Pet's ID Tag:30
Name You'd Choose for It:Diego
Gender:Male
Reason You Want It:Once more... Halloween... It gets to me. I have never liked a bat character before, but the candy corn resemblance, plus the fact that for some reason he reminds me of the tent building bats I am so fond of makes me love him.
History/Background/Other:SpeciesArtibeus
Size6 cm.
Age10 months
LikesFruits
The sky at night
Quiet
DislikesHeights
Flying
Crowded areas
Water
PersonalityA coward at mind, but not heart, Diego is a strange fellow among the bats of the community. Afraid of being on the bottom of the pile for fear of being squished, but never wanting to be on top due to nightmares of falling down and rolling out of the leaf his family chooses for the sleeping hours of the day. Short for his age, and no possibility of growing any bigger, it tends to make his shyness and insecurity even worse. Happiest when he is looking up at the sky and stars, he dreams of being stronger and braver than he is, not knowing how much he is capable of if he were to set his mind to it. Not easy to annoy, this is probably a good thing, due to the fact that he would probably just kindle the mocking and bullying he usually gets.
HistoryA horrible accident during one of the night flights when changing leafs made Diego almost lose his life, scarring him for life, and ensuring the small bat never learned how to fly. A disgrace to his father, and an embarrassment to his mother, Diego tries his hardest to make the most out of himself, although usually this is not enough. His voice being his most unusual feature, he sings, sounding as melodious as a bird in spring flight, and in turn, tends to attract some of the females this way, unknowing of the effect his hobby has. His lyrics have earned him the nickname 'Teller', due to the stories he tells, mostly about how bats were once the rulers of the world, or of Vampyr, the folktale hero of the leaf nosed bats of the southern hemisphere. Diego tends to enjoy saying this stories, especially to the younger bats in the colony, who end their incessant pestering of him once he opens his mouth to let the tales flow, same as most of the other bats of the area.
Despite his flaws and cowardice, he is known throughout all of the bat colonies of the forest. This is mostly due to him having to stay in the same tree, his fear of flying making him unable to move on to a different leaf with the rest of his colony when it is time to move on. 'The Teller Tree' is famous however, and is highly visited by all of the bats, sometimes causing fights over who gets to make a home in it for a while. His fame allowing him to survive, as it makes others bring fruit to him despite being bullied, it is believed that those who do so merely envy his wit and his smarts. To Diego, it just makes him happy to have new bats visiting , and it allows him to have new tales for those who visit next.
StoryIt had all been a flash, a second that would forever have been carved into his memory, even if he didn't consciously know it.
"Diego!" came the frantic female squeak. His mother had just seen the black body plummeting to his demise. Only quick thinking from one of the fastest of the colony saved the flightless baby, catching the squealing youngster before he made contact with the ground. Nobody knew if the impact would have killed him, but there were many creatures on the forest floor that wouldn't bother feasting on a fallen bat. Relief could be felt on the entire flock, except for the shivering body of the rescued baby as he clung desperately to the body of his rescuer.
"Is he alright?" called a strong looking bat close by, his eyes full of concern as he kept flying onward.
"He'll be fine, Menos. He's just a bit shaken up," came the voice from the one carrying the child, a hint of laughter on his voice. Sadly, just a bit shaken up didn't quite explain the mental trauma of the youngster he had just rescued. Little did the others know that such an experience would ensure that the young bat would never move from their destination again.
Months had passed, and with it, the family had already gone to a new location, knowing other bats liked to start colony fights if they stayed in one place for two long. Or at least, most of the family had. Diego, the black bat with orange wings, had stayed behind. Disgrace had fallen on the family as the mother begged him to fly and the father shunned him, calling him useless and saying it was better that they part ways. After a sad farewell to his mother, the young bat remained alone, watching the others fly away, cursing at himself for never being able to do so himself.
Alone he stayed for a couple of weeks, learning to get his food in ways other than flying, and looking to the stars at night, memories turning into stories that plagued the sky in his way of finding warmth in his solitude. Soon, when he thought he would start growing crazy after nights of talking to himself, squeaks filled the sky. Fear consumed him and he went to hiding. As he did so, a new flock of bats landed on one of the leaves of the tree he inhabited. Curiosity, and the hunger to socialize led him to cautiously come out of his hiding as the bats squeaked among each other, talking about their flight, or of different shores regarding the proper accommodations for the night formation.
If he would have known the weeks that would follow of torment, mockery, and sheer brutality to himself, he may have chosen to stay hidden. Gratefully, Diego was used to this from his previous colony, so he took all with a smile. Some thought that he must surely be mad, others thought he was merely a miracle, as anyone that stupid should have probably been eaten a long time ago. 'Flightless', they called him, among other things, but Diego never said anything against it. Some of the younger ones started to be entertained by the small male however, his stories intoxicating, taking them to faraway places.
The other grownups? They tried their best to keep the little ones away from him, not wanting them to take after such a strange bat. This was all until the night of the big storm. Such horrible winds made it impossible for the bats to go around their daily routine, leaving the entire colony stuck in the same leaf as small Diego. Complaints and recklessness were heard throughout the group, and the tension was palpable.
"Why should we let a bit of rain stop us? We are bats! We should be free to fly when we please!" came the voice of a particularly huge 10 cm. bat as he stood up against the leader of the flock. Shouts of agreement from a couple of the others came through, mostly the big and without young.
"If we cannot fly, we are no bats!"
As this was said, Diego's ears perked up, his gaze turning to the squabbling group, a fight about to break out. Another bat would have let them go at it. It wasn't his colony, he didn't even sleep in the same 'tent' like formation as they did, although he did tend to keep to the same leaf. Mothers shielded their young, the winds of the hurricane striking horribly, adding to the discomforting air of the colony. The forest floor was flooded, meaning that if any of the young fell, or if they could not fly due to the horrible winds, they would drown.
"Did you know... us being able to stay up in this tree is a blessing," came the soft, suave voice of the young bat, making all others shut up, unused to hearing such a melodious voice in a bat.
"Who asked you?" The biggest of the bats stood tall over Diego, menacing to smack him if he said anything out of place, but the young ones knew that tone. It was the tone he always used before beginning one of his stories.
"Why is that Diego?" came the clamor of the children, interrupting the bigger bat and scuttling past him, ignoring his angry tone of voice.
A smile crossed Diego's face. It always made him happy to see the others interested in his stories, as it gave him an excuse to let his imagination run wide and say the most nonsense things. The kids in particular loved it when he made them particularly far fetched and impossible. He stared at the others, who were glancing curiously at him, and his ear twitched awkwardly. Not used to having so many eyes on him, he cleared his throat slightly. He considered staying quiet for a second, but another glance at the expecting looks on the little one's faces made him think otherwise.
"You see, long ago, back when the forest was young... trees weren't really as big as they are now. They were small... in fact, so small, that bats didn't have wings, as they did not need them to fly to the fruit we so love," he begun, settling himself comfortably on the leaf while the kids clambored over him, some giggling and others shushing so they could hear better.
"That makes no sense at all! Why would bats not have wings?! Sounds to me you are trying to make your idiotic ability to not fly look less useless," the big one sneered, a couple of laughs accompanying this statement. A shushing noise followed this ruckus however as the kids all glared at the noisy bat, and other adults started surrounding the young bat, eager to hear the tale. The big one looked incredulous, not sure why the others were paying so much attention to the small bat whom seemed to speak nothing but nonsense.
All in all, the majority won, and so the hurricane was passed with the tale of Vampyr, and how floods like these were the reason that bats had learned to fly, to be able to get to the top of the trees, now tall with age, so that they would be protected. When it was time for the colony to depart and find a new tree, they thanked Diego, happy to have spent the time in his tree.
"We shall spread the word, oh Teller, for others to be able to come hear your stories. Everyone in the forest will know of the Teller, the bat who does not fly, but soars away with tales of greatness."
I understand that by adopting this creature I take full responsibility for it.