[It's kind of nice to hear her talk about where she's from. It doesn't happen much, but he supposes that makes sense since she had been going by a new name. He listens and tries to imagine it himself, though he probably pictures everything much taller than it actually is.
He returns the gesture, slowing his needles as he thinks.]
Yeah. Winter could be pretty tough where I'm from. It's the wind that gets you, really. It whips right through the valley and without any trees to slow it down...it gets pretty cold at night.
[The Once-ler often lost track of time in his self-imposed solitude, but he remembers the last winter he spent in the top of his Lerkim - hungry, cold, and exactly as unprepared for it as he was the first time. The cold would numb the slow-and-sour smell of the air, but that was about the only thing good about it. He's not sure if he's ever mentioned the lack of trees to Alayne before, but he decides not to elaborate.]
At least here we've got a warm house to stay in, and that's good. Even if...
( action )
He returns the gesture, slowing his needles as he thinks.]
Yeah. Winter could be pretty tough where I'm from. It's the wind that gets you, really. It whips right through the valley and without any trees to slow it down...it gets pretty cold at night.
[The Once-ler often lost track of time in his self-imposed solitude, but he remembers the last winter he spent in the top of his Lerkim - hungry, cold, and exactly as unprepared for it as he was the first time. The cold would numb the slow-and-sour smell of the air, but that was about the only thing good about it. He's not sure if he's ever mentioned the lack of trees to Alayne before, but he decides not to elaborate.]
At least here we've got a warm house to stay in, and that's good. Even if...
[Even if there's a monster attack looming.]
...even if there's bad stuff on the way.