Song Zhou turned, and Lu Ao immediately felt the cold. He shivered against Song Zhou's back.
Song Zhou drew a great bank of cloud around them. Warmth seeped through, and Lu Ao rested his chin on Song Zhou's shoulder.
Their silent romance unfolded beneath the sun, beside the glaciers, above the land.
Song Zhou hitched him a little higher.
"We're here," Song Zhou said softly.
Lu Ao looked down and saw a great many crabeater seals lying on the ice in the distance.
There were so many of them. Stretched out across the ice, each one looked like a dumpling laid on a cutting board—slightly long, round and plump. From afar, they looked endearing.
"There are so many crabeater seals here." Lu Ao watched from a distance, with no intention of disturbing them.
"There are. The crabeater seals are on this side, and the chinstrap penguins are over there. Once you've finished looking at the seals, I'll take you to see them."
"Okay." Lu Ao stood beside Song Zhou. Just looking at the plump gray-brown shapes strewn across the ice lifted his spirits.
They stood there for a while, then moved closer to observe the seals.
The seals had few predators to fear on the ice, so they slept without much caution. Or perhaps Lu Ao and Song Zhou had moved quietly. Either way, the seals still hadn't noticed them when they drew near.
The seals slept soundly, eyes shut tight. For some reason, they reminded Lu Ao of the lazy village cats sprawled out in their sleep.
After seeing the crabeater seals, Lu Ao went with Song Zhou to see the chinstrap penguins.
The chinstrap penguins' faces looked a little like expressions drawn with a few simple lines. They were more wary, though. They caught the newcomers' scent from