Declan had a fight on Saturday, and he was pretty sure he would lose. He'd lost to Mr. Forewarned last time, after all — the man was much bigger than he was. So that he wouldn't go to Whitby & Co. on Monday with a black eye that would worry Tess and her sisters, Deck figured he ought to acquire some things early — that way he could get himself most of the way to healed before the bruises even set in.

He walked into the Apothecary on his lunch break, having eaten his sandwich as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Deck found himself immediately overwhelmed by the sheer number of ingredients available. He stood rather nervously, eyeing a shopgirl but unsure on if it was appropriate to ask her, until finally he'd been standing with his hands in his pockets for five minutes. He cleared his throat.