absolution calling | juniper

[rhys alexander greyback]

it's like an intuition,

or a feeling in the air

July 7, 2028
juniper minerva mcgonagall

Juniper didn’t seem too troubled by the books, so Rhys also let it go. The books felt unrelated to everything, in any case. And her shared experience of a stiff neck was entirely relatable. ”The cots they give us while working used to be comfortable.” Rhys reminisced as he stood to take the potion. After popping off the cork and ingesting the contents, he grimaced for a few moments. That potion never tasted any better. ”I wonder if the inventor made it taste like this on purpose to discourage us from drinking.” Make the hangover and the cure not worth the trouble, not that it worked on Rhys.

His tolerance for bad-tasting potions was relatively high, especially considering all he’d gone through in his life. From the potions for lycanthropy-related ailments, whatever the nurse at Hogwarts had to administer, and then St. Mungo’s. Not to mention whatever Archer brewed up in the field. ”Archer has a better version of this...” He mumbled to himself, making a mental note to find his friend at some point next week to ask. Habitability, Rhys stretched as much as his body would let him, and if one listened closely, they could probably hear all the various popping noises from years of wear and tear as a Cursebreaker. Finally, he touched the shoulder opposite his werewolf bite to check on that old wound.

Rhys placed both empty bottles on the nightstand and crawled back into bed. Already, he could feel his headache fading and tension releasing in his neck. Now, he just felt tired, which had improved from a few minutes before. ”It’ll pass.” Rhys commented on the lingering taste. It did, fortunately, without the help of other products. Not that it stopped him from occasionally taking the additional shot of whiskey for the hell of it. But now that the near-debilitating headache was gone…Rhys looked at Juniper suggestively. ”I have an idea…” He could be so incorrigible sometimes, but it would solve this not tired enough to sleep situation, and his hand had found its way to her leg again. Though to her earlier suggestion they would need food at some point.

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[juniper minerva mcgonagall]

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Juniper couldn’t imagine spending weeks sleeping on a cot or on the ground in a sleeping bag. Obviously, it came with the job. She rubbed at her neck just thinking about it. Were there times where she’d been at the studio and passed out at her desk because she worked late? Yes. But she’d also learned how to cut herself off early. That had really only happened right at the beginning when she was still learning the ropes and trying to the producers to buy into her show ideas. Vertic Alley was the most successful, thankfully, and she hoped it would be able to continue on for years to come.

”I think that’s pretty obvious,” she said, not meaning to be as blunt sounding about it as she was. She didn’t think there was anything wrong with having it around for the occasional night out, but it couldn’t be healthy to keep drinking to that point and instantly recovering the next morning. A bad taste could easily be hidden after a moment or two by drinking something else. Having zero negative consequences for getting almost black-out drunk was dangerous. Juniper chose to ignore his comment about Archer having a better kind (which only made her wonder how it could be more effective than the one she’d just taken). This wasn’t any of her business anymore.

She sank deeper into the bed covers as she watched Rhys stretch the night out, visibly reacting whenever she heard a pop. That was a lot more than there had been four years ago. She sort of wished she could make her neck pop in the same manner earlier in the week. That had been beyond annoying whenever she was staring down at her lesson plans. At least the potion was making her head feel better, the lingering ache receding as it started to take effect. Any kind of relief that would let her go about the rest of her day was welcome.

As she was weighing the options between sleeping longer or getting food, Rhys’s hand found its way back to her leg, causing her to look up at him and raise her eyebrows. ”Oh really? I thought you were worn out?” she said back playfully. Once more wouldn't hurt. ”But we have to get something to eat after, okay? I’m starved.”

rhys alexander greyback ● 388

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