Love at First Sigh PV Aleksander Closed

"Hmmm, hmm, mmm, a pirate a pauper... hmm-... Suddenly his quiet vocalizations cut off as he realized his unwelcome guest was shooting him a glance. He thought by now he'd be used to having company in his workspace, but after so many years of working alone, being able to do as he pleased, it was still a weird concept to him.

He wasn't a fan of people, people in general. He wasn't sure if it was fear, distrust or just genuine dislike, but something about being around people, especially lots of half-sized people made him incredibly uncomfortable.

It was obvious Jensen had picked up on this discomfort, that was the only reason he could think of on why she insisted on forcing herself down here every so often and infringe on his personal space. He'd hoped the silent treatment would get her to go away. No such luck, at the very least he could thank his lucky stars that she'd decided to stop abusing his hypersensitivity and wasn't wearing her needlessly clacky heels or gaudy rattling jewelry. Maybe she'd decided to be pleasant, just this once.

The lycanthrope took a brief glance around his classroom. Ever since the day Caradoc had taken his "study group" in here something had felt off about the room. Aleks had his suspicions ever since he came in after the fact. Sure, the room was clean, no evidence of anything untoward. However, that was the root of the issue, it had been too clean, almost as if they were trying to hide something.

He pushed that thought away from his mind for a moment. His uninvited guest was looking at him again, seeming as if she was about to crack a smile on that stony face for once. For a brief moment he was tempted to ask her what was so amusing, but at the risk of accidentally starting a conversation he swiftly reconsidered.

His research was still hitting brick wall after brick wall. Yet perhaps tonight would bring different results? He had scratched of a list of different formulas so far, the next one required Ashwinder eggs and thankfully he knew exactly where they...

And they're gone...

Impossible, he had organised every single ingredient in each spot so that he knew exactly where each one was when he needed it...the only way they wouldn't be there would be...

And then his eyes fell upon the jar sitting on his Peer's worktable. "Sukinsyn" [Son of a *****] He mumbled under his breath. It seemed conversation was unavoidable now, he was going to have to ask her for the jar.

Unless...

Putting his fire down to a lower heat he quickly and quietly strode his way up to her workstation, hoping to take the jar back to his own. If she made no attempt to stop him he would do so.

Yet of course, things were rarely ever that easy with her.

Interacting with: @Hjørdis Jensen

In the simple silence of the classroom, Hjørdis worked. The context of what she was making was awfully sad, in reality. The Thick Golden Potion was simply a potion to help manage the curse that had been spread throughout the school. Various students from two houses suffering, various professors suffering. Hell, one man had somehow managed to get him cursed more than once at the same time. She had no idea how many curses he was carrying by now. It was at least two but... it could have been three or four by now. The work she was doing today was important, necessary. It had been since the very first attack.

But realistically, she had been brewing these potions for months now. It was almost second nature to do this. As her hands worked on autopilot, her mind wandered off. Thinking about this very moment, and how she felt. Her silvery blue eyes lifted to land on the man in front of her. Perhaps he was like her. Perhaps he enjoyed the silence as much as she did. Or perhaps he just really did not want to make conversation with her. It did not matter. She could not help but enjoy the moment. What more did she really need in life? This very moment was the peace she was searching for. It was calm, quiet and relaxing. She was doing what she loved the most: brewing potions. She was surrounded by nothing but beautiful company and thoughts.

A wistful sigh escaped her lips. The man in the room moved towards. . . Her? That was not like him. He wanted something. Hjørdis reached for Ashwinder eggs, needing to throw some into the potion when she realised what he was going for. Her hand quickly landed on his, stopping him from taking the whole jar. She said nothing, just kept her hand on his as she stared at him, holding him in place. It was obvious she needed those. He knew that. It was not like she was brewing anything in secret. One look at her ingredients - or if he had bothered to ask her before - he would know why she was here. She needed those eggs.

She stared at him with a blank expression for a moment. He would not be here, interacting with her out of choice. It had to be important. Her gaze flickered from his eyes to the cauldron on his desk. Hjørdis did not ask him what he was brewing. There was no point, she knew that. He was a man of few words. Engaging in unnecessary conversation would likely only irritate him. And she was trying to be considerate to him. So... whatever he was working on, it must have been important if he was willing to risk engaging in conversation. Sighing softly, "Fine... Just let me take some?" She asked as reached the jar with her other hand.

If he did not let go or hesitated, she would continue, "Please...?" She would add softly, her eyes locking with his. He might not have liked the students or his colleagues but they were suffering. And the paperwork they - mostly him, as the potions master - would have to deal with or explanations they would have to give for not supplying the students potions that reduced their pain was far worse just giving her the jar for a moment.

If he let go off it - either straight away or after his hesitation, she would take the jar, with a 'thank you' nod and release his hand. As quickly as she could, she would take out the required amount and add it into her own cauldron. Hjørdis would then hold out the jar for him to take without bothering to question why he needed it. It took a lot of her self control not to make a sassy comment or question what he was doing. He might not have realised that but she was holding back, to the best of her ability, trying to not irritate him.

This was a reaction he hadn't quite been expecting, she would likely feel him almost recoil as she placed her hand on his, as if he was anticipating some kind of attack to come, it took him a few moments to relax himself again as he saw that she was staring at him almost pleadingly with her hand atop his. His icy grey-blue eyes locked onto her own silvery blue ones as the pair stood there silently, the only sounds being their breathing and the crackling of the orange fire that reflected in their irises.

He said nothing for a few moments, even after she spoke. He knew what she was making, and he knew why she was making it. He just hadn't expected such a subdued reaction from the woman whom seemed to delight in every slight twitch and wince he had from the loud noises she caused. Did she expect some kind of violent reaction? For him to go feral and start smashing up the potions classroom? Did she see him as some kind of monster that was one hurt feeling away from destruction?

He looked down at the ground for a moment, his expression somber, and sadness danced across his features for a brief moment, as if he was simply a lonely child instead of the scary new potions Professor. the hard-ass that had followed Professor Price, the man that wished they had the old professor back.

This look didn't last forever though, as his gaze traveled back up to look at her, the warm light of the fire illuminating his pale face. "You are overreacting Jensen..." He would say flatly, but with authority as he gently moved her hand off of his before reaching into the jar and scooping out three Ashwinder eggs.

He gave her a nod, and with no further exchange of words he walked back over to his station, dropping in the eggs carefully and leaving the cauldron to brew.

Whilst it did that he moved to his desk at the front of the classroom and reached underneath, producing a kettle already filled plentifully with water. He placed it on an empty workstation and lit the fire beneath.

"Tea?" He asked her, without looking her way.

It fell quiet in the room once more. The moment was brief but she found herself staring at him, with bated breath as she waited for him to make a move. Hjørdis expected him to make her life a little bit more difficult by refusing to cooperate, act as though he did not care for the wellbeing of anyone other than himself. It was a simple truth that she did not know him well enough to know if the latter was true or not. Perhaps he truly did not care for them, perhaps he hid it like so many others seemed to - herself included.

There was a flicker of confusion on her face as he broke eye contact, looking away. He likely did not notice it, as he was busy looking elsewhere. But the way he looked down took her by surprise. She expected him to get a little annoyed, if anything. Perhaps outright say no and snatch the jar, make a claim about this was his classroom and he was in charge or agree in a grumble and look angry but give in. However, he looked almost upset or like he had hoped for something else or... she was not sure. The expression was far too brief and she did not know him well enough to make an accurate reading on it but it had been unexpected.

Hjørdis sighed softly, her own gaze falling slightly as he replied. She prepared herself to have her kindness thrown back her in face, clearly unwanted. Instead, however, she watched him take some eggs out of the jar, leaving the rest on her desk. Her eyes snapped to him, a slight look of surprise in them, where she was met with a nod. That was that. That was the end of the interaction.

It... actually passed by without an argument? She stared at him, as he walked off, slightly surprised that he had not snapped about something ridiculous or made an attempt to irritate her. Her hand returned to the jar, carefully taking some out. It was most definitely a good thing that she had spent countless hours brewing this potion for the cursed students in the past months. If she had not gotten so used to it, she would likely be so confused that she would make a mistake. But her body seemed to be working on autopilot, as she tried to compose herself again.

It was made worse by the fact that he offered her tea. Being nice... was actually working? It was such a simple tactic but she was honestly kind of surprised by the way he had reacted to it. Hjørdis fully expected it to be thrown back in her face, for her to rage a little and them to argue in an attempt to see who would annoy the other fastest. "Sur- Yes, please..." She replied, correcting herself to be a tad bit more polite than casual halfway through. This... was a joke though, right? He was not actually going to give her tea. If he did, he'd probably poison it. That would be more of what she expected, surely.