Chapter 17
The Bat In The Belfry Part 2: Zephyr's Lesson and Rachel's Secret
Shade was flying through the city to clear his head, until he spotted something in the distance and he stopped in mid-air. He saw three pigeons flying in his direction. The little Silverwing panicked and made a sharp right turn to avoid the pigeons as fast as possible, but to no avail as one of the three pigeons immediately spotted him. "It's that Silverwing! Get him!" he shouted, and all three pigeons chased after him.
As Rachel was flying back to the cathedral, she turned her gaze and gasped as she saw Shade being chased by the pigeons underneath the street lights. At first, she hesitated because if she just went over there and helped Shade, her wings would expose her. But she was never one to turn her back on those in need, and she wasn't going to let her best friend be captured and taken to General Brutus. Therefore, she would have to take the risk to save Shade. She goes to help her friend, but then stops in mid-air when she hears a strange humming sound coming from out of nowhere.
Suddenly a mysterious Silverwing appears and draws the pigeons' attention. They chase after the mystery bat instead, and Rachel hides behind a nearby building to avoid being caught. She watches closely as the mystery bat settles on the roof of another building with his chest sticking out, taunting the pigeons to come and get him. As the pigeons drew closer to him, the mystery bat took off from the building and flew in the opposite direction. The pigeons seemed to be right on his tail but then - POOF - he just disappeared into thin air!
This confused the pigeons, as well as Shade. Rachel was even more confused as she scratched her head in puzzlement. 'Wait - what? Where'd he go?' she thought, scanning the sky for the disappearing bat.
The mystery bat then reappears right in front of the pigeons and lures them far, far away to the other side of the city. Not knowing how that mysterious bat performed the disappearing-reappearing act, Shade returns to the cathedral to tell his friends what has happened.
Watching Shade return to the cathedral, Rachel was about to catch up with him, but she decided to take a little detour in the city in case there were any more owls or pigeons still patrolling the area. She was completely unaware that the giant bats were following her from a very good distance.
The blind but mysterious Zephyr was standing within the mouth of the stone gargoyle with the confused Marina standing beside him. They were both watching the chase between Shade and the pigeons and the mysterious Silverwing who, out of nowhere, had just appeared, disappeared and then reappeared before their very eyes. The albino elder chuckled before flying back inside the belfry, leaving the young Brightwing in puzzlement. Marina couldn't help but wonder what had just happened, but little did she, Shade, or Rachel know that Zephyr have had something to do with the mysterious "Houdini Silverwing".
Back inside the cathedral's belfry, Shade couldn't help but ponder over how that mystery bat pulled off the "disappearing-reappearing" trick on the pigeons. "That was weird," said Shade. "One minute he was there and the next he wasn't." He then began to think that Zephyr knew something about it. "You know how he did it, don't you?" he asked.
Zephyr stopped and turned towards the skeptical Silverwing and smiled without saying another word.
Shade then noticed that Rachel was nowhere in the belfry. "Hey, where'd Rachel go?"
"She left to go clear her head. She should be back by now." Marina replied.
"Oh, must be because of the magic glow in her wings or something."
"What magic glow?" asked Marina.
"Oops!" Shade quickly covered his mouth as if he accidentally spilled out Rachel's secret, but then he sighed and told her about the amazing thing that happened on the day he and Rachel first saw the sun.
Meanwhile, back at the water tower, the Silverwings were still roosting and hunting to preserve their strength for the long migration. Some of the mothers had returned from their hunt to feed their pups. The rest were deep within their sleep… except for one.
Chinook was roosting from his selected spot thinking about what Rachel said to him when left the burned down Tree Haven. He could almost hear her voice echoing, 'We all make mistakes and in time we all come to learn from our mistakes.' Chinook didn't want to admit it, but he was beginning to miss Shade and Rachel. Hoping that they are still alive and on their way right now to catch up with the colony.
Chinook's thoughts were cut off when he noticed Shade's mother, Ariel flying a few feet away. He was beginning to wonder whether or not he should tell her the truth of what happened before Tree Haven burned down. But then he heard Rachel's voice again, remembering what she said, 'You'll never know if she will forgive you… unless you at least. Don't allow yourself to keep waiting in the wings.' Taking Rachel's advice, Chinook took off from his perch to join Ariel.
He calls out to her softly, "Ariel?"
Hearing Chinook's voice, Ariel slowed down her pace to allow him to catch up to her hoping that he might have come to give her good news about her son and Rachel."Is it Shade? Is it Rachel? Are they here?" she asked hopefully.
But Chinook shook his head in response and lowered his gaze in shame. Ariel sighed in disappointment, but she did notice the shame and guilt in his eyes. She could tell that he had something on his mind and wanted to get off his chest. "What is it Chinook?" she asked.
He told her the truth. "Tree Haven burning down… it was as much my fault as it was Shade's and Rachel's."
Ariel gasped as she was taken by surprise with Chinook's confession. The two of them flew over to roost at a streetlight. Chinook continued explaining to the stern Ariel of what happened that night. "I was showing off in front of Todd, Breeze and I was trying to impress Rachel and make her feel welcome… but then I called her a humans' pet. I shouldn't have listened to her and Shade when he dared me to see the sun. I couldn't let the runt-" he quickly corrected himself after Ariel glared at him sternly, "I mean… I couldn't let him show me up."
Ariel didn't reply. She was hurt that Chinook had taken things too far by offending Rachel and bullying her son. Chinook began to shed tears, fearing for the worst. He took Rachel's advice, but ended up receiving the unpleasant results of no forgiveness. Oh, how he wished he could take it all back.
Ariel saw Chinook's expression of shame and regret. She was upset and disappointed at first for what he did. But as a mother, she wore a sympathetic smile and forgave him. After all, Chinook showed honesty just like Rachel did. Then she scooted over to wrap her wing around him in comfort.
Chinook felt Ariel's comfort and was relieved that she had forgiven him. Rachel was right about coming clean with Ariel. In fact, she would be proud that he came clean with what happened if she and Shade were with them right now.
"I bet they're still alive." Chinook said faithfully with a smile, wiping his tears away.
"I hope you're right," Ariel agreed, smiling.
On her detour through the city, not too far from the cathedral, Rachel was being extremely careful to avoid the streetlights without being spotted by any owls or pigeons. But as she was flying, she suddenly had the feeling that something, or rather someone, was following her. She flew down to an alleyway full of garbage and landed near a dumpster.
Her heart was pounding in her chest and her fur stood on edge. Suddenly, something dashed to one side of the alleyway behind her. Rachel quickly made a sharp turn, but there was nothing there. Then another dashed into the opposite direction just when her back was turned. This caused the young Goldwing to gasp with fright. Though she was afraid, Rachel stood her ground. She adjusted her ears and sniffed around, checking her surroundings and trying to deduce who was following her until finally she picked up the scent of her stalker.
It was a bat, yes - two bats to be precise, actually - but there was something about the scent that had Rachel puzzled. It was not originally from Daria's conservatory nor was it of the Northern forest. Probably foreign. It was exotic, yet it mixed with both rat and pigeon blood. Whatever kind of bats they were, they're apparently carnivorous and very dangerous.
Suddenly, the sound of clanking metal startled Rachel out of her focus and she flew behind the dumpster. She attempted to wedge herself between the cramped space of the dumpster and the wall but to no avail. So as "Plan B", she found a piece of an old pipe small enough for her to hit with, like a baseball bat, and armed herself at the ready. With the mini pipe in hand, she cautiously peeked over the dumpster only to see that it was just a random rat squeezing its way out of the drain pipe and scavenging for garbage or food scraps from the humans' previous meals.
Rachel sighed in relief and lowered her pipe. "It was just an alley rat." She calmed herself down. Little did she know that the rat was heading in her direction scanning underneath the dumpster for food, unaware of its fate creeping up from behind.
As the rat scavenged near Rachel's direction, an eerie shadow drew closer and closer on its prey. The rat looked up and began to scream, which made Rachel jolt with fright. Suddenly - CRUNCH - everything went silent. Then came a dark chuckle.
Horrified, Rachel quickly armed herself once again with her pipe, breathing heavily. Then she quickly jumped out of her hiding place but there was no sign of the rat or it's attacker. She slightly lowered the pipe but then noticed the claw marks on the dumpster. She carefully examined them and traced them with one free hand. They were much bigger than her's. In fact, the marks were somewhat identical to the scratch marks from Hegland's neck the night he and his friend were attacked, and the scratch marks on Ambrose's right shoulder blade.
"What sort of bat are you?" She said under her breath, as she sniffed the claw marks. Worried that the giant bats were still around somewhere ready to attack at any moment, Rachel hurried out of the alleyway.
As she left, the giant bats stayed behind. The taller bat observed her every move, quite impressed by how she prepared to defend herself and how she was scanning her surroundings. He chuckled and softly said, "Hmm. Beautiful and smart. Quite the spirited one, aren't you señorita?" His shorter partner grew hungry and was about to go after the Goldwing, but the taller bat extended his arm, blocking his path. "No. Let her go. I want her alive. Besides… something tells me our paths will eventually cross with her's." Then he formed a dark smirk as he continued to stare at her in the horizon.
Rachel flies into another alleyway a few yards away from the rat attack and hides inside an old cardboard box, her heart still pounding from escaping her "giant bat" stalkers. She poked her head out of the box and sniffed around the area in hopes that the giant bats were not on her trail. Instead she picked up a familiar scent of a bird - a pigeon! It was Hegland!
Rachel came out of her hiding place to find Hegland trembling with fear in the deep left corner of the alleyway. She can tell that he was still in shock from witnessing his friend's murder and from Shade's and Marina's little shadow puppet show from earlier. She didn't blame him. In fact, even though it was hilarious, Rachel felt kinda guilty for tricking him. So, she sympathetically hopped over to the poor traumatized pigeon to comfort him.
"Hegland?" She called to him softly.
Startled, the trembling Hegland looked up to see the sparkling Goldwing from the pigeon court. "It's you!" He exclaimed. "Wh-what are you doing here? Stay away from me! Please don't hurt me!"
Rachel gestured him reassuringly, "Hey, hey. Easy now. I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to talk to you."
Hegland gazed at her in bewilderment. "Me? W-why me?"
"Because I know what it's like to not be taken seriously by your own colony… or flock, in your case. In a way, you and I are the same, Hegland… we're both outcasts. And because I believe your testimony."
"Y-you do?" he asked in surprise, and Rachel nodded with a warm smile. Hegland thought for a moment before he spoke, "No one has ever believed me. The captain and the other pigeons always say I'm never sure of anything."
"And what do they know?" Rachel protests, "How could they possibly know that for certain? Were they with you at the time of the attack? Did they witness the murder? Did they see the giant bats?"
"Well… no." Hegland replied hesitantly.
"Then how can they doubt what you've seen if they never saw it?" Rachel points it out to the pigeon. Hegland took a moment to ponder the Goldwing's question. She did make a valid point. Then he looked at her and smiled slightly. "Just because General Brutus and the pigeon court have never seen the giant bats, doesn't mean they don't exist. A friend of mine taught me that lesson." Then Rachel held out a helping hand.
Hegland hesitated a little bit before reaching for her hand with his wing. Noticing that he still had the scratch on his neck, Rachel offered Hegland aid at the cathedral where he could receive medical attention. "Hegland, I'm willing to help you in your time of need, but only if you're willing to let me help you." He nodded in agreement. However, in order to get to the cathedral, they would have to avoid the streetlights because of Rachel's wings. Even though Hegland - being a pigeon and all - can't see in the dark, Rachel was able to guide him to the cathedral through the darkness.
Meanwhile, back inside the belfry, Zephyr was hanging from a support beam near his migration chart. He was collecting some medicinal herbs that were hanging right next to him and Marina was assisting the elder with gathering the herbs in a pile.
Shade was hanging a foot from them on another support beam, resting his wing while wondering what was taking Rachel so long to return. Suddenly, he heard a pigeon cooing from somewhere… inside the belfry! Shade looked around to see where the cooing was coming from. He then heard it coming from up above him and he took off from his perch to investigate.
Marina, noticing Shade flying up to a higher beam, followed after him. When she joined him on the beam, Shade shushed her and pointed upwards to a pigeon above them. The pigeon was a female with an injured wing, moving sluggishly across the support beam and she looked very scared.
Seeing the pigeon, his eyes filled with immense hatred, Shade's blind anger took over and he flew out of his hiding spot, startling the frightened pigeon. "You're one of those birds who tried to kill me out there!" he snarled and then clung to the ledge above the frightened pigeon.
Rachel returns to the cathedral with Hegalnd in time to witness Shade letting all his anger out at an innocent pigeon.
Still trembling, the wounded pigeon tried to reassure the angry Silverwing as she continued to move across the beam. "No. You're mistaken. Look, can't you see? I'm hurt."
Shade didn't listen. Instead, he advanced on her with blinding hatred. "Owls probably killed my dad. They burned down my home and then you guys tried to kill me, Rachel and Marina! I hate all birds!"
The female pigeon whimpered and backed up as much as she could, until she stepped onto a piece of wood which broke and fell to the bottom, nearly hitting Rachel and Hegland.
Worried that Shade was about to do something stupid, Rachel bit her lower lip. 'Shade, no. What are you doing? She's scared and wounded. Leave her alone. Open your eyes.' she thought.
The pigeon continued to plead with Shade. "Can't you see? I'm not a threat." Another piece of wood began to bend from under her feet and she began to tremble with fear for her life. "Please! I just came here to hide!"
"Hide? From what?" Shade snapped.
"Giant bats. They attacked my family." the pigeon replied.
"Well they probably had a good reason! I know I would!"
"Shade, she's hurt! Back off." Marina tried to get him to stop, but he was too blinded by anger and hate to understand the danger that the injured pigeon was in.
The pigeon pleaded, "Please… don't you see what you're doing?"
As Shade drew closer, the wood from underneath the pigeon fell, causing her to lose her footing and she fell. Shade finally snapped and realized that the pigeon was falling to her death. "Oh no…" he gasped in horror. He quickly swooped down after her but the pigeon was way out of his reach.
Rachel gasped in horror and - out of pure instinct - she took off from the ground with great speed and flew up to save the pigeon. Without a second thought, Rachel grabbed the pigeon by her wing with all her might. Though the pigeon was too heavy for the Goldwing, Rachel kept tightening her grip and she strained in shout. With her heart full of valor, Rachel - as if by magic - had gained such incredible strength, which she never knew she had, and her wings mysteriously began to glow on their own… again!
With her strength increased, Rachel carried the unconscious pigeon and gently placed her onto a support beam a level below Zephyr and his migration chart. Witnessing Rachel's magical side, Shade and Marina stared in awe and amazement. Even Hegalnd was amazed.
Rachel landed right beside the unconscious pigeon and breathed heavily from the heavy lifting, with her eyes closed from exhaustion. But at the last second, the magic glow from her wings faded away before she could open her eyes again.
After a moment of mentally processing what had just happened, Marina, still amazed by what she had just witnessed, landed beside Zephyr. "Did you see - hear that?"
"I heard a young bat blinded by his anger…" he responded, "then I saw something change in him."
Hearing Zephyr's voice, Rachel and Shade joined him and Marina up at their level. Shade couldn't help but feel terrible and ashamed for blindly taking his anger out on a helpless, traumatized pigeon and cornering her in a life-threatening manner which nearly led to her death. Rachel and Marina both placed an arm around his shoulders in comfort. Then Zephyr wisely advised the young bats, "You must never underestimate the power of a kind act, even towards one's enemy… Real or imagined."
The girls looked at the old bat and raised an eyebrow, not understanding what he meant by "real or imagined". Zephyr just merely smirked. Then he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and then started to sing an echo. As Zephyr sang, Rachel couldn't help but notice that the harmonious humming sounded familiar. It was almost the same hum from when the "Houdini Silverwing" showed up earlier and lured the pigeon sentries away from Shade. Rachel was about to say something when an orange furry cat tail mysteriously caught the corner of her eye. Shade and Marina noticed the tail as well, then the three teens looked up to see an orange tabby cat sitting right behind them!
The trio jumped back in fright when they saw the cat, but then Rachel recognized him immediately. "Ambrose? What are you doing here? How did you even get up here…? Uh… Ambrose?" Noticing that Ambrose wasn't saying anything, she turned her gaze towards the entranced Zephyr. She tilted her head in puzzlement, not knowing the connection, until she looked back and forth at Ambrose and Zephyr.
Finally, Rachel saw the connection and her eyes widened in realization. She gasped, astonishingly. 'Zephyr can echo project?!'
Suddenly the image of Ambrose flickered until - POOF - it vanished from existence, just like the "Houdini Silverwing" from before.
Now it was all starting to make sense to the dumbfounded Shade. "T-that cat… and the bat - they - they were echo projections?!" he stammered.
'I didn't know we could do that.' Rachel thought.
The blind elder heartily chuckled and hopped away into the opposite direction. Amazed by the fact that bats can echo project too, Shade couldn't hold his excitement. "Will you teach me?"
Zephyr agreed. "Of course, my boy. I'd be happy to teach you. But first, I must tend to the pigeons' injuries. I'll be right back." He gathered some healing poultice for Hegland and the unconscious pigeon. But just as he was about to fly down to their level, Rachel stopped him in his tracks. "Wait, Zephyr!I don't understand. How did you know that's what Ambrose looked like… ?"
Zephyr merely chuckled. "I am full of many mysteries and surprises, my dear." Then he took off to tend to the pigeon refugees, leaving the bewildered Goldwing alone with her friends.
Marina, still amazed by Rachel's wings, couldn't help but break the silence. "So it's true… Rachel's wings really do glow!"
"Yeah, they do-" Rachel replied, but then she stopped herself and looked at the Brightwing puzzled, "Hey, wait a second. How did you know… ?"
"We saw them glowing just now when you saved that pigeon from falling to her death." Marina explained. "Plus, Shade told me that it happened back when you two saw the sun."
The confused Rachel raised an eyebrow, "What?"
"It's true." Shade intervenes. "I saw your wings glowing that day. At first I thought it was just the sun reflecting from your wings, but no. They were actually glowing… like magic!"
This threw Rachel off. "Well… yeah, they do but… All on their own? That's not possible! Usually, they glow whenever I sing. "
"But you weren't singing earlier." Marina recalled.
Rachel replied, "I know, but… This has never happened before. It doesn't make any sense."
"How come you never told us that your wings can magically glow?" Shade asked.
"Well, uh… In my defense, I never intended to keep it from you. The truth is I never gave my wings much thought when it came to that very subject and… sometimes I forget that they can do that." Rachel answered. She took a deep breath, softly exhaled, and then lowered her gaze before she further explained. "You see… back home, in the conservatory that I grew up in, the other Goldwings think I'm odd. It was not just because of my ideas about freedom and adventure, but it's mostly because of the magic glow in my wings. Even I have to admit it's kinda weird. I don't even know the actual reason why they glow in the first place, it's just how I was born. So, in a way, I'm kinda like the outcast in my own colony. Always have been. But then when I left my colony to see the world and migrate with the Silverwings, and after everything that has happened… I didn't tell you because, I guess a part of me didn't want to freak you guys out. I'm sorry."
"But Rachel… we don't think it's weird or freaky at all." Marina said with empathy.
This response took Rachel by surprise. "You don't?"
"Of course not! Are you kidding?!" Shade interevens again. "We think it's amazing!"
"We had no idea of how truly special you are!" Marina added. "Of course, that would explain why you understood our feelings so much. You didn't have to keep this from us. We would've understood from the beginning. At least now we're not the only ones who know how it feels to be treated differently in our own colonies."
"Really?" Rachel couldn't help but smile. "You guys aren't mad?"
"How can we be mad? You're our best friend." Marina replied. "We're just glad you finally told us your little magic secret."
"Aww! I love you guys!" Rachel wrapped her arms around her friends, before she added a condition. "Also… If it's all the same to guys, I'd appreciate it if we kept the whole 'magic glowing wings' thing between us. Just to play it safe. Besides, the last thing I want is for that kind of info to fall into the wrong hands. Especially the owls."
Marina nodded. "Sure, we can keep it our secret… as long as we all agree not to hold out on each other. Deal?"
The trio agreed in unison. "Deal." But then remembering Zephyr's echo projection of Ambrose the cat, Shade added, "Hey, speaking of 'holding out', you never told me that your friend Ambrose was a cat! What gives?"
Rachel just gave him a sassy smirk. "You never asked." She answered, followed by a chuckle. Shade returned a smirk.
Then the curious Marina added, "One last thing I'd like to ask, regarding the magic glow. Doesn't it get heavy on your wings when it happens?"
Rachel replies jokingly, "No… it's light."
Shade and Marina stare at her for a moment until they got the joke. Rachel and Shade laugh and Marina laughs exaggerating. "Very funny."
"You know, before I left home, my elder Nicodemus told me that he believes Nocturna blessed me with glowing gold-dusted wings for a reason. Whatever the reason that it might be, I hope to one day unravel its mystery."
"We can do it together!" Shade exclaimed. "Once we've caught up with my colony and journey further to Hibernaculum, we can learn more about your wings!"
"I'm in!" Marina agreed.
"I wouldn't have it any other way."
Zephyr, who was listening, stepped into the conversation, walking towards the trio. "Oh yes. You're definitely going to need all the help you can get from your friends throughout your journey, young Goldwing. Like Nocturna and the god of the humans, the magic in your wings works in mysterious ways. It can do more than just glow. But that is up to you and your friends to find out."
Rachel and her friends were dumbfounded. "It can? But how did you know about…?"
"I've known about your wings long before you even left home. In fact, I knew another Goldwing long before you were elder, Nicodemus."
"Nicodemus?!" Rachel exclaimed in shock.
"And he was actually the very first Goldwing who escaped from the conservatory."
This news really took Rachel and her friends by surprise."He was? And you two knew each other?"
"Oh yes. We met back when we were just about your age. It happened right here in this very belfry. He wanted to get out and see the world, just like you. He had been very kind to me and we became such good friends in our youth."
"That would explain how he knew the way out of the conservatory, because he had done it before!" Rachel slammed her fist in her hand.
Zephyr nodded and held his chin in reminiscence. "Ah yes. Good ol' Nicodemus. He was a clever bat, too. And as I recall, he met a young Silverwing female who was migrating to Hibernaculum at that time. They were quite fond of each other back then." he chuckled.
"He met a young Silverwing?" Shade was taken by surprise even more.
"Who was she?" Rachel asked curiously.
"You've already met her. And I believe she is now an elder and the leader of Shade's colony."
"FRIEDA!?" The trio bellowed in unison. They couldn't believe their ears. Then Rachel asked, "Why didn't she tell us?"
"My guess is you and Shade will have to ask Frieda yourselves, once you three have caught up with the Silverwings."
Another thought came toRachel's mind. "But I don't understand. If Nicodemus was the first to leave the colony to go see the world, why didn't he join Freida and the Silverwings on their migration?"
"Good ol' Nicodemus wanted to meet the Silverwings and join their migration but he claimed that he had a sudden case of homesickness. But I knew that there was a whole other reason for going back to the Goldwings with such urgency. A very good reason. It wasn't until many years later, Nicodemus came to me and informed me about you and your wings himself, and that was right after you were born. He said that Nocturna came to him in his dreams the night before he met Frieda. She told him that it wasn't his time to go out and see the world."
"Why didn't he tell me? What else did Nocturna say to him?"
"I'm afraid you'll have to ask Nicodemus that question after your journey." Zephyr replied. Finally, he changed the subject. "Now then, I believe I promised to teach echo projection." He flew over to a corner near his flight chart to prepare for the young bats' lesson. "What I have to show you, you must be ready to see. Only one in a million bats can echo project." He leaned down to pick up an herb, before walking to some stashed up herbs."We'll see… First there are a few skills you need to master."
"Like what?" Shade asked impatiently as he flew after the blind elder.
"Oh like uh… Sound mapping, star navigation, and uh… Herbal remedies."
"Herbal remedies? What do I do if I get cornered by an owl, throw leaves at him?" Shade laughed.
"Don't get too cocky, Shade." Rachel pointed out. "These are really important skills. I still don't know how to call up a sound map or how to read stars, remember? After all, I did leave home to learn out here. And who knows, maybe herbal remedies might come in handy to us in the future."
Rachel joined Marina and Zephyr, and then the blind elder used his echolocation to compare Shade's size to that of an old book leaning against a wooden support he stated, "You obviously cannot use your size to overpower the enemy".
"He's sensitive about his size," Marina whispered into Zephyr.
"The more you know, the better chance you'll have against much stronger opponents." Zephyr walked over to Shade and then he easily swept under Shade's foot and pushed him to the ground.
Shade, taken by surprise, grunted as he fell onto his side and gazed up at Zephyr.
"Do you understand?" Zephyr made his point.
Shade hesitated for a moment, before he finally understood his teacher's point. "Oh. I see… I'm ready."
Two nights later, the cardinal who had earlier spotted the Silverwing at a water tower, met with General Brutus and his soldiers in the woods just outside of the city. The Owl General impatiently tapped his talon against his tree stump as he anxiously waited for the cardinal's report.
"Okay, I'll tell you where the Silverwings are if you give exclusive mosquito hunting rights for the whole valley." the cardinal arrogantly demanded.
Brutus growled at the small bird, not liking the cardinal's arrogant tone.
Realizing that he might've stepped over the line a little with his demanding approach, the cardinal slightly backed away and nervously rephrased. "Okay, half the valley would also work, yeah?"
"You'll lead a squadron of my owls to the water tower. We'll talk about hunting rights after the entire Silverwing colony is annihilated!" Brutus commanded without argument.
At that very same time, the young teens were hanging from the inside of the stone gargoyle's mouth while Zephyr stood underneath them. There, the master was putting his pupils to the test with their knowledge on herbal remedies. He picked a green herb and presented it to his students.
Recognizing the herb from her lessons, Marina bursted, "Stinging nettle!"
"H-hey! I was gonna say that!" Shade protested.
"Used for what?" Zephyr smiled as continued to test his students. "Shade? Rachel?"
Shade tried to figure out the answer, but Rachel knew the answer right away and beat him to it. "Oh! Aching joints!"
Shade groaned for not getting the answer. Then he grumbled like a whining newborn pup. "Oh, that'll come in handy… when I'm old." The young Silverwing was growing impatient as he groaned again. "Ugh. We've been at this for almost two whole nights and you still haven't gone around to echo projection! Just constellations and boring herbs."
As the impatient Silverwing complained, Zephyr grabbed a dead leaf and began poking a peculiar hole pattern into it with his claw. "Shade, you will need this knowledge for the journey ahead." The elder reminded his student. Then he showed them the leaf with the poke hole patterns. "What is it?"
The begrudging Silverwing looked at the dead leaf but then turned away from it. "A leaf?" he answered in annoyance.
"And…?" Zephyr tested them.
Marina took the leaf, allowing her and friends to examine the hole pattern carefully. Finally, the trio looked at each other as they had figured it out by matching the leaf's hole patterns to that of the stars in the sky, drawing out the constellation.
Zephyr was very pleased. "Well done! You three are beginning to use your brains."
"Now can I learn echo projection?" Shade asked, very eager to learn echo projection. The albino elder smiled at him silently and then gestured to him to join him in the belfry. Shade was finally going to learn echo projection! "Alright!" The excited Silverwing beamed, making an air fist pump, and he flew down after Zephyr, followed by Rachel and Marina who both giggled with excitement.
Back inside the belfry, the trio of young bats sat side by side to each other. Shade sat in the middle, with Marina on his right and Rachel on his left. They all waited anxiously for Zephyr to teach them echo projection, until he finally spoke.
"Capture the object with his heart." He instructed. "Listen to it form in your imagination. Once you can hear it, sing it."
Shade placed his hands on his head and closed his eyes tightly in order to concentrate. He struggled with it at first, as he strained and groaned from trying so hard. "Ahh, ugh… Can you see, guys?" he asked his friends as he struggled.
"See what" Marina asked.
"What are you trying to make?" asked Rachel.
Shade continues to struggle, "A giant bat. Like the gargoyles with… uh, huge claws a-and teeth."
"Uh… Mmmm." Rachel couldn't figure out how to break the news to him. Marina, however, just gave it to him straight. "That would be a… no."
Shade opened his eyes and sighed in frustration.
"Try something simpler, like - uh… A leaf." Zephyr advised his student.
Following his advice, Shade concentrated really hard into creating a leaf. Hearing the humming sound, Rachel could tell that Shade could actually echo project. Then she and Marna noticed a blurry image appearing at their feet. It was a bit distorted, but it was definitely a leaf. Developing a headache and unable to hold the hum of his echo projection, Shade broke his concentration, groaning, and then the leaf image vanished. Marina couldn't help but laugh at his failed attempt. Rachel, on the other hand, only laughed because she was both impressed and amazed that her best is an echo projector.
"Well done, Shade!" Congratulate the pleased Zephyr.
Shade breathed heavily in frustration. "Ugh. I couldn't hold it. It has to be longer and bigger and scarier."
Zephyr placed a comforting hand on the overwhelmed Silverwing and advised him, "Your emotions are getting in the way, Shade. Take a break and stretch your wings. All of you."
As the blind albino walked away, Shade was about to protest but Rachel agreed with Zephyr. "He's right, Shade. I think we can all use some fresh air and exercise."
"While you three are out, you can pick some stinging nettle for me. A patch of it grows in an alley not far from the cathedral." The three teenagers flew out of the belfry to gather stinging nettles for him. As they were exiting, Zephyr gave them a quick warning. "Keep alert and listen."
Rachel and her friends cautiously flew down the alley Zephyr spoke of and found a patch of stinging nettles.
"Rachel and I will pick, you stand guard," Marina told Shade.
"What am I going to guard against? A plant?" He joked and began pulling the nettle. As he pulled, the nettle gave way and Shade landed on his back with the stinging nettle in his hand. Suddenly the girls gasped in fright, leaving Shade confused. "What? What is it?"
When Shade turned around, he finally understood why… An owl scout was menacingly standing right behind them! The owl let out an eerie screech and Shade, acting on instinct and quick thinking, swung the nettles at it causing the owl to cry out in pain. The owl lost his balance and fell onto his back… but then he suddenly vanished into thin air.
This left three teens baffled and confused. Then they turned around to see a prancing Zephyr in, laughing giddily like a child. He played a trick on them with an echo projection.
Shade sighed in relief. Rachel and Marina couldn't help but laugh at Zephyr's little trick. "Good one, Zephyr." Rachel commented.
Just as they were all to leave, another shadow hovered over them, then they heard a pur followed by a hearty laugh.
"Ha, ha. That was pretty good! Oh, you should've seen your faces! Priceless!" Said a familiar voice. Rachel turned around to Ambrose smiling at them.
"Ambrose!" She exclaimed as her feline friend walked over to them and she hugged him. He purred and hugged her back. "What are you doing here?"
"I come to this alleyway all the time." He replied. "It's just outside of Daria's apartment. Usually, I just come here to chase a couple of rats for the fun of it, but I couldn't help but enjoy the whole show. Ha ha! Oh that was too funny."
"Oh, hah ha. Very funny, Ambrose." Rachel smirked.
Then Ambrose turns his gaze towards her friends. "And you guys must be Shade and Marina. Rachel was just telling me about guys!" Then he turned to Shade and smirked. "Though, I thought you'd be taller."
"Hey!" The little Silverwing snapped. Rachel and Marina couldn't help but laugh.
Meanwhile, in the valley south of the city, Chinook was in the middle of hunting a tiger moth when a couple of flying squirrels stopped him.
"Hey you!" called out the female flying squirrel.
"Yeah, you!" echoed her mate.
The female continued, "So tell us what's going on with the bats and the owls, huh?"
Chinook hesitated at first because he wasn't sure what they were referring to. "Uhh…I don't know. " He shook his head and shrugged, waiting for them to further explain.
"We flying squirrels are tired of being mistaken for bats!" The female flying squirrel complained.
Her mate added. "It's harassment! Just because we have fur and fly doesn't mean that the owls can pull us over on a whim."
"Yeah! Word on the treetop is there's this colony of silverwings going around killing pigeons!"
Chinook's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. 'Bats killing pigeons?!' he thought.
The male flying squirrel delivered the worst news of all. "General Brutus has decreed that all bats be questioned and any silverwings be imprisoned."
His mate paused for a moment, wearing a puzzled face and then it shifted to suspension. "Say, what kind of a bat did you say you were?" She asked Chinook.
Thinking fast to hide his identity, Chinook said, "Uh… a Chickenwing!"
Luckily and thankfully, the flying squirrels bought it.
"Ok then. Well, we gotta fly."
"We're outta here!"
As soon as they were finally gone, Chinook took off in a hurry to warn the Silverwings of the killing spree they're accused of. On his way back, he saw something in the distance and used his echolocation to identify who. Chinook bared his teeth when realized who it was. It's the same shady cardinal from the other night! He has given away the Silverwings' current location and is leading a squadron of owls towards the water tower!
Back in the belfry, Rachel removed her bandage to see that the scratch on her arm was all better now, thanks to the white herbal flower Zephyr had given her. After that, she went to check on Hegland and the wounded female pigeon. As she landed beside them, she couldn't help but notice that there was a spark developing between the two love birds.
"So… when did this new relationship blossom?" Rachel asked teasingly, followed by a giggle.
Hegland blushed in embarrassment and the female giggled and blushed as well. "Oh… Well, I uh - uh… I was telling Jewel that I had just lost my friend Jack to the giant bats and it turns out that he was her betrothed. Oh - and this is Jewel, by the way."
"Jewel? Well that's a pretty name. And I'm sorry for your loss." said Rachel.
Jewel, the wounded female, thanked her for her condolences. "Thank you. And thank you for saving my life." Then she noticed Shade standing behind Rachel. Jewel could tell how sorry he was for wrongfully taking his anger out on her.
Rachel looked over her shoulder to see the remorseful Shade. She gave him a warm forgiving smile and held out her hand to him. He hesitated at first, but he took her hand anyway. He and the pigeons forgave each other and they all agreed to let bygones be bygones. After all, Hegland and Jewel both know deep down that Shade, his friends, and his colony are innocent.
After making up with Hegland and Jewel and making them promise to keep Rachel's secret, Shade and Rachel joined Marina and Zephyr in the gargoyle's mouth. There, Zephyr continued to give them their lecture. "Now you can only hear the world around you with emotions that are calm and a heart that is open." Then Rachel and her friends gasp in awe as a shooting star flashed past them.
"Amazing!" Rachel exclaimed.
"You can hear a star?" Shade asks Zephyr.
"Hear? No." Zephyr replied. "But I can sense it."
Then Shade thought of his colony for a moment, wondering if they're okay. "Can you sense what's happening to my colony?"
Zephyr adjusted his ears a bit, trying to concentrate and pinpoint where the Silverwings are now. "So many colonies…" he muttered. "So much interference." He paused for a second and then his face turned fearful. "Something is wrong… Very wrong! They are in grave danger!"
Rachel gasped. "What?! No!" She held her hands close to her mouth in horror.
"Where? Where are they?" Shade asked desperately.
Zephyr pinpointed their location. "In the valley… south of the city."
"I've have to warn them!"
"Be careful. There are owls patrolling this area." Zephyr warned them.
Shade and his friends nodded and were prepared to find the Silverwings and warn them of the danger they were in. Before they took off, Shade looked back at his teacher who smiled back at his students. Rachel took the moment to give Zephyr a peck on the cheek and one last hug goodbye before taking off. "Thank you." She told her mentor. "Thank you so much for everything."
Zephyr chuckled and hugged the young Goldwing back. After their embrace, the blind albino elder stepped back as his pupils took off into the horizon. As they flew further away, Zephyr wished them good luck in a soft whisper-like prayer. "May your vision stay clear."
Goldwng16's Note(s):
Hello everybody!
Now, again, I must apologize for keeping you all waiting so long for this chapter, but I have multiple reasons why: 1. This chapter is a lot longer Chapter 16 was… and I mean like 27 FREAKING PAGES LONG! (So, I decided to make the font size smaller and printed 22 pages, but at least my ghost editor will be able to read it.) 2. I was having a hard time trying to cleverly connect some scenes but the I felt like that that connection wasn't working and just throwing off the storyline a bit. (You'll read more about that in the FUN FACTS.) Well anyways, it looks like Goth's entry will be in Chapter 18 as planned. So that means we are getting close. YAY!
Now, without further a due...
FUN FACT(S):
1. In the scene where Rachel's wings glow all by themselves after saving Jewel the pigeon, the plan was to use another Netflix She Ra reference (Season 1 Episode 2, Adora freaks out when she's that can turn into She Ra), but... afterwards it didn't right with and I felt like that reference was making the chapter go off topic. So I took it out.
2. Rachel's little light joke was based off of a reference I used from Tinker Bell's first movie. Plus I couldn't resist a good joke.
3. We finally learn that Nicodemus was the FIRST Goldwing to escape from the conservatory AND that met Frieda! But what was their relationship? Why didn't Nicodemus join Frieda and her colony when he had the chance? Why wasn't it his time to go out and see the world? And what was Nocturna's message to Nicodemus in his dreams? So many question and such a big mystery!
Stay tuned for Chapter 18... AND Goth's arrival!