Foxglove perched herself on a tree just
as dawn began. Completely exhausted, she was amazed at just how far she
could fly in twelve hours. She had already left New York State, and was
well into Connecticut. She would sleep here and continue in the evening,
hoping to spend the next day in Massachusetts. Fortunately for her, there
were plenty of insects and moths to eat, and no bat predators had come
to her encounter. This night she had eaten FIVE luna moths, but for some
reason, they did not taste THAT good anymore. That was more than surprising
for her; she KNEW they were luna moths, and she KNEW they were tasty, but
they didn't taste THAT good anymore. Maybe they were from a different strain…
She would wonder about that later. Right
now, she needed to find a safe place to sleep for the day. Flying off again,
she heard up ahead a redwood with a thick top, and a few holes in its trunk.
She flew toward it, but then she heard behind her,
"Foxglove!!" And it wasn't a normal animal
voice, it was spoken in ultrasound, by TWO creatures. She turned and hovered,
and echosounded at them in fear as she heard OTIS coming toward her. She
calmed down, however, when she heard another chiropterid coming behind
him, a female. Catching up, Otis panted,
"Foxglove! I thought you were still in
New York! We've been echosounding all over this flight path for you!!"
For some reason, Foxglove was glad that he was sounding like a big brother,
"Sorry, Otis, it's just that you were gone
for three nights, and I thought you weren't coming back, so I decided to
fly to Boston alone."
"You're lucky you didn't meet any owls
on the way! It's a dangerous trip as it is, and we were worried sick about
you!" Foxglove's ears drooped at this reprimand from her "brother", who
then corrected his tone of voice, "Oh, sorry, Foxy. I didn't mean—"
"Um, y—you're right, Otis," she stated.
"I shouldn't be flying on my own. I—I'm sorry." Feeling more than awkward,
Otis just echosounded at her. He noticed that her pinkish-brown fur sounded
soft, and her eyes were the most beautiful blue, and her sonar was—
"Uh, Foxglove!! I'd like you to meet my
cousin, Feyyanna. Feyyanna, this is my friend, Foxglove, former Rescue
Ranger." Foxglove scanned the female. She, too, was a grey batmaid, though
her eyes were hazel, and her ears were slightly more triangular. There
was an air of friendship about her, similar to Otis'.
"Pleased to meet you," said Foxglove.
"Semm heyer. Cossin Otis tells meh yew
loss yewr boyefrenn'?" Foxglove was somewhat surprised to hear a slow Texan
accent, and she was even more surprised when she realised that although
it sounded funny, she did not feel like laughing, chuckling, or even smiling.
"Well, not exactly lost, Feyyanna, it's
more like we broke up."
"Oh, Ah'm sorreh 'bout thayat, Foxey!!
Now, mah cossin heyer tells meh yew're lookin' for yore perrints?"
"Yes. I'm on my way to Boston, and now
that I think about it, I'm gonna need your help."
"What we're gonna need now is a good day's
rest!" said Otis. "We almost fainted halfway on the trip here! Foxy, I
didn't know you could fly so far for so long!"
"Uh, thanks, Otis, I didn't know that either.
Look, we can sleep in that redwood, and continue tonight. How do you feel
about that?"
"Sounns fahn to meh. An' Ah could yewse
a ress, too!" With that, the three pipistrells flew to the redwood, perched
on a high branch, and fell asleep, with Feyyanna sleeping between the other
two, allowing Foxglove to relax even further.
The following night, as they were almost
to the Massachusetts state line, Otis was flying about ten meters ahead
of the two batmaids, letting them have a female-to-female talk.
"So, you're from Texas?" asked Foxglove.
"Yup. Mah fammele juss moved a coppel months
bayack. Too menny 'sheyells' were commin' neer the cayev, yew knewe." Both
batmaids winced at this statement, for no chiropterid ever associated with
an armadillo or even spoke its name out loud. So, they were labelled "shells".
Foxglove continued,
"I met one of them in a field some time
ago. Well, more like I *heard* it. He didn't see me, but I think he knew
I was there. I flew away as fast as I could. Horrible, evil creatures they
are!!" Feyyanna then decided to change the subject.
"Oh, 'nough 'bout thayat! Teyell meh, whayat
was yore boyefrenn' lahk?" Foxglove sighed. She REALLY didn't want to talk
about this, but Feyyanna's eyes and the friendship and sympathy they expressed
were getting to her.
"Dale was a chipmunk."
"A WHAYAT?"
"A rodent. A chipmunk. He was the best
sounding hunk I ever heard. I know you're surprised, but when I first heard
him, I completely lost myself to him. You would have, too. And he didn't
look that bad either! He was handsome, brave, funny, strong, loving, helpful,
spontaneous—but somewhat fickle and hesitant—and just a tad shy and clumsy.
I had to wait two years before he asked me to marry him, and right before
the ceremony, I was kidnapped by an evil cat. My other Ranger friends tried
to save me, but they were captured, too. When all seemed lost, Dale came
and rescued all of us, and—and—realised that with our line of work, getting
married was the worst thing we could do. He also realised that he had too
many faults to be a good husband and father, so he let me go."
"Oh, Ah'm sorreh, Foxey! Otis tol' meh
yew had gonn threw summthin' horrebbel, but nut lakk thiyis!!"
"I know. It was horrible. I wouldn't wish
that on any 'shell', either." Feyyanna was shocked at this statement. What
Foxglove went through must have been something right out of Hades itself.
"So now, all I have left to do is find my family. I hope I find them."
"Whayat well yew dew eff theye're deid?"
Foxglove echosounded at her for a moment, and replied,
"I guess I'll live like any other bat,
I suppose. Sleep during the day, eat during the night, have a few friends,
avoid owls and other predators, just be an average batmaid."
"But whayat 'bout YORE fammeleh? Ah mean,
well yew eyver fannd a mayte aggin'?" The ex-girlfriend echosounded ahead
and thought, *No way*, while replying,
"I don't know, Feyyanna. Right now, I simply
don't know."
Feyyanna knew, however.
For she, too, had noticed the way Foxglove
echosounded at Otis whenever he flew directly in front of her…