"vampire bats are so scary"
him? hims is scary to you? with his little face and puffball body?
Vampire bats are only a few inches long from snooty to booty. what you SHOULD be afraid of is the giant gold crowned flying fox, which is so damn big that you could give it a hug. But dont. because bats can haves rabies so leave the touchings up to the Scientists.
Except you don't need to be afraid because he will not eat you, fear not. he wants a fig slice.
how bout bulldog bat!euripedes wearing one of them novelty fishing hats?
"let any fish who meets my gaze learn the true meaning of fear, for I am the harbinger of death; the bane of creatures subaqueous. for my claws are true and unwavering, as I glide above the surface of the aquatic abyss."
or unaltered text hat, merely strategically transferred from an outdoor store to end up resting atop the head of Euripedes. maybe the brim is lined with superglue too, so it stays on while flying. and resists the best attempts of Vikus to remove it.
...this is literally an American noctule. it potato. fuzzy potato. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa i hate that rabies is a thing I WANT TO HOLD THE FUZZY POTATO
ah, this bat
this particular species has such a wide range of visual appearances it's nuts. from various shades of brown with mild frosting to extra value-brand hoary or red bat.
This shy straw-colored fruit bat kept snatching fruit off the table and scuttling back underneath to eat it. (Photo by Nano Maus)
x.x
to be honest, I think the author missed an opportunity here. In the passage after the party recovered from the wild currents; Gregor making a joke potentially might not have been enough to snap Thalia out of her spiral, which heightens the urgency of the party to help the lil'bat.
Cue Hazard hugging Thalia, and then reciting the bonding oath, holding her thumb claw, providing extra stability which she could latch onto. Significant emotional moment... And then, later, she perishes. And Hazard can't help her. None of the party can help her. Maybe she even dwells on that tiny glimmer of hope that she'd wake up again, emerge from the state of intense panic that must have infused her final moments, similar to that the wind chamber experience... Hazard helped her recover from that, he'll be there to guide her through this, right?
they shoulda just gone on that dang picnic
src for bite force figure in tags: Freeman, Patricia W. and Lemen, Cliff A., "Measuring Bite Force in Small Mammals with a Piezo-Resistive Sensor" (2008). Mammalogy Papers: University of Nebraska State Museum.
Normally would say 'Lasiurini are never not cute', but this particular image...
Hoary bat
no source, was sent to me. posting it because it's fucking funny