a new world hangs outside the window
beautiful and strange
it must be I've fallen awake
I must be
This was the first time Wasp had talked to a stranger, a horse she didn't know, all by herself. And of course, it had to be a stallion. That alone kept her senses alert. Wasp felt a tingling sensation creep along her spine every so often, reminding her that the situation in which she was currently in could turn dangerous at any moment. She heard her mother's many lessons and warnings whispering to her in the back of her mind. But she shook her head once, almost violently, in an effort to focus her attention. She could handle this on her own, she determined with a sharp snort. She didn't need to follow the rules her mother had rather strictly laid out for her.
When the stranger mentioned how brave she was, Wasp raised her head a little higher over her withers. It felt good for someone else to notice her spunk and her brazen nature, even if she was unsure about the source. Wasp's dark ears flicked forward and back as she considered his next words. She found herself glancing back over her shoulder occasionally, her amber eyes searching their surroundings for any signs of other horses in the distance. The billowing mist from the falls made it difficult to discern. "My name is Wasp." She finally blurted out, clearly and squarely.
Ruger. What a strange name, Wasp thought. She backed several steps away from him as he moved past her, watching him skeptically as he trudged into the shallow waters. Like Ruger, Wasp's own nostrils flare as he passed by, searching his scent for any signs of familiarity. All she smelled was mud and seawater, nothing of which she recognized. The filly watched quietly as the stallion waded deeper into water, and eventually lowered his head to drink. Her heart fluttered in her chest and she briefly considered high-tailing it back to the Peak. Ultimately, she stayed right where she was.
Eventually the stallion spoke again and Wasp took a few steps closer to toward the bank of the pool. His question nearly stumped her, however. She'd just gotten here, to the Falls. She hadn't even thought about what came next. "I dunno." She said somewhat deflated. "I've been to Tinuvel once. Maybe I'll swim back and explore the woods!" She said with an excited flick of her tail. "What about you?" She asked next, cocking her small head to one side curiously as she stared back at Ruger. "Where will you go?"
W A S P