Chapter Four
Stella
Ghost opened his red eyes just as the sun lost its place in the sky. At first, the shadow soaked scene before him was confusing. The Vampyrum didn't know how he had ended up on the ground amongst the rocks and plants- then he felt his shoulder throb and memories of the previous day flooded through him.
Ah, yes. He had tried to save a bat, but opponent was too much for him, and he been wounded …after that…where was the one who had been with him? That delicate sounding creature…
Ghost looked at his surroundings, hoping to see the owner of the voice in his memory. He saw nothing, and felt his heart sink.
"Are you awake?"
The light sweetness in his ears had Ghost snapping his head upwards almost instantly. A dull crack sounded from his neck, but he paid no mind to it as he met eyes with the speaker. Hanging off the tree branch several wingbeats above him was a bat, looking back down at him with black pearl eyes.
"Yes" he replied quietly, afraid his voice might scare them away.
"I'd have liked to stay down there with you," the bat told him, voice feminine and inviting. "But the ground was uncomfortable, so I settled for watching from here. Want to try flying up?"
Ghost's heart beat rapidly as his wings did the same, the white furred Vampyrum surprised at how much energy he was displaying. Leaves and bits of dust stirred in the wind his wingbeats created, and in a rush of blood and heavy breathing he roosted, claws digging into the branch beside the smaller bat.
"You've got quite a bit of drive" the female observed- for she was a female, Ghost realized, with beautiful fallow colored fur, frosted in silver. "To move so fast when you're injured like that, you must be very good with pain"
"I wanted to meet you quickly" the youth said in a gulp of air.
The female looked at him appraisingly, her pearly eyes making Ghost uncomfortable. Perhaps his answer had been too honest. He had been eager to meet a bat that did not flee from him, but his choice of words sounded strange.
"I've never seen a bat like you before" she said suddenly, scuttling a bit closer to him on the branch, less then a wing away. "What species are you?"
"I…" Ghost looked at his pale furred belly, the pink tinge beneath it clear to see. "I'm…Vampyrum Spectrum…" could he really call himself that?
"I've never heard of it" the female told him. "What forest are you from?"
"I'm from the south" he told her. "Far, far south"
A small silence chased after his words, before the bright furred bat spoke again.
"Have you seen a bat like me?" she inquired, spreading out her wings for display. "Maybe a male? Reddish?"
Ghost shook his head, trying to stop himself from being entranced by the way her colored fur shone in the moonlight. "You're the first bat I've seen clearly, asides from my own kind. Are all littler bats like you?"
While looking a little disappointed, though he didn't know why, the female folded up her wings. "Well, all Brightwings look like this. All females, anyways. Silverwings are silver, and Greywings are grey and…what is it?"
Blinking, he realized he'd been staring again. Squeezing his eyes shut in embarrassment, Ghost was tempted to pin down his ears as well. "I'm sorry" he apologized.
A soft bout of laughter floated into his ears, flashing silver behind his still-closed eyelids.
"Its okay," she said with mirth, before Ghost felt a wingtip press against his shoulder. "I think you're kind of pretty yourself"
Pretty? Him? He was hideous. She was the pretty one.
Leaves shimmered around them as a breeze swept through the night air, and Ghost reopened his blood-splashed eyes, taking a peek at the female, who was tucking her wing away. She was so pretty that it made him envious.
"I'm Stella Brightwing" she told him, black eyes shining like her fur. "You?"
For a few moments, the Vampyrum was content to simply let her voice ring silver through his mind.
Stella.
To interrupt that with his damnable name would be such a waste, but she looked expectant to hear a reply.
"Ghost" he told her shortly, his voice a rough scrape. "My name is Ghost"
"Ghost…" Stella repeated thoughtfully, looking towards the half-moon in the sky.
He closed his eyes again. It was a horrible name.
With a quick flap of her wings, Stella parted from her roost, hovering in front of the larger bat. "Where are you headed to, Ghost?"
"Where?" he echoed, surprised at the question. "I don't have a destination. Anywhere but south"
"Really?" her wingbeats became more excited. "That's great…!"
Was it? He didn't see anything great about continuous wandering. "Yes" he agreed reluctantly, not wanting to put out her mood. "I suppose so"
There was a long pause between them, nothing to be heard but animals and insects in the distance and the rapid movement of Stella's wings. He stared at her while she stared at him, waiting for some sort of reaction but never receiving it. What did she want him to say? He was bad enough with speaking to others, if they were female it was no easier- especially littler ones, it seemed.
"I want you to come with me" Stella said finally, sounding as though her intentions were as clear as night.
Ghost flared out his ears, certain he'd misheard her. "What?"
"Come with me!" the female urged. "You said you don't have a destination, so come with me!"
He understood that part. "Why?" yes, that was a better question.
Stella sighed a little, settling herself on the branch once more. "You're big and strong!" she told him, fanning out her wings to emphasize this. "You protected me from that owl! You could keep me safe! Besides…" her wings folded some, the Brightwing tilting her head away from him. "You like me at least a little, don't you?"
He had never said that.
"Where are you headed to?" Ghost questioned, avoiding her last sentence altogether.
Stella kept her gaze away from his, her expression becoming somber.
"My brother" he heard her say, the sweetness in her voice ruined by worry. "I'm searching for my brother. There was a storm a few weeks back during our migration to Birch Haunt- our summer roosting- and no one has seen him since. He was the only one that went missing…!" she stopped herself, her eyes looking very bright and wet as she blinked. "The storm had been moving northwards, so I'm going to fly north until I find him"
Ghost merely watched the storyteller in silence. He wanted to tell her something, maybe let her know that he understood how it felt to loose a family member- only he didn't understand. He was fleeing from the only family he ever knew, and felt no sadness accept for that which had always been with him.
"What if you don't find him?"
He didn't know what propelled him to ask such a troubling question. Perhaps the part of him that was lonely and bitter and wanted someone to be as miserable as he was so they'd have something in common.
"I'll find him. There's no way I won't! So," Stella leapt from the branch, making circles around the white Vampyrum. "Come with me!"
Ghost sucked in a breath of air, his chest squeezing tight as the vibrant furred bat danced around him.
And here's chapter four for you. I'm happy to have introduced Stella. Sweet, trusting, and maybe a bit flirtatious…?
There was a line I put in here- "clear as night"- which is actually a twist on the common idiom 'clear as day'. I just made it appropriate for bats, since I don't think daylight is as clear for them as it is for us. Thought I'd point it out. There was a lot more talking in this chapter, because Ghost finally has someone to talk to. Again, I'm happy Stella has been introduced.
Sadly, despite the nice words I've received, there were no reviews for last chapter, which makes me kid of sad…! I'm not too worried about updating this story quickly because the fandom in this section is small, but if it's so unpopular then I don't feel very determined to keep writing, you know?
Next chapter (if it comes), Ghost notices a blearing difference between his and Stella's appetites.
