Something Special

"Oh! Right… Something special you say? Hmm…"

She looks at you up and down as if trying to decide something.

"Sure! I'll make something extra special for you~"

She grabs a shaker from off the shelf behind her, one engraved in shining silver rune, along with an unopened, expensive looking bottle from under the bar, with practiced ease she pops it open and takes a whiff, humming in appreciation as she pours it into the shaker. In goes some ice, a slice of… pear? Some berries, more bottles of liquids… including an oddly bubbly looking one and finally a slice of apple.

She gives it hard shaking, like she's trying to crush everything inside through brute ****, but there's a certain rhythm to her movements as she does so. You see the runes shine and glitter with each shake. She tosses it into the air, and you’re sure it’ll spill, but it lands back in her hands without losing a single drop as she opens and pours its contents.

The drink, instead of a pulpy mess like you’d expect, is a simple clear liquid, slightly fizzy but smelling pretty appetizing, like pears, apples and wild berries.

You stand there, reactionless, impressed with the incredible show that she just put through, and as the drink ends up in your hand, you take some time to gather courage to taste it.

The taste is… complete. There's no other way to describe it. There's the strong tang of ****. But at the same time, the soothing tastes of pear and apple wash it away. The berries add their own sour edge to the drink. It's not too sweet, sour, salty or bitter, it has all these tastes, but they are perfectly equilibrated in just the right amount. It gives you an almost magical feeling of joy. It's soothing. Calming. Makes you a little sleepy. But overall happy that you drank this.

"Hehehe Yeah! This one is pretty hard to do mhm! But it's totally worth it right? By the way it costs 500 Amethyst$"

You were about to agree with her later statement, when you stopped to absorb what she said after… 500? For a single drink? What's wrong with this economy? There's no way you can pay for that!

As you stay there with the eyes widened, she starts laughing

"Hahaha I know it's expensive right? But don't worry! I have juuuust the perfect idea for you to pay for it!"

You don't know what this girl wants with you but you already don't like it. So you watch as she leaves the room and comes back with four heavy boxes full of empty glass bottles.

"So… I need some help carrying this away… would you kindly help me?"

Would that be the payment for the 500 drink? Perfect! You quickly nod and grab some boxes to share the weight with her as you two make your way out of the pub.

You walk through the streets together, boxes in hand. And as you follow her to her destination, the two of you chat a bit. You find out that she works here most of the time, that she loves to travel around the world you find yourself in, and that she’s been here quite a while. You also find out that her name is Cecillia.

Though she’s a little illusive on where she travels, giving brief descriptions of forests and mountains but not any actual names.

But the two of you chat and walk, ending up near an apartment where you go to place the boxes down.

It's now an awkward silence and you feel like you should say something!