Moonsong Glacier in the king's hall without sound or silence

The answer was about what he expected, but still somehow surprisingly close to home.

"It's like that," he replied. "Only, Dutch is my blood. My cousin. My parents died when I was young, so I traveled with his mother for a time and stuck around after he was born. I remember bein' real proud I could help out with 'em the first go around. Then when she had her next set, I just remember feelin' scared when I saw how small they were. The older I get, the smaller they seem to be. It takes a lot of work and care to get a little baby grown to your size. But shoot — you realize one day it's not just a baby. It's a whole person you're real glad to have in your life. Someone you can grow to rely on yourself."

His smile was tired. Just thinking about the coming season made him weary with worries.

"So I'd say it's good to be a brother of any kind. And you'll be glad to have Matteo even more than you are now once you see those lil faces, sure enough."