Gone Batty

Chapter 4: Let's Go Break the Law!

Melody followed Shade with her eyes, noting the way that he hunts. He certainly relied on his echolocation a lot and she did not blame him. Keeping track of that tiger moth was no easy task. That thing just would not stay still. He almost got it once, but he let it slip past him as he grazed through the bushes. That did not stop him from licking his mouth hungrily and trying again.

"Hey, you are the newbie, right?"

Melody jerked her head upward to see three young bats her age land around her. Two of them were male, and one of them was a female. It was the taller male that had spoken. He had the same dark shade of blue fur as she did, except he had light blue hair and no white underbelly. It seemed like she was the only one who had that. He hung facedown on her right. "Guilty as charged, I guess." Melody shrugged.

"The name is Chinook," the adolescent male pointed to himself before pointing to his friends, "and this is Breeze and Todd." Breeze was the one with the violet fur and had blonde hair like Shade, she smiled at Melody as she stood below her on a lower branch. Todd was teal colored and had dark orange hair and was rather chubby. He waved at her as he took his place on her left.

"Melody," she replied, feeling a bit unsure how to react to these bats. They seemed friendly enough, just curious about her.

"So, what are you doing up here all alone?" Breeze asked not unkindly.

The brunette shook her head at the female bat. "No, I'm not alone. Shade's showing me how to hunt."

The others turned their attention to the smaller bat down below, still trying to catch the tiger moth. Chinook snorted out a laugh, earning a raised brow from Melody. "So, the runt's actually trying to catch a tiger moth on his own? Looks like he finally found someone to try and show off to."

Melody frowned, not liking his high and mighty tone. She especially did not appreciate the degrading name he used on Shade. She knew how sensitive Shade was about his size. "Don't call him that! It's not his fault he was born like that. Besides, he's only trying to help me learn how to hunt."

Chinook rolled his eyes, "please." He spread his wings out wide, forcing Melody to lean out of the way due to their wide wingspan. "He'd be lucky to grow up half the size of my dad." He gloated proudly. "But considering your handicap, I don't blame him for trying to impress you. With his scrawny wings, he hasn't got much of a selection to choose from."

Melody bristled at his words. He wasn't just insulting Shade, he was indirectly insulting her as well. She doubted that was his intention, but still! "Well, excuse me for being such a poor excuse of a bat!" she snapped. She was very tempted to leave. Wait...why did she care how good of a bat she was? She wasn't really a bat in the first place anyway!

"Woah! Hold on..." Chinook immediately tried to backtrack. "I didn't mean-" He stumbled over his words, "it's not your fault those humans kept you from ever learning how to fly." He gave her a reassuring toothy smile. "I bet that if you keep practicing, you will be one of the best flyers around!"

Melody huffed and looked away. He was so trying to butter her up.

"Look, I just don't think the squirt is the best candidate to show you how hunting is done." The dark blue bat explained and he looked down at Shade who was currently confused by the tiger moth's echo projection. He blindly bit at the empty air where the multiple clone illusions of the moth hovered. "Much less a tiger moth."

"Oh, and I suppose you can do it better?" Melody challenged him, unimpressed.

Chinook grinned at her and he opened up his large dark wings as he accepted her challenge. "Watch and learn." He swooped down after Shade and the tiger moth.