"Enough of your needling! I'm off!"

After awkwardly scrambling into the saddle without assistance, Zukka gives the beast a harsh kick to the ribs, sending it forward with a leap and a grunt.

The beastmaster is left behind in a flurry of kicked up snow, watching as Zukka disappears down a hill in a shower of kicked up snow.

'Fucking prick...!'

Snow was nearly up to the beast's belly as it trudged along a well traveled road. Evergreen trees dotted the landscape, collecting in a vast forest in the distance. He couldn't see the fortress in the distance, but knew it was there, off behind some mountains and cliffs, behind rocks and trees, a long path to travel, indeed.

The road to the fortress would be long, but it wasn't the dangers of the region that had Zukka worried. Boredom was more likely to prey upon him than some physical entity. The entirety of Keros knew his name, thanks to Father.

Only those with a **** wish would attempt to harm him, and even if they tried, Zukka is confident in his magical prowess and would destroy anyone that stood in his way.

...which is why when he was approaching a ruined structure, just off to the side of the road and to his right, he felt a tingle in the back of his neck, he cautioned a glance in the structure's general direction.