Emi sat on the couch arm beside my chair. I hadn't seen her move there. Her knee pressed against my shoulder through the cushion, warm. She'd braided her sapphire hair again, two braids, and wore a pale blue sundress that she clearly thought was practical and that I clearly thought was a war crime against my concentration. The dress had thin straps. One of them kept sliding. She kept pushing it back up. It kept sliding.
She had a notebook open on her lap. She wrote my name at the top of a fresh page and underlined it twice.
"I'm bringing the big kit," she said, not looking up. "The one with the compartments. And thermal blankets. And the protein bars. And the onigiri, but frozen, because I tested how long they last at minus thirty and the answer is forever but they get crunchy."
"You tested onigiri at minus thirty," I said.
"Natalia helped." She glanced at Natalia. Natalia didn't deny it. "We put them on the windowsill in her room for six hours. Maki ate two."
