Silvertip Mountain daybreak

the mountain does not intimidate arktos, he finds. he had been uncertain when he'd begun to explore it, at first content to remain at the safety of it's base but there was something about it that calls to something deep and wild in the marrow of his bones.

but that was the problem with remembering nothing before ground zero: it wasn't just him and what kind of man he was that he was discovering. it was everything. what land he felt comfortable roaming: the plains, for sure. often, his thoughts go back to the plains ... because it was where he met nephele, because he considered that while they offered no forested area to rest one's head, there was plenty of prey. one of those thick beasts that roamed it could feed a pack for a while.

at some point, arktos' legs had begun to move of their own accord, carrying him up a path that a quick analysis had told him appeared relatively safe. and he climbs and climbs and climbs; losing himself in thoughts and instincts of navigation and survival.

and when he goes as high as he feels comfortable with, he stops on an outcropping, overlooking the glacier and valley below. it yawns before him, a kaleidoscope of colors and topography.

he draws in a deep breath, the air slightly thiner and colder. but the view? it was breathtaking. up here, arktos imagines a man could get lost in his own ego, if he let it. arktos sees the expanse of land below and cannot help but think ( despite that he doesn't believe in any sort of deity ) that this is was a god might see and can feel the power of having this hawkeye'd view; but begins to humble himself by allowing the realization that he is so small in comparison to what he can see of the wilds from up here.

a small rumble of amusement, a half chuckle, lingers in his throat as he settles upon his haunches, not far back enough that the outcropping obstructed his view but not close enough to tempt danger, either. moss green gaze cast out at the land stretching beneath him contentedly, losing himself in memorizing the land.