Chapter 7
Missing
Shade watched with interest as the small band of greenwings reeled overhead and began to ascend towards the cliff edge where Frieda and the others elders awaited them. Marina was watching too, rounded ears twitching as she also tried to listen in.
"You want to go up there, don't you?" she goaded him.
"Yeah, of course I do," he replied, fidgeting.
"Well, take the lead, I'll be right behind you."
"I'm not just flying up there," he replied quickly. "Besides, we'll hear all about this from Frieda later. If it's something big she's gonna share it with the entire colony."
Marina wasn't convinced.
"I'm still new here, it would be rude if I went on my own."
The two might have fidgeted and argued for some time, about which was the politest way to eavesdrop, if it wasn't for Frieda then spotting them. The elder raised one wing and gestured for them to join her with a smile. Marina smirked at Shade and launched herself into the air before Shade had even had time to unfurl his wings. He followed after her quickly, determined to be the first one to land.
The two of them landed about the same time, skidding slightly upon the icy surface of the outcrop, where the others waited for them patiently.
"Is this him? But he looks so...young," said the largest of the greenwings upon catching sight of Shade. He then seemed to gather his wits and bowed, the other greenwings in his group quickly copying him. "We and all bats are grateful for what you have done for us, Shade Silverwing. We owe you our eternal gratitude."
"Eh heh heh, thanks," Shade laughed a little awkwardly. Sure he liked being a hero, but it could also be awkward at times. He didn't feel as if he had actually done that much, but somehow he had, he had turned an ancient rule on its head and brought peace between owls and bats which hadn't been known for centuries. He still couldn't quite believe it himself.
"This is Hazel," Frieda introduced the lead greenwing to Shade. "He hails from a colony that hibernates not far from here. They had not heard of the treaty till one night ago, and flew here to confirm that it was true. But to also offer us caution."
The lead greenwing cleared his throat.
"The giant you spoke of, that started this whole mess," Hazel said to Shade. "I believe my colony encountered one of them a three nights ago."
"Have you told the owls yet?" Shade asked, he didn't like to think of either of the two cannibals still flying around. "They're trying to find them, but haven't had any luck yet."
"We did not know of the treaty at the time of the encounter, nor had we heard of the cannibals from the south," Hazel replied, then cringed uncomfortably. "We made no move to stop them, or seek the owls' assistance."
"Them? But you said you saw one?" Shade checked, but he wasn't really surprised. Goth had survived through an owl attack, a rockfall and even a human power station, so what was a little icy water to him?
"We saw only one of the large bats you described," Hazel then gestured for another of his group to step forward. "Macadam was the one to speak to them."
The other greenwing, Macadam, stepped forward. He was smaller than Hazel, his greyed fur indicative of a more advanced age, likely a messenger like Mercury. He was also clearly troubled, repeatedly frowning and squaring his shoulders.
"What did you mean they if there was only one?" Shade asked again. "Did he give a name?"
"There was only one, and he did not give a name," Macadam shook his head. "But he was not traveling alone. There was a silverwing with him, a young lady. We didn't speak long, but it was clear she hadn't heard of the treaty either as she inquired why the owls were attacking bats. That giant though, he was pleasant enough in conversation but I got the feeling that he didn't really want to talk."
"So it would appear our enemy has found himself another guide to return to his home," Frieda concluded. "We should inform the owls as soon as we can, but it is already possible that he may be beyond their reach. You met when? Three nights ago, was it?"
"That's right, madam," replied Macadam anguishedly. "I feel as if this is my fault. If I'd known I would have done something! That silverwing he was traveling with is probably dead by now..."
"It was not your fault, you could not have known."
"What sort of silverwing would migrate alone at this time of year anyway?"
"Perhaps one that was banished," Marina said quietly, looking down at the band on her forearm. Shade realised that through their adventures they had still never discovered its significance.
"Possibly," agreed Frieda. "But more likely one that was lost, why else would she agree to travel so far from home? Did she appear to be under any distress? Perhaps she was coerced."
"I couldn't say for certain, she didn't appear to be particularly upset," Macadam said to Frieda, then looked at Shade uncomfortably. "But that brings me to my next point - this only struck me when we just met just now - but Shade Silverwing, are you currently missing any close relatives?"
"Yeah, my sister was separated from the colony on the journey here," Shade replied uneasily. "We're hoping she'll turn up in the next few nights though."
"Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but the silverwing guide, that the cannibal had with him, you remind me of her."
"...and so Nocturna saw fit to bequeath the chosen a paradise, that never cooled, in which the chosen knew no fear; of hunger, injury or death..."
The elder's voice was slow, soothing and above all else, zealous. But he spoke words Dawn already doubted - though she wondered if she might have been swayed had she arrived here alone and naive of the true nature of this place.
Even with this doubt though, it was hard to completely disbelieve the elder. Part of her mind told here there was a possibility that the bat she had met, Robin - who had clearly gone a little stir crazy - had lied or been confused about what had actually happened to the rest of his colony, or that maybe even Goth was wrong - he had after all said that the holding place at which he had been imprisoned was not quite the same as this one.
It was hard to believe that anything was wrong when so many bats around her were so convinced that everything was right.
"...and when the sun rose on Nocturna's promised land, no bat was blinded nor scorched by its light. There were no cries of accusation, for no laws had been broken. The bats had returned to the light, as is our right, the chosen few..." the elder continued speaking. Around her the other gathered bats murmured quietly in agreement, like wind rustling through dead leaves.
It had been three nights since she had first arrived here, and so far neither she or Goth had found a way out. So maybe there was a tiny possibility they were trapped in paradise, but there was no denying that every bat there was indeed trapped.
Dawn fidgeted on her perch, beginning to grow restless, and bored. She had already heard this speech twice since she had arrived, having to listen through it a third time didn't make the self-worshiping tale any more interesting.
"At least pretend to listen," Goth said just loudly enough for her to hear.
"Why are we here? I thought you said this guy was bogus," Dawn muttered in amusement. Despite his words, Goth had been tutting and hissing all evening that the elder was speaking nonsense.
"I intend to talk to the old one that is speaking now," he replied. "He may know something we do not."
"You think he would just tell you if he knew a way out?" Dawn asked disbelievingly; crossing her wings and grinning. Goth spared her a mere glance before looking forward towards the speaking elder again. Dawn huffed and went back to musing.
She had noticed that Goth had become strangely quiet since they had arrived in the artificial forest three nights before. It was not that he was shying away from anyone - Dawn doubted Goth even knew the concept of shy - but more so that for the most part he showed little to no interest in talking to any of the locals. He had also developed a somewhat odd fixation regarding the metal entrance contraption to the artificial forest, often hanging for hours at a time nearby to where new bats might arrive - even though he already knew that there was no getting out that way.
She had no idea what Goth was up to, and he wouldn't elaborate beyond that there was nothing else to do.
Only three new bats had arrived since they had; with winter now firmly settled outside there were very few bats still flying around outside. Goth had greeted each of these bats before anyone else could; the last of the three bats had arrived alone and shown signs of fear of Goth. Dawn hadn't seen that particular bat since; she suspected they were probably avoiding Goth and wondered what he had done.
Dawn unfurled her injured wing, flapping it a few times as she tested its strength. Other than a vague ache though, much of the previous pain she had felt was now gone.
"Stop that," Goth huffed. "You're drawing attention."
Dawn briefly glanced around at the gathered bats somewhat disinterestedly. She was beginning to recognize a few faces by now. Many bats gathered here every night to listen to the elder Sanctus recite tales of comfort and wisdom spun from the ideal that Nocturna herself had constructed the artificial forest.
In that moment she glimpsed a greywing flying up through the trees.
She was surprised to recognize them as Robin. She hadn't seen him since the whole incident with Goth threatening to remove his wings on the first evening. If anyone could help them escape, it would be Robin. That, and she needed to apologize.
Dawn had asked around since then to see if anyone had seen him, but their answers had all been generally unhelpful:
"You shouldn't really be talking to him," one had said. "Sanctus says he's cursed. That's why the rest of his colony ascended while he was left behind."
"It's bad luck to talk to him," another had agreed. "You risk taking on his curse too. And then you can never go on."
Well, now was a good a time as any to speak to him.
"I will be back in a minute," she told Goth.
Dawn leapt from the tree and glided for as far as she could without losing too much height. As soon as she was out of view of the gathering, she landed upon a tree trunk and began to the arduous job of climbing up to the top, trying to avoid flying while her wing was still healing.
It didn't take her long to find him; the greywing hadn't flown very far.
"Heya," she called as she flew up to him. "What's up?"
"Oh hey!" he chirped, happily and brightly as ever. Dawn was surprised; she had been certain he had been avoiding her on purpose but here he was apparently completely indifferent.
"Look, I'm really sorry about what happened. Goth can be kind of temperamental," she immediately apologized. "If he tries something like that again I promise I'll stand up for you. I just want to get out of here, and so does he."
"Well, okay, I'd already forgotten about the entire encounter to be honest, I get bats snapping at me all the time here," Robin was still grinning, though he sounded somewhat taken aback by the apology. "Don't tell anyone else you want to escape though, they don't like it when they think bats want to leave."
Nearby, Dawn heard voices start up, the fluttering of many wings; the gathering was over.
"I wouldn't breathe a word. Goth's already warned me against talking to them about that."
"Does he know you're here? Talking to me?" Robin asked indifferently; but Dawn didn't miss the nervous darting of his eyes.
"Yeah, I told him where I was going," she half-lied. "I don't think he minded too much."
"Hah, well, I heard mates can be quite protective, eh heh," Robin replied.
"He's not my mate," Dawn quickly got that straight. "He was just trying to intimidate you. We were traveling together for a few days before we got trapped here. He's sworn to protect me, but I think he might have gone a bit overboard."
"He threatened to kill me," the indifference from before was gone, Robin was serious.
"Well technically it was maim, but I can see how that might be a problem," Dawn joked uncomfortably. "But I don't see why we can't be allies. Goth might be too arrogant to accept help, but I'm not. You still want to get out of here, don't you?"
"..." Robin made a face, but then his shoulders sagged. "Even with my expertise, I can tell you there is no way out."
"Well Goth and me are searching for some form of exit," she told him. "Anything that a current might be drawn through. You know of such a place?"
"There is a grating high up on this far side wall that a current washes through, but you won't be able to squeeze through anyway. Gaps are too narrow," he shrugged. "Believe me, not even a moth could squeeze through there. It's covered in this metal mesh like a spider's web made of stone."
"Can you show it to me?"
Robin shrugged disinterestedly, but gestured for her to follow him. He flew off towards the ceiling. Dawn, seeing the sudden dilemma she was faced with, paused, then flew after him, ignoring the ache in her shoulder the best she could. Even so, she landed and climbed the last bit.
Robin waited for her, brow raised, but thankfully he didn't ask anything. Dawn wasn't sure if this was worse though, what if he thought she had never learnt to fly properly?
"It's there, see it?" he asked, pointing with one claw. "You can feel breeze passing through sometimes, but it's impossible to get through. And sometimes it smells like owls."
"Owls...?" Dawn questioned.
She looked at the grating. It was a fine metal mesh - the gaps were indeed too small for even a moth to squeeze through - which covered a narrow tunnel of sorts which was half filled with pipes that ran beneath the mesh and further along the wall. She could see there would be just enough room for her to crawl alongside the pipes within the tunnel and get through, if she could get past the mesh.
Well, she might not be able to remove it, but Goth probably could!
"Yeah, owls, dunno why. I've tried listening but I've never heard anything," Robin tilted his head. "Maybe it leads outside? But unless we can remove the cover..."
Dawn grinned. "Wait here," she told Robin.
And left.
"Goth!" she called, gliding down from the canopy. He had to be around here somewhere. "Goth?!"
And promptly crashed into him as she rounded a tree too quickly.
"What's the hurry?" he asked, catching her by the arm before she could fall out of the air altogether.
"I've found a way out!" she babbled excitedly, then quietened her voice at the stern look he gave her. "At least, I found what you were looking for."
"Where?" he asked quietly.
"Up there," she tried pointing. "Behind the furthest sycamore, close to the roof. It's hard to see coz of the tree, the leaves have sort of grown over it-"
"Not so loud," she was surprised when he abruptly hushed her. It was only then she noticed the elder perched a few branches away, but thankfully he appeared to be talking with someone else already and wasn't paying any attention to her conversation with Goth.
"We'll talk later," he told her. "For now, it will have to wait."
...
Goth found her late in the morning once more.
It was then though, that along with Goth seemingly having taken a dip in the stream again, Dawn noticed the smell of blood. It was faint, but it definitely there.
"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly, moving closer to look him over. "What happened?"
"What do you mean?" Goth replied, seemingly confused by her concern.
"You're injured," she declared, growing more worried by the moment. What could possibly have hurt him here? Had there been a fight? "And did you fall in the stream?!"
Goth paused.
"I appreciate your concern, senorita, but it is unnecessary. I have been inspecting the stream to see if it led anywhere, I got too close and skimmed the water."
"But I smell blood. Are you hurt?"
"I bit my tongue, it's nothing serious," he replied dismissively. "Now come with me, we're getting out of here."
Goth didn't waste any time, dropping from his perch and flying upwards. Dawn was left behind momentarily, she then scrambled to follow after him.
By the time she had gotten to the tree, Goth had already pushed his way through the leaves and sunk his claws into the metal-mesh to stop himself from falling.
"Good work by the way," he congratulated her as she landed nearby.
A minute later much of the metal-mesh was ripped open. Goth half disappearing into the wall as he pushed his head and shoulders through the gap in the torn mesh.
But just a few moments afterwards, Goth pulled back with a frown on his face.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "Is it the owls? Robin said it did smell of owls."
"I could barely move," he said bluntly. "By Zotz if it leads to a dead-end I would be stuck. I will not risk dying trapped and starved!"
Dawn frowned uncertainly. Goth had a point.
"Hmm, but you could fit though, couldn't you?" Goth remarked.
"Huh?" Dawn questioned.
"Go in there," he told her. "See if there is a way out."
"You know even if there is a way out up here you're still not going to be able to get out if you can't fit through, right?" Dawn argued half-heartedly, she didn't really want to climb into such a narrow space, it wasn't natural! Bats belonged in open spaces!
"If you can escape then perhaps you can help me," he told her. "See if you can find a way out, anything that might be of use, yes?"
"Or freeze outside," she grumbled in protest but she had already given in and was climbing in. "This tunnel looks as if it runs along the length of the roof."
The tunnel was very cramped, half filled with piping running along one side, but there was just enough room for her to crawl.
"I will wait here," Goth called after her. She wondered if he was trying to reassure her, either way it didn't do much.
Dawn didn't like the situation.
It was all...well, claustrophobic. But now wasn't the time to be fussy, this was possibly the only chance she would get to escape.
As she progressed onwards, she found that Robin had been right, the tunnel did smell like owls, the scent getting stronger the further she went.
Dawn paused for a moment, trying to figure out why the place would smell of owls. Obviously it meant that owls had to be nearby, but why were they nearby? That was the puzzle. Perhaps the pipeline did lead outside. But what if outside was straight into a roost of owls?
She could actually feel a slight breeze now, suggesting there was an open space somewhere ahead of her. She could also see several strips of light reflecting off the piping up ahead.
Once Dawn had just gotten close enough to the light she found that the shadows that were being cast were by a metal grating. Piping passed through the grating here too. The spacing here was much wider, there was no mesh and the bars were thicker. Theoretically Dawn knew she could squeeze through, but decided against it before she even tried. Peering through the bars she knew immediately that it did not lead outside, for all she could see was a forest similar to one she had left.
In fact it looked identical.
'CLACK!'
Abruptly the light was cut off as the spacing in front of her was suddenly covered in a wall of downy feathers and talons.
Dawn scrambled back out of reach, as scaled clawed feet reached through the bars and furiously tried to grab at her.
"There's a bat here, a ratty little bat!" the owl screeched, then squawked as other owls landed beside it and shoved it aside so they could see too.
Their baleful yellow eyes each seemed the size of a small sun to Dawn, burning bright and fierce. Hooked beaks clacking in anger as they worked themselves into a frenzy, each owl trying to be the one to grab hold of her first.
"You're right, they must be working with the humans!"
"They locked us in!"
"IMPRISONED US!"
Dawn was already out of reach by this point, but every terrifying second seemed to stretch out into minutes, turning around in the narrow cramped space proved nearly impossible, and it seemed to take an eternity before Dawn was finally able to get the right way around and hurry back the way she had came.
She had seen that the tunnel went on beyond where the grating to the owls was, but she had decided she had had enough. It was too cramped, too dark, and there was no way past the owls at this time. Dawn doubted she could pass without being caught and ripped through the bars.
'I hate owls,' she thought to herself as she hurried back. She could still hear them cawing and screeching amongst themselves, having still not given up on the fact that they were not going to be able to catch her. First Tree Haven, then the unprovoked attack by the watertower, now this...
When she dropped into the open air and felt the familiar sting in her shoulder, it was for once a relief, she was airborne again. Dawn looked around hurriedly to explain what had happened-
Only to find that Goth was no where to be found.
She landed heavily upon the nearest branch, her wings suddenly feeling as if they were made of stone. Deciding that it must be as a result of the scare she had just had, or perhaps being squashed in the tunnel, Dawn didn't think much of it at the time. But she did notice there was a strange smell in the air.
The artificial forest had never looked clearer. Light overhead poured in through the glass roof. Day had arrived.
Mesmerized she looked upon the sun for the first time, faded as it was by the glass overhead. Woozy and confused - or was this exhaustion, she no longer knew... - Dawn wondered if this is what Shade had felt like when he had first stayed out beyond the dawn chorus.
Feeling groggy and drained, Dawn awoke along with the rest of the bats when evening returned.
'What am I doing here?' she questioned herself; confused as to why she wasn't on her usual perch. Dawn remembered the early morning before, the owls and her escape. She also remembered Goth wasn't waiting where she had left him.
She was somewhat surprised to find that she had flown no further that the branch nearest to the metal grating, she remembered it was like all her energy had just suddenly been taken from her. Dawn wondered if it had something to do with seeing the sun, even through glazed glass - she had heard many tales as to why bats were not to look at its light, but then again she was pretty certain Shade had not simply fallen asleep where he flew that fateful morning he had stayed out too long.
"Ah, to day with it," she cursed as she spread her wings and dropped from the tree.
Maybe he had grown bored and left to roost after she had gone into the tunnel?
But within the next few hours it quickly became clear that Goth simply didn't seem to be anywhere.
No one had seen him since the night before, and that wasn't all. Many bats had also gone missing since the day before as well. Anxious relatives and friends from colonies flitted between the trees, calling the names of loved ones and anxiously questioning anyone they came across for information.
The bats that had been there longest, notably Sanctus, didn't seem to be all that bothered by the event – she had seen more than one of them actively discouraging the other bats from searching at all.
Not surprisingly, Robin was not amongst the missing. She found him alone staring emptily into space, chewing slowly on a moth.
"Robin?!" she called, practically crash-landing opposite him. "Goth is missing, have you seen him?"
"No, but we both know what's happened," Robin replied unhelpfully, he went back to staring vacantly into space. "I saw my uncles, father and brothers all vanish like this. No one knows where they go, but everyone knows that they never come back."
"How can you be so indifferent?!" she squawked in a panic.
"Listen, if I wasn't indifferent I wouldn't be sane," he told her blandly. "Trust me, it hurts, but I won't grieve for any of them until I have escaped. It wouldn't help anyone if I broke down now, least of all me."
"Does anyone have any idea what happens to them?"
"You could try talking to Sanctus," Robin suggested. "But he'll just tell you that they've moved onto the next stage of paradise, the chosen ones, and that we should aspire to be like them."
"They've got to have gone somewhere," Dawn shook her head. "It's not like they can just vanish into thin air!"
"My theory is that the humans take them away when we're sleeping, because it's only during the day that bats go missing," Robin told her. "Though it's a mystery why no one has ever woken up. I've tried to stay awake several times now. On the days I do manage to stay awake nothing happens, it's the ones on which bats go missing that I can't. I just blink my eyes and it's night again."
"Do they eat them?" Dawn wailed, remembering what Robin had said when she had first met him. "What else could they want with us?"
"You gotta calm down, there isn't anything you can do about it."
"Goth wanted to escape," she began to think over the evening before; he had said something about looking at the stream right? "He had an idea, he thought there might be a way via the stream. What if he got out?" 'Or drowned...'
But there was no sign of Goth at the stream either.
Flying as close to the stream as she dared, Dawn could see no room to escape through the tunnel in which the stream ran, the walls simply dipped below the water. Short of swimming into tunnel of cold death - swimming not being something any bat was very good at - where breathing, let alone escaping would be surely impossible, it didn't seem like a likely way out.
But there was something bobbing the water. Trapped amongst the fallen branches and rotten leaves was the twisted and torn wing of a brightwing!
"Oh, Nocturna, look!" she cried aghast, circling around she landed on the bank and stayed there.
A weary expression crossed Robin's face, but then he moved forward to inspect the tangled mess, landing upon one of the branches.
"..." he opened his mouth briefly as if to speak, but then hurriedly closed it again. He spent several minutes like this, quietly inspecting the scene. Dawn not moving from where she had landed at the edge of the steam, too scared, too afraid that she would see Goth amongst the dead.
"There's two, maybe three bats here," Robin said eventually. "They don't look like they've been here that long, but it's hard to tell who they are. They were erm…badly wounded."
"Is this proof then," Dawn worried. "Proof that the humans are keeping us here to eat us?!"
"Possibly, but then why are there so few bodies here?" Robin questioned. "Many bats have gone missing already, hundreds, and they're not here."
She could feel panic setting in, she wanted to fly away, cry, shriek. How had Goth gone missing? He was so strong, it horrified her to no end that he might be dead. She hadn't thought anything could stop him. Was it her fate too now to simply wait for death?
"This is all my fault, I should have gone looking for him!" she cried out, ignoring her memories of how impossible it had been to stay awake, how inexplicably her wings had felt heavy and her vision dimmed.
"He might still be alive," Robin said firmly, determinedly, and Dawn knew then that he hoped the same for his missing colony. "The humans must have taken them somewhere else, perhaps these bats tried to fight them and were killed accidentally."
"We have to get out and find them!"
Robin merely gave her a pitying look.
"I got to get out of here!" Dawn took to the air without a second thought.
She didn't look back once to check if Robin was following her, she only had one thought on her mind. She was going to try escaping again. The tunnel was her only chance!
Several bats had found the ripped open grating since that evening, they were talking quietly amongst themselves in wonder, but none made a move to inspect it, too scared to leave. Dawn dove amongst themselves, and scrambled in.
None of them followed her.
Dawn didn't stop her frantic scramble even when she neared where the owls were kept. They were seemingly distracted by something else, hooting angrily amongst themselves, none were anywhere near the grating this time but nevertheless she wasted no time in passing and getting as far away as possible from there.
She did stop once, looking back over her shoulder to see if anyone had followed her, but found she was alone. The end of the tunnel behind her was now fully dark, as if something had blocked out the light. Whatever had happened, she realized, she was going to have to do this alone.
After what seemed forever she came upon another grating. Having lost much of her energy now, and her panic somewhat faded, Dawn was more cautious this time. She could see, like before, that the tunnel extended beyond this grating as well, so theoretically she could continue onwards. But what if this was a way out?
Heat poured out of this grating, air so thick with moisture that Dawn felt as if she had just dived into a pond warmed by the hottest summer sun. There were no owls here, but she could smell bat and strangely enough, mice. It didn't look like outside, but the mice must have gotten in somehow, she figured this meant there had to be a way out close by.
It was funny how the grating here was heavier, similar to that for the owls, the bars far more widely spaced but stronger and thicker, not thin wire mesh. She knew just by looking that she wouldn't be able to prise the bars off, but could she squeeze through? Dawn sent a barrage of echoes down the tunnel she had been following, it seemed to go on forever, not so appealing...But if this strange new forest proved to be inescapable, then she could always go back.
First she put her head through the bars and had a quick look around. Strange trees and plants she had never seen before reached up from the forest floor, some even hung from the ceiling. Their leaves dark and glossy. She couldn't see any bats, but she did spot a lone white mouse skittering across the ground upon a blur of legs.
Dawn pushed her shoulders through the bars, finding that she could just fit, then her ribs, which was slightly painful, and then she was through and falling. She beat her wings hastily and quickly flew up into the strange place.
This artificial forest was smaller than the first, much of it obscured by the heavy dark foliage. It was not like any forest she had ever seen before. Was this a jungle like Goth had described? An artificial jungle? It was too warm here, her fur too thick, the vegetation seemed to literally steam with the heat. And strangely lifeless...even the mouse she had seen earlier was gone.
Was there anyone even here?
And then something large was plummeting through the canopy towards her.
Suddenly finding her voice, Dawn screeched and flew out of the way, quickly flying back towards where the grating was.
Chasing behind her, crashing through any vegetation in its path, was a huge bat, but it wasn't Goth and it didn't look friendly!
Her claws clanged against the metal grating as she landed, but suddenly the narrow gaps between the bars seemed impossibly small, she knew she wouldn't be able to squeeze through in time before she was caught.
So she flew on, narrowly missing being crushed into the wall, completely at loss at why another bat would be so aggressive towards her for no reason. She remembered Goth had initially acted the same way, was this a common greeting for his species or something?! What in Nocturna's name was going on!?
Spotting a crevice in a tree up ahead, she swung around and shot inside it, already confident that the other wouldn't be able to fit in after her. The hollow was quite extensive and Dawn quickly wiggled her way out of reach.
She watched in terror as the crazed bat growled and tried to grab at her, his claws leaving gouges in the edges of the hollow.
"What have you found, Throbb?" asked a voice, somewhat muffled to her ears by the tree.
The bat scrabbling at the crevice immediately stopped, a look of wariness replacing the sadistic fury on his face.
"Nothing, just a mouse."
The bat called Throbb was abruptly shoved aside and a familiar face replacing where his had been.
"…Dawn?"
"Goth!" she cried out relieved, but hesitated in leaving the safety of the tree. "Thank Nocturna, I thought you were dead!"
Goth silently offered her his hand, and she took it without hesitating, allowing herself to be drawn out of the tree.
"What's going on?" she asked, eyeing Throbb warily - though he came no closer, his expression deadpan. "He tried to kill me!"
Goth brought one wing around her, she was somewhat unnerved by the sudden heavy weight of his hand between her shoulders as he looks skywards.
She followed his line of sight, up into the canopy, and saw descending quietly down towards them, were the dark forms of many other giant bats.
A/N: Goth did NOT eat Robin, some readers mistook this, so I guess that was probably poor writing on my part, sorry. Goth charmed some random brightwing and then killed her out of sight. Robin is a sneaky little bastard (not intentionally), Goth did try hunting him off screen but couldn't find him, lol.
Review responses:
Guest 1#: Daww, thanks. Yeah Goth is a really sly charmer :D
Carlisle Fan 22: In some parts of the world, people do it bats (flying foxes, it's very sad) but you're right, in this case that is not the purpose of the artificial forest ;)
GoddessNefertari18: Thankies ;D
RandomCitizen: Good point about why Goth assuming they wanted his vision, that was never explained in the TV series, I think I'm gonna go read the books again to see if it says anything there.
Guest 2#: Yeah, Robin has gone a bit insane XD