literature

A Bat's Obsession

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Glass Masquerade

"The Glass Guilder? That freak show is not someone you want to meet, trust me," the silver bat flapped her wings. She and another jet-black bat were hanging upside down in the rafters of the old church. The female bat had big black eyes and light silver fur. Her wings were large and powerful. She turned her expectant gaze on her much smaller companion. Although, they were the same age, the black bat was incredibly tiny, with heavy black fur and strangely pointed ears. Even more strange was that he had peculiar wings. Unlike the female, they were long with fur on the bones.

"Yeah, but everyone says he's different… like me…" the jet-black bat muttered.

"Dark, any bat that makes glass for a living is not normal," the female said matter-of-factly.

"Hmm… whatever you say, Stardust," Dark replied perfunctorily. He gazed down towards the strange creatures below them. They had long limbs and stood on two legs. Dark recalled Stardust saying they were 'humans'. He had no idea what they were. Still, the humans were always doing strange rituals on the floor of the church. They had strange, flabby skin that was sort of like the membranes of Dark's wings but paler. The humans also wore strange stuff over their skin, which Dark assumed to be fur, even though they were able to take it off.

Dark shook his head, saying to himself, "And Stardust thinks I'm strange…"

"Dark…" Stardust whispered, a worried expression on her face.

"Hm?" Dark turned and gave his friend a dazzling grin, his fangs gleaming in the light. "What is it?"

Stardust blinked and shook her head, wrapping her wings around her. "Nothing, I just thought you were dead for a second there."

"I was only looking at the… humans…"

"What for? Bats have no quarrel with them, why bother watching?"

"I don't know, I was interested…"

"Those guys do strange things we aren't meant to understand, take it or leave it short stuff."

Dark grunted and stretched his wings, announcing, "I'm going flying."

"Have fun," Stardust replied, her voice muffled by her wings.

"Stardust? Do you know where the Glass Guilder lives?" Dark asked.

"No idea, but the other bats say that he made the rainbow window. You know, the big glass one? Maybe he's there..." Stardust saw the expression on Dark's face and hurriedly added, "But that's just a theory!"

"One that's worth checking out," Dark gave a sly wink. He crouched and prepared to launch. Releasing the tension in his muscles, he sprang from the rafter, flapping madly. Soon, when he had gained enough altitude, he began a slow glide downward. The glass window was the smallest window in the whole place, but it was the easiest to see due to the lights magnifying around it. Dark opened his mouth and sent out a few sound waves to confirm it was the right window. He received the picture and nodded, careening his flight path to land on the stone slab that was placed under the window.

He looked up and gasped. He had never seen the window before but now knew how magnificent it really was. The window had a light yellow background mixed with blue glass at the top. The illustration was of a large orange disc, which Dark indentified as a model of the Sun, and in it was a strange-looking blue creature. It had black, shiny glass eyes and large wings. Its stomach was white glass that seemed to meld with the blue.

"Beautiful isn't it? I think it's one of my best works," a gruff voice growled from behind Dark. The bat whirled around and gave a small shriek when he saw another large, gray bat looming over him. His wings were back and formed a sort of shield around his back, making him appear more frightening, and he had large, pointed ears with a strange metal loop in one. The bat looked, remarkably, a lot like Dark, except a much older version.

"I…" Dark started to say, mustering up all the courage within him.

"Ah, no need to explain yourself," the bat held up one claw. "A lot of bats come around here to look at the glass."

"So… you're the Glass Guilder?"

The bat twitched and made a strange hissing sound, showing his long incisors. "It's Masquerade."

"What?"

"Masquerade, it's my name."

"Oh… and what a lovely name it is…"

Masquerade cocked his head, showing confusion. He smiled and let a strange sound that Dark took to be a laugh. "You're an interesting bat, now aren't you?"

"You have to be him…" Dark continued.

"Yes, yes, I'm the Glass Guilder, as the bats back home call me, eh? It's not a very great title, makes me sound like a freak. Nonetheless, call me Masquerade, will you?"

"Sure," Dark nodded.

"What's your name?" Masquerade questioned.

"Oh, it's Dark."

"Hmm… it seems both of us have unattractive names… Oh well, what is a label between friends, hmm?"

"I suppose…"

"Well, Dark, I must say, many a bat has traveled here, and not just them mind you… but none of them have stayed as long as you have…" Masquerade's calm smile twisted into a sinister sneer. "Dark, you are either very brave or very foolish."

Dark stumbled back, raising one wing to protect himself and sputtering out, "I… uh… wanted to see… your glasswork… how is it possible for you to create such magnificent art when you are so small… in this large world…?"

Masquerade stared at him for a while and, gradually, his face seemed to lighten and he said, "Now that, is a good question."

He unfurled his wings and shouted, "Come with me if you want to see spectacular art!"

Dark watched with awe as Masquerade rose into the air with two pumps of his wings and started to glide off. Dark rapidly flapped his own wings and went, rather clumsily, after the old bat. They passed by millions of rafters and Dark soon lost count as they continued to fly through the church.

"Where are we going?" he yelled out.

Masquerade didn't answer, instead beating his wings faster. Dark gave an annoyed moan but followed the Glass Guilder. He saw that they were approaching the large wooden door of the church. It was wide open, for someone was coming inside.

"Hurry!" Masquerade cried, speeding up. "We'll miss it!"

Dark pounded his wings, willing his sails to catch the wind so he would glide faster. The two bats barely made it as they spiraled out of the door, a brilliant light flashing. Dark blinked, trying to clear his vision. He saw that they were now flying in mid-air, a vast blue sky surrounding them. Dark looked down at the many buildings below and saw small specks running amid the gray streets. He was surprised to see millions of little green things on the ground as well.

"Come on," Masquerade screeched. "Quit you're gawking and follow me, Dark!"

"Alright, no need to shout," Dark muttered, twitching his ears back. Masquerade puffed out his chest and seemed to be disgruntled. The old bat let out waves of sound and his eyes grew wide when he found what he was looking for.

"Let's go," he nodded at Dark. They took off again and went into a straight nose-dive down at a large building. It was bright blue with gold stripes and a wide golden circle going around its front. Masquerade peeled up, Dark following his movement, and the two bats darted through an open window. They came to a crashing halt as they went inside, falling onto strange brown and green boxes.

"Ugh," Dark moaned and he shook his head. The young bat looked around. They were in a dark room filled with strange brass bars forming a long cage. On the bars were long furs, all in different colors. Dark recognized these furs as the ones the humans normally wore.

"Ah," Masquerade said, using one wing to wipe dust off of his fur. "Well, that went better than I expected."

"Yeah, it was perfect," Dark riposted sarcastically.

"Hmm…" Masquerade looked around. "Ah, this way, kid."

He waved a wing as he clawed off the box and along the floor. Dark sighed and followed him, digging the tips of his claws into the floorboards. They climbed up the wall to the large open gap. Masquerade settled down, folding his wings over himself but leaving a gap for his head. Dark did the same and looked down.

There seemed to be many rows of chairs that held many humans, all clapping wildly. They were looking up at a large stage. The long, silky curtains, ones like the curtains Dark had seen back at the church, were held back. Two humans were moving around the stage, making strange sounds as they walked. One was a tall, male who was wearing long black fur that covered his whole body from his neck down. He also had strange white fur that covered half of his face. To Dark, this fur seemed to be more solid than the ones humans normally wore. The other human was a female and she had long blue fur on her body that seemed to form a cylinder around her. Both humans had fur on their heads as well, like most humans. The male's was short and scruffy while the girls cascaded down her back.

Dark was surprised to se the male bend down on one knee. He offered some strange little stick thing out toward the female. It had a long green handle that connected to some sort of red material.

"What is that?" Dark whispered to Masquerade.

"Oh, well the male human is offering the female a rose. Wow, it's a beautiful one too," the Glass Guilder answered absently. "You see, they're acting. This place is a theater. It's where humans go to watch other humans act out plays. This one, I believe, is something called 'The Phantom of the Opera'. Don't ask me what that means. Still, I've seen them do other stuff but this one was always my favorite. It inspired me to do glasswork. Do you see the glass walls behind the humans?"

Dark nodded. There were large glass obstructions behind the two humans. It looked like the strange fields of green Dark had seen early, with glass pictures of the green stuff and strange buildings.

"Well," Masquerade continued. "I wondered how these humans could create something so beautiful. I figured 'if they can do it, why can't I?' so I flew down after the show and found little pieces of glass everywhere. The humans just toss whatever ones they don't need. So, I gathered some and headed back to the church. I used the candles to melt the glass into paste and gathered it in a small little can. I took it back and poured it onto a large metal slab. It was actually easy, all you have to do is use your claws to mix it around and make pictures.

"That window you were looking at back at the church was of a bluebird. I see them flying around all the time, those arrogant little chickens. They think, just because humans don't fear them, they can just fly around in front of our faces. Ugh, it makes me mad sometimes. Anyways, I love making glass windows and always come back here to watch some of the shows for inspiration."

"Wow…" Dark breathed. "Sounds like a lot of work for one bat…"

Masquerade sighed heavily, his wings sagging. At that moment, Dark was able to see how lonely the old bat was. He sidled over and laid his head on Masquerade's shoulder comfortingly.

"Yes, Dark, it is a difficult process… but it's worth it in the end…" Masquerade whispered. "If something is truly precious, it involves work. That's one of life's lessons, kid… Dark, it's true that I am growing old and the other bats shun me for my otherworldly obsessions. I separated myself from my family… it was hard but I loved my glasswork too much. If my family truly loved me, they would have understood this…" the Glass Guilder snarled, his teeth gleaming.

"I'm sorry," Dark replied sadly.

"No need, Dark. You have helped more than you know… I was wondering… would you like to be my apprentice?"

"What?" Dark leaped back in shock.

"I am old and weakening," Masquerade pleaded, his eyes miserable. "I want someone to continue my legacy… and you are the most brave bat I have ever met."

Dark turned and gazed thoughtfully at the stage again. He thought of his mother and father. They loved him dearly and he knew they would agree with his desire. Dark really did want to be a Glass Guilder like Masquerade. He'd be able to visit Stardust, too.

"Okay, on one condition," Dark flashed a grin at Masquerade.

"What's that?" he gave Dark a quizzical expression.

"You have to promise to bring me to the theater, along with my family, everyday."

Masquerade smiled and the years seemed to have lifted off of him as he answered, "It would be my pleasure, Dark."
Yeah, they're bats :) So this is the second story for the Coffee House and this one is the longest so I'm reading aloud Blizzard and A Sign of Redemption but this one is going on the table. Yes, I had him and Dark go visit the theater where they watched "The Phantom of the Opera" be performed on Broadway. It's funny I did this because I'm going to be seeing it at New York... yeah I'm going to see it with my family... don't tell anyone :shh: This is my favorite one of all the stories... I don't know why I just thought it was more creative *shrug* either way, I hope you guys like it as much as I do!
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Post-Lit's avatar
Loves!! :love: There are a few grammar errors, but nothing that can't be fixed this weekend when I come home :aww: Other than that, it's awesome! :D

Btw, when are we seeing Phantom? I was not made aware of this hooky plan ;)