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

[Moony-Mae]

Luna was slightly on edge as she flew on in silence. The slightest noise would have given her quite a scare as her eyes constantly flicked back and forth, left, right, left, right, on the lookout for owls. So far, though, she hadn't seen any, and that scared her almost as much as actually seeing one. It made her wonder if they simply didn't live in these mountainous areas, or if they were silently watching, waiting for her to lower her guard. It was eerie and unsettling. Luna didn't much like it, but it kept her awake and on the lookout. It was growing later in the night, at least, and the nocturnal birds would probably be heading to sleep soon. That reminded her of how long they had been flying, and suddenly her wings started throbbing, as if just thinking about it had made them hurt. Perhaps they'd find a place to sleep soon. It was very slowly but surely growing lighter, and the stars were fading, as was Luna's alertness as she continued on through the dark, her eyes wide and looking for owls. Graphite's question startled her, and it was then she realized she wasn't alone. Knowing there were seven others beside her made the grey bat feel immensely better.

"Not as of now, but I have a feeling something's strange around here. This forest is just... creepy... There's no way else to put it. I feel like we're being followed. And not just by owls," she said tentatively, taking another precautionary look around. "But it's better knowing we're all in this together, at least... I guess it wouldn't hurt to see if anything's going to happen." She shut her eyes tight and concentrated, trying to harness her powers and get a picture of the future. All she saw in her mind's eye was a blank, swirling fog. Could she not pick up anything, or was that it? Was fog coming their way? Some help her powers were. She tried again, holding her breath. This time, something emerged out of the fog. It was a shape equally misty and transparent, but it looked like it took the form of a bat. She had a grim feeling she knew what it meant, but wasn't sure if she should tell Graphite. The last thing she wanted to do was set him on edge, especially at a time such as this, but not telling him could endanger the party until it was too late.

"I- I saw some fog..." she began warily. "But then a figure emerged from the mist... It looked like it was made of fog, like a ghost. Graphite, I think it was a ghost bat. More specifically, ghosts of Bone's deceased followers that we set free from Darkwraith. It sounds stupid, but I'm not sure what else it could be." Her voice rose a bit squeakily at the end, and she moved a little closer to Graphite. She wanted to go home above all else, to return safely. But they had to continue, for the Colony's sake. She dreaded, though, the thought of encountering the ghosts, dreaded that her suspicions were true.

[~Firebird Rising~]

Graphite listened to Luna's description of her vision with wide eyes. "G-g-g-ghosts?" he stammered, louder than he'd meant. He immediately looked around at the other bats, but he and Luna were flying far enough away that they probably didn't. Dropping his voice, he said in a shaky tone, "Are you really sure it's them? Er, well, I guess you are, but... I mean, maybe they aren't bad bad ghosts? We did set them free, and I'm sure that this place is nicer for ghosts than Darkwraith, at least... Maybe those ghosts are following us, but maybe they're grateful to us. Maybe they want to help us somehow."

Graphite was just saying whatever positive thing that popped into his mind, partly to reassure Luna, and also partly to reassure himself. He had no idea what ghosts were like, or if they were capable of being friendly and/or helpful. He just really, really hoped that if there were ghosts out there, they didn't have any kind of evil intent. There was already the possibility of hostile mountain bats, owls, and who-knows-what-else where they were headed. It didn't seem fair that ghosts would be after them too!

Even still, he found himself moving unconsciously towards Luna as well. Seeing a tint of light in the sky, he hoped that they would find a place to rest soon, so he could get some sleep and forget about all the fear this expedition was causing already.

[Moony-Mae]

Luna was reassured slightly at Graphite's response. It did, after all, make sense that the ghosts would be more grateful than hostile towards those who had spared them an eternity of misery. It would be nice to have spectral traveling companions that were indebted to them, but Luna couldn't entirely convince herself that it was true. If these spirits were evil enough to have landed themselves in Darkwraith in the first place, they probably weren't the most passive bunch, but with time came change, and perhaps their hearts had grown lighter during their stay. Well, whatever the case, they were just ghosts; spirits comprised of air and whatever else a bat's body became after it joined the afterlife. They didn't seem like terrible adversaries compared to the Stonecrushers, who on the other wing were completely solid, and very, very strong. "I just hope you're right," she sighed. "The last thing we need are more enemies on our trail, especially at a time such as this, when we are so few in number."

Just then, Nocturno came flapping up to the pair from behind. He looked a little anxious, but that was nothing compared to the traumatized expression he had worn only a few short hours ago. "Um, guys?" he asked a little warily, as if he were speaking to strangers instead of his good friends. "The others in the party sent me to ask if you were okay. You kind of drifted off, and if you haven't noticed, they're a ways ahead. We shouldn't be so separated, especially when there's only eight of us. Secondly, the rest of us have come to a consensus that we're going to hunker down to sleep now, as soon as we find a good spot. You guys okay with that?"

"Yes, that's perfectly fine with me, Nocturno," said Luna. She had almost forgotten about him as she and Graphite had their hushed conversation. She planned on telling him what she had seen when they woke up that night. The sun was rising quickly now, and Luna's eyes, not accustomed to the light, narrowed to block out the harsh rays. "I think we all need some rest." Her head was still pounding, although very faintly, and to lay down her fears of owls for a while sounded good to her. Nocturno turned his head to Graphite, seeing what he would say.

[~Firebird Rising~]

Graphite hadn't even noticed that he and Luna were being left behind. "Whoops!" he said. "Sorry!"

"Oh yes!" he added with a lot more enthusiasm when Nocturno mentioned stopping. "I'm so tired I feel like my wings might drop off!" He could feel the sunlight creeping over his fur, and while it made him sleepy, it also made him relieved that soon he could rid his mind of thoughts of mountain bats and owls and ghosts and who-knows-what-else they might run into. He flew a little faster, to try and catch up with the rest of the group.

He didn't really know any of the other bats, but he was so tired now he couldn't even remember to be shy. "So, where were you guys thinking of stopping?" he asked, stifling a yawn. "I'm good with anywhere, really. Anywhere at all."

[Moony-Mae]

Luna followed the two males over to the remaining five. Some looked curious as to why they had drifted so far off, but Luna looked away, not wanting to have to answer questions. Her vision of the future was definitely something to worry about, but it could wait until that night. Luna could barely flap her wings for lack and want of sleep. The sun was now steadily rising, and the heat was lulling her even further into a midair slumber, but she cleared her mind. Sleep would come soon, but first they needed to establish where the sleeping would be done.

"What about down there?" suggested one of the Fern Tribe scouts, attracting the group's attention to a small hollow not far below them. It looked quite a bit like the Festival of Peace grounds, but smaller in size and with more trees enclosing the clearing. It looked very cozy down there, and Luna didn't care very much at this point anyway, so she nodded in consent. "That looks like a comfortable spot," she commented, her eyes falling on a good branch to settle.

"Is it decided, then?" asked Nocturno in a bold voice, unexpectedly taking charge. He seemed partial to the spot as well, and seemed to creep slowly towards it as he looked round at the rest. Most of them seemed okay with this hollow as that morning's resting nook.

[~Firebird Rising~]

[Sorry about the long gap... I kind of explained in my signature, and I'll try to post more often, when I get the chance.]

Graphite tried to inconspicuously strain his ears towards the area the others were mentioning. He heard a few rustlings in the leaves and the normal sounds of nature. Nothing out of the ordinary, it seemed. He nodded to himself, then spoke up. "I'm okay with it," he said, and with a flap of his wings, began to descend.

A rogue gust of wind caught him and sent him tumbling to the left. He recovered as best he could, but flushed red under his fur, having shown his weak flying skills and embarrassed himself in front of the group. He hung back the rest of the way down and looked for a good branch to settle on, preferably close to the ground. He was so tired, and in such an unfamiliar place... it wasn't unlikely that he would fall off sometime during their rest period.

[Moony-Mae]

[ It's all right! Glad you're back! ^^ ]

Luna began a slow, graceful descent with the rest of the group. Towards the treeline she flew, beating her aching wings gently. The sun was definitely up now, and it was growing a bit hot under her fur. The last of the blackness in the sky was fading away, and the birds were staring to awaken and sing their morning melodies. She lighted on a branch and clung to it gratefully. She couldn't have taken much more travel in one night. A good rest would do wonders for her joints and restore her energy so she could continue on when the moon rose. There was room one either side of her on the branch for Graphite and Nocturno, and the latter took one of these a few seconds later.

"We're extremely close!" one of the scouts called to everyone in the clearing. "We'll be there within an hour tomorrow! Everyone, get a good rest! You'll need it!" This was the last thing Luna heard before falling asleep. After calling out a quick good night to the other scouts, she drifted off and dreamed about the events of tomorrow when they finally got to see the mountain caves close up. She hoped it'd all be worth it, and that no Stonecrusher dunces would prove to be an obstacle.

[Moony-Mae]

Bump! If I'm not mistaken, it's the two-year anniversary! Are we still active? ^^

[~Firebird Rising~]

[Wow! I came back just in time, then! Sorry about the super-duper long wait this time... There's been a long chain of family/financhial troubles in my life for a while, but I'm finally getting some free time again, and I'm thinking that I'll be able to reply once or twice a week at the very least from now on.]

Graphite managed to make it to the branch after Luna and Nocturno, and it took some clumsy maneuvering to come up on Luna's other side and land without jostling her. By some miracle, he made it, and his claws gripped tightly into the bark as he took some deep breaths to recover.

Now that he was stationary, he was more tired than ever, but when he tried to close his eyes, visions of vicious mountain bats danced in his head. He reasoned that one last sound-check of the area wouldn't hurt, and his huge ears swiveled up, down, and around to search for threatening noises. The area was so unfamiliar that everything sounded a little strange, but nothing seemed dangerous-strange, at least right now.

He yawned widely. No matter how close the other scout had said they were, he knew that they would still have a ways to fly, and he needed his rest. He forced his eyes shut and remained still until sleep overcame him.

[Moony-Mae]

[ Don't worry about it! ^^ The same thing is happening with me, albeit on a smaller scale. I hope everything works out well for you and your family. :3 ]

When Luna next opened her eyes, nighttime had closed in upon the small camp of eight, filling the sky with stars to light the way onwards. Luna nudged Nocturno, who awoke with a grunt and several blinks of his great orange eyes. "Hey," he said. "Is Graphite up?" Luna shook her head no. "You can wake him if you want; I'll be right back." She lifted off from the branch to go and get a meal before the others woke up. She would need a lot of energy for the final part of the journey. They were at the base of the mountain, but it would take a long time to fly upwards and reach the caves they sought. She stared at the looming landmass and marveled at its sheer size; craning her neck as far back as it would permit still didn't give her a view of the top. She took a few minutes to swoop around and snap up some bugs in her jaws. She had never tasted these before, which reminded her of how far away they must be. She missed Borealis and Obsidian dreadfully, but luckily the trip wouldn't take long. Provided there weren't any disturbances from the Stonecrushers. Luna was getting a strong hang of controlling her power now, and she hovered in midair, focusing her mind on what the future held. She lowered a few feet, beating her wings more slowly in order to concentrate. She saw a grey mass. She watched it for a few seconds before it split into two halves, appearing to have been cut. This startled her and caused her to jump backwards a meter or two. Soon, the vision faded, the blackness of the future washing away and the present nighttime landscape once again filling her line of sight. Was that it? Then, she realized what this could mean. The Stonecrushers were going to appear among the cast of characters. And blood, she assumed, would most likely be spilled. She rushed over to tell Nocturno, who was in the process of awakening Graphite. "Hey, buddy," he said, nudging the grey male. "Today's the day we conquer the mountain!" Grinning, he looked over at Luna, who had just flown up. "Nocturno, Graphite," she said. "I knew we were all half-expecting and fearing this, but the Stonecrushers will come. They may already know we're here, but sooner or later, they'll be coming, and I don't think they'll be too pleased about our invasion of their territory." She finished grimly. Luna didn't doubt this would happen, but was anxious about it all the same. From Nocturno's earlier description of them, it sounded like the odds would be very slim that their small team of eight would escape from this adventure whole and intact.