The next morning, Kelves was alarmed by his alarm going off. He never set his alarm. Why was his alarm set?

Right. He had somewhere to be today. For the first time in who knew how long, he had somewhere to be. Groaning, he pulled himself out of bed and threw some clothes into a backpack, the only real sort of luggage he had. Maybe he didn't even need to pack anything aside from some food, but if he was going to be there for longer than a day, he didn't want to be caught without any clothes. It would be hard to find any that fit him, and that would just set him up for embarrassment. He also packed the fried tentacles, of course; he didn't want to leave those behind.

Kelves arrived at the train station on time, and sure enough, Geralt was waiting for him, his suitcase in tow. "You made it!" he said.

"You didn't think I would, did you," Kelves said back. He expected people not to place much confidence in him.

"It's not that; I'm more surprised at how punctual you are. That's a good thing." Geralt looked towards the train platform. "The train to Gatesend will be here in fifteen minutes. I've already got the tickets for us, so now all we have to do is wait."

Some more small talk ensued until Kelves went to visit a vending machine and grab some chips. His crunching tapered off the conversation until the train was there and ready to board. Once the Caprimet duo was on the train, Geralt tried to strike up some more chatter. "Twenty-five gold for your thoughts," he said. "Are you excited about meeting Alea? Nervous?"

Kelves made a thoughtful noise. "I don't know. I'm trying not to have too many expectations."

"That's fair," Geralt said. "That's better than expecting everything to go sour for one reason or another."

"Like I said, I've been told I'm a drag to be around. But for some reason, I want to see what will happen first," Kelves said.

"I think you secretly have an adventurous spirit," Geralt said before being interrupted by a harsh chuckle from Kelves. "What?"

"I'm not adventurous. I've never left Winstead's region since coming here, and I barely leave my house." Kelves scratched behind his right ear as he spoke.

Geralt frowned, his voice becoming serious. "I think you have more positive qualities than you are willing to see," he said. "You're punctual. You honored a commitment that came from out of the blue. Not once have I heard you refuse my requests. You're trying to suspend your pessimism. Even if you don't think you're a good person, your actions are speaking for you. Does that make sense?"

Kelves made an ambivalent noise and looked away, somewhere between flattered and embarrassed. It had been a long time since he had received a compliment like that, much less one bundled with a set of affirmations of his character. The train began to leave the station, and it was a bit noisy. "I'm gonna take a nap," he said.

"Oh, come on, don't just brush me off like that! Maybe a change of pace is helping you. Besides, how can you take a nap with all the train racket?" Geralt said. When he got no response, he sighed and looked out the window.

Some hours later, Kelves felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently. "We're in Gatesend," Geralt said.

"Already?" Kelves mumbled, scratching his belly and rubbing his eyes.

"It's been a few hours," Geralt said. "I'm amazed at how soundly you sleep and how quickly you wake up when you need to. I'm also amazed that you don't snore very loud at all."

That pulled a small chuckle out of Kelves. "Really? Huh." Magicants of all shapes and sizes and types were beginning to get out of their seats around them, from a frog creature with a turtle on his back to a dog made entirely of flame. "Guess we should get ready to go."

"I guess we should," Geralt agreed. "From here, we'll head to Alea's house. I have to warn you, it is a bit of a walk." Kelves groaned in his mind but held the objection back outwardly.

The walk to Alea's house was mostly spent with Kelves trying to keep up with Geralt's pace without getting lost. Gatesend had a distinctly more city-like feel to it than Winstead; the buildings were taller and stronger-looking, the roads were paved, and Magicants seemed to flow through the streets with ease. Eventually, they arrived at an unassuming little house on a side street. Geralt waited for Kelves to catch up, and then rang the doorbell and knocked on the door. Kelves took a deep breath to steady himself. He had no expectations of who he was going to meet, but he was nervous all the same.

The door opened to reveal a Caprimet woman with reddish-brown fur and blue eyes like Geralt's. Her horns were cream-colored, much like her brother's, but they were stumpier as was to be expected. She was solidly built, fleshed out a bit more around the hips and bust; Kelves tried not to let his gaze linger for too long. "Geralt," the woman greeted in a curt contralto. She looked past him at Kelves. "Who's this?"

"Alea, this is Kelves. Kelves, this is Alea," Geralt said, gesturing between the two.

"Nice to meet you," Kelves said with a nod.

Alea made a noncommittal noise. "Come in," she said, backing away from the door to allow the men access.

Kelves found himself looking around at the inside of the house, though there wasn't that much to look at. It was almost bare in its simplicity. He followed Alea and Geralt to the living room; Geralt sat down on the couch quickly, and Kelves got a feeling that he was used to doing that.

"Take a seat," Alea said. Kelves did so, and Alea sighed and looked over towards her kitchen. "I wasn't expecting guests. I'm sorry I don't have much to offer," she added, her voice softening slightly.

"I thought I told you I was coming over today," Geralt said.

Alea shrugged. "Maybe you did. But you didn't tell me you would be bringing a friend."

"I thought I told you that too, or at least that I was looking for someone I was hoping to bring back." Geralt rested his arm on the arm of the couch as he spoke.

"Mm, perhaps." Alea's attention shifted to Kelves. "If what Geralt has said is true, you must be the last Weaver. Is that right?"

"Mm-hm." Kelves felt a small pang of resentment at the idea of being just "the last Weaver," but he wasn't sure that he expected to be known for anything else.

"I'm sorry," Alea said. "I should at least show you some hospitality. There might be something I can make quickly, if I look."

"Um, actually," Kelves said as an idea came to him. "I brought something from a restaurant in Winstead. Fried tentacles. Maybe I could heat those up? I think we could all split them."

"That's an excellent idea," Geralt said.

"Fried tentacles?" Alea asked, arching an eyebrow. "I should thank you for solving the lunch problem, nonetheless."

"They're pretty good," Kelves said as he dug the takeout container out of his bag.

"I can confirm that, considering I'm the one who turned him onto those," Geralt said with a chuckle.

"If you'll guide me around your kitchen, I can go heat them up," Kelves said to Alea.

"Certainly." Alea started off towards the kitchen, and Kelves followed. When they arrived, she said, "There's not really much to show. The microwave is right here, and there's not much to drink aside from water and orange juice. Do you want anything to drink?"

"Water's fine." Kelves shoved the container in the microwave and set it to run for two and a half minutes. He hoped that the power was set correctly; he didn't want to know what would happen if he ended up overdoing the leftovers. A few silent minutes passed; Kelves noticed that Alea did not leave him alone in the kitchen, and he had a feeling that she was watching him closely. Before he could act on that hunch, the microwave timer mercifully went off. "Food's done," he mumbled.

When Alea and Kelves returned from the kitchen, Geralt wasn't in the living room anymore. "Geralt?" Alea called out. She then noticed a slip of paper left on the arm of the couch. After setting the drinks down, she read the paper over. "He says he was suddenly called away for a business matter, and to go on without him."

"More food for us, then," Kelves said, setting down the food and the plates and silverware.

"I suppose," Alea said.