Kadoc was surprised, worried that he said something wrong for Mary to respond like that. "No, not at all. Sorry if I sounded like I did." He folded his hands at looked at the floor.

The woman still had questions. With the camp buildings now visible and a group of people waving at the incoming sleigh, she took a break from watching the road to talk.

"You must be good if you can turn into a bat at such a young age. Have you been practicing?" She patted Kadoc on the shoulder, silently comforting without having to smile. "What do you think? Of course we got fireplaces. We're not going to throw you out into the snow.

"The engineer's name is Gelin. I'm sure he could use the company to cheer him up. By the way," she turned to the back of the sleigh, "I'm Mevanwi."

"Kadoc," said the man, finally introducing himself to the others.

Once the sleigh reached the camp, Kadoc jumped off the seat and ran into the nearby makeshift hut. The buildings looked sturdy enough to last in the wind, but they were a mix of wood and metal that gave the impression they were built in a hurry and without the intention to be permanent. Mevanwi beckoned to a nearly group of heavily covered camp members and explained that they brought some people they found in the snow, so help them get out while removing the supplies. Mary, Saori, and Ira were assisted out of the sleigh.

If they paid attention, there were no children to be seen.

Kadoc returned from the hut. "Gelin's in here. We'll get you dinner after we unpack."