The short daylight hours gave way to a darkening evening, and the overcast skies shifted their intermittent drizzle into a light snow. She'd come down from the higher slopes earlier after having spent a day there alone to track, revel in the quiet and recollect herself, but dedication summoned her back in time. The northern borderlands were her destination, and despite the slick conditions, she expertly maneuvered the mountain.

In secret, she was left feeling.. introspective. More so than usual, so this made it troublesome to her personally. Blaming the longest nights of the year, she oscillated between a thirst for company and the exact opposite. She felt questionably surly at times, but at others, she thought far too much of the wolves she was close to and the other bonds she had fostered -- both past and present. She also knew somewhere along the week of the solstice marked the anniversary of her birth, so that was something else to consider. She'd persisted for another year, give or take a day or two most likely since she had no concept of that exactly, but it was always worth noting.. to herself alone, at least.

Through it all, she realized what all had changed, what she had, what she didn't, and what she ought to do with knowing this.

But to focus, she'd reached the forested stretch of mountain just as the snows seemed to pick up. It was a relatively mild snowfall compared to being this far into winter and the flakes were struggling to stick, especially here in the cover of the trees. She reasoned that maybe, as the night deepened, they may accumulate eventually if this kept up steadily. A glance skyward seemed to suggest this was quite possible, but she knew that it could change with very little warning.

She remained unphased and dutifully refreshed some borderland scents. Once she got into the groove of the patrol, her mosey began to grow more purposeful, and a musky trail marked the path behind her.