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Alerted by the jingle of the bell above the door, Rory was already carefully marking his place in his book by the time Vi’s greeting floated to him from the shopfloor.“Rory? It’s me—it’s Vi!” An ominous thud accompanied the sound of her voice. Rory steeled himself before pushing aside the curtain that separated the shopfront from the back room, ready to face whatever horrors Vi had brought him this time.“Vi,” he greeted quietly.She stood in front of the counter, hands clasped in front of her and a small, shy smile on her face. Her hair was swept into a low side ponytail today, shorter pieces falling out to curl around her face and graze her chin. Rory’s fingers twitched. Pretty.“Hi!” Vi’s hands unclasped, fluttered down to check the knife on her belt in an unconscious habitual movement, then up to smooth her hair. “How are you? I brought—um, that is, I found something you might find interesting?”Rory eyed the plain cardboard box on the counter. “Mm?”Many people brought the strange and unusual to his apothecary, but Vi’s offerings were always a little more unusual. Rory pushed his glasses more firmly onto the bridge of his nose.“It's… Well, you should probably see it for yourself,” Vi told him.Rory steeled himself again and, after a brisk, mental check of the shop's protection wards, reached for the lid. Vi bit her lip, rocking forward on her toes as she watched him.He opened the box.Darkness, deep and fathomless, roiled inside, oozing up the flimsy cardboard sides and filling Rory's heart with an horror so ancient and eldritch that the very fabric of his being quaked to look upon it—He closed the box.“Did it…” Rory cleared his throat, meeting Vi's gaze, “... have tentacles?”“I think so? Honestly I didn't look too closely, it kind of gave me the heebie-jeebies.”Vi's smile was sweetly sheepish, as if it was embarrassing to be a little uncomfortable about something that would have anyone else screaming themselves into insanity. Rory looked down at the closed box. “Heebie-jeebies. Right.”Nobody could dispute Vi’s skill as a Hunter. Her choices of quarry, on the other hand… He sighed. “I don't know how to value this. Do you have a price in mind?”“Oh! No, that's okay,” Vi said, eyes wide. “It's for you—for the shop.”Rory wiped his hands on the cloth that hung at his belt, buying himself time to think. “Vi. This is the fifth time you've brought something in and not charged me. I'm not sure I can afford to be in your debt.”He watched with interest as Vi’s face went through a rapid series of expressions, eventually landing on a flustered look, bright pink spots growing on the pale apples of her cheeks. She looked so lovely in the muted light of the shop, fair skin highlighted by little reflections and shadows from the bottles and jars and bunches of dried greenery all around them.“No, really!” she protested. “There’s no debt—I don't want payment for this, for any of that stuff! They were, sort of, gifts? For you? Unusual and interesting ingredients are helpful for you, aren't they?”“Mm, they are.”“Then it's yours! And I'll be out of your hair now, I'm sure you must be really busy,” Vi said, casting a slightly wild-eyed look around the empty shop.She was starting to edge away from the counter, practically wringing her hands. Watching her, Rory felt a warmth growing in his stomach, bubbling like a cauldron full of spicy-sweet magic. He smiled down at the counter.“Vi.”She stopped instantly, eyes wide. “Yes?"“You don't need to bring gifts just to see me. You're always welcome here, even if the shop is closed.”Vi's face was so red now that it almost matched her hair; it was incredibly endearing. She was always beautiful, but Rory was helplessly drawn to this side of her, unshielded and sweetly bumbling, even a little vulnerable, compared to her composed Hunter persona.“Oh.” She clutched at her knife, smiling tremulously. “Then… then maybe next time I could bring you coffee?”Rory leaned over the counter, and had just enough reach to rest his fingers on the back of her hand. He smiled warmly.“I’d like that.”