Once Kelves had split up the tentacles between him and Alea, a few minutes of silence passed as they ate. Alea was first to break the silence. "This is good. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect."

"Me neither," Kelves said. "At the restaurant, I passed it up at first, but like he said, Geralt gave me a taste and that won me over."

"Hmm." Alea's expression became thoughtful as she chewed. "Tell me a bit about yourself. What is your life like in Winstead?"

"Well..." Kelves was unsure of how truthful to be, but ultimately decided to tell the truth. As far as he was concerned, she would probably be disappointed either way. "It's a nice place, I guess. The grocery store delivers, and so do a bunch of other places. There's a library and a hotel, and Frey's. That's the restaurant I got this from."

"I'd imagine it's quieter than Gatesend?" Alea suggested.

"Yeah, definitely. I was surprised at how many people were here, and how many buildings there were. Winstead has a more small town feel to it," Kelves answered.

"I suppose that has an appeal of its own. If I didn't live in Gatesend, Winstead sounds like a good option." Alea took a bite and swallowed before continuing; Kelves noticed that she had a rather dainty way of eating in small bites. "Is there anything to do for fun there? Gatesend has a few interesting places, though from what I've heard, it pales in comparison to Sandsford in the desert region."

"Most of the the TV I watch is filmed in Sandsford," Kelves said, remembering the TV show he had watched the night before. Then he remembered the question that Alea asked, and he grew sheepish. "I... don't really go out much. But there's lots of people who hold snowball fights or snowman building competitions. Snow is one thing Winstead never runs out of."

"Ah, I see. May I ask why you don't go out?" Alea's gaze on Kelves was steady, but gentle.

Kelves took a moment to think about the answer and wished he didn't. It all came down to him holding an extended pity party for himself. "I'm just never in the mood to leave. It's cold." It was a fib and an excuse, and he wasn't sure how thoroughly Alea would see through it.

Alea nodded. "I can understand that. I don't leave my house very often either. I suppose that's why Geralt brought you here."

"Yeah, that's what he said. Something about wanting to 'bring two lonely souls together.'" Kelves scoffed just a little bit when he quoted Geralt.

"He means well," Alea said. "I can understand his concern, but I have my reasons for being a hermit."

"I..." Kelves was going to say he had reasons for being a hermit, but altered his statement at the last minute. "Heh. I have reasons for being a hermit, too. They're just not very good ones."

"Tell me anyway," Alea said.

"I have no friends or family here. Most of the Caprimets got thrown into the Sealed World with at least someone they knew. I just have me. So... I try to keep myself comfortable. Even if that means eating, sleeping, and drinking my days away." Kelves looked away in shame. He knew she would be disappointed. There was no point in trying to lie about who he really was.

Alea's expression softened, and she reached across the table to place her hand on top of Kelves's. "I'm sorry," she said. "You've been through a lot. You deserve better than being by yourself."

"Really?" The word slipped out of Kelves's mouth almost automatically, and he felt immensely silly. "Um, well, I've heard about what happened to you. About your daughter, I mean. I'm not trying to compare, but I think that's in a class of its own."

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"That may be true," Alea said. "Perhaps Geralt was onto something, bringing us together. At the very least, I can keep you company while you're here."

"You don't think I'm a complete loser?" Kelves asked.

Alea shook her head. "It's not a matter of being a 'loser.' It's a matter of wanting to ease your pain where I can."

Once again, Kelves looked away. "I'd like to say I could do the same for you, but I've never been very good at comforting people. Most people say I'm a drag and that I make them want to go back to bed."

"I don't think so," Alea said. "You're an honest soul. You've suffered. If others can't understand you, then maybe you're in with the wrong crowd."

"Maybe," Kelves mumbled, feeling his face warm.

"I think I have some wine hidden away somewhere," Alea said suddenly, releasing Kelves's hand. "Wait just one moment." She departed to search for the wine, and Kelves was thankful for the brief respite from the emotional overload. He hadn't seen himself as worthy of that kind of care from others. Alea seemed to be acting out of genuine sympathy and not pity. It gave him a nice, warm feeling that he wasn't used to. Eventually, she returned with a bottle of wine and two glasses. "Here we are. I don't drink often, so there's plenty left."

"Thank you," Kelves said, watching as Alea poured him a glass of wine. He was really more of a beer person, but any port would work in a storm. He gave it a sniff; it had pleasant fruity notes, but the alcohol smell was definitely pleasant right alongside that. When Alea poured her glass, he noticed that it was much less than his, but didn't comment on it, taking a fairly deep drink of his glass instead. Exhaling heavily, he said, "This is pretty good, but... it's also kind of strong."

"So it is. You're welcome to have more if you like it." Alea took a small sip of hers, but her attention was on something else. "You should eat. It'll take some of the sting out of the wine, and besides, you don't want it to get cold, do you?"

"Yes, Mom," Kelves said, chuckling. "I don't see you eating, though."

"I was going to get back to that," Alea said.

The two continued eating and making friendly jabs at each other like this for a while; Kelves noticed that Alea was quick to refill his wine, and he didn't object, partly because he had no problem with it and partly because every drink made it harder to say no. After some time blurred by, Kelves noticed that his plate was empty. "Where'd th' food go?" he slurred, his brain fuzzed over from the alcoholic buzz.

"You ate it, silly," Alea said. "Here, you can have the rest of mine. I've had my fill." She put her leftovers on Kelves's plate and watched as he swiftly dug in. The food was gone so quickly, it was like it had never even touched the plate.

"That's better," Kelves mumbled, patting his belly. "You're really nice, Alea."

"It's nothing, really." Alea waved Kelves off dismissively. "You should get some rest now. You went through quite a bit of wine. I'm surprised you're still standing."

"A man's body is a cheating bartender, or something," Kelves said. "Yeah, I guess a nap would be good. The couch'll be fine."

"I'll go get you a pillow and a blanket," Alea said, leaving Kelves to hobble his way to the couch and flop down with a great force. Alea came back and put the pillow under his head and tucked him into the blanket. "Sweet dreams."

Some hours later, Kelves slowly regained consciousness. The blurry buzz of drunkenness had worn off enough for him to realize what had happened, but not quite enough for him to not think an apology was required immediately. He staggered up; the house was dark. It must have been late, but he knew he had to find Alea and apologize to her for getting so drunk. He wandered around, hoping he wouldn't bump into anything. He felt around for doors and began knocking, hoping she would answer, and eventually, she did open one of the doors.

"You're awake," she said. He noticed that she had changed into a nightgown, but it didn't occur to him to be embarrassed. "It's still early in the morning."

"I'm sorry for waking you up. I just... I'm sorry. I'm sorry I got so drunk that you had to tuck me into bed," Kelves stammered.

"It's fine," Alea said, then sighed. "I enabled you. I let you drink as much as you wanted. I wanted to spoil you a bit."

"Spoil me?" Kelves cocked his head, confused.

"I felt like you deserved a little special treatment. It's been a while since I had anyone to look after." Alea looked off to the side.

"Huh." Kelves scratched his head. "Thank you. It's nice to be looked after. It makes me feel, well, good."

"I'm glad," Alea said. "We can talk more later. I think you've still got a bit more drunkenness to sleep off."

"Maybe. Night, Alea."

"Good night."