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

There was no use waiting around any longer.

The stout dark bay mare didn't linger as she followed the familiar path to the edge of the Peak territory, and out of view. The terrain had been the only home she'd ever known, and perhaps if the situation had been different, she may have never left at all. But Bozena was gone, as far as Wasp knew. She was the only soul left among the the ridges of the Peak. And Wasp had far too much life left to live to continue holding on to the fleeting hope that Macabre was still alive, or that Cullen would return and she could finally enact her revenge.

It was time to take a hard look at her short existence, and decide what came next for herself.

As such, Wasp abandoned the Peak, and set out across the Meadow and then the Commons, with the shoreline in view. She trudged into the angry, chilly waters, knowing well that dangers lied ahead as she embarked on a vigorous swim to the next neighboring island. It was foolish to make the swim to Tinuvel this time of year. But she'd done it before, as merely a filly. And what choice did she have? Wasp couldn't bear the thought of spending one more lonely night on the mountain by herself.

It was worse the risk.

And so her thick legs cut through the icy waters, her nostrils flaring when she struggled to keep her heavy head above the waterline. The currents were strong and wild, and Wasp was surprised at how tired her body became. Being a half-draft, she was neither lean or light. She breathed a sigh of relief when the hazy mass of Tinuvel came into view.

She washed onto the shoreline of the Bay, her coat dark and sleek with the sheen on saltwater. The sun had yet to rise at this early hour, and she wore the dim light as a cloak as she scampered into the nearby brush to rest.

W A S P