"It's louder than you can imagine," Little John said, making room on the chair if they wanted to revert to earlier in the childhoods and climb up on their parents. "All my friends are, sure, but the world at large. Background noises that never go away, like flocks of birds with the wind roaring in the trees beyond, but also not like that at all. It's brighter, too, polluted with electric light. The first time you see Times Square, it's the strangest magic. Cars come faster than you can imagine, and the smells," he added, with a devious grin, swiping at Bear to pull her close and threaten her with an armpit. "Are you both ready for new smells?"