Chapter 6

Meeting With The Council

Spreading her wings, Rachel took off into the air and allowed Mercury to escort her to the elders' roost. On their way towards the council, she could still feel the colony's gaze and it was really starting to make her less confident about meeting the council. Her anxiety was swelling up inside her head and her heart was pounding so hard that she almost wanted to turn back and give up now. But her strong spirit told her not to give up now. Not when she has come this far to achieve her dream and become more experienced.

Five minutes later, Mercury and Rachel finally arrived at the elders' roost. As the Goldwing landed on a wooden ledge with Mercury right behind her, she looked up to see five female elders roosting from above. The five elders flew down from their roost and landed on the branch just above her and, like the rest of the colony, they too were amazed to see this young Goldwing.

The tallest elder in the middle stepped forward. She was an ancient, elegant-looking Silverwing, seemingly as ancient as her elder Nicodemus. She had a light brown mane, light beige and dull pink fur almost looking like a human's dress robe, with greyish purple wings, long white hair with long front bangs, and light wisdom-filled green eyes.

Rachel had to assume that this elegantly wise Silverwing is the colony's leader. Then she noticed something glimmering on the elder's left arm and her eyes lit up. Just like Rachel, she was wearing a silver band. 'Frieda,' she thought, remembering that Shade had mentioned a Silverwing named Frieda has a band too, so that means that this wise leader must be her.

Frieda, the banded elder, noticed that the young Goldwing was gazing at her band before she turned to her scout. "I take it that this young lady is the Goldwing you've mentioned, Mercury?" she asked, "The one that Shade Silverwing has brought into Tree Haven?" He nodded.

Then Frieda turned to the Goldwing. "Young lady, step forward." As nervous as she was, Rachel did as the elder said, not wanting to disobey her. She hopped four steps forward and waited for what Frieda had to say next. "State your name, my dear."

Rachel took in a deep breath before she spoke, "my name is Rachel Goldwing, and I-"

"Bahh, why are we wasting our time talking to this… this… gold-dusted rouge that we've never heard of?" Another elder spatted out of turn, wearing a scowl expression on her face. She was shorter and fatter than the rest of the elders. She had shark-skin grey fur, light grey mane, short white hair with long front bangs, dark grey wings, and gleaming yellow eyes.

This particular elder showed to be more cold, bitter, spiteful, arrogant, cruel, and quite the opposite of Frieda. "Goldwing indeed," she scoffed as she continued to speak, "such a bat doesn't even exist in this forest nor should they. With wings like her's, she probably thinks that she is far more superior than us or other colonies. She's bound to become a troublemaker as well."

Rachel gasped as she felt hurt by the elder's cruel words. Never has she met another bat who could be so cruel and heartless. The young Goldwing tried to kindly reason with the Silverwings to make them understand. "What? No! That is not… I would never… I have never-"

"I say we throw her out into the forest to fend for herself, and forget that she even exists," the elder interrupted without care, shutting down the girl's pleas.

"Bathsheba!" Frieda snapped, narrowing her eyes as she disapproved of her fellow council member's behavior. "That is no way to address our new guest." The elder, known as Bathsheba, sneered while crossing her arms in bitter jealousy.

"It is true, that we Silverwings have never heard of a Goldwing before," Frieda continued, "nor have we ever seen one up close. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't get to know them, for you cannot judge a bat by their wings."

Her wise words lifted the young Golldwing's spirit. Rachel can definitely see why she was named leader of her colony. She was a lot like her own elder, Nicodemus; kind, wise, and understanding. Frieda then turned to Rachel, gesturing for her to continue. "Tell me my dear, does your colony have gold dust in their wings as well?" She asked curiously.

The teen looked at her wings for a moment before answering, "No, I'm the only one in my colony who's born with them."

Interested by the girl's answer, Frieda placed her left clawed index finger on her chin and hummed in thought. "Interesting. And you say that you are from the human city, is that correct?" Rachel nodded slightly. She then explained to the council that her colony has been living in human captivity for 50 years, long before she, her parents, and grandparents were even born.

Frieda was intrigued by her story and yet there was one thing that puzzled her. 'If the Goldwings have been living in human captivity for 50 years, then how come no other bat, nor any other animal for that matter, has ever heard or seen them before?' She thought. Then she continued to ask more questions, "Has your colony ever migrated before?"

Rachel shook her head, "No, we've never been outside the conservatory. I am the first in my colony who has ever set foot outside. All of my life, I have always dreamed of being free to do and see new things, and experience a whole new life in a real-life forest. I want to be more experienced and do more." She spoke with an open heart as she continued explaining, "My elder, Nicodemus, has allowed me to leave my colony and join another on their winter migration. Then when I met Shade, he told me that I can join you on your migration… if you'll have me."

"What?!" Bathsheba exclaimed with a snarl, not believing that this so-called Goldwing outcast would dare request such an outrageous thing. The other elders looked at each other in bewilderment.

"You wish to join us on our journey to Hibernaculum?" Frieda asked. Rachel nodded with all certainty.

"Absolutely not!" Bathsheba bellowed again in disapproval, rejecting the girl's request. Rachel's eyes were swelling up with tears after she was struck by the short elder's cruel outburst. "We will not have some trouble-making, daydreaming, gold-dusted bat that we are not familiar with, join us to Hibernaculum. I still say that we-"

"Bathsheba!" Frieda snapped silencing her fellow council member, disapproving her cruel declaration and her attitude towards the young girl. "We cannot turn our backs on a bat in need. Especially a young bat who is yearning to experience the ways of the Northern forest."

The fat elder scowled and crossed her arms. Clearly, Bathsheba disliked Frieda… a lot. It was also clear that she disliked being reminded who is the leader here. Rachel couldn't help but sense that the two elders don't really get along. She could also sense that Bathsheba, for some strange reason, must be bitterly jealous of Frieda.

Frieda turned to the Goldwing, spread her wrinkled wings, and then flew down to where she and Mercury were standing. She landed in front of them and walked towards Rachel, giving her a stern expression. "Rachel Goldwing… "

Rachel grew nervous by the tone in Frieda's voice. The suspenseful pause was so intense that she feared for the worst; when all of sudden, Frieda's face turned to a warm, soft, and caring expression. "… you are welcome to join our colony's migration to Hibernaculum."

Rachel was overjoyed to hear that she had been accepted by Frieda and the council. Her tear-swelling eyes widened followed by a beaming gasp, as a smile spread across her face. She was so overjoyed that she could just give Frieda one massive bear hug.

Bathsheba, on the other hand, was appalled by Freida's decision. "Frieda!" she protested. "You cannot be serious! She is an outsider! She doesn't even know our ways."

Frieda looked over her shoulder to see her fellow elder's continued objection. "Then we will teach her," she responded. "If she is to join us on our migration and be more experienced, she will need our guidance."

Bathsheba crossed her arms, in defiance of the idea.

The wise Frieda turned to face Rachel as she continued speaking, "Rachel Goldwing, within a week this colony will soon begin the journey to Hibernaculum. That should give you plenty of time to learn our ways and the ways of the Northern forest. You will need this knowledge to guide you along the journey you are embarking on. Do you understand?"

Rachel gave her a warm, thankful, and understanding smile as she nodded. "Yes. Thank you, Frieda. I won't let you down. I swear I'll be prepared by the week's end," she promised enthusiastically.

Frieda chuckled warmly, "I most certainly hope so."

Now with a sense of relief, the young Goldwing started to feel fatigue taking over her whole body, as she gave out a yawn while covering her mouth. "Pardon me," she excused her inability to disguise how tired she was.

Frieda gave a warm smile and chuckled, while placing her left wing on the girl's shoulder; knowing that Rachel was tired and needed some sleep. "I'd say it's time for you to get a well-earned rest, my dear," she suggested. "You've had a long journey and you'll need to build up your strength for the migration." She then turned back to her scout, "Mercury, why don't you escort Rachel to Ariel and Shade's roost. She can stay with them for the time being."

Mercury nodded, walked up to Rachel, and he gestured her to follow him to where Shade and his mother were roosting. Rachel looked up at Frieda with an appreciative smile before hopping over to Mercury. They both spread their wings and took off from where they stood. Rachel and Mercury then soared down to the lower levels of Tree Haven, to Shade and Ariel's roost.

Ariel was already asleep in the roost. Shade, on the other hand, was completely restless. He anxiously worried that his new friend wasn't going to be accepted by the council, silently praying to his goddess, Nocturna, to give strength and to let Rachel stay with the colony. "Please, please, please."

All of a sudden, he heard the flapping of wings and alerted his mother, who was still asleep. They looked up to see Mercury flapping in mid-air at the level of their roost, with Rachel flapping beside him.

"Here we are, Rachel," he said with glee, "you'll roost with Ariel and Shade for the time being. I hope you'll be comfortable here."

"Thank you, Mercury," she politely responded.

"So… How'd it go with the council?" Shade asked with a smirk on his face, even though he already knew the answer.

Rachel couldn't hold back on her smile as she told them, "Frieda and the council have allowed me to stay and join the migration!"

Shade and his mother both beamed at the good news. He gestured an air fist-pump, while shouting "alright!".

Ariel, also overjoyed, held her hands close to her. "That's wonderful news! Congratulations Rachel!" she exclaimed as she held out her arms, gesturing Rachel to come and give her a hug. "Welcome to the colony."

The three of them turned to Mercury as he spoke, "I leave you in their capable hands." With that, he took off to his roost for the day, leaving Rachel, Shade and Ariel to their slumber.

Goldwing16's Note(s):

AHA! That's Chapter 6!

As we all suspected, Rachel got accepted by Frieda and the elders... except Bathsheba. (Bitter old hag.)

Now that Rachel is finally gonna migrate with the Silverwings and learn their ways, the real question is... Will she be up to the challenge?

Stay tuned for Chapter 7!