Asbel grinned. "Yeah, we should definitely try some later! My budget's kind of tight right now, but I think I've got enough on me..."

As he made to dig around in his pockets for change, the worry-worn paper crunched mutinously in his hand. It seemed so loud, louder than anything else, and he couldn't ignore it. Asbel paused, his expression growing a lot more complicated and a lot less cheerful as he looked over at Meredy, knowing he couldn't possibly keep up the façade that everything was just perfect.

"Actually...about that. Listen, I don't know what's going on, and I don't want to scare you or anything. But I can't be sure that it's completely safe to be here right now. See, I got this letter a few days ago, with an address..."

Asbel's gaze fell to the trapped note as he turned it in his fingers and smoothed it back out again.

"That's why I came here."