Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my characters.

Note: In the series(book and tv show), the bats can talk to all other animals. Shade and Marina could understand bats of other species and foreign bats from another part of the world. They could understand completely different creatures, like owls, pigeons, and rats. Not to mention wolves and bears. So why can't bats understand snakes?

As to the Human killing question. Humans in Mexico, where the vampire bats live, hate the little batties. They think all vampires are disease carriers and they therefore try to kill all vampire bats. They are even known to use dynamite on the poor bats' roosts. I think that's stupid and reckless. They have no right to kill innocent creatures.

Chapter 2

Giant Bats and Sleeping Owls

"Is it just me or is it getting colder every night?" Hazel asked. Tachetee's nose twitched. A Bloodwing's nose has heat sensitive pits. This allows them to find where warm blood flows close to the surface or even test the local temperature.

"It's not you. It is getting colder." she congirmed. Hazel tested the air herself, then shivered.

"Screw this! I hate the cold! It's like...not...warm." she complained. Tachetee laughed, shaking her head in pity. Hazel continued. "I'm so retarded."

Tachetee opened her mouth to say something, but Hazel stopped her.

"And don't you dare agree!" she warned. Tachetee immediatly shut her mouth, smiling.

Silence. Bored, Hazel started to do small flips in midflight.

"Are we going the right way?"

Tachetee watched her friend, her head following the circular movements. "We should. We did exactly what that snake said. And stop that! You're making me dizzy!"

Hazel obeyed and flew above Tachetee. "Well, we haven't spotted any bats yet. And we've been flying for nights."

"Maybe we're not north enough."

"Should we ask someone for directions?"

"Yeah. Come on." Tachetee swooped into the forest below and Hazel followed. They landed on the ground and nosed around the leaf litter.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Hazel questioned. Tachetee continued to nose the leaves.

"Anything that talks." she answered.

"Oh." She continued her search until a voice called.

"Need help senioritas?" They looked up and saw 2 large bats. Bigger than they've ever seen. The strange bats landed alongside them.

"Si. We need directions. Do you know where we are?" Tachetee asked. The bats smiled.

"We're somewhere north. You're from the south, are you not? We are too." the bigger one said, in the same Hispanic accent as the 2 girls.

"Good. We were thinking all northern bats were huge." Hazel said with a sigh of relief.

"You're from the jungle, but never seen us?"

"No. We're not from the jungle. We lived in the Southern Forest in a place the Humans called Mexico." Tachetee explained.

"How'd you figure out the Human's-" Goth could've continued but Tachetee sensed what he was going to ask.

"We have our sources." she said with a cunning smile.

"Well, this is Throbb. And I, seniorita bonita, am Goth."

Hazel blushed as Goth kissed her hand in greeting.

"Mexican chicas have always been my favorite." he said. Hazel smiled. "What's your name?"

"I'm Hazel. And this is mi amigas, Tachetee." Goth faced Tachetee and kissed her hand too. The 2 friends exchanged glances and giggled.

"So what are you two doing up here?" he asked.

"Just here to check the place out and meet the local bats." Tachetee explained. Hazel nodded in agreement.

"Well, if you ever want to take a visit to the jungle." Goth invited. Hazel and Tachetee nodded.

"You can count on that. Muchas Gracias." The two flew off.

"No trouble at all." Goth said, watching them go.

"Goth, why didn't we eat them?" Throbb asked in a complaint. Goth smiled.

"Patience. I have a plan for those 2. We just have to wait."

---

Still blushing, Hazel flew alongside Tachetee, daydreaming. Tachetee looked at Hazel and smiled.

"You like him." she said, startling Hazel back to the real world.

"Huh?" her friend questioned.

"You heard me. You like Goth."

Hazel smiled. "I'm not denying it...Goth is HOT!"

"I know! Mucho male alert." Tachetee agreed. They laughed, spirallng in excitement.

"We are going to visit them, right?" Hazel asked. Tachetee looked at her.

"Yeah! If we don't, we'd be loco!"

They lowered down a bit.

"We should start feeding. We don't want to starve to death." Tachetee said. Hazel nodded. They couldn't feed the night before because they couldn't find any suitable victims. And if they go without blood tonight, they'll starve to death.

"True that." she exclaimed.

They caught sight of a flock of large unknown sleeping birds and quietly soared towards them. They landed next to the smallest of the birds, but even with that fact, it was huge compared to them. Tachetee and Hazel quietly studied this potential victim.

It wasn't like any birds they've seen before. Thick feathers, of which on 2 of the birds formed horn like structures on the heads. Strong talons. A horribly sharp hooked beak. These were forces to be reckoned with.

"Alright Hazel...you take the bite." Tachetee whispered. But Hazel was just as nervous as her friend.

"Why me?" she whispered back.

"Cuz I did it last time. You know, on that...thing..."

"There was no thing. Besides...I bit the last one we fed from. Not you."

"Well...I called 'not it' first."

"What? When?"

"Now. Not it." Tachetee quietly called before Hazel could. Hazel ground her teeth in frustration, slightly bristling. Then moved silently closer to the sleeping giant.

"Be careful." Tachetee said. Hazel nodded and gulped lightly. Twitching her nose, she found that the ankle was the ideal spot to feed. Using her canines, she cliped some feathers off and carefully licked the spot, softening the skin.

Once over, she hesitated. She looked back at Tachetee, who smiled in reassurance. With a sigh, she looked back at the bird.

"Alright Big Guy. Don't worry. This won't hurt a bit." she told the bird. She tensed and closed her eyes. She them bit the vulnerable spot with her front incisors.

The instant she did, she jumped back and away in case the bird were to wake up. It only flinched and took a few small steps along the branch.

Luckily, it was still asleep.

Hazel sighed in deep relief. She'd done the hard part. She carefully fed as Tachetee congragulated her. After having her fill, she waited for Tachetee to finish. Then the 2 happily left the birds. Sunrise will come soon.

"That was easier than I thought." Hazel commented, flying into an empty hollow tree that will be their roost for the day. Tachetee followed her.

"And yummy. We're definitly going back for more." Tachetee told her. They settled down, clinging to the walls of their shelter.

"What kind of birds were they?" Hazel questioned, preening herself. Tachetee followed suit.

"I don't know. But they look dangerous. So we'll have to be cautious when we return." she explained. hazel nodded.

"Right." she agreed before licking her wings clean. She then let out a small shiver. Tachetee sensed her friend distress to the cold and cuddled with her, sharing eachother's body heat.

"I understand why those birds have such thick feathers. It's so cold. I think my nose is frozen." Hazel mentioned. She cuddled closer to her friend, who examined her nose.

"It's okay. Your nose is not frozen. Just relax and try to go to sleep." Tachetee soothed. After a few unsuccessful tries, Hazel finally dozed off, Tachetee snoozing not long after.

They had not the slightest idea that their dinner was the mistake that will cause the biggest scare of their life...and their greatest adventure.