Somewhere deep in the dark mysterious forest a conflict rages on. There is a hunt. Screeches are ringing throughout the night; awakening all the nearby creatures of the day and frightening those of the night.
A group of great white owls have found the dwellings of some bats and had begun the raid of their home. Not just any home, a nursery. One of the mother bats was carrying her young, foraging near the nest. The little one wasn't quite able to fly yet and he clung to his mother as she flew as fast as she could away from their pursuers.
Zooming and swooshing through the air, she tried to escape, but an owl dashed in silently like a thief in the night. She was jostled, and the tiny pup began to slip and fall. He was just above a tree and the leaves and branches softened his fall. With a thud he hit the ground and his vision went blank as the sound of screeches continued.
*Rustle*
The sound of twigs breaking from a heavy footstep alerting the little one. Before him stood a towering figure, one with fur only on its head and colorful patterned 'hair' covering it's body. The being brought its hand to its mouth and exhaled causing a whistle to pierce through the baby bat's ears. It winced at the sound, but the bruises covering its body hurt more. It began to pass out again from the pain.
Just then the huge white owl that had taken his mother flew and perched on the creature's shoulder. Frozen, a deep, instinctual panic set in as he tried not to move and to stay aware. Alas, the agony was too much, and his eyes forced themselves shut.
*Chirp* Chirp*
The pup's eyes shot open, and it then let out a groan. How long had it been lying there? Could it make its way back home? Which direction even was home? All these questions swirled into its simple mind. It was lost.
*Growl*
Its stomach started to rumble.
It didn't know how long it had laid on the fallen leaves, but it knew it had two options - stay here, succumb to the injury, and die of starvation or move. It got up shakily and began to crawl on the ground for what felt like forever, eating what few insects he could find on his way. He continued forward, but because he was a night critter he didn't find it odd when all the birdsong had stopped resonating.
Unknown to the creature, this forest was deeply magical. It was said to be a place of absolute obscurity. There were always rumors, some real, others fabricated about the strange uncharted land. Tales of chosen ones being accepted passage, the greedy being lost or killed, but they all had one thing in common; There was an invisible ancient hand that kept others away.
Although the pup sensed something, it wasn't evil or good, just something tasty. As he crawled the smell of a fruit so unique kept filling his nose, driving his almost-dead, starvation-ridden body into an obsessive pace.
That was, until he came upon a timeworn tree. It must have been hundreds of years old, but was completely bare except for one large flower with an ethereal glow.
It was almost as if the tree had stopped producing leaves and chose to deprive itself of all its energy just to keep the blossom from dying.
He made his way underneath the weathered branch holding the fragrant bloom and when he did, the seams opened up revealing a ball of light that dimmed into a heart shaped fruit. The ripened produced fell at his feet like it was waiting for a worthy being.
Without hesitation he dug his fangs into the flesh. The flavor was a combination of every flavor the world could offer in the best way imaginable. He felt a rush of love, joy, and pleasure. He was in such a state of euphoria, but he began to feel tired. Was it poison?
He thought that, given the choice of dying of starvation or like this with happiness, he was glad he could experience bliss in this short existence of his. He closed his lids, grateful and satisfied letting the sleep take him willingly.
The fruit, however, didn't kill him but rewrote him.