More Than You Know
Zaylith trailed slightly behind Ice's sweeping skirts as Ice glided through the marketplace. Despite the fact winter was rapidly approaching, the warmest thing that Ice was wearing was a light cape with a slight fur trim. Zaylith desperately wanted to take off one of her own layers and put it over Ice's shoulders, but she feared that would send the wrong message. Ice didn't seem all to bothered by the cold anyway. Quietly, Zaylith fiddled with the scarf around her neck, trying to get rid of the feeling of uncomfortable heat. It didn't help and she was perfectly aware of why. It was walking not too far in front of her after all. Sighing, Zaylith turned to look at the various carts they were passing, attempting to distract herself. There wasn't all too much that was of interest to Zaylith here--the two of them were walking through the costume and accessory part of the marketplace per Ice's request. A small voice in the back of her head asked her whether she should just be hopelessly following Ice around like this; there couldn't be anything of actual interest to her here. The scarf felt even tighter around her neck and Zaylith absentmindedly realized she had been fidgeting with it, tying little knots in the edge and pulling it tighter. Her hands fell suddenly to her sides and she quietly groaned at herself. Her head snapped up to check if Ice had noticed her doing any of this, but Ice had begun chattering which stalls they should skip and which ones they should stop by later on. Zaylith let out the breath she had been quietly holding and that's when Ice turned around. "Hey, you haven't said, like, anything at all? You okay back there." Zaylith nodded awkwardly, suppressing the urge to shake her head no. "Okay, cool, well, spot anything you like here?" Zaylith gulped, she hadn't really been paying attention to anything outside of her head. "Um..." Ice cocked an eyebrow at her, light pinkish purple lips, she had decided on a more subtle color today, slightly shifting into a small frown. Zaylith became flustered at her apparent disapproval. In reality, Ice didn't mind all too much. She was more concerned her friend didn't seem to be having much fun. Unfortunately, Zaylith didn't know this. Zaylith's eyes flitted desperately around their surroundings and landed on a pair of earrings. They weren't anything too special, but they were a beautiful blue that really matched the rest of Ice's outfit.... Ice followed Zaylith's line of vision and without a word she walked over and plucked them off the stand. They weren't even sheltered behind a glass case. Compared to all the other jewels, they simply weren't worth all that much. Without looking up, she called to the shopkeeper "How much?" The shopkeeper seemed delighted that someone had expressed interest in the simple piece. "Ah, yes, this stone's story is very in-" "I asked. How much." Ice wasn't really one for wishy-washy small talk while shopping. "... 5000 treasure." "Sold." "Would you like me to bag it for you?" "Sure." While the shopkeeper carefully wrapped the delicate earrings into a tight little package, Ice gestured at Zaylith to come over. When the shopkeeper finished and handed the parcel over to Ice, Ice immediately turned to Zaylith and placed the little bag in the palm of Zaylith's hand. "A gift." A rare smile shown through on Ice's face briefly. "Thanks," was all Zaylith managed to get out. Shocked, she didn't even notice when Ice began to leave and scout out other stores. The shopkeeper was smiling at her warmly when she snapped out of it. "Your girlfriend must really love you. I was going to tell her that there stone is prehnite. It turned out a little more blue than green this time, but doesn't that kind of make it more special?" "Ye...." Zaylith's gemstone knowledge was... rusty to say the least, but she got what the shopkeeper thought was going on. If only Ice knew what she had just done... Prehnite: The Stone of Unconditional Love
