Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 7)

A pair of ground squirrels, decked out in their white winter coats, raced across the path, leaving tiny tracks in their wake.
"I can't imagine having that kind of energy up here," Ada said with a shake of her head. "Is it mating season this close to winter?"

“I don’t know,” Ky admitted, shaking her head as she watched the squirrels dance in the edge of the bushes before disappearing. How pathetic she was, to not know even a simple fact such as that about her new home. “But they’re very cute either way. I like how fluffy their tails were.”

"I wonder if they'll all hibernate when the sun goes away," she mused. "That's in a month or so, right? The days are getting shorter and shorter."

“I believe so,” Ky agreed. “I don’t know if things hibernate when it’s always cold, though.”

"I guess. But it's got to get depressing when everything's pitch dark all the time, right?"

“I’ve never been up here for the winter,” Ky said with a shrug. “But it’s already a bit depressing that there’s so little greenery. So probably.”

"There's plenty." Ada waved her hand at the trees around them. "It's just that the sky's so heavy all the time. It'll be even worse in the dark, I'm sure. And won't the predators be out in force as well?"

Ky shivered. “Good thing I’ll be staying behind these walls.”

"I'd hate to be a peasant up here," Ada said grimly. "It must be like the end of the world."

Ky nodded. “Gathering enough food must be a nightmare… and the spiders and mountain cats.”

"Not to mention the wolves and bears." She wrinkled her nose. "At least we can see our predators coming and have the day to look forward in the South."

Ky nodded, then hesitated. “I was probably just a naive little kid, but I never really felt unsafe in Austraka. I mean, I always got spooked in the dark like most kids. But otherwise, no.”

"You lived in a village," Ada pointed out. "You weren't out in the desert with nothing but tents and dogs between you and the things hunting you."

Ky nodded in agreement. It was better that way. A simple fifteen minute walk or so to all her friends and the help of her entire township. Faster if you ran.

"It's not a perfect life, but I like it," Ada mused. "I miss it. And I could sleep soundly knowing my family was all around me, not like here."