Swiftcurrent Creek F is for friends who do stuff together

Would it be a giant pain in the butt to set this in the evening instead, since bats are nocturnal 'n' stuff? :D

His mother left him with the same stern warning she issued every night before heading out to cruise for insects: "Stay here. Don't try to fly. It's harder than it looks. You'll kill yourself. Do you hear me, young man? I'll be back at sunrise."

Every other night, he'd obeyed. But he'd plotted and planned and worked up his courage. Tonight was the night. He was ready. His mother would be gone all night, feeding. He could go for a short flight and return long before she came back. She would never know.

Once she winged out of sight, he rotated himself on the shale ledge, licked his lips, spread his wings and let go for the very first time.

The tiny bat sailed through the gathering dark, a warm summer breeze catching beneath his widespread wings. He only wobbled slightly. Below him, he saw flashes of rocky soil and water. He coasted east, the rocky terrain giving way to a sprawling grassland.

Suddenly, the sensation of pleasant buoyancy disappeared as he cruised beyond the thermal updraft. He banked sharply and began to pump his wings for the first time. "W-whoa..." he squeaked, trying to find his balance as he dipped through the darkness.

He could see a large, dark pool of water below: Arrow Lake. Licking his lips, the spotted bat attempted to steady his course and follow the lake where it narrowed and emptied into a creek. His heart fluttered in his chest as he finally nailed his center of gravity and resumed an even keel, albeit still slowly descending.

This time, he slammed into an invisible wall and went careening sideways, soon entering a corkscrewing spin. He flapped his wings desperately, hoping to regain both balance and altitude, yet even as he managed to stop the dizzying downward spiral, he crashed into a tree.

"Ooof," he said. He stuck to the tree limb for a second or two, then dropped to the ground, hitting another branch on his way down. He sprawled there, breathing hard.

Once he caught his breath, he began to wriggle in the grass. Nothing felt broken. "I meant to do that," he declared to no one when the reality of the situation suddenly hit him: he was lost and alone in a strange place, with mediocre flying abilities. He was on the ground and exposed.

Panicking, he began to flop and flap his wings. "Mama! Mama! Halp!" the youngster cried, unaware of the frolicking wolf pup six yards away and closing.