[Huaisang spreads the blanket over Little's lap, tucking it in so he'll be warm and pressing close against his side to share some body heat as well.] Not like this, no. We have snow, and high in the mountains the snow can get deep, but still ... never like this. I've never known a cold like this, nor snow so deep and lasting. In my region, it rains in winter as often as it snows, so the snow doesn't last more than a few weeks except on the mountain tops. But some things are the same. Enough things so that at least I'm used to snow, and mountains, and how to walk on steep slopes in the ice, and how to trap birds.

Back home I only trapped songbirds, collecting them as pets. I still can't bear to kill the birds I catch here, which makes for an awkward time dragging them back to the community hall to find someone else to do the killing.