Could someone explain what this modal verb actually means here?
I loved hanging out by the campfire after dark. I loved the way bits of fire dust would float up and disappear into the night air. And how the fire lit up people's faces. I loved the sound the fire made, too. And how the woods were so dark that you couldn't see anything around you, and you'd look up and see a billion stars in the sky.
1) Making a polite request - it just doesn't fit in both cases 2) Talking about the future in the past - I suppose it's possible to read the second example this way (because when woods were so dark guy hadn't seen stars in the sky, then he'll look up and from the point of now he said that phrase with 'would') 3) Using conditionals. 4) past habits I think the first example could mean habitual behavior of the fire dust (because the action was repeated more that one time)