TW: mentions of death, mentions of malnourishment Jelu’s heart pounded in her chest. Veneen was sending troops out to find Mango’s colony? Did that mean he’d given them the location? No. He wouldn’t do that. So had Veneen given up on questioning Mango? It seemed likely, considering Veneen’s personality. Wait. Had he hurt Mango, or even killed him? Was Mango… dead? She exchanged glances with Tulun, and she could tell she was thinking the same thing. Veneen was going to pay, big time. “What do we do?” Jelu asked urgently. “If Mango’s d-dead, then-” she trailed off, not being able to finish the sentence. Pangs of grief and shock smashed through her. The silence that fell was almost unbearable. Even Redu stopped talking. Tears welled up behind Jelu’s eyes, and although she tried to stop them, they came spilling out, and she began to sob. “Don’t worry,” Tulun said, hugging her gently, making Jelu feel warm to the touch. “We have to find Mango’s colony before they do. We’re going to make this right.” “How do we do that?” Redu wondered aloud. “They’ll recognize us. They know we were Mango’s friends, and we’re trying to help him.” A thoughtful hush swept through the room. “We have to disguise ourselves as soldiers,” Jelu said, trying to steady the nervousness in her voice. *** Jelu’s plan worked. They were up in the air in no time. They didn’t go through the soldiers’ quarters or anything, just stole some uniforms and lifted off. They were already past the huge peaks that surrounded the village, and were nearing the foothills at the bottom, to the west of the village. On the other side, there were more mountains. The forest came into view through the fog. They dove down towards the forest. “It’s evening, so the bats will either be sleeping or all together, in a cloud,” Jelu informed them. “So keep a lookout for big caves, just in case.” They flew for a long time. Hours passed, and the sky grew dark. But they didn’t find anyone. A few times, they thought they spotted something, but it was just a trick of the light. Eventually, Jelu started to wonder if there was even a colony out here at all. But then, Redu whispered, “Look! Over there!” and Jelu saw a single bat flying through the night sky. They watched her glide around for a while, then when she went to land, they dove after her, surrounding her. The bat jumped as they landed, shrinking into a ball and dropping the fruit she’d been holding. She let out a squeak of surprise. This bat looked a lot like Mango, but more yellow-tinted and older. She was tall and scarily thin, as though she hadn’t been eating well for a while. Her dusky brown fur was thin and scrawny, and looked like it had once been as soft as silk. Her wings and eyes were a pale yellow and had a hint of orange in them. She looked like she was quite a few years older than Mango, but still young for an adult bat. “Wh-who are you?” she whimpered. “Please don’t hurt me. Why have you dragons been chasing us?” Jelu exchanged glances with Redu and Tulun. “We’re not going to hurt you. I’m Jelu, and this is my girlfriend, Tulun, and my friend, Redu.” She took a slow step closer. “The other dragons are chasing you because they want the colony that’s living around here. But we’re not with them, I promise. We’re trying to help you.” The bat relaxed a little. “Thank goodness. We don’t know what to do. We can’t find a way to get around their troops. I’m so worried for Mango- he’s been captured for sure! Poor thing.” “You know Mango?” Redu said, startled. “What? Have you seen him?” She stood up and ran to Redu. “Please tell me he’s all right! I’ve been worried sick since he left!” Jelu looked at her feet, guilt twisting in her chest. “We- we aren’t sure, but… we think… we think one of the higher-ranked dragons- Veneen- might have hurt or killed him. He was trying to get him to tell where the colony was, but he wouldn’t, and he’s gotten fed up…” The bat began to cry. She curled back into a ball, sobbing. “How-how did you know him?” Jelu asked apologetically. “Me?” she said through her tears. “I’m… I’m his mother, Quince.” END OF CHAPTER 15 Collab with ! Hmm... I can't seem to keep a hold on my sanity. If you follow him, maybe I won't go insane and take over Brazil.
