"I have no strong demands on my time in the near future," says Sarelle.

"How about I swing by tomorrow morning and collect you?"

"That sounds entirely feasible."

"Okay, great. See you then. It was nice to meet you, Tia."

"Yeah, same!" chirps Tia.

Kiri lets herself out and heads for Ekador's house.

"Hi! Loel wants me present to make introductions when he meets the other primes. I've written Patience, for all that she's not technically prime yet, and Sarelle's coming with me tomorrow morning; do you want to join us?"

"I'd be happy to."

"All right, I'll pick you up tomorrow, then. And if Patience shows up you'll have a chance to meet her too, I'm not sure if Sarelle already has but she could have done without my noticing."

"I look forward to it."

Sarelle is ready when they arrive, and can be collected into their carriage with minimal fuss.

Ekador chooses to ride his own horse again. He is likewise ready and fuss-free.

"Yes, thank you," he says. "We have had very few disagreements so far."

"Now I'm imagining you arguing with a horse. The Malinquan accent makes it funnier."

"'No, you may not have any more oats!'" intones Aleko in a fake Malinquan accent. "'But I shall die of deprivation without them!'" he replies to himself, dropping this accent in favor of a vaguely neighing effect on the vowels.

Ekador giggles.

"I see," he says. "And here I was thinking that since I now live in Welce it might be time to try to speak the language without obvious foreign influence. I had not accounted for the entertainment value."

"Well, you're completely understandable, and kicking the accent would probably be really hard," shrugs Aleko. "And it doesn't make you sound like a hick the way a hills accent or something would."

"How fortunate."

"Patience has a bit of a hills accent but she manages, possibly via magic, to not sound like a hick while she talks in it."