forum Love Potions and Sharp Teeth ✨🔮🦇

Started September 08, 2022 by @Fenrir

tune

Alex took out his notebook and began half-heartedly writing down the formulas. Mostly though, he subconsciously started doodling or looking around the room again. His eyes drifted, about to cross over to that witch Cas again, when Dr. Mecredis called out his name. Alex startled, as if he was the one being called out. Indeed, he could sense the witch’s pulse, and was naturally drawn to it, but his exchange with the professor made him cringe in sympathy. He could hear a few of his friends whispering nearby, but it was likely they were taking advantage of Dr. Mecredis being distracted, and nothing more.
When Nithe arrived, the class’s concentrated attention on Cas was more dispersed, or at least split. Alex’s gaze lingered on the witch for a moment or two, but he soon returned to doodling in his notebook.
He did know who Cas was, actually, but the funny thing was that he thought Cas didn’t know about him. He just assumed he was more popular in the vampire circles than the witch ones, and besides, Cas wasn’t really in a circle anyway.
Alex shook his head to himself. He needed to focus.

(just two gays who can't communicate, even if their lives depend on it😂)
Cas surpressed a sigh as he unfolded yet another one of Jeckles requests. Usually cas would fulfill the requests, remedies for hangovers, spells to stay awake longer to study (at least that's what cas hoped Jeckle was doing,) and small things like that, but when cas read over the paper, he started to shake his head. "Jeckle I can't do this i-"
"Sure you can Cas, what other witch can. Besides it's not the long term one, just a few weeks. Please cas, it's for a friend"
Cas persed his lips, glancing up to make sure Mr Mecredis had finished writing notes and had sat down to let the students work.
"It'll make them so happy Cas, please? It's just to help encourage a small crush. I promise if anything happens I'll take the blame." Jeckle continued, flicking his gaze behind him at who Cas assumed was some of Alex's friends. Jeckle grinned before nudging the paper towards Cas. "I just need it by tomorrow, in the west dorms common room." Cas sighed and snatched the paper away and stashed it into his bag. "So not only do you want a potion I don't make regularly but you also want me dilever said potion?" Cas inqiried, the fact that the west dorms were home to most Vampires on campus, including Alex and his friends didn't slip his thoughts. "At what time exactly?" Jeckle gave a charming smile "at eight ish? No later than nine." Cas nearly groan and rubbed his eyes still tired. "Fine, but you owe me big-time."

(Yepppp aha. Also, Cas is a drug dealer lowkey ahahshdjdk)

Funnily enough, once Dr. Mecredis stopped talking and writing stuff down, Alex could actually copy into his notebook with more earnest. He filled an entire page with notes, some it kind of messy and indecipherable, but hey, it was an entire page. Soon Alex had pulled out his phone and was exchanging silent notes and messages with his friends. It was the usual things, just sending memes or making plans for later. Sometimes they would look up and exchange glances, trying not to laugh.

(XD oh no he is, of love potions!)

By the time class was over, Cas had simultaneously finished the worksheet Mr Mecredis had given out, and had compiled a list of supplies he’d need for Jeckle’s potion. He glanced up at the sound of the bell and gathered his things, shoving all but the class worksheet into neat folders and putting them into his backpack. “I expect you to be on time next class, Mr Leroux.” Mr Mecredis said as Cas handed over the worksheet. “Yes sir, time escaped me today.” Mr Mecredis nodded slight “and mr Leroux? Careful with Mr Nithe. He’s a good kid but he can be…intense. If you feel uncomfortable at all near him, come to me or any of the other professors, please.” Cas nodded, slightly dumbfounded. “Thank you, Sir.” He said softly before making his way out of the class and down the hall, already feeling lighter as he rounded the corner and headed towards the exit closest to the apothecary. Cas put in headphones and started to softly hum the song.

He breathed in deeply as he unlocked the shop doors, smiling softly at the jingling above from the door bell. Flicking on various lights, he set his bag behind the counter and unplugged his headphones to let the song from his phone drift throughout the store from a few speakers he had hidden in shelves. He dragged over a rusted old cauldron from the back storage room and started preparing for the Love potion. Making sure the doors were locked and all curtains were drawn, Cas began gathering ingredients fo the potion. Hibiscus petal, yerrow root, appleseeds from the rare white apple, a siren tear of joy, a crystal from the Bergian mountains and other base items that would make up the stock of the potion. All the while he sang softly whatever song would come up on shuffle through the speakers. This was Cas’ evenings, usually spent alone in his apothecary, restocking or making last minute potions for regulars. He had never thought much about his life, lonely for the most part and never that adventurous but it was calming, especially after such a long day. Cas threw everything into the couldron along with water from a special spring at his parent’s home and started stirring the brew, watching as the potion changed from a muddy brown to a vibrant pink.
(Carolina - Taylor Swift
This too shall pass - Danny Schmidt
Icy River - lost in the trees)

Secretly talking to his friends left Alex not much time to do the worksheet, so he had to rush to get it done. He turned it in to Professor Mecredis at the end of class and did not stick around to see his reaction. Once he was fully out of the room, one of his friends took his arm and immediately started asking about what he put down for the answers.

It was a normal day, if not a little mundane. He went back to his dorm and finished homework from other classes. His phone lit up with an incoming call from his father. He ignored it. He took a moment to clean up his dorm a little, then went out and met up with his friends to get ox blood shakes. It was at a small cafe that only they seemed to know about, with stores of various animal blood and small pastries or snack foods. There was a store of human blood too, sourced from donors. While they enjoyed their shakes, Alex and his friends took silly pictures together, posted them on social media and such. He got a call from his father. He ignored it. His friends split up, saying their goodbyes, and he and his roommate Rain wandered around a bit before eventually heading back to their dorm.
Rain immediately flopped on the bed, but Alex went over and took his guitar that was leaning against the wall and gave her a look. Rain sighed, but she smiled and reached out under their bed and brought out their electric keyboard anyway. Alex sat on his bed, held the guitar against him and stroked a few chords.
Rain was his best friend. Even though Alex only met her when they became roommates, they clicked pretty early on and talked easily with each other. Rain being a fellow musician wasn’t a bad touch either. They sat across from each other, trying out a few melodies. Once they settled on one, Alex took the main melody, and Rain harmonized and complimented it. It was a bit random, and some parts could have sounded better, but it wasn’t meant to be good or perfect. They were just having fun with it.
Just as they came close to ending the melody, Alex’s phone lit up. His father was calling him. Alex stopped playing, and deep sigh escaped him. Realizing he had stopped, Rain did so as well.
“What is it?” They asked.
“Just need to take this,” Alex said, taking the phone and standing up. He left his guitar on the bed, then went into the bathroom for some privacy. Maybe he didn’t have to do this, but he couldn’t be too sure.

cas held up the potion vial up to the light, swirling it until he could see the luminescent shimmers throughout liquid. He smiled proudly for a moment before he realized what he was going to do. He prayed that Jeckle knew what he was doing with this. This wasn't something to be toyed with, in the wrong situation, a love potion could prove to he dangerous. He sighed softly and carefully plced the vial in his bag, taking care not to kkock it against something important like his textbooks or computer.
As he shouldered his backpack and locked the door to his apothicary, Cas wondered what Jeckle of all people, known as the bad boy vampire throughout the school, could possibly want with love potion. He didn't have any crushes or lovers that Cas knew about, though he did know quite a few people who liked him. Cas didn't think Jeckle cruel enough to give any of his admirers a love potion for no reason. He sighed deeply, for the millionth time questioning his choice in friends and texted Jeckle, telling him he was on his way to the Western Dorms and would wait in the common room. Cas tugged on his hoodie and started his walk to the vampire quarter once again.
The moment heckle received a text from Cas, he sent one to Rain, a grin on his features as he slipped from the shadows and headed down the stairs to the common room. "Time to get these love birds together. Get Alex downstairs, I'll make sure Cas stays long enough for the potion to work it's magic."

Alex answered the call and held the phone up to his ear. ”Hola, papá.”
“Jeremías, mi hijo, it is good to hear from you. How are things?” His father answered in a gruff but concerned voice.
“Good,” Alex answered a little awkwardly. “It’s— uh, I had a good day today.”
“Good, good.” There was the sound of a cough. “Listen, may I speak to you?”
Alex’s muscles tensed. “Y— yeah, sure. What is it?”
“Are you coming to Sunday mass?”
He sighed, shaking head. ”Papá, I can’t. I’m busy, okay? Tests to study for, people to see, you know?”
“I’m sure you can set aside one morning to come. Abuela and abuelo want to see you. I want to see you, Jeremías.”
“I know. I’ll come and see you, I promise. Just not Sunday, okay?”
He heard his father sigh. “I’m concerned for your soul, hijo. Coming to mass would be good for you. Are you staying away from witches?”
Alex frowned. “I guess? Papá, that’s something I can’t really avoid here, you know.”
Another sigh. “I don’t understand why you wanted to go to this school.”
”Papá, don’t start…”
“You need to be really careful, Jeremías, I’m serious. It would be better if you went to one of the vampire academies around here.”
Did you call me just to convince me to only do what you want? He want to say it, but he couldn’t. “I’m being careful, I promise.”

Meanwhile, Rain was reclining on the bed and waiting when she received the message from Jeckle. She chuckled to themself, sitting up. ”Finally. Just give me a couple of minutes,” they replied. She got up, and went up to the bathroom door. Alex seemed to be conversing with his father completely in Spanish now, but it wasn’t long before he said ”Adiós,” and hung up. Rain waited until he came out of the bathroom. Alex looked more down, hanging his head low.”
“Uh, hey,” Rain leaned towards him. “You okay?”
“Hm?” His eyes focused on her. “Oh, yeah. Yeah.” Even though he and Rain were close, he didn’t like to talk much about his family, not with anyone.
She suspected, though. “You sure? We can… go get something to drink, if you want.”
Alex shrugged. “Eh, why not. I wanna come back and play, though.”
They nodded. “Yeah, sure.” They took him down to the common area.

Jeckle was lounging on the couch in the corner of the common when Cas came, glancing up with a grin from his phone he heard footsteps. Cas fidgetted nervously by the door. While he was comfortable in class with other vampires, it was rare where he found himself being the only witch in the room, let alone the entire building. "It really had to be at night? I couldn't give this to you tomorrow morning or something?" Cas asked, stepping deeper into the room.
"You forget we're vampires, Cas. Mornings are hard for us. Besides, I won't be here tomorrow, visiting parents and stuff for the weekend." replied, patting the space beside him. Cas decidedly perched on the arm of the chair and pulled his backpack to his front, rummaging through until he found the vial of love potion. Jeckle tilted his head, his smile faltering for a moment. "You witches are truly magical." He mused, glancing down at his phone when Rain texted back. Cas cupped the small vial in his hand, a flicker of pride alighting in his chest. He only hoped the potion would be used for good. "So who's this for?" Cas asked curiously, curling up against the couch.

Alex wished he could forget the entire phone call. Well, mostly. It was nice to hear from his father again, but if only they could properly communicate. If only he didn’t feel the need to save Alex’s soul, whatever that meant. They were vampires, weren’t they already damned? Subconsciously, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his rosary, twisting it around his palm.
Rain looked on, a little worried this was a bad time. But who knows. He would probably forget everything anyway. Plus, there may not be another opportunity like this.
As they entered the commons, Rain smirked at the sight of Jeckle and Cas sitting on the couch. “Well, well, well. Look who it is,” she said, turning to Alex.
Something in Alex’s chest heaved when he saw Cas. He gripped the rosary tightly in his hand. “Cas?” He said softly. “What are you…?”

"ah, ah, ah, I can't tell you that. What would be the fun in ruining a perfectly good surprise? I promise you'll like it." Jeckle chided with a smile. "I really hate your surprises you know that right?" Cas grumbbled, covering a yawn with his free hand and closing his eyes for a moment. He had spent so much energy today, not only in his classes but at the apothicary too, the love potion needing to draw from his own source more than what Cas was used to. What he would to go back home and dissapear into the blanket and pillows on his bed. But not yet, he wouldn't even keep his eyes closed here for more than a few seconds, not when he was a foot away from Jeckle and the only witch in the dorms. He felt guilty for immediately thinking that at any vulnerable moment, Jeckle or any of the other vampires would jump to feast on his blood, knowing full well that it had never happened before. This was a school meant to bring them together, no matter the biases each side had, they all collectively knew how important this was for the future generations of witches and vampires. Cas jerked up into a sitting position when he heard a voice from the elevators and whipped around, only to find Rain striding through and…"Alex?" Cas breathed. He turned his gaze to Jeckle who had stood to greet the other vampires. For a moment, Cas thought he saw a tint of red in Jeckle's cheek as he looked at Rain. He shook his head slightly, and focused on Alex, or as much as he could without turning into a jelly. He wasn't used to his full attention, up until now he hadn't even been sure if Alex knew who he was outside of classes. "I-i was just delivering a-"
"Drink!" Jeckle cut in, looping his arm around Cas' shoulders and smiling. "Cas' was delivering us some drinks. Thought it'd be nice to relax tonight. We've all had pretty busy schedules. What's a few drinks here and there to relax?" Jeckle asked, tugging Cas over to the table and procuring cup from the common room kitchen.

Alex tried to remember to breathe. Cas knew his name? Indeed, he certainly forgot the phone call in about three seconds, pressing his rosary to his chest and unsure whether to look at Cas or Rain. Finally, they landed on the latter.
“Did you know about this?” He whispered frantically.
“Mayyybe,” she giggled cheekily. “Look, I didn’t think he’d bring a witch up here. Especially this one in particular.” They tried to hide anything betraying in her voice.
He didn’t know whether to believe them or not. He turned to Jeckle and Cas instead, trying not to let his cheeks blush. “Um, thanks Cas. For— for the drinks.”
“Yeah,” Rain agreed. “It would be good to relax tonight.” She went over and helped Jeckle with the cups, effectively abandoning Alex’s side. Hesitantly, he inched over to the table.

Cas threw a glare towards Jeckle as he came back to his side. "Heckle what are you doing?" Cas asked in a whisper, suddenly clutching at…nothing. His eyes widened and he frantically looked around for the potion now gone. His eyes landed on Jeckle, a knowing grin on his features as he gave a shrug and turned back to make the drinks. Before Cas could interven with whatever Jeckle and apparently Rain were planning, he turned back to Alex, trying his best not to shrink back in embarrassment, and guilt. "Y-You're welcome. Are-" he looked up when Jeckle came back, and took the offered cup of what looked like a cocktail mix, though case couldn't smell any alcohol. He looked at the rest of the cups, searching for the familiar shimmer of the love potion. It was too dim in the common room to make out the familiar gleam.
"Come on, let's sit, it's been a while since we caught up." Jeckle gestured towards the couches and settled in the corner. Cas once again settled on the arm of the long couch but didn't dare touch the mocktail, fearing Jeckle wouldn't be above tricking him into drinking his own love potion.

Rain handed Alex his cup, and he realized he had been so caught up with Jeckle and Cas’s appearance that he forgot to ask the most basic of questions. He stared at the liquid, his eyebrows furrowing. “Wait, I forgot to ask. What drink is this?”
If it was an alcoholic cocktail, he wouldn’t drink it. He had been raised with the communion wine, but that was about it. He wasn’t interested in going beyond that, at least for now. He also didn’t smell anything like alcohol, but wanted to ask anyway.
Rain gestured for him to come over to the couches, and he followed. Rain sat next to Jeckle, and Alex decided to sit next to Rain, putting him in between her and Cas.

Jeckle took a sip and waved a hand “Nothing Alcoholic. Cas is lightweight. Besides I couldn’t find anything good in the pantry. Just some fruit juices and seltzer water.” He explained, casually draping his arm over the back of the couch, nearly touching Rain. Cas thought it painfully cute how matcho Jeckle was trying to be while also clearly trying to make a move on Rain. Cas laughed softly to himself and decided the drink was safe enough to consume, enjoying the sweetness and slight fizz of it. He wondered if Jeckle would be interested in bartending, if he could make good drink out of such simple things like fruit juices, he couldn’t imagine what Jeckle could do with alcohol. He watched in slight amazement when Alex sat beside him but soon shoved the fluttering in his heart for logical reasoning. He sat next to Rain who happened to leave a space beside them that happened to also be next to Cas. Thats all. He took another sip of the drink, before he noticed the rosary wrapped around Alex/ hand. He tipped his head curiously, and studied the intricate carvings of the cross and beads. “beautiful,” he commented softly. “T-the necklace.” He clarified quickly. “The necklace is beautiful.” He confirmed, glancing up only to catch Jeckle’s sympathetic smile. Cas quickly looked away and focused on Alex. “You’re religious?” He asked, trying his best to make light conversation to distract himself from Jeckle’s plan. Perhaps the potion was in Rain’s cup, or maybe even in Jeckle’s. Maybe it was to give him confidence to talk to the girl and Cas and Alex were his support group. Yeah that was probably it. But Cas had been watching both Jeckle and Rain drink multiple times from their cups and neither seemed to be affected. Perhaps he had made the potion wrong? No he was sure, no, positive, he had made the potion right. Then maybe it wasn’t enough potion to have an effect, at least a more noticeable effect.

(Drinking fruit juice with all my fruity pals)

“Cool,” Alex nodded, and turned to Cas. “And honestly, same here.” He offered the witch a light smile, trying to hide the fact that he was internally screaming. He wanted to give him and Cas more space, but at the same time did not want to get closer to whatever was going on with Rain and Jeckle. She was giving him looks that either meant she was flirting or scheming with him.
He looked down at his hand, still squeezing the rosary. “Oh, you mean the rosary?” He asked. “Thanks. I’m not, but my family is. It’s just something that’s nice to hold, I guess,” he shrugged, somehow still coming off as casual and chill. He put it back in his pocket, then held the cup to his lips and took a drink. It was sugary, but just so. Hopefully it would help him calm down a bit.
Alex swallowed, and rested the cup in both hands. For a moment, he was silent as a strange feeling rose behind his eyes. It was like he was about to cry, but at the same like firecrackers were going off in his nerves. A little confused, he rubbed his eyes, thinking the feeling would go away on its own. When it did, he looked back at Cas, but something was different. Was he… prettier than normal? He was already pretty, of course, but it seemed like Alex could see every little detail in his face and hair, and the way it came together seemed magnified. Every freckle, every curve and divot in the skin, the way his dark hair fell into his eyes. Those vibrant, forest green eyes….
Alex’s own eyes flashed crimson, then blood red. They stayed that way as his gaze became more and more intense as he stared at the prettified witch boy. His cheeks flushed as though he were actually drunk, and his heart pounded in his chest. “Cas…” his voice came out husky, entranced.

(the fruitiest of fruity people)
Cas nodded slightly, surprised to hear that Alex wasn't religious but his family was. He wasn't religious himself but he could understand the appeal of wanting to belong to a group that believed so passionately about the same thing. "Helps calm the jitters." Cas agreed, tugging a chain from where it was hidden under his shirt with an emerald stone drop, rubbed smooth. He looked up at Jeckle once more, trying to determine whether he was being affected by the potion or not. It didn't seem like it, though Cas could see how relaxed he was near Rain. All the bravado and bad boy complex seemed to melt away when he was near her. He was no longer immune to her smiles and teases. Cas felt an pang of pride for his friend, glad that Jeckle had found someone who he genuinely liked other than Cas himself. Cas' brows furrowed slightly when he felt heat rise to his cheeks, the feeling that someone watching him itched at his subconscious. He slowly tore his gaze away from Jeckle and Rain and found Alex staring right back at him, eyes nearly glowing red under the dimm lights of the common room. His heart nearly stopped when Alex said with name, the sound so beautiful from the vampires lips, so wanting and perfect. "Oh no… Please no, not you." Cas whispered as he slowly moved off the couch and started to back away towards the door. Jeckle glanced up and tipped his head, having felt a shift in the air. "Oh finally, it actually worked. Thought you did something wrong Cas." He said, relieved as he stood from his place beside Rain. He watched as Cas backed away with genuine confusion. Cas glared at Jeckle "you gave him the love potion? I thought it was for you. Not him." Cas gestured towards Alex, trying not to meet his lustful gaze. "If I didn't, you'd both be trapped in a circle, just skirting over your feeling for each other. I'm trying to help." Jeckle argued, clearly not seeing a problem with this.