Zosimos

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Through a window overlooking a sprawling campus, a prying eye peers.

Satisfied that there's no one around, Zosimos turns his attention back to the locked case sitting on his shelf. With a click, he pops it open, revealing several crystalline bottles sitting neatly within. In the light, the contents almost seem to glow a translucent gold, shimmering softly. Small rubies and sapphires glimmer, keeping the liquid inside safely sealed. The sight alone is enough to make him breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that they're all safely here. This place is secret, known to only him, but one can never be too careful. Look what happened to Coprina, after all.

His shaking hands reach for one of the bottles, gripping the neck tightly. Trying to see how long he could make it without a dose was folly. Once, he only needed it every few weeks. Now the window of time is at most a few days. Just the thought of it is enough to make his pulse quicken with anticipation, sweat sliding down his forehead as he stares at the accursed elixir that's become his lifeline. No wonder he's been so tired, lately. He needed this.

With trembling fingers, he pops the sapphire stopper off of the bottle, before lifting it to his lips and-

Knock-knock.

The crystal bottle shatters, glittering clear shards spraying all over the floor as Zosimos jumps. Oh, no. Oh, no, no no. The elixir's shine seems to almost be mocking him, now, glistening like ichor and staining the floor gold. That's one bottle wasted, and before Zosimos can reach for another one, there's another rap at the external office door.

Damn it all. Cursing under his breath, Zosimos hastily throws a cleaning rag over the mess and sweeps most of the shards aside into a pile with a broom, before hurrying outside.

"Yes, yes, I heard you," he snaps, fumbling to get to his desk and look busy. "Come in."

The door opens. It's just Zinnia, apparently. Sometimes Zosimos likes to order her around, have her bring things that are too much of a hassle for him to get himself, but it's times like these that he regrets his own decisions.

Her eyebrows are raised with concern, a yellow folder clutched in her hands. "Is everything alright, sir? I heard something breaking inside..." she trails off, glancing around the office in confusion. Zosimos makes a mental note to soundproof the internal office next time.

"I just dropped something, is all. Is that the report I asked for last week?" His voice has an unnatural edge to it, sharpened by the irritation at not being able to take the next dose he needs. "About time you brought it."

Frowning, Zinnia steps closer to hand him the report, but doesn't leave immediately. "I could've sworn I heard some glass breaking... but there's nothing broken here?" she trails off, glancing back at Zosimos, who meets her stare head-on - though he's sweating. "Sir, is there something I can help you with? You look exhausted, and it's not safe to be running experiments when you're tired."

He feels worse than just exhausted, actually. It feels like his limbs are melting into an indistinct puddle of goo, the strength sapped from them. Only his pride and the need to maintain appearances is keeping him from letting his eyes slip shut - he can't, he mustn't, what if he never wakes up?

"... Sir, is there something you're not telling me?"

Not again. They always grow too nosy for their own good. Zinnia's a good assistant, he'd hate to have to get rid of her, but once they start asking questions, it's over. He can't risk the knowledge getting out. Sighing, Zosimos pushes himself up from his chair and walks over to the bookcase behind the desk - in reality a hardlight projection designed to conceal the entrance of the inner office. With a snap of his fingers, the projection deactivates, revealing the door he hadn't had time to close earlier.

"I wasn't going to say it until I was ready, but I suppose since you've been such a good assistant, I can let you in on what I've been working on. Come," he extends his hand out to the bewildered Zinnia, waiting for her to join him.

"Let's have a little chat, shall we?"