{The Apothecary}

  
Welcome to the office of Desmond  O'Connell

Dust lines the various shelves that house various salves, pills, and other kinds of
medicines that the patients can use. Here you can anything from the cure to poison oak, to
something to help stop those pesky voices in your head and everything in between. Desmond
works closely with the other doctors to help make the patients as comfortable as possible.




Stop in and ask a question or chat. Don't mind the dust and cobwebs.

Marleena Kraus 
-19
-Psychosis involving delusions, auditory hallucinations. Paranoid
Personality Disorder.
~~~~
Desmond O'Connell
-Apothecary
-26

 Desmond sat hunched behind his worn desk; his back and shoulders ached
from the long hours he had been spending here with the recent influx of patients being
admitted and also with the Head Doctor's assessments. New assessments meant new formulas
for medications that better suited the needs of the patients and needed to be made and
distributed as soon as possible. His fingers ached and they were dry from handling from
all the different herbs and powders. He yawned to himself counting down the hours until he
could go home and rest his eyes. However, the influx of taken in women was very high so he
would probably be here all night. 

He carefully rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand as to not get powder on them and
frowned to himself. Tonight was going to be a very long night.

Marleena Kraus 
-19
-Psychosis involving delusions, auditory hallucinations. Paranoid
Personality Disorder.
~~~~
Desmond O'Connell
-Apothecary
-26

Anthony caught a glimpse of an open door down the hall. 
Well, not really opened... it was cracked. But good enough for the little rat to slip
through~
Which he did.

Confident that no one was around to see him, Anthony pushed the door closed with his back.

"Ah!"
Anthony gasped, jolting his body against the door. For a split second, Anthony held his
body tight against the door. Another man- no- Doctor- was already here. What
was the little scrapling to do now? 
   He wasn't suppose to be in here. He had orders to stay out of the way, and inside of
the building. And definitely- no where near the equipment.
But ~

Did this doctor know that?

       Probably~
       Probably not~

Smile. "Oi- ah- Hello Mistah..." the boys words sounded like Scottish pipes.
"Dotor Haste sent me..." Anthony spoke out quickly. Anthony realized there wasn't
enough there, so he polished his lie a bit more, "He said to give 'em something for his
headache."

"And ..." Anthony wandered around the room- The rat looked comfortable now.. The boy found
the chords in his voice put him at ease. 
"And he said, ya had the best cures for 'em. Ya got anythin?"

The Good Head Doctor

Doctor Elliot Austin Haste. 42. {Head Doctor} 
Rehabilitation and Psychology.


Anthony Blair Hughes. 15. {Apprentice}
Colonial Peasant. Orphan


Helena 'Cherry' 14.
Local Daughter of the London Abbey house

Desmond continued grinding herbs and powders into his molcajete bowl. A
small "Ah!" scared him out of his thoughts. He jumped and returned the "Ah! Aye,
you scared the bollocks out of me!"  He looked at the boy what was his name again?
Antonio? No. Arthur? Not that wasn't it either. "Ah! Anthony!" He said out loud and
pointed at the boy. 

Desmond narrowed his eyes "Are you even supposed to be around these parts?"he asked; but
his suspicions were quickly extinguished "Something for a headache you say?" he said and
turned around and began to rummage through his various jars. 

Toads

"Ah yes here!" he said and pulled a jar off the shelf that neatly had the word Toads
written across the front of it. During this time period Toads were thought to be a cure
all for anything from bed wetting to head aches so naturally he dried the toads and
crushed them into powder "Tell the Good Doctor to mix some of this powder into a glass of
water and drink it and also..." Desmond said trailing off and turning back around again
and finding some willow bark "Also to chew on this. It's willow it has a natural pain
reliever in it." He gave the young lad a charming smile and set the things on the corner
of his work table.

Desmond scratched at his chin "The best. Well I suppose I wouldn't be working here if he
didn't think so now would it?" He gave a light hearted laugh.

Marleena Kraus 
-19
-Psychosis involving delusions, auditory hallucinations. Paranoid
Personality Disorder.
~~~~
Desmond O'Connell
-Apothecary
-26

How nice it was for the man to remember his name... Anthony's brows
raised.. So apparently the doctor knew his name, but didn't hear about any restriction
against him? Good. 
Well that was easy.
The boy snuck a tiny vile into his pocket, while the doctor had turned away from him.
Okay, so maybe he shouldn't be stealing random things from off of random shelves. But-

This place was so-
tempting.
The boy silently wondered if anything in here tasted like candy...

And everything here looked expensive. There was metal spoons, ceramic bowls, golden
liquids swimming in glass tubes, which gleamed next to stacks of old books. Oh~
Books. Anthony didn't know how to read very well. Correction- at all. So they
didn't interest him for very long... Frankly not for a second.

The man tapped a jar onto the edge of the work table. Then he turned around again.
Anthony snatched a tiny silver spoon into his pocket along with the other vile of mystery
fluid. Anthony patiently waited for the doctor to turn about again. When the man did turn
around, he had a long slab a bark in his hand. Willow. 

"Wallo?" Close enough.

Anthony couldn't act like the other's smile didn't affect him. This doctor-man was... Odd
... Odd and Friendly. Why? Anthony wasn't sure what to do... Smile? Frown? Was Dr. Desmond
really laughing at what he said? Or at Anthony? The boy shook his head, trying to knock
the doubt from his mind. "Oh- uh- Thank you, sir..." You could tell the little boy was
bewildered by the jar of crushed green toads and the willow bark. Anthony noticed that Dr.
Desmond's table was full of weird looking mixes and mantras... 

"What's that?" Anthony asked pointing his finger at whatever Desmond was previously
mashing into his bowl. "Are you making somethin?"

The Good Head Doctor

Doctor Elliot Austin Haste. 42. {Head Doctor} 
Rehabilitation and Psychology.


Anthony Blair Hughes. 15. {Apprentice}
Colonial Peasant. Orphan


Helena 'Cherry' 14.
Local Daughter of the London Abbey house

Desmond's eyes narrowed for a brief second; this boy was awkward, like he
didn't understand emotions, it actually amused Desmond. "Ah, yes willow bark." he looked
down at the huge slab of wood and frowned a little, brushed his dusty and dirty hands on
the apron that covered his work clothes, and cut a smaller portion off of it. "Here take
this to him, it seems more... Manageable than this big slab of wood."  he said handing the
boy a smaller hand sized portion of the bark. 

Desmond looked at the boy and smiled at his curiosity "Well... I suppose it is sort of my
own concoction of things." he smiled at the thought of the young lad being his test
subject for some of his more bazaar mixtures. "It isn't anything special just some mint
mixed with beezwax and oil to make a sort of salve to help with head colds." He smiled a
little Des soon realized that the boy wasn't going to be leaving him anytime soon. The
poor thing must be bored to death in this place. He let out a soft sigh "Would you like to
see how I make it?" he asked gesturing to his mixing stone.

Marleena Kraus 
-19
-Psychosis involving delusions, auditory hallucinations. Paranoid
Personality Disorder.
~~~~
Desmond O'Connell
-Apothecary
-26

Anthony heard that strange man talk again.
'Ah, yes willow bark'

Wallo? Wello? Jello? The man was making some type of gelatin apparently... And
apparently the male was going to make it with sticks and twigs from a tree... Strange
indeed... indeed.

However, Anthony, being a little boy, liked the sound of eating gelatin. Or
anything sweet. The candy man before him had his attention now. The lad took the bark. And
immediately smelled it. Ew.
How was this earthy thing suppose to be turned into pastry filling? Or a dessert of any
kind?
The lad certainly didn't understand it. But he was willing to try it nonetheless. Maybe it
tasted sweet? Some sort of off putting scent but sweet center?
Or at least that's what the young boy hoped for.

Bite.
Chew.

Spit.

No. No it didn't. Not sweet at all! Anthony frowned, "This tastes awful..."
The boy sounded low-some about it. Like so much depended on Dr. Desmond's ability to make
treats... Well.. It's not like the young boy had much to look forward to anyway... Not
here... Not as some slave for some drunken aristocrat.
Sigh. Young Anthony dropped the bark to the work table. Next to the jar of mashed
green frogs... 

The doctor began to mention something about Mints?~ Peppermints thought the boy.
The youngster's ears perked up to listen. The offer was to learn how to make mints?
Candy~ Learn how to make candy? 
"y-yes!" The boy couldn't say it fast enough. Little Anthony nodded. He quickly climbed
onto a stool next to the doctor- the lad's eyes were bright with excitement. Zeal. Anthony
turned his head all around the table in front of him. Nothing here looked like candy.. Nor
did it look to hold any capacity to become such..
But Anthony paid it no attention. 
None at all. 
The child was so giddy to get started. 

"What's first?"

The Good Head Doctor

Doctor Elliot Austin Haste. 42. {Head Doctor} 
Rehabilitation and Psychology.


Anthony Blair Hughes. 15. {Apprentice}
Colonial Peasant. Orphan


Helena 'Cherry' 14.
Local Daughter of the London Abbey house

 Desmond watched the boy chew and spit the willow bark out; he let a small
laugh escape his mouth. This boy was very amusing; it made him wonder why the Good Doctor
belittled him so much. Anthony just seemed like a curious lad; this became obvious to
Desmond when the boy jumped at his offer. "Here." He said and slid the container that
contained some off what he already made "Rub some of this under your nose, it smells good,
helps you breathe better, and it taste good too." He said and smiled. 

"But, if you want to know how to make it you need to promise you'll pay attention."
Desmond said smiling "And don't tell Dr. Haste, I don't know if he will appreciate this."
he rubbed his hands on his apron to clear the dust off and then rubbed the back off his
head. He didn't want to get in trouble over something as silly as letting the boy help him
make a salve. Des firmly believed that an idle mind is the devil's workshop and if this
boy wasn't kept busy who knows what kind of trouble he would get into.

Marleena Kraus 
-19
-Psychosis involving delusions, auditory hallucinations. Paranoid
Personality Disorder.
~~~~
Desmond O'Connell
-Apothecary
-26

Put this under your nose. Put this onto your tongue. It'll taste good,
said the doctor. 
Anthony didn't trust wealthy people.
But- 
He tried it for himself. Anthony gratefully took the bowl and dipped the tip of his finger
into the green paste. He petted the tip of nose with it. 
Sniff. Sniff.

Wow~

It did smell like peppermint. Maybe this wasn't the type of candy the boy was used too.
However, Anthony persisted, and tabled a tiny bit over his lips.
~
The boy looked at the man elated. It was really good. Just like the man promised. So this
man wasn't like Dr. Haste at all. Nor any Englishman that he's ever known. Anthony gladly
swiped another finger into the bowl and ate some more. As he did, 
"And don't tell Dr. Haste, I don't know if he will appreciate this."

Anthony wouldn't dare dream of it.

"Cross my heart, mistah Candyman." Or was he a doctor? Hm~ Anthony slowly began to smile.
In spite of Dr. Desmond's good grace towards the boy, Anthony was still a dirty little
thief to the core. Just give it time. It'll appear at the surface. But until then, 
Anthony looked to the candyman, "The head doctor never lets do anything." Anything fun
that is. It was always stay inside, and stay out of the way. Carry this, don't tarry
here. Be quicker, have some wit.

"Why are you being so nice to me? I haven't done anythin for ya." 
To Anthony the sudden kind butterflies in his chest was strange. Strange waters.

The Good Head Doctor

Doctor Elliot Austin Haste. 42. {Head Doctor} 
Rehabilitation and Psychology.


Anthony Blair Hughes. 15. {Apprentice}
Colonial Peasant. Orphan


Helena 'Cherry' 14.
Local Daughter of the London Abbey house

Watching the young boy amused Desmond; it made his heart pang with the
thoughts of his younger siblings and how much he missed them. He handed Anthony a dirty
rag "Here, so you can wipe your face." he said smiling.  

Candy man?

Desmond cocked his head to the side "I don't know if I would say candy man." Quickly
Desmond grabbed the bowl full of his mint cold salve and put it in a drawer "Don't eat a
lot you'll get sick." he frowned a little and was slightly upset by his good heart.
Watching the boy rush off to the rest room or of to the nearest trash bin.

Anthony's question made the Irishman pause. Why was he being nice to the boy? Oh right he
reminded him of his brother. Desmond sighed "Because I can. You need to have someone nice
to you or else you'll end up bitter." Desmond smiled "Now come along you said you wanted
to learn yes?"

Marleena Kraus 
-19
-Psychosis involving delusions, auditory hallucinations. Paranoid
Personality Disorder.
~~~~
Desmond O'Connell
-Apothecary
-26

Anthony plainly took the rag, and wiped over his mouth and cheek.

The rag smelt like mixture of herbs he couldn't know, and spices with no name. Nothing
like sugar. But nothing like vinegar.

Anthony was half listening and half day-dreaming. Again. A soft shade of pink
dazzled his cheeks.
He was dwindling away in his mind- with to many of the thoughts in his head.
The lad saw candy, the smelled the mints, the tinctures, the doctor-
Yes-
it was all quite nice.
Anthony felt like quiet the dapper young fellow sitting in a high stool, being apart of
all the important works, crafts, and models.
And it was strange, because Anthony didn't even know how to spell, 'dapper'. But he
knew he felt it. He felt-
a great deal of relevance.

As well as the doctor's answer made Anthony feel all the more, special, 
'Because I can. You need to have someone nice to you or else you'll end up bitter.'
 But why in the world did the Candy man care if he ended up bitter? Disappointed? Or
even dead inside?
Now come along you said you wanted
to learn yes?
Anthony paused for just a moment, processing the other's strange friendliness. A soft pink
lip stuttered, As if to object- or maybe confess?
Confess that he shouldn't even be here? Or that he had a couple of vials in his pocket? Or
that Doctor Haste never even mentioned a headcold- er- headache- or whatever?
What was he doing here?

Anthony shook his head, as if to shake the thoughts away. 
"Yea- er-i'm Ready Dr. Candyman." He said, with a faint smile. Obviosuly, something was
wrong. The little boy seemed a little more uncomfortable now, and his voice wasn't strong
like before. Anthony only hoped that he wouldn't notice. The lad looked to his hands,
unable to even look at the other.

The Good Head Doctor

Doctor Elliot Austin Haste. 42. {Head Doctor} 
Rehabilitation and Psychology.


Anthony Blair Hughes. 15. {Apprentice}
Colonial Peasant. Orphan


Helena 'Cherry' 14.
Local Daughter of the London Abbey house