"Uh." Pepper had the good grace to look a bit sheepish. "Yes? It's a superstition thing. I thought about making a ring around my desk but I have to walk around to do things, and then I thought about trying to make one around the entire headquarters but the problem just keeps getting bigger that way, so I figured a few grains here or there when the hair on the back of my neck goes up seemed like a good compromise."