Gone Batty II: Eclipsed
Chapter 27: The Winds of Change
Elliot jerked backwards as Denise snapped her beak at him. Her pupils were constricted and her feathers flared. There was no trace of the human woman that was there a while ago, but instead there was a very angry bird in her place. Elliot hissed back at the brown she-owl and rose to his full height, flapping his wings- forcing her to move back to avoid getting struck in the face. "Denise! That's enough! Snap out of it!" he ordered.
Orestes landed on the ground next to the bats with a worried look on his face. "Are you three alright?" He asked breathlessly while keeping an eye on the scuffle in the tree.
"Orestes, it's you!" Shade beamed. "You're alive!"
"Yeah, looks like it." Orestes smiled back and began to gently pull the spider web off them with his beak. "Sorry about that… it seems that we were having a bit of a ...hunting lesson problem." He looked up at Elliot with concern.
"A hunting lesson problem?" Chinook stood up, brushing himself off. "You don't say! We nearly died!"
"Sorry, sorry!" Orestes apologized. "She's new and not used to her instincts. She hasn't exactly learned to control it completely yet." He paused and then added with a mutter, "Actually, I forgot to warn her about it from the get go…" He grimaced and said, "Sometimes carnivores can get a little...lost in the chase if they get too excited, if you know what I mean."
They looked back up at Elliot who blocked the female from getting around him and going after the silverwings again. Frustrated with him constantly being in the way, the barred owl lashed out at him with her talons. Elliot was lucky enough to jump back in time, sacrificing only a few chest feathers.
"Will he be okay?" Barnabe asked as the owls circled each other, moving from branch to branch- with Elliot doing most of the dodging.
"Yeah, don't worry," Orestes stated casually. "Denise would never hurt Elliot."
Denise clamped her beak onto Elliot's wing.
"I spoke too soon!" Orestes yelped in surprise. "Oh dear!"
"Argh!" Elliot winced as pain exploded in his left wing and tried to pull away, but Denise held fast, completely enraged. As a result, Elliot ended up dragging her along with him across the tree branch. He didn't want to hurt her so he didn't retaliate. She simply wasn't in her right state of mind right now. "Denise, stop it!" How could he stop her? What could he do? One of his legs slipped and he faltered in place before regaining his footing. The branch had run out.
Elliot grunted and turned back to look at Denise. He had one idea on how to get her to stop, but it was one that he didn't like. His face darkened and he growled, "Denise, if you snap out of it- I'll go out on one date with you!"
Like a switch was flipped, clarity returned to her face and her pupils returned to normal size. Denise let go. "Really?!" Her face lit up.
With nothing holding him in place, Elliot fell backwards off the branch with a yell. Denise gasped and rushed to look down from the branch. Elliot landed into a heap of shrubbery, causing it to burst slightly with leaves, feathers and twigs.
"Elliot!" Orestes rushed over to him in alarm, followed by Shade and the others. "Elliot, Are you alright?" He peered into the shrubbery.
"Ugh…" Elliot stood and pulled himself out of the foliage, tripping slightly and hopping a few steps before he finally came to a complete stop. His hair was a mess, with leaves stuck in it and between his feathers. Elliot folded and unfolded his injured wing, testing it out. It was going to bruise, but nothing was broken aside from a few bent feathers.
"Elliot?" Orestes repeated, eying Elliot's wing with concern.
"I'm fine…" Elliot muttered and folded his wing against his side. He looked up at Denise who sat frozen on her branch. Her eyes were round and alarmed as she stared down at him, clearly not understanding what had just happened.
"Are you sure?" Shade asked as he and the others made their way to him. "That looked painful." He reached out to touch Elliot's wing but the white bird jerked away.
"I said I'm fine!" Elliot glared at the bat, causing Shade to flinch. Elliot noticed and tried again, this time more calmly, "I'm fine. Don't worry about it. I've had worse." He then added with a mutter, "That woman is going to be the death of me…"
Orestes looked up to the branch that Denise was currently on. "Denise! You can come down now."
"What?! Don't invite her over!" Chinook exclaimed. "She nearly killed us!"
"It's okay," Orestes tried to calm him down. "She's not going to eat you." When Denise didn't move from her branch, he tried one more time. "Denise!"
The small barred owl hesitated for a moment but then quietly circled downwards. She clearly wasn't in any hurry to join them. Four circles...eight circles… and then finally, Denise landed lightly on her feet, barely making a sound. Her chin was tucked into her chest and her crown of feathers were flattened against her head. She nervously shifted from one leg to another, like a child waiting to be scolded.
"Are you okay now, Denise?" Orestes asked.
Denise nodded, but kept her eyes averted. She occasionally glanced up at Elliot but just as quickly looked away. "Um...about what just happened…"
Elliot stared back at her, void of any emotion. Everyone else watched, anticipating the apology that was coming.
Denise struggled with herself before finally, her head popped back up and she was practically bouncing in place with glee, "Did you mean it? Will really you go out with me?!" She squealed. She then paused and thought for a moment, "Wait a minute, that's not right, I am going out of order. I was supposed to say something before that..." She squinted her eyes, trying to remember.
The bats stared up at her blankly. She was… a quirky character.
Orestes's eyes went wide as saucers and he turned to look at Elliot who looked like he was just about ready to die. What on earth did he miss?
Denise noticed the bent feathers on Elliot's wing and gasped, finally remembering. "Oh God, I did that, didn't I?" She quickly walked over to him and looked up at him with large sad eyes, "Elliot, I'm so-so-SO sorry! I don't know what came over me, I swear! Please don't hate me. I was just so hungry and then-" Denise then walked away a couple paces, looking horrified, her wings over her head, "What am I talking about? Of course you hate me. You've made that perfectly clear earlier, and now I'm making things worse!"
Elliot sighed for she was starting to ramble. "Denise…"
But then it was like a switch was flipped again and Denise's feathers fluffed up in happiness and she hopped around them all like a sparrow. "Oh! Oh! Oh! I can't believe it! A date with my darling Elliot! If he wants to go out on a date with me, it MUST mean that he has forgiven me!" Then Denise looked absolutely terrified, "Unless he hasn't and I am completely getting the wrong message here." She began to pace. "Oooooh," she squeaked- completely forgetting that she had an audience. "This is bad. I mean, what am I going to WEAR?"
"We're birds, Denise. We don't wear clothes," Elliot drawled. He leaned his head back when Denise put her face only mere centimeters away from his.
"That's not the point! A date, Elli-kins. A date!"
"Please don't call me that ever again…"
"Uh…" Shade lifted a hand, trying to get a word in, but he was ignored.
"This is super exciting!" Denise bounced, her crown feathers standing up. "Our very first date! Oh, I wonder where we'll go and-"
Elliot stepped in front of her, blocking her path. His stern expression made the words die on Denise's tongue. "One date. That is all you are getting," he said, poking her in the chest with his pointer feather. "After this is all over and we find Melody, we're never seeing each other again. Do you understand me?"
Denise stared back at Elliot with wide eyes and her crown feathers wilted. Her excitement deflated like a popped balloon. She forced on an uneasy smile. "Oh, umm...what if we don't go on that date then, and continue seeing… each… other…?" she trailed off as Elliot's eyes narrowed at her angrily. Her smile slowly vanished.
"Do. You. Understand?" He repeated slowly.
Denise looked down at her feet, her head lowered in submission. "I understand," she said quietly.
"What in the world is going on here?!"
Everyone looked up to see Caliban flying down towards them. He landed on the ground and with wide frightened eyes, gawked at the owls and then back at the boys. "Can you please explain to me as to why you are having a field day with ...owls?"
"It's… a long story," Shade said with a smile and shrugged. "Caliban, these owls are our friends. "Orestes, Elliot, and… and… Denise was it?"
Denise didn't respond. She just stood there, disheartened and defeated.
Shade winced and looked away. This was awkward. "Right…"
"Friends?" Caliban looked at Shade, believing that he had lost his mind.
Shade frowned, "Is there a problem?"
Caliban let out a disbelieving laugh, "Kid, I can list a number of problems-"
Barnabe stood in between the two of them, "Alright, let's all just calm down." He held up his hands in order to keep the peace. "Yes, they are our friends. Yes, there are circumstances. But let's not lose our heads over it. What matters is that we are safe and that there are more important matters to be concerned about."
"Sweet Nocturna…" Caliban sighed and sat down on a rock. "Are there anymore exotic 'friends' I ought to know about?"
The birds and bats looked at each other, trying to see if anyone had a confession to make. No one spoke up.
Caliban breathed in relief, "Thank the stars. I don't know what I'd do if one of you befriended a cannibal bat."
Back at the ruined factory from where Elliot and Denise had escaped from, the fire had been completely put out. Nothing remained except for the charred cement and scraps of metal. In the middle of the wreckage, D.D. lay there completely motionless and defective.
The sounds of footsteps approached until a pair of large brown leather boots stopped before the penguin. There was a deep intake of breath and then an exhale as smoke escaped the man's mouth. A cigar was planted firmly between the gaps of his yellowed front teeth. Chavez stared down at the robot with a hint of curiosity. Didn't he toss this little piece of trash into the garbage disposal? He looked up at the metal container that was a good several yards away. It was completely intact. From there, he could see traces of flipper prints in the ash, leading to where the robot was now. It was as if…
"It got up and walked away." Chavez mused with interest. He leaned down and picked up the robot with both hands and examined it. If he knew anything about the Gray family, it was that they were a highly intellectual bunch who occasionally won awards for their achievements. Dr. David Gray, for instance, had founded the bat sanctuary in Vancouver and had developed one the best laboratories in British Columbia, allowing for many astounding discoveries about bats to be made.
If his grandson had inherited his talent and intellect, then Chavez had actually stumbled upon something extraordinary. The man smirked, biting down onto his cigar. "Waste not."
Melody and Goth didn't talk to each other after their fight. That short moment of understanding and comradery that they had went out like a wet candle. Melody's feelings were hurt from Goth's brutish behavior. She had tried to help him and this is what she got for it.
Once Goth returned from his hunt, he visibly ignored her. He merely walked past her and went to the river to wash off the left over blood from his kill that stained his coat. It honestly didn't surprise Melody. He was extremely prideful and she couldn't imagine that he would go out of his way to apologize.
As he washed the remaining stains from his fur, Melody noticed that he caught her staring and she immediately turned away. She let a loud sharp breath out of her nose and rested her chin on her arms.
Goth's mouth curled into a sneer and looked back down at his reflection in the water. Angry green eyes glared back up at him. He couldn't believe that he had to deal with such a frustrating female. She had insulted him and had it been anyone else, he would have killed them on the spot. That human girl ought to thank her lucky stars that he had enough control to let her off with a warning.
So… what now then?
Goth sat down on his hunches with a grunt- both of their backs facing the other. Silence stretched out between them. As they sat like that, Goth's temper finally started to cool off. He had used up most of his anger on his kill and his head began to clear. He heard Melody sniffle and peeked over his shoulder to look at her.
He saw her quickly wiping a tear away before continuing to stare off into the jungle.
Goth swallowed thickly. He had made her cry. How odd it was, truly- that he had often envisioned himself murdering her, tasting her blood and hearing her screams… but now- just the sight of the redness in her eyes made something twist inside him. Guilt was not an emotion that Goth felt often and to be perfectly frank, he hated it. It made him feel like HE was in the wrong- and he was always right.
Well… most of the time. That was the thought that Goth allowed himself to believe.
Goth growled slightly to himself as a small war began to take place inside his head. He was a king. Surely he wasn't going to stoop so low as to … apologize? But he couldn't afford to lose the chance of getting closer to Melody. He needed her trust in order to fulfill Zotz's orders.
"The task. Think of the task," Goth closed his eyes as he whispered to himself. He heard another tearful sniff and he winced. Task or no task. He needed her to stop crying first!
Melody heard an agitated noise come from behind her and she turned to see Goth stand up and fly off somewhere again. She frowned and looked down at her feet. What was she going to do now? She couldn't just sit there. Maybe she should just leave while Goth was moping alone somewhere and find Shade-
Pink suddenly filled her vision and Melody gasped. She moved back slightly in surprise until she realized what it was she was looking at. Wildflowers. Their gentle sweet scent tickled her nose as she saw that it was Goth who was presenting them to her.
Melody blinked up at him in confusion.
Goth looked uncomfortable as his broad chin tightened ever so slightly. He looked away from her curious gaze and moved the flowers closer to her. "These are for you," he said softly.
Melody furrowed her eyebrows, still not understanding Goth's intentions.
Growing annoyed with Melody's lack of response, Goth asked, "Do you not like them?"
Melody closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to make sense of this. "No-... that's not it, I just-..." She looked down at the flowers and back at Goth who was watching her carefully. "Why are you giving me flowers?" She finally managed to ask.
He looked down at the bouquet in his hand and asked, "Isn't that the human custom? To gift flowers as a sign of an apology?"
"Well, yeah. Sometimes, but…"
Goth apparently grew tired of holding the flowers because he dropped them to her lap. Melody's arms in response, shot out to catch the flowers and she stared down at them, baffled.
"Good," The vampyrum said shortly. "Now that that's settled-"
Melody huffed, "Settled? What's settled?"
Goth looked down at her, confused.
Melody stood up, taking the flowers with her. "Look, they are pretty and all, but I don't want them." She pushed the flowers back into Goth's hands.
"Why not?" Goth reacted angrily.
"Because this isn't an apology!" Melody glared up at him. "You don't just shove flowers in my face and expect everything to be swell and dandy!
"What do you want me to do then?!" Goth exclaimed, throwing up his arms which caused his wings to flare open. "Grovel on my knees?"
"No!" Melody shot back at him. "I want you to apologize from the heart! I don't need a half-assed apology, Goth. The flowers are beautiful, but they mean nothing if you don't mean it!"
Goth frowned and glared down at the flowers in his hand as if it was their fault. He breathed out his nose and looked away, avoiding her eyes. What Melody wanted from him went against everything that he was taught.
Melody's anger subsided when she realized something. "You've never apologized to anyone before, have you?"
"I never needed to." That was the truth. It just didn't make sense for a prince to apologize for anything, muchless so for a king. As long as Goth held the power, it was everyone else who was in the wrong. Not him. The first and last person that he had ever apologized to was his mother… and even then, she wasn't around to hear it.
"Well, you need to start somewhere." Melody said firmly. "If you want us to be friends, then you're going to have to apologize for real."
Goth didn't like the sound of that and it must have been visible on his face because Melody scowled and turned to walk away. Goth stopped her from leaving by grabbing her arm, "wait."
Melody stopped but didn't turn around. She just stood there quietly with her ears lowered. They both stood like that for a good moment, one of them waiting for the other to speak while the other tried to find the right words.
"I am sorry for my behaviour, Melody," Goth finally said, letting go of her arm. "It was not… kingly of me. I did not want to make you cry."
Melody hesitated, her ears twitching slightly at the apology. She turned to look at him, "Do you mean that?"
"Yes."
Melody studied his face, looking for any traces of a lie. He met her gaze straight on. He did not smirk or frown. Instead his eyes told her that he was being honest. Reluctant but honest. It was strange, seeing Goth be this sincere… but it was a start.
The human-turned-silverwing allowed herself to smile. "Then I accept your apology."
Goth was surprised, "Really?"
Melody giggled, "Really, really. Now, uh… are you gonna keep those?" She pointed at the flowers in his hand.
Goth cleared his throat and looking rather embarrassed, he handed them to her.
"Thank you," Melody accepted the pink bouquet. She brought them to her nose and she breathed them in deeply. They smelled so nice. "I've never gotten flowers as a gift before."
"You haven't? What about the human males? Do they not try to win your affection back home?"
Melody was taken aback by the sudden question. "Erm… no… not really. They tend to prefer the beautiful popular girls. I'm a bit plain in comparison- not that it matters," she quickly added. This was a sudden change in conversational direction and she wasn't sure that she wanted to talk about such matters, especially with Goth of all people. "I never had time for boys, anyway. I was too busy helping my parents and focusing on classwork."
Now Goth did not have a concept of human beauty. But 'plain' was never a word that he would associate with Melody. No. The bat that stood before him now was lovelier than any female that he had encountered. The way her chestnut hair cascaded around her shoulders, the way her hazel eyes shone in the light, the delicious curves of her body-... Even when she was a human… she was extremely beautiful.
"Goth? Hello?"
Goth snapped out of his daze to see Melody looking at him funny. "What?"
Melody swallowed nervously. For a moment, he had that hungry look in his eyes again like he did before. "I asked you if you've given Phoenix flowers before. She's your fiance, right?"
At the mention of Phoenix, whatever spell Goth appeared to be under instantly broke, to Melody's relief. He grew uninterested and looked away. "We were engaged only recently. There was no need for courtship." He crossed his arms.
Melody was surprised at Goth's reaction. Most people who were engaged were excited to get married to their significant other. "Didn't you propose to her?"
"No."
"So, then she must have proposed to you."
"No."
Melody blinked a couple times and shook her head with a perplexed frown. "Wait, what? Then how did you get engaged?"
Goth let out a dry chuckle as he looked down at Melody. "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one?"
"An arranged marriage?" Melody gaped up at him. "But that's so medieval!"
"Our customs are not for you to judge, senorita."
"No, you're right but-... Itzel and Throbb got married because they both wanted to."
"At a cost. Itzel lost her right to the throne," Goth reminded her.
"But you are already on the throne," Melody tried to reason. "What's stopping you from choosing someone you love? You're the king, aren't you?"
"Ah, you see, senorita," Goth grinned as he leaned down and used his claw to lift Melody's chin so she would look him straight in the eyes. "In order to do that, I'd have to love someone first. Si?"
Melody blushed at his close proximity.
"Besides…" Goth released his hold on Melody and began to walk away while shrugging. "The arrangement was done by Cama Zotz. I will not go against his wishes."
Melody watched him go, having nothing else to say. She sighed and looked down at her flowers. She walked over to the river and sat by it. She began to create a crown out of the flowers. Once Melody was done, she admired her work- stretching it out before herself. Finally, she placed it over her head and looked at herself in the water.
She smiled at her reflection and it smiled back at her. "Well, don't you look like a princess?" Melody joked.
The instant she blinked, her reflection had changed. Her hair was black as night and her eyes were blue as sapphires.
Startled, Melody blinked again and her reflection returned to normal. Melody rubbed her eyes and she looked into the water again. Her hazel eyes stared right back. Melody took the flower crown off her head and looked at it oddly. "That was strange…" she muttered before shrugging. It was probably just a trick of the light hitting the water. With that reasoning, Melody tossed the crown into the river. The water rippled before gently washing the flowers away.
After walking a few ways away, Goth looked back over his shoulder at Melody. He saw her put on the crown of flowers and admire herself in the river. Catching himself staring, Goth shook his head and looked away while running a hand through his red hair. Why was he so fascinated with her? She is beautiful, that he couldn't deny...but so were many of the female vampyrum back at his pyramid.
Phoenix was especially beautiful with that dark sexual allure of hers. She was strong, vicious, and ultimately a perfect vampyrum definition of a queen. If he had never been stolen away from home, perhaps he would have been proud to have her as a fiance. So… why didn't the idea of marrying Phoenix spark anything inside him now?
Not being able to resist to steal a glance at Melody again, Goth tried to find the answer. She had taken off the crown and staring at it with a dazed expression before tossing it into the river and watching it float away. There was such an innocent purity about her, almost childlike.
Sensing that she was being watched, Melody turned her head and their eyes locked. The wind blew gently as they looked at one another, playing with their hair. As if whispering to them that something was changing.
A/N: Well, it's been… half a year since I updated this story. Haha! This chapter is a little shorter than most, but I figured that this was a nice place to stop for the time being. Thank you all for being patient with me. I had the biggest writer's block yet. I was struggling with writing the moment between Goth and Melody. I needed their relationship to progress but I had to do it in a way that felt natural enough. Trust me, I have a bruise on my forehead from banging my head on the desk after one failed idea after another. Nothing I wrote was bad per say… but it wasn't right either. Finally after taking a long break, I think I finally managed it! :D