Like Salt and Pepper

[Zero]

Tatsu knew that Pepper was not someone of means, and that the delicate looking bracelet he had presented to her was probably more valuable than anything she had ever touched in her life before today. Except, ironically enough, the books he had given her. Those tomes were priceless, and yet because they were clearly old, and probably because they were books, she seemed to not realize their sheer monetary worth. The bracelet was fairly mundane by comparison, at least as far as he was concerned.

Still, he tried not to show too much amusement at her reluctance to touch the jewelry. Her nervousness was not to be made light of by any means.

"I would not call it irreplaceable, Miss Pepper. No one has worn this piece in many years now and the box is more ornamental than anything, just a place to keep it while it is not being worn." Tatsu smiled faintly and sat back in his seat, simply watching unconcerned as she handled the artifact. "It was beautifully crafted by a master goldsmith from Essyrn, and enchanted by a skilled mage, some four hundred years ago, I believe. The bracelet cannot break, nor can it become tarnished, so please do not look so troubled. You will not do it harm. It is one of the multitudes of magical items I have for sale here. There are many, many more and I would be happy to show them to you."

They might be considered priceless treasures, but Tatsu was far from stingy, and while others may have thought someone of Pepper's status to be unworthy of even looking at such valuable and expensive things, well, he was far more interested in her ability and potential as a mage than the circumstances of her birth or her current financial means.

"Oh! There are so many cool treasures we have tucked away in the shop, you should really see them. I bet there are some that you would really like." Nellie spoke up excitedly, a bit of a sparkle in her eye, clearly she was quite proud and passionate about the shop she ran with her father.

[Rhindeer]

Once upon a time, Past Pepper would have been looking for ways to squirrel away some of the trinkets laying about, slipping them under her sleeves when she thought no one was looking. She would have been lying if she said the temptation wasn't still there. Old habits were hard to shake, and priceless meant they would probably sell for a pretty penny.

Even as thief, however, she had some sense of honor. For one, you just didn't steal from friends, and these people were now firmly in the Friends category. Just the thought of stealing from them made her belly squirm with anxiety, because in the past, swiping things had come so naturally to her that it was like breathing, just second nature. She didn't even have to think about it. Early into her education, that had been a problem and still sometimes was; she still sometimes stole random things (a quill here, an ink pot there) just because she could.

And she'd gotten in trouble for it, too.

She turned the roses over in her hands with a little more confidence now that she was assured she couldn't hurt them, and now that she was no longer an anxious wreck focusing too hard on not breaking them, she could focus on other things--like the strange sort of...current...that ran through them. She cocked her head curiously and smoothed a finger over the petals, eyes closing for a moment as she just felt and listened, but looked up again at Nellie's voice.

"I'd love to see more, if ya wanted to show me," she said, and then nodded at the roses. "What are these, anyhow? Feels more'n just pretty, like...I can feel somethin'. Like a hum but on the inside, if that makes a lick of sense?"