"Oh." Lu Ao sat down in a chair, resting his chin on his arms as he looked at him. "Can nonhumans like us interfere with the environment?"
"That isn't called interfering with the environment. We're part of the environment ourselves. The concept of the environment is far broader than we imagine, and we can have a positive influence on it."
Lu Ao thought it over, feeling as though he understood, yet also as though he did not.
Song Zhou pulled him up. "You should take a nap."
Lu Ao draped himself over Song Zhou's shoulder. "Together."
"Okay."
As Song Zhou carried him along, Lu Ao remembered something else. "How are the geese at home and Chubby?"
"Don't worry, they were just fed." Song Zhou set him on the bed. "Chubby has visibly gotten a whole size bigger."
Lu Ao relaxed a little. "That exaggerated?"
"Go back and see in a few days. Sleep first."
Pressed onto the bed, Lu Ao could only take off his coat and pants, toss them at the foot of the bed, and wrap himself in the blanket to sleep.
Song Zhou climbed in to keep him company.
Lu Ao snuggled deeper into Song Zhou's arms and slept soundly, breathing in his scent.
They would not reach the hot spring site until nearly dusk, so Lu Ao set an alarm for four thirty in the afternoon.
Yet Lu Ao was not awakened by his alarm that afternoon, but by the sound of rain.
The rain was heavy and sudden, striking the ship's hull and blending with the sound of the waves in a strangely distinctive way.
Lu Ao had an instinctive sensitivity to rainwater.
He rolled over and sat up, staring at the sky beyond the window.
Antarctica was currently in its polar day season. During