Music of the Night

Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Arthur coughed as he felt a warm, damp cloth that was swabbing his forehead.

"W-where am I?"

"Back in your room," his ears picked up the reassuring voice of his friend, Aoba. He was glad that it was him and not some other students or worst. "What happened back there? I found you knocked out in the middle of campus a bit bloodied at the lip and you were shaking."

"Was I?" Arthur asked himself rather than his friend. He tried to remember the sudden impact and the warning he was received. Now, he has never interacted with Mizuchi's ex but it seemed like that has been covered.

"Luckily I was just walking back to the dorm and your white fur was that easy to spot," Aoba explained. Arthur lowered his head, sighed. He felt a gentle wing on his shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Well...I was wondering with me bleeding on the ground," the bat murmured. "I was afraid you were going to eat me. As you mentioned earlier, I'm really easy to spot."

Aoba blinked in disbelief. How could Arthur think of such a thing?! The bald eagle would never eat meat ever since that Black Market incident with Bill, Tao and Legosi. He has herbivore friends and the thought of eating another life disturbed him greatly.

Then again, he understood why Arthur would think such a thing: bats are both prey and predator in life.

"Arthur, I wouldn't do something like that. Besides, you and I both know that us eagles don't have strong sense of smells. We rely on our eyes for everything."

The Honduran white bat could only nod, wrapping his wings around himself like a blanket. It was going to be difficult because he doesn't want to be exposed for his music but he also doesn't want to upset Mizuchi now that she is on good terms with him.

"I'm in trouble," Arthur admitted, he felt a gently wing holding his two fingers. He knew Aoba would understand. "It started with me going out after having tea with..."

After Arthur told him of the situation, the bald eagle was concern on how much this was affecting his friend. To be beaten up by a male rabbit was one thing but if he ever defends himself, the school will view it as a bat attacking one of the herbivores.

"Arthur, that doesn't mean that you should block her out of your life for safety. Sure he is going to do it if you talk to here but...don't you have another way to communicate with her?"

Arthur suddenly had his ears perked up at a sudden thought. Yes, he remembered before his grandfather's death, he used to do this to communicate with his friends in secret! Arthur suddenly leaped up and hung himself upside down with an excited expression.

"Oh Aoba!" Arthur grasped his friends wing. "You are brilliant! Absolutely bloody brilliant!"

Aoba was glad that his friend was okay but he had no idea what the little bat was talking about. He decided to go along with it.

...

"Morse code?" Haru questioned as she and Arthur were pulling some weeds from some of the plants. "And here I thought your braille was already hard enough. Why morse code?"

"Because not every animal here knows it and I have a feeling that her ex might know what braille is despite not knowing how to read it. But if I use morse code using the correction liquid for pens, there's a chance that I can pass on some messages to her. Plus, I can feel the liquid once it is dried out."

Haru rolled her eyes at the young bat's idea. "Look, sounds great but those guys will eventually know that you're the musician here. Besides, do you really have to go Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy on all of this? I thought bats are neutral in the war?"