all of the light just fades away

Mention of Yildun's father sent ice down her spine, because she understood the implication of his words. She wanted to tell him she was damn glad he hadn't acted on that desolate impulse, yet she couldn't quite find the words. Besides, they'd already moved on to lighter fare and Koontz didn't want to force them to linger on such a dark subject.

"No, well, I decided against becoming a Dreamserpent myself. I have faith that you'll be all the Dreamserpent we need," she replied with a little smirk which he, of course, couldn't see. Perhaps he detected it in her voice. "Out of necessity, I decided to become a Boneknapper instead. I'm not a naturally gifted hunter, despite my heritage, but I think that I can do the duty justice. I don't have much of a choice; we badly need a hunter if we're going to make it through this winter."

Talk of hunting reminded her of something suddenly and Koontz paused, then smiled. "Hey, are you familiar enough with the territory yet to show off your hunting skills?" she wondered. It was past dark now, yet that wouldn't matter to Yildun, of course, unless the dropping temperatures—his way of telling when it was nighttime, as she recalled—somehow affected his abilities.