A Question Of Climate.

walking the dog today, the meagre sun not half-awake, the light snow coated everything once more, and every step was set off with the harsh plastic crinkle of re-frozen flakes. Stink-Dog inevitably raced to the beck at the bottom of the road. It must've been cold - there was no rolling over in the middle of the flow, and only some bounding after sinking sticks. For the rest of our stroll, the tiny, perfect icicles queued along his underside tinkled as he walked. And he had the smartest christmas beard I've ever seen.

I have a question. Should Alex have a voice, or telepathic powers, or should he be a silent, solo type. Initially, I didn't want him to have a voice; so many parents get pissed when reading 'make believe' so obviously not grounded in fact or possibility, and some kids nowadays don't seem to buy it either. But everyone knows about the power of a person's teddy, surely, and for there to be no connection would be, well, wrong. On the other hand, uniform telepathy isn't exactly true to form either; have you ever known a bear who's understood by everyone he meets? Selective telepathy, then? But then it gets complicated, and would the readers understand and empathise with this part-time communication skill?