Part 1
The Tree Bark Regiment
1
Dawn crept over the hill. The first light of the day struck Dusk straight in the face.
Dusk stirred. He yawned and rubbed his eyes with his sails. The chiropter rose and scrambled over to the edge of the branch he had slept on. He peered over the edge of it. As he admired the view from the tree, a voice behind him screamed, "Roar!"
Dusk jolted.
"AAAG!" he cried as he fell over the edge of the branch. Instinctively, he opened his sails and started flapping. He turned around and looked at the branch he had just been on. On the branch, laughing her head off was his sister, Sylph.
"Sylph!" yelled Dusk, "That wasn't funny!"
"Says you!" giggled Sylph. "You should've seen the look on your face!"
Dusk thought for a moment and started laughing too. He felt very silly.
"Let's go hunting!" Sylph suggested.
"Race ya!" said Dusk, "Catch the most bugs to win!"
Both chiropters leaped off the branch. Dusk flapped his sails and Sylph glided.
Dusk had always been different. He was born with only two claws on each sail and his sails had no fur. His ears were extra large and he had weak feet. He had abnormally strong chest and shoulder muscles. He also had the ability to see in the dark with sound, echolocation.
Most of his colony had shunned him because of his differences. His only friend had been his sister. Now Dusk was a hero in his colony. When the colony was attacked by a prowl of felids, Dusk helped lead and protect the colony from felids, birds, and saurians. His father, the colony's leader, had told him to scout ahead for danger because of his abilities to fly instead of gliding, and his echovision. When they had left the island and got to the mainland, Dusk had found other chiropters that were just like him. One of them told him that he was not a chiropter, but a bat.
Dusk cut through the air, using his echovision to find bugs, instead of sight. As usual, Dusk beat Sylph in the race.
"How many did you get?" asked Sylph, "I got 12."
"27," said Dusk, proudly.
"What?" cried his sister, "No one has ever gotten 27! The record is only 21."
"Fine," said Dusk, "I only got 26. I spat that last bug out."
Sylph stared at him for a few moments, and then said, "Let's go see if the rest of the colony is awake."
At the tree, most of the other chiropters were climbing or gliding around. Some were eating grubs out of the trunk of the tree. A few newborns were chasing each other. Several elders had gathered together discussing the future movements of the colony.
The rest of the day was casual and normal, at least until the evening.
Dusk was chattering with a few other younger chiropters when a shrill warbling call sounded through out the land. Several chiropters looked around, alarmed.
In the distance, on the island, a large black mass was rising. It started swarming toward the mainland like a storm cloud. Suddenly, the strange cry came again and several chiropters glided out of the way of a large bird crashing through the air. It landed on the same branch that Dusk was on.
The bird was much larger than he was. Its head was a light gray color. Yellow and white feathers lined its body. Blood was streaked all over its chest.
The bird craned its head toward Dusk.
Dusk studied the bird for a moment, then, in a surprised tone, said, "Teryx?"
The bird looked at him and replied, "Hello Dusk."
Then the large bird went limp.
By now, most of the chiropters had gathered around the bird or were watching the dark cloud coming closer. The faint outlined showed that the cloud was made of birds of all shapes and sizes.
"What is this!?" demanded an elder.
"It's a bird," someone said.
"Yes, we all know that," said another.
"Don't worry," said Dusk, "I know this one."
"How?" asked the elder, "These creatures are our enemies!"
"We met on the island. He helped show me how to land after flying," explained Dusk, "His name is Teryx."
The chiropters dragged the bird over to one of the nests. Others went out to meet the cloud of birds. Dusk had stayed with Teryx with Sylph to get some answers when he woke. Someone gave Dusk a leaf filled with water.
"Use this to wake him," someone had told him.
Dusk dumped the water on Teryx's head. The bird sputtered and groaned.
"Where am I?" he managed to ask.
"Safe," reassured Dusk.
"The others," cried Teryx, "Where are they?"
"Our elders are going to meet with them," Dusk explained, "Get some rest and tell us what's going on."
"Attack," wheezed the bird, "Other species of birds invaded. Owls, they call themselves."
Dusk's oldest brother, Auster, who had gained the leadership of the colony after his father had died, watched from the front of the crowd at the mass of birds, which was dangerously close now. The chiropters could see the angry expressions on the birds' faces.
The cloud of birds swerved into a tree near the chiropters' tree. The largest bird approached the chiropters.
"Beast of this territory," he boomed, "we have taken this tree as our own. Do not interfere with us and we shall not harm you."
Auster moved closer to the bird.
"Welcome to our land," he said, "May I ask why you have migrated from the island?"
"Invaders," the leader of the birds simply said.