The Girl with an Owl

Chapter 44

"So shall we go on with our assignment?" Kieran asked.

Ajana felt as if he was being insensitive but didn't say it since one part of her understood that he needed the assignment to prove something to the others. Still, it wasn't every day one learned that people had the right to hate their whole species. She couldn't just flip a switch after learning something like that and focus on school work.

Seeing that there was no response, Kieran started thinking that he had probably chosen the wrong time to tell Ajana and Bluebells the truth. Ajana seemed unable to do anything but stare into the distance as if she could change the past with the intensity of her stare.

"Listen, I know it's a lot to take in, but we need to do this project well, for both of our sakes. They need to see that we can follow the rules, do what we are told." Kieran said.

Ajana realized that he was right, especially with the elves trying to break through once again. Most people would be suspicious of Ajana and Kieran. After all, if elderly humans could be spies in the past, why not the children now.

With all the strength she had, she pushed the gloomy thoughts away to be reexamined once she was all alone in her room, ready for bed and tried to focus on what they needed to do.

"Okay, so what do we do first?" She asked.

"First we make the potion. I've brought all the ingredients with me." Kieran said.

Looking at his empty hands, Ajana was shocked by his statement. Then suddenly, he clapped his hands and a bag appeared between them. It was a small bag, but as he murmured into it something she couldn't hear, it became bigger and full.

It turned out to be full of bottles, jars and similar things since apparently, all the ingredients needed to be in separate containers. Ajana guessed that some of them could react badly with others in the right conditions which would explain why they were separated.

As if it were a magician's hat, Kieran put his hand into the bag and pulled out a cauldron.

"Is that a cauldron? But you aren't a witch. Why would you need a cauldron?" Ajana asked.

"Yes, that is a cauldron and contrary to your beliefs they are not only for witches. They are used by most magical creatures since they are very strong and sturdy, undeterred by most potions and concoctions, even the strongest ones." Kieran replied.

"I see. Will we be putting in there an eye of newt or something?" Ajana asked.

"An eye of newt!? That's cruel. Why would anyone do that?" Kieran asked.

"I don't know, in the movies, they often use things like that," Ajana replied.

"Well, we won't be using it," Kieran said.

As he said that, he made a mental note to check out what movies are and why Ajana kept mentioning them. It was annoying beyond measure that he was unable to understand what she was saying.

"Then what should we put in it? Tell me what I can do to help." Ajana said.

As she said that, she noticed that Kieran had pulled out all the different ingredients and that their containers were clearly labeled. Everything seemed very professional to her and not very magical.

"Okay so when I tell you, you will bring a certain ingredient to me since I need to stay focused on stirring. You see, with every ingredient added the stirring should change slightly and I need to be careful about that so I can't focus on getting the ingredients as well. All right?" Kieran asked.

Ajana nodded her head in agreement and approached the bottles, jars, and tubes with caution. She had no idea if any of them were dangerous for her or not, but she decided to be on the safe side.

"Okay so give me the huge bottle of pond water," Kieran said.

"Is pond water safe to drink?" Ajana asked as she gave him the enormous bottle.

"Of course, in Mag, there is no pollution plus the water has some magical properties," Kieran said as he gently stirred the water.

All that time, Bluebells watched what was happening with fascination that kept him still and his eyes darting from one object to the next, from one person to the other. It was the most interesting thing he had ever seen and he was not planning on missing even one second of it.

"Okay, now give me that jar with pondweed, one of the main ingredients for all transformations," Kieran said.

As Ajana handed him the jar, he started beating the two ingredients the same way one would be beating some eggs for breakfast. Ajana was surprised since she always thought that all the witches did was stirring the liquid in the cauldron.

"Now I need you to put one drop of bat drool in here," Kieran said.

"Eww, that's disgusting." Bluebells said.

"Yes, it is but we won't feel its taste and it will make the potion stronger. Is that okay with you?" He asked Ajana.

It was most definitely not okay with her, but she wasn't about to tell him that. He would think that it was just her limited human existence preventing her from making the best potion ever.

"If it will make the potion better, I am all for it." She said.

Then she proceeded to put one small drop in the cauldron. As she did that, Kieran started stirring in a circular motion that Ajana expected before and already the water did not look like regular water.

"So, I will make the potion for me first since we can't make both at the same time. Please pass me the hair of the wolf." Kieran said.

Upon being passed the jar with the hair of the wolf, Kirean opened the jar and gently pulled out one strand of hair putting it to float on the surface of the cauldron and then another that he somehow made stay in the middle of the cauldron. Finally, he put the third one at the bottom.

"Okay, lastly, give me some knotweed to tie it all into a knot," Kieran said.

When the last ingredient was in the cauldron, he stirred three times clockwise, then he used only his magic to heat the mixture. When it started boiling on the inside, the outside of the cauldron was still cold, and that was the moment when Ajana was fascinated the most.

It was as if he didn't need the fire. He was the fire and he could do it without uttering a single spell. For someone who had as little experience with magic as Ajana, it was breathtaking.

Soon enough the potion started bubbling and it's color started changing to a bluish tint that was more like seawater than the pond water. That was the moment Kieran stopped stirring and put his hand closer to the bubbling potion.

"What are you doing?" Ajana asked.

"I am giving it a drop of my essence so that it can connect with my T-hormones," Kieran replied.

Finally, the liquid stopped bubbling and its final color turned out to be bright blue. It was fascinating to see how just a few ingredients could create something that looked as beautiful as that.

When it cooled down, Kieran took a potion bottle, poured the liquid in it, and put a cork on it. He did all that with utmost care not to touch the liquid before the time for transformation came.

"Why did you put the cork on the bottle?" Ajana asked.

"Well, it needs to breathe a bit but not too much and after a lot of experimenting we concluded that the cork is the best for that," Kieran said.

"So is that it?" Ajana asked.

"Well, it does need to sit for ten minutes, but yes after that, I can drink it and turn into a wolf," Kieran said.

"Will my potion be the same?" Ajana asked.

"Yes, most of the ingredients will be the same, although some changes will have to be made, hair of chimpanzee instead of the one of the wolf being the major one. Also, the color of your potion will probably be different since the person's essence is what colors the potion and no two people have the same essence." Kieran said.

Then, they started the process all over again to make the potion for Ajana, and it went much quicker than the first one since Ajana already knew what she should do. Soon enough they had the second potion ready. They were just waiting for it to sit long enough so that they could drink them together.