I had been at yet another treacherous meeting when a familiar wet 'boop' to my ear pulls me from the nicely heated room into one dominated by a freezing breeze. The smokey smell of cooled ash and the nearly complete absence of voices pulls the wool off my eyes rather quickly. Or well, not since... A thin whimper right next to my right ear almost makes me jump into the remains of my fireplace. Very cautiously, I reach for the warm body of now probably entirely crusted over fur. Laika is shaking next to me and manages a low growl that was purposively meant to sound protective and soothing. We lift ourselves off the hard, cool ground at the same

You say home - But a roof completes just a house. Think of an island unsinking in the greatest floods, sturdy through the strongest seas. Smell hot chocolate on an icy winter night, becoming warm cake on a lazy spring day. Taste soothing honey for your aching throat; appeasing tea for your troubled mind. Hear music so warm and familiar, melody removed. Feel solid groundreassuring beneath your uneasy feet, settling after a turbulent ride. You say home - I say heart.