He'd gone north again, but why, he wasn't sure. Perhaps he simply needed the cool air in his lungs, the touch of snow across his brow to clear his head, the assurance of a steadfast glacier.. some kind of reminder of who he was, now that his world had turned itself upside down. Why was it that his heart had thawed when surrounded by snow, but the touch of a salty breeze had kept him on the right course? Among the trees and sun-burned fog he'd been ready to tear into Torasin, subtly mocking him, ready to spring after and send ice into him — and when he met him again, alone and vulnerable in the Deep Forest.. he killed him by accident. It was laughable, but all the same, that was how it'd gone, and he still didn't know what to make of it.. what to feel about it. He knew what he should feel, and it troubled him that he didn't.

Warily he slipped in among the dark rocks, hoofing along the pass he'd walked a million times before, the ice slick and snow-covered. Irma rode the winds, unconcerned by his emotional turmoil, and rather pointedly ignoring his confused mess of thoughts. Flashes of Torasin, Kiba, fire, Sól, more fire... A smoke-sigh slipped into the cold winter air, adding to the frost already lacing his whiskers, and the moment he stepped into the Basin he stopped dead in his tracks.

The valley spread out before him as usual, pristine white with the rugged shadows of beaten patrol paths, so different from the southern realms, but it was not the heart-wrenching, perfect beauty of the secret paradise that took his breath away and forced him to an awkward halt.

No; it was the sight of a massive, heavenly creature, colored in the cold-gray tones of winter, her dark ears sweeping among the clouds and her too-many paws grounded in the snow carpet. Tails fell heavily from her backside, her face so far above him. He was nothing compared to her, and even the Gods were nothing — small, insignificant, as she was huge and beautiful, glorious and terrible, winter embodied, a merciless predator, but so lovely to look upon. Awed breaths slipped out of his nostrils, silently counting the time; Irma had alighted upon an outcrop, her piercing stare upon the magnificent creature, wondering who she was, why she was here, and Mauja wondered much the same. Was he still Lord here, in spirit? Was he supposed to go down to her by the lakeside, stand by one of her infinitely huge paws, and welcome her?

Surely not. If anything, he felt like they were living in her home — he had no right to welcome her here, had he?
Cautious, but curious, Mauja began to draw closer to the massive cat.

[ -excited- you're welcome to post and be in the distance, which means you'll be unceremoniously skipped until this is over :3, when you can come and say hi (unless she eats him lmao xD) ]

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