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Steel blue eyes panning towards every possible direction, Maria's interest in this snow covered woodland began to diminish. Everything sort of just looked the same; branches layered with snow, fallen trees coated in ice, and the certain patches of grass Maria always found herself slipping on. Seeing the same things over and over again got a bit annoying after a while, especially since she didn't know if she was near the end of this never ending forest or far, far from it. Maria unwillingly assumed the latter. 

As of now Maria sat on a sturdy branch of one of the many tall trees in the forest, her back against the trunk and her legs dangling off the branch. Her single motivation that she was keen on completing - something that rarely ever came about - was getting out of this [i]dammed forest[/i]. She had been walking this land for days. Or weeks perhaps? Maybe even a [i]month[/i]? Had she been looking at this mostly white scenery for so long that it caused her sense of time to wash away?

No, that didn't matter now. What mattered was her getting out of this eerie forest of frost. Time wasn't of much concern anymore; what mattered was the present. Getting a clearer view from above the trees would give her some insight on where she was and how far she was from escaping this icy land. [i]And[/i] perhaps seeing the frozen forest from the top of a tree would refresh her mind a little bit. This whole snow covered bark thing was getting old real fast.

The cold had not affected her muscles as much as she expected, but that only gave Maria a speedier escape up the tree with her powerful legs. Originally she wasn't far from the top, so reaching it wouldn't take time. Something like this was no trouble for Maria. It actually came as a surprise to how adept she was at the whole tree climbing thing.

As soon as her head popped up from the branches, a chilly rush of wind tousled her unbrushed hair back into an even more tangled mess. The landscape was as she predicted; like the skeletal snow covered remains of a forest. However, the wind from up there felt crisp from the cold yet somewhat fresh, as if the forest was still in its luscious green state. Closing her eyes, she could almost visualize what she felt in this breeze. When was the last time she felt this at peace?

The moment would be short lived though, as the careless movement of her foot ended up in her tumbling down the tree. As if out of pure instinct, Maria reached for her wooden weapon and fell in between two conveniently placed branches, her bō now caught on top of the bark. With a sigh, Maria stayed suspended in the air, not a hint of discomfort on her face; instead, a rather unimpressed expression.

Soon, the woman would let go. The distance between her and the ground wasn't as big anymore, yet the thud that she heard when she fell to the ground was noticeably loud. Her trusty Stick soon followed.

Maria lay there, still, and unmoving. She recalled the sight of the supposedly desoltae land, and sighed. It was clear from the sheer numbers of trees she saw scattered across for miles that she wouldn't be getting out of this place any time soon. Maybe she would try later. Or tomorrow? It wasn't like there was a time limit for her to get out of this eerie woodland; Maria had all the time in the world. But just thinking about the long walks she would have to take to escape made her drowsy.

Not even the low temperatures could stop Maria from slipping into yet another deep slumber, making her totally unaware of anything and everything going on around her. Well, it wasn't like there [i]was[/i] anything across this stretch of frosty trees that could possibly disturb her deep slumber. This eerily silent area of snow had the perfect sleeping atmosphere; there wasn't a thing that would, or could wake up Maria now.

Right?