The portal opened wider than usual, revealing an alpine street where humans walked through fresh snow. Their figures moved slowly through the cold, bundled up in heavy coats. Pipette leaned forward to examine their clothing: large twisted hats, thick scarves, layers of wool… and suddenly, something unexpected.
— “Wait… what is this?” she murmured.
She narrowed her eyes.
On the head of a human child rested a soft band, adorned with two small, fluffy circles, placed on either side of its ears.
Ludo exclaimed:
— "They look like two little clouds for ears!"
Groubelin approached in turn, fascinated.
— “A human invention to keep your ears warm… What genius!”
Pipette laughed softly.
— “They call them… ear muffs .”
Rudolf inclined his head in perplexity.
— “Soft wheels? Sound cushions?”
But before anyone could add a word, the portal vibrated intensely.
A brief flash of light, then a light breeze… and an object crossed the border between worlds.
It was gently placed on the workshop table.
A pair of light grey ear muffs.
Round, fluffy, soft like snow that would never melt.
Pipette touched them with her fingertips.
— “Oh… it’s so… soft.”
Ludo, curious, placed them on his ears.
A perfect silence enveloped him.
He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes.
— “All we can hear is the heat…” he murmured, amazed.
Groubelin slightly averted his gaze, moved without wanting to show it.
— “Humans know how to protect what is fragile. Even the cold cannot touch their ears.”
Rudolf gently placed his muzzle against the ear muffs.
— “They contain a particular gentleness. A human warmth. And I feel… that this warmth can guide us.”
Pipette squeezed the ear muffs against her.
She didn't yet understand how, or why, but something was becoming clear:
Each human object carried a fragment of the answer.
A burst of light.
A breath of comfort.
And perhaps by following all these little signs…
They would eventually find the one they were looking for.