IGNORANTIA (Dark Academia!Wesper AU)

negen

TW: Graphic depictions of blood and seizure-like symptoms. Discretion is advised.

The solution is in the jurda stalks. At least, that's what Kuwei and I are hoping. There really is no way to try out an antidote for a drug that doesn't exist yet; all we can do is experiment and hope. We're so close to finalizing it, if our research can be trusted. But I have faith in us. Just as Kuwei had said; we're practically the dream team of Chemistry, and no one could stop us.

I'm just going to have to hope he's right, because we're officially starting the prototypes today.

Our "subjects", as Callaghan would like us to call them, are indentures to the councilmen under non-disclosure contracts. They're all Grisha in some sort of way; one fabrikator, two heartrenders, one inferni, and one tidemaker. They're all to remain anonymous to us, and to address us by "sir" and "ma'am", even if they know who we are.

It's a Saturday afteroon. It feels wrong to be in here mid-day on the weekend. I think everyone feels that way, too. Dorian is certainly less chatty, and the twins have been muttering Fjerdan prayers under their breath since we first came in this morning. We're all supposed to be here, but Talia, our healer and best chemist, was gone. It felt wrong to go on without her, and strange that she'd miss this in the first place. She's never been one to be absent. At least, not until recently...

Anyway, Kuwei has joined us in perfecting the serum. We had discussed his involvement last night; how we needed the others to trust him for this to work. If we wanted a proper antidote, we needed the parem to actually work. Kuwei is sure they've got the equation right this time. We said he woke up sick this morning just being around it.

I don't know what I'm more worried about: the drug being effective, or the drug failing. Either way, we're endangering the lives of these Grisha indentures. I'm only sixteen years old, and I might be witnessing my first murder today.

At least winter break is just around the corner. At least I have a show to go to with Nina and Jesper tomorrow. (Will I even be able to look them in the eye after this? Will it even matter? At least they're safe from all of this chaos. It's the least I could have done them.)

The labs have been so messy that Callaghan's had to move his regular classes to a different room entirely. The chalkboard is marked up in white, and there's so many Jurda petals on the floor that it should be a safety hazard. Patton has taken a break from reading out our old notes to grab a broom to sweep them all up.

Everyone's holding their breath as Inga, one of the twins, reaches into the oven to grab the crucible. The tongs in her hand miss the pot. She readjusts them, and pulls the crucible out, placing it on the counter. Carefully, she picks up the lid with her tongs, and moves it out of the way. We all peer inside.

The faint smell of earthly decay is instantly recognizable. The powder looks grayer than it did in Kuwei's pouch, but it's parem all right. We did it. We did the impossible.

Callaghan struts in through the door. He's dressed differently today; not in his usual lab coat, but a three piece suit more expensive than the lab equipment we're using. I think he's even dyed his gray hairs brown for the occasion — his beard certainly looks livelier.

"Is it done yet?" he asks.

Dorian nods. "Yes, sir."

"Excellent."

He opens the door that connects to the neighboring classroom, waiting for us to file in. We go in one-by-one; Dorian at the head, and me and Kuwei at the back. I want to ask Kuwei if he has it. I mean, I'm sure he does. This little problem of ours affects him more than it will anybody else.