harsh = hard = difficult ≠ easy

war-torn (adj)= ravaged by war

precarious ≠ sturdy

threatening = that makes you feel unsafe

dubious= untrustworthy, unreliable.

an asylum: a place where you're safe (-> political asylum, mental asylum)

charcoal = burnt wood used to heat, cook, or have a barbecue.

a twig= a thin piece of wood used to start a fire

a meadow= a piece of grassland

a shrub= a woody plant smaller than a tree

a stretch of land = a part of land

an area = a space, a part of a town, a village...

to apply for (a job, political asylum...)= to ask for, to express that you want something

to surround = to be around 

to flee = to run from, to escape from

to vet = to verify, or check for accuracy, authenticity, validity. 

to settle = to make a house and, maybe, a home. 

Fate = le destin

a smuggler : someone who takes a person into another country for money

wherever : où que ce soit (ex: Wherever I am, I'll be happy with a tablet of chocolate.)

immersive: that takes the reader/viewer in and makes him/her feel as if they were living it

heterodiegetic narrator: a 3rd person narration 

homodiegetic narrator: a first-person narration

viewers = people who watch

a cartoon