Chapter 35: Recycling

Matthos and Barney weren't that enthusiastic as they looked at the golem. The idea of extracting the tears of Wren from the mixture continued to disgust them. However, there were no Wrens to force to cry, and two, they loved nature, so recycling it is.

"You both look like you're going to be sick," Lumi commented.

"Yes, we are," Barney admitted.

"So, do you know what you are doing?"

"Yes, and I'm going to do it now, unfortunately," Matthos winced as he poured the saliva-looking thing into a pot.

Hours of working on it, and they finally came with substandard tears of Wren.

"You think this will work?" Barney eyed the greyish tears contained in a vial.

"I'm hoping it will," Lumi answered as she concentrated on pounding ivory, iron pyrite, and blood in mortar. She was near the fireplace, and the fumes circulated around the living room. Matthos couldn't handle the scent of fresh blood, feeling a bit queasy due to his post-recovery state. They forced him to stay upstairs and sleep. With no other choice, he did. But he did ask to be woken up when it was the drawing part.

"Lumi dearest," Barney sang in an off-tune voice, "what's the next step?"

"Have it solidify under the sun and then draw the tree of life. After that, it will supposedly burst in front of us and Dian Masalanta will appear."

Due to the fireplace's heat and the force of the pestle, the three ingredients melded together into a scary mix of amber that mirrored Lumi's eyes.

"Finally, it doesn't smell like blood anymore," he sighed and opened the window. Lumi stood up to let the mixture cool down before pouring it into circles.

"And that is why recycling is good for the environment," Barney proclaimed, "unless it's your ex. Never go back to your toxic ex."

"What is a toxic ex?" Lumi frowned as she washed her hands. She was still adjusting to Barney's modern wisdom.

"An ex is a past lover, and toxic means that they were bad for you. They were energy vampires, sucking out the life out of you," he explained, "so you should never ever go back to them. Okay?"

"I will remember that if I will be given the chance to have a normal life, Barney," she answered and continued to wash her hands.

"Good," he felt proud, and then he remembered, "scratch that, don't have a toxic ex. Matthos will murder me."

She pondered on the idea. Matthos was very protective of her. She doesn't think that he'll murder Barney, but he'd probably do something close to it.

"Hmm, I'll consider that in the future," she grinned.

The look of defeat was etched on his face and only faded when the said person came down.

"I found a wax seal stamp and pour. Want to use this?" He held two tools in his hand. Lumi nodded enthusiastically as it made her job easier.

"Thanks, Matthos!" she almost skipped as she took the tools from him.

"You always make it easy for her," Barney said under his breath. Lumi had a great hearing and glared at him. "What? It's true! If that was me, he'd say go figure." He pouted.

"You're a big boy, act like it," Matthos sniffed and sneezed.

"I'm going to cook, like the big, independent boy that I am," Barney muttered. Lumi laughed at his mini tantrum while his friend only rolled his eyes.

"Lumi, you should rest," Matthos guided Lumi to the couch. It was only then that she felt the tiredness and soreness from all the work she was doing.

"Do you still have those muscle relaxants?"

"Yes, I do," he handed her two tablets which she chewed, not complaining about the bitterness. Barney saw her do it and was baffled, "You're supposed to swallow it and down it with water. What the heck?"

"It's too much work," she replied.

"So is chewing!"

Matthos just smiled at their bickering and went to the kitchen to get an icepack.

"By the way, what do we do next after making talismans?"

"Try to figure out the current case," Barney answered, "Before it affects the island. City A and B are in a bad shape, and our parents are currently in it."

"Do your parents know about me?"

"Do you want them to?"

"Well, I don't know, are they— openminded?"

"Lumi, they're curse breakers themselves. They're required to have an open mind. Else, they'd get nowhere," Matthos responded.

"Oh, that's great!" she felt relieved. That meant they wouldn't reject her, at least outwardly.

So the trio spent the afternoon waiting for the mixture to cool down and rested as it did. Matthos ended up spending his afternoon answering emails while Barney listened to his mother nag him for not sending messages.

Lumi found herself enjoying the silence as she watched the two in their own worlds. Somehow, and for once, she fit in.