Cricket has some very real affection for the both of them. Adia's been openly kind, but Caspar, for all his irascibility, seems to have taken to him, too. It means a lot to Cricket. His attachment to the sandglobe they gave him has a lot more to do with his affection for the both of them than fascination with the sand and the sea.

Willie, on the other hand, is confident than anyone who gets to know her will adore her, and has yet to be proven wrong. Her tail wags frantically at the introduction, and she nuzzles into Adia's hand. She's not the type to lick, though, and she knows not to bark in the library.

Cricket has no qualms about accepting the hug, smiling warmly at her. "Thanks. I missed y'all, too. Probably for the best you wasn't here this winter, though. I think I drank my weight in pine needle tea toward the end."