@Vasco ^^ Set vaguely between her talk with DEB and her fight with Eclypse.
Trudging back toward the mountain felt nearly like heading to the executioner. The forests were a welcome reprieve from the slopes, but as she headed nearer and nearer to the looming mountain, Nori felt more and more like she was making a mistake.
It wasn't far-fetched. She'd made a good many mistakes in her life - and far more to come, if her track record held. It wasn't looking good for her so far.
She was heading back up to a grieving Cove, after all. Moon's death was making waves, she knew, and Archer's still weighed heavy on her shoulders. Both losses felt like she was being crushed under a great weight - made her legs feel stiff and her head floaty.
Nori didn't want to go back up the mountain.
But she had to, didn't she? She was welcome there, somehow. Nash had been happy to see her, at least - maybe it would stay that way upon her return. Maybe things wouldn't be as bad as she thought they would.
A clearing came into view and from it, she could see the peaks. Clouds surrounded them, smooth and unnatural-looking, and it gave Nori pause.
If she were a religious wolf, she might've considered this a bad omen.