Perhaps she was thinking too much on this. Malva found herself staring at the painting hung across her room, sighing softly to herself as she launched herself against the pillows stacked on her bed. The family portrait had been there for awhile, ever since they made this place their home, to be exact. It was the 8 of them, in Marseilles and it was over 400 years old. For people who almost never stepped one foot outside the Isle, Malva recalled this was one of the only times she was given the chance to scour an entire city for one night. It was a rare case to have the Ailwards out and about, especially when they cannot move around individually for long without slowly deteriorating. It was also the proof of them being a family, once upon a time. It wasn't as if they were no longer a family, but they've been very distant as of late and Malva could feel herself feeling out of it. 

The only times they would ever gather together were during meetings and she was sure her brother tried his best not to call them every week or month. It made her wonder if her family were no longer the family they once were. It didn't help that she had been trying to get away from them either, but after what has happened with her connection to magic, she didn't know what else to do. Octavia remained her only confidant and one of the ones she wouldn't toss an object to, every time people attempt to enter her room. The crumpled papers surrounding her bed were a result from her attempts to create a new spell, only to remain futile as ever. "Usually, I would say nothing… perhaps you're just tired. But it's been months, Mal… get ahold of yourself" she grumbled to herself, she could handle one month or two, but this has been on-going for far too long. And if it continues, then she wasn't sure what else she could do to get back to her old self. 

So she gathered every crumpled piece and threw it into the bin before dragging herself to take a coat and scarf from her closet so she could find her answers elsewhere. Keeping herself cooped up in the room would not do her any good, anyway. Her eyes fell on the picture in her tablet, right, the flower; a flower that she's been dying to get her hands on ever since she heard from Bexley that it was growing nearby. One flower would do her more than enough but if Mal was able to get more than one, she could do some good with it. Just because she could no longer do magic, it doesn't mean she couldn't still practice alchemy and the likes. The Aspect of Magic tucked in the tablet inside her bag alongside her journal and closed the door behind her before making her way downstairs.

 The manor felt so empty and even Christmas last year wasn't able to make it better. Her hair grew longer and she was tempted to cut it but promised not to touch it until she was able to get her magic back. The snow was sticking in and she couldn't believe she would be our searching for a flower in the mountains this early in the morning, especially in the cold. Trekking there wasn't an easy route and the moment she saw where the flower would be at, she knew climbing was inevitable. "How am I supposed to climb… that far up ahead... " she murmured and kept trying to look for a loophole that doesn't require her to climb. The brunette kept pacing back and forth while holding out her gloves, with no proper equipment except a few ropes to climb, how was she supposed to do that?