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

It felt oddly good to have something else to focus on besides her intense grief, if only for a few minutes. This dramatic scene playing out in front of her zapped away the overwhelming cloud that had hungover her since the war ended. For the first time in weeks, it was as if Wasp could finally see clearly again. So she threw herself all-in to the situation.

The Peak warrior listened to the first mare, the one who just stumbled in here with the stallion hot on heels, with great interest. Her amber eyes studied her demeanor, which seemed on edge and frightened, to some degree. What the mare described were classic bully-like tactics stallions were so apt to use to get their way. And this lightly-splashed stud seemed totally flabbergasted that anyone would deem his callous behavior as anything but just and polite. Wasp snorted as Coda finished her say, and she cast a skeptical glare at the other mare, Adelheid, who stood stoically in their presence. She too, seemed to be soaking it all in.

Adelheid spoke first, and Wasp grit her teeth. The mare was in no position to be offering any kind of bargain. She held no position of power here, nor did Wasp really know if she was resident here anyway. But the dark mare held her tongue, listening to the explanation she offered Solomon. Something about the way he spoke to them - as if they were lesser to him, despite him standing in their territory - made her guts churn hot.

Despite Wasp's annoyance with Adelheid's bold attempt to speak for the entire Vulcan herd, what the mare offered was not unsound or uncharacteristic of what any Peak mare would offer another in need. No, the Peak did not negotiate, especially with stallions like Solomon. Wasp's amber gaze flitted to Adelheid and back to Solomon, as she waited for the stallion to respond.

In the meantime, she nickered to Coda reassuringly. "If you need our help, we will help you."

W A S P