"Indeed it is," said Jacques. "We have tons of them at the Temple, and they should work on obscure things like snake venom as well as normal things like belladonna, because it's all magic."
"So anything that'd make you sick to drink or eat, pretty much, the stone will neutralise so it's harmless." Alex finished, looking over the one he was holding curiously. "This is a really nice one."
"As you'd expect from proper Guardians," said Smithson, finally showing a little awe as it sunk in that they were real Guardians and not just friends of Alex and Julian's. "I've been careful, though, no one's gotten within arm's reach of this tray."
Each of them touched their stone to their cups, but the stones remained inert, and no magic shimmered across Julian's senses. "Well, these weren't poisoned, at least," said James. He took a sip first anyway and made a happy sound. "Oh, that is good coffee."
"Chudleigh's got good taste," said Alex. "Honestly, even the snake is cool, though that's his brother's."
"It's very pretty," agreed Julian. "I hope it's happy wherever it's living, despite all of this."
"I do, too," said Alex, pulling him in to kiss his hair. "Perhaps we can arrange a viewing, if you're interested."
"We might be," said James. "Not to handle, though. Neither of us did that well training with them, though we could in an emergency."
"Of course you also trained with snakes," said Alex, shaking his head on a chuckle. "Your training is stupidly thorough sometimes."
"It was related, we were escorting an explorer to some conference where we were literally surrounded by exotic specimens of reptiles," said James. "Ora and Ira were much better at the whole snake thing than we were, but in the end there wasn't a single incident. Everyone there was very conscious of the expensive insurance they were paying for, for one thing."
"It sounds interesting, anyway," said Julian. "Better than dish duty."
"I didn't mind so much with you two," teased Jacques, "but Alys and Nat are far preferable."
"That's your brownie friends, right?" asked Smithson, who was clearly lingering, not that anyone here minded.
"Yes, those are our brownie friends, the ones that live in our home," said Julian. "Oh, speaking of which, those oatcakes you two are working on were a lifesaver at one point, they're still a little dry but really good for starving bellies."
"A good way to boost energy when your stomach's rebelling, too," said Alex. "They're bland in a good way for that."
"We're still working on the dryness," said Jacques. "I think more honey might do it, but then they might be too sticky."
"I'd take a little sticky over dry," said Julian. "Anyway, um, are you going to be in trouble up here, Smithson?"
He chuckled and shook his head. "Not if you vouch for me, but I can see that I'm no longer needed, so I'll leave you to your talk. Never thought proper Guardians would go on about oatcakes."
"Every Guardian is different," said James with a smile. "Some of us go on about novels or card games or knives."
"The knives, I'd expect," said Smithson, and then he waved awkwardly and left, closing the door behind him which James then locked.
"He's been a good friend once we cleared him," said Alex. "Really staunchly on our side, bringing us untainted food, the whole thing."
"A good man for Chudleigh to give a bonus to," said Julian with a chuckle. "I feel bad for every servant here, having to constantly scramble to deal with all this poison nonsense."
"And worrying they're going to end up poisoned themselves, I'm sure," said Alex with a sigh. "What on earth is this woman doing, poisoning partygoers at a snowed-in weekend housewarming?"
"Maybe the snow made her snap," said Julian. "Too much snow! No more sanity!"
Everyone chuckled at that and then James said, "Perhaps it was one social slight too many."
"As if Wicket has ever slighted anyone in his life," said Alex. "He seems like the most congenial man on the planet, at least to the ladies."
"And you're sure he's not a cheater?" asked Jacques dubiously.
"Literally everyone is sure he's not a cheater," said Julian. "Not just his wife, but all the recipients of said flirtations."
"He's pretty much invited to parties like this for his harmless flirtations, I think," said Alex. "Chudleigh also seems to like him, you know, as a friend, but I know he puts together parties with an eye on everyone staying entertained."
"We've had to figure it out for murder reasons," said Julian, when the Guardians looked suitably dubious at Alex's sudden social savvy.
