What it's Like to Become a Bat

TheCuriousSeed

Remember the Gail Carson Levine Trilogy? Well, this takes an even deeper look into that, although I'd err on the side of opinion.

~Since Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand, one fairy has been known to revert back to a fairy, but with a slight difference: not only can she swim instead of fly because, no more wings, but she now has a pinprick of a bat inside her head that usually lets the fairy speak. She's not the only fairy to become a bat, though.

~Another became a bat, but unlike the previous one, who was a flightless because wingless Water fairy, this one was the best Tinker of all and showed no signs of a bat in her head. Also, Belief didn't rescue her, a special grass did and unlike the Water fairy, the Tinker couldn't speak the same language as all fairies while a bat.

~If you haven't guessed by now, I mean Rani and Tinker Bell, Water and Tinker talents, respectively, but suppose you wound up a bat? Would you be able to speak to the other bats in the event you were a fairy again? Would you remember being a bat at all?

~I've speculated this a bit in some tales I'd written and let's just say according to my tales (names in said tales changed to protect privacy for the established characters), Rani-bat is more likely to resurface when something warranting a warning is about to happen, but Tink has completely lost her bat side, ergo no Tink-bat. Also, because the bats of Neverland can speak the same language as humans and fairies for the most part, they have a proper presence about them. I hadn't gone into their diets, however, but let's just say if there's a small pinprick of the fairy inside the bat, different insects eaten by the bat taste like different foods reminding said fairy of home, but you'll have to read Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand to get more detailed descriptions as I don't condone insectivory.

~There are two known ways to turn a fairy that became a bat back into a fairy: the first requires Belief, an increasingly precious but necessary device that only a Belief fairy can encourage outright. The second is a special grass that you'd feed the bat to turn them back into a fairy. However, to avoid becoming a bat in the first place, never visit the Mermaid Lagoon at night because merfolks' voices are very haunting: pirates see deceased captains, birds fly upside down and Never fairies, you guessed it, become bats, among other things.

~All in all, I'd say being a bat is fine if you were born one, but if you were born a fairy, that's how you'll want to stay. Neverbats are too proper to take kindly to a lack of manners, so should you encounter one, fairy manners won't be enough: use more formal mannerisms than even a human would use and offer water first to the matriarch, then tallest to shortest. Follow through and you and the bats will be just dandy.

I hope you enjoyed this look into Neverbats. Take care and have a Fairy-tastic day!

TheCuriousSeed

Serendipity129 replied at 2020-11-9 11:27
Turning into a bat doesn't hurt, does it? I suppose it'd be bad news to let my merman friend sing to ...

Trust me, even if underwater I'd advise against nearing a singing mermaid or merman because her/his voice would travel even further underwater than in the air! Nighttime's even worse for that unless you can figure out a way to keep from going batty during a mersong.

FaunaAspenleaf

Esteemed Fairy-bat expert, It is most fascinating to read your expert journalisms on this subject of magical transformation. *bows politely*

I love Gale Carson Levine's books so much LOL she writes such great stories, Pixie Hollow related and her fairytales are awesome too! XDD

TheCuriousSeed

Aw, thanks, Fauna! I try to keep as canon as possible if I do any Pixie Hollow-related tales, but it's still a shame there was no further exploration of Never Fairies turning into bats beyond the sources I mentioned here.

Serendipity129

Turning into a bat doesn't hurt, does it? I suppose it'd be bad news to let my merman friend sing to me at night.