Noctisardor Bypass The mother reads aloud, child tries to understand it.

You don't like it either, do you, dearest? Laurel shuddered and then said, I know, honey. Life's unfair — we don't always get precisely what we wanted. She tried to provide Indra with as much as she could, at least, but there were things like the weather that were beyond Laurel's control. She nudged Indra's cheek and then said softly, But thankfully we have each other. If we huddle real close, we can keep each other warm.

Thoughts of 'home' made Laurel think about not choosing to bring the pups to the rendezvous site. She never really had, even though Charles, Riley and Louie had been roaming a lot anyway. They'd never stuck to the den very much. Probably because Laurel had been there, and she was rarely in a good mood in those days. The current den would be a bit small to live with the three of us, but maybe they could dig it out a bit further, Laurel thought to herself.

When it's winter, it freezes, which is why everything gets hard, she patiently explained to her daughter. But there's fun things about winter, too — like snow.