Mount Apikuni an easy distraction

Njal considered himself to be a helpful and kind individual. He had always been that way - even when he was stranded from his home, in a place that did not feel, smell, or even sound like the Russian mountain from whence he came. Yet time had taken it's toll on his spirit; he was far more reserved now, withdrawn, and moody. Perhaps it was age that had ruined him. He was resistant to the help of this stranger despite her obvious lack of flaws; she had not even trespassed upon their initial encounter, but his zeal had been too much to bare. Njal was not as kind as he perceived himself to be. He was being a bratty old man, and it took time for the idiot to see it. When the woman canted her muzzle towards the smooth surface of a natural path, Njal almost ignored her. He turned his muzzle away as if the motion was unseen -

and then, slowly, he began to creep towards it.

It was easy enough to reach, and the stability afforded by the path was enough to allow him to stand straight. He looked around the area swiftly, perhaps for rocks which could serve as obstacles to trip upon, and was satisfied when he found little in the way of irritants. His gaze locked upon the golden woman then, and he gave a small nod of thanks - a bitter movement, which may have been received poorly judging by how lethargic an effort was put forth. Njal allowed himself to stoop his head a little lower upon reconsideration - and he even curled his tail down against the path, where it remained. She clearly knew what she was doing on the mountain, and even if he did not agree with the submission, it would keep him from falling to his potential ruin.

His ears flicked forward, cupping the silence that spread between them now that the rocks had stopped tumbling. Maybe it was her help that prompted a sort of truce to be offered, or maybe he was simply repaying the debt that her lesson had created between them. But Njal spoke up, suddenly. His voice thick with an accent of a faraway land, and crackling with dusty disuse. "Have you reconsidered my offer?" He called to her, while canting his head in a display of curiosity. If she could teach him to move on the mountain, he could teach her to fight upon it - and they would both grow stronger.