Nevin rolled back the sleeves on his plain white shirt as he wiped some of the stinging sweat out of his eyes. He had been bent over this solution for nearly forty minutes, carefully making sure that it simmered down properly, and no uneven lumps were left in the mixture. The proximity to the flame beneath the small brass bowl had him sweating fiercely. But - the potion was done. With smooth, practiced motions he carefully lifted the bowl from the flame,
and poured the bubbling green brew into a small clay jug. A cork stopper in the top to keep it in, and he was good to go -
And just in time it seemed, as the small bell that he had strung up into his workshop chimed, indicating someone had come into the shop. The redhead brushed strands of hair out of his face and sighed, shaking his head ruefully. "Well. Back to the other side of business." He put out the flame and set the pot into the small sink, running water over it to keep it from drying up with some of the solution still in the bowl. That done, he headed over to his ladder, and set the clay jug on the small pulley system, then climbed up the ladder. He hadn't shut the trapdoor into his basement, thankfully, or it might have taken him longer to get out of there - as it was, he hurried to pull the new medicine up without spilling it.
For a moment, he hesitated at the door, wondering if he should roll back down his sleeves - but no, he was done hiding his nature here, the villagers didn't mind. A few gave the strange mash of red lines that ran across his skin a second glance,
but so far none had ever really seemed upset by it. Certainly, none of them had stopped visiting. So, he kept the sleeves pushed back, though he did dry one of his hands off on his dark brown trousers as he cradled the clay jug in the crook of his other arm. Then he pushed open the door, letting a smile fall onto his face. He had finally gotten to the point where his smiles seemed natural, crinkling the corners of his eyes properly, which he felt glad of.
"Yes, hello, sorry about that -" He paused and ran a quick eye over his guest, "Miss. I was down in my workshop, apologies for the wait." He lifted the wooden bar on one end of the counter and slipped out from the back, heading over to one of the shelves. He set his burden down next to several near identical clay jugs, and rearranged them slightly, until he stepped back and huffed, then shrugged. "It'll do." Then he spun on his heel and smiled at the girl, dipping into a shallow bow.
"Nevin, proprietor of Herbal Magick. What can I do for you today?"
