Dragoncrest Cliffs poured myself a plate of chocolate milk

Rorqual, better known as Bat, never stayed up late. Nighttime was for sleeping, pure and simple. But for whatever reason, she simply couldn't sleep tonight. Perhaps it was the heat or the bedeviling humidity. Nightfall didn't seem to offer any relief from either. It didn't help that her litter mates were currently crowding her, making her even more unbearably warm. Even the most easygoing child in the world eventually got fed up and quit the family's sleeping quarters just outside Hougeda, meandering off into the darkness.

She didn't go far, planting her butt on a strip of grass just beyond edge of the redwoods. Bat peered at the roots of the nearest tree before her silvery eyes slowly tracked upward along its vast trunk. She had to really crane her neck to see all the way to the top, where the leaves rustled against the backdrop of night sky. For the first time in her life, Bat noticed the stars beyond the treetops. She blinked several times, then simply stared, mouth slightly ajar.

Night was Ephraim's domain. When he settled down to sleep, he always encountered memories of his family in his dreams. Sometimes they were happy to see him and sometimes they were angry that he wasn't with them anymore, but always they made him feel guilty for running from the storm. He awoke often in the night as a result of these dreams. Usually he wasn't able to fall back to sleep for several hours, especially when it was the latter sort of dream, so Ephraim could often be found wandering in the late hours, dog-tired but unable to sleep.

This was one such night. He slipped out of Hougeda's darkness into the bracing wind of outdoors. He slept mostly where he happened to be, and that was usually in the cavern away from the others. It reminded him of the grotto and he favoured it for that reason. The night air was comforting, though, almost enough to lull him back to sleep as he wandered. He yawned, and was about to find somewhere to nest down when he spotted Bat staring up into the sky.

The coywolf crept over to her, dark tail swinging as he threw back his head to follow her gaze. What he noticed wasn't the stars, but the dark web-winged shapes that seemed to flutter in and out of view against the skies. "Didya see that?" he whispered when one flapped lower overhead and snapped up a moth.

Soft footsteps drew Bat's attention earthward, mouth still gaping slightly as her bright silver eyes turned to see a familiar youthful face bobbing in the dark. "Yo," she drawled, the corner of her mouth curling into a crooked grin as her tail beat a soft tattoo on the cool grass. "Innit past your bedtime?" she teased, lifting a foreleg and making a welcoming "come hither" sort of motion at her friend.

In response to his question, her eyes shot upward again. "Yeah," she replied, staring at the stars once again, unaware that Ephraim was referring to something else altogether. "What are they...?" she asked, voice filled with wonder, when something black flitted across her field of vision and the youngster blurted a muffled, "H'oh my gosh!" She fell dead silent before adding, in a tiny whisper, "What the heck was that?"

"Innit past yours?" he shot back, crinkling up his nose at the darker Goufa. He continued watching the dark shapes flitting overhead, visible only by how their rapid passage blotted out the stars above. He never thought to consider the lights before; they were just a thing that had always been there, like sand and surf and air and sunshine. Bat's wonder at them would have been infectious, though, if only he knew what she was referring to. He assumed that it was the animal he was fixated on, and opened his mouth to speak when one swooped down again.

Bat's exclamation made him duck his head down in a flinch, which he laughed off right after. "Swoopies!" he declared, peering up and trying to catch sight of one of the strange creatures. They were hard to make out in the gloom but he thought they flew differently than birds. They changed direction suddenly and seemed altogether clumsy, not unlike wolf pups. "Let's catch one!" he prompted, although he really had no idea how to do that.

All the while the stars twinkled overhead, catching his attention for just a moment. "Past their bedtime, too?" he laughingly remarked.

"Swoopies?" Bat repeated dumbly, flinching as another one (or maybe two) flitted past. They were in no danger of hitting her, yet the Goufa couldn't help herself. "What the heck—" she began to ask when Ephraim proposed they catch one. That sounded like it'd take a lot of effort. Besides, Bat wasn't too sure about these swoopies. They were giving her the creepies.

"I guess," she answered doubtfully, now thinking her friend was talking about the errant bats flitting in and out of sight against the backdrop of starshine. "Are they birbs?" she wondered, relaxing slightly (she'd been partially crouched since first noticing the critters) and assuming an expression of interest. They were creepy, yet still compelling.

For the most part, Sequoia had stuck around her family. She hadn't done a whole lot of venturing outside of the den, but now that her balance was getting better and her eyesight sharper, she was more and more curious about the world outside. With the addition of language acquisition, Sequoia was growing up quicker than ever. Mother had started the process of weaning them off milk (something which Sequoia was doing quite well with), which meant more meat and other gnawing on various objects the wolf pup could get her teeth on.

Tonight, she had slipped outside the den and wandered a bit further than she had intended. After getting turned around a few times, she had started to get a little bit panicked. Her nose couldn't seem to point her in the right direction, and any traces of her parents' colors were faint at best. When Sequoia heard unfamiliar voices, she headed toward them cautiously. She knew, of course, that there were other wolves in the pack, but she didn't know them personally.

"He'o?" she half-greeted, half-asked. "I go' los." Her ears splayed bashfully, thinking it was pretty darn stupid of her to get herself lost like this.

"Uhhhh," Ephraim faltered, tail twitching with each flitting black shape that passed them by. Were they birds? "Yeah, some kinda birds," he decided, sounding much more confident than he felt. He was at least sure that only birds flew, and these creatures were definitely flying. There was something weird about them, though, and they didn't have the feathery smell he'd come to associate with the gulls and terns of the coast...

Another swung low over the pair of pups and Ephraim sprang, attempting to clip its leathery wings with his teeth. Unfortunately, the bats were much too high up for even the wiry coywolf to reach and he came down ungracefully, staggering into the side of a tree on the landing. "Too fast," he complained, shooting his gaze back to the more incredulous Bat. "Wha' shoul' we do?"

But then they were interrupted by a tiny voice, from a tinier pup, claiming to be lost. Ephraim gathered his tall ears on his head, trying his best to ignore the whispered snapping of the bats' wings as they wheeled in flight, and peered at the mottled Sequoia. "Well, where'dya come from?"

If Ephraim really wanted to catch one, she wasn't going to stop him; it would require too much effort. Besides, watching his attempt proved rather entertaining. Her lips twitched into a grin as she watched him spring into the air only to come crashing back down rather gracelessly, bouncing off a nearby tree in a manner reminiscent of Dacio's bumbles.

Speaking of which, Bat's ears thrust upright at the sound of a small voice. She turned, mercurial eyes wide and bright in the darkness, and settled on a pale shape. Bat thought she knew her—this was one of Dacio's litter mates and Wildfire had taken the older Goufa by their den a small handful of times—but she couldn't quite recall her name.

Ephraim quickly tried to help by asking a question. Bat wondered if she'd be able to find the den without her mother's help. She wasn't sure, especially in the dark. But before she had the chance to chime in, a bat swoopie struck a tree branch overhead and careened earthward, landing on the ground dead center of the rough triangle the pups had formed, flopping about like a fish out of water.

My reading comprehensions skills have really gone downhill... I didn't even realize there were a bunch of bats around. :}

Not two seconds after the words had poured from her mouth, some kind of flying critter nearly crashed directly into Seq's head. She yelped, flattening herself to the ground for a split second, then cautiously looking up at the two other wolves. She couldn't tell if they were annoyed or scared, but Sequoia knew which of those she was. (It was the latter.)

The one with proportionally-sized ears asked where she'd come from, and Sequoia swallowed, eyes still on the sky and waiting for another one to attack her. That's what they were doing, right? Attacking? Had they somehow become angry with these two wolves for disturbing them?

As for the question... it was left unanswered because one of the flying things crash-landed in the middle of the triangle and flopped about. Seq's first reaction was to hop back a step, worried that it might bounce right back up and attack her. But when it continued to flop about, she moved forward with caution, inching forward with stilted steps. Her homeward bound quest was forgotten for the time being. This mystery was far more intriguing.

Bat recoiled instinctively, a foreleg tucked against her chest as her hindquarters sank toward the ground in a defensive crouch. But she didn't run away. She simply stared at the felled creature, not sure what to do. Sequoia seemed to be in the same predicament. Ephraim, however, saw his opportunity and pounced.

He missed. The felled swoopie flopped violently out of his reach, leading Ephraim away into the darkness in pursuit. Bat blinked after him, licking her lips as she continued to deliberate. Should she go after him or leave her friend to his chase?

She suddenly remembered Sequoia and unfroze her limbs to pad over to the other young girl. She offered a nudge, then said, "Well... wanna try to find the way home?"

In a blink, the other wolf was gone, and Sequoia was left alone with the large-eared one. Duo-toned eyes looked up and Sequoia nodded in agreement. She didn't know this wolf very well, but she was Drageda, so she felt safe with her.

"What your name?" she asked, tilting her head to one side. "Mine Sequoia." Her own name she pronounced very carefully. She had practiced very hard to get it just right, wanting others to get it right, too. It was harder to say than her siblings' names (or so she thought).

They'd very likely been introduced at some point, though Bat honestly couldn't quite recall the younger girl's name and it seemed the feeling was mutual. "I'm Bat," she replied when Sequoia gave her name. "You're Dacio's sister," she stated, then added, "That means you're my cousin too." She bumped a shoulder companionably against Sequoia's.

She peered off into the darkness, trying to gauge their location and remember the route to the den where Dio and Portia kept house. "Let's go this way," the Goufa said, offering Sequoia another nudge as she began to creep through the trees. Their way was dimly lit, a fact which Bat noticed but didn't question, at least not until she remembered to look upward.

The moon had risen to accompany the stars. There was also a filmy white streak across the night sky. Bat slowed to a stop, arrested by the view. "Look," she whispered quietly to Sequoia, pointing her nose at the largest of the glowing white orbs.

"Bat," Sequoia repeated instinctively, though she was much more likely to remember whatever color her silly brain associated with her newfound friend. When Bat mentioned Dacio, the color of lilac flickered into her vision, almost as if it was coming right out of Bat's mouth. Unbeknownst to Sequoia, this experience was nothing like what most other wolves were used to. She accepted it at face value and had yet to question it at all.

Bat led the way, and Sequoia was happy to follow. When she slowed, then stopped, Sequoia's interest was piqued. Bat was pointing at something, though all Sequoia could see was the sky. Hadn't everybody seen that before. Still, she didn't want to be rude, so she merely cocked her head to one side and waited for Bat to explain what she was talking about.

Sequoia looked up too and Bat returned her attention to what was, unbeknownst to her, the Milky Way. She marveled for a few moments before remembering the task at hand. "Okay," she declared softly, offering another friendly bump, "come on."

It was only a short while later that the older Goufa picked up on the familiar scents of Dio, Portia, Dacio and another pup she recalled faintly. "I think this is it, Sequoia," Bat said quietly as they approached the dark den. There were no noises, no stirrings, from within. She assumed everyone inside was asleep.

"Good night," she whispered to Sequoia, pressing her nose to the other child's cheek and waiting until the shadowy den mouth swallowed her fellow Goufa before Bat turned to seek her own way back to bed.

No explanation was given, and Sequoia wondered if Bat had imagined something. The younger wolf didn't give it much thought as they moved on, and soon they were back near the den, washes of colors from all of her family flooding her brain.

"Thanks!" she said, wagging her tail as the other wolf withdrew from her cheek. Quietly, Sequoia slipped back inside, her foray into the night never to be revealed to her parents or siblings.