After Brightbill finishes recounting his difficult winter migration, Brightbill and Roz sit quietly together. They reflect on Longneck’s death, the human who killed him, the farms, cities, and factories Brightbill saw, and the unresolved question of where Roz truly belongs.

Roz then tells Brightbill about her own winter. Roz describes hibernating in darkness, waking to the Nest collapsed around her, enduring blizzards, finding frozen animals, building many lodges, and losing one lodge to fire.

Roz emphasizes that the most important part of her winter was the friendships she formed while Brightbill was away. Roz admits she had feared Brightbill was the only animal who would ever care about her, but she discovered that the island animals accepted and liked her.

Brightbill reassures Roz that the animals naturally like her because she is unusually kind and likable. Having seen many robots during migration, Brightbill understands that none are like Roz: no other robot he saw spoke with animals, saved an island from winter, or adopted a gosling. Brightbill recognizes that Roz is truly special.