The longer Azia watched them, the harder she winced. The same went for sighing.

  Seleth was still blessing the little plants with watery love. She had half a mind to wonder if he would hurt them, actually, given their esua diet. It was another experiment for another time. “There’s a few things I can’t check on my own. Like…medically.”

  Ginger withdrew her hands from her pockets, and they found a home on her hips instead. She was taking it well enough. Azia had figured she would, and it was somewhat of a relief. “Medically, you say?”

  “I know some stuff,” Azia started, counting on her fingers. “He doesn’t eat, he doesn’t drink, and he doesn’t excrete. According to him, he survives on sunshine. I think he’s being serious about it, too. When he blushes, it’s blue, apparently. He sleeps in a bubble--a literal bubble, made of water and everything--and he says it’s a reflex. He can even breathe in there.”

  Ginger cocked her head. “He doesn’t eat?”

  “No,” Azia affirmed.

  She shrugged. “Make him.”

  Azia flinched. “He’s gonna get sick. I think.”

  Seleth’s grin was annoying, usually. Ginger’s was outright worrying. “You’re not curious, Miss Alchemist?”

  “Maybe this was a bad idea,” Azia muttered. “I’m not here to torture him, I just need your eyes. Whatever you feel like offering me.”

  Ginger nodded just slowly enough that it was concerning, her gaze locked on a boy still blessing blooming lavender. “A check-up. I can do that.”

  One spearing finger came level with Seleth before Azia could object. “You. Water boy,” she called.

  Azia was somewhat shocked that Seleth responded to the moniker at all. He raised his head, his flowing hands hovering above every purple bud. When he only stared, Ginger brought the same finger to herself, motioning in a manner much too demanding for the person in question. Azia had half a mind to tell her.

  To her immense relief, he didn’t flirt. He didn’t so much as try, his expression more neutral than anything. Curling fingers of his own confiscated his fluid attention, and misty flowers were left to shine. Seleth did as he was wordlessly told, adjusting messy hair half-heartedly. Kassy wasn’t invited. She came anyway.

  “Who are you?” Ginger asked, her voice firm.

  He was unfazed. His grin was innocent enough, if not as confident as Azia had anticipated. “Seleth. Nice to meet you.”

  “Seleth,” Ginger echoed with a nod of approval.

  She didn’t get any further than that. Kassy waved aggressively, her own flavor of sunshine bright enough to scorch every plant in the room. “Hi, Ginger!”

  Ginger chuckled. She waved back, if not much less forcefully. “Hi, Kassy.”

  “You should’ve said hi when you came in,” Azia whispered.

  “But I’m saying hi now, so it’s okay.”

  “You’re…interesting,” Ginger said. “Azia told me about you. What else can you do with your water?”

  Azia could’ve sworn his grin grew stronger--if not tainted with something questionable. “What would you like me to do with it, ma’am?”

  She contemplated kicking him. Ginger wouldn’t have known of his tendencies. The apothecary gestured to a door beyond, still more than ajar. “Why don’t you come with me for a bit?”

  Seleth’s eyes drifted to Azia. Azia only emulated the same gesture, already trailing in Ginger’s footsteps. “Research. Go with it.”

  He stared with hesitation for another several seconds. Eventually, he slipped into a comfortable smile, following in her wake. Kassy wasn’t invited--again. It didn’t matter.

  Ginger’s workspace was far less green, if nothing else. What sprouts she did harbor were pristinely sorted and tucked away, safe behind glassy jars and tethering twine. Given their sudden intrusion, Azia was somewhat surprised at how clean the room was. Heavy curtains hushed the pouring sunlight beyond, and the cool air was subsequently welcome. It was as comfortable as Seleth would get, given what Ginger would probably put him through. Research or not, Azia prayed she’d be gentle.

  Ginger motioned to a lonely chair pressed to the wall. “Please, have a seat.”

  Again, Seleth obliged. Again, too, did he eye Azia with hesitation. Azia only crossed her arms, giving the apothecary what space she’d need. It was somewhat of a relief that Kassy did the same of her own accord, content to sway back and forth contently at Azia’s side.

  Whatever metal tray Ginger brought along with her was concerning, loaded with tools both recognizable and not. Several of them were sharp, at first glance. Azia didn’t even want to know. Seleth’s smile wasn’t strained yet. He probably didn’t know at all, actually. Ginger set the metal down onto the table at his side, dragging a stool beneath her with her free hand. For as fluid as the process was, Azia was amazed she didn’t fall.

  “Have you ever been to an apothecary before, Seleth?” she asked calmly, her fingers already wandering across each concerning instrument in turn.

  He shook his head. “Nope. First time for everything. Been having a lot of firsts, lately.”

  Ginger ended up with light, strong and semi-tolerable. One tiny click was all it took for Seleth to wince. “Hold still for me, please.”

  To his credit, blinded or not, Seleth once more obliged. She raised the bright rays to his pupils, flickering back and forth as they dilated. “What’s going on with his eyes?” Ginger asked, never turning her head.

  Azia slid the straps of her bag down her shoulders, every item clinking together in the process. Her glaive came to rest on the hardwood, and she slipped her hand into the canvas folds. “I noticed that, too.”

  Seleth blinked several times over, still victim to the same radiant assault. “What’s wrong with ‘em?”

  Ginger set him free, eventually. She withdrew the little flashlight, and he was left to blink yet harder. “Your irises are dynamic.”

  “No idea what that means,” he confessed.

  Azia came to his side, one journal richer. “Your eyes are…kind of fluid, I guess. Not sure how to describe it. The color almost flows, a little bit. It’s like--”

  “Water,” Seleth interrupted playfully. “Everything’s like water. I know.”

  Besieged by relentless light as they’d been, they were shimmering, anyway. It only served to illustrate her point, if not to offer something beautiful. Azia stared, for a moment. Her last lengthy glimpse of vivid aquamarine had accompanied panic. This was the closest she’d gotten since.

  “Don’t look too long,” Seleth teased. “Be careful. You might drown.”

  It was a thought she’d had in passing, at the time. Flirtatious as he’d now twisted it to be, she doubted she’d have it again.

  Ginger traded a flashlight for empty hands altogether. Instead, she motioned to one of his own. “Make your water for me. However you do it.”

  That, at least, he was fine with. Seleth grinned, as always. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Ginger didn’t flinch in the face of the little bubbles that rose to greet her. He brought her purity with pride, steady fingers leaving tides bursting to life in his palm. Where they rippled and wavered, she only peered deep beyond blue. Ginger peered too deep, really, leaning concerningly close to a hand full of tranquil waters.

  Her eyes lingered on gorgeous colors, for a moment. Eventually, they fell to Seleth’s fingers, largely still beneath his tiny current. Slowly, she threaded her own fingertips between the gaps, immune to straying droplets. Ginger’s touch wandered along his, and he just barely recoiled. She was unfazed. He stiffened.

  “Your skin stays dry,” Ginger murmured, her free fingers trailing along the back of his hand. “It doesn’t look like it’s seeping out of your pores. Where does it come from?”

  Why he was blushing was beyond Azia. She was torn between pointing it out to Ginger and slapping him. On closer inspection, he looked more uncomfortable, versus anything else. “I-I just make it,” Seleth stammered uselessly. “It’s…not something I really think about. It’s easy.”

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  Ginger hummed in contemplation. “And getting rid of it?”

  Seleth averted his eyes, still cursed with dusting blue and a hint of distress. “You have to let go.”

  She obliged, still fixated on the same rippling waters. With or without his gaze, swift curls of his fingers were enough to send his little ball of purity to sparkling oblivion. Ginger was calm all the way through, only eyeing his hand as it unfurled in full.

  “I see,” she said. “What does it feel like?”

  Seleth’s arm came to rest on the side of the chair. “Hard to describe. There’s this little…pulse, I guess. I feel it in my blood, and it goes to my hands. It’s fast. It doesn’t hurt. It's really nice, actually.”

  “Your blood,” Ginger murmured. “You…feel things when I touch you, correct? Sensations?”

  Seleth tilted his head. “Yeah?”

  “Pain?” she tried.

  He raised an eyebrow. “Of course.”

  Ginger paused once more. “Do you bleed?”

  “Ginger,” Azia warned, severing scratching graphite from her journal for a moment.

  She lifted her eyes to the alchemist with a smirk. It was somewhat impressive that she could roll up Seleth’s sleeve without looking. “I’ll play nice. You handed him to me. I’ll give you back your little toy when I’m done.”

  Azia gritted her teeth. Seleth’s smug smile was agonizing. “Oh, I like her,” he said with far too much satisfaction.

  “If you’re gonna do it, do it right,” Azia hissed to the apothecary alone.

  Ginger reached for the pile of tools once more. “Calm down. Like I said, I’ll play nice.”

  Seleth followed her movements with his gaze. The thick strap that grew taut between her palms was confusing, if the look on his face meant anything. When she motioned for access to his arm, he still obeyed her regardless. Seleth submitted to whatever tightness Ginger could curse him with, winding around his skin firmly. He winced.

  “Whatcha doin’?” he asked through his grimace, his voice more curious than anything.

  The tiniest hint of enthusiasm in Ginger’s tone wasn’t lost on Azia. “Have you ever had a blood test before?”

  He watched her bind the strap swiftly to his arm at last. “Blood test? Can’t say I have.”

  “I don’t even think he knows what a blood test is,” Azia muttered.

  Ginger made for the same shining tray yet again. “You’ll pass with flying colors. Just relax.”

  There was a chance he’d never seen a needle, either. Kassy had, for sure. Azia had forgotten she was there altogether. She was opposite Seleth, apparently, and her hands came to clasp one of the boy’s own. The sudden contact was enough to make him jump. “I’ll hold your hand,” she offered with a soft smile. “It’ll be over fast.”

  Seleth only stared at her. “What are you talking about?”

  The gauge of the needle was sizable enough that Azia shot Ginger a glare. “You couldn’t have used a smaller one?”

  “He’ll be fine,” the apothecary reassured, flicking the glass syringe with her fingernails. “You don’t know anything about his blood, right? You can play with it when I’m done, if you want. I’ll keep it warm for you.”

  “You’re such a freak,” Azia spat. “Just…do it normally. I’ll know if you’re messing around.”

  Ginger’s steady hand came to rest beneath Seleth’s arm, and she lined up the spearing bevel with his skin. “You’re no fun. I’m doing this for you, remember?”

  “Don’t look at it,” Kassy reassured, patting the back of Seleth’s hand. “You can look at me, if you want. Sometimes, I try to distract myself. I like thinking about what I’m gonna have for dinner that night. Wait, you don’t eat, right? Maybe that’s not the best distraction.”

  Seleth was still just as confused. “What am I supposed to be distracted fr--oww.”

  It almost came out as a statement. Azia had to stifle a laugh with her palm. Even after the fact, he looked equally baffled. Seleth seemed tolerant enough of the sight, staring down a needle in his arm with little resistance--physically, at least.

  He brought the same perplexed gaze to Ginger. “Why?” he asked bluntly.

  Azia didn’t bother holding back her laughter anymore. Ginger smirked. “I’m taking a sample of your blood. This is how I have to get it out. Stay still for me, please. I’m trying to find your vein.”

  Seleth’s attention went to Azia instead. “Is my suffering amusing to you?”

  So rarely did she grin at him herself. She wasn’t sure if she ever had, actually. “I mean, that answers the pain question.”

  He closed his eyes with a mocking sigh. “You’re lucky that you’re pretty.”

  It took time for Azia to regain her composure. She only found it when her eyes trailed to a filling syringe and a trembling hand, steady or otherwise. The strain on Ginger’s face was new. Narrow eyes were unreasonable.

  “How’s it going, Ginger?” she asked, tapping her journal against her thigh.

  “Give me a second.”

  Azia’s face fell. She watched the apothecary in silence, unsteady as her fingers slowly became. With certainty, she was getting something. Behind tiny glass, vivid blues surged and billowed as they climbed ever higher into the syringe. She didn’t recognize the color. For as refreshing and gorgeous as his external purity was, whatever Ginger stole from him was infinitely more resplendent. She was hardly stealing it from him at all, really. Not once had she moved the plunger of her own accord.

  Azia leaned in closer. “It’s…beautiful,” she breathed.

  Seleth scoffed. “My blood?”

  Even behind the safety of sealed glass, it was practically radiant. Not once did it still, nor did it settle. So often had he brought bubbles woven of his touch to a halt, calm and stable in his skillful hands.

  He’d be hard-pressed to do the same here, swirling and spiraling as the sea within him came. What rich blues he’d brought to Azia’s curious gaze were shamed by shining cyan, precious and wonderful. If his eyes were dynamic, then his blood was vibrant.

  “It’s like…a current,” Azia observed, resisting the urge to tap the shaking syringe. “It’s flowing.”

  Seleth’s attention followed her own. “Is it?”

  Azia never looked away. Still, she couldn’t help but squint. “What do you mean ‘is it?' It’s your blood.”

  “How often do you think I look at my own blood?” he asked. “Never really had the chance.”

  “Does it feel like anything?”

  “Yeah, it feels like this freakin’ thing is stuck in my arm,” Seleth grumbled, jerking his head demonstratively towards a buried needle.

  “No, the…flow. Can you feel that inside you?” Azia tried.

  He shook his head. By now, Kassy had quietly moved in to watch the same. “I can't feel it, no. It’s my blood. It just does its own thing.”

  “Damn it!”

  Azia’s eyes snapped to Ginger. “What’s wr--”

  She never made it all the way there. Ginger’s fingers slipped, and Azia was lucky that she’d moved her face when she had. The apothecary did nothing to dislodge the syringe. It surrendered on its own--violently, airborne, and hurtling well across the room.

  Kassy screamed. Azia wasn’t immune to a gasp, either, and Seleth flinched in turn. One pitiful crack left tiny glass scattering along the hardwood, heavenly purity splashed against the masonry. It was a waste. More importantly, it was extremely disorienting.

  Ever so slowly, Azia’s attention drifted back towards the apothecary. She, too, seemed just as disoriented. Her own gaze flickered between the shattered syringe and Seleth’s arm, leaking the same spilling current down his skin in a spindling trickle. When she didn’t move, he hesitantly pressed two fingers over the tiny wound, stemming his little flow.

  “What,” Ginger finally began, borderline breathless, “is your resting blood pressure?”

  Seleth blinked. “Huh?”

  Her eyes were oddly sharp. “I could barely get the needle in at all. Did you do something?”

  He shook his head again, albeit much more fervently. “I didn’t do anything, I swear. I don’t know how I’d do anything in the first place.”

  Ginger was quiet. Of all people, it was Kassy who pressed. “What happened?”

  Ginger gestured to Seleth’s arm, still home to two stifling fingers. “The entire time I was trying, something was…pushing back, for lack of better words. I couldn’t keep it steady.”

  “I think his blood moves,” Azia said softly.

  “Obviously,” Ginger mumbled.

  “No, I mean, I really think it moves. It’s a current. It’s got pressure to it. It spins, and it flows, and it’s fluid. I’d imagine that has something to do with it.”

  Ginger’s cold gaze shot to the same destroyed syringe yet again. When it fell to Seleth, it was outright judgmental. “You’re a strange boy,” she said.

  Seleth rolled his eyes teasingly, granting her a grin to match. “That’s what everyone says. It’s okay.”

  Ginger turned her attention towards Azia instead. “What else do you know about him?”

  Azia bit her lip. Given how loaded of a question it was, she crafted her answer carefully. “Not enough. I’m taking him to the Tenaveris Research Institute. I’m hoping they can help me out.”

  “Oh. I was an afterthought, then,” she joked, untangling the taut strap from Seleth’s arm.

  “Actually, you were the first person I thought of. I made sure to come here first,” Azia insisted with a smile.

  She was starting to get used to Ginger’s smirk again, for as often as it appeared. “I’m flattered. Really.”

  Kassy clasped pleading hands together. “Can we stay with you tonight?”

  “Kassy!” Azia hissed.

  “But I like it here,” she whined.

  “We just showed up here without asking. We’re staying at an inn.”

  Where Kassy deflated, Ginger hardly did the same. She leaned back on the stool, stretching comfortably. “All you have to do is ask, Miss Alchemist. I charge lower rates, you know.”

  “You’d still make me pay?” Azia asked incredulously.

  “My place, my rules,” she insisted.

  Azia couldn’t tell if she was joking. Of the apothecary specifically, she’d believe either one.

  Ginger raised a finger. “I’ll waive my fee on one condition, actually.”

  “No,” Azia deadpanned.

  “Don’t you want to know what it is?”

  She very much did not. She wasn’t certain what possessed her to ask. “Fine. What is it?”

  And when mischievous eyes fell back to Seleth, Azia’s fears were confirmed. For once, she got to place their grins side by side. It was an awful comparison. “You’re willing to collaborate a bit more. Right, Seleth?”

  He’d long since withdrawn his fingers, a tiny puncture wound hushed and stagnant. If Azia squinted, she could hardly see it at all. Him crossing his arms didn’t help. “You gonna stab me again?”

  “It was for science,” Ginger reassured, settling one cheek into her palm. “You’re Azia’s little experiment. You already know what you signed up for.”

  Every time Ginger dragged her name into it, Azia winced--if not for the miniscule sparkle in Seleth’s eyes alone. Of that moniker, in particular, she was fearful. There was nothing she could do aside from rub her temples, at this point.

  “Let me do what I want, and you can stay the night. That’s a fair exchange, isn't it?” Ginger offered.

  Seleth emulated her body language, somewhat, his own face comfortable in his hands. “We just met. My heart’s spoken for, anyway. I’m a loyal guy.”

  “All of this is for Azia’s sake.”

  He paused. “I’m aware.”

  “I never did get my blood sample, you know,” Ginger reminded.

  Seleth shrugged. “I doubt I can help much with that. Can’t exactly make my blood move any slower. You’re probably out of luck with the needle thing.”

  Her grin was almost horrifying. “Then we won’t use a needle.”

  “Ginger!” Azia shouted.

  Seleth cocked his head. “What does that mean?”

  “Ginger, I swear to God. You told me you’d do it right,” Azia more or less growled.

  “You want to know just as bad as I do,” Ginger insisted, casting her all-too-elated eyes to Azia. “Don’t lie to yourself, Miss Alchemist. If you ask him nicely, I’m sure he’d be more than willing.”

  “We’re getting an inn,” Azia snapped.

  “I mean, I’ll…help with whatever, I think?” Seleth tried, his tone pooling with confusion.

  Objections or not, Ginger was reaching for the same clump of instruments yet again. “I’ll be gentle.”

  And the moment the scalpel shimmered between her fingers, Azia had to resist the urge to tackle her. The distress on Seleth’s face was immediate. His grin evaporated in the time it took Azia to blink.

  For how long it took to talk Ginger out of it, too, she really did regret making a detour at all.