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

Wasp wasn't left to her own devices for long. She trudged through the damp sand toward the treeline. But before she was cast in the canopy's shade a painted mare appeared. The Peak mare almost couldn't believe her amber eyes. "Cherish?" She questioned cautiously, her ears flicking forward and back as she squinted purposely at the mare and her filly. Wasp remembered her well - she was merely a filly then, not much older than the one Cherish harbored at her side now. But the peculiar mare was bubbly, fun and kind. Wasp remembers how uneasy her mother had been, when they met at the Falls those years ago. But Wasp had inherently trusted her. She found a friend in Cherish almost immediately.

The dark mare's quizzical expression was lifted into something much more elated. A warm smile tugged at the corner of her lips and the tension in her bruised muscles began to relax. She flicked her soaking wet tail excitedly over her rump. "I'm not sure if you remember me. My name is Wasp. I met you in the Falls a while ago, with my dam, Macabre." She tried to explain quickly, studying the mare for any semblance of recognition on her face. "Boy is it good to see you." She said with a toss of her head and a reassuring nicker. "You made it out the Lagoon, huh?"

Wasp had almost forgotten where they were - on Luthien of all places. She had so many questions for Cherish, but was patient enough to hold them back, for now. Wasp would be lying if she didn't say she wasn't aching slightly for her mother in this moment. Seeing Cherish after all this time, seemingly happy and free from the clutches of Cullen, gave her hope. Perhaps Macabre had found a similar fate? Or was that just childish, wishful thinking?

Their reunion was quickly expanded to include another slightly familiar face. Wasp watched stoically as a roan mare approached. Wasp recognized the Queen of the Forest almost immediately. Her smile was growing, she couldn't hide it even if she wanted to. She cursed herself for not coming to Luthien sooner. "Persephone - my name is Wasp, I am a warrior of the Peak." She began, her tone and words chosen more carefully and more formally than she'd been with Cherish just minutes before. "We met once, in the Peak. I'm not sure if you remember me. I am the daughter of Macabre, Codebreaker of the Peak." Despite the pride she felt for her mother, it was hard to say her name out loud. She hadn't done it some time, and here she was, referencing her mother twice in one conversation. Maybe this was Wasp's new way of keeping her dam's memory alive. "It's nice to see you again."

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