Caverna was her kingdom. Caverna was her home. Jaenelle felt none of the unrest that seemed so pervasive among other members of the Chiroptera. She never felt that the smooth stone walls confined her; rather she loved the way they would bounce and echo her song back to her. The long and twisting tunnels more than sated any desire to wander; the fact that they never seemed to lead anywhere never bothered her. She was always happy when the path brought her back to the familiar city where she and the rest of her kind had lived for generations.

Even as a pup, Jaenelle had sat apart from the others, watching with bemused affection in her lavender eyes as they frolicked about. She had never taken part in the breakneck races around the cavern walls, never leapt from the rocky outcroppings into the shimmering pools of water below on account of some needling dare. Instead she had always sat by, wings folded neatly about her slender frame, waiting. Waiting to catch the one that slipped. Waiting to comfort the smallest of the puppy-pack who was too slow to keep pace with the larger pups. Waiting to lick away the tears of the one who misjudged a jump and fell onto bruised wings.

Years passed, and Jaenelle passed from puppyhood into an adult in her own right. Still she remained much the same, keeping a careful eye on Caverna’s smallest and most fragile. Most were grateful for her presence, for she was a friend to the friendless and to the exhausted Chiro mothers provided an often much-needed break. She had never taken a mate, had no family of her own, and so looked with love and a certain possessiveness upon the pups of the underground. There was one, however, who always spurned her motherly ways. A small spotted girl called Aeluin who somehow always managed to be at the very center of all the chaos. This girl would not hear reason, not from the elders, not from her own parents, and certainly not from Jaenelle. So Jaenelle learned to watch from a distance as this one flitted between the dangers of Caverna, flinching at every audacious dive into the standing pools, drawing a sharp breath at every cave scorpion sting, and shaking her ginger head in resigned relief when at last she caught sight of the tiny body winging back into the safety of the main caves from some unknown adventure. There was nothing she could do for this one but watch from the corner of one violet eye as she lavished her affections on those who would receive them.

Her own small cavern, where she roosted alone, was nestled some ways above that of Aeluin’s family. Tonight, as most nights, she sang quietly to herself, as to politely drown out the voices from below. The pup had been up to her usual antics today and her poor parents, apparently resigned, had forgone the usual tongue-lashing in favour of gentler murmurings to get their rambunctious little one to sleep. Jaenelle considered it none of her business, and instead listened to the echoes of her own soft voice as they bounced around the smoothed walls of her cave.

She was very nearly asleep when a tiny noise from below roused her – a noise worryingly like that tiny paws on the stony floor would make. Slowly, so as not to make a sound herself, she unfurled her wings from about her and got to her feet. She peered over the ledge, breath held, eyes probing the perpetual twilight for any sign of movement. For a moment it seemed as though all was well, that perhaps the fiery child had simply shifted in her sleep, but then a flash of movement below and to the centre of the vast room caught her attention. There was no mistaking the spotted pelt. ”Sweet Darkness,” she cursed silently to herself. What was the child up to this time? Listening intently, she heard no movement in the roost below; the girl’s parents were still asleep, unaware that their child was slipping away to god knew where. With a resigned sigh she slipped silently from her perch, falling, falling, until her gossamer black wings snapped open and arrested her descent.

For what seemed hours she tailed the girl, hanging back far enough to remain unseen, but always keeping the tiny fluttering frame in sight. She lead her down dark, twisting paths that the Jaenelle herself had never explored. The scent of the Chiro city was growing fainter and fainter, but still the child pressed doggedly on. Jaenelle marveled at the little one’s endurance, for even her adult frame was beginning to ache with the effort. She rounded another bend, and suddenly the child was no longer before her. Instead there was a strange light pouring from the stone wall. It was unlike that produced by the bioluminescent mushrooms which lined some of Caverna’s halls; this hurt to look at. Startled and perplexed, she dropped to the cavern floor and listened, straining to catch any sign of the pup.

There was nothing. Her scent was her, and fresh, but everything around was still and silent. ”Aeluin?” she called softly. Nothing. ”Aeluin!” The call echoed around the tunnel, but still there was no response. Where could the child have gone? Surely not….surely not into that blinding light? Like all Chiros, Jaenelle had been raised with stories of a land above Caverna. Legends really, told to excite and spark the imaginations of the children. Surely they were not real. Surely the child could not have…

She cursed again, casting an agitated glance back the way she had come. She should go back. She should wake the girl’s parents, gather the elders. This was something unprecedented, assuming that her suspicions were correct. No Chiro in living memory had ever left Caverna. And now this rowdy child, this undisciplined bratty child…

This innocent, defenseless child, she was up there all alone facing things she and her kind could only imagine. There was no time to return, to assemble everyone. They would only want to talk and make plans as precious time trickled away. No, it was up to her to bring the child home, and quickly. With a deep breath and a silent prayer to her ancestors, Jaenelle leaped into the air and hurled herself headlong into the strange, shimmering light.

”AELUIN!”

| . | . | Khett | . | . |