Silvertip Mountain But lately I'm beginning to find that I should be the one behind the wheel

He had followed the river north into the forest, stopping there for a day to hunt and rest before making his way up the mountain to scout the area on the other side, leaving @Branwen in the forest below; he wasn't sure she was up for the climb or the temperatures in the higher elevation, so he had left her in the safety of the trees while he checked things out. It had been a long time since he wasn't shouldering the weight of a soldier's responsibility, and he couldn't decide how he felt about it. It was honestly a little freeing to be rid of that part of him, like he could finally breathe; his life as soldier had only brought conflict and death--something he used to think he needed to feel productive and useful, but now he wasn't so sure. Over the last few months, he kept thinking there had to be more to life than following orders and killing in the name of a commander; he had to be worth more than that. 

East padded through the snow, finally reaching the top of the mountain. He took a seat, his gaze searching the white grasslands below before raising to take in the peaks of the mountain range in the distance. The sun had started to set behind him, casting his shadow on the ground in front of him and painting the sky in pinks and oranges where it kissed the points of the mountains to the east. This--watching the sky as the sun set--had been a luxury before, his brain usually too preoccupied with the endless duties and anxieties that filled his waking hours to stop and enjoy such things. So now, he would do just that. Who knew what tomorrow would bring.