I followed her out of the room and into the narrow hallway. Her shoulder brushed against my elbow. She didn’t immediately pull herself away.
We wandered out into the Sunhaven as the dual suns dipped below the horizon, determined to fill our stomachs with something besides bread and cheese.
“You know, for how often we see each other around town, we hardly know each other,” Kizzi said before shoving a spoonful of vegetable soup into her mouth.
I hummed thoughtfully. “You don’t think so?”
She shook her head.
“I know you’re the best apothecary witch in the entire realm,” I said. “I know that Fiella is your best friend and has been for ages. Your only true friend, if we’re being honest.” Kizzi looked like she wanted to argue but I interrupted her. “We both know it’s the truth. You don’t let anyone else get close enough to form a real friendship. You don’t mind Redd, though.”
She looked mildly startled. “You caught all that, did you?”
I nodded, munching idly on a chunk of bread. “You’re not very friendly, but you’re not unkind. You just speak your mind. You don’t tolerate bullshit, or niceties. You’re also the most impatient folk I’ve ever met, which is surprising, considering your line of work. One would think waiting for potions to brew would force you to tolerate waiting.”
Her cheeks flushed, deepening her complexion to a lovely, warm shade of green.
“Wow. That’s… okay fine, you know some things about me.”
I pointed my spoon at her. “See, I told you.”
She hummed in consideration. “And you…”
I brushed her off. “You don’t have to?—”
She interrupted me. “You love to chat. To an annoying degree. You’ll speak to any folk who’s open to conversation, even if other folk are waiting for you.”
I snorted out a laugh. “I guess you could say that.”
She continued. “You’re loyal—you could have left Ginger’s Pub and opened your own place years ago, but you stay. You don’t get close to folk either. Well, except for Ginger, but she’s technically your boss. Why is that?”
I ignored the question. “See, we know each other more than we think we do.”
“I guess we do.”
I picked up my pint of ale and took a long swallow. A shiver or revulsion worked its way down my spine. I ignored it and swallowed again. Kizzi watched me with a slight smile tugging at her mouth.
“Not up to your standards?”
I set the pint down with a thunk. “It’s dreadful.”
“Wow! I think that might be the first unkind thing I’ve heard you say,” she laughed.
“I might be a nice folk, but I am not a liar—and I refuse to give this horrendous ale any more credit than it deserves. I brewed better my first year at Ginger’s.”
Kizzi picked up her own pint and gave it a sniff. Her nose wrinkled. “You’re right, this smells like piss.” She took a tentative sip and immediately gagged.
“Oh, come on, it’s notthatbad!”
She forced down another swallow, holding back the gag this time. “No, you were absolutely right the first time—it’s dreadful.”
I chuckled, holding out my pint to clink against hers. “Well, here’s to shitty ales in new towns, then. It’ll make returning to Moonvale so much sweeter, knowing we have the good stuff to look forward to.”
She lifted her pint and gently tapped it against mine. “I’ll drink to that.”
We finished our ales quickly and then ordered another round. The second tasted much better than the first.
“So, what else should I know about you?” I asked, leaning back in my chair and kicking my feet out in front of me.
