Too Much Time On My Hands (Research/Solo)

[Capsule]

Unlike the first time she had conducted research, Capsule had planned ahead to make what she had in mind. 'Let's just help it all goes well this time.' That wasn't to say that the first time had been an absolute blunder, but it had been rather unexpected, and could have seriously hurt someone. 'We don't want to do that, now do we?' Some small, chaotic part of her wanted to say yes, but she denied it, and would continue doing so until the end of time. While some people may be unable to keep their impulsiveness in check, Capsule had a good amount of self-control, though she often restrained herself more than necessary. She disliked taking unnecessary risks, whether they involve combat or the battlefield of love.

"Too shy, shy - hush hush - ay yu ay," Capsule sang softly to herself as she stepped out of the local shop in downtown London that sold beginner tools and items for crafters. She had just purchased one of the staples of a Pharmacist - a simple mortar and pestle. 'Now all I need are the ingredients.' Those (thankfully) would not be hard to find, since she had a somewhat shady dealer. Not being her own gardener could make things annoying to get a hold of, especially when she was paying out of pocket for it. Sometimes she regretted her choices, but although she could technically switch subclasses if she wanted to, that required doing so with money she did not have. Furthermore, she was the sort to accept the route she had taken and stick with it.

Capsule found her dealer, a dark skinned wolf hair, in his usual spot. The adventurer was fond of changing his clothing style more than a teenage girl, so she sometimes had to confirm that it was truly him before proceeding. She held up a hand in greeting, to which he gave a rough nod to. "Do you have anything to treat burns? Specifically something not too advanced for me to handle?"

The man was no doubt sneering behind the red bandana he wore. Her Pharmacist level wasn't that low, after all. "I'm assuming you mean herbal remedies, yes? If so, then there are many things you can use to treat burns - water, honey, milk, plantain leaves, egg whites, turmeric, ice cubes -"

The man was interrupted by Capsule raising her hand like a child answering a teacher in a classroom. "Those all sound like ingredients I can find anywhere - and get for free." If one couldn't understand that by "free" Capsule meant "stolen," then they weren't very street savvy, as her dealer was expected to be. The man's eyes narrowed at her, that possible sneer now possibly gone or widened.

"Yes, you can find most of these ingredients just about anywhere, but few of them are what I would call…practical for your profession. Turmeric root is definitely one that would suit you quite well. Also have good luck finding it. Many chefs I've seen around here are peculiar about the spices they use. You'll need to see a farmer or gardener for what you need." He was definitely sneering again. Capsule could tell by the tone of his voice, which was back to being its smooth and silky self, like the shady car salesman who had fooled several customers into buying a grade A lemon. "And, while you could steal your supplies, you don't strike me as a particularly good thief, nor do you necessarily have the knowledge of what many herbs can do, unlike someone like me."

He had her there; there were many things Capsule had still yet to learn about the ingredients she needed for her craft. It wouldn't do at all to grab the wrong herb and concoct some kind of deadly poison. She glared back up at the man, a tight little smile forming itself on her face. He had won - there was no denying that. All she could do now was save face and hope he still wished to do business with her. "Fine. I concede. How much for the turmeric root, then?"

The corners of the wolf hair's lips revealed themselves as he smiled widely behind his bandana. "For you? I'll give you a pound for fifty gold, darling~."

Capsule left the alley with considerably lighter pockets, left to wonder if she had just been scammed or genuinely given a good deal. Either way, she had enough turmeric to last her for quite a bit, though she would have to chop up the roots herself, as they were still intact. The amount of work involved failed to overly concern her; it would be rather comforting to keep her mind and hands busy.

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Words:
788

Muse:
Too Much Time On My Hands

Notes:
Is it any wonder I'm not a criminal?

Tags:
Capsule

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

Capsule kicked off her boots as she entered the top floor of the building she called a home, which was (slowly) growing in decoration and comfort. She had a wooden carving from Weegee hung on the wall of her main room, the cheap blanket made by Aeon neatly folded beside the cushions that made up her seating area, and would soon have a Frenmic Rabbit sculpture by Adler to add to the room as a centerpiece. She gave a soft sigh when she remembered how barren and incomplete her other rooms were. It might be a good idea to bother Weegee later about making some simple furnishings, like chairs and tables. She had a few of those in her possession, but like many places of her hovel, they were broken and stained in places.

Bare feet padded across a floor devoid of carpet, and stopped in front of the small pile of mismatched cushions. If someone was expecting a plume of dust to rise up when she sat down, they would be disappointed. Despite how much of the apartment looked, the few rooms Capsule could be bothered to use were as clean as she could make them, and she was in the habit of dusting regularly. She rightfully couldn't even call it a home, since it was lacking in many necessities, but that would change when she eventually built it up to something respectable. What concerned her more were the winter months, though. The room she mostly resided in was the warmest and less drafty than the others, a fact that could easily change when the cold weather came a-knocking. She would need something sturdier than the blanket she had now. Her body gave a reflexive shudder when she thought of the biting, winter air.

'Concern yourself with that later,' she thought as she began setting out and organizing her tools of the trade. Her home should be suitable for the rougher times by then - assuming they were still in this world at the time, anyway. It wasn't a thought Capsule liked to entertain, but she was not going to be like that grasshopper that spent its time singing when it should have been preparing, like the ant.

Two of the thickest, longest roots of turmeric were set aside while Capsule fumbled around for the dull edged knife she had "borrowed" from her employers downstairs. The knife was rather flimsy and annoying to cut with, making its function downgraded to spearing butter or jam. They rarely (if ever) used it from what she had seen, so she had little doubt that they wouldn’t care or notice when it turned up missing. Unfortunately for her, it was a total pain to cut and chop with.

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Words:
455

Muse:
Beyond The Infinite Void

Notes:
~(o.o)~

Tags:
Capsule

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

"…! Shit!" The knife may have been dull, but it was still capable of inflicting pain. Capsule dropped the knife and stuck her finger in her mouth, the corners of her eyes welling up with tears. The bluntness of the knife's edge meant that she had to exert more pressure than she normally would have with a proper knife, and she had been neglecting to curl her fingertips while chopping, so disaster was bound to follow. 'Damn it.' A series of random German curses flooded her mind as she continued to suckle her fingers. This wasn't the first time she'd experienced pain since being transported into this world, but it really solidified a few things for her. Injuries outside of combat zones were still possible, even the minor ones, which made her question the possibility of more unpleasant encounters.

Capsule glared down at the nice while she waited for the pain in her finger to subside. The need for something sharper and hers was mounting. 'But for now.' She gingerly picked up the cutting instrument, as though it were a live wire that would shock her at any moment. Her finger was still throbbing, but she chose to ignore it and set her mind back on the task at hand - chopping up the roots. The amount of patience she had to finely chop them were virtually nonexistent at this point, so the pieces she hacked up now were uneven and rough in comparison to her earlier, neater pieces.

The effort she took to be careful was also lessened, and showed by her bloody fingertips and the small, crimson stain forming on the hardwood in front of her. A low growl of annoyance rumbled its way through her chest as she took note of the blood, which was now smearing itself on the portions of the root that remained intact. Capsule did not bother with wiping or licking her wounded fingers clean. This potion was literally going to bear her blood, sweat, and tears at the rate she was going.

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Words:
340

Muse:
Electric Groove

Notes:
~(o.o~)

Tags:
Capsule

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

A little "tender loving care" was given to her bleeding fingers, so that her lifeblood wouldn't contaminate the soon to be potion too much. Strips of cloth were removed from one of her cushions, and tied tightly around her little appendages. Capsule carefully cradled the mortar within the palm of her wounded hand, and wielded the heavy pestle in her other. The chopped roots were piled into the bowl, just waiting to be grinded into bits. Lacking another outlet to express her frustrations, Capsule took out all her frustration on grinding the roots into a fine powder.

If Capsule thought that the process of chopping was the hardest part, she was sadly mistaken. Even with the heavy pestle, it was still quite a hassle to crush the herbs, more so as long as she held the bowl. She couldn't exert the force she wanted without causing some discomfort to her bandaged fingers, so in the end she had to place the bowl on the hardwood of the floor. This was a lot easier on her poor fingers, and made the painfully slow process go by faster. Near the end, however, she suspected that the cheapness of her mortar and pestle was to blame for the length it took her to grind. Her right hand soon grew sore and tired to the point where she needed to switch so that it could rest, a task she found difficult with how badly banged up her fingers were.

Still, the effort was greatly appreciated almost an hour later, especially when it came to what she considered to be the "easy" part: turning the grinded turmeric into an applicable paste. Setting up the small fire so that she could perform this little operation was not. You never knew how important your hands were until you were forced to use only one. The fingers on her left hand were virtually useless when it came to doing any actual work, so she mostly relied on her right hand to get the fire started. One, however, only needed one hand to do something as simple as setting down a pot and pouring water into it. Less effort was required for adding in the turmeric, and after that she was able to sit back and relax as she watched the mixture rise to a boil.

Capsule's fingers thanked her for the momentary respite they were given while she tended to the bubbling concoction in the pot. She spun the cheap, metal spoon from her starter kit through the contents of the pot, a gradually thickening yellowish substance. The color and texture strongly reminded her of the jarred foodstuffs made for babies. It smelled of orange peels, but she was certain it would taste incredibly tart if she tried it. It was, in other words, something you shouldn't spoon feed to a babe, unless you were trying to pull a prank of sorts.

When the paste was thick enough that it was making stirring irritating, Capsule removed the pot from the fire and set it down on a plate to cool. She then put out the fire, and began the process of collecting the paste into an empty jelly jar for storage. "Shhh~!" She hissed in pain as the back of her hand brushed against the still cooling pot. Red hot pain settled into her skin. Capsule sat back, cradling her hand to her chest and hissing in-between breaths. If she wasn't worried about burning herself further, she would have tried smearing some of the hot paste onto her hand.

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Words:
591

Muse:
Gotta Get Thru This

Notes:
~(o.o)~

Tags:
Capsule

coded by & for benetnasch of ET

[Capsule]

While the paste cooled, Capsule fell into an unceremonious heap onto her pile of cushions and closed her eyes, intending to only rest her eyes a bit. What followed next was not a catnap, nor was it only an hour or two, for the once sunny sky was now a deep black when Capsule finally came to. "...What the?!" For a full minute of disorientation, Capsule thought she was blind.

She stood up much too fast, making herself dizzy, stumbled further into the darkened room, stubbed her toe, and landed hard on the wooden floor, stirring up a bit of dust from the ceiling under her feet. One of the men banged on his ceiling and her floor, calling out for her to stop making such a ruckus at this hour. Fed up, Capsule opened her mouth to yell back, "I'm blind, you son of a -" She fell silence when a sliver of something bright flashed before her eyes. Capsule didn't know if it was a UFO or streetlight.

The redhead staggered towards the light like a moth drawn to flames. She noticed that her vision grew clearer and clearer with each step, making it almost impossible for her to break away from the trance she had fallen into. Her nose pressed against something cool, like glass, and her eyes hungrily searched the area beyond for the source of that glorious little light.

Capsule blinked once, twice, three times as the source became apparent to her. There was a tall, lanky Adventurer prowling through the window of the building opposite to hers. From here it was difficulty to guess the gender, but the orb of light that illuminated the figure revealed what may have been a feminine shape. Capsule pressed her face closer to the glass, vaguely aware that she was peeping on this fellow Enchanter, but unable to turn away. She was able to see, so that meant she wasn't blind. "It's dark…" If she hadn't prematurely fallen asleep, she would be sitting in her room with her Magic Light brightening it. "Jesus. How long did I sleep?"

The street outside was dark and quiet. No one was running around out this hour; they were all bundled up in their workshops, homes, or inns, eating dinner, working, or getting ready for bed. Capsule was one of those fools who would be up all night, and not because she was hell bent on working on something, either. 'Shit.' It was unlikely that she would be going to bed any time soon, though, so she decided to perform the last step of potion making: the test.

With her Magic Light hovering over her shoulder, Capsule lit a small stick on fire and pressed it against the back of her previously burned hand. She gritted her teeth as she held the burning end of the stick there. She was just as good as any guinea pig, after all, and how else would she know for sure that the paste worked?

When the smell of burning flesh became intolerable, Capsule ripped the stick away from her hand and tossed it aside. She then reached down into the jar and scooped up some of the paste with her fingers, and slathered it onto the wound. Relief in the form of coolness spread across the back of her hand and extended to her fingers and wrist. "Oooh~." She sank down onto her cushions, mouth formed in the shape of an "o" as the pain abated. To top it all off, a minor amount of health was healed. This was definitely something worth investing in, but her mind was too taken in with the soothing sensation to consider profits right now.

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Words:
616

Muse:
Who's Theme

Notes:
(~o.o)~

Tags:
Capsule

coded by & for benetnasch of ET