"I had it made," he admitted, a little regretful. "I wish I had the skill to make you this with my own hands... but I could never make something so beautiful. At least I contributed the raw materials for it though, coins from a foreign world," he temporized earnestly. "But yes, Sam, I had the horse made specifically for you, because of our first adventure together." He tilted his chin, smiling warmly at his friend. "You were my first friend here. I want you to know how much that has meant to me. Without you - and Isla, too," he hurried to add, not wanting to leave the lovely doctor out. "Without the two of you, I would have been, well, a lot lonelier." And Rory, of course, but he didn't know how to talk about that bond in human words when so much of it was tied up in complex emotions that hadn't needed words before.
The idea of tea at the shop would have been lovely - and still would be, later - if the squirrels hadn't chosen that moment to begin their chase. They didn't seem bothered by Sam's writing, too caught up in their own game - dispute? - but they didn't come near enough to the humans to be caught, either. Jigano retrieved his own notebook, jotting down a written description asSamuel handled the diagram end of things. "Could be," he said absently as he wrote. "Could be courting, too. Some animals mate in the winter so they can have their young in the spring when food is more plentiful." He nibbled his lip, glancing up as the pair scampered back into the shadows of the trees. "Did you catch how many eyes the one in front had? I counted four but there might have been a fifth higher up on its head..."
The idea of tea at the shop would have been lovely - and still would be, later - if the squirrels hadn't chosen that moment to begin their chase. They didn't seem bothered by Sam's writing, too caught up in their own game - dispute? - but they didn't come near enough to the humans to be caught, either. Jigano retrieved his own notebook, jotting down a written description as
