set up his experiments as much as he could from the environment around him.

[Dream Gaze]

(I apologize for the length of time it took to get this done. Lots of things happening IRL that are driving me up the wall. Should be back to normal now.)

Dream Gaze watched and followed the Pegasus as he made his observations around the room and he gave a small laugh before he decided to answer his observations with a few extra details. "A little mix of both of those. The Cauldron is most definitely a long duration experiment. Some of the smaller projects I can normally get away with doing in the smaller pots, vials and beakers over there." He gestured with his head to the other side of the room for just a moment before continuing "I work with magic as well but I do those experiments in another room... just to be safe really. Can't have too many unexpected mixes." Azure spoke up as she gestured to a sealed archway off to her right that seemed to lead to another section of caves "Most of the spell books and magical experiments end up in there. We probably won't be down there too much while you're learning with us." She said with a smile while Dream gave a nod in agreement as he moved over to the shelves and began checking various ingredients, picking up a thick looking vine covered in thorns with his magic and dropping it into the cauldron, watching as the liquid inside flashed brightly before shifting to a bright red color to which he just gave a nod and left it to simmer more. "Time consuming this one. Gets volatile rather easy. Need the patience of a saint to get it done." He turned to look at Cloud Drop with a smile as he said "You're quite close with the estimate though. This one has been cooking away for at least 48 hours." he said before walking over to some stone tables.

Cloud Drop's analysis on another project of his gave him pause for thought as he tried to recall what he was doing for that project before his eyes widened in realization "Oh I remember. Kinda a mix between the two really. It's a shapeshifting potion, just fixed to the one form." He took a moment to smell at the firewater before humming to himself as he muttered "Hmm... strong smell of freshwater reeds... maybe seaweed as well." He then turned back to Cloud before continuing his sentence "Yeah I developed this potion based on a recipe I found. Supposingly it changes the drinker into a Kelpie temporarily. At least it will do once I work out the kinks."

[Deleted]

(and i must apologize for the even lengthier time it took me to reply. My muse has been on a low, but i'm feeling inspired and ready to go again.)


Cloud Drop listened as he spoke of the smaller experiments, his behaviour not exactly changing much, as he still was putting much of his attention and focus to noting everything. although his focus shifted back to Dream Gaze and Azure as they spoke of the location where they did magic experimentation. Something that Cloud Drop was indeed not all too interested in. He thought deeply. "So, what are the rules to the.. hmm, wait. you don't seem like the rules type-ah Uhm! No offence!" He stated, growing a bit nervous as his tongue slipped and he spoke more bluntly than he desired. A mix of his natural rudeness, being overwhelmed and being tested in his eyes, had eaten at his confidence rather quickly. He hoped they simply would not give it too much attention before they moved on to the next part.

The moment that Dream Gaze mentioned an issue with volatility, Cloud Drop's mind was abuzz with varying possible solutions. He came up with them as fast as he shot them down again. before coming with an idea. "have you considered keeping plant pots with cool-lilies close, perhaps in a small terrarium? I've seen an installation once.. wait, let me draw it out." he said, excitedly a piece of paper, deciding to take Dream Gaze's reply and drawing on it. it took a while, so he listened to what Dream gaze told about the potion, slowly nodding before drawing again. When he was done listening he scratched his chin and made a quick note on the bottom left of the drawing, noting something down in quick scientist writing, also known as completely illegible.

When Dream Gaze had finished his explanation, Cloud Drop had excitedly shown the painting, which showed a small floral terrarium, from which in the middle a glass line protruded to create a glass chamber, accessible from the bottom, which was surrounded by blooming Cool-Lillies and the top was something.. twisty, but evidently it was open at the top. "Okay so, you could make a terrarium in which the fumes of a cauldron could be caught, and could both cool down and be effected by the magic of Cool-lillies, after which they'll precipitate and trickle back down into the cauldron, which will reduce the alchemical volatility of any potion which does not include firebee nectar. Firebee nectar reacts unkindly to the glow of Cool-lillies." He said, rapid firing his whole suggestion in one long and quickly spoken sentence, clearly too excited to come with solutions of his own good. Interesting was in in his willingness to make use of other fields and areas, combining biology, magibiology, Chemistry and Alchemy to perfect his solutions. "Furthermore, have you tried changeling wing clippings boiled over warmed up saliva? Probably mix that saliva with seawater for that case." he said, tapping his hoof against the note in the bottom left of the drawing, which crudely stated changeling wings in it's illegible handwriting. "Changeling ingredients usually are inductive to varied transformations, but I've learned that with certain processing methods their effects can be more controlled and specified catalysts to singular or focused effects." Cloud drop once more, excitedly suggested. Again, with little mention of expensive ingredients, he did show a varied knowledge, but as with the cool-lillies, also to the alternative uses for certain ingredients!