February 04, 2015, 06:22 PM
As dusk dragged the sky from rose to crimson to deep navy, #97 stretched his wings and bumped a comrade, #102, who was still sleeping. The myotis winced as #102 came to with an irritated squawk. In response, #97 detached from the rocky ceiling and plunged downward to land easily upon the stone floor, where crickets waited for his open jaws. He spun a cloak of echoes around himself, visualizing in sharp clarity every fellow bat prowling the ground, as well as every brainless cricket.
He fed as well as he could—food wasn't exactly plentiful yet, since the colony was usually still hibernating this time of year—and then launched himself into the night with powerful, impossibly quick strokes of his thin wings. He dodged trees with expert blasts of sound to illuminate his way and glided out over the foothills. Beating his wings hard, #97 climbed swiftly and followed a pass through The Sunspire, emerging on the other side after only a few hours of flight.
Trimming his wings close to his body, the golden bat dipped down over Kintla Flatlands and sped toward the nearest place he could roost: Ravensblood Forest. The world passed quickly by in silvery blurs in his mind, perfectly sharp despite the blurry grey vision his eyes lent him. Selecting a large oak, #97 dove, coming in fast, and flipped midair at the last second to gingerly grab the branch with his hind claws.
He hung there, breathing hard, and widely opened his mouth to send out nearly inaudible sonar pulses, painting himself a vivid mental image of his current location.
He fed as well as he could—food wasn't exactly plentiful yet, since the colony was usually still hibernating this time of year—and then launched himself into the night with powerful, impossibly quick strokes of his thin wings. He dodged trees with expert blasts of sound to illuminate his way and glided out over the foothills. Beating his wings hard, #97 climbed swiftly and followed a pass through The Sunspire, emerging on the other side after only a few hours of flight.
Trimming his wings close to his body, the golden bat dipped down over Kintla Flatlands and sped toward the nearest place he could roost: Ravensblood Forest. The world passed quickly by in silvery blurs in his mind, perfectly sharp despite the blurry grey vision his eyes lent him. Selecting a large oak, #97 dove, coming in fast, and flipped midair at the last second to gingerly grab the branch with his hind claws.
He hung there, breathing hard, and widely opened his mouth to send out nearly inaudible sonar pulses, painting himself a vivid mental image of his current location.
February 04, 2015, 06:37 PM
Something startled Ultraviolet awake, though as she jumped to her feet and dove from her nest, she detected no imminent threat. Heck, the forest was still relatively quiet, punctuated by the occasional chirp: the flock's earliest risers. The young jay's entire body shuddered and she puffed up her feathers, flapped her wings and shook her long tail feathers to warm herself in the cold morning air. All the while, she looked around curiously, wondering what on earth had roused her so abruptly.
Then her beady black eyes fixed on something quite strange dangling in one of the oak's branches perhaps eight feet above the limb where she kept a nest. UV remained on her perch for a moment, eyeing it from below, then eventually fluttered to a branch perhaps three feet under the odd shape. When that still wasn't close enough, she airlifted another six or seven feet, putting her slightly above it now.
"Creature?" she said loudly, not sure what else to call it. She was pretty sure it was a creature of some sort, based on the way it moved. It sort of looked like an overgrown bean pod or an old, curled leaf. "What are you?" she asked in a high-pitched, wondering voice, her beak clicking curiously as she hopped to a different branch for yet another perspective.
Then her beady black eyes fixed on something quite strange dangling in one of the oak's branches perhaps eight feet above the limb where she kept a nest. UV remained on her perch for a moment, eyeing it from below, then eventually fluttered to a branch perhaps three feet under the odd shape. When that still wasn't close enough, she airlifted another six or seven feet, putting her slightly above it now.
"Creature?" she said loudly, not sure what else to call it. She was pretty sure it was a creature of some sort, based on the way it moved. It sort of looked like an overgrown bean pod or an old, curled leaf. "What are you?" she asked in a high-pitched, wondering voice, her beak clicking curiously as she hopped to a different branch for yet another perspective.
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