(Just doing this so Aryel can get her companion IC, anyone who wants to come daww at a baby bat is welcome to, otherwise this is just going to be a one-poster. Btw bry, Oras is mentioned asleep in this post, hope you're okay with that. I'll edit if you want me to.)

The full moon's light washed across the desert in a silent wave, disguising everything in shadows and silver. Some distance from the oasis, a large mess of brambles and vines, presided over by a couple of palm trees, leaned against a large sand dune. If one was to draw near, they would notice a trail of hoofprints that went in and out of the bushes, marking this as a place of frequent visit. Coming closer, they would see that an entrance had been hollowed out in the bushes, large enough for a horse to squeeze in without scratching themselves. Within, the ground dips to create a den of sorts, the floor a bed of soft sand. Two amulets, one an Earth emerald, the other a Time amethyst, hang from two sturdy branches, twinkling faintly in the night. A third amulet, a golden gem of Sun's blood, rests around the neck of a blue mare, her lowered head tilted to the side to rest against her splayed blue mane that lies across her folded legs. Wings, deepest oily blue in color, are folded at her sides. Snuggled up against one wing is a little black foal, the stub of horn on his brow marking him as a unicorn, not a pegasus like his guardian. The two are deep asleep, and alone, aside from the small brown egg that lies snuggled in a bed of sand across from them.

The mare had found this egg in a bed of marshes near the oasis one day, alone. She would've left it, if not for the strange compelling urge to take it and protect it. She did so, leaving the egg safe in her den, in a place where the sunlight filtered down onto it.

Now, it began to stir.

It began as a tapping noise, a slight shifting as the creature inside moved. Feeling a pull on her mind of all things, the mare awoke, watching the egg curiously, somehow knowing that she was meant to be present at it's hatching. She raised her head, watching as the egg moved again, then again, then again. A crack appeared, and she leaned forward, eagerly awaiting the creature's arrival into the world. A little claw poked out, strained against the thin eggshell, and the egg shattered with a spiderweb of cracks, leaving it's former captive huddled on the ground. A doglike face focused on Aryel, bright black eyes blinking. One thumb claw on a leathery wing stretched out, tentatively, to try and pull itself towards the mare. The animal was grey except for the ruff of red fur around it's neck, and it shone faintly with egg fluid. The pegasus tilted her head, perplexed. A bat? What kind of bat hatched from an egg? Apparently unsatisfied with her inaction, it made a plaintive "naaa" sound, and the mare snorted as she felt the mental pull again. She reached her snout forward, protective instincts already rising, and allowed the bat to climb up her snout, onto the bridge of her face, and between her ears, where it settled contently.

Well, it would need a name if it was going to stay. The mare flicked her ears, trying to think of a fitting name for her companion. Rufus? Koda? The answer came in a quiet, timid thought that seem like hers. It was less of a straight word, and more of a concept. Java. The bat wanted to be called Java. Then Java he would be.

The pull was replaced by a feeling of hunger that she could tell was emanating from the bat, and the mare stood up, careful not to disturb the foal next to her. He murmured in his sleep, but did not wake. She would introduce the two in the morning. She turned her attention back to the flying fox, trying to figure out what he would eat. The bat seemed to be thinking of sweet flavors, oddly enough. Well, there were flowers aplenty in the desert even in Tallsun, and she knew a few locations where fruit grew. She scaled the shallow slope out of the den to give her new friend a first meal.

Walk walk walk walk.
"Talk talk talk talk."