Father Claud was bent over halfway out of his window. Tailtiu stared at him, wondering if she was still sleeping, but she never dreamed about (tall, handsome, normal) Claud. "What are you looking at?" she asked. She shut the door behind her.
Voice carrying, "There's a plant under my window. I noticed it leaving last night."
"A plant?" Tailtiu moved across the room. Father Claud didn't fill the window, but she had to stand on her tiptoes to get the same angle he did. He was warm, arm against his. Forever, he took her in stride. The snow stopped under his window; beneath it was a scraggly blue-green piney thing they didn't have in Friege. "A plant."
"The clerics said it's common. They crop up this time of year, regardless of the weather. Persistent plants."
To grow in a beautiful place like Silesse, they had to be. "And if it wasn't common?"
"Then it gets to enjoy an uncommon life."
She looked sideways at him. An uncommon life for something as simple as a plant. Her throat felt thick — plants did that — easing herself back onto flat feet. "You're a strange one, Claud."
"Well, what else is there to do?"