He did not often venture beyond the pack borders so close to sundown.

Correction: he did not ever venture beyond the pack borders so closet to sundown.

The ivory boy was beyond terrified of being caught out after nightfall. He did not might exploring the Surge while under the cover of darkness—a trait picked up from his father—but outside the borders? That was still awfully scary to the boy. He moved frantically through the trees, his little, oversized paws carrying him as quickly as possible as he struggled to get home.

Little Chip still clung, desperately, to his shoulders. The bird was getting stronger and bigger as the days passed, which meant he would be taking flight soon and leaving Legolas on his own. But the ivory boy knew it was for the better. He couldn’t keep Chip around forever no matter how badly he wanted to. He was using the little grey bird as crutch and he couldn’t do that to poor, little Chip. The bird deserved to be on his own doing bird things. Not clinging to the wiry fur of an anxious cub.

Unfortunately, in the boy’s panic, he had not seen the large tree directly in front of him.

He bounced off the tree and collapsed onto the ground with a loud OOF! followed by a low whine. His ears immediately flattened against the back of his skull as a throbbing pain began to form in the middle of his forehead. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Although Chip had managed to keep his grip on his shoulder the Stark boy had disturbed something else. It started off with a soft squeak, which Legolas assumed was his feathered friend, but the squeak began to grow louder and multiplied. And it was coming from above. He gave his head a soft shake before he turned his attention to the sky. But there wasn’t much of a sky. He squinted, a frown cutting into his maw as he struggled to make out what was happening above him.

The sky was moving! He let out a warbly shriek and scrambled backward in a desperate attempt to flee the stranger sky-monsters. What had he done?!

He did not know where to go. Where to run. What to do. Even if he wanted to call for someone he did not know if his packmates, or his family, would hear his call above the high-pitched squeaking above him. His shriek had reduced to whimpers as he continued to scamper backward, his blue-green gaze frantically searching for an escape route. But the creatures overhead had blocked out the remaining light as they devoured both the setting sun and the rising moon. There was no light among the trees—just the moving, squeaking darkness. What if… what if they were hungry?! What if they decided to make a meal out of both him and Chip?!

He could feel tears threatening to spill from the corners of his eyes as he scrambled along the ground, his oversized paws fumbling over each other as he tried to escape the mess he had gotten himself into. But no matter which way he turned the sound of the moving sky grew louder and the creatures swooped lower, threatening to make contact with the ivory boy. He did not know what these creatures were but Legolas could tell they were bad news and that he wanted nothing to do with them. Chip, too, was utterly terrified by the mystery beasts as he clung desperately to Legolas’ scruff and trembled against the boy’s fur…

An unfamiliar voice cut through the shrill noise overhead, ordering the boy to get down low. He obliged without fuss, his gangly body flattening against the earth as he spotted the tawny female hurrying in his direction. She smelt of the Surge, and while he did not recognize her Legolas knew he was in too much trouble to disregard her help. W-wh-what d-d-do we d-do? He whispered as she drew closer, his eyes wide with fear. 

Legolas was trying very hard to not be utterly hysteric at the onslaught of bats overhead. He did not know what to do aside from listening to what the russet female had to say. She was a Surge wolf; she had to have his best interests in mind. He hoped. Maybe the female was prepping him to be bat-food. No—he had to remain positive. He had to trust her. That’s what Surge wolves did—they trusted each other because they were a family.

There’s something on your back, came her voice suddenly, albeit much calmer than it had been before. He blinked, a soft frown creasing his ivory features as he turned to her. Duh, he wanted to say, it’s Chip, but the words did not come. He simply nodded to show that he heard her and that it was okay. The little grey bird was of no harm. Chip was making Legolas a little less scared, even though his legs still trembled beneath him.

His ears cupped toward her as he pressed his stomach to the ground, his ears sweeping back against his crown as he observed the moving sea of black overhead. We stay put and wait. He hesitated at the suggestion, the tip of his tail twitching nervously. It did not seem like the best plan but it was better than running. Maybe the creatures would grow bored of the Surge duo… W-wh-what are th-they? He hummed softly, his voice hovering between a whisper and a winter. 

They’re bats, the russet female explained, although he wasn’t really sure what bats meant. Creepy, flying things was a better name for them but he was not about to argue with his packmate. Instead he remained huddled against the ground, his sea-green eyes wide with both fear and intrigue as he watched the creatures fly overhead. They won’t harm us as long as we aren’t in their way. He nodded softly, mostly to himself, and attempted to swallow the fear that lumped in the back of his throat. The bats did not seem to pay any attention to the Surge wolves as they soared overhead, flitting through the branches. While he was still utterly terrified he was relieved to see that they weren’t interested in the pair… however, Legolas did not want to risk slinking away in fear that he would disturb them a second time. W-w-what d-do they d-do? He whispered to his packmate despite his teal gaze remaining fixated on the creatures overhead. 

He looked at her with a wide, expectant gaze as he waited for her response. The boy was hungry for knowledge, even though he was utterly terrified of the strange, fuzzy birds flying overhead through the trees. He wanted to know more about these bats and why they were fluttering overhead, causing a ruckus. The tawny female was quick to answer, providing him with information about their unwanted guests. Nocturnal. It was not a word he was familiar with, but he did not interrupt her. Instead he kept his sea-green gaze focused on her, his ears still pressed tight against his skull. She mentioned something about them sleeping during the day but then being active at night… was that what nocturnal meant? His nose wrinkled when she mentioned that they ate bugs—gross! … Just think of them as flying rats. He nodded softly to show that he understood. They did not look anything like rats but that was also because they were far away, in the sky. Legolas did not intend to get a better look at them so he would take her word for it. Th-th-thank you. He smiled at her before returning his attention to the sky, watching the bats disperse … he could almost see the night sky now …