Kaya looked at the pouch, then at him.
Her first instinct was to say, 'It's okay, I can manage', to push it back and pretend she wasn't as desperate as she actually was.
Before she could speak, Cutie untied the mouth of the pouch and tilted it.
Stones poured onto the table with a low clatter.
Kaya's words died in her throat.
Red.
Purple.
Deep colors, polished surfaces, catching the light of the small lamp and throwing it back in tiny sparks.
These weren't random pebbles. These were proper stones. Trade stones. The kind merchants locked in boxes and kept under three keys.
"You can take these first," Cutie said quietly, arranging them with his fingers so they didn't roll off the table. "After we leave the capital, I can hunt and earn more."
Kaya just stared.
Earlier, when he'd taken the pouch out, it had looked so small she hadn't even thought much about it.
But now, seeing it open—seeing what was inside—her brain finally caught up.
'God…'
