This was a trip she had thought about making for a few years now. The feeling of helplessness after she had been attacked in the forest had faded, it had been soothed by the idea that she had been young and still had so much to learn. And while she did not feel entirely helpless now, she couldn’t shake the idea of coming here and just trying.

Befriending Gale had taken some of the sting out of losing in the alliance but not all of it. She’d gained something there and yet she had still lost, still failed.

And now, with the world in darkness - with monsters crawling around causing havoc, Mazikeen was willing to take some steps to do whatever she could to be more. To become better equipped to help protect her home and her friends from this and whatever other threats might come their way.

The climb up the mountain is a difficult one and Mazikeen shifts into a snow leopard, utilizing the broad, strong paws to help her navigate the tricky pathways. When she thinks she’s gone high enough, she shifts back into herself - only keeping the feline eyes so she can see more easily. It seems right that she should be (mostly) her natural self as she waits. The words to describe what she wants do not come to her, it is difficult to describe the idea out loud but she holds it in her heart as her orange eyes flicker across the slopes of the mountain and she waits.

The Mazikeen that returns to the mountain is different than the one who descended last winter. There are no tears or cursing this time. There is a steady thrum of nerves as she carefully picks her way up the rocky slopes in the darkness. This quest is a strange thing - she feels more confident in this form, what it can accomplish, but she still recognizes that the ability to shift is a handy tool. It’s not her entire identity like she’d thought a year ago but it can still help keep those she cares about safe.

And there’s a heavier weight to those thoughts now. She’d always been devoted to her friends and now she has become rooted into a home in a way she had never expected to be.

She finds her way to where she had stood last time (or… she’s pretty sure, anyway. The slopes of the mountain all look the same to her now). Mazikeen thinks about using her fire aura to light her way but decides against it - she can, and should, finish this without any tricks at all. Nerves prickle across her skin though she feels an odd sort of calm. One way or another, this is going to end - she survived it and, yeah, it was rough at first but it also might've been just the kick in the ass she needed. Mazikeen hadn’t called out last time and she does not think she’ll have to again - as she waits patiently for the fairy’s judgement on her quest.