Nika sighed, embarrassed and increasingly angry. "Just give back what you took and we can all go about what's left of our days."
Anxiety was showing on the thief's face. "Fine, whatever, have 'em." The thief struggled, hissing in pain as the vines poked through her clothes and scratching her skin. She reached into a hidden pocket and pushed out the herbs as much as she could.
Nika reached up and pulled them through the vines. By the time she had them back in her hands, they had lost most of their flowers and a great many of their twigs. "Do what you think is right," she said to Liselotte. "Ordinarily, I'd report her to the authorities, but today…" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I got what I wanted. As long as she learns her lesson, you know?"

Liselotte smiled at the thief, as the vines receded. "Oh I think it's only fair that I let her off with a warning. She should count herself lucky if she were to deal with the authorities first, rather than cross paths with me again. It would be a shame if she were to find herself in a patch of poison sumac." The thief when released, bolted back into the crowds out of sight. From what Liselotte was implying through her words, having the woman arrested would be the lesser of the two evils. And poison sumac wasn't even that bad–it only gave a nasty skin rash. There were plenty of more fatal flora, such as the butterfly vine or sarut de noapte. Sometimes the plants that killed instantly were the least cruel. "You'll have to be more careful with your things from now on. Of course Iria isn't like Vilpamolan, but there are pickpockets and petty thieves in every corner of civilization." She advised, turning to Nika. "The next time that woman takes from the wrong pocket, she might not be so lucky to see the inside of a jail cell." The alchemist mused. She had let her off easy compared to what less tolerant victims might do in retaliation.

Nika twitched her nose at the thought of poison sumac; she'd ended up in a patch before.  It was an uncomfortable few days.  As the thief bolted, she tucked her now ratty herbs away in her basket.  A small section of her basket had been damaged when she fell.  Her hand tightened unconsciously around the strap.  
Her face flushed when Liselotte reminded her to be careful.  "Yeah, I know.  I'm not used to city life."  She chewed lightly on the corner of her lip.  "How did you do it?  Moving from your home to the city?"  Nika regretted speaking almost the minute that she started, but she felt that she was in too deep to back out. "Anyway," she said, scratching the back of her neck.  "You're probably right about that last bit.  I've met a couple of people who'd do a lot worse." 

Liselotte crossed her arms as she remembered the first time she came to Iria as a student. She remembered the butterflies in her stomach, her heart pounding as if it would leap out of her chest, and the tearful goodbyes of her siblings. "It wasn't easy, I'll tell you that." The alchemist answered. "Leaving the countryside around Adeluna City for a metropolitan place as this was a drastic change in scenery. The first year was the hardest, and I was homesick often. I used to write and send letters home every week up until my second semester. And I knew without a doubt my family missed me just as much. I didn't stray too far from the academy grounds until I became more familiar with the city. Having a group of friends who were in their second or third year was a great help. It's absolutely vital to get to know a few trustworthy folk if you're planning on staying long-term."
 
There were always those horror stories of people who traveled to new towns for employment only for their families to never hear from them ever again. Some of those tales might have been exaggerated, but for every exaggeration there were two that were frighteningly accurate. Better safe than sorry, as her mother said. And for young women like them, being safe was of the utmost priority.

Nika was quiet, mulling over what Liselotte had said. She didn't have much family, any really that she knew of. Regardless, Liselotte was right: the grief and culture shock of leaving home would be difficult to bear. Her world was almost entirely the village where she was raised and her associates were typically limited to her mentor. She had never wanted to leave home anyway, but was forced to by want of employment. It left her terrified deep down. Still, the sadness would pass soon enough. Bad times always did. Friends, though would be desperately hard to come by. "Thank you," Nika said, doing her best to hide her anxiety. "That all must have been difficult for you, going to school. I heard a couple. Of groups of students talking about classes. They sound really hard." Nika folded her hands behind her back, fiddling with a scrap of her cheap blue clothes.

Liselotte nodded. "Yes, the curriculum is intense, although you'd be hard-pressed to find a better place where you can be exposed to a wide variety of fields with such depth. I for one, can attest to that. Although I had an affinity towards druidic magic, I chose to major in alchemy and study in a subdivision of medicine specializing in dealing with toxins." Both of her areas of study were neither conventional or simple. Alchemy was very precise and dealt with painstaking measurement and processing, while medicine was the same way. Those five years were grueling, trying, and there were many times when she had wanted to quit. Although her parents paid her tuition, she had worked hard for her certification as an alchemist. Her education had been completed through blood, sweat, and tears.

Out of curiosity, she then asked Nika: "If you don't mind me asking, is there a particular area you're interested in studying? Even if it isn't in my field of expertise, perhaps I can give a few recommendations." She immediately thought of a certain professor whom she still kept in touch with even after she graduated and returned to Adeluna. Although said professor was no longer in charge of the hands-on laboratory sessions, having a person to speak with and gain counsel from would make the transition easier for the aspiring mage. 

She blinked. That sounded more specific than she thought it would be. She was familiar with toxins, she had to be as formerly the only healer in her region, but all those words in Liselotte's description somehow gave her the beginnings of a headache just thinking about it. "To make it through that, you must be smart! I could never do anything like that. Too many numbers."  Part of her did wonder why Liselotte decided to spend so much time working in a field that he didn't naturally click with. She decided not to ask and thankfully, Liselotte filled the silence.
"Well," Nika said, staring off into the distance and evidently thinking hard about an answer. "I've been trained in healing, so I suppose that there's no point in stopping now. Although," she grinned sheepishly and continued in a slightly hushed voice. "I've always been interested in psionics spells. Shapeshifting too. Really, I just want to learn it all." She giggled. her face was flushing red. She hadn't talked about her desires in a long time. It was strange, frankly. She wasn't sure that she totally enjoyed it. Still, there was a little flutter inside of her at the thought that she had both the time and the agency to learn anything if she wanted to.

"Ah, polymorph and psionics! Though they're not as wildly popular as elemental magic or holy magic, both are just as practical. From the students who were in my classes, most of them took psionics as a minor subject of study to supplement their main field of interest. None of those were required for my curriculum, but from what I've heard it takes great strength in mind to harness it well. For someone as determined as you, I'm sure you can succeed in whatever you put your mind to." Liselotte had pulled a bit of a play on words at the end there, but Nika's voiced areas of interest were a welcome surprise. Many mages considered polymorphic magic to be little more than fancy parlor tricks used to amuse or impress, while the attitude towards psionics were to either devote oneself fully to the art or learn whichever few caught their interest. "Whenever you do decide to enroll in the Mage's Academy, I'd suggest stating those two fields as your majors if that is what you wish to specialize in. It'll give you a higher priority when signing up for classes in those areas, and I'm sure the professors who teach those subjects would be more than happy to assist you in your studies." The alchemist whispered, lowering her voice as if imparting to the young aspiring mage a great secret.

Her pleasant smile had a hint of coquetry, but nothing more. She had helped someone who was planning to make one of the most important decisions in their life. That itself was something she took pride in. Perhaps she did have a slight bias towards her alma mater, but in this day and age achieving higher education in a craft or skill was more accessible than ever, and she believed in helping those who were interested in attaining it. The chime of the clocks reminded her that time had passed far more quickly than she had expected. Turning to Nika again, she gave her another smile. "Oh, look at the time–it seems I've kept you here long enough. I hope I dispelled any doubts or questions you might have on starting a new life in Iria."