Heron Lake Plateau now this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down

It would take some time for Bat to properly process recent events: how, upon her return from a standard scouting trip, she'd come home to find her mother, sister and cousin were not only hanging out at the plateau but planning to stay there. She hadn't known how to react in that moment of unexpected reunion—what felt like billions of different emotions had flashed through her—but she'd somehow wound up cradled in Wildfire's arms, being rocked back and forth while she cried like a little baby bitch.

Now, Bat sought some space from the situation. She could see that it hurt Wildfire to need a break but, well, personal space was something they'd have to hammer out now, wasn't it? Just one of many, many things. Were they really here? Were they really staying? Floating along in a cloud of disbelief, the youth discovered she was trembling. She stopped walking and drew in a steadying breath, letting it out slowly. Trying to gather her thoughts was like trying to herd kittens or something: fucking impossible. She supposed it was a futile endeavor anyway. Only time would tell how this insane development panned out...

Feeling suddenly exhausted—probably from her long crying jag—Bat realized she wanted the comfort of something everyday and familiar. She wanted @Tegan.

no no no no no-- bat. no. you can not search for tegan in times of emotional crisis. boy was not a brick wall, no, he was actually very sympathetic. but homeboy was SO BAD. so bad. at helping-- he was so bad at it. i can't say so bad again or it'd be overkill but... seriously. especially now that her lie had caught up to her... sheesh. tegan was gonna have to give a little tough love on that end.

either way, it seemed that that was what was going on-- and that seemed to be exactly what she did. tegan came across her rather dumbly-- bat looked awful. her thin face was damped and she was all slumpy like a dead rabbit. sheesh, she'd seen better days. but tegan was no robot. he boofed lowly and began a little faster pace up to her, giving her cheek a nudge. "what's up, pup?" he asked, a little hesitantly. he hoped waterworks wouldn't come.

Watery eyes crinkled when she found him and scuttled to close the distance. It was tempting to throw her forelegs around his neck and hide her face in his shoulder, yet Bat contained herself. She did lean heavily into the nudge, eyes closing momentarily. Some salty dew still clung to her lashes.

After taking that moment to gather herself, she looked up at Tegan. "It's just... a lot, that's all." She didn't tell him how she'd been deliberately repressing memories of Drageda and just how fragile a schema had been broken by her relatives' arrival. Nor did she specifically mention all the other emotions swamping her. She just left it there.

After another moment, she did add, "I guess the jig's up. Although I don't think anyone gives a shit." Her nose was running, goddamn it. Bat swiped at it with a foreleg. "Should I start going by Bat again?" she mused a little ruefully.

oh bother, she was certainly sad. no waterworks came, though, which was good. tegan gave a gentle sigh as she started talking and even tried to joke around about it... tegan wasn't sure he bought it. humor was his defense mechanism, bat couldn't slide past him so easily. as much as he hated dealing with emotions, he didn't want his lil pal all sad and wet in the face.

"i never stopped calling you bat," he returned, trying to ease the tension out of her. sure, to others he'd called her rory, but tegan had kept calling her bat to her face. it was like a fun little secret... on top of all the lies she told. "you know you gotta come clean about everything. and you better not drag me with you-- we made a deal, and i don't wanna get in trouble cause of this," he began, deciding to stick to saving his own ass before he dealt with hers. he'd get around to it. he gauged her reaction, and then continued.

"if you want you can use me as an excuse to avoid ya motha and ya brotha and whoever else is tagging along. just come spend nights at my den so you don't have to sleep near them and drag me out on patrols or some bullshit during the day," he offered with a shrug, "i mean, i hate patrolling, but my concussions better and i've been doing plenty of my duties again so just whatever easy excuse you can find i'll help you out with." easy enough, probably. tegan didn't mind the company at night time, truthfully. since the incident at blackfeather tegan found he sometimes had nightmares involving his own death. it was bullshit. horse coochie. tegan was so not about it. but... when bat hung out he didn't really have them.

bat, or if tegan snuck off to @Finley's den. mama has the cure to everything.

either way, tegan hadn't told bat why he'd asked her to stick around so much-- just that he wanted company. the truth would probably come out soon. tegan hoped not too soon but... well, who knows. 

"does that sound okay?" he asked with a quirk of his brow and a toothy smirk.

She smiled thinly at him. Tegan called her by both given names, not to mention a whole slew of others: some insulting, almost all affectionate. Her expression twisted when he reminded her of the terms of their deal. Bat began shaking her head and mouthing "no" even before he finished.

"I'd never throw you under the bus, bruh!" she insisted vehemently. "I'd never do that to you," she repeated a little more quietly. It was important he knew that.

That watery smile returned when Tegan referred to her brother; she didn't bother correcting him. Her heart warmed when he gave her an out, offering himself as a distraction and an excuse. Fuck, I love him, Bat thought without thinking (???).

She was so touched by Tegan's sincerity and overwrought by the entire situation that she wanted to cry some more. But she contained herself and nodded eagerly. "You know how much I hate spending time with you," she joked a little weakly. "I'm glad you're feeling back to normal," she added, the news visibly cheering her.

oh whack. these things were entirely not going on in tegan's mind, lmao. he and bat were on entirely different levels-- different astral plains, even. but fine, whatever, she could love him. it was her heart that was gonna get broken when tegan inevitably reminded her that relationships were for pussy-bois and he had bitches to fuck. 

ahem. 

"sounds fake but, fine, just know it-- okay?" he told her, flicking his tail with a playful smirk. and then she went and fuckin said that he was back to normal YEEAAH normal. head wise, maybe, but like... in a different sort of head wise way tegan was entirely still fucked up. his smirk turned a little tighter as his lips pressed together, but he kept the act up pretty well. 

"hah! damn right. we can start fucking shit up again-- forrilforriiiiilllll," he then reassured the grey girl, but added mostly teasingly, "so what else have you lied to me about? cause i'm pretty sure you told me you were a full-fledge a-dult." his mint gaze flicked across her features curiously ears pressed forwards as he waited for a response. for good measures, he tacked on, "but you're just a cute lil pup, aren't ya, pup?"

When Tegan began teasing her about her past fibs, Bat chuckled despite herself. Had he just called her cute? Never mind the context. It made her little heart beat faster. She hoisted a paw to wipe some goo from her nose, sniffling as she said, "Are we talking mental or physical age?" She huffed a laugh then said, "I was born in the spring. I'll be an adult soon. Don't underestimate me just because I'm adorable." She felt herself flush with daring, referring to herself that way, even as she distracted herself with a playful shake of her wolfish fist.

"I think," she said in the next breath, trying her best to keep her mind busy so she wouldn't think about the ghosts of her past becoming ghosts of her present, "we should do a night trip. You know Phox, right? Well, he showed me some stuff, like how to find the star called Polaris and use it to navigate."

"ooo, adorable," tegan challenged, smile widening as he caught a glimpse of his own blaring confidence in bat, "that's bold of you. but alright, i'll accept the self-love." 

and then, tegan found himself sort of angry with her comment. phox? teaching her shit? that he didn't even know??? fuck. his brow furrowed. tegan didn't learn any of this scouting stuff from a professional... he just kind of taught himself. how the fuck was he supposed to know what a polaris was? tegan kept his composure though. "actually i have no idea what that means,"  he admitted with a slight furrow of his brow to emphasize his confusion-- clearly waiting for an explanation.

It wasn't often that the mentored got to teach the mentor. Feeling pleased (but not smug about it), Bat grinned and explained, "It's this star that stays in the same spot, even when everything else in the sky apparently moves around. So you can use it to orient yourself. Although we're both pretty good at that anyway." Bat honestly didn't know why she was so good with directions, although perhaps she had inherited that gene from her mother somehow.

That thought drew her lips down into a frown. And suddenly, Bat felt immensely tired. Tegan was a fantastic distraction, yet there was one escape even better than his company: sleep. "I think I could use a nap. Since teacher became the student today, I also vote that you become my pillow pal for once." Despite the sassy words, her watery eyes begged Tegan to let her cuddle him, just for a little bit.

"whack," responded tegan thoughtfully, "you'll have to show me later, i guess." tegan was still pretty uncertain how he felt about phox... he knew towhee seemed good with him but... still. the dude left, and he knew that was sort of a real bummer for towhee back in the day. he hadn't properly talked to her about it-- he'd have to do that. maybe he'd even tell towhee about the nightmares.

probably not, but maybe.

and then he snorted, tail waving. "yeah, fine, lay all over me," he teased, bumping her shoulder playfully and pressing past her to lead the way to the make-shift den he had. it was only temporary, for the winter, but it served it's purpose. "leggo."

Her tongue darted out to wet her lips as Tegan casually joked about laying all over him. Suddenly Bat wasn't sure she'd be able to sleep, though daydreaming about their future while sprawled in her crush's arms was hardly a terrible alternative. Either way, she wouldn't be thinking about how the rug had been tugged out from beneath her feet today.