"Oh, no, that's not part of the prayer. I'm just not hungry. Want it?" The mouse was also supplied helpfully, squeaking desperately as he held it out by the tail.

He glances down from the sun again to look at Chris - customs here just got stranger every day. No prayers? But daily affirmations were important, too, so he figured that was okay.

"Praying is really easy. The Smiling God will listen, even if we're far away from Desert Bluffs...maybe he'll have some advice about what's going on. If you pray really hard, and you look into the light...sometimes, you can hear his beautiful, rumbling, archaic voice."