She didn't know when it had all fallen apart, but it had. She'd watched with jaded eyes as Oswin put herself up for re-election, and had stubbornly stayed away when it came time for voting. She'd known it was petty and childish, behavior not even fit for a foal let alone a grown mare running around calling herself a General... and yet she couldn't take it back. Granted, not even in her wildest dreams had she considered that the rest of the Peak would be just as silent as she had been.

Watching Oswin step down had been a blow to Róisín's perception of reality, and now that they were - once again - leaderless, she felt confused and adrift. What were they supposed to do now? The same thing of course... she knew that logically it didn't matter if they had a leader or not, their mission remained unchanged. But being leaderless in the wake of direct attacks did not bode well and it made the little dun uneasy.

Each new attack wore away at Róisín's belief that there was good in the world, but nothing compared to having to watch Kolfinna being driven away by the little black stallion while Saul stood sentry at her side, silent tears dripping down his cheeks. Róisín had watched her mother make that same terrifying swim to a situation that was likely to be dire and felt herself grow small and helpless all over again.

She'd nearly followed Oswin's example and abdicated her position, but the yoke of responsibility kept her chained. She might be a failure, but she might be the only failure that could even attempt to mount a defense for the few remaining Peak members, and so until she found her replacement or the sisters elected a new Prime Minister... she was stuck.

In the wake of Kolfinna's absence, Róisín's routine had changed. Where she once spent hours on the mountain tops training her body to race up and down the Peaks without fear, she now spent the majority of her time trotting loops around the territory's border. Her physique had grown lean and hard, with hardly a single ounce of fat to soften the harsh outline of her musculature. Her eyes, too, had grown more wild and guarded, and rarely rested on those that she spoke to for long in favor of hunting through the scenery for any other offenders. Surprise had not been the only factor in her loss against Fell, but it was something she was determined to not be caught out by again.

Mid-morning found her in a rare moment of quiet as she grazed near the border of the Crossing, soaking in the last of fall's faltering rays before winter returned to blanket the land in ice and snow. She didn't know if any others remained in the Peak beyond Saul given that her patrols kept her mostly away from the heart of their territory, but should one of the sisters (or their offspring) move close, she would lift her head and nicker warmly to them in greeting.