Since reuniting with Ophie, Kaija found it hard to want to stray too far from the Armada's lands. And who could blame her? She'd considered Ophie her best friend practically since the day they met and even time and distance hadn't made that feeling fade. If anything, it'd only made her feelings grow even stronger, the depth of which Kaija wasn't entirely sure she knew what to do with. If she kept moving though there wasn't any time to stop and think about how she felt or what it meant - and that was precisely what she decided she'd do.

All she'd wanted for ages now was to take Ophie on an adventure, and she'd somehow convinced her to go on a tiny little trip. It wasn't what she'd asked her for last time, to up and leave her family and obligations behind for good, but it was better than nothing. A little day or two away to go climb a mountain and see some pretty sights. Kaija knew exactly where she wanted to go with her, even though she hadn't climbed quite so high herself, and she was ready. She just hoped Ophie was as excited as she was to spend some time together away from her pack. Just the two of them.

The mountain loomed tall overhead as they approached it, a craggy stretch of stone that was still capped with snow. These mountain peaks were intimidating but it was in a comforting sort of way, and Kaija beamed as they began their slow ascent, looking back to make sure Ophie's spirits were as high as hers right now. "You ready?" She didn't care at all if Ophie slowed her down... if anything, she secretly hoped that their journey took an excruciatingly long time. Because that would mean more time with her and deep down that was exactly what Kaija wanted.

Ophie was excited, thrilled to go out on an adventure. A thousand leagues better than just standing around the borders and chatting, feeling as though there was a line between them, still worlds apart. But um, the mountain in question Kaija wanted to explore was tall, real tall. Probably too much for Ophie's pudgy form to take, her legs felt heavy just looking at it. and Kaiaja wanted to scale all the way to the very top!

"Ha ha yeah! Why wouldn't I be?" Her laugh was flatter than she intended, dread building in her throat, hard to swallow. "You're uh...not in any rush right? Don't have anywhere else to be?" Hopefully not, Ophie wasn't keen to get back to work, back to being judged and squinted at. "I mean if you do I'll try to be quick but you know..." She gave herself a shake, tummy pudge wobbling.

This was their day and it was going to be awesome, no matter how it went or how far they really ended up climbing. While Kaija wanted to make it as close to the top as possible, show Ophie some beautiful sights and show her just how incredible the mountains were, she never really cared where she ended up. The journey was way more important. Kaija gave a little shrug and brushed off Ophie's question, which felt more rhetorical than anything else, as they started their climb. At least she did - she cast a glance back at Ophie, expecting her to follow, and Kaija would slow her pace to let her friend catch up. Any sign of Ophie getting tired and she'd gladly stop and let her catch her breath, hundreds of times if that was what she needed.

Talk about down bad.

"No rush," she finally clarified, giving an amused little snort. "For you, I have all the time in the world." Kaija explained and immediately felt like she'd said something stupid. She was used to opening her mouth and letting the words just come out without thinking much, but maybe that wasn't always the best way to be around Ophie. Seemed like she might say more than she meant to without thinking. "I mean. I don't have anywhere to go. We can take our time, I promise."

Kaija gave her tusked head a little shake, redirecting her gaze forward. The low slopes of this mountain wouldn't be tough for them to conquer but it seemed they grew treacherous fairly quickly. She just hoped Ophie could make it decently far, though if they had to turn around Kaija wouldn't complain either.

Oh that was good, cause Ophie believed that slow and steady won the race! Or at least....won a prize for participating, that still counted, right? She huffed and puffed, following after her friend with little waddling steps. She was doing okay, as long as they kept at a reasonable pace she probably wouldn't pass out. And maybe if she did...Kaija could carry her, she was awfully big and strong after all....AHEM.

"The north really suits you. You look all...big and fluffy." It was her attempt at a compliment, cause Kaija did in fact look good.  "Which I..uh not saying you looked bad when your coat was thinner or anything it's just...well you look like you're happy here. In your element."

Heck. Ophie didn't know when to shut up, did she? Just keep plodding.

Truly it didn't matter if it took a whole lifetime to reach the top of the peak, so long as she had Ophie at her side. Normally she wouldn't like being slowed down but she knew Ophie was doing her best and really that was all that mattered to her. Kaija had never really viewed Ophie the way her family did - her closest friend was plenty capable and could do whatever she set her mind to. There was nothing else to it, as far as she was concerned.

"Yeah?" Though she wouldn't read too much into the approval she was mighty pleased with a compliment, and it was good one at that. The north really did feel like home, much more than the west ever had. Here, she felt free. "What about you, though? Are you happier here, you think?" Ophie deserved to be as happy as Kaija, and she wondered for a moment if she knew just how badly she wished that for her friend. They continued the climb, closer now but still a good distance from where she wanted them to end up.

Ophie toddled along, keeping pace with her friend who was kind enough to take it slow, to make sure she didn't get left behind Kaija was great like that, Kaija was great in general. Ophie was quick to nod, she meant everything she said or didn't speak-unless she was trying to appease people then...Well it wasn't like that with Kaija, she didn't judge her like everyone else. It was free and open between them, you get what you get and love it all the same.

"I don't mind it. I'm never gonna freeze out here with all my tub." She laughed a little, her eyes crinkling at the edges.  "I do kinda miss how things used to be, but change can be a good thing. That's what I want to believe."

Oh poor sweet Ophie, how little she knew.

"So do you have a spot in mind or something?"

Things between them always felt right to Kaija, in a way being around other wolves had never felt for her. That was why she seemed to orbit Ophie, finding her no matter where she ended up. This time she was especially glad she'd made her way north and reunited with her closest friend, though spending more time with her made her wonder how she'd stray far from her at all.

Right now, though, she wasn't thinking about any time they might spend apart. Not when being together felt this good.

She let out an amused laugh at Ophie's words, nodding. "Yeah, change can be good. It just takes time to get used to change sometimes, at least for me," she admitted, which she realized might sound a little strange. Some types of change were easy, like waking up somewhere new each day, but other things felt much, much harder for her. But she didn't want to get into all of that right now.

Her friend's question brought a mischievous sparkle to her eye and she grinned big. "Maybe," was all she said. She'd rather keep the view a surprise, even if it took them a while to get there.

And it did. Much longer than she expected it to take, but it meant more time with Ophie and that was what she really wanted more than anything. By the time they reached the peak even Kaija was tired so she knew her friend would be exhausted, but hopefully, it was worth the day-long climb.

The view was breathtaking, even more so than Kaija had expected. She'd nearly reached this height before but she'd never come this way. She expected a view, but nothing like… this. Though the clouds seemed to stretch down toward the ground and obscured the view she'd been hoping for, what she saw was even better. A flattened stretch of mountaintop led to a crumbling old temple, somewhat similar to places she'd seen before but… somehow much grander.

Only gawking slightly at what lay ahead of them, she turned to face Ophie, trying to hide her surprise "So… whatcha think?" Maybe if she played it smooth she could act like she'd been expecting this place, but she wasn't so good at hiding how she felt about anything, especially around Ophie.