a new world hangs outside the window
beautiful and strange
it must be I've fallen awake
I must be

One slender ear lobe flicks forward before coming to rest lazily along the side of her head when Rougaru breaks his silence. He seems amicable enough, humoring her with an equally casual response to herrather informal comment about the terrain. The mare considers this carefully and curiously as she flicks her thick, wavy tail across her rump. Unlike her dam, Wasp was anything but petite. Her sire's draft bloodlines ran through her, and as such she was tall at the withers and thickly built all around. Her legs were wide and stout like tree trunks, and her flat hooves followed suit. Her head was thick and boxy like a northern plow horse. She towered over her mother before she'd reached yearling age.

Nevertheless, this stallion rooted out the similarities. Wasp was careful, of course, about the information she gave away about herself. She'd learned this from Macabre and tested the theory on Tinuvel. Land-owning horses seemed to be more forgiving when they saw her merely as another soul with a job to do, on her way to something else.

She raises her head slowly, high above her withers, and stares down her nose at him, when he begins his slow approach. But Wasp doesn't budge, she watches as he extends his muzzle and neck to her, and Wasp nickers kindly in response. She then follows his lead, her nostrils flaring once in close proximity, as she takes in his scent. She takes note of the way he seems to relax, resting one hind ankle for a moment and she decides to do the same. Her head comes to rest lower, more in line with her withers, and she chews quietly on nothing but air.

But when he speaks of the Peak, and of her mother, Wasp can't begin to hide the shock on her face. A chill runs down the length of her spin and the muscles underneath her sleek, dark bay hide bunch in surprise. She snorts once as she tries to gather her thoughts and keep her composure. "How did you know --" She begins with a curious cock of her head. "That I was from the Peak?" She wants to play it cool, of course, until she gathers more information from him. If Macabre was here - and with Cherish, that delightful mare they'd met in the Falls so long ago - that could only mean Macabre managed to escape from the Lagoon. She tries to hide the very pleased smirk from her lips as quickly as she can. Her heart is beating so fast in her chest, she barely catches the stallion's name at all. "I'm Wasp. On behalf of the Peak, we thank you for providing our sisters with safe passage." She offers with the slight dip of her head. "Not many stallions take kindly to mares who choose to live outside of the traditional herd structure." She rambles, her amber eyes reaching his as she gauges his reaction to such a statement. "We won't forget it."

W A S P