Nightwing [Part of the Silverwing series]

[Baya]

Vlad growled uncomfortably as he dug his claws into the tree bark of his current home. He wrapped his huge wings around himself, trying to get some sleep but flash after flash, human after human he could just not get to sleep. What was Zots thinking telling him to give into this humiliation day in and day out. Ever since Vlad was removed from the jungle and put in this false paradise, he felt forsaken by his god. There was never any live prey, and thats the only reason Vlad really hunted! The thrill of killing for survival. Without that, he felt as empty as a shell without a turtle.

What the humans did was break in a trey of meat, a kind that Vlad hadn't tasted before. When he first tried it, it made his stomach clench and made him scruff his nose in disgust. He did not know what kind of creature could eat such a tasteless, blood free meat! What made it worse was the fact that day in and day out other humans would walk by this force field and take echo pictures of him. With every flash, Vlad was irritated more and more. This utter humiliation had to end!

Thinking about the positives, Vlad had a room mate that he could complain too. Though he detested her, and she detested him. All he ever did was complain, and all she ever did was scorn him for doing so. She told him to be thankful for what Zots has given him, and to stop being such a child. Vlad always retorted with a blasphemous comment like "Zotz? Cama Zotz? You mean the reason I'm stuck here?"

Naturally Vlad was completely reasonable to believe his god had forsaken him. Sure, Vlad got away from the explosion of his jungle temple home before his execution but that did not mean Zotz was looking out for him. He was alone all his life, and never requested anything of Zotz. He set his mind to freeing himself, and he did it. When he was knocked out by that human's stinger, Zotz appeared to him in a vision, but Vlad erased the detesting memory of that encounter with the bat god. All Zotz has done for him was lock him up, and put him through constant humiliation.

~ The New Tree Haven ~

Griffin grazed the grass with his long, narrow wings and clicked to see where he was going. The moon shone bright on his red and black fur, whilst he flew. He could feel the dew of the grass wiping on his wings, and that was when he decided to fly higher. He maneuvered himself carefully, trying not to hit any branches, but being the clumzy bat he was he still managed to get hit by some. He finally got to the tree he was looking for! The one full of gypsie moths!

Over the past month, Griffin had felt terribly guilty for his father's death. Marina assured him that it wasn't his fault, and that Shade's sacrifice was definitely not in vein. Griffin tried his hardest to believe that, but he just couldn't. Deep down inside, he knew his mother and his grand mother detested him for what he'd caused. Only thing that really made him feel better was talking long flights outside tree haven, alone. Recently he'd been told to eat more, so he came to the old oak tree and ate while he thought.

Griiffin began to eat the gypisie caterpillers, and some of the moths around the tree as well. They tasted sour going down, as always but somebody had to defend the forest from the invasion of the gypsie moths!

"Hey! Griffin!" A voice called out from behind the mixed breed. Griffin turned quickly in fear, and hit a tree branch.

"Awh." Griffin groaned, quickly grabbing onto that branch to keep from falling. He quickly flipped upside down and wrapped his wings around himself, looking to see who had called his name. It was none other then Remus Silverwing.

Griffin knew Remus, and so did just about every newborn around tree haven. He was one of the most easy going, and friendly bats that Griffin knew. Too bad Remus didn't really consider anyone his friend. As friendly as he was, Remus preferred to hunt alone and was rarely seen talking or laughing with other newborns. Griffin could sort of relate, because everyone thought of him a coward while he was only being extremely cautious.

"Sorry about that! Didn't mean to distract you right at that second." Remus said as he hung upside down next to Griffin. "Didn't hurt yourself too bad did you?" Remus asked with a look of concern. Griffin shook his head.

"Just dislocated my arm. It'll be fine though." Griffin said jokingly. Remus chuckled, shaking his head. "What did you want Remus? Not often you really approach anyone. Special occasion?" Griffin asked curiously. Remus nodded a bit.

"I sort of noticed that you come around here alot, eating the gypsy caterpillers and moths. I figured I'd find you here." Remus said in an amused manner. So Remus had come to seek him out! It must be either about his father, or the underworld.

"I was wondering...since...you were down there...What's it really like? I listened to the rumors and everything, but I want to get my information directly from the source." Remus said with a small smile. Griffin scratched his chin in thought.

"It's very depressing down there, and everything can kill you. Well...technically nothing can KILL you if you are living, except dead bats. That Cama Zotz god, you know about him?" Griffin asked curiously, hoping he didn't have to explain the gruesome creature.

"Yeah. My mom told me about Cama zotz. He's that bat god that those demon bats worship right?" Remus inquired. Griffin nodded, glad that he didn't have to explain.

"Well, you'd think because Cama zotz is the creator of the underworld, that he could kill you right? He can't. All he can do is make it hard for you to reach to the surface, but he can't kill you." Griffin explained. Remus was astounded. How could a god be incapable of killing? It's kind of ironic that a god of the underworld, can't kill those that venture into his territory.

"Wow. Never heard that before. Must've been scary. I would've been scared stiff if I were down there." Remus said honestly. He knew about Griffin's advanced caution but had a respect for him after he had come back from the underworld, not only alive but with someone the silverwing's believed to be dead.

On that note, Remus's ears twitched at the wing beats of another bat. "Uhm, I'm going to go. Thanks for the information!" Remus said as he quickly released his claws from the bark and flapped his wings, flying away.

[Panda-chan]

[OOC: lol finally right? xD]

Luna descended on the branch next to Griffin and fluttered down to perch next to him upside down. "Hi Griffin. Still stuffing yourself gypsy moths and caterpillars I see." she joked. Just then a tiny grey moth zipped past her nose and soared high above the treetops. Adrenaline pumping in her veins at the prospect of food to fill her hungry belly, the young she-bat darted after it and gave chase, angling her wings expertly to gain altitude as she flew. She used her sonic vision to guide her and flapped harder to narrow the gap between herself and her elusive prey. Finally, just as the moth's swift wingbeats began to falter, Luna thrust herself forward and caught it in her jaws. She crunched down hard and let the taste drip down her tongue. Delicious! She banked downward and alighted next to Griffin again.
"Sorry about that," she apologized, licking away the last pieces of her meal, "I was hungry!"

[Baya]

Griffin smirked as he watched Luna go after the moth. Ever since Shade had saved them both, she seemed to be fine and dandy. In fact, she was not abusing the life she had with dangerous stunts anymore but more important things like hunting down gypsy moths so they wouldn't eat the entire forest. Griffin noticed that her hunting was still plenty greater then his. He looked at his narrow, unique wings for a moment. He looked beside him to Luna. "Not so bad now is it? The more we eat, the less likely our forest will be gone when we get back from the great migration! Or as I like to call it, complete suicide!" Griffin said with a slight whimper. He had gotten a bit braver since he had gotten back from the underworld, but even the simplest of things still scared him half to death. He just thought too much about things.

To try and get his mind off the subject of food, or anything linking to migration Griffin decided to talk about Remus. "You know Remus approached me just a couple minutes ago about the underworld. Alot of people have been, but none of them wanted to hear about the underworld itself. I'm guessing you are getting alot of that too huh?" Griffin asked as he looked to Luna, reminiscing their journey to the inferno of a tree that led them back here.


Meanwhile, Remus made his way back towards tree haven. His thoughts were bouncing around in his skull regarding the underworld. It really interested him. A living creature in a world of death, was like a dead creature in the world of the living. They could not be harmed, or do any harm. Remus was very philosophical about things like life, and the reasoning behind it. The thinking was starting to make Remus a little hungry, so he decided to go for a quick snack before going back to his roost in tree haven.

Remus clicked, and angled his ears so he could receive the echo images. He saw a rare and delicious food indeed! The tiger moth! The reason it was so rare to catch was because of it's ability to throw off a bat's echo location. Remus wasn't about to let this one go though! He began to pursue it, his wing beats heavy yet silent. Remus thought he was going to get it, but soon enough the moth divided into fours and Remus panicked. He didn't know which one to follow, but he chose one eventually. The tiger moth was getting sort of weird shaped as he continued and when Remus finally caught up to it with a small burst of speed, he felt his head hit something hard and furry. He then fell back on a tree branch, gripping onto it to prevent him from falling. He looked around quickly and noticed that the one he chose was wrong, and that it was only made of sound. He looked to what he had hit, and noticed it was another silverwing. He quickly looked to who he had hit.

"I-I'm sorry. The tiger moth tricked me, and I couldn't see you there." Remus said with great remorse.

[Panda-chan]

Character Bio:
Name: Marduk
Species: Long-eared bat
Gender: Male
Age: 7 years
Personality: Marduk is antisocial and enjoys only his own company. He is wary of other bats and tries to keep his distance from everyone. He especially hates newborns, whom he looks down on with particular fierceness.
Description: Medium-sized, long ears, and very skinny as a result of not eating enough. He also has the distinctive ghostly white fur and pink eyes of an albino. Marduk usually wears a scowl on his face and is not happy talking to strangers.
History: Marduk was born weak, scrawny, and barely able to move. He surprised everyone when he made it past his first week of life. One by one his friends started shunning him because of his strange white fur. Eventually, even his mother abandoned him during the great journey to the south. Ever since then he's had to scrape a living by himself as a loner. Since he is unable to hunt, he relies on the few insects that crawl up his tree bark as his main food source.


Luna didn't answer immediately and instead glanced down at her own sleek black wings, half-expecting them to be charred and broken like they had been before she died. She still felt that she owed Griffin a debt of gratitude for saving her life. Luna hesitated briefly before replying, but still kept her eyes fixed intently on her own dark wings.
"Yeah, bats have been questioning me about it too. It all seems kind of a blur now but I still get nightmares. Sometimes when I wake up at night, I still think I'm down there. I can't believe I actually died." she spoke softly. She looked up at her young bat friend through gleaming black eyes. "Thank-you so much for saving me Griffin."
Luna quickly tore her gaze away, embarrassed, and tried to blink the tears away. She felt especially sorry for Griffin, whose father had had to sacrifice his own life just so she could have hers back. It felt unfair that she was given the opportunity to be alive again at such a heavy expense for her friend. And yet she was the one who was crying!


The large albino bat grunted when he felt the small weight crash into his side, almost toppling him over. From its size and voice he could tell it was a young bat. Stupid newborns, he thought to himself irritably as he struggled to regain his balance. Bats and other creatures always seemed to be finding and running into him when he least wanted them too. Why couldn't they just leave him in peace? Marduk preferred his own company and unlike most bats traveled alone. He was not part of any of the migrating bat colonies that flew south every winter. Besides, he added bitterly to himself, what colony would accept a freak like him? For as long as he could remember, Marduk had been tormented and teased by other animals that thought his white fur color was unusual. Bats were supposed to be dark, silent killers, not pale and luminiscent as the moon! His friends refused to hunt with him because his fur stood out so much at night. Even his own mother disowned him while he was still just a newborn. From then on, Marduk had had to live by himself, struggling to make a living out of the few bugs and snails that crawled up the tree trunk in which he currently lived, since his fur color hindered his hunting ability.
He now turned his head sharply downward and narrowed his eyes at the younger bat with loathing.
"Watch where you're going, you stupid furless lump." he spat contemptuously. "Can't you see I'm trying to take a nap?"
The younger bat looked at him in terror and Marduk couldn't help feeling a tiny twinge of pity. "Where are you from, young one?" he asked a little less roughly.

[Baya]

Griffin sighed slightly, the memories flashing through his mind as well. What he wanted to forget the most was the terrible crunch of his father's body against the ground to relieve him of his life. Griffin knew his father's sacrifice wasn't in vein though because both him and Luna had come back because of it. The guilt of causing Luna's death was off his shoulders, but the guilt of Shade's death took it's place. It made him want to die for causing all the trouble in the first place.

"L-Luna. Don't thank me. It was my fault. All of it. If anyone should be crying it's me. It's my fault my dad's dead, and it was my fault that you died in the first place. I can't let that stop me from living though...my dad did that so we could live normal lives and not have to go through the trials of the underworld." Griffin said quietly, feeling tears sting in his own eyes.

"The good part of it is, at least I got you still right? I also got my mom, my grandma and grandpa..." Griffin said as he began to list his loved ones to make himself feel better. "You know, I think we should be happy for what we have and stop thinking about it. Whenever they ask us about the underworld, just tell them it's too troubling to remember it. Not like we'd be lying." Griffin pointed out.


Remus looked in fear as well as awe at the albino bat in front of him. He'd never seen a bat like this before, nor as grumpy. "I-I'm sorry I interrupted your nap. I didn't intentionally do it. Those tiger moths lead you off with their own echo images you know." Remus pointed out. His mother had talked to him about speaking with outsiders of the colony, but Remus was pretty sure if this bat wanted to do anything, he would've by now.

The albino bat asked Remus where he was from, and Remus smiled slightly. He had a patch of silver on his chest, and his back, couldn't this bat piece together the fact that he was of the silverwings? "I'm from the silverwing colony, in an old oak near here." Remus replied. He noticed the bat's skinniness and wondered why he was in such a bad shape. No wonder he was so grumpy.

"I've never seen a bat like you before. Where are you from?" Remus asked, knowing that he probably looked extremely childish right now.

[Panda-chan]

Character Bio:
Name: Jet
Species: Silverwing bat
Gender: Male
Age: About 1 year
Personality: Jet is an extremely talkative young bat who loves asking questions. Usually he does not think about what he is saying before it actually comes out. He's also very friendly, naïve, and a bit of a show-off.
Description: Small, furry, and jet-black fur (hence his name). Although he is too young to have the silver fur characteristic of a Silverwing bat, some gray streaks on his chest and head are visible. His wings are a little undersized so he needs to flap twice as hard to go the same speed as a regular bat his age. Because of this, this noisy wingbeats can be heard from quite a distance.
History: Jet was born shortly before Griffin and Luna's journey to the underworld, but was too young at the time to remember it.


Luna nodded her agreement after Griffin's next words, unable to speak. Tears clouded the young bat's vision, making her feel more ashamed of herself than ever. Get a grip! she scolded herself as she struggled to keep from breaking down completely. Finally, after a few minutes of silence, she spoke up in a throaty voice. "Yes Griffin, you're right. I think we should put all this behind us."
Luna shuffled her wings awkwardly and looked away, her face reddening. She was supposed to be a tough bat! To keep her mind off the painful subject of visiting the underworld, she engaged herself by using her echo vision to pick up the eerie sounds of the forest at night. She detected the gentle breathing of small animals slumbering in their nests, the distant hoot of a gray owl, the dry crunch of a leaf hitting the forest floor....suddenly her ears perked as she picked up something strange. It was a monotonous hum, like a bee but a lot larger. She concentrated harder. It was getting louder by the second, getting closer. Luna opened her mouth to emit a soundless call, determined to figure out what this unusual creature was. At that very instant, a small black ball of fuzz shot out of the darkness and collided into the startled she-bat, knocking her sideways into her companion. Luna picked herself off Griffin as an energetic little bat hovered near.
Of course, Luna thought to herself. Why hadn't she recognized Jet's telltale wingbeat? Any further thought was drowned out by the smaller bat's excited babble.
"Hey Griffin! Hi Luna! Guess what? I found a nest of mealworms today and I ate the whole thing! It left my stomach feeling queasy so I caught myself thirty-four midges and beetles. I love how their legs wriggle down your throat when you swallow them! Then on my way here I managed to catch a couple of really huge tiger moths! There are so many different kinds of moths out there: There are black moths, white moths, slow moths, fast moths, big moths, small moths, fat moths..."
Luna let Jet carry on talking since she knew almost nothing was going to make him stop. Instead, she leaned onto Griffin and laughed, waiting for Jet to finish.


Marduk grunted and shuffled up his branch uneasily, closer to his nest. He wasn't used to talking to outsiders about himself, nor did he like it. Twice before he'd had to relocate his home when others had found out he was a loner. Taking advantage of his isolation from his home colony, they had chased him from their hunting territories, claiming he was "scaring away all the good bugs". However, this young bat seemed genuinely curious, so he answered, "My story's a rough one, youngster. I'm a stray, meaning I don't belong to any bat colony. Believe it or not, I'm actually long-eared bat from a place very far south of here. But I was hated in my colony...because of this accursed white fur I was born with. I had to leave that place and must now scrape out a living wherever I can." Sorrow and hurt welled up in the bat's heart as memories of his childhood flashed by him. Suddenly he became suspicious of this inquisitive newborn. What did he want? What was he going to do with this information?

[Baya]

Griffin frowned slightly as he listened to Jet list off all the types of moths he had eaten. Griffin sighed as he put up a wing to silence Jet. "Don't you think you should go tell the others about this? Why just us two? This is a big deal! No one's ever eaten that much in one night. Go tell everyone at tree haven. It might even make the echo chamber." Griffin said with a small grin. He knew he was being a hypocrite because at one point he was like this himself. The only difference really was the fact that instead of talking about anything that came to mind, he talked about the hazards all around him. He was still paranoid, but wasn't so quick to exclaim his worries to the heavens.

//

His eyes darted around the cursed prison as the lights went off. It had been a couple hours since the humans had no longer been watching him through the panel of glass. He watched the strange carved stone filled with odd smelling meat. Vlad looked at his surroundings one more time, and let out a loud snarl. "Curse this damn prison! Curse these humans! Curse you Cama Zots!" Vlad snarled as he slammed his claw into the tree bark. His eyes narrowed as he realized he just got his claw stuck in the bark of the tree. "Curse-This-Tree!" Vlad grunted attempting to pull his claw out. He succeeded but the force made him fall to the false foliage below.

Vlad stood up angrily batting the foliage away from him. He noticed the female was laughing from where she roosted. He growled. "What's so funny fool?!" Vlad snarled.

[OOC: Would you play her? O.O]

//

Remus listened to the old albino bat's story and his ears flattened slightly. That was an awfully sad story, and it made Remus be happy for all that he had. He had a loving mother, an accepting colony and never had to move away from his friends. Marduk was chased away from his home because of just his fur color. When the old bat was finished his story Remus looked back at him. "My mother said you should never be ashamed of something you can't change." Remus said quietly.

Remus was actually intrigued by the bat's white fur. Did that help during migration, against predators that he heard of? Did it pose much of a problem during hunting? Remus smiled slightly. "Have you ever tried to join another colony? My colony has a Brightwing in it you know. The silverwings are very accepting. If you want you can talk to Ariel, and she'll just let you in." Remus offered. Remus could tell that this bat wasn't mean or nasty, just alone. If Remus was chased away from everything he knew and loved, he'd be grumpy too.

[Panda-chan]

[OOC: Sure! ]

Character Bio:
Name: Serenity
Species: Vampyrum Spectrum
Gender: Female
Age: 8 years
Personality: As her name suggests, Serenity is a wise and calm bat who seldom shows emotion except through her eyes. Unlike most Vampyrum Spectrum bats, she isn't evil although she still worships the god Cama Zots. She is also highly intelligent and knowledgable in many areas because of the many places she traveled when she was younger.
Description: Sleek dark grey fur, twin white fangs, and bright yellow eyes. Serenity seldom reveals her emotions on her face and her voice is always silky and calm. The only thing that betrays her feelings are her eyes, which flash dangerously when she is angry.
History: Serenity traveled a great deal in her youth and as a result has gained a tremendous amount of knowledge about everything. She was captured by the humans when she accidently flew into a net trap and has been kept prisoner there for about two months.


Jet nodded eagerly at Griffin's words. "Yeah, good idea Griffin! Wait till the other newborns hear about this! I bet they never caught so many bugs in their lives!" Jet danced a small jig on the branch he was on, much to Luna's amusement. "You should get going then, Jet." she reminded him, laughing. The younger bat nodded and gave a heavy upward thrust of his undersized wings. He was soon airborne and flapping clumsily away from them. Jet started doing backflips and cartwheels in the air as he grew more and more into a distant speck. Finally, he was gone.
Luna shared a laugh with Griffin. "Good idea sending him away like that." she giggled. "That was pretty smart of you. I was afraid he was going to keep talking till sunrise!" She couldn't help remembering when she and Griffin had been Jet's age. They'd been just as carefree, playful, and happy. Until they were changed forever when they went to the underworld...
Luna shut her eyes tightly, trying to force the horrible thought out of her mind. She didn't want to burst into embarrassing tears yet again.


Serenity chuckled at the irate bat, causing him to get vexed even further. Such an impatient, blasphemous fool! She'd met many like this one during her long travels: always angry, rude, pushy, and a bragging bully who intimidated others to get what he wanted. Serenity prefered to keep her emotions bottled up inside her, as she had done for many years. She felt giving away such vital information was a hindrance that could easily be used to an opponent's advantage. Such open, outward feelings would inform them how best to play with her mind and attack her mentally. By displaying no fear, sadness, or
anger at all during a confrontation, one's enemies would feel confused and hopeless that their words were having no effect on her, causing them to flee.
Serenity stood tall as the Vampyrum shouted at her. Although they were of the same species, she still loathed him like he was little more than an irritating fly. "You are a stupid fool," she said icily when he had finished, "Your useless yelling and cursing... all it succeeds in doing is angering Cama Zots and giving you injuries. We need to conserve our energy for what lies ahead. Control that temper and that tongue of yours, and perhaps you may find a solution to this problem."
The dark she-bat paused before continuing. "It is obvious that we will never escape through struggling and fighting. These bars are made of a substance too strong for bats to claw or chew through, and there is no other way out. The humans will never set us free. Therefore, we must outsmart them. How we will go about doing this, I cannot say, for I do not know."
Never betraying a hint of contempt in her voice, Serenity sat patiently on her roost as she waited for the other bat to react.


Marduk snorted and looked away, hate burning in his small pink eyes. "Your mother evidently has no idea of the pain and suffering I go through each day because of this curse I was born with." he muttered darkly. He waited for the younger bat to finish talking before shuffling his feet awkwardly on his perch. Joining the Silverwings? A chance to find a permanent home, maybe start a new life? Marduk practically felt himself twitching with excitement at the prospect. Then darkness clouded his mind, and the old familiar hate and distrust came back. This might be some kind of trick to lure him into a trap. But what could these bats possibly gain from killing him?
Marduk decided to take his chances and just trust in this young bat, knowing he might never encounter such an offer again. "I would be very much honored, young one. Lead the way."

[Baya]

Vlad felt his heart race in rage at her words of insult. He knew that if he got hungry enough, she'd be the next thing he ate in here. However, his rage subsided and a large grin was plastered on his face as she began to explain their situation. He spread his wings and flew up next to her, roosting under the branch with great force. He wrapped his wings around himself, and looked to her. In size, she was almost as large as he was. However, his muscular build gave him the size and power advantage in here, so if she tried to resist her own demise, it wouldn't be much of a problem for him.

"Oh? You don't blame Cama zots for trapping you here? Listen to me Seniorita." Vlad said with a quiet growl. "If Cama zots was real, why did the Vamperyum die off? Why did the great King, and all that damn god's followers die?" Vlad asked with a wide aggressive grin. He did agree about what she said about the bars though. They would have to out smart the humans, which Vlad considered to be easy.

"Out smart them we shall. I already know they are as dim witted as vultures. The only advantage they have are their stingers...and their size. If not for that I'd tear them open and decorate the trees with their bowels!" Vlad snarled. He wasn't the type to deal with things in a peaceful manner. That was the whole reason he was going to be put to death in the Vamperyum temple.

//

"My mother doesn't know how much suffering you've been through, you are right." Remus pointed out quietly. "But she knows alot of things that has nothing to do with her either. You never know...acceptance is just a matter of the creature you're talking to." Remus explained. When Marduk accepted his invitation to meet with Aeriel, he smiled.

"Come on then." Remus said as he opened his wings and took off. He didn't know exactly how old Marduk was, but he stopped every now and then so the other bat could catch up. Remus led Marduk into tree haven, through the hustle and bustle of nursery life.

Pandora spotted her son with a strange albino bat. Her eyes glinted slightly with worry as she flew up to the two. "Remus. Who is this?" Pandora asked her quiet calm tone. She knew that this other bat was no threat, but she didn't like the thought of her own son bringing stragglers into their home. It just didn't look too appealing to Pandora as a mother.

"Mom. This is Marduk. He was abandoned from his colony for being an albino." Remus said quickly with a small smile at his mother. Pandora gasped quietly.

"That's terrible! Who could be so ignorant to banish you for your fur? Some might call it a beautiful thing." Pandora said quietly to Marduk.

[Panda-chan]

[OOC: Sorry, I haven't read the Silverwing books in a long time so I'm not sure if Serenity's argument really makes sense lol... ]

Serenity felt her patience suddenly snap. "Cama Zots IS real!" she snarled, her eyes flashing fiery red in rage. This was the first time the old bat had let her emotions seize control of her, and her whole body shook with anger. However, she wasn't done telling this loudmouthed baffoon what was on her mind. "And don't you dare doubt his existence!" she spat, "The Vampyrum were only killed when that idiot Voxzaco dropped the explosive disk on the Pyramid in order to sacrifice a hundred hearts. But mark my words, Cama Zots will return to claim both the Underworld and the Upper World, and he will do so with only his true followers!"
Serenity panted heavily from her outburst and noticed the shocked look on Vlad's face. She cursed inwardly. Now he knew that she could indeed let into her emotions!
Serenity smoothed her ruffled feathers in as dignified a manner as she could muster. She shook her head exasperatedly at Vlad's next statement. "We need to find a way out of here." she spoke matter-of-factly. She immediately got up from her perch and fluttered down next to him to inspect the cage bars with interest. He's right, she was forced to admit to herself after a thorough examining. The only way out would be to outsmart the humans, who, as he had pointed out, were as dimwitted as vultures.


Marduk looked around at his surroundings uncertainly. He couldn't remember the last time he had been in the company of so many bats, and the memories of his first home made him feel giddy with unease. Especially ones that were so foreign to him, he thought with a shudder. Very rarely in the seven years of his life had Marduk ever seen a Silverwing bat, and this was the first time he got to view several up close. However, this was not the time to reminiscence and daydream. A beautiful young she-bat had just glided down from a niche in the cave wall and started conversing with Remus in a worried tone. From what he could gather, it was obvious to Marduk that this Silverwing was the young bat's mother. At the question directed at him, the albino bat cleared his throat and cast an anxious glance at his snowy white wings before talking gruffly.
"Alas, it's a cruel world out there maam. Some ignorant creatures aren't willing to accept others that look or think differently from them. This was the only reason I was banished from my colony, because my fur color was strange and unfamiliar to them. I hope this is a lesson that your son can learn as well, that not everyone out there is as caring and accepting as your folks have been."
He squinted down at Remus with his beady pink eyes. The look he got back from the young bat was a mixture of sympathy and respect.