Scene #2311: An Understanding of Alchemy

Owner	Pose
Pius Athanor	It's a dreary day in the area, and the nearby village is quiet with most people deciding to stay indoors. It's the same with the Athanor mansion, where the two siblings are busy on today's work. The door is unlocked as there have been talks about a certain young girl stopping by to learn some of the basics of alchemy. But that doesn't mean that Pius can't continue his own work. Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm8kpZoX32k There's a peculiar mix of scents in the air. On one hand there's the lovely fragrance of cookies. Then there are... other things. Sulphur, iron and other metals, as well as a smell that is far from pleasing to most noses. But Alexa, the homunculus maid, is doing her best to air out of the house, even as rain falls outside. In his workshop the man of the house is busy at work. Parchments with writings on them cover a nearby desk as he leans over a bench, carefully measuring out various powders and liquids. Nearby the bottle with lightning in it is glowing. There are several large containers of bubbling materials lining one of the walls, the dark red liquid inside... bubbling? It's not a reassuring sight, is it? In the meanwhile Diane is sitting in the living room, looking over several pages of reports, deciding to research a bit while she waits for the visitors.
Mandy Rose	Today, Mandy has a different monster with her than usual. Instead of having her Gastly, Mana, shovering by her side, or her cybernetic cat, Mr. PomPoms, perched on her shoulder... she has Hana with her! Mandy is dressed in normal clothes. A tshirt, baby blue, with a pair of blue jeans. Her incredibly long hair is really the only thing that makes her look absolutely like a girl right now - her outfit is pretty boyish currently! She's also carrying a white coat in her arms, but she's not wearing it. She knocks on the front door politely!
Hana	When Mandy knocks on the door, Hana appears from behind the trainee alchemist and ineffectually headbutts the door. POMF. She does this a few times, because she's trying to simulate the sound, but she just can't quite manage it with her face. She then settles there on her bottom next to Mandy, waiting for Pius to answer the door. Staring up at the door.
Pius Athanor	It isn't Pius who opens the door, but Diane! The young woman peers out carefully at first, then her smile widens as she spots Mandy and Hana. "Oh, hi! Come on in! We were waiting for you, Pius is in his study!" The door opens further to allow the two entry, and Diane has a bounce in her step as she leads the way to the workshop. At first Pius doesn't seem to notice as he is busy with pouring a small amount of powder into a beaker. Though when Diane clears her throat he seems to hear, and he turns his head a bit. It's only when he spots Mandy and Hana that he puts down the items in his hands, and he gets off of his stool and walks towards them. "Ah, welcome you two! Come on, sit down and get comfortable! I am glad that young man were able to keep you and Diane safe the other night. And that you are here too, Hana! Have you heard any word about the location of a strong venom?" he inquires with great interest. Diane points out two chairs that have been set in front of a small table. A table that has a tray of cookies and some tea prepared.
Mandy Rose	Mandy breaks into a bright smile as Diane answers the door. "Diane! Hi!" Beeaaam. She steps inside after stomping the dirt off of her rather heavy-duty boots. She's dressed for lab work! She's even got a pair of goggles bundled up in that white coat... "Thank you for having us!" she chirps happily to Pius, while she takes a seat at the table. "...He was a jerk," she comments with a frown. "We would've been fine without him, probably."
Hana	Hana makes a loud gurgling noise at Diane. The smile seems to indicate it's a greeting. The very enthusiastic bush then merrily skips-- tumbles along while following Diane back over to Pius. Once the table has been spotted, she attempts to climb a chair, and then the table itself to sit atop its surface. Hana is a very small creature, so she has to do this in order to reach the cookies. If she's not stopped, she will pick up the whole plate and messily pour them into her big mouth, and then messily eat the cookies, careless of manners or sense. It's a wonder she doesn't also attempt to eat the plate.
Pius Athanor	"Nonetheless," Pius says as he pulls out the chairs for the two guests, "I'm glad he was there in case you would have needed him. A gentleman would never put a young lady in unreasonable danger." It does not seem like either of the siblings mind Hana sitting on the table, though Diane does look confused at first when Hana grabs the entire plate of cookies and... eats them all. Good thing she baked a lot of cookies. "Uh, are you hungry, Hana?" she asks a bit nervously. "So...!" Pius claps his hands together, peering at Mandy with a smile. "Let me know how much you already know about alchemy, dear Mandy. Then I will know where to start!"
Mandy Rose	Mandy doesn't move to stop Hana at all. She does, however, snatch her hand over to pick up two cookies - holding one between her index and middle fingers, and the other between her middle and ring fingers. Silly. "Sheesh, Hana, don't eat so fast! You'll get sick. Maybe," she chides good-naturedly. Still not doing anything to stop her, though, as she nibbles at one of her cookies. "Ah... well. I don't know that much, I don't think? I... do know that it requires energy. The words 'Divine Fire' keep popping into my head when I think about it but I'm not entirely sure what that means?"
Hana	Considering the only thing that makes Hana sick is straight-up rat poison, from Mandy's possibly very distressing experience, Hana isn't terribly worried about getting sick. The strange monster turns and directs her big monster eye toward Diane for a moment. "Not anymore!" she proudly replies, smiling sweetly at the nervous girl. She looks back over to Pius when the initial setup for lessons begins, observing quietly and without any comprehension of what's going on.
Pius Athanor	"Uh." Diane looks between Hana and the now empty plate. "Good?" She will reach out and take the plate though, then she heads off in the direction of the kitchen to get more cookies so that Mandy will actually get something to eat besides those two cookies. For now Pius is more concerned with alchemy than with cookies and messy eating manners. "Ah, so very little. Very well! Alchemy is the noble art of changing substances to becoming something else. The ultimate goal is to make gold, but I think that's a petty reason to use alchemy myself. There are so many other uses for it, don't you think?" Pius turns to his desk, then he gives Mandy a leather-bound notebook as well as a large tome. "Here, take these. One of them is a book on basic alchemy, I have it memorised. The other is a notebook you can use to write down the things you learn. Always remember to write things down, that is how you learn. Okay? Make sure to take notes."
Mandy Rose	Mandy blinks, tilting her head. "...But basic transmutation of matter is easy. Isn't it? It's transmuting living organisms and souls that's hard." She sounds confused, but also pretty convinced of what she's saying. "...Oh! Um. I do know that sometimes it's not the actual material that matters but what the material -represents-. And sometimes it's more the -shape- that matters I think..." She takes the book, turning it over in her hands. She opens it to a random page! "...Those symbols definitely look familiar. That's... bismuth I think..." she murmurs to herself. Seems there -is- some knowledge locked away in there, even if it doesn't come immediately to Mandy's mind.
Hana	Hana continues to stare without understanding what these odd humans are talking about. She carefully brushes crumbs off of herself, making sure not to gouge herself with her own claws. She distractedly stands atop the table and starts looking around the room, starting to seem confused and out of place.
Pius Athanor	"Basic transmutation is easy, yes. But there are several levels of transmutation, and beyond the basic levels it can be quite challenging. Transmuting living organisms is an ethical issue as well," Pius explains with a nod, then taps the book so Mandy will open it and begin taking notes. "Symbolism is what matters the most. And imagination. Sure, there are set rules for the various elements and what they can be used for. But sometimes you have to be creative in order to advance the alchemical processes." His voice is serious, but his tone suggests enthusiasm and glee, as if he is discussing the most interesting topic in the entire multiverse. Which it is to him. "Don't overanalyse processes. Do what comes naturally, that's what I do. And that's how you will work once you have the basics down." Pius walks back to his bench and resumes weighing up ingredients that he was working on prior to the arrival of his guests. Diane too returns and sets the plate back down, offering more cookies to the guests. It seems that she spots Hana's confusion, and she leans down. "Are you okay, Hana?"
Mandy Rose	"Imagination...?" Mandy asks, slightly bewildered. Then her eyes widen as something seems to 'click' in her mind. "Oh! Oh, I see," she says, suddenly seeming to get it. "No, that makes perfect sense. Experimentation and..." She looks down at the book in her hand, then flips through to the first page. "Symbolism isn't exactly a... objective quality things have, either. So alchemy..." She kinda trails off. She's already taking notes, not even looking at the notepad as she writes. There's a faint... glint of light in her eyes, for a moment.
Hana	Hana looks toward Diane, snapped out of her stupor and into a look of dumbfounded surprise. She sits back down on the table and puffs a little sigh. "Yep," she tells Diane, a little less loudly, and she continues listening to the alchemy talk, especially the murmuring that Mandy does. When efforts to understand alchemy are attempted by Mandy, Hana turns her head to observe Mandy's face. The writing is met with a strange stare... Hana reaches into her mouth to draw some gold sap-like spit out. And, while Mandy is doing that, Hana tries to write, too. The monster, like in a synergy with Mandy, writes down some basic algebra with that sap, and then pauses to stare down at it. It's a basic equation to calculate a line on a graph, something she had read somewhere, probably from Mandy's own homework. She looks up to Diane and trills, "Is that rrright?"
Pius Athanor	As realisation dawns on Mandy Pius can't help but smile, knowing well the look in her eyes. "Yes! You have to test with various materials, as there are so many options when it comes to picking the right combinations. Even if you want to make a metallic solution, perhaps transmuted blood might be better than ore if you want something a bit more organic. If you want a non-organic application, then you use ore instead," he gives as an example. There's no attempt to stop Mandy's line of thought. "It's a difficult process, and sometimes you can be stuck for months on the equation. Until inspiration strikes, that is." He gently adds some more fine powder to the beaker, then stirs it with a glass rod. "The equipment is something several people will have different opinions on as well. What matters is that they are CLEAN and not about to chemically react with the materials you are using. You want glass for some things, metal for others. So have a variety of equipment." As the lesson goes on Diane seems a bit confused by the sap that Hana pulls out of her mouth. Others might have been disgusted. But the Athanor siblings appear to not worry too much. Not when Hana actually seems intent on learning as well. As for whether the equation is correct, Diane tilts her head a bit to the side, a bit confused. "Umm. This is alchemy, not physics?"
Mandy Rose	Mandy glances over to what Hana has written. "...That's pure math, not physics," she says, blinking her eyes twice. She winces a bit. That light has gone from her eyes. She looks up at Pius, and nods her head. "Uh... right. Glass is good because it doesn't react with much. Metals can be good because they DO react..." She looks down at her notepad. It's complete gibberish. "...What the hell was I even..." she murmurs. While reaching over to ruffle Hana's 'hair' a little bit, kinda absent-mindedly praising her.
Hana	Hana looks at Diane, frowning in obvious disappointment at a lack of confirmation about this. "I know that," she tells Diane, sullenly, then about to reach down and smear the sap around. When Mandy praises with a touch, the plant creature pauses, and instead seeks out some napkins or something else to clean up the mess, her mood less frustrated after that. The monster scurries over to look at what Mandy was writing, and immediately seems confused. "Hrrmf?" She sits down there and blinks slowly. "Dunno," she offers helpfully.
Pius Athanor	Pius is so enthralled in the work he's doing at his bench right now that he doesn't look up, instead his eyes are focused on stirring the solution in the correct way and manner. "Don't be discouraged, there are times when you think you have it, then your idea will simply slip away from you. Inspiration works that way, it's a fickle idea that seeks to evade you. Like most things worth having, it's something you have to chase without forcing it. Let it come to you when you open your mind, dear Mandy." He does hold up a hand, index finger pointing in Mandy's direction. "Also, you are not allowed to erase anything from your notebook! Don't discarded a single thought, lest it be there to help you later! Understood?" Diane gives Hana an apologetic smile, and she sighs slightly. "You will get it too. It took me years to grasp even the basics!" "Now," Pius continues, then holds the beaker up against the light so he can study the fluids inside. "Alchemy requires knowledge of chemistry and biology. How much do you know on those subjects, Mandy? Diane can lend you some books if you want to study them."
Mandy Rose	Mandy scratches the side of her head and peers at her notebook again. Then she shakes her head and flips the page. Then Pius is asking about chemistry! "Oh, I've been learning a lot about chemistry. My science teacher is thinking about putting me in high school chemistry classes, even! And I've been researching stuff on my own, too. Mostly, um. Things that explode." She rubs the back of her head this time. "Biology... Ummm. We haven't done biology in science class yet. Just chemistry and physics."
Hana	Hana smiles at Diane, the apology easily accepted by the tiny flower monster. She gurgles a bit after that, from the sugar that's processing in her body, and just sort of... flops onto her face for a quick nap. This is something that Mandy is probably used to seeing, after witnessing the monster eat that much at once.
Pius Athanor	As Hana falls asleep from her sudden sugar crash, Diane looks a bit confused. But she doesn't seem to wonder for long, as she heads over to a nearby chair and picks up a blanket that she carefully lays over Hana's back so she won't get cold during her nap. Why, the girl looks a bit amused at this. Pius looks pleased when he learns that Mandy has indeed been learning chemistry, and he nods with a smile crossing his lips. "Excellent. Though you will want to study stable concoctions too, as explosions are not too often used in final alchemical processes. As for biology, it is what many alchemical processes can be used for. Inorganic uses are fine too, but why limit yourself? You are young, you will learn all of this easily I'm sure," he says, then points to the massive bookshelves behind Diane. "Diane, be a dear and get Mandy some introduction books to biology and some level three books of organic chemistry." "Okay!" The girl starts searching the bookshelves and sets aside some books while Pius continues talking. "If I'm going to teach you, I want you to come here at least twice a week. I can tutor you while I'm working on my Magnum Opus, and then you can also see some practical and elemental processes as I will be performing them while I work on this. Okay?"
Mandy Rose	Mandy giggles a little bit at Hana just flopping over, reaching over to pat her back gently. She looks at the plant monster with obvious adoration in her eyes, stroking gently over the blanket once Diane has applied it. "Twice a week..? Oh, that would be wonderful! Thank you!" she smiles brightly. "I'll... I'll do my best to learn quickly so I can help, as well! I don't want to get in the way."
Pius Athanor	"Oh, you are not in the way, Mandy," Pius reassures her. "I doubt you would do anything to upset my work, especially if you're doing what you're doing today. As you learn you can begin your own alchemical works as well, and I can be there to assist you if you need guidance." The beaker's contents are poured carefully into small vials, and Pius looks pleased. "Excellent... now we just need to focus on getting the venom and the minerals necessary, then I should be able to start construction on the body within a week!" Right now he appears to be in a particularly good mood, and Diane even turns away from the bookshelves. "Really? So we're not behind schedule then?" she asks carefully.
Mandy Rose	Mandy can't help but smile up at Pius. Once she hears the new about how close he's getting, she looks both elated and a little concerned. "That's... that's good. Mmmh. I think Hana might be getting close to finding an appropriate monster..."
Pius Athanor	"Let us indeed hope so," Pius says, reaching a hand into the top of his shirt as he pulls out the amphora from its chain. "And no, we should be able to complete the Magnum Opus just in time at this rate. As long as nothing hinders us further, we should be good." He runs his callused fingers over the glass container slightly, then he turns his gaze to Hana. "I will have to ask her when she wakes up."