Self Care: April

It had been quite a long time before Pepper was able to have some time with Opal Rosemary again. Opal was something of a best friend, kind of. They were still not quite at the point where they would be ride or die, but Pepper really did genuinely care about Opal and wanted to see him again.

This had been long after her initial encounters with the Spice Rack, and while the details were messy and often steeped in the drama of the Summer Event (which was not allowed to be spoken of here under any circumstances), friendship was difficult for a person like Pepper.

Thankfully, Opal was a fairly oblivious fox and would either miss the context entirely, or would - more likely - just accept the foxes he found himself in the company of. Which one was preferable depended on which fox one was speaking to at the moment. Many members of the Spice Rack preferred the first option.

Pepper preferred the second.

It would be easier for her if Opal just accepted her as she was instead of trying to make her into something she wasn’t, which was an issue she often faced. Opal would never do that, Pepper had decided at some point. Opal would respect her as her own entity, faults and all. Though if Opal had been annoyed by anything Pepper did, he never said anything about it.

“Okay!” Opal cried. The two of them were at the entrance to a new open air mall in Foxington, a city that had only recently come to the collective conscious of the Spice Rack. “We won’t be here forever, I promise, but I wanted to try making you something later and I wanted to get the supplies, if that’s alright with you. Then we can go for a nice lunch. I promise.”

Pepper hummed an affirmation. She wasn’t a woman of many words, especially when a hum, a grunt, or a shrug would do the job just as well if not better than articulating anything more complex. That was how she rolled, though it was starting to draw the attention of another Scarfox.

One in Woolhope.

Pepper brushed the thought away and returned to the present. Opal’s long tentacle like tail was wrapped around her wrist. This was a habit he had that Pepper had never asked about. She noticed that Opal only did it when he was trying to focus or keep himself from fidgeting. Though it did seem that this time, he was doing this so he wouldn’t lose Pepper in the dense crowds of Foxington.

“I was thinking of making you a cute new vest,” Opal said. “But I know you don’t like surprises so I’m telling you now. Oops! Spoiler warning.”

Pepper actually laughed at that. “I think that would be nice. I don’t usually think about that kind of stuff too much.”

Opal huffed. “I know, silly, that’s why I’m the one thinking about it. But I don’t want you to disappear when I bring out the fancy box.”

Pepper felt a warmth creep over her cheeks. She wouldn’t shy away from a gift from him, though she did recall that she had done exactly that during the last gift giving holiday. She couldn’t help it, though she did appreciate that Opal hadn’t asked about it even though she could tell that he really wanted to.

“Okay,” she replied. “I will not disappear when I see the box.”

“Would you come to Elna Manor to open it?” Opal chanced. “Clover would probably through a very fancy party that would be calm and stuff. And Habanero would NOT be invited, even if he cried about it.”

“Don’t push it,” Pepper warned, though there was no edge to her voice, an indication to Opal that she would think about it.

“Well I’ll ask for a party anyway and if you come, then you do and if you don’t then I guess I will just have to mail it. How about that.”

“Okay.”

Opal beamed with pride, proud of himself for being able to come up with a good enough reason to give the rest of the Spice Rack an opportunity to wine and dine. It was notoriously difficult to get Paprika, the Master of the House, to agree to frivolous parties, especially if it was not going to result in a tasty meal at the end of it.

The two of them came to a shop that sold a variety of fabrics and Opal was mercifully quick in choosing a variety of colors and textures. He only eyed Pepper once in a while, muttering to himself while he browsed the shelves. Sometimes, he would ask Pepper a question, but he wasn’t expecting much of an answer. Pepper mostly kept to herself.

Opal recalled at some point that she had told him why she was so quiet all the time, but he couldn’t quite remember what she had said. Something about just not meshing with other people that well. He could understand that, but he also thought she was very thoughtful in her own respects.

“I’m getting antsy,” Pepper finally said.

“Okay, let’s go!”

Pepper and Opal left the fabric store and swung around the corner to a local bistro. Pepper had been staring at it when they had originally passed by and while Opal was oblivious most of the time, he could tell when people were staring. There had been some kind of creature in the window.

Once they had entered, the smells of the kitchen were wafting through the air, and he was quick to get them a table. Pepper sat closer to the window to get a better look at the creature that played among the bistro’s display.

Opal let her observe without interruption, though he did clear his throat when it was time to order. Pepper made a quick choice, though food was not quite on her mind. Upon asking the waiter what the creature in the window was, Pepper learned it was called a Serper, and she blinked rapidly.

They ate quietly together, Pepper muttering to Opal the whole time about what she thought the Frost Moth’s deal was. She was content, however, to observe even when Opal had offered to ask about feeding it a small treat.

Next time, however, he would be sure to encourage her more.