"Where I so easily could have been snatched up by a hawk or eaten by a...fox or snake or similar," Irene noted, clearly fishing around for what she supposed ate ermines. (They did not seem to be at the top of the food chain, exactly -- though, probably likely agile enough to avoid larger predators, and goodness she did not want to dwell on how appropriate it might have been for her to turn into this particular animal. Clearly it was arbitrary!) "In a way, Amaya, you saved my life."

Dramatic though she was being -- this was, of course, just a setup. She would clearly need to come up with something appropriately lavish as a thank-you gift.