Well, this is unexpected, Leorin thought.
He looked at the bat, who had wrapped her wings around her and stared back at him, her teeth bared.
Leorin took a step forward. Immediately, the bat hissed.
"Don't worry" Leorin said, softly. "I'm not going to hurt you. Not unless you try to hurt me first, but you won't do that. Right?"
The Bat glanced at the sword the cat held in one paw and quickly shook her head.
"Good" Leorin said, lowering the sword. No use telling her that it's only a prop.
"By the way, my name's Leorin. What's yours?"
"N...ame?" The Bat pronounced the word as though she had never heard it before. "No name" she said, shaking her head once more.
Her answer puzzled Leorin. No name? What could she mean by that? He was just about to ask, when a new thought entered his head.
"Listen", he said, lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "How would you like to go up on deck? Don't worry" he added, upon seeing the wary look on the bat's face. "Everybody's asleep. It's perfectly safe."
The Bat kept glaring warily at Leorin. He seemed honest and it was true that he had shown her kindness, the first person to do since she had left her home. Besides, it would be nice to stretch her wings. Having made up her mind, she descended from the crate and took the paw the cat held out to her.
On deck, Leorin watched as the bat climbed onto the railing and from there, launched herself in the air. From there, she circled the top of the mast a few times, before landing next to him.
"Is flying as fun as it looks like?" He asked.
"Yes, very fun" the bat replied eagerly.
"I wish I could do it" Leorin sighed, gazing whistfully up at the starry sky.
*****
In the cabin, Sara was suddenly awakened by the call of nature. Having answered it, she noticed that she had almost filled the chamber-pot and so, she went out on deck, carrying it with her. As the porcupine emptied the chamber-pot over the railing, she saw something that caused her to drop it overboard. Sara heard the splash, but otherwise paid no attention to the lost chamber-pot; her attention was focused on what was happening above her. There was only one thing to do: Having filled her lungs, she began calling for help, as loudly as she could.
When the bat had impulsively carried him into the sky, Leorin had shut his eyes tight. He soon opened them though and the fear he had initially felt was transformed into awe. Mouth agape, Leorin stared at the vast ocean which spread itself out below him. So, this was what it was like to fly.
Suddenly, both the cat and the bat's ears picked up the sound of Sara's voice. Both of them looked down at the deck, on which several members of the troupe had gathered. Leorin was about to suggest that they land, but to his surprise, the bat turned around in the opposite direction of the ship.
Realizing that the bat would never be able to reach land while carrying him, Leorin tried reasoning with her:
"Don't be afraid" he said. "Everyone down there is really nice. I'll explain everything to them."
The Bat stopped, Leorin could almost hear the wheels in her head turning.
"You promise?" She asked, eventually.
"I promise."
On deck, Sara tugged on Rufus' sleeve.
"We have to save Leorin!" She said, in a voice made shrill by anxiety. "Do something!"
"Fetch a musket!" The Fox ordered one of the stage-hands, "and you two, put a lifeboat in the water. Hurry!"
"Hold on a second, Rufus" Eramus said, holding up a wrinkled hand. "I don't think any of that will be necessary. See?"
*****
As the rest of the troupe caught up on their interrupted sleep, an impromptu meeting took place in Eramus' cabin. Present at that meeting was the troupe's management, its two youngest members and the newly discovered stowaway.
"Now then, young lady" Eramus said in a fatherly tone. "Why don't you start by telling us your name?"
Before the bat could answer, Leorin intervened.
"Excuse me Eramus. I asked her before and she does not know. I think she's lost her memory."
The Bat shook her head.
"Not true" she protested. "Memory fine. Don't have a name."
She then revealed where she had come from: She had lived on an island, alongside many others of her kind. None of them had names, for they all knew who they were. They lived a peaceful life, with the island providing them with everything they needed.
Then, one day, strangers had come to the island. Strangers with evil intentions. Two of them had even murdered the bat's much cherished brother. Eventually, the strangers had been driven off, but the bat could not forget what they had done and so, she had left her home, with the intention of tracking down her brother's killers and avenge his death.
The Members of the troupe listened attentively to the bat's tale, none more so than Leorin.
"This would make for a great play, don't you think?" He whispered to Sara.
The Porcupine, who had spent the meeting with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face, did not respond. Instead, she turned to the bat:
"The Ones who killed your brother, what sort of creatures were they?" She asked.
"What does that matter?" Leorin asked, in a sharp voice. "Don't you believe her?"
"No, I don't!" Sara snapped back at him. "Why are you defending her anyway?" As soon as she had asked that question, a possible answer came into her head.
"I see" she said, smirking. "She's really got you wrapped around her fingers, hasn't she?"
"Why, you..." Gritting his teeth, Leorin unsheathed his claws, while Sara raised her quills. A brawl between the two seemed inevitable, when a particular sound reached their ears. Turning their heads, they saw Eramus, tapping the floor with his cane.
Griselda took the opportunity to step between the quarrelers.
"That's quite enough you two" she said sternly. "If the two you can't act civil to one another, there's the door."
Grumbling in unison, Leorin and Sara moved to separate corners of the cabin.
"Sara does make a good point" said Rufus to Eramus.
"She does" the faunus agreed. "Young lady, I would like you to answer Sara's question."
"If she can" the porcupine muttered under her breath.
"I no lie!" The Bat protested indignantly. She then proceeded to describe her brother's killers. However, she had barely finished the description of one of them, when she was interrupted:
"No!"
"What you mean, 'no'?" The Bat demanded, feeling both surprised and angered at this.
Leorin did not answer. Instead, he rushed out of the cabin, slamming the door behind him.
