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

[Moony-Mae]

{{ It took me a while, but I made a Soar to new Heights GIF! :3 }}

"That sounds like an awesome opportunity, Obsidian!" Nocturno burst out excitedly. "I'd love to go! I bet Luna's going, too! This'll be so exciting! I'm very honored!" He beamed at the two siblings, slightly unable to believe his luck. Of course, it would be dangerous, but if his Leader had faith in him, he was sure he'd be fine. After all, they'd been through so much already. This would be like a flap in the park compared to Darkwraith. "Thanks a bunch for choosing me, Obsidian!" he said, eyes shining with excitement. "I know we'll find the perfect cave in no time!"

Just then, Sage flapped up behind Obsidian. After seeing she wasn't interrupting conversation, she greeted, "Hey, there, Obsidian! I just wanted to get you up to date with who'll be accompanying your Tribe's scouts tomorrow. There's Luna and Aurora from the Crescent Moon Tribe, Valentine and Basilio from mine, and Snowdrop and Cedar from Phoenix's Tribe. I'm not sure if you know them, but I assure you they're all very well-qualified for the job. Is the selection all right with you, and are these two your scouts?"

"Yup!" said Nocturno. "I'm Nocturno Fangs, and this is Graphite Plummet, brother of Obsidian!" he said proudly, puffing out his chest a bit and putting his wing around Graphite. His attitude had (obviously) greatly improved ever since he was chosen to be a scout.

Sage smiled serenely, not really looking at the two males, but at the opposite side of the cave, and turned her back to them, whispering to Obsidian, "Are you sure that Nocturno is a good choice? I know his intentions are good, but he's the son of Vincent, and if I remember correctly, he was the reason you got stuck in the Underworld and your Tribe arrived home late. The choice is completely yours, and I very much like and respect both him and your decision, but I'm not a hundred percent sure he's the perfect fit for the journey."

[~Firebird Rising~]

[Emergersh! I love it! That's so cool! I have no idea how to make a gif like that! :3]

Obsidian chuckled at Nocturno's enthusiasm. "You're very welcome, Nocturno," she smiled. She was pretty relieved he had accepted so easily, knowing that Graphite would agree to go too now.

"Guess we'll be off adventuring, then!" Graphite said, grinning along with Nocturno. He had visibly relaxed when the other male said he was going, and had immediately brightened in interest when the fact that Luna would be coming along was pointed out.

Obsidian turned as Sage flapped up and listened to what the other leader had to say. She nodded as the list of scouts was named. She knew several of the other bats, and knew they were all very capable. She felt a warm feeling in her stomach as she thought about how her idea for finding a new cave was going so smoothly. The tribes would be united before they knew it! "Sounds excellent!" she said as Sage finished.

Her smile faded slightly as Sage turned and whispered her concerns about Nocturno. As much as she hated to admit it, they were the exact same ones that had been repeating in her own mind for quite some time. Swallowing these doubts down, though, she said in a quiet tone, "I believe Nocturno has skills that could be very beneficial to this mission. I trust him." However, she wasn't quite sure if she was saying this to reassure Sage or herself.

[Moony-Mae]

[ Aww! Thanks a bunch! :3 Also, maybe we should skip to nighttime! ^^ ]

Sage nodded rather grimly, frowning slightly, which was strange for her. She was normally energetic and friendly, but a little nagging voice at the back of her mind told her Nocturno wasn't to be trusted with such a task. Not that she didn't like him; he obviously wouldn't do anything to harm anyone on his own. Still, he was able to be hypnotized rather easily, so she heard. She thought maybe it was best for him to stay behind, for his and the group's sake, but she dismissed that cautious voice. She trusted her fellow Leader and her decision to choose Nocturno. Saying nothing more, she gave the three Sky Prisms a halfhearted smile and flew limply and slowly away, glancing over her shoulder nervously, her light green eyes, clouded with doubt, fixed on Nocturno. After seeing he had noticed her looking at him, she smiled weakly and quickly looked away, continuing to swoop out of the cave without looking back. Everything would be all right, she thought. She repeated this all the way back. Everything will be fine. Nocturno's a fine choice.

The night came very quickly for Nocturno. He had chosen to head off to sleep early, so he felt well-rested by the time he awoke. He stretched, and looked around to see if anyone else was up. No one yet. He decided to get some breakfast. He'd need all the energy he could get if he was to go on a mountain trip, where the terrain was steep and the air thin. After grabbing a bit of everything, he headed back into the cave with a full stomach, where he heard the sound of his Tribemates awakening. He patiently waited for his Leader and fellow scout.

[~Firebird Rising~]

[Agreed! ^^ ]

Obsidian could see that Sage wasn't satisfied by her reassurances that Nocturno was a good choice, but she stood by her decision, and nodded a goodbye to the other leader as she flew away. Graphite noticed the tension between the two leaders, but didn't think much of it, torn as he was by excitement and fear as he looked ahead to the scouting mission. He dropped right off to sleep when he and Obsidian finally returned to their usual sleeping places, but Obsidian remained awake, wings curled around her, wondering how the scouting mission ahead would turn out, and hoping her idea wouldn't end up as a disaster.

After a few hours, at the beginning of the evening, she shook Graphite to wake him. "Graphite, wake up!" she murmured to her brother as he blearily blinked awake. "You'll need to eat before we head out."

Together, the siblings went off to catch a few bugs, Obsidian catching a few extra just for Graphite, as his already mediocre hunting skills were weakened by his nervous excitement. When they finally returned to the cave, they spotted Nocturno waiting for them, and flew over. "Hello!" Obsidian greeted him, with a bright smile to mask her worry. "Are you ready? Shall we set off?"

[Moony-Mae]

Nocturno spun around the moment he heard his name spoken. "Yup! I'm all set to go, Obsidian!" he said eagerly. Then, remembering something, he flattened his ears, looking sheepish, and said, "I forgot to mention that we're meeting all of the scouts and Leaders in the festival clearing as soon as we're awake, just so we can coordinate any last-minute plans if we need to and set our proper course, you know. Phoenix told me yesterday, but my memory isn't the sharpest. We might as well head out, if you two are ready."

Luna awoke before any of her neighbors had. After locating her brother, she gently prodded his shoulder with her wingtip and whispered in his ear, "Come on, Borealis, get up, please! We've got to hurry if we want to arrive at the clearing on time!"

Borealis blinked several times. "All right, Luna, I'll meet you there. Go find Aurora, would you?"

Luna nodded and left, though waiting first to see Borealis arise, just to make sure her sleep-loving brother didn't doze off again as he had a tendency to do.

After looking around and seeing no sign of her fellow guide, Luna took advantage of being the only one outside by getting all the breakfast she wanted without it being snatched away. Surprisingly, Luna soon found out Aurora was already outside, zipping around like a bullet on the hunt for bugs.

"Hi, Luna!" she said, spotting the grey female and moving closer.

"Ready to go, I assume?" Luna asked.

The other nodded with a smile, so together they set off for the clearing, talking all the while. When they arrived, they hung from the designated Crescent Moon Tribe branch and patiently waited for the rest.

[~Firebird Rising~]

"Absolutely!" Obsidian said, trying to maintain her composure. It wasn't easy. She was terribly worried, hoping that her plan wouldn't fail, and she wasn't just sending her brother, her friend, and several other Amberwings to their deaths. She flashed the two a smile anyways, and spreading her wings, led the way to the clearing.

As they reached the clearing, she spotted Luna and another bat hanging from the Crescent Moon branch, and so immediately flew over. "Hello, Luna!" she greeted her, hovering in midair.

"Hi, Luna!" Graphite echoed, panting up behind her. His sister flew so fast, sometimes it was hard to keep up.

"I'm guessing you're your Tribe's representative?" Obsidian asked, though of course, she already knew the answer. She turned to the other female bat with her friend. "And this is the other?" she surmised again. "What is your name?"

[Moony-Mae]

Luna was idly chatting to Aurora about the weather when she saw the Sky Prism representatives fly up. She alerted her scouting partner, whose back was to them, and then took leave of the Crescent Moon branch to say hello.

"Hey, you three!" Luna chimed in greeting, as she approached Obsidian, Nocturno, and Graphite. She heard wingbeats behind her and knew Aurora had flown up as well.

In response to Obsidian's question, Luna nodded and grinned. "Yep, and I'm excited to set off! Are you accompanying Graphite and Nocturno, Obsidian, or are you just overseeing the departure of the scouts?"

Aurora hung back a little bit while the others, evidently friends, greeted each other. When the Leader with curly jet-black fur asked if she were part of this mission, she nodded, though less boldly than Luna. "Yes, ma'am, er, Obsidian," she said. From how Luna had addressed her, she had assumed that was the Leader's name. "I'm the other Crescent Moon scout. Aurora's my name."

[~Firebird Rising~]

(Just in case I don't get online tomorrow, happy birthday! :3)

"Just seeing these two off, I'm afraid," Obsidian said with a smile, in response to Luna's question. Once again, she reflected on how much she would like to be able to lead the mission, but it could appear unfairly in the Sky Prism's advantage if their leader went, and anyways, she needed to watch over the Tribe back at home.

As the other Crescent Moon bat introduced herself as Aurora, she smiled and nodded to her. "Excellent. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Graphite," her brother added from behind her. He was feeling a bit more at ease about this whole mission, especially since Luna was there too. He figured he should get to know the other scouts now, before they began. "I guess we'll be, y'know, scouting together."

Obsidian looked around at the surrounding skies, searching for any sign of other bats approaching. "Hopefully, the other leaders and their scouts arrive soon," she mused.

[Moony-Mae]

[ Aw, thank you! It was a happy birthday, indeed! ^^ ]

Luna nodded as Obsidian said she wouldn't be accompanying Graphite and Nocturno. As much as she wanted her friend to be there, she couldn't imagine the other Tribes would think a third representative was very fair. She looked up at the sky while Aurora and Obsidian were being acquainted. The shining crescent moon, her Tribe's namesake, was gleaming overhead and emitting a pearly glow. Judging by its position and the length of the shadows the trees cast on the ground, Luna calculated it was almost exactly midnight, and that the other Tribes were due to arrive any moment.

And indeed they were. Sage, right on cue, swept into the clearing right at that moment, flanked by her two scouts, named Valentine and Basilio, Luna remembered. Just a moment later, Phoenix and his two representatives, Snowdrop and Cedar, flew in as well. Seeing all the Leaders overseeing the departure with their scouts made Luna wish Borealis had come with her and Aurora. She hoped her Tribe didn't look unprofessional by its lack of a Leader. Almost as if by magic, though, Borealis entered the clearing, swooping through the gap in a forked tree branch with a casual grace. No one seemed to notice his late arrival amongst all of the greetings being exchanged. Slipping into the crowd as if he had just left to fetch something, he spotted Obsidian, Phoenix, and Sage and gathered them all together.

"Welcome, Tribe Leaders and noble scouts!" he said. He gave Obsidian a look as if to say, "This was your idea; why don't you explain?" and looked on, performing a quick head-count. Good. Everyone was present and prepared. Soon they would be off in search of a new cave.

[~Firebird Rising~]

[Awesome! X3]

Obsidian caught Borealis's glance and nodded. She flapped forward a bit, where the others could all see her. After clearing her throat, she began.

"Greetings, everyone. Glad you all made it," she said, getting the formalities out of the way. "As all you leaders already know, and as I assume you have told your representatives, I proposed the idea yesterday that each Tribe send out scouts to explore the mountains and look for a new cave, one that we could all live in. I know many bats have cross-Tribe friendships and relationships, and living together would promote unity for the Amberwings as a whole. In order to achieve this unity, though, our scouts will need to venture into the relative unknown and come to a consensus on which cave to try, one that benefits all parties involved."

Her gaze swept over all the scouts from all the tribes. "This task will be difficult, to say the least, but each one of you have been handpicked by your leaders, so they must all be confident in your abilities and your loyalties." Obsidian tried very hard not to glance at Nocturno as she said this. "With that said, scouts, perhaps you could decide together on an original heading? Just a relative direction you'll be traveling in through the mountains at first?"

Her throat a little sore from all of her talking, Obsidian drew back, allowing any of the scouts that wanted to to speak up.