Perhaps we don't mean the same thing by choice, Mr Scoresby. Witches own nothing, so we're not interested in preserving value or making profits, and as for the choice between one thing and another, when you live for many hundreds of years you will know that every opportunity will come again. We have different needs. You have to repair your balloon and keep it in good condition and that takes time and trouble, I see that; but for us to fly, all we have to do is tear off a branch of cloud pine; any will do, and there are plenty more. We don't feel cold, so we need no warm clothes. We have no means of exchange apart from mutual aid. If a witch needs something, another witch will give it to her. If there is a war to be fought we don't consider cost one of the factors in deciding whether or not it is right to fight. Nor do we have any notion of honor, as bears do, for instance. An insult to a bear is a deadly thing. To us... inconceivable. How could you insult a witch? Would it matter if you did?

Serafina Pekkala, Northern Lights, His Dark Materials ~ Philip Pullman