long nights | emmanuelle

[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

please note: TW/CW warning for this thread, as the mention and involvement of drugs are included.

january 14th 2026

"AH FUCK." RUE MUTTERED TO themselves as they lit their next cigarette, taking a puff or two on it before letting the muggle object hang at the corner of her lips. It was still early into Wednesday morning, considering the Weiss had stayed within the lab overnight, working on a few more potions that were required for some upcoming Purifier meetings. Adding the right ingredients to the sample tubes, Rue wheeled over to the other side of her lab table, lifting the potion droplet onto a glass try and smiling at the success of it all.

"What fucking time is it?.." Rue muttered, placing all objects down and taking a few more puffs on their cigarette, eyes wondering for the clock that she knew she had installed within the lab. Finding the two clock hands, the Weiss sighed as they realised it was almost nine in the morning, meaning their stay within the base was long overdue. Thankful for bringing a small portable coffee machine along to the lab, Rue rose from their seat, heading over to make their third or fourth coffee of the night...Well day.

| emmanuelle antoinette picquery |

a starter for you!

[emmanuelle antoinette picquery]

January 14, 2026

Usually, Emmanuelle didn't come to the Purifiers' base early in the day. It was much easier to cover her tracks at nighttime, and she had a day job that wasn't just a cover for the work that she did under the table. The previous night, however, she had left the base later than usual for the sake of going home and getting some sleep when it became apparent that Rue Weiss was going to attempt an all-nighter to finish up some ongoing projects. Though she wanted to run a few errands in Knockturn Alley before she was scheduled to work later on, Emmanuelle's first stop had been to return to the base and check back in on Rue.

The younger Purifier was perfectly capable of making her own decisions; Emmanuelle knew that, but she wasn't about to let Rue screw up accidentally, either. Maybe it was stupid to maintain any real loyalties within the Purifiers, but Emmanuelle couldn't help it. She and Rue were both from New Orleans originally and had found their ways to the Purifiers under different circumstances, and that gave Emmanuelle a sense of responsibility over Rue in spite of the fact that she had no actual siblings of her own.

It was just before nine o'clock that she made her way through the base and over to where Rue's lab was. Emmanuelle would have expected more disarray from them, though it was actually the smell of coffee that caught her attention first. Rue was definitely still there and definitely still awake—if only with the help of caffeine. "Merlin's beard, Rue…" she laughed in total disbelief, her drawl pronounced as she spoke. "You're still awake? Did you forget how to brew a sleeping potion?"

prudence oria weiss

[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

AS THE MACHINE GRINDED, WITH coffee beans falling and creating the perfect espresso, Rue wasn't expecting company for a few more hours. But with the familiar voice of Emmanuelle entering the room, complaining about Rue still being awake only left the Weiss rather fearful, jumping at the sound of her friends voice firstly before relaxing, remembering where Rue was and the recollection that not just anyone could enter the base. "Fucking hell Emmy!" Rue called out, breathing a little heavy as she composed herself from the little fear-factor. Maybe...It was most definitely a sign that Rue needed sleep.

"I have too many projects...To sleep in between...This is fine- I'm..Fine." Rue added, lifting up her small espresso mug in her friend's direction, before creating a typical iced-coffee. Adding the rest of the ingredients required, they returned to their wheeling chair, wheeling closer to her work bench and where Emmanuelle was altogether. "What brings you back here?..I thought you had errands to run today?.."

| emmanuelle antoinette picquery |

hehe!

[emmanuelle antoinette picquery]

January 14, 2026

Rue swore upon realizing that she was there, obviously startled by her presence. The shock of her return seemed to wear off quickly, though, as Rue spoke again. "I have too many projects… To sleep in between… This is fine… I'm—Fine."

Though their voice suggested that they were anything but "fine" and were most definitely deprived of some much-needed sleep, Emmanuelle knew that Rue wouldn't admit to needing to rest. She was tempted to take away Rue's caffeine, but she didn't think that that would work out too well for her. Could she just plop in a vial of a sleeping draught while Rue wasn't looking?

"What brings you back here?" Rue questioned as she wheeled back in her direction. "I thought you had errands to run today?"

"I do," Emmanuelle nodded. She did have errands she wanted to run—going over to Knockturn Alley, in particular—but it was still early enough that most of the shops were likely just opening. She didn't need to be the first one in the door, and it was probably better if she wasn't; it would keep her from drawing too much attention to herself, especially because her appearance wasn't one that was exactly unremarkable. "If you quit pulling all-nighters," she pointed out to Rue, grabbing the arm of their chair, "I wouldn't have to interrupt your work." It would have been better if Rue had had, say, an eight-hour interruption for some sleep, but obviously that hadn't happened.

prudence oria weiss

[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

RUE WAS DEFINITELY FAR FROM fine. Perhaps more-so: sleep deprived and completely sober - considering it had been a few days since Rue had used their own creations to get high. Groaning as Emmanuelle started to somewhat nag and grab at the arm of Rue's chair, Rue turned around, facing the vials of their next test-potion before sipping once more on their coffee.

"You're lucky I'm just using caffeine to keep me up.." Rue trailed off, knowing that if she had used other means to stay up definitely not their potions, Rue would be up for days and would definitely have dark circles that would remain permanently. "And you're also lucky I left my best batch of my Pepper-up creation at home." Rue added, lifting the glass towards her friend before having another sip.

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so sorry for the wait!

[emmanuelle antoinette picquery]

January 14, 2026

Rue remained nonchalant, sipping on their coffee before remarking that Emmanuelle was lucky that they were using only caffeine—the implication being, of course, that they easily could have been using something stronger but weren't. Emmanuelle guessed that that was a good thing, relatively speaking. "And you're also lucky I left my best batch of my Pepper-Up creation at home," Rue added, lifting her coffee as though toasting with it before taking yet another sip.

"Yeah, I know you don't mean a cold potion," Emmanuelle answered Rue, rolling her eyes at them. Maybe it was Pepper-Up Potion with something much stronger added to it, but that was being optimistic. "Just because you make sh*t doesn't mean you can't go to an apothecary and get some regular potions like a normal-a** person," Emmanuelle reminded her forcefully. "Because if nobody else in this dungeon does," she added, "I actually give a damn about you, kid." They—Emmanuelle, Rue, anybody—were always going to be disposable to Elaine, no matter how close to her they might have seemed in terms of their responsibilities.

prudence oria weiss

[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

SLOWLY FINISHING THE GOLDEN ROAST in her mug, the Weiss lowered the mug upon her counter top before raising her brows over at her friends comments and Emmanuelle's eye roll. It was amusing, the little bickers between each other being nothing more than a playful game.

"What's wrong with simply making my own?" Rue responded, a grin wide on their lips, knowing that while they were a great potioneer, the longer she exposed herself to their own creations, soon enough Rue would be the cause of their own issues. "Besides, doing normal things is irritating. Especially when I can make whatever I want, whenever I want." Rue knew that Emmaunelle would be giving her an intervention soon enough, the same kind of intervention that her her mother and extended family once tried to put them through.

"You care about me?" Rue questioned, looking over at Emmaunelle, a wide smile on their lips. "You know you shouldn't. We're all here for some kind of master-plan in the end anyway. I'll be surprised if I don't end up dead by the end of the year." It was a dark joke of course, but given Rue's addictions and bad habits, they couldn't help but think rather bleakly.

| emmanuelle antoinette picquery |

so sorry for the wait!

[emmanuelle antoinette picquery]

January 14, 2026

Rue was intentionally trying to get on her nerves, Emmanuelle knew, as they asked her what was wrong with making their own potions. There would have been nothing wrong with that if Rue's potions were ordinary potions, but they both knew that they weren't. "Besides, doing normal things is irritating," Rue lamented. "Especially when I can make whatever I want, whenever I want."

Just because Rue could do it didn't mean that she needed to do it, Emmanuelle thought as she exhaled through her nose. She wasn't about to turn things into an argument, though; Rue was just trying to see how far they could go before she cracked, and Emmanuelle wasn't going to give her the glory of doing that.

Even when she mentioned caring about Rue, it was obvious that they were in a mood. They grinned at her mischievously, almost mockingly. "You know you shouldn't," Rue reminded her, and she had a point as she said that they were all there to fulfill roles in some master plan in the end. It was true; they weren't really the ones in control in the Purifiers.

"I'll be surprised if I don't end up dead by the end of the year," Rue added, and Emmanuelle tried not to lose her patience.

"I'm not goin' into some philosophical bullsh*t," Emmanuelle told them outright. "The less you quit mixin' Merlin knows what, the less chance I have of finding your dead body in here one of these days. And I will kill you dead before that happens. You hear me?" She looked at Rue sternly enough to communicate that she wasn't messing around. If they actually wanted out, there were plenty of people in the Purifiers who wouldn't think twice about using the Killing Curse and making it completely painless, but she wasn't one of them.

prudence oria weiss

[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

WHILE RUE HAD SIBLINGS, SHE knew the bickering between them and the bickering between themselves and Emmanuelle was entirely different. The two had bonded from their similarities and now that they were partners. What more could the Weiss ask for? Although, Rue knew what she said was exactly the opposite of what Emmaunelle was expecting, considering since Rue's potions weren't for the typical witch or wizard and definitely so for the typical addict. They liked to provide to the people really.

Taking another puff or two from their cigarette, Rue looked up at Emmy as she went off on one, saying how she wasn't going to go all philosophical...But it felt just like that. "You act as if I don't take precautions for these things." Rue interjected, flicking the ash off of their cigarette while they mixed another potion. "The Pepper-Up potion was one of my firsts and its pretty much perfected...Which you're always welcome to try by the way."

Lifting the beacon of mixed liquids, dark eyes narrowed as they watched the change, a small smile rising on the brunette's lips as it was another success. "If I die you'll definitely be the first one to know." Rue muttered over their cigarette, a grin rising on their lips. Noticing how stern Emmy looked, the Weiss placed down the beacon carefully, looking over at her as seriously as she could. "Emmy. I'm fine okay? I'm even sober right now. Is that not progress?"

| emmanuelle antoinette picquery |

[emmanuelle antoinette picquery]

January 14, 2026

"You act as if I don't take precautions for these things," Rue criticized her, smoking and concocting another potion simultaneously (because that absolutely seemed like they were taking precautions, Emmanuelle thought). Rue reminded her that the Pepper-Up Potion had been one of her firsts and was "pretty much" perfected. Emmanuelle was skeptical about accepting Rue's offer to try the stuff, but it hadn't killed them yet.

"Thanks…" Emmanuelle replied, her lips drawing into a line.

"If I die," continued Rue, "you'll definitely be the first one to know." That was probably supposed to be reassuring, and Emmanuelle supposed that it was reassuring, in a weird way. The structure of the Purifiers meant that not everyone was particularly close. At least if something were to happen to Rue, Emmanuelle could see to it that their body wasn't just incinerated or tossed into some mass grave somewhere with the remains of the wretches who had ended up on the wrong side of someone within the organization.

Rue set down her work in progress and looked at her more seriously, mentioning that they were fine. They were even sober. As they pointed out, that was worth something.

Emmanuelle smiled a little, willing to concede that that was a good step. "Yeah, okay… That's progress," she agreed. She had seen Rue far worse. "Do you need anything while I'm out?" she added. "Some actual food or something?"

prudence oria weiss
OOC: We can wrap this up on your next?

[prudence oria weiss]

━ the mirror's telling me to go home ━

AS RUE OFFERED FOR HER friend to tried their perfected creation, Rue's lips only turned upwards at Emmy's response. As her lips drew into a line, Rue couldn't help but let their lips grow into a wider grin. "I'm just fucking with you." Rue added, knowing that Emmanuelle was the far from the type of person to accept an offer of anything like that. Or at least Rue believed...She wasn't that type of person...

Considering Rue was sober and sleep deprived, they knew would take a little longer to get to work. It wasn't truly an issue, considering the amount of times beforehand the Weiss had done such a thing. As Emmy agreed with her, Rue hummed and decided to have one more sip of their coffee before answering her friend. "Anything greasy would be great. And generally something to keep me awake." The Weiss replied, smiling over at their friend.

"Don't worry if you have to take too long, I'll be here." She added, lowering the coffee mug and shaking the next beacon, watching as the colour of the liquid phased into its failed stage. Merlin, Rue had a long night ahead of them.

END!

| emmanuelle antoinette picquery |