There was a steady drip filling the redhead alchemist’s ears as he leaned back on the bench that he had been sitting on for the last hour. He dragged the back of one arm across his forehead, whisking away the sweat from his brow as he stared at the bubbling concoction swirling through the glass tubes in front of him. It had been a long, delicate process, stabilizing the reaction inside of the brew, but he had finally managed to do it. He now had a sort of base for a serum that should add to the imbiber’s longevity - but it was still missing several steps. This was a start, nothing more, but.. It was more than he had had.

He shifted on the low wooden bench and rubbed his eyes tiredly. For a moment, Nevin wondered where Eteri was - she wasn't at her normal place, by his side - then he remembered that he had sent her out in case something went wrong and this blew up in his face. Considering the last two attempts at making this potion base had done EXACTLY that, he felt rather secure in the fact that this literally was for her safety. She'd been irritated about being sent out, but when he gently reminded her that she'd much rather be out and working on a project of her own, rather than being cooped up, she had conceded.

Nevin wasn't quite sure why, but over the last few weeks, Eteri had been showing signs of being even more energetic than she had been in the past. But this energy wasn't contained like it had been before, it was more frenetic. She had to be doing something, moving about, she was finding it hard to sit still. Oh, she would. If he ordered her to - but those times usually ended up with neither one of them getting any work done.

This last week or two, after meeting her friend Ven, Nevin had experienced the latest bout of Eteri’s drive to express her energy. And her affection. She had stolen two of his coats, and promptly sewed strings, bells, and ribbons all across it. Despite his initial frustration at that, now the alchemist couldn't help but chuckle at the memory of her forcing him into one of the jackets - then promptly sitting behind him, and idly playing with the adornments for nearly ten minutes before his brain came back to life and he asked what the thick flow was going on.

The last few drops of the bubbling serum fell into the large glass beaker that he was storing it in, and Nevin capped it off before standing up and shutting down the mixing station. Thin tendrils snaked out and lifted up the bottle, smoothly carrying it over to a shelf and storing it away, locking the cabinet the shelf was in with a key that was soon tucked into his pocket. The alchemist then cleared away the more volatile chemicals, sorting and storing them safely and separately. When there was nothing left that would explode or burst into chemical flames if jostled too much, he opened up the door to the workshop and breathed in deeply, taking in the fresh air.

“Eteri - the workshop is open again, come rejoin me.” He wasn't actually sure if the blue-haired catgirl who was so precious to him was in their home at the moment, but if she was she'd soon be back with him as the tall, lithe figure if the alchemist moved out into the kitchen area, and he began looking through the fridge. Long, dark clad legs carried the redhead out of his workshop as he strode towards the chill box, his stomach growling softly as it reminded him of the fact that he had, once again, neglected it for far too long in favor of working on a project.

Her head peeked out from behind the door frame to their bedroom. “Eteri busy, does Nevin need?” Dark eyes swung over in her direction and he blinked once, then tilted his head to the side before shaking it.

“No, love. No more so than usual. I'll begin working on dinner. Wrap up your project in time to join me.” He shot her a chiding grin before turning his attention to the chill box, trying to figure out what to use for dinner as he kept one ear trained on the bedroom. Thankfully, he didn't seem to be hearing any more bells, so whatever she was working on, it didn't involve defacing any more of his clothing. He had given her a few coats and shirts to alter to her heart’s content, but he had a feeling that if he didn't keep an eye on her the nekojin would change all of his clothes.

While she busied herself with her project, the Alchemist began pulling meat from the fridge. Eteri had shown a preference for rabbit lately so they'd stocked up a bit more on that - in exchange, Nevin also had vegetables that she ate - sometimes unwilling, but she'd do it when he turned a stern gaze on her. He started mincing up the strips of rabbit flank that they had, adding seasonings to it. He was feeling in the mood for meat and vegetable skewers tonight, and it wouldn't take long to prepare them thankfully so his stomach would, with any luck, stop trying to chew up his spine soon enough.

Eteri came out after holding something delicately in her hands. On first glance it looked like nothing was there. On closer inspection he realized she was weaving parts of his soul together. “Need stay still so can attach again please.” She said as she carefully padded over to him. Looking up at him with those loving yellowed eyes. He set the meat down on the counter, away from the edge so it would not run the risk of falling off, then turned around and leaned back against it, steadying himself on the counter.

“Go ahead, dear.”

He shuddered once as she placed her palm against his chest and pulled. He could see the thin whips of his soul, no longer a dirty brown but brilliant shades of purple, red, and gold. She carefully stitched the pieces together using intricate motion and her fingers. He bit back the odd, shivery groan as he literary felt her touch caress what may be the most intimate part of who he was. When she was done she let go and it settled back into his chest. “Think have done over half now. Is feeling OK? “

He rubbed his chest a few times as he felt, once more, that odd settling sensation as what she had removed returned to him. Strange, twisting warmth spread out, filling him as he rolled his shoulders a few times. Dark eyes drifted closed as he took a few deep breaths, adjusting to the changes. It felt… Calmer, less choppy and rough now. There was a - a relaxation, deep inside of him. Like something that had been off, wrong, had been repaired. He frowned slightly - unsure of how long that feeling had been sitting in the back of his - mind, or soul perhaps. But it was gone now. He reached out and drew Eteri into his arms, cradling her against his chest.

“I feel - fantastic, love.”