ELF - MEET THE REAL MONSTER
Foxglove thought about sitting on the bed, but then she doubted anything romantic would happen tonight, so she sat on a chair instead. Dale, however, remained standing. For a long while, neither said anything. Dale, with low ears and tail, was pacing the floor, trying to find out a way to start this conversation, and Foxglove was just waiting for him to end the relationship right here, right now. Finally, the chipmunk decided that this was a good place to start as any. He stood behind his wife and began,
“F-Foxy? I—I just want to—to apologise for everythin’ I’ve done—er—*haven’t* done to you—um—*with* you. But please understand that—that—that I love you, and I—never wanted to hurt you. You mean everythin’ to me—and—and—I’d never do anythin’ to hurt you—well—not deliberately. I’m not sure what’s happenin’ to me—but—but—please understand that—I *really* do want to—but—but—I don’t know why I can’t.” For her part, the bat lady said nothing, at first. So Dale continued, “I can’t begin to imagine how terrible this must be for you, bein’ in the middle of your Fall Fever and everythin’, and havin’ your mate right here and he—and he—just—*can’t*—”
He *can’t*?
“Dale, do—do you need to see a doctor?” she asked full of concern, turning around. Her mate turned away from her and replied,
“N-no, no, I don’t.” The verspetilionid insisted,
“Dale, I know this is very embarrassing for you, but please, if you need a doctor—” He turned and interrupted,
“Foxy, believe me, I don’t need one. There have been times that—that—I nearly—grabbed you and—and—”
“YES?” she squealed suddenly with her hopes and ears up, swishing her tail, holding her wings, and standing to face him. But then, just as suddenly as she perked up, she drooped, turned away again, and continued, “Um, and—and—and then what? Why couldn’t you, Dale?” The sciurid turned away again and trembled in frustration as he tried to explain,
“And then—when I look at you—somethin’—somethin’ happens to me—that just—just—scares me to death.” Padding behind her husband, she asked him.
“Dale, how is it that I scare you? What is it that I did or said that has you so scared? You know that I’d never hurt you, either!” And once again, the rodent had no answer to that question. The chiropterid insisted, “Cutie, please, did I hurt you at any moment? I know it was the night when you had that nightmare. I can’t remember much of what I said that night, but I’m sure you can.” The sciurid just looked up for a moment, and whispered,
“No, Foxy. You didn’t say or do anythin’ wrong. That night was just a bit exhaustin’, but the way you talked with that beautiful and seductive voice of yours, I would have continued as long as you needed to, if it wasn’t—wasn’t—” He stopped again. Was that *really* the cause of everything?
“If it wasn’t for *what*, Dale? What is it that you see in me that has you so frightened? Is it my teeth or wings?” He still wouldn’t turn to face her.
“No, Foxy, they’re perfectly fine. Your teeth and wings are perfect, just—perfect. You’re beautiful, Foxy. You’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen. And the fact that you’re mine is—mind-bogglin’. I mean, I doubt anyone else has fur as soft and silky as yours, or a sweeter voice, or more incredible eyes, or is more lovin’ and carin’ and passionate as you are—you probably would have married me the night we met.” The way he was talking was beginning to trigger her Fever again. He would have to stop before she lost control. “You—you have this incredible gift, Foxy—you saw past the goofy—plain exterior I have and discovered many great things that even *I* didn’t know were there. You’ve given so much to me and to everyone—you have helped us in so many ways—” He stopped to sigh for a moment. “You’re so beautiful, Foxy, our nights together have been so—incredible—you’re better than any dream me or any other male could have.” He turned slightly to look at her and continued, “You’re everythin’ to me, Foxy. But now every time I try to find that again I just see this—this—”
He looked away in silence again.
But Foxglove knew what the last word was.
It was the one word she dreaded.
“Vampire? Cutie, you *know* I’m not a vampire bat!” The tamias didn’t reply.
But then, it suddenly hit her.
The *nightmare*.
And given what Dale had already put in his head before, there was no other choice to what he saw.
“Dale, do—do you see a monster when you see me?” The tamias would *still* say nothing. But that had to be the right answer. The pipistrell turned away slightly and pressed on, “Dale, I love that you think I’m perfect, but I know I’m not. *You’re* perfect. I just don’t know why you can’t see yourself as perfect; maybe you’d know if you could see and hear yourself as I do. Your sonar profile is the most amazing sound I’ve ever heard. Your heartbeat is in such a rhythm—I can’t even begin to describe it. Songwriters would kill just to hear that beat. Your voice resonates in your throat and chest like the ultimate speaker. And the way your teeth vibrate whenever you talk, breathe, walk—Dale, I wonder why no bat hasn’t fallen in love with you before. And your BODY—” She had trouble stopping herself, because if she began to describe in detail the way his body echoed, she would certainly lose control. “You’re so—fun—and funny—you find humour in moments no one else would ever think of—you lighten everyone’s day, no matter how gloomy it is. You’re so smart and you’ve learned so many things, Dale, *you’ve* helped so many, despite what you think of yourself, you do everything you can to be the best Rescue Ranger. You’ve risked your life for me and others time and time again. *I’ve* never met anyone as loving and caring and passionate as *you*. Dale—you’re so HANDSOME—I just can’t get enough of you—and—sometimes I’ve thought you couldn’t get enough of me, despite my Fever—but—maybe that nightmare you had—made you—made you see the light—and showed you just how imperfect I am.” She sighed and turned her back to him. “I understand, Dale. I’ve never thought highly of myself, and I suppose it’s fair that you didn’t, either.” The sciurid whirled and exclaimed,
“Foxy, no—!”
“Really, Dale!” she insisted. “I—I guess I knew that this—this dream couldn’t last forever. I knew that there would be a time when we both would wake up and face the facts. I know you still love me and you meant all those things you said about me, but I know that’s all gone now. I’m—I’m sorry I kept pressuring you.” Dale had enough. He padded to her and held her shoulders,
“Foxy, stop it! You’re talkin’ nonsense! The problem’s with ME, not YOU! You—you were in that nightmare I had—but that’s not what frightened me. The monster I saw—scared me so much—I—I don’t know how to get rid of it! I don’t know why that fear is pushin’ me away from you!” The bat lady sighed. At least they got closer to the problem.
“It—it’s all right then, Dale. We’ll continue tomorrow, and soon, we’ll get to the bottom of this.” She padded away from his hold and turned to look/echosound at him. “I’ll—I’ll get more suppressant pills in the morning. Dalee threw the ones you bought down the toilet. And Dale, I’ll take the perch tonight. You rest well. I won’t—I won’t do anything that will cause you fright anymore.” With that, she flew up to the perch and hung upside-down from it. The chipmunk wanted to continue; he wanted to figure out why that monster was keeping him away from marital bliss, but he was exhausted.
“Good night, Cutie. Sleep well.” She hadn’t given up, she had just made a strategic pause, or so she hoped. Relieved, yet disappointed, that this battle was over, for now, Dale removed his shirt, much to Foxglove’s delight, and put on his long nightshirt, much to Foxglove’s depression. He padded to the wall and turned off the light, and then climbed into bed.
Alone.
“Good night, Foxy. I love you.”
“I love you, Dale.” But even with this part of the battle done, she knew.
She knew that the dream was over forever.
She wrapped her wings around herself.
Exhaustion brought merciful unconsciousness to them in less than three minutes.
Fly.
Fly faster.
*Much* faster.
But no matter how fast Foxglove flew, that Batmunk was keeping up with them, *and* catching up as well. Even with her training, and with the gusty tail wind she had, she could not fly faster than 80 miles per hour. True, she was carrying her husband with her foot-paws, but this was faster than anytime she had flown before. And the Batmunk showed no signs of strain.
“**DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY……!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**”
Ears and tails stiffened again.
“Why does this—this THING keep thinkin’ I’m its daddy?!” yelled Dale, glancing back at it.
“Maybe Nimnul got a hold of it and told it a bunch of lies?!” she yelled back at him.
“Sure, but how do we tell IT that, and will he believe us?!” At that moment, Butterbear flew past them again,
“This is all your fault!!” she repeated. Fur bristled all around again. Now Dale was getting angry,
“WHY do you keep sayin’ that?! We just barely got to this planet and we’ve never seen that *thing* before!! Did you ever stop to think that someone told it lies and it THINKS I’m its daddy?!”
“Then why does it look so much like you two?!” asked the carnivore-lepidopter. The sciurid sighed in desperation.
“I DON’T KNOW!! Maybe a mad scientist got a hold of our DNA and cloned up that monster? We had nothin’ to do with it!” The Batmunk flew closer and closer.
“Ha! If you hadn’t been so stupid, there wouldn’t BE any monster!” That was another curve ball, and a nasty one as well.
“WHAT? Are you callin’ me stupid? I don’t even KNOW how Nimnul managed to get a hold of our DNA! He doesn’t even KNOW Foxglove!” Butterbear ignored that and threw even more accusations,
“Who needs a mad scientist when we have YOU around? Your stupidity and immaturity and clumsiness and clowning around made up that monster!!” Dale was getting REALLY angry now. And the Wuzzle had better be thankful that he couldn’t reach her at this point.
“You have no right to say that! And how can I be stupid and immature and make a monster like THAT???!!! I’m no mad scientist, dummy!”
“And don’t you DARE call him stupid or immature or anything else, lady!” added Foxglove, getting angry herself at the Wuzzle.
“That thing is YOUR SON!” she growled. Son? That thing was a male? “He recognised your voices and scents!!” Odd, they couple hadn’t thought of that. But there was one slight oversight,
“Don’t be stupid, you weirdo! Foxy’s never been pregnant, and I’m making SURE she doesn’t get pregnant!” For some reason, Butterbear ignored that piece of information again. She growled,
“You’re so stupid you don’t even remember, do you? Well, I’m not surprised!”
“LISTENYOUCAREBEARREJECT!!THATTHINGIS**NOT**OURSONFOXY’S**NEVER**BEENPREGNANTAND**NONE**OFWHAT’SHAPPENIN’ISOURFAUL—”
WHAM!!!!
The next thing the three knew is that they were on the ground, aching all over. Their pain was highlighted when the Batmunk landed and made the ground shake. Then, he bent down, and picked up Dale one more time. He ignored his screams and struggles, and just repeated,
“**DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY……!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**”
Swallowing hard, Dale began to plead with this thing, “Listen, I don’t know what Nimnul may have told you, but *I’m* not your daddy! I could never *be* your daddy! Nimnul lied to you! *HE’S* your enemy, not us!! *HE’S* the one who made you this way! It’s HIS fault!! You’ve got to believe us! Let us find the other Rangers and we’ll prove just what a lowlife Nimnul—”
“**DADDY…………………WHY………DID………YOU…MAKE…ME…THIS…WAY?????!!!!!**”
More than frightened, Dale was now getting exasperated.
“No, no! Please, I’m not your daddy! And even if I was, I’d never make you the monster you are! This is the work of Norton Nimnul! If anything, *HE’S* your father!! He used our DNA to make you!! He’s—”
“**DADDY…………………WHY………DID………YOU…__RAISE__…ME…THIS…WAY?????!!!!!**”
Time stopped.
Suddenly, Dale recognised the Batmunk’s scent.
It was a combination of Foxglove’s and his own.
And his voice, though it was very distorted, had a particular ring that was only present in *his* voice.
“R-raise you?” he asked, raising his ears a trifle.
“YEAH!” roared Butterbear, flying by again. “You raised him this way! Your stupidity, clumsiness, immaturity, and clowning made this monster!!”
It was here that suddenly everything made sense. Despite never having *been* with the Batmunk before, Dale suddenly had flashbacks of himself actually *raising* this hybrid, and raising it with FEAR.
Fear of making mistakes in its upbringing, and making the mistake of lax discipline.
Fear of doing something wrong and causing damage, physical and emotional, and making the mistake of making “innocent” jokes at his son’s expense, in front of his peers and adults as well.
Fear that his immaturity would cause problems with his son, and making the mistake of demanding neatness from him, while his own room remained a shambles.
Fear, not of conceiving, not of bringing forth, but of *raising* a MONSTER, and making that exact same mistake.
Fear of being a Father, and a bad one, at that, and making the mistake of *being* one.
*“The thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.”*
Because every time he did something wrong, the hybrid became more and more monstrous, until it flew away, and returned to rampage through this land.
Despite how crazy everything was, it all fit together.
This monster *was indeed* his son.
And Foxglove’s.
Dale, being a male, however, still wanted to impose logic in all of this. He lowered his ears again,
“But—but I didn’t! We just got married five months ago! You couldn’t have been born and grown up so fast so quickly, not without *us* knowin’ it!! It’s impossible!! It’s—it’s—”
“**IT’S………ALL………YOUR………FAULT………DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**”
And with that, the Batmunk raised his wing-paw, and smashed Dale into the ground once more, this time right on top of Foxglove.
And Dale didn’t stop screaming until Foxglove swooped down on him and stood him up on the floor.
“DALE!!!” she squealed.
Darkness.
Quiet.
Calm.
Still.
Silence.
With some moonlight to help him, the chipmunk looked around and smelled around as best as he could. Slowly, he realised he was back in his room, next to his bed, with his wife holding him close. That nightmare was really getting annoying now, but he was here, he was safe, safe from the monster, safe from—
His wife?
Suddenly, he looked up and looked straight into his wife’s eyes—
This time, he didn’t pull away. But he *did* see a monster.
*In the reflection of her eyes.*
Hesitating for a moment, he pulled her close, and hugged her tight.
“F-Foxy—I’m—I’m sorry—so sorry—”
There was no weeping this time. The bat lady had already done that for both of them, and now she could only comfort him this way. After a while, she looked/echosounded into his eyes and asked,
“Wanna talk about it?” Dale sighed. Holding her wing, he led her to the bed, and they both sat down.
“Foxy, three weeks ago, I had a nightmare. We were in this really strange planet…” He explained the experience, the strange animals he saw, and of course, the Batmunk, and how he plagued his nights regularly after that. And he told her about tonight’s nightmare. “…and he smashed me right on top of you. That’s when I woke up—and woke you up. Sorry.”
“Don’t be. We haven’t talked this deeply in quite a while.” She sighed a bit, and looked/echosounded at him. “What was his name, anyway?” Her mate cocked his head for a while, and then a confused expression crept on his face, after which he slapped his forehead and slowly wiped his face down with his paw.
“Darn, I forgot to ask.” She felt a trifle disappointed at this, but there were more pressing matters at paw.
“So, a nameless monster is what’s been keeping you away from me? You’re scared of getting me pregnant?” He tilted his head,
“Well—kinda—” The pipistrell put a wing on his shoulder,
“But Dale, I know it’s a long shot, but I would be in *Heaven* if you got me pregnant! Carrying your cub—*our* cub, Cutie! It would be just wonderful! And there’s no way it could turn out like that monster you saw!” The tamias just looked in front of him,
“I—I know. I went to a geneticist—right after I went to see Dr. Qandlier when I made myself sick. At first I thought that I was afraid of us creatin’ a monster, or at least a cub that would be terribly malformed and full of defects because of our two species. The doctor told me that the possibilities for that were very low, and that at most we would have either a bat or a chipmunk, but not both combined like what I saw. I guess I was afraid of havin’ someone go through a very painful time, and it would all have been my fault.”
“*Our* fault, Cutie,” she corrected, raising her ears and patting his paw. “You can’t have a cub all by yourself you know———unless you’re a sponge.” The rodent looked at his mate for a moment, raised his eyebrow a trifle, and then he actually chuckled,
“Hey, who says *I’m* the only one who can find humour in gloomy times?”
“I learned from the best,” she cooed, smiling. He smiled a trifle himself and held her closer, letting her nuzzle his cheek.
“Aw, thanks, Darlin’. But really, even after the doctor explained to me everythin’, I *still* couldn’t get over this fear I had. Every time I looked at you, I saw that monster’s face. It was as if someone made sculptures of our heads and combined them in an awful way. When I woke up just now and looked into your eyes, I saw—I saw the monster—in—in *my* face.” The chiropterid suddenly straightened in quiet shock.
“No, Dale, no! You’re not a monster!! That dream never happened for real! It could never happen! You just have to convince yourself it was only a dream and put it behind you! Don’t let it control you!” He held her wings in his paws and looked at her eyes again,
“Foxy—I—I know that! But—tonight’s dream—it—it—made me realise—what I was *really* afraid of. Not just makin’ a *biological* monster, but—but—makin’ a—a bad son—or daughter.”
“What?” The bat lady was in ultimate shock now, as her ears showed. But finally, Dale lowered his ears and head, and confessed,
“Foxy—I found out that I’m—I’m afraid—of bein’ a bad father. That strange bear told me that because I was so stupid and immature, the monster was all my fault. And even the monster blamed me for raisin’ him all wrong. And I guess—I guess—it *could* happen! I mean—” he looked at her eyes again, “it’s a miracle we got married in the first place! Before I met you, I was immature and careless and clumsy and stupid! I don’t know how much of that I’ve put away since we got married, but when I really think about it, I—could make decisions—that could really mess up our cub!” His turned away slightly as his eyes began to water.
“Dale—”
“All this time, Chip and the others have put up with me. I’ve made some wrong decisions before, and they still pounce on me, but even when I try to be careful, sometimes I mess up really, *really* bad! All of you have been incredibly patient with me, but I guess that’s because the damage I do can be repaired, eventually, or the bad guy that gets away can eventually be caught later—but this—this is a *life* we’re talkin’ about!” He turned to her, “This isn’t somethin’ that can be fixed with spare parts, or replaced with an updated version! This is about feelin’s that can be destroyed for good, with no chance of repair, or in the best of cases, dealt with therapy, but *only* after a lot of pain! *That’s* what I’m afraid of! Not of matin’, not of pregnancy, not of making a hybrid, but—but raisin’ a cub all wrong—because of my clumsiness!” There was no sniffling, but his tears, as well as hers, fell freely.
This was heavy. Foxglove could certainly understand where he was coming from.
“Cutie, you’ve made mistakes before, but you’ve learned from them. You’ve come a long way. I understand your fear now, but you seem to forget one thing.” He looked at her and raised his ears slightly,
“What?”
“Dale, you’re not going to be raising our cub alone, all by yourself. *I’m* going to be right next to you, making sure we *both* do it right! And do you think *I’m* not the least bit afraid of having and raising a cub? Dale, *you’re* not the only one whose never done it before! In fact, *your parents* had no experience either, but they had you anyways, and just look at the GREAT job they did!” Dale smiled again. She loved the way his smile sounded. “And even if we mess up, if we make sure our cub is always loved, whatever mistakes we make, they will be covered and corrected. And if we can’t solve a particular problem, we have your parents, Chip’s parents, and lots of experts who wrote books on parenting. Dale,” she held his handsome face with her wings, “you *won’t* be alone with this. And—it’s okay to be frightened, if it’s just for a moment, but don’t let fear rule your—*our* lives. I know we fear certain things by instinct, but sometimes, Dale, in cases like this, we just have to face our fears and take one giant leap forward.” Her husband just lowered his head. The bat lady rubbed his shoulders for a moment, and finished, “I’m sorry I kept putting all that pressure on you, Sweetie. I—I’ll try to keep things under control, if you still feel you need more time to get all this in. Rest well, Cutie,” she kissed his cheek, and she felt relieved that this time he didn’t flinch. “We’ll continue this in the morning and explain it to the others. I’m sure your parents will be of great help in this. Good night.” Foxglove helped him get back into bed, and straightened all the tangled covers. Once the chipmunk was settled in, she flew back up to her perch. Her desires were still there, but now *she* had the edge over them. Fever or no Fever, she would not do anything unless her husband was perfectly comfortable, and if she had to take those suppressants, she would take them, for his sake.
But would she be able to hold out for tonight?