(oct and) september catch-all; open

[ancunin]

Who: Astarion and friends
When: Throughout the month
Where: Cadens, Nocwich, Farhill
What: Astarion goes about his daily business, first appearance of BATSTARION
Warnings: General vampire warnings for injury and blood-drinking. Full character content warnings here, I will try to add them to comment subject lines as things appear in threads!

Comments

[ancunin]

[ This transformation business IS tiring him out quickly, but he has enough energy to ask: ]

Now what?

[cryptsleeper]

[Buddy, you're killing him.

Alucard considers how to express this, and settles for wiggling his ears up and down to suggest flight?]

[ancunin]

[ Eh, he's not a mind reader. ]

Well... help me up onto a table.

[ He'll scurry up the wolf's neck for more height. ]

[cryptsleeper]

[Awoocard waits until his little bat friend is snug, then walks over to what looks like the most level transfer surface. It is indeed a table, and once Astarion's on it, Alucard has the good grace to transform and make the conversation go faster.]

--Unlike you, I can't communicate in my other forms. What I was trying to suggest is that we make an attempt at more controlled flight.

[ancunin]

[ He's quick to hop onto the table, briefly startled when Alucard changes back. ]

Alright. I suppose I'm ready.

[ Just waiting on you to transform. ]

[cryptsleeper]

My transformation is a bit different than yours. Don't ask how drunk I was with Geralt when we made conclusions about how this works, but I become enough bats to equal my body weight, so I'm more of a swarm. I'll have one bat be the primary bat you'll be focused on, and the rest will hang up on the ceiling. Try and do what I do, and I'll try to respond to messages.

[There's no waiting for approval. Only an explosion of bats.

Lots of them, squeaking in a chaotic swarm and moving up, up, up into the rafters in murmurations like starlings, a single bat staying behind and landing next to Batstarion.

That bat looks his paler friend and gives a little wiggle of his own ears to confirm that they're ready to start.]

[ancunin]

[ A bit different, he says... before erupting into a mass of wings and tiny bodies. ]

It's just like home.

[ The swarming bats. No time to get nostalgic.

Batstarion watches Bat Prime land next to him, motioning to go first. He gives his own high-pitched squeaks in return, creeping to the edge of the table. Best not to look down, he supposes...

Extending his wings, he flings himself off the table into a slightly unsteady glide.

Oh! ]

[cryptsleeper]

[Bat Prime is here to help!

Bat Prime also expected being asked to fly first, but that doesn't happen. Instead, Batstarion manages to get himself going and--

--now Bat Prime is joining him, just in time to give a series of wing flaps to show how to gain speed. But not too much, just enough to see it Batstarion can catch up.]

[ancunin]

[ Batstarion mimics his instructor, though it's height he wants more than speed - to get above the tables and not crash into anything. Now that he's not in a panic, some kind of instinct seems to take over, his outstretched wings stabilizing his flight. He banks to turn, circling the room. ]

[cryptsleeper]

[--Well then!

Bat Prime angles himself upward to help demonstrate how height should work, but in truth, it seems wholly unneeded. His friend has already figured out turning, and that means most crashes can be avoided.

But Bat Prime is also not going to deny himself some synchronized flying, so he moves to join his friend.]

[ancunin]

[ It feels almost natural as they glide, or at least as natural it can feel when you're less than 1/12 of your normal size, and flying. They sweep across the workroom together once more, before Batstarion can't ignore the fatigue coming on, his wings feeling a touch heavier and even attempting to message seeming like much too much an effort. He squeaks, breaking from Alucard to swoop down, then up into the rafters.

A little white cottonball amongst the larger bats already resting. ]

[cryptsleeper]

[Alucard was set to transform again, offering wolf fluff for his friend to rest in. He had expected it, and then to deal with probably Viktor or Hilda bullying the both of them about it as revenge.

But Astarion's a natural at the bat urge to hang out upsidedown. He joins Alucard's other bats, and all that's left is for Bat Prime to join them for a good, solid rest.

And okay maybe surprising the hell out of Viktor later.]