Chapter 6

Arthur was planning to play his instrument as a reward after finishing his homework. But this homework was harder than seeing anything besides darkness in his opinion.

It was his mythology homework for history class.

Basically all of the animals have to present their homework in front of the whole class about a story of their family history. An example would be a wolf telling a story about a great Canidae that used to be in chains and once broken, chaos would unleashed. Or a cat telling story about their ancestors after dinosaurs that used to rule a promised land, however different the story varied for each one.

His mind was blank and was distracted by the songs he played every evening.

The bat was aware that most of the students have heard him playing but don't know that it was him. The blind Chiroptera that they were crept out about. He shrugged it off and decided to play something until an idea pops into his little head.

Suddenly, there was a knock on his door.

Arthur almost jumped to the ceiling since he wasn't expecting any visitors. It was frustrating sometimes when you don't have sights since he can't really see through the peephole. He placed an empty glass to the door before cocking his head to listen.

The Chiroptera's room was soundproof on the inside unless the windows and doors are opened since most bats are sensitive to the sounds around them. Some animals believed that the bats use any room as their echo chamber.

"Arthur? Are you around today? It's me, Aoba."

Ah, the bald eagle. Arthur was expecting it to be a prank so he clicked just to confirm. He could vaguely picture a figure in his head but what was prominent was the sharp, predatory beak. The Honduran white bat unlocked his door, welcoming with a warm smile.

"Hello Aoba. What brings you here?"

The eagle looked behind Arthur, seeing that his room was so spacious and cool in terms of temperature. Lucky him all by himself in the dorm! Arthur was still waiting for him to answer, unless it was a door prank.

"Sorry Arthur, I just spaced out," he apologised. "I was just wondering if you don't mind me hanging out with you?"

Now Arthur was getting suspicious. "May I ask why? I'm really sorry if it sounds rude but I had a long day and all."

Aoba's grasped the two fingers of Arthur's hand-wing. "Well, I just want to know you better. We may sit together side by side in class and help each other out with our classwork but I don't think we ever hung out together."

Arthur's ears drooped a bit. "Of course. Please come in and again, sorry if I sound rude."

Aoba laughed. "Not at all, Arthur."

...

Aoba was impressed at the things in Arthur's dorm. He had a few musical instruments at different places. So that's where the beautiful sounds were coming from! He knew there was something special about the bat.

Lately at the drama club, most of the actors including the eagle himself had seen their president Louis pacing back and forth about the plays they have been putting on. Other than Adler, some of the other shows inputted by the others weren't so successful.

That had stressed out most of the actors while Legosi and the production crew team had their works doubled.

He remembered one evening, he heard a beautiful composed song outside of the balcony. He never knew that the music maestro was the aloof Honduran white bat. Arthur doesn't seem to mind his presence. In fact, the both of them were watching television.

Well...only Aoba since Arthur just sat with a smile with his unblinking cloudy blue eyes. He assumed the bat used the television like a radio. He wondered what was it like for Arthur to manage on his own without having the ability to see anything?

Since eagles don't have strong sense of smell, Aoba was surprised that the whole dorm was ginger-scented.

"Oh, tea is almost done!" said Arthur. He poured two cups and offered the bald eagle. Aoba was touched by this bat's kindness. He was still trying to understand him but he could tell Arthur was beginning to warm up as well since his ears perked up and the way his white fur fluffed up.

"This is really nice, Arthur. Have you thought about my offer about visiting the drama club one of these days? I'm sure the others might like you."

Arthur said nothing but sipped his tea with utmost care. "I might. It's just that some of your friends might mistake me for a Vampyrum. You know what that is, right?"

"No, but I've only heard of Vampyrums in horror movies where they suck blood off both carnivores and herbivores so we would join their legion of undead. Sorry if it bothers you."

Arthur assured him with a smile and a pat on the eagle's shoulder. "It's fine. Vampyrums were stuff mother bats tell their kids to behave. But don't worry Aoba, it's nothing personal. So Aoba, what are your plans after graduating?"

Aoba sipped his ginger tea. "First off, get my flying licence so that I can taste the sky for the first time. The next step, I'm not really sure..."

Arthur sighed. Looks like he is not alone in thinking about the unknown future. Even if he does succeed, who would ever want to hire a blind bat? Might as well turn him into a guinea pig lab assistance!

"I feel the same too. Say, are you done with the mythology homework?"

"No. Why? You haven't done yours too, huh?"

Arthur was a bit embarrassed but nodded. When he felt a bit nervous, he decided to hang himself upside down on the gaps between the bunk bed. Aoba watched, still interested.

"Does it hurt? Being upside down if you need to sleep or relax?"

Arthur gestured the empty side next to him. "You are welcome to try. For me, it's natural and to some extend, it acts like a practice for me to fly. Especially when I am high up a tree, me flapping down helps to break the fall.

'That makes a lot of sense,' the bald eagle thought to himself. Maybe he should practice a bit one of these days.

Aoba climbed on top and tried to mimic the Honduran white bat. It was harder than he could ever imagine! He felt his own blood rushing to his head while his talons were loosing their grip onto the bed. Arthur on the other hand looked relaxed, wings wrapped around his body like a sleeping bag. He's gotta respect that.

Arthur looked like a burrito if one could put it into words.

Arthur was just glad that hanging out with a new friend like Aoba could help him reset this mind for a bit. After the eagle's visit, he had an idea on what to work on for his presentation and a song to play as a bonus!

...

"Are you sure he's not a blood-sucking Vampyrum?" Kai the mongoose kept on asking Legosi about Arthur's presence. Reason for this is because Arthur was going to visit the drama club, courtesy of Aoba after their physics class.

Legosi wasn't much of a physics type so he had a free period before heading towards the club as he was in charge of the lighting.

"He's not a bloodsucker," Legosi grumbled, annoyed how Kai can still have the energy to ask questions after preparing different props and costumes for the new play. It was a romance about a beautiful herbivore who fell for a carnivore and another herbivore. The grey wolf couldn't understand the excitement of this play as he figured that romance is more on two souls who felt the attraction like a magnet.

"Should we get garlic in case anything happens?" asked Ellen the zebra, who was still not convince about having a bat watch them rehearse.

"Relax," Bill scoffed when he joined the others. "I heard he's blind so there's no harm. Besides, Louis would know what to do."

"I hope he's nice as you mentioned him to be, Legosi," Els the Angora sheep murmured. "I'm more worried about the play not being a success."

Just then, the door opened and Aoba stepped in with Arthur walking close to him. He had his mouth open which was weird to most of the drama members. Sensing the silence, Arthur gave them a friendly smile.

"Hello, I'm Arthur."

"So, this is Cherryton's new 'celebrity'. Honestly, I don't see what's so scary about him."

Arthur couldn't make out who said that but everyone in the drama club knew not to talk back when he speaks.

The president of the club, Louis the red deer had stepped outside of the office to take a look at the creature that now resides on campus.