when she laughed , he lifted his hand and touched her cheek with the back of one finger . three more men bore down on him so he turned and ran , keeping distance between them . no knights called one another by their first name , not unless their relationship was one of other than professional peers . you knew and you went anyway . then she took a deep breath and stepped onto the platform that had been pushed up to the hatch . snow is different individually yet sticks together at the end of its journey . 