Mindy's POV

Every wing beat I make, I feel more and more anxious. Its a feeling that makes my heart flutter, and make me wish I couldn't breathe. My throat feels dry, and my stomach is in knots. Mama and Granny felt this feeling countless times before when they were younger, especially Granny. She's the one who said it was Social Anxiety and taught me how to distract myself from it. I focus on the sky and tell myself to study its colors. This is one thing I distract myself with, and it works if I really try.

The sky is purple with pink and blue mixed into it. Pink like the tiny flowers that grow on the forest floor, purple like a butterfly I chased once, and dark blue like Granny's eyes. There were no stars, but the moon glowed with a foggy mist surrounding it. When I was littler, I use to call the moon my friend because it followed me everywhere I felt to. It was like the moon wanted to come with me, no matter how long the journey or the destination. Now I see it as it is: The moon, the sun in the dark.

The sound of laughing startles me and I peek to my side. Oh great, not these guys. Flying a little ways under me are four other Gray bats. Rory, Nathan, Dale and Dale's sister, Grace. Those guys are easily recognizable by Nathan's tall height, Rory's black ears, Dale's snarky face, and Grace's neutral expression.

Dale, Rory and Nathan are known as the Terrible Trio. They'v been causing trouble ever since the day they first they met and are notorious for bullying other pups and causing troubles for the grown ups.

Dale is the snarky, know-it-all leader. He may seem like an angel because of his cute curl in his face, but he's devious and would pick on anyone he sets his sights to.

Rory is Dale's assistant. He knows everyone's weakness and uses that to help the trio bully their victims. However, Rory has a tendency to lie to his parents and whenever he does lie, his black ears would droop. Reveling him as a liar every time.

Nathan is the tallest and the strongest of the group. He's also the one who gets physical with whoever the trio bullies but despite this, he's the most pathetic of the trio. Nathan is more then well known for his gullible nature. He's easily controlled by Dale and Rory, which is why I think that if he were to be with other bats, he wouldn't be a bully.

They work as a team when they bully other bats: Dale is the one who sets the sights on a victim, Rory speaks out their weaknesses and Nathan beats them to a pulp. They bullied me more then once, I can't remember a time when they weren't calling me a 'Ding Dong'.

Seeing them fly so close to me makes me nervous. Every time I see them, its like they know I'm near bye and won't hesitate to pick on me. But I'm alone this time, I'm flying next to Dad, and he'll protect me if those goons come near me. But Grace is with them too, and she's not part of their trio.

Grace is Dale's twin sister, but she's much different then her brother. She's more modest, ladylike, poised and polite. She could easily be the most popular pup for her evergreen eyes, neat, long bangs that she brushes over to one side, and her voice. Grace doesn't speak much but when she does, her voice grabs everyone attention. She lives up to her name when it comes to being graceful. Some say she isolates herself because she's embarrassed that her brother is a bully. Others say she thinks she's too perfect for popularity…But I don't think so.

I tried to be friends with her once, but due to Dale constantly threatening to have Nathan beat me up, Grace and I were forced to drift apart. But when we were trying to be friends, Grace seemed like a nice friend. She wasn't very sociable, and she seemed kind of speechless at times, but overall, polite and patient. Mama and Granny were saddened by our friendship being ruined by Dale, but they understood the reason and accepted it. But Dad was seemed angry about it. Thankfully, he never confronted Dale, Grace or their parents about it. But he does glare at Dale whenever he happens to catch my Dad's eye.

"Hay its Ninny!" Rory suddenly pointed me out, and in seconds, the trio began calling me names. "Hay Ninny, why are you so stupid?" Teased Dale. "Your such a loser! No one is ever going to care about you! You should just fly back to our old home and disappear!" Nathan called out. Then they ban chanting their chant. "You'r a ding dong! You'r a ding dong! You'r a ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding Dong!"

I flew a little closer to Dad, needing his protection. He turns his head and notices whats going on. He frowns. "You pups leave her alone or else I'll tell your parents." He said in a flat but serious voice. Dale, Rory and Nathan flew a little ways away from us, frightened by Dad's threat. Grace watched them fly then followed. Hiding a gloomy look in her eyes.

Dad nuzzles my cheek. "Don't let them get to you, they'll stop bugging you once we get to the Fruit Bat's cave." He said in an attempt to reassure me. I just sighed.

"They'll be just like them." I muttered. Hoping Dad won't hear. Whenever I feel uncertain, he would talk it out with me until I felt better.

A soft pat from Dad was all the proof I needed that he heard me. "No they won't. You don't even know the Fruit Bats, Mindy, I'm sure their very nice bats." He said.

I could think of several ways to reply back. Remind him that the bullying had been going on for…Most of my life..And that Mama and Granny had been bullied too and that no matter what, Dale and his group will never stop pestering me and that I'll never have friends.

But all I say is: "Maybe Dad."

As we continue to fly, I tell myself again and again to be strong. To not let any of the Fruit bats bully me. Show them that I'm not a weakling, that I'm more then just someones little punching bag. My stomach cringes at the thought. What if they see through me? What if something goes wrong and I end up flying away crying like a baby?

The thought scares me even more when I see the cave finally come into view.

Stellaluna's POV

"Are they here yet?"

"When will they come?"

"Where are they coming from?"

"I hope they don't have flees."

The cave was loud with questions. All the Fruit bats were gathered together, young and old alike. I stood closely to Mama, not wanting to leave her when the Grey Bats come. Brandon and his dad was right nest to us. Every now and then, Mama would talk to him but not for too long.

Brandon's dad was a skinny, but tall Fruit at, with eyes so golden they almost looked orange. He was a timid, but gentle bat-but he shared a striking resemblance to Brandon, in terms of personalty at least: He never had much to say, and he barely smiled. But I think it more out of shyness then of anything else. Brandon's mom stood with them, looking at the entrance with a patient face. She herself wasn't very tall, but she had a soft, little voice and was very patient with other bats.

"They'll be here any minute now." Brandon whispered to me. When I didn't say anything, he turned his head so he could look at me better. "Are you still nervous?"

I glanced over at Taiyah, who was talking with her friends. If the Grey bats are just like her, what do I do?…What if their even worse then Taiyah? I look back at Brandon. "Will you meet them with me?" I asked. I don't want to meet these new bats alone. I feel bad that I'm asking for his protection but if Brandon was with me, I wouldn't feel so venerable. Sometimes I feel guilty that I'm always asking Brandon for protection and not protecting him. I'm not a runt and I'm certainly not blind in one eye. Strangely enough, Brandon never asks for help…Not even from me.

Brandon reached out and took my thumb in his. "Sure, Stel." He answered.

Hearing that made me smile shyly, but happily. "Thanks Brad."

It was at that minute that Francis, the scout, suddenly spoke. "I see them! They are here!" Almost as the exact second, bats flew inside the cave.

Brandon and I were both surprised at how they different they looked. We thought they would look just like us Fruit bats only with grey fur but they weren't. Some were various shades of grey, and the older ones were white. All of them had black mane and black tips on their ears. Some of them had ears that were completely black. Their ears were more pointed, their eyes were more oval shaped and their muzzles seemed longer then ours.

One of them, a very silvery female, landed in front of Goldrah, the leader of the Fruit bats. Goldrah is the one with the golden-brown fur and olden ears. She was the one who was originally against the idea of us helping Mom Bird when the owl took her. Goldrah is usually grumpy but she never lets it cloud her judgment, or her reasoning.

"Its good to finally see you again, Veneta." She said, smiling a smile I never seen before. It was a smile of happiness, the kind you would smile if you were reunited with an old friend after a long separation.

"Same for you, Goldrah." The Grey bat she called 'Veneta' replied.

Brandon and I looked at each other. Looks like its true that our leader is friends with their leader.

Goldrah then turned to face the crowd of Fruit bats, still gathered together. "Fruit bats, the Gray bats are our new neighbors. They will live in the cave next to ours and will share our water source with us. They don't eat fruit, but they do eat bugs and will be hunting them while we eat our fruit."

Even from where I stand, I can hear Taiyah and her friends giggling. I have a pretty good idea of what Taiyah is planing.

"I realize this may seem unusual, but all Gray bats are to be treated as equals. We must be kind and respectful to them while they stay here." Goldrah then looked at the Gray bats, who were standing a good distance away from us Fruit bats. "Gray bats, as leader of the Fruit bats, I welcome you to the jungle and to our caves. Stay as long as you wish to."

After Goldrah finished, she stepped back and Veneta stepped forward. For the first time, I realized her fur was so silvery, it practically shined in the dim light. Despite her eyes being almost black, they were warm eyes. Warm like sunlight.

"Grey bats, we'v lived in several different places: A new home in a new land is nothing new to us. But this is the first time we'v ever shared a location with other bats. I know it seems uncomfortable, but Goldrah has been my friend ever since we were young. I promise you these Fruit bats are wonderful people and I encourage you all to reach out and befriend them and then it won't be as strange as you think." She then looked at us Fruit bats. "I thank you, Fruit bats, for letting us stay in the cave next to yours. We Grey bats have been searching for a home for so long and we still haven't found one, but hopefully this will be it. I sincerely hope that we Grey bats and you Fruit bats can get along well."

Veneta's voice was smooth, kinda like hair when its wet or like a soft feather. Yet, her voice was as clear as water, and commanded as much attention as a lion's rawer. She didn't seem like the grumpy type, but her face seemed to hold an absorbent look. One that could absorb anything that she see's and hears.

As soon as she finished talking, the Fruit bats began talking and whispering to one another. The Grey bats doing the same thing. I can hear Taiyah and her friends talking, but I can't hear what their saying.

Since Mama is talking with Brandon's mom and dad, Brandon and I looked around the part of the cave where the Gray bats were standing at. There had to be several of them! All at various ages too. The ones that got our attention the most had to have been the younger ones. There were some that were teenagers and some that were only newborns: A teenage boy with his two little brothers. A tired adult female holding a sleeping baby. A group of four gathered together, three boys and one girl. Although the girl is holding her head as if she were afraid to hold it up. These Gray bats have traveled the world, yet they look so much like us…Only with grey fur and black ears and mane.

Someone suddenly nudged me gently. I looked over my shoulder to see Brandon. "I think someone's watching us." He whispered, nodding up ahead. I looked in that direction and saw a girl Gray bat just our age. Her fur was light gray and her wings were dark gray. Her ears had black tips and her mane was black. She had light blue eyes, eyes that could easily be the sky during the day. She was standing with at least three adult bats, a male, a female and an elderly female. Possibly her parents and grandmother?

She wasn't exactly looking at us, just at the wall or something. But either way, her eyes met mine and Brandon's. For what felt like a long minute, we stared at each other. Each of us taking in every detail of our appearances.

There was something strange about her. Her face was stern, as if she were trying to look tough-but her eyes told a different story. Her eyes looked nervous, almost as if she were secretly unsure of something.

As if she could sense that I could see it, she turned her head away from us and kinda hid under the elderly female's wing.

Brandon and I were silent for a long minute, then looked at each other. "Well that was..Weird.." He said.

I just shrugged. "Well she's new here so maybe she's just nervous about us, like I am." I said.

"Probably." Said Brandon. By now, he was itching his eye. His blind eye. Brandon has this habit that whenever he thinks really hard about something, he would itch his blind eye: Rubbing it, itching the cheek around his eye, scratching his eye brow, lightly itching the eye itself. I'm not sure where that habit came from or how long he's had it, but I know its a hard habit to break out of and that his parents don't like it when he does it.

We fall silent at that moment. Muted by the talking that was still going on in the cave. But now it feels different to me somehow. I can feel it in my gut, and its not just me who can feel it. If Brandon is itching his eye because of the same feeling, then I know I'm not the only one thinking these questions that are flying crazily in my head.

Who was that girl? What was her name?…And what is she hiding from?

A/N:

Ok, little confession: When I was in Elementary school, there were three or four..Maybe five boys who use to bully me and my friend on the bus home from school and one of the things they said to us the most often was: 'You'r a ding dong! You'r a ding dong! You'r a ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding Dong!'. That memory is kind of the inspiration for Dale, Nathan and Rory.

Hope you enjoyed it! :)