Sawtooth Spire zweiter teil

"riesen haben die bäume vor langer zeit gebaut," he said with a deadpan quickness in the moments following phaedra's comments.
"für sie sind wir sicherlich alle mäuse." a wink, a harrumph to smother his chuckle; mahler set his eyes upon their path and thought of what other witty things he might say.
"keine sorge," he called up to phaedra. "du bist eigentlich ein mausebär."
this time he could not hide the delight that curved his mouth; mahler, inspired and in spite of his infirmity, struck out a gallop once their terrain had leveled somewhat, setting a haughty clip in the direction of the place his snowpetal had once walked with small paws.
easy now, to forget all that had gone on and all that would remain — 
easy now, to set his jaw and his shoulders and only experience himself and the rush of sagtannet once more. all forgotten for a surrendering swathe of hubris, lasting in the garden of his own mind's eden and finally, panting to a slow and then to a halt, laughing between taking back large draughts of air and searching for the girl with a billowing grin.
would she dash ahead or stop to see how the path narrowed and climbed again? he saw in her the same love of mountains that had been carved into mahler since leaving the coastline; since departing swiftcurrent.
how all things began and ended with wylla.