Wiry stalks stretched out and curled from their fungal beds, protected by glass and a steel mesh. Or rather, the terrarium protected the observer from potent spores. Whitney had been tending to them on and off throughout the day, drawn like a moth to lamplight and utterly fascinated with the strange plant. It had grown healthy in no time at all and the clinic's backroom was perfect, dimly lit and stagnant from lack of consistent ventilation.<br/><br/>Funky little thing too, looked practically alien. All the studying he'd done up to this point, research comprised almost entirely of outsider articles and importer instructions, taught him that it had sprung up in some lakeside cave that collapsed when some laborers hacked away at it when collecting minerals. Could've been looking for copper, silver, even salt but it was magical mushrooms they fell on instead. Testimonials from the workers saying their chronic coughing faded or that their fractures from the cave-in healed in a week's time. The miracle was quickly boxed and shipped, grown by curious physicians and spread across Lievremont's surrounding states faster than the invention of the goddamn radio. It was only a matter of time before he got his hands on it, waiting for the OK to start advertising the stuff proper.<br/><br/>"Sir..?" A voice shouted down from out the room and up the stairs. Whitney straightened his coat and popped a pair of round glasses back on his nose when he left to meet it. "Sir, I asked if I could leave early today, yo-" The pharmacist waved him off with an aloofness, moving to pick a box of bottles off the floor and set it on the table to sift through. "Clock out then. I don't need you watching an empty counter do I?" The young man nodded furiously, assuring him that he'd be there on the mark come tomorrow morning, grabbing his jacket from behind the door and leaving the old quack doctor in peace. Energetic, Whitney thought, a fine kid by the name George barely into his twenties, and for how much he put up with fussy grandmothers and snotty children, it didn't hurt to give George a break once in awhile. Besides, it's not like the upstairs labor was particularly exciting.<br/><br/>He started carrying boxes up to the pharmacy, restocking shelves while the doors remained open. Just in time for the turn of the month, always a busy time when everyone was out to refill their prescriptions. But for now things remained quiet. It was a nice building too when it wasn't crowded like the adult candy shop it was. A wooden sign hung out front emboldened with the words W.G. BREWITT PHARMACY in stark white, a note written under it in a more graceful typeface to let customers know that the walk-in basement functioned as a clinic after hours. He did well to keep everything organized, pathways clean and display cases free of fingerprints. A number of rather.. loose certifications lined the wall, perhaps not as many as any qualified doctor, but he wasn't there to look trustworthy, so much as he lived to aide those in their time of need for a damn good bargain.  The law was loose and had it's loopholes, and part of that he felt attracted the eye of northern physicians and their fancy Lievremont cure. Whitney wasn't a fool, that mess of fungal tendrils was only as trustworthy as himself, sometimes he half expected it to grow eyes.<br/><br/>The loud jingle of a brass bell sounded from upstairs. He shuffled his way through the basement door and dropped a hefty box of tissue wrapped bottles on the counter to greet the odd customer. "Good afternoon! Did you need any help finding something? Tinctures for aches and pains, throat lozenges, salves for a healthy pair of working hands?" Whitney folded his arms over the box and gleamed, friendly and inviting. He didn't recognize the man, though it was silly to remember every face that walked in. "If you need something refilled you've come at the right time, we just got our new shipments in." He boasted, patting the box with a hand that caused it to utter a muffled set of clinks. "Oh, and sorry no one was up to greet you, I usually keep my assistant around."