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Nekharat arrived at the base of the Peak, her strong and narrow frame rippling with purpose in every step. With her long neck held upright and her nose pointed into the breeze, she wasted no time in releasing a call to the Vulcan leaders who might have been nearby.

She hoped for Wasp’s presence especially, given all that Solomon had told her in her recent visit to the Cove—a failed outing to find the buckskin mare and her attempted captor, Shaydowfax. Upon her arrival, she had learned rather quickly that the mare was gone, and in her place was a large stallion with a herd of substantial size. He immediately made his profound distrust for the Vulcans known, and particularly Wasp, given that she had made several attempts to disrupt his family.

Naturally, Nekharat found this news upsetting, but she also took it with a grain of salt. It was not productive to accuse Solomon of being a liar while she stood as a guest within his territory—even if that were the case. Instead she had been as diplomatic as she could be, listening and learning. So naturally, she hoped that Wasp might clear the air and explain her reasons for allegedly stealing his mares away.

A secondary issue, which had not wholly been answered, was why there were so many restless stallions still held captive among the expanse of the Peak. It was clear they were growing restless, and even some went so far as to challenge for their freedom. The red mare understood that there had been a war going on, but was it not over now? And was this now a time of peace? In either case, she wished that knew more about the circumstances surrounding their captivity and why such a thing was the rightful choice.

NEKHARAT