Dauth: Do you know how hard it is to find other words for bat? It's hard. Very hard.
Above the horizon, a crimson sun fell behind an ocean, below, the waves gently moved by the wind, sliding against a small beach. The pale tan of the tiny grains of sand contrasted against the harsh black and red of a small vulpine figure lying, unconscious, in the area where the water and dust intermingled. The slight sloshing of the water reaching in and stealing sand drowned the creature's fur, causing it to stick to his slim figure.
Further down, a lavender bat fluttered, the black fur on its chest fluttering from its fervent flight. Behind it, another bat-like creature flew, this time blue, with only the inside of its wings purple. Both had large ears, and the one fleeing had massive yellow eyes to match. Neither appeared to be very old, but the chaser was clearly larger.
The black vulpine on the beach groaned. He blinked, revealing teal eyes that communicated clear confusion. As He struggled to rise to his feet, he was knocked down by something above him. He yelped as he fell, and heard a screech of pain. Again attempting to stand up, he gave a glare to the creature that had just smashed into him. The purple bat cowered, glancing backwards and fluttering its wings to attempt to lift itself out of the shallow water.
"Where the heck am I?" the fox stated, the question almost hidden by the blunt tone. The little bat stared at him, pausing for a second, then glanced backwards and redoubled its efforts to life off. The black-and-red quadruped gave a flat gaze, then shrugged, turning to look at whatever was behind him. As he saw the larger bat flying towards them, he sighed.
"Alright," the fox muttered, before raising his voice so both bats were able to hear him, "What's going on?" The blue-bodied creature paused, giving enough time for the vulpine to notice that it didn't have any eyes.
"Who are you?" it asked, suspicion evident in its voice, if not in its eyes. The fox paused, for a moment, shutting his teal eyes. After a few seconds, he frowned, blinking again.
"I… I have no idea!" the vulpine muttered wonderingly, "How is that possible?"
"If you don't even know who you are, then why do you think you can butt in? This doesn't involve you!"
"Yeah, okay," the fox's eyes narrowed, anger slowly creeping into his voice, "I don't think I need to know anymore. You're just another jerk. And to be honest, I really don't have the patience to deal with this while I already have a lot to deal with." He crouched down, knees bending, and teeth bared as he settled into an offensive stance. His eyes almost seemed to shake, before refocusing on the larger bat. A low rumble seemed to emanate from deep within his body.
"A-alright, let's just calm down," the blue bat muttered, almost seeming to shrink as the fox seemed to be silhouetted against the setting sun, highlighting him in a black light that only deepened the growl and contrasted against his gleaming blue eyes.
"Nah," the grimace twisted into a terrifying grin, teeth still bared but lips curling upwards as the creature spoke, "That seems like it would be… counter-productive. Now I suggest you leave before I decide I want to find out how well I can do in a fight." The bat nodded quickly, turning and fleeing just as fast as the lavender one had previously done in running from it. The vulpine's primal posture dropped as he turned to the small one that had seemed to cower in the corner.
"Was that the problem?" he said, kindly compared to the previous savageness that he had possessed. Instead of responding, the small bat cowered away from him, wrapping itself in its wet wings.
"Ok… I'll just… leave, I guess?" The fox shrugged, seemingly not knowing what to say, "Could you at least point me towards the nearest form of civilization?" Again, no response from the scared chiropteran. The vulpine sighed, finally stepping out of the water onto the beach. He glanced back, before continuing away from the ocean. He finally took the time to look around. The beach continued to both left and right as far as the eye could see. The sky was still the dark blue of dusk, and the sun barely illuminated a forest that ran along the beach, before cutting off far to the fox's left. It eyed the forest warily, before facing the opening.
"W-wait…", echoed out from behind him, a clearly feminine voice. The vulpine turned, to see the bat flapping after him.
"Could-could you help me get back home?" she stuttered, clearly still scared of him but unwilling to be left alone.
"Yeah, sure. I'll follow your lead?" The female bat nodded slowly, fluttering towards the forest. The fox's eyes narrowed, but he followed her into the darkness.
"Aaah!" the bat flew behind the vulpine, causing him to roll his eyes again.
"I stepped on a stick," He explained to the freaked-out flying female, "Seriously, you're overreacting to everything…" The girl whimpered, and he shot her a withering glare. He had determined that she couldn't be very old at all, considering that she was scared of every little noise. She hadn't spoken at all, but had screamed multiple times at the slightest sound.
"Come on, it can't be that far," he muttered, continuing forwards through the thin path that they had followed for the last hour. The bat shook slightly, glancing to both sides before continuing down the path. The vulpine rolled his eyes and followed.
The pair continued walking for a ways. As the sky darkened, the fox glanced upwards through the trees.
"This is taking ridiculously long," He pointed out, slightly irritated, "Are you sure you know where we're going?" As he lowered his gaze, he caught the bat slightly shaking her head. He gave her a flat glare, then sighed.
"Alright. Well, let's just-" He was interrupted by an echoing snap from behind them. "Ok, that wasn't me. Any idea what's out there?" The bat flew away from the noise, ducking behind him again. He exhaled, before focusing on where the sound had originated.
"Who are you?" He asked the shade of the trees, "If you don't want a fight, I would appreciate you coming into our sight."
"...And if I refuse…?" the whisper slipped out from the darkness, its owner invisible. The fox considered this for a bit, frowning slightly. He shrugged.
"I'll just improvise I suppose," he paused for a moment, "Wait, was I supposed to answer that?" The ghostly laughter resonated out from the opposite side they were looking, causing the bat to flinch and flap her way to the fox's other side. He shifted positions to put his body between the voice and his charge.
"Are you scared…?" It asked, position having shifted to their right. The vulpine turned, glaring once again into the darkness and seeing nothing.
"Scared? Of the voice of a coward who won't show themselves?" He actually sounded confused, "Why would I be scared?" A low growling emanated, revealing their attacker's position.
"Shall I show you why?" A howl echoed outwards, sending chills down the pairs spine. The fox crouched lower, preparing for a fight.
"If it's at all possible, I'd prefer not," he muttered, only slightly perturbed, "It's always preferable to avoid a conflict. Course if you start it, I can't be blamed. Let's call it an experiment!" He gave a smirk, which resulted in the growling to grow louder. Another howl, and a dark shape shot out from the bushes. The fox ducked underneath, before bashing his skull into his opponent's chest. The form of a canine was sent flying into the bushes with a yelp. The black-and-red fox winced, shaking its muzzle.
"You'll regret this!" The canine whined, any threat gone from its voice as it fled from the pair.
"10 to 1 that I won't!" The vulpine yelled after it, "Not against someone like you!" He turned to the bat.
"You okay?" He asked glancing her over, and grinned as she nodded shyly, "Great. Now we need to figure out how to get out of here." The sound of heavy wings beating air echoed over is head, and he sighed.
"Can I not get a break?"
Dauth: 'Course not! That would be too easy!
