A warm chuckle escaped through Aeneas’s ruffled feathers. “I figured it was as such. And yes, the fur is substantially helpful in this kind of environment.”

The alien remembered Katara’s oozing eyes with some concern. Had her own clothing not been enough for the extreme cold? Had she become ill? In any case they had dried up by now, so it mustn’t have been that serious an ailment.

“My pleasure,” trilled Aeneas, returning her bow (and once again reminded strongly of Prince Zuko’s mannerisms), “I suppose I am as ready as I will ever be. Personally I hope the others take their time.”

The creature closed his eyes and basked in a frigid gust of wind that rippled his ears, membranes long since shrunken by the cold so that they resembled nothing but fleshy antlers.

“I would not mind staying in this place for longer.”