Joy's face twisted into a smile. "I suppose you are right. At least three quarters of my cases come from careless mistakes."

"Ten?!" The healer's eyes widened in surprise. "Why, that is a possibly fatal amount. I'm quite surprised that wasn't sent to myself, anything that can be deemed fatal is something I deal with." Her face relaxed, and a light smile returned to it. "I'm glad you were able to handle it well. The only real way to learn is experience."

Knowing that the brewing would take a while, Joy continued. "Has anything interesting happened in your personal life recently?" The healer liked to make casual and friendly conversation with her co-workers, to her they were basically family.

"Ten, yes. I didn't believe it either, but he confirmed it after we treated him."  Arcturus kept an eye on his cauldron, though he still casually leaned against a table as he spoke. "He was justifiably sheepish after I told him he was lucky. The concentration of the poison seemed fairly strong enough to linger, but with a few days' bed rest and our treatment I trust he will do well."

He sighed, playing with the hem of his sleeve absently. "No. We're very dull, us, but I think we appreciate the peace. I'm fine with no sudden changes in my life for now, and I'll hope it'll stay that way for a while."

His voice dropped in volume as he spoke. Neither his expression nor actions changed, but he hoped she didn't notice the quieter tone. It was rare of him to voice a personal wish, but then again it was Joy - she was someone he knew he could trust. However, he didn't think it was the most suitable time ever to tell her all his personal details.

Joy could detect Arcturus's voice change. She was a mother, constantly worked with distressed patients, and herself knew distress, the healer could easily see it. "I understand your feelings Arcturus, unexpected change is undesirable. Just remember, one will sometimes find bad change, even though one would never seek it. But one must always seek good change, because one will not simply find it."

The healer turned to her co-worker. "I'm sure you understand my meaning. Edward taught me the art of slightly vague and motivational phrases." Edward was her husband, and member of Wizenmagot. He always loved to make up phrases when Zoe was little to teach her what was morally right. Joy had taken it up as a way to give advice.

"Would you like to talk about any of your feelings on the matter to let it out, or would you rather we move on to a different subject? I have some happier stories if you'd like hear them." Joy always seemed to be the mother to everyone, at times talking to them as she would her own daughter. Potion brewing had never seemed like a better period of time to talk.

"Oh, I don't mind change at all. I'd just like to take my time with it." He kept his tone light. "I'm probably just dwelling on things a little too much, I really should be concentrating on something more important."

He looked down at the brew in his cauldron, which was in the process of changing into a colour he was familiar with. Satisfied that it wasn't boiling over or turning into something suspicious, he decided that the discomfort from talking about his emotions at this time wouldn't be worth it.

"Let's move on from the subject. It's no big deal." He waved a hand dismissively. "What tales do you have? You've got me interested."