[the mouse, better equipped but still not thrilled, fluffs up and burrows in the back of Blue's coat collar, tail curling around the front of his neck like a small muffler.

still braced against the chill, Blue manages to flash a small smile Yzak's way.]

It is those who enjoy this who I can't fathom...but I can believe in those who do what they must to live on.

It's so dark, too... [he looks ahead at the dappled lights of the nearby village.] We did not travel that long, and yet it seems like night now.