#basil genovere

Basil called Thym and the twins into his room, looking happier than he had in days. Finally with some good news for not just the twins, but all those who cared about Virgo’s future. 

“So I was following up about something Thym and I were talking about, specifically the usage of alchemy interrupting or weakening the immune response of your plants," he took a deep breath.

His guests had taken to his room like teens during a slumber party.  Parsley was already making themself comfortable on his bed, and Thym, having not found anything to do with their hands for approximately one and a half minutes, appeared to be looking for something to pull apart.  For better or for worse, Basil's tidy space didn't offer much on that front.  Basil released a sigh.  He was still damned exhausted.  

"-And that led to another idea.  Perhaps there was a lethal change in the rate at which the energy transferred. If we could confirm that, it could indeed mean an issue with the seeds.  That spike in energy might have also led to a transference through the soil, leeching the effect to the rest of the plants.  I checked previous data on successful records on the growing of plants just like the ones currently being killed by the blight. Thanks to the twins' and others' responsible collection of said data, it was quite easy to calculate the amount of energy given over the course of the specimens planting as well as the rate at which energy was transferred to them…"

Basil was interrupted by loud squeaking.  Thym was trying to rock in his wooden desk chair and was succeeding only in tilting it side to side.  At his confused staring, they frowned and sunk to sit on the floor instead.

Basil cleared his throat.

"Important to note, is that even with alchemical seeds of larger and smaller varieties from the same source, there remained an even and expected distribution of energy. Comparing the typical to a blighted sample, we’d be able to identify a spike that could’ve killed a plant. In my measurements of the latent energy in said samples, I noticed something else: What happened to the seed as the plant died."

"What?" Thym asked. They stepped over to the bed to sit by the twins.

"In response to the decline in health, the alchemical seeds went dormant, no longer passing energy into the plant or into the soil. Comparing other seeds involved with blighted plants showed the same. The amount of energy left in them consistent with the start of the blight." Basil continued "And just to add to that, placing that seed into another test plant, it activated, and started passing energy into it again.  Guess what didn't happen?" 

"No blight?" Thym followed. 

Basil smiled. “None. No effect on the plant, nor the soil”

"It's not alchemy!" Thym all but cheered.

“And So-?” Coriander cradled their chin in thought. 

Basil straightened, his eyes darting as he thought through it, a sense of determination regained. “Something is inhibiting the plants' growth, their ability to take in energy, killing them. Not the seeds, not anything to do with the plant.  Not alchemy. ” He looked to Thym as he reaffirmed what they said.  “We need to stop looking for an alchemical cause and refocus entirely.” 

“So we just… rule it out?” Parsley asked with obvious reluctance  “But we’ve spent so much time-” 

Basil shook his head. "We should have ruled it out long ago, but we saw an obvious pattern and our worries kept us coming back.  Even knowing alchemical weapons are only ever made through explicit intent by masters of the craft, Alchemy and the danger of it proving destructive was our first thought, our recurring concern. But something else is happening here, it has to be.” 

“So what else could kill the plants? And why only the alchemical ones? All of us here take such good care of them...” Coriander asked, dejected.  

Basil paused.  

The keep was still in trouble. Even if they were sure it wasn’t the fault of alchemy. It’d be hard to disprove unless they could find the true cause. 

Thym rolled off the bed with a huff and took to pacing around.

“You all jumped to Alchemy poisoning right, so like?  Now that Alchemy is out...are there like- plant poisons?”  

That was all it took. 

Coriander’s eyes went wide. 

“Herbicides?” Coriander determined. “I’ve got a book on them back in our lab.” 

Parsley was squinting in thought “Say, If the seeds went dormant when the illness started, couldn't we determine the date the blight originated?”

"Sounds like we've got a couple good places to start in figuring out the real issue!" Thym cheered and stood at Basil's side. "To the Quinlan lab!?" 

He couldn't help but smile. There was a glimmer of hope.  "Yes, I'd think so." 

We will always have pride in who we are.  Thanks for celebrating Pride with @basilandthym <3

In a panic Basil dashed out into the crisp Autumn air and towards the thicket hiding Diana’s tree.

 He barely thought. Thinking would have stopped him in his tracks. But he felt. Felt that losing this would be a much greater loss than whatever could happen to him. 

Alchemy had been under attack for years, criticized and painted as something with dark potential, the target of people's misplaced fear and hate. What people did to what they didn't understand… to people they didn't care to make an effort to understand...it occupied Basil's mind with a vivid horror.  

It could be that the tree was safe, that they were mistaken. But the loss of this wouldn't just affect the keep and its future, this was history, a surviving, living, thriving symbol of the lives alchemy had touched and so much more.  A living relic, supporting unknown years of research for the alchemical community.

If someone wanted to take that from them all, from the world, with an act of terror, it had to be stopped.  

Basil came upon the complex, lungs struggling at the burst of exertion. Scanning the structure he noticed the figures of people having already entered. There were many, and he couldn't tell if they were or weren’t guild members, but it didn't matter. He made a run for the doors.

"No- stop!" his voice caught in his throat, unheard. 

He entered and without hesitation closed the distance between them.  The group turned to face him. They had not one, but two sizeable containers with them. The herbicides, unused. But there wasn't time for relief yet. 

His words spilled out.

"What do you think you are doing?! You can't - if you understood what any of this means, you'd stop-  please! " 

"Damnit." 

"Thought you said we had a solid distraction planned" 

"Shit shit shit-" 

"Calm it, It's just one guy"

At the revelation they looked at each other and then to Basil with a smile. 

Basil's mind finally caught up to his actions in the moment. He was alone. Confronting terrorists. He stood rigidly, eyes darting from each of the individuals. Five. 

Well, this was it. But at least he chose this. 

"Hey you're the alchemist, right?" Grinned one.

Basil glared them down. 

“What'd you say to us shooting this lone Alchemist here, sprinkle some herbicide in those mismatched hands and let him take the fall?” Another man suggested giddly. 

Bail’s eyes widened with fear but he had to hope they could see reason, at least one of them. “Don’t you understand that this place, this tree, Virgo and it’s alchemists aren’t hurting anyone? Doing this, You are making a mistake! More destruction won’t help anything!” 

“We’ve seen what alchemy can do. There’s a reason why people exterminated and destroyed all they could of it. It’s -”

The man was cut off as the doors to the arboretum were shoved open.

"Sorry I'm late!" A voice rang out, rough but not deep, and very confident “Now lets see here.  Ah." 

  Thym strolled casually through the midst of the surprised men, noting their manner of dress as they passed.  These people bore short blades and pistols on hips clad in leather garments, and thick protective gloves.  Whatever they had in those containers was as caustic and dangerous as the men themselves.  

"You can’t really kill this tree.  Look at it!  Do you know how long it would take to take this thing out?  I mean listen, I’m nonpartisan on this, but you guys are just idiots.” 

  Looks of confusion passed between them, and Basil seemed just as bewildered by Thym’s bravado. 

  Hand fidgeting on the hilt of their sword, Thym paused in front of Basil, and winked, then swung back around to face their adversaries  “This place has guards you know.  Basil would have alerted them before coming here.  I’d rather not have to deal with an investigation of all visitors.  Please, and again, this is for all our sakes, let's be reasonable.”

 Sizing up the gutsy uptowner, they took pause. 

“You’re all talk, kid”

At his comment, one of them, a tall individual with cropped dark hair, raised a pistol. Seeing the motion, Basil couldn’t help but yell out, “Thym, your right!”

"Aw geeze." 

Thym rolled out of the way as the first bullet fired off, glancing back to see Basil make an awkward dodge.  Ducking as a few more shots rang out, Thym leapt behind a table, kicking it over to make a temporary shelter.  The room lit up with a bright flash as several alchemical experiments fell shattering to their doom.

“Hey!” Basil chucked a glass bottle full of some bright liquid at the shooter, and quickly made for cover himself. All it took to drive him out was the approach of one of the gunmen, cut slightly by the glass and more than a little annoyed. Another man drew his blade and rushed Thym’s table blockade.  Jumping up to impede the attack, Thym raised their still-sheathed sword in both hands like a staff, slamming the thick leather case into their opponent’s blade and throwing it back.  With the sharp action, the man’s sword cut a deep indent into the leather, then through the binding at the hilt.

Thym grinned as white ribbons fluttered to the floor.

“Thank you!  I could not get that untied!”  

Drawing their long cutlass, Thym placed themself between their foes and Basil, both of them standing in defense of the tree.  

“Now, let’s try this again.  You can’t really kill this tree.  Because I’d kill you first.”

Thym looked deathly serious as they swung their sword in broad circles, its weight familiar in their skilled hands. Unarmed, Basil shot panicked glances about the arboretum.  With the escalating tension at its breaking point, the supposed leader of the group spoke.  

“Kill them.”

At the order, the five surrounded Basil and Thym, weapons drawn.

“Fuck” Basil remarked.

Thym smiled.

  Thym slept in, and didn't emerge from their room until well after breakfast.  It took them a bit of wandering to convene with Basil, and they felt tempted to spend the whole day in a similar manner, but eventually curiosity about the alchemy situation took over.  They tracked Parsley and Coriander to their office, and there found Basil as well.

The twins were accommodating.  They checked in often, pulling whatever information and samples Basil needed in the moment, yet making sure to give Basil his space.  Thym they stationed alongside Basil at a long table pressed against the wall of Parsley and Coriander’s office. Open books and documents were piled around, and Basil sat with a microscope in front of him. He handed off some documents and books to Thym to look over while he tested away at soil samples and plant cuttings. “It can be overwhelming, so if it’s too much, don’t worry.” 

Basil carefully added solutions, hoping for reactions that would identify their composition. Examining a microscope slide, he said casually to Thym, 

“It’s just educated guesswork at this juncture, but with persistence, maybe we’ll have a clue chemically about what’s going on. If we can identify the patterns in the data between each occurrence-" 

  "Might figure it out." Thym muttered.  They glared down at the papers, trying to recall anything they may know about botany, but precious little came to mind.  They spaced out almost immediately.

  "Are you alright?" Basil asked.

  Thym lifted their head sluggishly from where it rested on their folded arms. 

  "Yeah I'm good."  

  Their hair stuck to their forehead with sweat, yet they shivered as they tried to retreat further into their oversized coat.  

  Basil frowned.

  With their slight frame and pale, sun-starved complexion, any earlier signs that they'd been sick had escaped him.  They were good at hiding symptoms. 

  “Hey.” he slid his chair closer to them “Are you sure you are not, perhaps, a bit under the weather?” 

  Thym blinked up at him.  “Just drunk on sunshine.  What I get for, y'know” they waved their hand around lazily “Here-sitting.” 

  Basil squinted and Thym began gathering their scattered papers.  They stood to walk away from the scrutiny, only to slow.  Then the floor was rushing up to meet them.

  “Thym!-” Basil sprung up to stop their fall, and Thym grabbed at his arm, steadying themself.  

  “I'm okay, I'm okay I'm just-”

  Basil felt the hand that gripped his own, then slowly reached to brush Thym's forehead.  He winced.

  “You are badly overheated.  We need to get your fever down.”

  Thym opened their mouth to protest, then thought better of it and nodded. The heat in the greenhouse was particularly stifling today.

  Basil made an effort at awkwardly supporting Thym, a good foot shorter than him. “Are you okay to walk, I can-” 

  Thym straightened.  "I'm okay, Im fine, I just got dizzy." 

  Basil kept a hand out to steady them if needed. As they approached toward the door out of the twins green-office, Parsley perked up from their sitting spot, they rose up to join Basil and Thym’s side.

“You ok there?” They said, concern apparent.

“Feel bad, Just need some sleep.” Thym shrugged.

“Aw, well feel better soon.”

Basil accompanied Thym back to their room.  They took the stairs slowly, Basil keeping a watchful eye in case of another dizzy-spell.  As Thym set themself down on the bed Basil crossed the room, cracking open the window in hopes to let some cool air in. A crisp refreshing breeze instantly made it easier to breathe in the sun-warmed room. “This is silly.  I mean, thanks, but you should probably go back to your work, that’s important.” 

Basil didn’t acknowledge the thought. He glanced to Thym. “Be right back.” He slipped away from the room.

Basil returned, having expediently retrieved a pitcher and some damp towels from downstairs. In addition, in the crook of his non-metallic arm, he held an extra pillow. He placed his haul at Thym’s bedside. 

“May I?” Basil reached for Thym’s coat they’d neglected to remove. 

Thym hesitated, pulling away from Basil's reach, but slipped the coat off themself with relative ease. 

Basil barely seemed to react at the revealed scarring, just an ever so slight twinge in his brow. If it was a look of pity, Thym thought, at least it wasn’t obvious.  He grabbed the damp towels, making to place them himself but then thinking better of it, offered them to Thym.

  “These will cool you down a bit more. One under each arm. And on your forehead if you so choose.”

“Heh, strange. Thanks for the towels." Thym gave a tired laugh "Nurse Basil to the rescue?” 

He dipped his head and turned for the pitcher.

 He poured a generously full glass of water and handed it to Thym, “Drink, and I’ll leave you to rest.” 

Sitting up, Thym downed the contents of the glass in a blink-and-you'd-miss-it manner.

With raised brows Basil backed away, “Okay, that’s that then.” 

 In a couple of days time, Thym felt fit enough that there was no need to worry further for their wellbeing.  Basil stopped by more infrequently, and other times, Chive, Rosemary, even Parsley and Coriander found a moment to bring by fresh water, snacks, and friendly company. 

  Thym for their part was charmed and shocked by the continued kindness they were being shown.  There was no way at present for them to repay anyone, but they promised themself they would find one eventually.  Perhaps if they could help finish the blight research, they could make themself of use…

  Basil for his part had been pouring himself into the issue twofold.  The blight had continued to spread through any plot that had ever been touched by alchemy.  Its effect on the entire keep was growing a more pressing concern with every passing day.  The public image for Arcturus, for alchemy itself, was going to take its worst hit in decades unless they could find the cause, and keeping it from reaching the public was going to be impossible.  Every day felt more urgent than the last, one day closer to a disaster, with no answer in sight.  

  Stressed and often sleepless, Basil pressed on, sometimes with company and oftentimes by himself late into the night.  It was a week after Thym had fallen ill, on one such night of urgently re-evaluating what they knew, that Basil finally reached desperation.  The answer had to be there.  Everything had its reason, but he just couldn’t find it.  No matter how hard he looked, it was evading him.  It didn’t make any sense. The data was right here, alchemy was the only uniting factor that could cause it. The apparent source of the issue. And yet, alchemy didn’t work like this.  The reason for the sudden manifestation of this sickness mocked him. Why now? What had changed? 

  Basil shut his eyes tightly and tapped the edge of a quill against his desk, willing anything to for once be clear. Heavy lids hid his brown eyes, glassy from several days of intermittent sleep.  But he couldn’t rest yet. With a trembling breath he opened his eyes and reached, plucking a binding of notes from his bag. He winced at the action, a dull ache in his arm adding to the incessance of the night. 

  An enthusiastic knock on his door pulled Basil from the lonely worrying.

  “Yes?”

  Basil stood, trying to pull himself together.

  “Basil!” It was Thym’s voice “Hey!  Get out here!”

  Basil sighed as he opened the door.

  “It is not really the time for-”

  “Come on, you’ll miss it!” Thym bounced slightly, and Basil guessed they were doing much better “You have to see this!”

  “What?”

  Thym grabbed Basil’s hand and practically pulled him down the hall.

  Basil yelped, and stumbled along at the unexpected tug.  “Where are we going?” 

  “The roof!  Some of our friends are already there!”

  That didn’t really make Basil want to go more, but he figured he didn’t have much of a choice.  

  In exhausted silence he was led by the excitable guest.  Thym rushed him up the stairs, pointing as they emerged on the rooftop.

  Basil looked up.

  The sky was so clear tonight. Every star sparkled in diamond chroma, bright in a way that couldn’t be seen against the lights of new London.

  “Oh.” he breathed, barely a whisper.

  He had been the one, during the journey, to argue for enjoying all the beauty the keep had to offer, but he’d been so busy.  Had he even looked up once since getting here?

  Chive, Juniper, and Bay were sitting comfortably, stargazing.  Thym waved to them as they arrived.  

  Meanwhile, tense thoughts and guilt over spurned responsibility started to encroach upon Basil once more. He sighed.

  “This is… beautiful.  I should return to my research though.”

  “When was the last time you took a break?” Thym asked plainly.

  “Well, I’ve been to visit you.” Basil defended in a flat tone.

  “Besides that?”

  Basil went silent.

  “God, you’ll break your brain if you don’t rest.” Thym all but scolded.  

  Basil tried to come up with retaliation, but...maybe they were right.  He’d been staring at the same data for hours with no ideas, no realizations, no use.  He may as well take a moment to refresh his perspective.  

  Wordlessly, he took a seat, and Thym smiled.  Beside him, they studied the stars with the kind of passive joy reserved for people who’d left nightmares behind them, someone who was happy simply to be alive.  

  A flash caught Basil’s eye, and he turned his attention back to the sky.  A light meteor shower was breaking out overhead, easy to see in a place with so little light pollution.  Bay gasped in delight.

  Basil wasn’t sure how much time had passed before Thym finally spoke again.

  “Glad you came out?”

  He smiled down, even obscured in the dark the smile was notably one of the least faint he’d given since their meeting. “It has been… pleasant.”

  Before Thym could speak again, Basil bolted upright.  

Coriander went to retrieve a book and flipped to a page titled Post-Emergent Herbicides.

  “Basil, do any of these have any similarities to the compounds you’ve found in those soil samples?” 

Basil sat down and scanned the page, comparing the information to his own notes.

Thym leaned in.  The twins looked at each other, hopeful.

Trying not to focus on their hovering, Basil sighed. “It… might not just be one… some of the soil samples from separate plots were varied.” 

Basil jotted down some of the chemically matched herbicides and handed the note off to Coriander. 

“Does Virgo have any of these in its stores?” 

Coriander scoffed. 

“We use mild and natural solutions to care for our crops, never anything harsh enough to cause harm to the plants.”

“None at all? So there’d be no way any of these herbicides could have accidentally been used.”

“So where’d they… come from?” Thym questioned.

An uneasiness took hold of them as they took the steps to determine the approximate date upon which their plants began to die. 

“Based on this…” Parsley began

“The herbicides were introduced just two and a half weeks ago.” 

Basil froze. That would’ve been just a couple days before they made landfall at Virgo. 

Thym let the tension fall from their shoulders.  This one wasn’t going to get wrongfully pinned on them.  But they had to wonder why someone would do such a thing in the first place.

  “Could someone have accomplished all this in one go?” Thym asked, already imagining someone could “And would they have been able to break in, in the first place?” they added, already knowing the answer was yes.

  “Almost impossible, surely.” Parsley replied.

  Thym sighed.  “Okay, well then, who here would poison everything you guys are working towards?”

  Coriander hummed.  “There are...still a few botanists at this keep who resent its use for alchemy.”

  Basil stared silently at the list of toxins that’d been sitting right in front of his face from the beginning of the investigation, cursing himself for being so frustrated and exhausted that he couldn’t see what was happening.

  “Okay, even so, why go after all the little guys?” Thym asked.

  Coriander blinked, confused. “Huh?” 

  “No offense to your baby plants, but some dead seedlings don’t do much to alchemists, right?”

Basil sighed again, annoyed by the oversimplification of the situation.  "Thym, whole plots are dying, this is years of work and theory put into practice."

  Thym cast a glance at Basil, reconsidered their words, then continued “What I mean is...if they really wanted to chase off alchemists, why not go for something big.  Like, I don’t know, the tree?”

  A fearful silence filled the room.

  Basil let the paper fall from his hands and darted out the door.  He’d finally connected the dots.  There was no more time for chatter.

  “Basil?” Thym called after him “Wait, Basil!  Where are you going?”

  They chased after him, but then paused.  There was something missing.  Particularly, something missing from their right hip.

  They turned and ran back to the dorms.  Despite the situation, they couldn’t hold back a grin.

  Finally.  Something exciting.

  Thym jumped as they heard approaching footfalls.  They considered darting back to their hiding place, but if they were caught running?  That’d be the end of their freedom for sure.  They cursed themself for being so careless, frolicking about below deck.  As panic set in, they managed to hear the voice of the inbound scientist, still mumbling excuses to leave.  It was the same man who’d just left.  He’d seemed… focused.  A little oblivious, maybe.  Perhaps if they just pretended they belonged there, it’d be fine.  The same act had certainly saved them in the past.

  Just to add to their ambiguity, they donned the goggles on the desk before them, and a coat that’d been left on the chair next to it.  That was all the time they had.  They sat hunched over the nearest desk, silent, in hopes they’d be ignored.

  Basil squinted at a figure sitting with squared shoulders at his desk. He wondered vaguely why they had been allowed to work alone while he’d been forced above. He almost considered saying something, since they were at his desk. Not that they were assigned… It was just slightly invasive with all his materials still set out for study.

  He went over, tight-lipped and searched for the paper he was looking for, fully prepared to just grab his things and go back without a word to them.

  But on top of his own papers he found something that caught his eye, something that wasn’t his own. A plan freshly inked.  

  “Eherm- Is this- Did you do this?” Basil asked.

  Thym stiffened, their hand darting instinctively to the blade sheathed on their hip.  It was a knee-jerk reaction, and they regretted it immediately.  Balling their fist in their lap, they nodded slightly, back still turned to Basil.

  Completely unaware of the subtle danger, Basil with an instantaneous curiosity had begun to study the drawing on the page. The design didn’t follow typical engineering drafting, but something about it starkly struck him. A candid and inspiring imagination observable on the paper.

  “This isn’t how I’d approach this, but… It’s creative.” Basil looked over the design more closely, carrying it with conscientious appreciation as he walked it over to the young inventor.

  “It won’t fly.” Basil said bluntly, handing the paper back to them. “Still, I’m sure you can get it there eventually. Don’t give up on this one.” He smiled with a soft glance in their direction.

 Taking the sheet cautiously, Thym relaxed a bit.  There was no suspicion or accusation from the alchemist.  The chill of fear that had temporarily gripped the stowaway now melted away, replaced by warmth.  Had this scientist, this respected Arcturus member, just...complimented their work?  It was good, sure, but not guild worthy good.  Not compliment worthy good.  Thym thought over what he’d said again.  It was kind, but wrong.  They were determined.

  It would fly.

  Basil turned back to his desk to retrieve what he’d come for. Just a couple papers relevant to the notes he’d been finishing. As he searched his desk he spoke, mind still on their design

  “Wouldn’t mind seeing where this one goes, but I’ve got to get back up there before-”

  He looked over his shoulder to find the young inventor was gone. They’d run off and pretty quickly. He felt it somewhat odd to do so without a goodbye. Then he realized suddenly - they hadn’t said a single word to him the entire time. Must be shy.

  Relatable honestly.  

 Basil took a deep breath in preparation for the next social barrage before returning above deck now with his materials in hand.

  As he exited once again, Thym sat above on a support beam, studying their design.  There was a little spark starting in their soul, something they hadn't felt in too long.  The feeling of being appreciated, if only for a moment, and with it, a desire to improve, to be appreciated more.  They tried to shake it away.  That wasn't for them.  

  Thym cast one longing look back at the stairs, trying to catch a glimpse of the friendly scene above.  Another thing not meant for them.  Then they sighed and made a dash for the hold.  They could hide there easily enough until the Draco reached port, and they couldn't risk being spotted again on this journey.