Episode One Hundred and Forty: Gifts
The Cat padded closer to the bowl, then stuck his nose in. It barely touched the herbs before everything glowed a bright white and the humming climbed higher.
I shook my head to try and clear the sound away.
Then it suddenly stopped.
The light vanished as well, leaving the bundle of herbs behind. Now, instead of just the black and yellow, the bundle had threads of purple and silver in it as well.
“Strange,” whispered the Cat, sniffing the bundle. “It is done.”
I picked up the box of tins and then went to grab the box of herbs.
“The herbs you can leave; we will be selling them today.”
“Alright…”
It didn’t take any time at all to clean up the counter, leaving the box of herbs and adding the now more colorful Beesmalt back to it.
“So, what’d we just do?” I asked, picking up my mug. “Also, do you want some coffee?”
“Coffee would be nice,” said the Cat as he leaped off the island and headed to the front of the shop.
After grabbing the box of herbs, I followed.
The shop adjusted itself while we ate breakfast. While bookshelves still wrapped around the room on each of the walls, the spaces between things had increased. The aisles were bigger, and the table normally in the center of the shop was gone.
While there wasn’t a ceiling over the shop, since it opened to the second story, the doorway height increased.
“Are we expecting giants?”
“Not giants. Just a bigger-than-usual customer.”
I said nothing as I placed the box of herbs back on the counter.
“You can lay those out, though I bet he buys them all,” said the Cat as he padded closer to the espresso machine.
I nodded, but moved to make more caffeine first. My strong coffee had been a great way to wake up, and now I wanted something sweeter. The maple lattes had been perfect yesterday, so I went for the same today.
Once I filled his teacup, the Cat got to work lapping at the warm beverage. I took a moment to lay the herbs out on the counter, keeping all of the bundles in a line. Then I hid the strange clear box behind the counter.
Finally, I sat on my stool and sipped my warm beverage. The latte had turned out pretty close to perfect.
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“Now, that’s a tasty coffee…”
“It is…”
Now I stared at the Cat. He wasn’t one to compliment things.
“Are you doing okay?”
“I’m fine. They will be here soon, if you are prepared…”
Now I needed to be prepared for this customer? Last time he’d acted this strangely it was the first time with the trolls, and I’d freaked out. It’d also been my first customer. I wasn’t nearly as naive now.
I nodded, and the bells rang almost immediately as a tall figure stepped inside the shop. The clop of hooves echoed with each step.
A tall head swiveled around, followed by a very naked chest, and then a… horse.
A centaur. A literal, half-human-half-horse centaur.
Behind him a much smaller centaur followed, with his head barely up to the first customer’s leg. Lastly, a small human boy the same size as the smaller centaur came in.
“Boys, be careful. This is a treat. You must respect this space and the things inside it.” The deep voice brokered no compromise as both boys nodded.
“Welcome to the Shop, how can I help you?”
His head snapped in my direction, and he smiled.
“Ah, the shopkeeper has changed,” he said before his eyes landed on the Cat. “But some things stay the same.”
He stepped into the center of the shop with his tail flickering behind him, as the two boys headed to the bookshelves. The one with only two legs darted ahead of the other, more nimble in the tight space.
“I see that you already have the herbs ready… I hope that the boys can still wander?” he asked this time, his voice much lower.
“Of course. You can take your time…”
His shoulders relaxed. “Good, they’ve been well behaved all winter, and I promised they could come with me as a reward.”
“Did you have a rough winter?” I asked, sipping my coffee.
“We had deep snow this year. The green of spring is welcome, and the herbs will help those who fell ill.”
I motioned to the coffee. “Would you like a cup of coffee?”
His head tilted to one side.
The Cat answered before he could. “That wouldn’t be a good idea. No chocolate either.”
“Ah, nevermind. I didn’t realize it wasn’t a good idea for your people.”
He nodded. “I haven’t heard of it before, but I trust in the judgement of the Cat.”
“You know the Cat?”
The man chuckled. “The Cat has helped my people for several years. The shop appeared one late winter, when mold destroyed the herbs we had in storage. It came again after a horrible flood, where we lost several people. This place has saved our clan multiple times, including our young ones.”
“Father, can we get a book?”
We both turned to look as the young centaur held up a blue bound book.
“It’s about how to grow things,” he said with a hushed breath. “I think Mother would enjoy it.”
The father shook his head no.
Yet, my eyes stayed on the book, the edges of which had a slight sheen to them. The more I stared, the more it came into view. A bright golden edge connected the book to both boys. The two legged one was hiding behind his brother, or half-brother, or whatever.
“We are here for herbs, that is what we can afford.” He turned back and motioned to the counter. “We will take all of these. The Beesmalt feels extra charged.”
“They can have the book as well…”
The Cat’s head twisted to look at me.
“We couldn’t take it,” answered the man, unsure of my offer.
“It is a gift, for them.” My head tilted toward the boys, both of whom heard me.
“Father, can we?” asked the centaur again.
“Please?” came a soft whisper from the other boy.