Batty

The night sky was already in full by the time the night pack emerged from their den. The air was cool and crisp, leaves from nearby trees already in the process of browning and falling from the branch. Night already was beginning so much sooner, meaning the pack could start their hunt even earlier into the day than usual. Comet, Silver, and Sirius had been eating well for the past few days. Herbivores were caught off guard by the early darkness, and the trio had been taking the advantage to build up as much fat as possible before the cold arrived. 

A kill had already been made by the trio early into the already early night. A wild pig had been hunted down and was currently being torn apart by three hungry cryolophposaurus. Wild pigs grew quite large on the island with all of its lush vegetation and were especially plump during this season. 

Comet finished eating first, hissing in dismay as something sharp pricked at his side. Mosquitoes were a problem for all dinosaurs, but by now he had thought they would all have died out. Angrily Comet snapped at it, only for his teeth to meet empty air.

“Having trouble, Sire?” Sirius looked up, only to yelp as well when he was similarly pricked. “Cursed bug!” He snarled, lashing his tail and stalking around from the finished meal to try and escape what seemed to be a swarm of the insects. 

Silver watched them, fairly unbothered. His thick coat of feathers helped protect him from the annoying bugs, but he was still sympathetic to his pack's plight. Hey, at least they didn’t have to deal with fleas.

A sudden screech in the air caught Comets' attention, the pack looking into the night sky to try and locate the source. Something dark and winged was flying across the sky. At first, Comet took it for one of the two flying species that inhabited the island. However, he was quickly proven wrong when all of the sudden the small creature dived, flying inches in front of Comets face as it snagged the mosquito that he had been attempting to grab. Within a few seconds the annoying bug was gone, as was the mysterious creature. 

“What?” The three stood in stalk for a moment- the whole incident had taken less than a few seconds. “Was that… a bat?” Silver seemed to be the one to recognize the creature. “They usually are pretty shy… it must have been hungry.”

Sirius growled as another prick was felt against his scales, shaking himself out in an attempt to dislodge the tiny attacker. “Well, hopefully it didn’t go far. There’s still a bunch harassing us.” Indeed, barely after Sirius was done speaking a flash of brown appeared, cutting through the air in front of them and seemingly taking out the annoying pest. 

The trio decided to bunk down for the moment, having nothing better to do while keeping an eye on the sky in an attempt to track their batty friend. More and more bugs were attracted to the leftovers from the pack’s meal, meaning they got to watch the bat swoop down in what seemed to be a non stop way. As the sky grew a bit lighter, Comet was even able to keep track of the bat better against the black sky. Things were peaceful.

Things were suddenly not peaceful as a darker shadow split out from the forest, flying above their heads without a sound and heading straight for the little bat. With a high pitched screech the little bat dove out of the way of sharp talons, the cryolophosaurus below watching in various amounts of distress as the aerial dogfight continued above their heads. Well, it was less of a dogfight and more of a brutal chase, the little bat swooping around frantically to avoid swiping claws and much bigger wings. However, its luck eventually ran out as a powerful wing swipe caught it on the side. With a shriek the bat was knocked out of the air and spent spiraling down, collapsing into the ground.

The shadow, now identifiable as an owl, dove after the bat. Sirius snarled, jumping forward to shield the much smaller creature with his body. The owl hovered, seemingly conflicted before a hiss from Silver sent it back towards the forest with an angry hoot.

“Poor little guy…” Comet watched as Sirius gently nudged at the little bat, the pile of fur letting out a pathetic little sound. “He’s hurt.” Comets son sent big sad eyes his way, tail wagging softly. “Can’t we take him back? He’s so small, he won’t be hard to carry! And he can keep bugs away!”

Silver looked over at Comet, giving a little shrug that communicated his lack of protest. Comet huffed softly. “Fine. Fine. It’s too small for a snack, and I suppose it did eat those bugs…” Sirius instantly turned back to the bat, attempting to coax the poor little creature onto his tail. Comet sighed. Hopefully, it would recover and fly off before they got back to the den.

It did not.