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

Wasp listened stiffly as the stallion had his say, his desperate eyes wandering to the small, burly mare at his side. Their story was a common one. And while the Prime Minister of the Peak felt a tinge of sympathy for their plight, she was unmoved by their pleas for the Vulcans to step in on their behalf. If this "skjaldmær" felt she was fit enough to lead the Bay, then she should be fit enough to protect her family. But Wasp did not voice her opinions to the mare, despite how bluntly the Bay lead had just spoken to her. The dark bay mare's ears fall back against her poll momentarily as she stomach's Valka's criticism of taking Cullen's herd away from him but leaving him to go free. If she wants so desperately to do it differently, by all means - she was welcome to act on her own accord.

The Prime Minister had lost as much as any - if not moreso - during Cullen's reign of terror. He killed her dam, after all. He targeted her and hunted her down. Wasp watched with her own eyes as her mother's lifeless body fell to the dusty Forest floor. Wasp wasn't done with Cullen yet - he was not about to get off easy for the harm he had caused. Constant strife was not feasible - the Peak was still reeling from the long, exhausting period of war. These horses clearly either weren't here or chose not to participate in that. But the Peak mare would get her revenge in her own time, and in her own way - not on behalf of someone who couldn't do the deed themselves.

Wasp's stony expression remained, until she heard Adelheid approach. Her face softens then, and she whickers hoarsely to her as she joins the conversation. Her amber gaze flicks to her again when she mentions Rade's name. The elder stallion had been mum since he left the Peak. For some time he seemed voracious in his effort to lead the charge of mutiny in the Lagoon. But still, Cullen's tyranny waged on.

"We are sympathetic to your experience." She said flatly, her gaze focused on the stallion now. "I'm sorry about your family, and the impossible choice he's forced on you."

Wasp's eyes fell onto the pony mare then, and she shifted her weight over her four legs. "We are not in a position to hold Cullen prisoner here." She said sternly, leaving no room for misinterpretation. The stallion was dangerous. It was Wasp's job to keep the mares and their foals here - Adelheid's newest addition included - safe within their mountainous borders. Cullen would not set foot in Vulcan territory, not while he was still breathing, at least. While it was troublesome to hear he was recruiting new bachelors, it wasn't all that surprising. It would take him some time to build back his army.

"So please, be explicit in what you are asking us to do."

W A S P