Ch. 2

Chinook couldn't bare to look at Ariel. For several minutes, he had explained in detail about the true cause of Shade's rash decision on breaking an ancient law. As well as the spoken words he had said to the smaller newborn before he had flown off. Chinook kept his gaze glued to the bark by his feet, ears flattened back in a pitiful and guilty gesture.

Ariel wasn't sure what to feel for the newborn. Angry? Dissapointed? Hurt? Maybe all three emotions at once. Not only did Chinook make her son's life miserable for being the runt of the colony, but he had also bad-mouthed her husband openly to Shade. Squinting her eyes shut, the female could only rest her head into the palms of her claws, letting out a heavy sigh. She couldn't believe it. Chinook would never say those things. But the way he was acting the entire time he explained the situation to her, was enough to convince her.

"Ariel...I...", She flinched at the broken, fragile voice, "I'm sorry...I know I-"

"Save it, Chinook." She cut him off, turning sharply to him, her piercing gaze making the dark-blue Silverwing draw his wing back. She couldn't stop a hateful scowl from forming, stepping right up to Chinook, her gaze boring straight into his own eyes, "I cannot believe you. I thought you were a good pup. I thought you were a promised Silverwing, growing up to be just like your father. But from what you just told me...I was wrong. Your nothing like your father, Chinook. Your a show-off. A bully. I can't believe I thought you were just causing minor problems. I should've talked to your parents when I had the chance." She growled out, pointing a claw into Chinook's chest with every word. Any amount of respect she had for the newborn before was gone. She only saw a bat who had gotten joy out of tormenting Shade for his own amusement. "I'm going to speak to your mother right now, Chinook. After that we're going to look for Shade when the storm settles." Ariel growled, spreading her wings and beginning her ascent to her chosen roost, "We'll see if your allowed to join in the search."

Chinook watched as she disappeared into the upper levels of the hollow, jaw quivering with heavy guilt. Rubbing his eyes to dry the tears, he followed suite. He had to face his punishment sooner or later. He couldn't help but think that he deserved it, after all. He passed by numerous roosts, most of which had females grooming and cleaning their pups, or were taking a short nap. On his way up he passed Breeze and Todd's roosts. Breeze had her muzzle buried in her mother's chest, shoulders quivering as the older female was trying to comfort her. She looked worried and confused, thinking that she was grieving over Tree Haven. But Todd...he never saw the chubby Silverwing like this. He was on his own, his parents having gone out to hunt.

But he was coldly glaring at him as he flew by.

Chinook turned away. The sound of a hushed conversation reaching his ears as he neared the top of the hollow. Reaching his roost, the first sight was Ariel, tensely whispering to his mother, Isis. She had a look of shock and realization on her face. Chinook landed as softly as he could, before his mother finally turned in his direction. Her face hardened into a disappointed and angered frown.

"Chinook! Is it true what Ariel had just told me?!" Isis asked in pure, mother-like, anger. Like a newborn who was caught doing something completely forbidden. He could only hang his head in shame.

"Yes, mom." He sighed.

Meanwhile, elsewhere on the island...

Hours went by as the storm blew throughout the island. The rain wasn't too bad, but the winds and the lightning were relentless. Luckily the tree Shade chose to roost in was strong, barely moving despite the strength of the howling winds. The newborn was sleeping peacefully, having emotionally exhausted himself awhile ago. Every few seconds, his ears would twitch at the slightest sound over the rain. Whether it was a twig breaking off one of the larger branches, or a distant rumble of thunder. After an hour had passed, the storm had reduced to just gentle rumbles of thunder, though the rain only eased up a tad.

The sound of faint wing beats reached his ears.

He perked up, glancing out of the knothole. Who would be flying in this kind of weather?

The storm must've been pretty short, Shade thought to himself tiredly, stretching his wings with a groan, his back and neck making a few satisfied pops. Though he had to admit, it was better sleeping from the ceiling than on the floor.

The wing beats were getting closer, enough for Shade to finally turn his head around in anticipation. Who was it? His mother? He had stayed out for quite awhile. But he hoped it wasn't Chinook. He didn't want to have anything to do with him. The wings got closer and closer. Edging their way to the tree.

Then they stopped. Shade couldn't help but hold his breath. Had they landed?

Only the sound of the wind and the rain followed. But a soft scratching began. Like something crawling on the bark of the tree. The Silverwing kept his eye on the top area of the knothole, expecting someone to poke their head out. The scratching came closer and closer.

It stopped again. A pair of claws gripped the top of the hole, making Shade freeze. What happened next, he wasn't expecting. The unknown bat actually swung itself upside down, head looking up as soon as the rest of it's body passed a certain point in the momentum. All he got was a face full of orange fur, and bright green eyes looking into his own blue ones.

A high, most likely a female, voice he didn't know, cheerfully greeted him.

"Hey there!"

"AAH!" Shade yelled out, unintentionally flinging himself backwards, hitting his head on the wall. The orange bat drew in a hiss of breath, wincing at the spill the Silverwing took. Blinking the stars out of his vision, Shade rubbed his head in mild pain.

Great...as if I don't feel bad enough already, He thought bitterly as he stood up and looked at the new visitor. He couldn't help but study the features of this bat. She was a female by the shape of her face, but he also noticed the different muzzle and ear shape. Her golden locks hung in three large and wavy bangs. Two hung on the right side of her face, and one on the left. Shade scrunched his face in concentration. There was a specific name his mother used for these kind. What was it? The orange bat tilted her head in curiosity as Shade struggled to remember the species name. He immediately brightened up.

"Ah! A Lightwing!" He declared, pointing at the supposed 'Lightwing'.

Her face immediately shifted into a deadpan stare.

"No? Not Lightwing?" Shade asked, feeling uncomfortable from her look.

"I think you mean 'Bright'wing, short stuff. You almost had it, by the looks of it." She smirked, wrapping herself in her wings.

Short stuff?

"I'm not that short!" Shade growled, once again feeling a little more worse.

"What kind of bat are you?"

"Huh?"

"I already told you I'm a Brightwing. Now what are you?" The female asked him, grinning slightly from his reaction to the name 'short stuff'.

"Oh. I'm a Silverwing." Shade muttered out, enfolding his wings around himself.

"Kind of small for a Silverwing."

The fur along the back of his neck bristled, "Enough about my size!" He snapped out of annoyance.

The other bat drew back slightly, "Oh, I must've struck a nerve." She let go of the top of the knothole, giving a flap of her wings to balance herself, landing on her feet in front of Shade, "Look, I"m sorry if I offended you about your...problem." She muttered the last bit, not wanting to hurt his feelings any further. Shade could only turn his head away, hmph'ing softly.

"I'm Marina, by the way."

His ears perked up, turning his irritated eyes to her, "Huh?"

"My name. It's Marina. What's yours?" The bat, Marina, asked, giving a smile at the Silverwing.

For some odd reason, Shade felt comforted by her smile. Slowly, though a bit shyly, he held her wing out to her, "Shade. Shade Silverwing." Marina's claw grabbed his own and gave it a soft shake. Having a closer look at him, Marina's friendly smile gave way to a concerned frown, looking directly into his eyes.

"Why are your eyes so red?" She asked innocently.

Shade quickly remembered how he ended up in the knothole the other night. The past couple hours of crying his eyes out. Would she make fun of him for crying? Should he tell her? He lifted a claw to rub his eyes again. This time wincing from the feeling. They were really irritated. The edges of his eyes were tinged a light red, but his eyes themselves must've looked bood-shot as well.

"Uhhh..." He looked over to the Brightwing, who only looked back at him with that same concerned frown, "It's...a little complicated. Can we fly and talk? I need to stretch my wings."

Marina nodded, standing aside and spreading her wings before leaping into the air. Shade followed close behind. The first couple minutes was spent in silence as both bats soared over the trees, Marina occasionally glancing at the small Silverwing. He looked preoccupied, glancing down at the trees, then looking out toward's the island's shore. The entire time he had a depressed look on his face, which had concerned her the most. Did something happen to him?

"Is the rest of your colony here?" Shade's voice had beat her to it.

Well, at least he's talking, She thought to herself, turning to the Silverwing with a smile.

"I'm on my own, actually." A surprised glance answered her, only making her chuckle, "Have been for at least two months."

"All by yourself? On the whole island?" Shade asked, picking up his pace so he was right beside Marina.

"Yep! It's actually alot easier for me, seeing as I can hunt on my own without worrying about other bats stealing from me." She said, swooping further down the tree line after spotting a juicy looking tiger moth.

As Shade followed, realizing how hungry he really was, he noticed a quick glint of light from Marina's left wing. He remembered a similar time he had seen a glimmer like that. Without another thought, he blurted out, "A band?"

"Huh? Band? If you mean a band of bats, I only meant just one." Marina answered, not fully understanding his question.

"No, I mean, you have a band?"

She turned sharply to Shade, who only looked at her as if he had done something wrong. Sighing, she ascended toward's a nearby branch. Shade raised an eyebrow at her reaction, following her as she landed, turned her head to the side. As if refusing to look at him. He hesitantly approached her, landing to her left, unsure what to do. Had he somehow offended her about mentioning her band?

"Marina...?"

"I...got it three months ago," She began to speak, quietly and calmly, "When I was out hunting in the northern forests. I flew into some kind of trap or a net. It was the Humans. And...I was scared for a second. Wondering what they were going to do to me." Marina idly ran her right claw over the metal band on her wrist. "But they were actually kind of gentle. Stroking my fur. Trying to calm me down. Then they clamped...this thing onto me. " She held up her wing that had the band on her wrist, "I thought it was the greatest thing to happen to me at first. I was excited to show my parents my band." Marina chuckled at her memory, though it slowly began to vanish as a certain point in her past began to emerge, "But when they saw the band...my mother...started to cry. The rest of my colony said that the bands were cursed. A sign of bad luck, they said." Her face shifted into a frown, "The elders...told me that I had to leave the colony, to keep themselves safe...from me. When they left, I tried to follow them, but from a distance. I didn't want to be left behind." Marina softly spoke, her eyes were growing slightly moist as she remembered that terrible night.

Shade mouth had hung open slightly at where her colony had banished her. Were they that truly scared about the bands? Did they really believe the stories about them being cursed? The Silverwing couldn't do much but to rest his wing on her shoulder, giving it a gentle and comforting rub. This made Marina glance at Shade, who could only look at her with sympathy. Breathing in deeply, she let out a low sigh.

"You don't have to tell me if it's too difficult, Marina." He said in honesty, not wanting to see the Brightwing look so sad.

"No, no, it's okay. I should tell you." She sniffled slightly, before continuing her story, "But after trying to follow them, the elders sent a couple of larger males to chase me off. Just from them, I hid. By the time I thought they were gone...so was my colony. My parents..." Marina closed her eyes, biting her lip at trying to keep her emotions in control,"...were gone. I tried flying in the same direction they were flying before. But I couldn't find them. I'm not even sure where they are now." She sighed, wiping away a stray tear, though her face remained calm. Shade rubbed her shoulder gently, unsure what else to do to comfort her. Though there was one thing that he could tell her.

"I don't think the bands are cursed."

Marina's ears perked up, turning to look at Shade with a curious frown, "Huh?"

"I said I don't think the bands are cursed. Because, well, one of the elders in my colony has a band. She said that she got it when she was just a pup. So the stories about them being cur-"

"Your elder has a band?!" Her saddened state immediately exploded into a happy and excited tone. A pair of bright green eyes and a muzzle, pressed up against his own. The Silverwing yelped at the sudden change in mood. Shade wasn't expecting this kind of reaction, cheeks turning pink from the contact, "Who is she?! What's her name?!"

"F-Frieda! Her name's Frieda!" He said, trying to use his wings to gently move Marina away from him.

Too close! Personal space!, He thought, feeling uncomfortable as she persisted, unaware of her own intrusion.

"I know that, but, where? Where is she? Where's your colony?" She had calmed down a bit, but was still excited about the fact that another bat had a band just like her. Only that she was still alive, and that proved that the stories and curses weren't true.

"We were spending the night at a hollow tree." Shade relaxed, moving his wings off her shoulders, "Big one, plenty of spots to fly into, an...old oak tree, I think?"

"I know where that is. I've flown by it so many times while hunting. Can we go and meet them now?"

Shade stiffened. Having met Marina, and hearing her story, one part of him said that he should take her there to meet Frieda. She did seem rather excited to see her after he mentioned her. But the other part of him, his own mind, didn't want to go anywhere near his colony. Especially Chinook. Feeling a scowl form on his face, he turned to avoid Marina seeing it, though she was unaware.

"Do you think we can go tonight? You did say your colony was only staying for the night. I don't think going out during the day would be a good idea. There's only a few more hours until sunri-"

"No."

...

Marina blinked. The excitement was gone. Only a frown and a hurt expression came onto her face. "I'm sorry, what? Did you say...no?"

"Yes. I did. We can't see my colony." Shade muttered, not looking at Marina. The Brightwing began to look both hurt and confused, opening and closing her mouth. Though she couldn't form any words. She could only stutter.

"W-what?! Even after I told you about the story behind my band?! B-but...! Why?!"

"Because I can't take you, that's why!" Shade replied almost coldly, trying to hide the truth about why they couldn't go. Why he couldn't go.

Marina wasn't giving up that easily. She didn't want to be alone again, "Why can't you take me?! What's the big deal?! You told me yourself that the bands aren't really cursed! Your elder has one that she got when she was a kid!"

"Because! We can't go! I can't go back there!" He retorted, starting to get annoyed and frustrated.

"Because why?!" Marina yelled back, determined to get an answer, "Why, Shade?!"

"BECAUSE I LOOKED AT THE SUN!"

...

...

His voice echoed through the forest. He was breathing deeply from his outburst, glaring at Marina. She stood back a few steps.

"What?"

Shade shook his head, growling bitterly before sitting down on the branch, his legs dangling of the edge.

"I looked at the sun." He sighed bitterly, shutting his eyes, brow furrowing, "I broke our most...important...and absolute...law. I broke. The law." He rested his head in his claws, drawing in a deep breathe, "And I cost my colony our summer home."

Marina glanced uneasily at Shade, mostly due to his outburst. But doubt began to fill her thoughts. Looked at the sun? The short bat had to be pulling her wing. Right? There's no way that a bat could look at the sun!

"The owls...", Marina stopped her thoughts, looking at the blonde haired Silverwing, "...wanted justice served. They wanted the bat who broke the law. Me. But Frieda refused to hand me over, even when they threatened her. She didn't want Brutus to have me." Shade softly spoke, not looking up from his claws. Marina's eyes widened. Every bat knew the name of the general of owls. She had to give the old elder credit for being brave, "Then they flew off, warning us that it was our choice. But they came back...with fire. They burned down Tree Haven. They...burned down our home!" Shade slammed his fist into the bark of the tree, a wet drip landed next to it, "And it was my fault. It's all my fault." His breath quivered, a single hot tear leaked from his eye.

The Brightwing couldn't believe what she heard. This bat. This one single bat, right in front of her, had not only cost his colony a home, but had broken an ancient law. And he was severely regretting it.

She edged herself closer to the small Silverwing, who continued to mutter negative things about himself.

"Chinook was right. He was always right. I'm weak. The smallest. A trouble maker. Just like my father. And...," He sniffled, another tear beginning to drip down his face, "...nothing but a coward."

Wings wrapped around him in a gentle embrace. Taken by surprise, Shade turned his tear stained face to find Marina, teary eyed as well.

"No more, Shade." She whispered, trying to keep her voice calm, "Stop. Your not weak. Your not a coward. You didn't know things would happen like this."

He could only look at her, closing his eyes, then opening them again. His vision was slightly blurred, "But...Marina...I-"

"You should be thankful of your elder. She stood up for you because your young." Marina comfortingly gave Shade a squeeze, "You still have a life ahead of you. You shouldn't spend it locked up or...even be killed...for what you did. That shows that Frieda cares about you." Unknowingly, she nuzzled her head into the back of his shoulder, eyes closed to keep her own tears from falling.

Shade remained stiff. But eventually, her words began to reach him. He began to understand what she was trying to tell him. Slowly, but surely, his body began to relax. Sighing deeply, he held one of Marina's claws, who in turn held him a little tighter.

He felt safe.

He felt a lot better than before.

He no longer felt guilty.

Minutes seem to pass by, the moon shining brightly as the last of the storm clouds passed. By then, Shade had felt relaxed and content. Though he still felt the apprehension at seeing his mother and his colony again. And Chinook. Would things change if he went back? Or would they be the same? The colony blaming him for Tree Haven, and Chinook continuing to be a bully?

"Feeling better?" A voice cut off his thoughts. He turned to look into a pair of eyes, looking down at him sympathetically. Realizing that he was still in her embrace, pink rushed into his cheeks again, getting a raised eyebrow from Marina.

"Uhhh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He cleared his throat, "I'm good, Marina." He gestured his claw to her wings. It took her a good five seconds to see what he was pointing at, before letting him go.

"Oh! Right! Right. Sorry." She muttered sheepishly, a pink hue adorning her cheeks as well.

Both bats still sat next to each other, but an awkward silence fell between the two of them. Marina idly glanced off to her right, while Shade did the same in the other direction, a blush still on their faces. Shade looked over to Marina, before clearing his throat quietly, getting her attention. Both shyly looked at each other before Shade spoke up first, "I feel fine. Honestly. But...I'm still having second thoughts about my colony. Especially one bat in particular."

"Who is it?" Marina asked out of innocent curiosity, not wanting to pry into anything personal.

"It's a little complicated." He replied, looking down at the forest floor, "All I'll say is that we don't really have a good history between the two of us. Ever since we were small pups."

"Oh. Okay." She nodded, looking into the sky, the stars shining brightly on the dark canvas.

"Hey, listen," Shade's voice snapped her out of it, "I'm going to go think this over for a bit. Need to get my thoughts together." He got to his feet, opening his wings to stretch them, "Where can I find you? Do you hang out anywhere in particular?"

Marina watched as he prepared himself to take flight, pointing a wing ahead of her. A tall wooden post could be seen in the distance, "I usually roost over there. Look for that post, and a big building next to it. It shouldn't be too hard for you." She said with a grin, though she meant it for harmless fun. Shade only smiled back, genuinely.

"Alright. I'll see you later, Marina." She waved at him with a smile before he took flight, heading towards the shoreline for some time to himself. Maybe a good view of the ocean would help clear his head.