Chapter 6

The next morning, Max awoke before dawn as he usually did, though he wanted to go back to sleep again. It had taken him an hour to go back to sleep after Alva's screaming woke him up. Though he wanted more sleep, he knew that he would never be able to go back to sleep now that he was awake. So, he got up and got dressed quietly, considering what he might do for his day off. His first thought was to see if there was any work to be found. He could always use the money, since his savings were meager enough, and he wasn't going to be getting any money if he didn't work something outside of the Academy. What job he could find for as little time as he had to work, he had no idea. Maybe there would be oddball jobs around he could do for a few coppers and at least make something, though in light of last night's discussion, he wasn't hopeful.

Max stepped out into the parlor as he pondered this, not surprised to find Alva wasn't up yet. As rough of a night as they seemingly had, and as late of a sleeper as they claimed to be, he bet he wouldn't see them until well after the sun had risen. He stretched out on the lounge chair to wait for them, deciding his hopes of finding a job in town were too small to pursue. It didn't take long for his eyes to start drooping again, but to his surprise, Alva stepped out of their room less than a quarter hour later, making him rouse himself.

"Good morning, Max." They said, stifling a yawn.

"'Morning. You're up early." Max wanted to ask about the nightmares, but wasn't sure if it was safe to do so.

"Yes, I thought it wouldn't do to lounge around. I've got things I need to go get, since I don't have anyone to go get them for me. Would you like to come with me?"

Max considered the offer. On the one hand, it would be nice to have something to do rather than spend the whole day laying around feeling anxious about going back to training tomorrow. On the other, he felt apprehensive about the question of money coming up with Alva, who clearly had more money than he had ever had in his whole life. He could probably get by without spending any money, though. He certainly wouldn't have to buy anything, even food while he was out and about. "Sure, why not?" Max said, sitting up.

"Wonderful! Let me get dressed, and then we can go."

They disappeared into their bedroom for a good half-hour before coming back out, fully dressed as they were the first day with plenty of ornamentation.

Max got up to follow them out, but stopped just shy of the door. "Hold on." Alva made a quizzical face at Max as he ducked into his room, picking up his now empty knapsack and carrying it back to Alva. "For the stuff you buy." Max said, shouldering the empty bag.

Alva's eyes brightened with understanding. "Oh, of course! It hadn't even occurred to me that we'd need something to hold the things we bought." They said, with a genuine laugh.

Max smiled. "Yeah, you'll want that later. Now I'm ready."

The two of them set out across the grounds. When Alva started to head towards the gate, Max stopped. "Wait, aren't we gonna eat before we go?"

Alva stopped, turning to look back at Max. "I suppose we could. I'd thought we might buy food in town." Max felt a small rush of panic, since he didn't want to waste what money he had on food in town when he could eat for free in the dining hall. Alva's eyes narrowed for a moment, as if studying Max, then returned to their friendly stare. "Of course, we could eat now and simply have a late lunch in town later."

Max felt equal amounts of relief, followed by the worry that he would need to spend money on food later. He placated himself with the knowledge that at least he'd only be buying one meal in town, not two or three. "Yeah, that sounds good."

They ate quickly, then went out the wide open gate and away from the Academy grounds, into the city of Ash. Alva looked around just past the gate. "First thing's first is to visit an apothecary. Do you know where one is?"

"No, I haven't been here long enough to need one."

"Hm, very well." Alva marched up to a gruff-looking street-side vendor, who looked Alva up and down with a mix of curiosity and disdain. "Where can I find a good apothecary?"

"You just came from the Academy, and you're looking for an apothecary? Thought they had the best cures around." He said with a smirk.

"Well, I need something that isn't a cure, so to speak."

He shrugged. "Closest one from here is Mueller's. It's several streets down from here, but her stuff's good if you don't trust the Academy's cures."

"Where is it?"

"Follow this street to Aspen." He said, pointing away from the Academy. "Turn left at Aspen and walk until you see The Drink Tank. Once you're there, turn right and Mueller's won't be far from there."

"Thank you." Alva said. They beckoned for Max to follow, and the two of them made their way down the busy street, vendors calling out their wares over the din of the crowds.

Alva's eyes caught something, and they grabbed Max's wrist, pulling him to the side of the road in front of a bakery, the aroma of pastries wafting out onto the street. Being on the main thoroughfare, it was well-maintained and clean, expensive looking to Max.

"Whoa, where are we going?" Max said.

"To grab a pastry to eat along the way. It sounds like we're in for a bit of a walk."

Max let himself be pulled into the bakery. There was a small crowd waiting for service, so it took them a few minutes before they were able to step up to the counter. The woman tending the counter was a plump Kainer with a kindly face, though Max caught her uneasy glance at them before it vanished under a bland smile. "What can I get you two?" She said.

Alva looked over the baskets in the back full of various breads and pastries. There were even stacks of small cakes on platters. Alva's eyes stopped on something that made their eyes light up. "You have cloud cakes?" They said, holding back excitement.

"Yessir. I don't get a lot of folks that buy 'em, but some of the sailors like 'em. Would you like some?"

"I'll take a half dozen. It's been a long time since I've had a cloud cake, I used to have them all the time."

"Well, they're the best ones in Ash, so I'm sure you'll like them. What about you, sugar?" She said, looking at Max.

"Oh, uh, nothing for me."

"Not even a sweetroll? They're only a copper a piece."

Max shook his head. "No, thank you."

"Suit yourself. That'll be ten coppers for you." She said to Alva.

Alva paused for a moment, before reaching into the waistband of his pants and pulling out a small bag, tossing a silver piece onto the counter. She took it, and counted back another ten coppers, which Alva put back into their coinpurse.

"Let me pack those cloud cakes up for you." She turned around and began packaging up the cakes in rough cloth and tied it closed with twine. She then handed the package back to Alva. "Here you go sugar. Enjoy!"

"Thank you." Alva said, taking the package and weaving through the crowd, Max following close behind. Once free of the crowd, Alva pulled the packaging open, revealing the small cakes. They held it out to Max. "Would you like one?"

"Oh, uh, I'm good."

"Have you had a cloud cake before?"

Max shook his head. "No."

"Then I insist you try one. They should be pretty good, for as much as she robbed me for them. Back home one could get a dozen for what she charged me."

Max hesitated, then took one. Alva took one for themselves, and holding the cake in their mouth, tied the package back up. Max offered his backpack to them and they dropped the package in.

"Thank you." Alva said gratefully.

The two of them started walking back down the street. Alva took a small bite out of their cake, making a thoughtful face. "Hm, it's not as good as the ones back home. But certainly better than nothing. Go on, try it."

Max looked the cake over. It seemed light in his hand, and generally unremarkable. The outside was covered in some kind of sticky glaze, and when he took a tentative bite, he discovered why it was called a cloud cake. It was incredibly fluffy, though not terribly sweet. Whatever sticky coating on the outside seemed to be the only source of sweetness. It reminded Max of honey, though it had other flavors he couldn't identify.

"Well, what do you think?"

Max nodded, swallowing. "It's good."

Alva smiled. "Yes, they are good, aren't they? Some would say they're too plain, but I think they're just about right. It's too easy to grow fat on the richer sweets, don't you think?"

"I guess?" Max had never known a time in his life when he'd ever been at a risk of growing fat on sweets.

They wound their way through the streets towards Mueller's, Alva still eating their cloud cake long after Max had finished his, and had licked the sticky glaze from his fingers. Alva were just finishing theirs by the time they found Mueller's, licking their fingers the same way Max had. The shop was modest, nestled between a pawn shop and a tailor. It seemed to be needing a little care to Max, but it was hardly rundown.

Alva went in first, followed by Max. They stepped into a small anteroom, and on the opposite wall was a counter, separating off a workspace from the anteroom. Bottles and jars lined the walls, and an older Kainer woman sat at a workbench, crushing something with a mortar and pestle.

"Excuse me." Alva called out.

The old Kainer seemed to start for a moment, apparently surprised by customers. She stared at the two of them for a moment, gaping before regaining her composure. "Oh, I didn't see you there. Just a moment." She ground the contents of the mortar and pestle a little while longer before pouring it into a bottle using a funnel. She corked the bottle and set it on a shelf, brushing her hands off as she approached the counter. "Thank you, now, what seems to ail you? I've got good, honest cures for any complaint you might have."

Alva waved her off. "Oh, I was just wondering if you had any asfor, sweet creeper, and thisledown? They make such a lovely tea, and I've been wanting some desperately." Their tone was casual, but Max thought he heard a slight pleading edge to it.

"Asfor, sweet creeper, and thistledown." She said, scratching her chin. "Yeah, I've got those. That's a pretty odd mixture of ingredients for a remedy. All of them are for entirely different things, and have better alternatives to boot. Lockheart's better for aches and pains, rosen's better for a weak heart, and sweet creeper's only good for making the above taste a little better, so I guess it could stay."

"I'm not drinking it as a remedy. I just think the combination tastes good in a tea."

"Well, if that's all you're wanting it for, I guess it's fine for that. How much do you want?"

"I might as well buy a month's worth. I'll use it all, how about four unics of a mixture equal parts asfor, sweet creeper, and thistledown?"

"Unics, eh? Not many folks ask for stuff in trading units, but I've got the scales to accommodate you. Four unics..." She stared up at the ceiling, mouthing words to himself. "That'll be 2 silver bits, and 4 coppers for the lot."

Alva sighed, fishing out their purse again, counting out the coins on the counter. The apothecary swept the coins up, dropping them into her till. "Good, give me a moment and I'll make your mixture."

She left the two of them at the counter, and began gathering clay jars, bringing them back to the counter. Then she pulled a scale and a set of weights out from under the counter, and began measuring from each of the jars onto the scale with a small scoop. When that was done, she shifted the contents into a small cloth bag and handed the fist-sized bag to Alva. "Here you are. Enjoy your tea." She leaned over on the counter. "If you need any other remedies, come on back and I'll get you sorted out. Rowan heartstring is great for your love life, y'know." She said with a wink.

"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

Alva handed the bundle to Max, and he tucked it away in his bag. "Anything else?" Max asked.

"No, I think that's all I needed to get from here." They turned to the apothecary. "Good day to you."

"And you too." She said, nodding to the two of them.

Back outside, Max stopped just outside Mueller's. "Where next?"

"Oh, I don't know. Why don't we just look around for a while? I'm sure we'll find at least a few interesting shops in a town the size of Ash. Was there somewhere you wanted to go?"

Max shook his head. "I don't need anything."

"Hm. Well, let's wander for a bit then and see what Ash has to offer."

Following Alva, Max wandered the town with them. Alva stopped occasionally to browse shops that caught their eye, which turned out to be a wide variety of shops. They stopped in several clothing shops, though Alva bought nothing, two porcelain shops where Alva bought a set of dainty teacups. They also stopped in a shop to buy a cast iron teapot, which more than weighed down Max's pack, though he didn't complain.

It was late afternoon when Alva stopped in front of a well-to-do inn. "Are you hungry? I could use a good meal, and this place looks nice."

"I dunno." Max said. "It won't be too much longer before the dining hall is serving dinner." Max wasn't sure he could afford to eat at a place as nice as that one looked.

Alva studied Max again, and he couldn't help but feel Alva was disapproving of his statement. But then they smiled. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Perhaps we could just tide ourselves over for now, and have a few drinks."

Max sighed. It would've been rude to press further; at least he could get away with just buying a drink. "Yeah, that's fine."

"Good, I've been dying for a glass, or few, of a good red wine."

They went into the inn, and Max's guess had been spot-on. The interior of the inn was as spotless as the outside, the clientele just as much so. Their expensive dress made him stick out, such that Alva stood out less than he did. The two of them went to the mostly empty bar and took a seat. The bartender, a tall Kainer gentleman with an unusually long neck, cast a look at the two of them before making his way over to them. "What can I get you two?"

"What wines do you have?" Alva asked.

"Almost anything you might want, I'm sure I've got it somewhere. But might I interest you in a bold red made locally? Or are you interested in something imported?"

"A bold red sounds lovely."

"And you?" His voice was perfectly polite, but Max saw unmistakable disdain towards him.

"Uh..." Max said, feeling nervous under his gaze. "Well, uh, just a light beer for me."

"As you wish. One moment."

The barkeep went to the wine shelf behind the bar, picking one of the bottles out with certainty. He brought it back to Alva, procuring a glass from underneath the bar. He uncorked the bottle, and poured Alva a splash in the glass. "I think you'll find that the nutty undertone is a wonderful compliment to the flowery aroma."

Alva picked up the glass, swirling the contents under their nose. "It smells nice." They took a tentative sip. "Hm. It's certainly different than what I'm used to."

"If it's not agreeable, there's other wines we could try. I've got a very nice bottle of import from Reliqua." The bartender said hopefully.

"I've never been partial to Reliquan import. I think I'll stick with the local wine, thank you."

"A fine choice." The bartender filled Alva's glass, and started to take away the bottle, but Alva gestured to them to stop.

"You may as well leave that with me." Alva made a sly smile at the barkeep.

"Well, I could leave the bottle with you for a couple silver bits, I suppose."

Alva got out their purse, and fished out three silver bits. "Good. I'll cover Max here's drinks, and I'd like something to eat, perhaps a bit of fish?"

The barkeep glanced at Max, but gave Alva a placating smile. "I can arrange that. It might take a little while to cook, but I can promise you it will be the best red snapper you've had in your life."

"I'm fine with that. We'll be here a while unless Max starts helping me drink this bottle. Now I do believe that Max asked for a mug of light beer?" They were polite, but too pointed for Max to miss the quiet rebuke.

The barkeep nodded his head in respect. "Of course. I'll draw you a mug."

The mug of beer was sitting in front of Max quickly, before the barkeep disappeared into the back for a minute before returning to the bar. Max noticed that the barkeep was keeping a close eye on them, though keeping his distance.

Alva was already refilling their glass. "It's not the best wine I've had." They muttered quietly to Max, such that Max was straining to hear. "But at least it won't cost me my feathers like the Reliquan wine he was trying to offload on me. Here it would be obscenely expensive. My guess is five nobles, if he didn't want to make a hefty profit. Seven if he wanted to rob me."

Max's eyes went wide. That was an obscene amount of money for a mere bottle of wine. His family would've been lucky to scrape up a noble in a year, if they were extremely careful with their spending.

"Yes, I know, that's why I opted for the much cheaper local wine. I can have a bottle of it for less than a glass of the Reliquan wine, and I wasn't lying when I said I don't care for it."

They were already refilling their glass a third time, though Max had only sipped a couple fingers off the top of his.

"How's the beer?"

Max shrugged. "It's good. Not what I'm used to either, though."

"What's so different about it?"

"Oh, it's hard to pin down what's different. It seems stronger than I'm used to. Randy's summer brew was light enough to not overwhelm you, but this still seems pretty stout."

"Yes, I've never been much of a fan of beers for that reason. They seemed to be strong in all the wrong ways. Though they are good for getting drunk for only a few coppers."

Max looked down at his mostly full cup. He didn't really like the beer, or much of alcohol period, but it was free to him, so he wasn't going to outright complain about it.

"If you want something else, all you have to do is ask the barkeep for something else. My tab should still be good."

Max's ears pinned back in embarrassment. "Oh, no, it's fine." Max said, taking a deliberate drink.

"You could help me drink this nice bottle of wine. It's more than I should try and drink on my own."

"I'm okay with beer, thanks." It wasn't that he was against wine; he'd enjoyed fruit wines, when he could get them, but Max couldn't shake the feeling he would be taking too much from Alva to drink their wine.

Alva studied Max for a moment. "Okay. If you change your mind, let me know and I'll get you a glass."

Alva had worked through another glass of wine by the time a barmaid brought out the blackened fish on a platter, with a bowl of roasted potatoes and a green salad.

"Now this looks like a good meal." Alva said, picking up the utensils and taking a bite of the fish. They closed their eyes, smiling. "Gods that's good after having bland food for weeks. You must try some, Max."

It smelled good, and Max was feeling hungry, so he took Alva's offer and reached out, gently pulling a piece off and popping it into his mouth. His eyes went wide as the flavors hit him. He'd never tasted anything like it, and he couldn't believe anything would have so much flavor in one bite. "Wow, that's good." He said with his mouth half full, nodding to himself. When he looked back at Alva, he found they were staring at him with confusion mixed with a tinge of disgust. "What?" Max said, swallowing.

Alva stared for a second more, then laughed. "Oh, nothing. Most people don't use their fingers to eat, though."

Max's ears went back against his head in further embarrassment. Back home, that wouldn't have been strange at all to do. Given the look Alva had just given him, he knew he'd done something distasteful. "Sorry, I didn't know."

"Oh, don't worry about it too much. I'm not a stickler for propriety, though I'll get you utensils of your own."

Alva flagged the barkeep down, who started making his way towards them. "Oh, don't worry about it." Max said. "I just wanted to try a bite."

"Nonsense! Barkeep, I need another set of silverware for Max."

The barkeep reached under the counter and set a second set on the bartop. "Anything else?"

Alva shook their head. "No sir, thank you."

The barkeep nodded, wandering away from the two of them again.

Alva turned back to Max. "I'm going to need help finishing this off. The salad's mine, though. It looks delightfully fresh."

Max felt bad about taking Alva's food, but he was too hungry to further protest. "Thank you." Max said quietly.

"Oh, you're welcome. Help yourself."

Max did, helping himself, being incredibly mindful of taking too much. Alva seemed to eat excruciatingly slowly, taking sips from their glass of wine after every bite, though Max had only finished one mug of beer. By the time the food was mostly gone, Alva's normally bright eyes had a glazed quality.

Alva threw their utensils down, nearly causing them to clatter to the floor. "I'm shtuffed." They said, their speech faintly slurred. "You finish it, Max."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I couldn' eat another bite!" They proclaimed, giving Max a wide smile.

"Okay. Thanks." Max slid the platter in front of him, and proceeded to scarf down the remaining contents. Max watched a lanky, well-to-do Kainer take a seat at the bar next to Alva, ordering himself a glass of whiskey. Max returned his attention to the remains of the fish.

"Hey there, how're you?" Alva said. Max looked up to answer the question, but found they were looking at the Kainer.

The Kainer eyed Alva suspiciously. "I'm fine, thank you."

"Good, I'm doin' good myself. I'm Alva."

"Bain. Pleasure to meet you, Alva."

"You too." Alva said, swaying slightly as they took another long pull from their glass. "Say, you look fit. What do you do?"

"Oh, why thank you." Bain said, puffing his chest up a little bit. "I'm a jeweler, you see, so I don't move much from my bench, but I'm careful to keep my figure trim. Customers are happier dealing with someone who doesn't look like a glutton, I've found."

Alva made a burbling laugh. "I bet so." They leaned towards Bain, putting their arm around Bain's shoulder, though he seemed to not mind, nearly falling off their stool in the process. "The world always needs beautiful people."

"And what about you? You certainly are a sight to behold." Bain said, reaching an arm around Alva's waist. Alva made no move to dissuade Bain, and Max was watching more intently now, the food forgotten.

"Oh, you're too kind. I'm too plain, really."

"That's just silly. No one I know has such beautiful plumage."

Alva tittered. "You know how to flatter one, don't you?"

"It's not hard with a sight like you." Blair was now gently stroking the fur along Alva's belly. Max was beginning to get worried that Alva was too drunk to notice what Blair was doing. He debated stepping in, but wasn't sure how without it being obvious. "You know, we could finish that nice bottle of wine back at my house. It's not much, but I do have a nice little garden we could sit in and enjoy the sunshine."

Max gawked at the back of Alva's head, now feeling like he really needed to step in. But Alva did it for him. "Oh, I appreciate the offer, but I'm thinking it'd be best to go home for the evening. I'm quite tired, you see."

"Oh, come now. The gardenias are in bloom right now. Surely you'd find that plenty relaxing?"

"Mmm, maybe? I really just wanna sleep."

Bane dropped his voice low, so Max could barely hear him. "I've got a nice soft feather bed we could use."

Alva blinked blearily at Bain. "Do you only have one?"

"One what?"

"One bed."

"Well, no, but I thought we might share a bed..." He trailed off, looking at Alva expectantly.

Max knew he'd let this go on too long. He tapped Alva gently on the shoulder, but they didn't seem to notice him. Alva sat up unsteadily, Bain's arm dropping away. "Oh no. I don't know you nearly well enough for that."

Bain gave Alva a knowing look. "Oh, I see." He dropped his voice so Max could barely hear him. "I'll give you a silver bit for your company."

Alva's eyes bulged. "How dare you!" Alva shouted, standing up, barely managing to stay on their feet as they glowered at Blair. "I'm no copper monger!"

"Then why do you dress and act like one?" Blair said coldly. "Many of the whores I've seen are dressed more modestly than you."

"My dress is far finer than you could hope to have. At least I don't need to buy someone's friendship."

Bain was about to retort when the barkeeper came over, glaring down at the two of them. "Would you both take it outside before I get the constable to throw you out? You're disturbing everyone else."

"I was just leaving." Alva said coldly.

They grabbed the bottle of wine, knocking their mostly empty glass over in the process, and with a last icy glare at Bain, stalked out of the inn without a look back.

Max hurriedly picked up his bag, muttering an apology to the barkeep, before hurrying out after Alva. He quickly caught up to them, finding them just down the road, propped up against the wall of a pawn shop, taking a long drag from the bottle. He came up behind them, stopping just short of them. "Alva? You okay?" He said quietly.

They sniffed. "That's two times in two days I've been called a wh-" They swallowed, choking back a sob. "a copper monger. Why does everyone throw about such grievous insults like that?" They said, their voice cracking.

Max came around to face Alva, finding their eyes red and watery. 'Whore' was a bad insult, the kind of insult people get into fistfights over. He fully understood why Alva received that kind of attention, but he knew Alva wouldn't appreciate the raw truth at that moment, so he opted for a simple comforting statement with nothing else in mind to say. "Just ignore it. His words don't mean anything. Neither did that Draagen's."

Alva wrapped their arms around Max, crying into his shoulder, leaning against him and making him support their weight. Unsure of what to do, he stood there and did what he could to comfort them, patting Alva's back. "Shh, hey, it's okay."

"Gods above I wish I was back home!" They bawled into Max's shoulder.

Max was silent for a few moments. "Yeah, I do too." He said softly.

Alva cried into Max's shoulder for a good minute before the tears turned into quiet hiccupping. "Thank you." They said, so quietly Max could barely hear them.

"For what?"

Alva lifted their head off Max's shoulder, giving him a small smile. "For tolerating me when no one else will."

Alva stepped back, swaying in place as their arms fell to their sides, Max groping for a good response to that in his mind. They stared at the bottle in their hand for a good few seconds before taking another long pull, smacking their lips. "Keeps gettin' better the more I drink." They said, followed by a bubbly laugh. "Where next?"

"Uh, why don't we head back to our house?" Max said. "You did say you were tired."

Alva waggled a finger at Max as they wiped their eyes with one hand. "Listening in to other's conversations is bad manners. Admitting you did it is even worse." They smiled sloppily at Max. "But I'll forgive you. I am sleepy." They looked around the street. "Which way was it?"

"Just follow me, I remember where it was."

"Good, 'cause I don't." They burbled with laughter again.

Max led the two of them back towards the Academy grounds, Alva continuing to take swigs from their now mostly empty bottle of wine, even as they struggled to remain standing.

"Y'know, Max." They said after passing a few streets. "You're a good friend." They put their arm around Max's shoulder, Max suspecting it was partly to steady themselves. "I dunno what I'd do withou' you."

"Oh, uh, thank you."

They leaned in close to Max. "You're handsome, you know."

Max stumbled, nearly spilling them both. "I-what?"

"You're handsome. Have you had more to drink than I had?" They burbled with laughter again.

"Uh, erm, thanks." Max said, feeling both hugely uplifted and deeply embarrassed at the same time.

"It's just a shame you wear so many clothes. I'm sure there's a nice body underneath, but you don't let anyone see it. Why is that?"

"Well, uh, I just don't?"

"Well, you oughta." Alva said, with finality.

Alva seemed to enter their own headspace the rest of the way to their house behind the Academy walls. The sun was going down by the time Max closed the door of their house behind him.

Alva wandered away from Max, dropping the now nearly empty bottle on the table and splaying out on one of the lounge chairs, sighing contentedly. "Whew. Standin' 's hard."

Max looked back towards the front door. "I think I'm gonna go to the dining hall."

"You go. I'm'ma stay here. Not hungry."

"Ok. I'll be back."

Max left Alva, making his way across the Academy grounds, unhurried, and feeling relaxed for the first time in a while. He chalked it up to the drink, as little as he tended to drink. He ate alone, finding far fewer people in the dining hall than usual. He didn't mind, though. The relative quiet was a nice change of pace.

When he got back to the house, he was greeted by Alva's gentle snoring. From their awkward positioning, it was clear they'd passed out not long after he had left. He looked around, and found a blanket draped over one of the chairs. Feeling it, it was too light to be more than a decoration, but he figured it was better than nothing. He did his best to cover Alva with it, then went into his room and climbed into bed, trying not to feel too worried about what tomorrow might bring.