A/N: I got the idea when I read that, even though Shade was promised by Ariel that he'd meet his brothers in "Silverwing", they are never even mentioned again in any of the books. Here's my explanation as to why.

The frost was beginning to lessen. The last of the colony had roused from their slumber three nights ago. Soon the males would leave the females and young at Tree Haven and head to Stone Hold, their roost from spring to autumn. Silent as ghosts, a cluster of silverwings consisting of four brothers and their leader flitted through the diamond-speckled ebony sky. "Hey, Cassius, first one to catch 1,000 mosquitoes wins!" shouted Bacchus, the second youngest, to his brother.

"You're worse than Shade, you know that?" Responded the humorless eldest brother. "At least he's managed to settle down and find a mate."

"Hey, relax, I'm just trying to get you to loosen up."

"Quiet!" barked Windsling, the leader and eldest member of the troupe. "We may attract some unwanted attention. Don't forget that there are still some owls who will attack us on sight, day or not."

"Where is Shade, anyway?" whispered Dionysus, the youngest, after a long period.

Gaius, the second eldest of the brothers, pulled up alongside him. "Oh, he's back at Tree Haven tending to… What was her name again? Mara? Miranda?"

"Marina." Cassius responded curtly.

"Right, thanks. I hear she's expecting."

"Well, yeah, Shade's only been telling everyone in Tree Haven!" Bacchus responded.

"I remember when your father was expecting you, Cassius." Windsling responded wistfully. "He was much the same way."

"What about when he was expecting us?" Bacchus and Dionysus queried.

"He was proud, but there's nothing like when you're expecting your firstborn. You feel as if the whole world should know about it."

"Ah. So, Bacchus, is your offer still good? I'm thinking of taking you up on it." Dionysus asked with a hint of playfulness.

"Oh, yeah."

"So, what're the stakes?"

"Loser has to bathe the winner for a month. Oh, and tigermoths are ten points each."

"You are so on!" Dionysus chuckled as the two of them swooped, dove, and banked through the forest.

"I've got to check this out." Gaius chimed in. "Hey, guys, wait up!"

"Windsling, we'll have to rendezvous back at Tree Haven. I'll go after them." Cassius stated grimly. If it weren't for me, those fools would have killed themselves a long time ago, he thought to himself as he raced after them. It wasn't long before they heard the call of fellow bats beckoning them. The urge to find these fellow bats was so strong, even Cassius couldn't deny it.

As Windsling continued hunting just below the tree line, he heard panicky voices cry out for him. As he flew closer, the cries stopped. He followed the remnants of sound to a small shrub. As he searched the area, he noticed prints in the ground larger than himself. Humans, he thought to himself when, all of a sudden, a great wind kicked up as the forest was flooded by light from a human flying machine.

"Shade, Celeste just shifted," Marina stated sweetly as she hung from her roost, her belly swollen with the promise of an infant, "want to feel?"

Shade knew he should be out hunting, but they wouldn't leave for another week, which meant plenty of time for gathering his strength, plus he was still worn out from the ordeal down south. Having roused from hibernation with the last of them, he was surprised at how rotund Marina's stomach had grown. "Aurora moved?" he asked as he gently wrapped his wings around her, a gentle squirm coming from inside her waist.

"Shade," Ariel said as she roosted next to her son, "I have some bad news. Your brothers have vanished."