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    Chapter One - 'Thoughts'
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    ‘Rebirth’

    -Noxx-

    Through the moonless night, I felt something following me. It’s wing beats were soft, I was afraid it was a disgruntled owl…but I couldn’t think of anything I did wrong, I was only hunting! Could it have possibly mistaken me for someone, or something, else? I turned my head quickly and sprayed out sound…my echoes had hit something large, but the only picture my mind’s eye showed me was the dark glint of tarnished silver band.

    I beat my little wings faster, but they did not carry me far…why did I have to be so small! Something hot blew at my backside, and I knew it was too late…whatever this thing was…it was going to have me in no time. I screamed out in pain as I felt it’s claws sink into my shoulders and it started to quickly descend…and I was it’s prey…It slammed me hard against the ground, I felt it hot breath against my face, I could smell the hunger and bloodlust the creature had…I was going to die and I didn’t even know what had me.

    As if to answer my curiosity, the moon appeared from it’s vacant place in the sky and lit the night as if it were day. I opened my eyes and squeaked weakly in shock, my attacker was another bat! It’s nose was long and pointed at the tip, it’s eyes burned with a powerful mixture of vengeance, hatred, and hunger. He, this bat, was easily nearly three times my size, there was no way I could possibly escape his grasp.

    His lips curled in a cruel smile as he began to lower his head towards mine, and I closed my eyes, waiting for those horribly sharp fangs to pierce my neck and end my life…when the pain of having my flesh ripped from my body did not come, I slowly opened my eyes. He was still staring at me, most likely waiting for me to gaze at his face.

    He chuckled deeply as I began to struggle beneath him again, blasting more hot, putrid breath into my face. He lowered his mouth closer to my ears and began to speak. His voice was low and raspy, as if he hadn’t had anything to drink in a very long time, but I could still hear those ghastly words clearly, ‘I will eat your beating heart…’

    “Momma!” the little bat squeaked softly in panic as he awoke from his nightmare.

    He clung so tightly to his mother that she winced in pain, but she ignored the pain and gently stroked her whimpering pup, “It’s alright, sweetie, I’m here…” she sighed, her tired face showed she was worried about her young son, “was it the Cannibal dream again?”

    The child sniffed lightly and nodded, tears matting his fur, “yes…he spoke to me this time…he said he’d eat my beating heart..” he buried his face into his mother’s soft fur and began sobbing loudly, “I could feel his hot breath in my face! He was really there, mom…he was really going to eat me…”

    His mother, Serena, sighed heavily; ever since he was born, he was plagued by nightmares, ‘visions’ as he called them, about things he was to young to even know about. She made a soft cooing noise, trying to calm her troubled newborn, “He’s not real, sweetie, those bats live very far away and they can’t hurt you here…you’re safe…” she nuzzled the back of his head lovingly, “I won’t let anything bad happen to you…”

    A soft yawn escaped her mouth, he had woken her up so many times crying about his dreams, that she was losing more and more sleep each night. She knew that, if this kept up, she wouldn’t be strong enough to make the winter migration…she needed to be strong for her son incase he needed to cling to her…she knew his small wings would not be able to carry him all the way…even if he did resemble him.

    “Sweetie, you should really get back to sleep, we’ve got a big night coming up, I’m going to teach you how to hunt.” she mentioned her plans to teach him how to hunt like a ‘grown-up bat’ in hopes of taking his mind of his dreams so they could both get a decent amount of sleep for once, “won’t that be fun?”

    The little bat sniffled and nodded, “yes…it will be fun…but, momma, I don’t think I’ll be able to get back to sleep…I know I’ll see him again.” his spirits lifted with the thought of his first hunt, but he was too afraid of his dreams to even close his eyes.

    She sighed and tilted her head slightly to look at the platform below their roost, the elders had left herbs near their roost for the two; it was quite a powerful sleep aid. Serena raised her wing and hooked a leaf on her thumb claw and bit off a small amount of the tip and began chewing, mulching up the leaf so it would be easy for him to swallow.

    As it was becoming a nightly, sometimes twice a night, routine, he immediately opened his mouth and let her drizzle the leaves juice down his throat. He began to feel it’s effects immediately and yawned loudly, “…thank you…momma…” his grip on her fur relaxed as he closed his eyes and sleep quickly claimed him.

    She wrapped her wings tightly around him so he wouldn’t fall as he slowly began to let go, “you’re welcome, Noxx…” she yawned as she had swallowed some of the juice herself, “…sleep tight…” with that she fell asleep; mother and son roosting in a rare, peaceful sleep.