Drif resisted the urge to try and slap Melona into wakefulness. That didn't really ever work, in her experience. Still though, it was getting hard not to worry. Being unconscious for this long couldn't be good for Melona. Letting her anxiety take the reins, Drif grabbed Melona's shoulders and shook them.
"Mel! Wake up! Dammit, wake up!"
There was a pause. Melona's breathing slowed, growing more shallow with each breath. Drif felt a chill in her gut as she wondered if she had just killed her friend, until--
Melona's eyes snapped open, revealing a wild, unfocused gaze beneath. She turned towards Drif, seemingly looking through her.
"Aniseed," she said.
Drif let go of Melona and stepped back, letting her sit up. "W-What?"
Melona's eyes refocused as they flicked around the room. "Aniseed. Your potion had an aftertaste like aniseed. I hate aniseed."
"I--sorry, Mel, but--"
"An aniseed aftertaste can mean a lot of things, but the grit I felt as I swallowed the potion indicates a precipitate in the mixture." Melona's head snapped towards a vial sitting on Drif's end table. "Mandrake sap reacting with ether that had been sitting at a high temperature. Or naga venom reacting with human hair while in sunlight. Both are things you could have reasonably forgotten about, and would have been enough to cause a precipitate, corruption of the potion's original effects, and unconsciousness."
Drif furrowed her brow. Melona was right. Both of those were things that could have happened to her potion. Odds are both of those had happened to her potion. But recognizing that from a bad aftertaste was--
Melona laughed to herself as her eyes unfocused again. She pumped her eyebrows. "Both? Yeah, both happened. That's good though. We could've saved the precipitate floating in the potion. In large enough doses it's got some hallucinogenic properties." Her grin widened. "Aphrodisiac too, if I overheard Sneayc right that one time. Could be fun. Couple pinches of that in the cafeteria, and AHHH! AHH! AHHH--oh--oh--oh!" Melona screamed in mock terror before transitioning into a fake orgasmic moan as she mimed forcing someone's face into her crotch. "Psycho orgy. It'd be hilarious."
"Mel--" Drif began. This wasn't like Melona in the slightest. Melona was bright, sure, but not the kind of bright that'd be able to make so many connections in the span of seconds. What was more, Melona certainly wasn't the kind of person to use the words "psycho orgy" and "hilarious" in such quick succession. "Mel, do you feel any different?"
Melona fixed Drif with an incredulous grin. "Uh. Uhhh--" she began, her voice dropping an octave in feigned idiocy. "Uhh-I think so?" Her voice returned to normal "Of course I feel different, Drif! I feel great! That little wonder drug I drank's making sure of that!"
Drif nodded, curiosity overwhelming her trepidation. "And what's that feeling?"
Melona started counting on her fingers. "Mandrake sap--boosted intelligence and pattern recognition. Light-denatured naga venom--manic tendencies and increased energy. Ether being used in an incomplete mana potion--reduced inhibitions coupled with increased creativity. I'm also guessing I've just developed an allergy to zinc, but I can't prove that right now. There's probably some more, but it looks like you have a question."
Drif did, in fact, have a question. "So--you think what you drank was--"
"A potion that turned me into a mad genius?" Melona let out a hyena-like cackle. Drif stepped back, nearly needing to cover her ears. Melona cut off the laughter, snapping her head to look at Drif. She shrugged. "Yeah, probably."
Drif paused, her mouth hanging open as she tried to think of something to say. All she could manage was "So, what now?"
Melona waggled her fingers. "Well, now--
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