Adelheid took a deep breath to steady her nerves. It was possibly the first time she decided to purposefully leave her children in the care of another. She had left the duo in the care of Wasp or Herza with the stern order to behave. Her daughter’s all too sweet smile and promise of obedience assured Adelheid that whoever had taken up the duty of watching them was going to have an interesting time.

The Codebreaker trotted briskly along the borders of the Peak, letting the sense of familiarity comfort her. She had not formally been on a patrol since her daughter had been born, much less when she was chasing two foals all around the trails and paths that could lead to danger. Still, she had been around enough to be able to recognize sight and scent of those who had been lingering in the Peak either by choice or by capture.

In the lower hills of the mountains she came across a scent she did not recognize. A scent that was distinctly male. She hissed in barely controlled anger, her ears pinning back against her neck and burying in her thick black mane. Stallions. she growled venomously. Her dark form cantered across the hills, a warrior’s body that had grown thick with foal seasons before had started to return to its lean stature. She was on the colt swiftly, her hooves pounding against the hard ground. When she saw his small painted body she slid to a halt and cursed.

A foal. The boy was no more than two years, hardly having grown into his hooves. Still, Adelheid’s teeth gritted hard. You seem to be lost. Her voice was chilled, but lacked the biting anger or malice she would have unleashed on an intruding stallion. Do you know where you are? The Vulcan figured she could try to get a reading on the boy before she passed a verdict on what could have been an innocent mistake. Still, she did not take kindly to intruders on the Peak’s land. Lessons needed to be taught early and if this colt was new to the islands, he had a lot to learn in a short amount of time.