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

Rougaru was immediately kind. His words are not lost of her, and Wasp breathes a heavy sigh of relief as they stand together on the beach, the tension slowly dissipating from her bunched muscles. The dark mare wasn't usually one for physical affection, but she did not recoil when the silver bay stallion reached out to her shoulder. She smiled sweetly at him, genuinely happy to see him and to feel like she wasn't a bother.

They walk for some time, their pace only slowing as the pain in her shoulder continues to ache. But Wasp only halts once Rougaru speaks next. His message is short, but it cuts right through her. "And?" She snorts once at him, too proud to look him in the eye, and pins her ears. He makes her wait for an explanation, but her amber eyes flick to him when he follows up with another question. Wasp's jaws clench as she considers what he's saying. Yes, Cullen had beaten her. But Rougaru was right, she mulled. She wasn't done yet.

Wasp gives him her full attention, her eyes trained on his, as he explains the history of his own hardship. And then his message really dawns on her. She took a moment to look around, at the jungle around them and the beautiful beach, his mares grazing in the distance. Life din't just hand all of this to him. He fought, and he had to earn it. She took in a deep breath as he mind worked its way around this.

"I guess I'm just feeling sorry for myself." She admits with a short flick of her tail. "I feel like I'm letting everyone down."

She explains, but she's tired of hearing the whimper in her own voice. She snorts again, this time, at herself. "But you're right." She says, lifting her heavy head a little higher. "I've got to do better." She offers him a weak smile, but one filled with gratitude. "So you got any sparring tips?"

W A S P