A New Night
Chapter 4

Learning My Name

Dusk soon became night—the moon and stars shone brightly above. Standing on the sand, I looked up at the clear sky and then down at the many celestial lights reflected by the calm sea. For a moment, I was distracted by the many evening activities of the bats who had welcomed me. As the Night People darted through the sky, some would soar over the ocean, occasionally dive beneath waves, and then fly back up.

It took me a few minutes to understand what they were doing—I only figured it out when one emerged from the water with something glistening in its mouth. I was pretty sure they were the scales of a fish.

It occurred to me that maybe all this island nightlife should have been a little more challenging to see in the dark. However, between the moonlight and the quality of whatever I was using for eyes, it wasn’t a problem. I didn’t have traditional night vision. Rather, my eyes seemed to compensate for the lack of light with unnatural efficiency—letting me easily see through the shadows as if it were just a cloudy day.

I begrudgingly appreciated my newfound ability to see in the dark. While this odd form of night-vision didn’t make me feel less like a freak of nature, I was glad not to be plunged into utter darkness.

I continued to watch the bats fly and hop around the island until I spotted a familiar pointy-nosed face flying toward me. It was Krogallo, who landed nearby with a few bouncing hops. He balanced back on his kangaroo hindlegs, looked up, and asked, “Is there anything you need, Sleeping God?”

Despite Krogallo’s kindly demeanor, I felt the urge to wince at being called ‘Sleeping God’ again.

In a cautious tone—to not offend one of my few friends—I said, “I was thinking … maybe … ‘Sleeping God’ isn’t the best thing to call me. I mean—since I’m awake and all, it’s kind of inaccurate. So is it alright if we call me something else? Something without ‘god’ in it, maybe?”

Krogallo looked up at me and gave a slight nod—tucking his pointed ears slightly. The way he patiently looked at me—seeming not to have taken any offense—made me wonder if he had a sense of how I felt about the matter beyond what I was letting on. He paused to think for a moment, scratching between his toes with his wing-claws. Then, he asked, “Well … what sort of title would you prefer?”

I thought for a moment, and a name occurred to me (though I wasn’t exactly sure why I found it so appealing). “Maybe I could be … the ‘bat-man’?”

Krogallo wrinkled his face, and his fur bristled ever so slightly. He then quickly made his face calm again. “I don’t know what a bat man is, Sleeping God, but it does not seem like a … fitting title.”

I nodded, kind of agreeing with him. “Maybe, instead of a title, a name would be good. I think I had one … in the spirit realm or wherever I used to be when I was awake. But I don’t really remember what it was.”

“Hm...” Krogallo said and paused with his brow furrowed for a few moments. Then, he brightened and said, “Would it dishonor you if I gave you a name of the Night People?”

I shook my head, liking the idea of accepting a Night Person name more than just getting a new awkward title.

Krogallo spread his wings theatrically. “Then, Sleeping God, I ask if you would accept ‘Bassello’ as your name among the Night People. It is the name of an honored elder from long ago and has not been used by one of the Night People for many generations.”

“Bassello …” I said, trying out the name and replaceing that it felt … good. I couldn’t say that it suited me perfectly, but I also couldn’t put a finger on why that was. And it was better than the title, so I smiled.

Krogallo bared his vampiric fangs at me in a gesture I had begun to suspect was a smile. Coincidentally, he also noted the oddity of my own kind of smile, saying, “Ah, that is the face a god makes in happiness, a crescent in homage to your sister, Moon.”

“I guess so,” I replied with a half-chuckle.

I rehearsed the name a few more times in my head—until it began to feel more cemented. The name didn’t take right away. I enjoyed it; it felt much more fitting than the one I had first awoken with. However, it felt sort of like wearing a new pair of shoes that might have been a bit too small. Ultimately more comfortable, but still something new that I would have to get used to before it felt natural. At least, I hoped it would and that I wouldn’t have to take it back to the proverbial shoe store.

In the meantime, I decided I needed to learn more about the Golems. If they were a threat to me in this body, what we could do, if there was anywhere we could run or hide. Or maybe … if the Golems had any sort of hidden weakness.

Just when I was about to ask, I heard a flutter of wings. Another Night Person landed with a slight bounce. I recognized her as one of the bats from the cave, a brown and slightly round female. From her face, I could tell she was definitely older than Romalla but not nearly as old as Krogallo. She lowered her face to the ground—right in front of me—and dropped something rather large from her mouth. Whatever it was seemed to be moving a little. It was … a beetle. She proceeded to nod at me and then at Krogallo.

Krogallo watched me nod back at the brown bat before he imitated the gesture at her and then at me. To which—of course—I had to nod a second time. It all felt a little silly, but I guess it wasn’t as bad as the previous worshipful bowing.

The brown bat said, “Sleeping God, I am Camolla, mother of Romalla—the young priest you met before. I have come to offer you food and drink.” She looked at the ground in front of her, where she had dropped the shiny, black insect.

I didn’t see any drink … but noticed dark-red liquid soaked in the fur around her lips. Seeing this triggered a vaguely school-like recollection that vampire bats could regurgitate blood to share it with others. Interesting, only the current situation was not at all academic. This Night Person was offering to … share her … pre-swallowed blood … with me.

While Camolla’s gesture was … kind … I felt immediate revulsion at the idea of drinking regurgitated blood. Beyond the fact that it was coming from her stomach, blood was the most egregious food item I could possibly imagine ingesting ‘baby-bird’ style.

Feeling—for the first time—immeasurable relief at a limitation of my awkward metallic body, I smiled appreciatively at her and said, “Thank you. But I don’t think that I can eat with this body.” Then, for good measure, I tapped the part of my face where my mouth should have been to show that it could not open.

To my surprise, Camolla took flight with two massive flaps of her wings, glided to circle me twice, and then caught a foothold on the top of my head. From there, she stabilized herself and then leaned over—almost hanging upside-down and momentarily filling my view before she shifted to one side a bit. It seemed that personal-space bubbles were not a thing for her.

Though I could feel Camolla’s claws embedded snuggly between the armored plates on the top of my head, it was not painful. Nor was her weight a cause for any discomfort. However, she did seem unexpectedly large this close up—as her full length went from the top of my head to my mid-torso. Then, using her grip on my head, Camolla casually raised her body, so we were face to face.

Compared to my body, the adult Night People seemed to be about the size of small cats. However, I had a distinct feeling that I was much larger than what I felt I should have been—maybe seven or eight feet tall. Either way, they were much larger than any bat I had ever heard of—including flying foxes.

Still, I barely felt any weight from her movements and adjustments—so holding her was not a problem. Seeing her face take up most of my line of sight was a little much for me, though. I had no actual fear of the Night People. I just … seemed to have a greater need for personal space than she—and likely the other Night People—did.

Still, I tried not to flinch, jump, or yelp in surprise. Despite my nervousness, I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. Especially since she seemed kind … trying to feed me and all.

Camolla used her pointed, pig-like nose to softly prod at my face. All the fear she’d shown when I first awakened in the cave seemed gone. She folded her ears to the sides of her head in what seemed like a sympathetic gesture and said, “You poor thing. How will you survive if your new body does not have a mouth?”

I was surprised by Camolla’s maternal tone. It was quite a shift from Krogallo’s gently-expressed reverence. It was … unexpectedly lovely. For the first time since waking up, I felt like someone was regarding me as a person—even if just for a moment.

Another flutter of wings alerted me to a third Night Person joining us. There was a flash of green, and I felt another pair of claws catch on the top of my head. After a moment of the two of them adjusting their positions, I looked into a second face—right beside Camolla’s. It was the green-furred Night Person I’d spoken to earlier, Romalla.

The sudden appearance and closeness of yet a second Night Person momentarily made me forget what I’d been asked … about my ability to eat and survive. I stuttered for a moment and then replied, “Uh, I think I must be fed by the sun during the daytime.” I touched one of the black pads on my shoulders.

Camolla tucked her ears back just a bit more when she heard this and gently shook her head. It seemed the idea of being nourished by the sun was unpleasant to her. I wondered if it was because the Night People were nocturnal—becoming more active only in the evening and night.

“Ah, yes,” said Romalla, who seemed far less bothered. “Your Sister, Sun—harsh as she is—must still care for you very much. I know tenderness is not in her nature, but she keeps warmth for those she loves.”

Camolla gave a slight nod, though she still seemed concerned. I thought about explaining solar panels. However, explaining them to people who had no concept of electricity or batteries seemed like a daunting task. Besides, I barely knew how solar panels worked.

As if to purposely throw my train of thought further, Krogallo’s upside-down face suddenly appeared next to the other two, and I felt the weight of a third bat catching hold of my head. I hadn’t seen him fly toward me … but now he was here. By this point, however, it was hardly a surprise.

Krogallo turned to Romalla and Camolla and said, “The Sleeping God has asked for a name … and has taken to ‘Bassello’.”

“A name … surely an integral part of being a ‘guy’,” Romalla said, muttering to herself more than anything else.

Krogallo gave a soft nod before he returned his attention to me and said, “Bassello, sunlight will not arrive for a while, so we have plenty of time to gather and meet with our fellow Night People. You may, of course, rest here if you so desire. However, I have planned a story telling for all the people of this island. Would you join us?”

“Uh-sure,” I said, quickly deciding that more solitude was probably not in my best interests. I thought about walking to meet with the other Night People for this story telling but then realized that I had no idea which direction I was supposed to be going to do that. All I could see were the faces of the three bats.

“I may not be able to get there without being able to see, though.”

The three upside-down bats all bared their teeth at me. With how close they were, this simultaneous baring of teeth was … slightly intimidating. However, I had begun to appreciate their fang-filled smiles, and so found myself enjoying their amusement at my half-joke.

With a series of flaps, the three of them launched from my head and took flight—leading me toward the Wall. I still needed to learn more about the Golems … but the Night People didn’t seem to be in a hurry. And I did like their company—so maybe it would be good to just enjoy the story telling with them.