"That would a phone call worth listening in on, though," Ilya grins, still chuckling. "And it'd have to be you. I can't sew up a hole in my own clothes, let alone a quilt. Though, who knows? Maybe I'll learn and surprise you one day, after we graduate."

It was a far-off thought, but a sweet one. Sewing couldn't be as hard as learning English was. Besides, some things were worth the struggle. Still smiling, he rolled his eyes.

"America doesn't even get a real winter," he pointed out. "We used to have days so cold that birds dropped dead from it back in Elvuney. Besides, the cold only bothers me now if it's at night. I - get flashbacks, sometimes. Of waking up in the river, in the ice."