Only a couple of years, all told, but a blink when compared to the lifespan of the viera. I once tried to invite her to a tea party and she insisted she was 'too old' for that. I was rather shaken!

[He laughed fondly. Oh, it really did feel like a blink, as he himself remained for over a century. He wondered how many non-viera got to see their long-eared friends and family grow up.

In answer to her question, he shrugged. He set to work cutting the butter into the flour.]

Well... I recall their mother spoke of a stew she made the other day, containing frogs and various ingredients I couldn't imagine an everyday sparrow would normally consume.