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A bat darted between the tall oaks of the forest, where the air was still and quiet. Most, if not all of the animals had been killed or rounded up, leaving her food options scarce. She was too nervous to go to the castle looking for food and was afraid to be caught if she tried to eat any of the animals penned up in Oakhurst, but as time stretched on she was becoming tired and surely she'd have to risk one or the other at some point.
Suddenly she saw a flush of orange through the trees, not fire thankfully, but hair. Cleo was crouched over the body of a small cow, it was dead and much to her disappointment (as well as disgust at her own hunger) it was already drained. She was spotted almost immediately, having not been very subtle in her approach. Cleo stood, turning to her whilst wiping blood from her lips. They tilted their head and asked plainly, “who?”
Drift squeaked in response and attempted to return to human form, only to begin to panic when she found she could not. She began flapping erratically, as she repeatedly tried to shift, making sharp chirps each time she failed. Cleo immediately noticed her distress, snatching her from the air before she could swoop headfirst into a tree. She tried her best to calm the squirming bat or at least prevent her from harming herself. Drift writhed about, chirping indignantly about her capture but the sudden shock from being pulled from the air was successful in distracting her from her current predicament, as she eventually stilled to a stop, allowing Cleo to actually try to help.
“Is this your first time turning into a bat?” she questioned.
Drift did her best to nod in response.
“Okay, so you're one of the newer fledglings,” Cleo mused, “Drift right, Avid would have probably bit me or something.”
Drift squeaked in affirmation, pointedly ignoring the slight to her roommate.
“And you’re stuck in bat form, hmm,” they contemplated, “Drift, when was the last time you ate, or well, drank blood?”
The bat tried to convey a while ago, which mostly came across as clicks and wriggling, but somehow Cleo seemed to get the message.
“If you haven’t eaten then that's likely the reason why you're stuck, you don’t have the energy to shift,” she sighed.
Cleo carefully lifted Drift and placed her delicately atop her shoulder, “Drink from me, I've had plenty and we’re unlikely to see another animal for a couple miles.”
Drift shifted in slight hesitation, before the allure of hunger became too intense and she promptly bit down on Cleo’s neck. Blood flooded her mouth instantly, it tasted of cattle and was lukewarm in temperature, likely from the very cow that still lay dead by Cleo’s feet. She drank quickly, until Cleo tapped her back lightly, signalling to stop. Drift curled around Cleo’s neck, and began to purr. She huffed but relented, they’d let her sleep, the poor girl was probably exhausted.
The walk back to Oakhurst was slow but peaceful, she heard only breeze and faint owls. The sun had begun to set, casting the forest in shades of orange as the shadows grew. And eventually they arrived. They stopped off the path, just out of view of Oakhurst, the trees blocking the sight line, and nudged Drift awake. She fluttered off Cleo's shoulder, finally turning back.
She smiled sheepishly, “Sorry for, um, falling asleep on you.”
“It’s fine, just don’t make a habit of it,” they sighed, “you need to take better care of yourself, don't wait till you're starving to look for food.”
“I’m sorry,” Drift smiled, “thank you, though, for helping me, you didn’t have to do that.”
“Of course I did, I-” She faltered as Drift hugged her, unsure how to react. Cleo patted the girl's back awkwardly, “We should go back, the sun’s nearly gone, if we don’t we’re going to start getting accusations.”
“Sorry, yeah, we probably should,” she mumbled as she pulled away.
They stepped back onto the path and neared the walls of Oakhurst. “You don’t need to apologise for everything you know, it’s fine,” Cleo admonished.
“So-” she stopped. “Oh, I see what you mean,” she giggled.
Cleo gave a chastising look, before cracking and joining in as they pushed through the gates and entered Oakhurst.