"I'm sorry, Miss Rawiri, there is nothing I can do for you."

Liliya's heart sank as Jack Conti, her potion supplier, turned and exited the backroom of his shop. His grey ponytail disappeared around the corner, leaving her alone in the little meeting room. She took a deep breath and followed him into the shop, where he busied himself straightening out the rows and rows of flasks lining the walls. The bright colours she usually loved so much, seemed to taunt her today.

"Come on, Jack. I've been your loyal customer for years. Surely you can cut me some slack during hard times."

The clinking of glass stopped a heartbeat before Jack turned to face her. He stared down at her with eyes like ice.

"That's not what you're asking me though, is it? You're asking me to sell you a potion for a tenner, while it's currently worth thousands of Tezy."

"You've always sold it to me for ten Tezy a piece!"

"Yes," he growled. "Back when Ginkgo leaves were aplenty."

He grabbed a couple of flasks filled with what looked like swirling, emerald smoke and carried them to the till.

"Well, can't you make a potion with similar effects? Even if it works less well, it might still be worth it..."

"Yeah," said Jack, letting out a dry, humourless chuckle. "As soon as the Inventors come up with one, I'll let you know. In the meantime..."

As he turned back, Liliya stood in front of him, blocking his path through the shop. Looking up at his wrinkled face, she held out her hands in a praying motion. "Look, I'll level with you. I'm in serious trouble. Without those potions, my clients are leaving me. Without them, I don't have any income. I can't pay the bills much longer. I need them, Jack, please!"

The ice in his eyes melted and his eyebrows drew together.

"I'm sorry, Miss Rawiri. Those leaves cost me a fortune right now, and if I sell them to you for such a low price, I would be out of business in no time."

A lump of pure desperation formed in her throat. "Well, what am I supposed to do then?" To her embarrassment, her voice cracked.

Jack glanced around his shop, then lowered his voice. "You know, harvesting the leaf is illegal. But there's no law against making that potion. If you can get your hands on some Ginkgo leaves..."

"I've tried that," Liliya interrupted him, averting her gaze. "They're guarding the forests too well."

"Oh." Jack's shoulders slumped. He sighed. "I really am sorry. I understand what you're going through, but there is nothing I can do."

Fighting back the tears that stung in her eyes, Liliya cleared her throat, unable to get the lump out. "Right."

Jack laid a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe you simply need to find a new way to make money."

It was a simple sentence, a genuine piece of advice, but it stabbed into Liliya's heart like a dagger. Find a new job? Give up healing? The profession she'd put her heart and soul in for so many years?

"Right," she repeated, voice hollow. "Well, I'd better go then."

Without waiting for a response, she turned around and trudged through the rows of jampacked, colourful shelves. The shop suddenly seemed a whole lot larger. Jack's eyes burned in her back the entire way to the exit. She pulled the door shut behind her with a little more force than she meant, flinching as it slammed shut.

Finding another job... How dare he suggest that! Her fingers grabbed at the hairband at the bottom of her braid as she marched blindly across the sidewalk. Why can't he understand how important this job is to me?

Fingers scrambling, she re-braided her hair. Her feet carried her through the city, but she barely registered it. All she saw was the pavement, blurry underneath unshed tears. Her legs didn't stop until she slammed into something.

Gasping, she jumped back, out of the arms of the person that caught her. Her half-braided hair fell into loose strands as she let them go.

She opened her mouth to apologise for not paying attention. Instead, what came out was: "Nyron?"

With a white jumper instead of a black apron, he looked different, but his wild blond hair and lazy grin made him easily recognisable. His lone silver earring glittered in the sun that peeked out from behind the clouds.

"Fancy seeing you here," he said, blue eyes twinkling.

"How did..." Liliya narrowed her eyes. "Are you following me?"

Nyron burst out laughing, causing a blush to rush across her cheeks. "Of course I'm not following you! I'm not that creepy, am I?"

"Well..." she muttered, sweeping her hair together to braid it once more.

"Thanks," said Nyron, cocking his head to the side. "One would think you'd be nicer to your saviour."

She glared at him, only to watch his smile fade and his eyebrows pull together. The nearby pedestrian traffic light turned green and they crossed the street together, continuing their walk.

"Are you okay? You look a bit pale."

"I'm fine," said Liliya, turning away and rubbing her face with her palms.

"Are you sure? You look like you could use a drink." He faked a gasp and added, "You're not on the run again, are you?"

A giggle clawed its way up her throat to escape her lips. "No. I definitely learned from that mistake."

"Good," said Nyron. "'Cause next time there might not be a handsome barkeeper to save you." Coming to a corner, he turned left. Liliya's legs seemed to automatically follow him.

She rolled her eyes. "You are taking this whole saviour thing way too far."

"Am I? Because it seems you're still talking to me."

Liliya grinned, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. An awkward silence fell between them.

"So what happened?" When she threw him a questioning glance, he added, "I know you were upset. I'm not going to push you, but I'm here if you want to talk about it."

Her heart squeezed together. That was the sweetest thing anyone had said to her all week. With what just happened at the potion shop, she really needed that. She sighed. "I was with my potion supplier earlier, to see if anything could be arranged. It was another dead end. I don't know what else I can do. I'm not sure how much longer I can do my job."

"I'm sorry," said Nyron softly. "I can only imagine how hard that must be."

"This job means everything to me." Her fingers played with the tip of her braid. "I've always wanted to be a healer."

"Did you? Why?"

Liliya hesitated. Nyron wasn't much more than a stranger to her; they'd only met once before. Could she really tell him something so personal? Then again, he already knew her biggest secret, since she came into his bar asking him to cover it up. Besides, the frown on his face seemed to be one of genuine worry.

Watching the cars speeding past, she sighed. "When I was a kid, I watched something horrible happen. Something that could've easily traumatised me for life. My mother sent me to talk to a healer, who helped me process it and give it a spot. That healer was an absolute Saint. I would never have been able to move on without her help."

"So now you're doing the same for others?"

Liliya nodded. "The work I do is important, it makes a real difference in people's lives. I don't want to give that up. The clients I can't help because of this ridiculous law are worse off for it. There will be children out there who might never be able to properly process their trauma's."

Tears pricked in her eyes as she thought about all the people she couldn't help. But there was one person who stood out among all of them. It hurt to think about all the strangers who might need her, but one of them wasn't a stranger.

Her mother needed her. And without an income, she'd be letting even her own mother down.

"And it doesn't help that I won't be able to pay the bills anymore soon..."

"I might be able to help you with that one, actually."

Liliya glanced up to check if he was joking again. "Really? How?"

Nyron gestured through the street they found themselves in, and Liliya was surprised to recognise it. She hadn't realised just how far they'd walked together. Somehow, distracted by their conversation, they managed to walk all the way to the pub where Nyron worked.

"I can get you a job, if you like."

Liliya's eyes widened. "You can arrange that?"

"Well, yeah," said Nyron, his lazy smile returning. "I make pretty much all the decisions here. Considering I own the place."

"What?" Liliya's jaw dropped as she watched Nyron fish a set of keys out of his pocket and unlock the door to the pub. "You own this bar? I thought you just worked here!"

Nyron shrugged and stepped aside to let her in. "It's not that big a difference, to be honest."

"Except that you get to make literally all the decisions."

"Well, yeah," he laughed. "Except that. So what do you think? Would you like to work here?"

Liliya let her eyes glide across the cozy living room-style pub. "I'll think about it. It's nice to at least have the option open, though, in case things really don't work out. Thank you, Nyron."

"My pleasure. Besides, maybe you can return the favour sometime."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Liliya chuckled.

"That beautiful forest you mentioned last time, maybe you can take me to see it? I don't know much about teleportation myself. In fact, I've not left the city very often."

"Oh. Yeah, I can do that."

"Great, it's a deal! Let me get you a drink."

He was already moving towards his bar, but Liliya stopped him. "Actually, I should get going. I've got a lot to do if I want to avoid working here."

Nyron laughed as she turned to exit the pub. "Hey, Liliya? I, uh... I enjoyed this."

A warmth like the heat of a hearth spread through her chest. She turned around, smiling. "What, me walking you to work?"

A twinkle lit up his eyes for an instant and he put his hands in his pockets. "Yeah. That."

A blush crept up her neck. Unsure how to respond to that, she pulled the door open instead, but he stopped her one more time, laying his hand lightly on her arm.

"Promise me we'll see each other again?"

The corners of her mouth pulled up as she tried to contain the blush that made its way to her cheeks.

"I'd like that."