Soar to New Heights~ A Bat 1x1 with Moony and Firebird!

[~Firebird Rising~]

[It's totally fine by me! I like the new name, too! :3 And yes, it's skip time! ^^]

Obsidian saw the sun setting through a hole in the Sky Prism's cave ceiling, and knew it was time to go. She searched about for Graphite a little bit first, just to let him know that she was leaving. He nodded to her and wished her luck when she finally found him. He'd been hanging from his usual spot on the ceiling all afternoon, ever since he had to say goodbye to Luna. Obsidian saw the mooning look on his face, and rolled her eyes. The Tribes definitely needed to unite, at the very least to make sure Graphite wasn't depressed all the time.

She departed the cave like a quiet shadow, heading for the festival clearing. It was dark through the tunnels and in the forest, and Obsidian found herself starting a bit a strange noises. Her experiences over the winter, especially in Darkwraith, had definitely had an effect on her. She was relieved when she finally reached the festival grounds, and saw that the other three leaders were already there. She hurried over and hung next to them. "Sorry I'm late," she apologized.

[Moony-Mae]

"That's quite all right, Obsidian," said Borealis, watching as she flitted over and hung next to them. "So," he began, "Obsidian and I were discussing earlier today the matter of the summer caves. She and I both thought that it wasn't fair to our bats if they were separated from the other three Tribes during the summer. Both myself and my sister have struck a strong friendship with the Sky Prism Tribe bats and would miss them. So, we thought that maybe we should find a new cave that will be large enough for all of us. The mountains would be an ideal living area. But, of course, we wanted to see what the other Leaders thought of the matter, for they have a say, of course, too."

Phoenix and Sage took this information in. Sage looked mildly interested, while a frown of skepticism crossed Phoenix's face.

"Well, I'm all for it," said Sage, smiling. "After all, you may have heard that one of my bats was nearly crushed with a rock that fell from the cave's ceiling. It seems high time we found new, sturdier caves."

Borealis remembered this story with a grimace. "Yes, my thoughts exactly," he said. "Phoenix? What are yours?"

"I'm not so sure," he said cautiously. "I mean, if it's not broken, don't fix it. We have the perfect cave setup right here, with healing herbs and plenty of bugs. Why bother moving just to stay together? You should only befriend bats in your own Tribe, in my opinion."

"But Phoenix," Sage pleaded gently, "We're all Amberwings, and the classification of a Tribe shouldn't ruin our friendships. I know very lovely bats from each of the other three Tribes, including all of you, and I believe my daughter has feelings for a bat of a different Tribe. She'd be so sad if she couldn't see him until next migration. I stand by my decision, and I'm all for searching for a new cave if it means unification."

Both Phoenix and Borealis saw the truth in these words. "Well, since it's three against one, I guess it's only fair that we do," said Phoenix grudgingly. "But I'm still not sure if this is as good an idea as it is a crazy one."

[~Firebird Rising~]

[I'm so sorry that I haven't posted in so long, but I've been almost literally SWAMPED with schoolwork! I barely have time for meals between doing so much work! Just know that, for pretty much the rest of the school year, if I am gone for a while, it's not because I'm abandoning the RP, I'm probably just frantically studying for a test or working on a project! ^^]

Obsidian let Borealis do the explaining, and listened quietly as Sage heartily approved the idea, grudgingly followed by Phoenix. She smiled. "Don't worry, Phoenix, I think that this will turn out to be excellent for all parties!" she assured him. Speaking now to all of them, she said, "I was thinking about it this afternoon, and I believe the best way to begin the relocation process is if we send out scouting patrols every once and a while to the rest of the mountains to look for promising caves. The patrols could consist of volunteers from all the Tribes, so every Tribe's interests would be represented. The scouts could work together to pick the best caves, and if they find some, they could tell us, so we could all go and make the final decisions on where we all settle."

She stopped, and waited to see what the others thought about her idea.

[Moony-Mae]

{{ Oh, you never have to apologize about that! Trust me, I've experienced the same! As I've said before, I'm just glad you still have time for our bats between juggling all of your real-life events! ^^ }}

Phoenix, knowing that Obsidian and all the rest were right, nodded. She always had kind words of reassurance for him. In spite of his skeptical self, he smiled, and listened more willingly to her next suggestions. "That's a fine idea," he said. "With your plan, we're sure to find the perfect mountain caves big enough for all of us!"

Borealis's smile grew wider as Phoenix warmed up to the idea, and Sage's friendly face did the same. "Great!" said both Borealis and Sage at the same time. Borealis continued, "I agree with with Phoenix, Obsidian. We could start as soon as tomorrow, perhaps, and send out bats to investigate the mountain terrain, and then visit ourselves once a suitable cave has been picked." He immediately thought of Luna, and of how much she'd love to go on a trip through the mountains with her friends. He'd mention it to her later. "So, are we all agreed on Obsidian's idea? Say 'I' if so."

He, Phoenix, and Sage all smiled at Obsidian and said, "I!"

[~Firebird Rising~]

[Great! Thanks for understanding! ^^ I think I'll have some more time for CS now, so I won't keep you waiting too much!]

"I!" Obsidian added as well, with a bright grin in return. "It's settled, then! I'll speak to my bats tomorrow, and select a few volunteers. Perhaps two each would work for every Tribe?" She glanced around, to see the others opinion on this. "We could all bring our volunteers here around noon, and then, discuss where the first scouting trip will take us." After waiting once more, in case anyone had any differing opinions, she said, "So, shall we consider this leader meeting adjourned?"

[Moony-Mae]

{{ I just wanted to let you know that, after just having moved, I won't have any Internet until Friday. Sending this alone uses up a lot of free data. So, see you Friday, unless I can go over my friend's house and use hers! ^^ }}

[Moony-Mae]

"Yes, that will work well, Obsidian," said Borealis, with a nod of the head. "Unless there is any more input, shall we part for the night?"

Phoenix and Sage nodded, thinking about who they could send on the scouting mission. Sage, smiling, said, "So, I suppose we'll be seeing each other and the scouts soon. Until then!" She gracefully lifted off the branch, and swooped out of the clearing, followed by Phoenix. When he and Obsidian were alone, Borealis smiled and flew away, calling a goodbye over his shoulder, knowing exactly who he would invite.

As it was midnight, the Crescent Moon Tribe caves were buzzing by the time Borealis returned. He spotted Luna herself on the hunt for bugs, so he waited until she had finished catching a moth, not wanting to ruin her concentration, before he approached her.

"There you are!" said Luna, greeting her brother before he'd even open his mouth to speak. "I saw you coming; in my mind, I mean. How'd the meeting with the Leaders go?"

"We've agreed to send out two scouts from each Tribe to explore the mountain area and find a suitable cave tomorrow," said Borealis, "and I immediately thought you'd want to."

"Oh yes, I definitely would!" Luna beamed. "That'd be a really fun opportunity! We haven't moved caves for decades!" Borealis smiled at her, and Luna did the same, thinking that she'd surely be traveling with Graphite and Nocturno on this exciting adventure.

[~Firebird Rising~]

[I've moved around before, so I know how hectic it can get! If you're still busy in the next few weeks or so, I totally understand! ^^]

Obsidian called her goodbyes after the other two leaders and Borealis before lifting off herself and swooping through the night back to the Sky Prism's cave. As she flew, she thought about who she should choose for the upcoming scouting trip. As much as she would like to go herself, she knew that since she was a leader, and a leader with a special magical ability to boot, that would be unfair for the other Tribes.

The two bats that immediately popped into her head were Graphite and Nocturno, though she had to admit that she had some doubts about them. Graphite was... well... Graphite. Sending her clumsy, naive brother off on a potentially dangerous mission worried her. However, he was part of the magical trio, so he probably could take care of himself. Probably. At least Luna (because she knew that Luna automatically would be going as the Crescent Moon representative) would be able to keep an eye on him. Nocturno, while he was her friend, and she knew he would never willingly be disloyal to his Tribemates, still was the son of Vincent Devilio Fangs. While she hated to mistrust him because of this, it had already been proven that he could be controlled by outside maleficent forces. Could something like that happen again, on the scouting trip?

Obsidian was now gliding into the cave, and pushed all of her doubts away. She trusted Graphite and Nocturno, and they had both made it out of worse situations than any they could encounter on the trip. She would talk to them, just to make sure that they actually wanted to be a part of this trip, and if they agreed, she would appoint them the representatives for the Sky Prisms.

Many bats were already awake as she entered the cave, and glowing eyes turned to meet her. There were whispers in the dark as bats talked to their neighbors, and as she passed, many asked her how the meeting went. She only shook her head and told them to sleep, she'd explain in the morning. She spotted Graphite and flew over, hoping that Nocturno would be nearby as well.

"Hey," Graphite asked her as she perched beside him. "How'd it go?"

Obsidian explained the leaders' decision. "I thought you would want to be one of the scouts for our Tribe, along with Nocturno," she offered.

Graphite's chest puffed out with pride at the same time his ears went back in nervousness. "Gee, you think I could actually help on one of these missions?" he stammered. "Well, I'm honored, but... I want to hear what Nocturno has to say. Where is he? Have you told him yet?" He looked around for the other male bat.

[Moony-Mae]

{{ Don't worry, I'm pretty much all settled in now. It didn't take long at all, considering we moved directly across the street! X3 }}

Nocturno had been hanging, feigning sleep, from the cave ceiling, having been awake, but not quite ready to get up and hunt. When Graphite said his name, his eyes flew open. He made his way over to the siblings and hovered near them. "Evening, guys!" he said. "I could have sworn I heard my name... Something you wanted to tell me?"

----------------------------------

Luna was about to leave Borealis, having just spotted a tasty-looking bug, but a question came to her, and she asked her brother, "So, who's the other scout? You said there'd be two for each Tribe."

"I thought about volunteering myself," Borealis mused, "but I'll have to see about that. I was going to fly around and observe everyone's behavior today, and decide who should go based on that. Of course, they won't know, so it'll be sincere and not just an act to get me to choose them. It'll have to be someone fast, someone who knows how to protect themselves if things go wrong in the mountains, someone who's a born adventurer. Sound like anyone you know?"

"I'll get back to you on that," said Luna, pondering over who fit Borealis's requirements. "Wait! Maybe Aurora! She's a real ray of sunshine, responsible, and quite the hunter!" Her brother, she observed, seemed intrigued. "Plus, she's right over there!" Luna finished, flicking her head in Aurora's direction. She was a very fast bat, currently zooming along at top speed in pursuit of a moth. She had sleek dark grey, almost black fur, and startlingly blue eyes that were believed to be able to change color. Borealis stared at her, mouth slightly open, watching her progress. Luna nearly laughed. "Yeah, y-yeah, Luna, I'll go with her. She seems perfect for the job," said Borealis, not taking his eyes off Aurora. Luna watched as he flew off and went over to talk to her. Turning away and smirking slightly, she flew back to the cave, eager to start the mission at noon tomorrow. Perhaps she'd take a long nap to pass the time. She'd need her sleep, anyway.

[~Firebird Rising~]

"Oh, great, there you are!" Obsidian said as Nocturno flew up. "Yes, I was just telling Graphite about the meeting with the other leaders..." She quickly explained what had happened and what the decision had been to Nocturno. "I was thinking that you and Graphite would be perfect to serve as the two scouts for the Sky Prisms," she finished. "What do you think?"

Graphite, still excited but nervous about the whole thing, piped up as well. "If Obsidian thinks we could do it, well, I figured that we probably can... I'm only going if you are, though..."