The bat hung from a cracked quartz crystal jutting out the side of the tower. Within it, three beings slept peacefully, but one watched with a silent eye. While the body rested, it thought. It thought and it plotted and it built up its strength. It would not be hindered by the fools it was housed with. They were annoyances, no more the flies. It didn't need them and it would one day take them all over. The body belonged to it alone and it didn't like sharing.

But it was a smart thing. It knew that there was no way to take control and keep it for any extended period of time. It was different then the other three. It was more intelligent, more ambitious, and more willing to do anything. They were scared, they kept to their rules. Even the feisty Rusty was unwilling to harm. Fools, all of them.

But then it slunk away from the easy control as it felt a consciousness stirring. It didn't spend time trying to think about which one it was, but simply disappeared back into the back, into the shadows, and waited and watched carefully. It would have to be patient.

Salvation opened his mouth in a great yawn and unfolded his wings, stretching them out. He didn't like the feel of them. They were strange and he couldn't keep control. For whatever reason, he always felt like he should be walking on four legs, with thick fur covering his body, sharp claws and a short stubby tail. He didn't know why that was, but it simply was.

He also hated hanging upside down. Carefully, he released his talons from the quartz and immediately found himself falling. With a shriek, he opened his wings and flapped them wildly. It was barely enough to stop him from getting hurt, but he still crashed into the ground painfully. Immediately, the other two voices woke up.

What was that?

Oh great, its Salvation trying to fly. One of these days, you're going to kill us all!

"I'm sorry," he moaned as he got onto his arms and legs. "I just didn't want to be hanging there anymore."

The voices sighed with exasperation as he shook himself out, making sure he hadn't bruised or broken anything.

Caliante
Salvation
Rusty
Crack

Speech is "Bold". Thoughts are italicized.

Tag: @Pippy
Notes:

Ohhhhh, why did he decide to do this? It was such a bad idea; Pippy kept on berating himself as his thumbs held tightly on the clear crystals that laced around this massive tower and shone the surrounding area with rainbows from the light it's reflecting. He was high up this tower and didn't dare look down as seeing just how high up he is would most likely make him shut down completely. He can't have that as even if the fall didn't severely hurt him, some of the prisms that were spiking around this tower looked to be sharper than maybe a shark's teeth so it won't end well if he were to be hit by one of them.

Pippy, while loved the gift Oliver gave him of the light rock was terrific and did help keep a light in his den as even with the lanterns back on his lair, is still somewhat dark. It's nice for sure, and he loves it he still thinks Oliver is just the best for giving it to him, but the brightness was making it a little challenging to go to sleep again. So the tiny bat decided to head out to try and scout out for something that'll help with blocking the light out a little, and the fully-grown-but-still-small bat wished to be able to learn how to fly too. Sadly regarding flight, it wasn't going too well, so he opted to give himself a handicap by trying to take off to the air from somewhere that was very high up from the ground. So he went climbing up this very tall tower as Pippy was relatively good at climbing and did pretty well in that regard. But now he regrets it, he's too high now and if he fails this. The idea of falling here at a drop like this would be more dangerous then earning just say a bump on the head.

Soon though Pippy heard, with no mistake the sound of a screaming Gembound, the cry sounded like one of terror, and shortly afterwards he heard a thud from far below. Pippy looked down at last with a jolt and could see some form lying flat on the ground while trying his best to ignore the piercing jewels or how high up he is; a-are they alright? Do they need help? Making a decision there to see if the poor Gembound was alright as she very slowly leaned back with the intents to fly down, but it took some time as his fear nor body didn't agree with this decision his muscles refusing to move or loosen the grip on this crystal. But soon with the sight of that Gembound down below he managed to withdraw his thumbs and took a huge leap back out into the clear and immediately started to plummet down to the ground.

With how fast he was falling and seeing the ground getting closer and closer, as the wind started to push his tense wings open the adrenaline began to course through Pippy. He forced his flight limbs to stretch taut like a sail which made his falling start to go slow and while Pippy indeed wasn't flying, he was more gliding. Still even just gliding made Pippy's fear started to fade a little as the gliding descend felt almost heavenly weightless which made him more confident to flap them occasionally but he still had some anxiety so he shut his eyes to help himself relax even more. Soon his tiny body hit to a sudden stop which did give some jolt of pain initially causing him to breathe out a whimper.

Shakily he pushed himself up and saw the other Gembound who looked to be bat as well a lot bigger than Pippy though which was scary a bit, their size was more like Zeno's so maybe they're nice just like Zeno. Well, first he needs to see if they're even OK though. Carefully he approached the other one, sometimes jumping back they seem to stir but he soon was right next to them, patting their back with his wing to see if they're OK.

"H-Hey... Other Bat, are you alright...?" He tried to ask them reluctantly; please they've got to be OK...

@Umbra

The voices in his head were all chattering and complaining about being woken up by Salvation being stupid again and they didn't notice the other bat flying down until he spoke to them, right behind them.

Startled, he whipped around, in the process, tripping on his own feet and falling backwards, unbalanced. With a cry, he hit the ground again.

Salvation! Why are you such an idiot?

Be nice, Rusty, he's trying his best. Hey, if you want me to take over for a bit, I can.

Salvation shook his head. "No that's okay, I need to learn." He looked up and didn't see anything until he looked down on the ground and spotted the tiniest creature he'd ever seen. Smaller then even a mouse. He leaned in, fascinated. After a moment, he realized that it was a bat.

"Hey, Caliante, he's just like you!"

If you didn't notice, we happen to be a lot bigger then that pipsqueak.

I think he's kind of cute.

Salvation smiled. Me too! Hi other bat," he said, now to the other bat. "I'm okay, thanks for asking. Sorry, you just scared me a little!"

Caliante
Salvation
Rusty
Crack

Speech is "Bold". Thoughts are italicized.

Tag: @Pippy
Notes:

Pippy tries everything she could to try and stir this bigger bat awake, she nervously hobbles around to their face and attempts to nudge their face with her head and was getting concerned for them on how they showed no signs of stirring.

Pippy smiled a little when they woke up looking to be OK but was quickly caught off guard when they suddenly turned to her with such swift movement. Pippy almost got whacked by them accidentally which made her instantly rear away from them in a panic with a yelp of fear and caused Pippy almost to fall backwards too. Their sudden waking up like that seemed to aggrandize their size in Pippy's eyes which scared her more.

"S-Sorry! I-I didn't mean to wake you... I-I just wanted to see if you were OK," Pippy was hasty in her apologies with her voice sounding smaller than usual if that was even possible from how meek her tone was, bowing sharply before them.

With all her apologies done she immediately started to make a break for it after staggering to keep her balance not wanting to see if they are in fact furious with her with her small form she didn't get too far as their face got too close to inspect her it seems.

"C-Caliante? W-Who's 'Caliante?" Is that their name? If so it's odd they're speaking like they're talking to someone else then, but it could be possible after all this Gembound here was a bat just like her which made their words have a lot of sense there. Or is someone else here? Nonetheless, even though she's cowering before them still, they don't seem angry with her which was nice. 'Me too?' Pippy wonders again if there is someone else here.

"O-Oh! Hi there!" she relaxes a little more, no longer cowering before them. Wait, she scared them? That's odd, how one as teensy as Pippy managed to scare something, unintentionally for that matter.

"Ohhh... OK then, same... Heh sorry. Glad you're OK then." She's happy they don't seem to be too hurt nor angry with her despite how it looked to be initially.

@Umbra

Tables

Salvation smiled. "Well, Caliante is one of us. You can't hear her right now, but she's there, under me. She's watching closely. She thinks you're cute. I'm Salvation! There's also Rusty and Crack here too!"

You really don't have to tell the bat everything I'm thinking? Caliante sounded nervous and embarrassed, but Salvation didn't really know why. He thought it was a great compliment!

He then realized how small the bat was compared to him. He was still new to life and had growing to do, but this bat was barely the size of his foot. Why was that? "Why are you so tiny?"

Caliante
Salvation
Rusty
Crack

Speech is "Bold". Thoughts are italicized.

Tag: @Pippy
Notes:

Pippy got confused at how this 'Caliante' is one of them; do they mean they're a Greater Gembound or something? 'Under me'? Pippy was having such a hard time understanding all these odd phrases she is getting a little dizzy.

Wait, are they perhaps a tiny bat; like Pippy herself? She'll consider this, for now, she'll ask more questions soon, but right now everything they said was hard to understand for Pippy, so perhaps she'll ask again when her mind is more clear, or maybe it'll get clearer for her as Pippy and this Gembound talk a little more.

"O-Oh s-she does? W-Well, thank you Caliante!" Pippy was growing shy about being called 'cute', she smiled at them but was also hiding her face a little with her wing and fidgeting. She was uncertain if she was cute even if this Caliante says so.

"O-Oh! N-Nice to meet you Salvation! I'm Pippy! And nice to meet you as well Caliante, Rusty and Crack! I'm Pippy" Pippy may be confused about who they are, but it won't stop her from giving them a greeting filled with friendliness and even introduced herself twice to them.

Being given a direct question about on how small Pippy is made her feel tinier than she already was, having another Gembound outright acknowledge to themselves and Pippy how teensy she is made her insecure and a little scared again.

"Oh! Oh. I-I'm w-w-was b-born t-this w-way..." a part of herself wishes she wasn't though, at times she was overwhelmed by thoughts about herself being insignificant from how small she was in this giant world.

@Umbra

As Salvation listened to the little bat talk, he suddenly felt himself being pulled back. Grunting with protest, he tried to keep himself conscious, but he had been in front for too long. One of the others obviously wanted the spot more then him.

The bat's stance changed. What was before a relaxed sit was now firm, erect, and challenging. They leaned in close, staring at the tiny bat and giving her a good sniff. Their nose crinkled with disapproval. "I'm Rusty," they growled, with a voice considerably rougher then Salvation's. "You don't look like any bat to me. Are you sure you're not a bug? Can you even fly?"

Indignation sparked from Caliante. Why do you have to always be so rude? Why would you say that to her face?

"What, do you want me to talk about her behind her back?" he snarled back, standing up straight. "I'm just asking a question, dammit, can I not ask a question?"

He sniffed with annoyance and eyed the bat coldly, waiting for her answer, as if the conversation between him and Caliante had not just happened.

Caliante
Salvation
Rusty
Crack

Speech is "Bold". Thoughts are italicized.

Tag: @Pippy
Notes:

Wh-What happened? Pippy observed Salvation here as their body language took a full twist, previously they gave off a vibe, washed with such friendliness despite startling first impressions. Now their body language didn't give off anything that helped Pippy relax, they towered over her more, and they seem to be deliberate in the action of doing so. Lowering her small frame closer to the ground, she cowers before Salvation, afraid; she may have upset them for Salvation to act this way. Or was she tricked by Salvation into believing they were kind? Pippy backs away a little from Salvation, their face from attempting to sniff her being too close for comfort, more afraid when their expression after sniffing appeared that they are indeed upset with her; which makes Pippy whimper a little.

"D-Did I-I u-upset y-y-you S-S-Salvation...?" Pippy's voice as a whole was meek when she uttered her question, barely audible; not even her ears caught what she said too well.

Wait, are Salvation and Rusty the same or something? Doesn't make sense at all, wacky to even believe such a thing but it's the only thing that'll make sense with 'Salvation' now saying their name is 'Rusty.' Not too relevant to Pippy right now, she was still scared now angry 'Rusty' seemed to be, and Pippy got flustered when they asked if she was a bat. She is a bat, isn't she?

"I-I t-think I-I a-am a b-bat. D-Don't t-think a-am a-a b-b-bug. I-I t-think I-I m-managed t-to f-fly an m-moment a-ago..." Pippy somewhere wanted to mention to 'Rusty' here on how she did manage to land safely, while they appeared to have plummeted and had a rough landing. It'll be a bad idea though; it's mean after all and Pippy doesn't want to be mean to them although it is tempting as it seems Rusty here is going to act mean.

Pippy backed away more when 'Rusty' here got into some brief argument with someone has no idea who they're arguing with, although from what they are saying she didn't mind getting questions it was more 'Rusty's' body language, tone and expression making them off-putting to Pippy.

She wishes 'Rusty' would stop staring at her that way...

@Umbra

Rusty frowned angrily. Didn't he tell the little idiot that he was Rusty? Why was it so hard for others to understand that they were all in the same body. He hated this. Why couldn't he just have the rights to his own form all the time? He didn't want to share this body with them. He shouldn't have to, either.

He opened his mouth, about to make a scorning remark when, all of a sudden, Caliante started to pull hard. Rusty, no! Can't you see she's scared?

Then let me go back! Salvation started to pull as well. She know me already!

Rusty squeezed his eyes shut and growled, trying to keep himself in control, but he couldn't fight two at once. As Salvation and Caliante pulled him back down, Caliante stepped forward and shoved Salvation aside.

Salvation and Rusty both started to shout angrily at losing control. They started to fight back, but this time they did not work together. All of them fought while Caliante swayed on the spot, trying to keep her hold. The voices of the other two were so loud in her ears and their screams were beginning to pound against her head. Their attack on her form was so vicious that she slowly sank to the ground, barely noticing the tiny bat anymore, groaning and holding her head. "Can we not do this right now?"

She looked down weakly at the tiny bat and forced a smile. "I'm really sorry, I know you're probably really scared and confused, but we're having a few problems right now. I'll explain it all in a moment."

Not waiting for the bat's reply, she curled up and focused all of her strength on fighting back Rusty and Salvation's onslaught. It was difficult, but after a few minutes, she managed to finally force them down enough that she could hold them steady as their attack grew weaker. At last, they calmed, giving up on their attempts to take back the body.

She slowly uncurled herself and flopped forward, out of breath and worn out. She looked at the other bat that was now eye-level with her. "...Hi, I'm Caliante. I see that you've met Rusty and Salvation, two of the others that live in this body with me."

Caliante
Salvation
Rusty
Crack

Speech is "Bold". Thoughts are italicized.

Tag: @Pippy
Notes:

Oh no, oh no, oh nononono... 'Rusty' seems so angry right now; staring at Pippy like she was a complete eyesore, she doesn't understand why they seem to be simmering. But Pippy believes why they are so is her fault and because of this being a most likely possibility Pippy was overwhelmed by emotions such as guilt and shame for being the source 'Rusty' seems so upset. Despite how guilty and ashamed she is Pippy couldn't find her voice to utter any words, she is too afraid of 'Rusty' here so much she found herself unable to speak before them now. With enough courage, she may able to muster herself to say sorry to them, but Pippy will run off afterwards.

Pippy recoiled and her whole body tensed with her wings out when 'Rusty' was about to speak again, preparing for any verbal barrage filled with anger about to be directed at her by 'Rusty'. With her wings out she's ready to take off and make a beeline back to her den when all 'Rusty's' bottled up anger is let out, in her den she can be alone after all. However this preparation seemed unnecessary as 'Rusty' didn't utter any harsh words at all, they didn't say anything at all; they appeared to be in pain in fact from how they closed their eyes pretty tight.

"R-Rusty? A-A-Are y-you O-OK? C-C-Can I-I d-do a-anything t-to he-help?" Pippy managed to force her voice to speak to 'Rusty', getting panicked about how they seem to be hurt, she hopes she can do something and perhaps make it up for upsetting them.

"A-Are y-you i-in p-pain? I-Is s-some p-pain f-from your fall hurting now? I-I can help...!" Pippy's panic continued to get worse as 'Rusty's' larger form was losing balance, and they were about to topple over from such agony. Pippy was about to help them by reaching out with her wings and somehow help them not fall over despite how little it'll help with her much lighter and smaller size. But Pippy stopped herself when 'Rusty's' voice sounded different again, this time seeming much kinder and less rough.

It was all so confusing, but Pippy did understand this new voice's request to wait for a bit and so she would. Humming to them in agreement, they were exactly right on Pippy being scared and confused; she was so scared a moment ago she was about to run away there, but Pippy gives 'Salvation' or 'Rusty' another chance, especially since she's at fault for getting 'Rusty' upset.

Pippy does as requested and waits, her expression filled with concern on how this new voice struggled but soon they relaxed. They appeared so tired out as they laid down and was eye level with Pippy, which she liked as they seemed smaller to her now and so less intimidating which makes her comfortable to at last fold her limbs back and was careful to approach them, deeming running away not needed now. She reached out and patted their muzzle with one wing in a gentle manner to try and comfort them maybe; they seem so worn out.

Pippy paid close attention, immediately recognising their name; Caliante is who said she was cute, and from how their voice sounded, it was opposite of 'Rusty's' to Pippy, she would say they're nice. She listens to their explanation and Pippy believes she understands things better now, although such an idea as four psyches in one body is something hard to understand, it practically doesn't make sense if it wasn't for how she saw this larger bat act different out of nowhere a few times. Pippy fans her other wing at Caliante to wave hello; still shaken from her conversation with 'Rusty' and how they acted so perhaps speaking with words isn't good right now.

@Umbra