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A presentation about bats? Well, certainly not the strangest thing Virgil has had to ask to give a speech about to a group of young children but definitely well out of his area of expertise. Still, being on the phone and talking to someone who sounded so polite made it very hard to say no. Fortunately where he was lacking in bat knowledge, his friend Elliot was a titan.

At least he figured. He was pretty certain Elliot was a titan of bat knowledge. If not....well maybe he could fake being dead to get out of this speech.

Still! It was a good call. Goodness knows how many folks visited the springs thinking they have gotten rabies because there had been a bat within ten feet of them. So doing a bit of a Bats are Friends speech may be nice?? And if anything it's to children who are usually less judgemental???

...this was going to be a disaster. But what better thing to do than drag a friend into your mess! With that, Virgil knocks on the door to the nice funeral parlor before stepping in. "Hello? Elliot? Are you here and not too busy?"

Elliott popped up as soon as the door opened, a little too quickly to come skittering in from a knock or a call, as if the spirits themselves warned Elliott of Virgil's presence.

Or the funeral home just had several security cameras around to warn Elliott someone was about to enter.

...Nah, definitely spirits.

"Hello, Virgil! I am always some level of busy, and it seems today I'm busy with you!" Virgil suddenly found himself with a height on his back as Anput showed up, latched to the redhead's back aaand... sleeping as she usually does.

"How can I help you-- er, you're here to say hello, yes? Not, not for business, I hope?"

"Oh! Ah...hello there Anput." Virgil chuckles as he gingerly tries to pat at the sleeping Abra on his back. He was devoid of his usual Happiny swarm, his Audino keeping taps on the tiny crew back home. It only took him once to realize letting the girls unleashed in a funeral home was perhaps...well...not the best of ideas. They mean well, but they sure do not add to the atmosphere proper.

Neither does the pudgy sewaddle in his arms, but Nibs was at least more manageable as the leafy bug gives a lazy yawn. Not quite willing to give up nap time yet it seems.

At the question, Virgil looks back to Elliot. "Hmmm? Oh. Actually funny enough I am here on business." A pause. "Oh wait. No no! Not -that- kind of business! More just ah. Well. It's a bit less a business and more a favor. Which...sounds somewhat ominous. Hoo. Let me backtrack a moment." He clears his throat.

"I was asked by a very well meaning individual to try to do a small classroom lecture on the importance of bats in Ivywood. Sort of a way to try to show the younger generation that they aren't terrible dangerous things and to maybe motivate them to be more respectful to the local bat population." At least thats what he recalls them saying. "But ah...while I can give a good medical speech about the myths of rabies and bats...I actually well. I actually don't know much about them. And the person is offering to let me handle a bunch for the demonstration but I'm not sure if trying to talk and wrangle fuzzy bats would...well I get distracted? I mean."

Virgil shakes his head with a tired laugh. "I need your help making a speech about bats and to help me wrangle them in front of a dozen kids."

Elliott looked positively shook when Virgil mentioned he was here on business, and for a moment... he wasn't sure what to do. Oh no, oh no, oh no all his training had brought him to this day and he was failing Virgi--

Oh.

The mortician's shoulders visually sagged as he left out a slow sighing wheeze, slapping on a nervous smile after as Virgil explained himself. The nervousness quickly vanished at the mentioning of the little project Virgil was tossed into, and Elliott was nearly bouncing on his toes.

"Oh! Oh! What a wonderful endeavor. I would love to help-- this is something you need now, yes? Let me just ask the boss man, I'm sure he wouldn't mind in the slightest, summer months are always slow months, but... good to ask than to regret."

Virgil smiles. "I figured this would be something up your alley. But ah yes, a bit of help now and then tomorrow at the presentation itself if possible. Just be good to have a ....ah heh...wing-man?" He was so bad at puns, was that a pun? Maybe that isn't really. Oh well, he already said it.

"But yes! The person on the phone seemed quite happy to lend some friendly bats. I think some ah...woobats and noibats? And a zubat. Good tempered who are used to being poked during their normal sleeping hours and dealing with children." Virgil pauses as he recalls. "I think there's also some video that we can play in the background, just of them being cute and stuff?"

Nibs awakens, the noise finally getting past the drowsiness as the sewaddle makes a small rawrrgh noise that is likely more a yawn than anything. As response, Virgil gives the bug pokemon's tummy a gentle tickle much to its delight.

"But yes. I figured it would be fun? We could probably have tea and go over what to talk on. I expect they're going to be more interested in the bats themselves come time but hoo."

"Your puns make me positively batty." Elliott crooned, rocking on his heels a moment before stepping forward to wrap an arm around Virgil's shoulders, giving the doctor a squeeze.

"I have just the two bats to also assist if needed. Oh how wonderful! You know, too many give such a spook over them, and they're dreadfully harmless- but ah you don't need me to talk your ear off about them. One moment, let me give my boss a warning, I'll be back in just a jiff!" Releasing Virgil, Elliott skittered off out of the lobby.

Anput stayed behind, still quietly snoozing the day away on Virgil's back.

The squeeze is returned, much to the squeaky grumblings of a sewaddle in the middle. Oh shh...you're fine Nibs.

"Sounds good. I'll just sit in the ah..over there place." Virgil gestures towards the waiting benches. "We can go over the notes, work out a thing and...should be fun!"

With that, he watches Elliot leave as the tall doctor carefully sits so as not to crush a snoozing Abra.

Sorry Nibs, will spoil you later Nibs, there's a cilantro sprigged calling your name.

Elliott wasn't gone long, but perhaps long enough to leave Virgil in an uncomfortable sit with the abra latched so annoyingly to his back. No resting comfortably in the couch for you. But perhaps it was good for the doctor to practice good posture while he wait! When Elliott turned up, he wore a pleased little grin, reaching out to Virgil to offer and help pull him up off the couch.

"Come, come! Before he changes his mind or an entire bus filled of elderly folks die of natural causes. There are bats that need to be doted over and death can't stop me now!"

Well that certainly is a grizzly mental image, and one that gets Virgil more than willing to be pulled off the couch. Onward to bat Edutainment planning!

Now, one could probably go into a lot of tiny mundane details about all of this process. The research part, the designing of colourful posters made out of construction paper. Even the whole escapade of meeting the presentation bats which no doubt made immediate friends with Elliot to the point he looked like more bat than man. Or one of those terrifying biblical angels what with all the wings flapping.

Virgil sometimes wonders if Elliot missed his calling at being a vampire.

BUT! Those things can get glossed over because they are also incredibly tedious to discuss when it comes to the fact that preparation goes well. So well that it ends up being that kind of thing where one has all sorts of confidence up until ten minutes before the actual presentation when Virgil realizes wait...public speaking. This is going to be a thing that is happening soon. Where did the time go? Suddenly Virgil wishes he had spent more time in the montage part of things since even if that sounds very meta it would mean he isn't here right now outside the door to a classroom waiting for the teacher to finish her speech and let them in.

"Ah....how are you feeling Elliot?" he says to the man who was also dragged quickly through the montage of preparing bat stuff? Probably fine, Elliot was always good at the social things. Double so when he has a pocket full of sleepy bats like he does now.

It was terribly childish for two adults to be making some show and tell educational guide to 'bat are cool, alright?', and Elliott was HERE FOR IT. Nothing more calming then doing something silly that has absolutely no detriment to your life beyond petting the most precious thing in the world and showing off to the rest of the world... er... class? How great they are.

Listen. Elliott definitely missed out on his calling to be a vampire.

"I'm doing wonderfully! I haven't had an easy task to handle since plotting my last LARPing session back when I was a kid. Ah what a life, living without a care, yelling a made up language and running all over the cul de sac. Now I'm going to be giving a presentation to a bunch of younger folks who either won't care what we say and will ignore us, or will be just as excited about these cute critters. This is the most relaxing thing I've done in forever." Elliott scruffed up the noibat's cheek fluff, or well... one of them. There would be a lot of cheek scruffing today.

"You?"

Oh. Well when he says it like that, it certainly helps to calm some of the nerves. Some of them.

"Doing alright?" Oh dear that sounded more uncertain than he would have preferred. "I mean. Nervous. But I think that's my default state....ah heh...but well! This will be fun. I think. You're right. This isn't a big deal. And hopefully we'll give everyone in there a new insight. Who knows, maybe we'll inspire a future bat....batologist?"

Leaning over, Virgil scratches under the chin of a small Zubat clinging to Elliot's shoulder as Virgil's Audino dutifully carries an armload of posters to hand out to kids after the presentation. Just then, he hears a tap on the door's window as the teacher gives the cue the class is ready for them.

"Well. Here goes nothing! Let's do this. And ah...thank you again for all the help Elliot. I owe you."

With that, Virgil opens the door to let his Audino, Elliot, and the bat brigade enter...

As for how it ended. Quite well! No disasters, no renegade bats flying amuck...much to probably some of the younger kids disappointment. And sure enough, there was a lot more talk about how cool bats were by the end than there were "ewwww" at the very start. So, mission success overall.

Not that it wouldn't stop Virgil from wheezing in anxiety ten minutes after they left cause public speaking. Heck!

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

A presentation about bats? Well, certainly not the strangest thing Virgil has had to ask to give a speech about to a group of young children but definitely well out of his area of expertise. Still, being on the phone and talking to someone who sounded so polite made it very hard to say no. Fortunately where he was lacking in bat knowledge, his friend Elliot was a titan.

At least he figured. He was pretty certain Elliot was a titan of bat knowledge. If not....well maybe he could fake being dead to get out of this speech.

Still! It was a good call. Goodness knows how many folks visited the springs thinking they have gotten rabies because there had been a bat within ten feet of them. So doing a bit of a Bats are Friends speech may be nice?? And if anything it's to children who are usually less judgemental???

...this was going to be a disaster. But what better thing to do than drag a friend into your mess! With that, Virgil knocks on the door to the nice funeral parlor before stepping in. "Hello? Elliot? Are you here and not too busy?"

Elliott popped up as soon as the door opened, a little too quickly to come skittering in from a knock or a call, as if the spirits themselves warned Elliott of Virgil's presence.

Or the funeral home just had several security cameras around to warn Elliott someone was about to enter.

...Nah, definitely spirits.

"Hello, Virgil! I am always some level of busy, and it seems today I'm busy with you!" Virgil suddenly found himself with a height on his back as Anput showed up, latched to the redhead's back aaand... sleeping as she usually does.

"How can I help you-- er, you're here to say hello, yes? Not, not for business, I hope?"

"Oh! Ah...hello there Anput." Virgil chuckles as he gingerly tries to pat at the sleeping Abra on his back. He was devoid of his usual Happiny swarm, his Audino keeping taps on the tiny crew back home. It only took him once to realize letting the girls unleashed in a funeral home was perhaps...well...not the best of ideas. They mean well, but they sure do not add to the atmosphere proper.

Neither does the pudgy sewaddle in his arms, but Nibs was at least more manageable as the leafy bug gives a lazy yawn. Not quite willing to give up nap time yet it seems.

At the question, Virgil looks back to Elliot. "Hmmm? Oh. Actually funny enough I am here on business." A pause. "Oh wait. No no! Not -that- kind of business! More just ah. Well. It's a bit less a business and more a favor. Which...sounds somewhat ominous. Hoo. Let me backtrack a moment." He clears his throat.

"I was asked by a very well meaning individual to try to do a small classroom lecture on the importance of bats in Ivywood. Sort of a way to try to show the younger generation that they aren't terrible dangerous things and to maybe motivate them to be more respectful to the local bat population." At least thats what he recalls them saying. "But ah...while I can give a good medical speech about the myths of rabies and bats...I actually well. I actually don't know much about them. And the person is offering to let me handle a bunch for the demonstration but I'm not sure if trying to talk and wrangle fuzzy bats would...well I get distracted? I mean."

Virgil shakes his head with a tired laugh. "I need your help making a speech about bats and to help me wrangle them in front of a dozen kids."

Elliott looked positively shook when Virgil mentioned he was here on business, and for a moment... he wasn't sure what to do. Oh no, oh no, oh no all his training had brought him to this day and he was failing Virgi--

Oh.

The mortician's shoulders visually sagged as he left out a slow sighing wheeze, slapping on a nervous smile after as Virgil explained himself. The nervousness quickly vanished at the mentioning of the little project Virgil was tossed into, and Elliott was nearly bouncing on his toes.

"Oh! Oh! What a wonderful endeavor. I would love to help-- this is something you need now, yes? Let me just ask the boss man, I'm sure he wouldn't mind in the slightest, summer months are always slow months, but... good to ask than to regret."

Virgil smiles. "I figured this would be something up your alley. But ah yes, a bit of help now and then tomorrow at the presentation itself if possible. Just be good to have a ....ah heh...wing-man?" He was so bad at puns, was that a pun? Maybe that isn't really. Oh well, he already said it.

"But yes! The person on the phone seemed quite happy to lend some friendly bats. I think some ah...woobats and noibats? And a zubat. Good tempered who are used to being poked during their normal sleeping hours and dealing with children." Virgil pauses as he recalls. "I think there's also some video that we can play in the background, just of them being cute and stuff?"

Nibs awakens, the noise finally getting past the drowsiness as the sewaddle makes a small rawrrgh noise that is likely more a yawn than anything. As response, Virgil gives the bug pokemon's tummy a gentle tickle much to its delight.

"But yes. I figured it would be fun? We could probably have tea and go over what to talk on. I expect they're going to be more interested in the bats themselves come time but hoo."

"Your puns make me positively batty." Elliott crooned, rocking on his heels a moment before stepping forward to wrap an arm around Virgil's shoulders, giving the doctor a squeeze.

"I have just the two bats to also assist if needed. Oh how wonderful! You know, too many give such a spook over them, and they're dreadfully harmless- but ah you don't need me to talk your ear off about them. One moment, let me give my boss a warning, I'll be back in just a jiff!" Releasing Virgil, Elliott skittered off out of the lobby.

Anput stayed behind, still quietly snoozing the day away on Virgil's back.

The squeeze is returned, much to the squeaky grumblings of a sewaddle in the middle. Oh shh...you're fine Nibs.

"Sounds good. I'll just sit in the ah..over there place." Virgil gestures towards the waiting benches. "We can go over the notes, work out a thing and...should be fun!"

With that, he watches Elliot leave as the tall doctor carefully sits so as not to crush a snoozing Abra.

Sorry Nibs, will spoil you later Nibs, there's a cilantro sprigged calling your name.

Elliott wasn't gone long, but perhaps long enough to leave Virgil in an uncomfortable sit with the abra latched so annoyingly to his back. No resting comfortably in the couch for you. But perhaps it was good for the doctor to practice good posture while he wait! When Elliott turned up, he wore a pleased little grin, reaching out to Virgil to offer and help pull him up off the couch.

"Come, come! Before he changes his mind or an entire bus filled of elderly folks die of natural causes. There are bats that need to be doted over and death can't stop me now!"

Well that certainly is a grizzly mental image, and one that gets Virgil more than willing to be pulled off the couch. Onward to bat Edutainment planning!

Now, one could probably go into a lot of tiny mundane details about all of this process. The research part, the designing of colourful posters made out of construction paper. Even the whole escapade of meeting the presentation bats which no doubt made immediate friends with Elliot to the point he looked like more bat than man. Or one of those terrifying biblical angels what with all the wings flapping.

Virgil sometimes wonders if Elliot missed his calling at being a vampire.

BUT! Those things can get glossed over because they are also incredibly tedious to discuss when it comes to the fact that preparation goes well. So well that it ends up being that kind of thing where one has all sorts of confidence up until ten minutes before the actual presentation when Virgil realizes wait...public speaking. This is going to be a thing that is happening soon. Where did the time go? Suddenly Virgil wishes he had spent more time in the montage part of things since even if that sounds very meta it would mean he isn't here right now outside the door to a classroom waiting for the teacher to finish her speech and let them in.

"Ah....how are you feeling Elliot?" he says to the man who was also dragged quickly through the montage of preparing bat stuff? Probably fine, Elliot was always good at the social things. Double so when he has a pocket full of sleepy bats like he does now.

It was terribly childish for two adults to be making some show and tell educational guide to 'bat are cool, alright?', and Elliott was HERE FOR IT. Nothing more calming then doing something silly that has absolutely no detriment to your life beyond petting the most precious thing in the world and showing off to the rest of the world... er... class? How great they are.

Listen. Elliott definitely missed out on his calling to be a vampire.

"I'm doing wonderfully! I haven't had an easy task to handle since plotting my last LARPing session back when I was a kid. Ah what a life, living without a care, yelling a made up language and running all over the cul de sac. Now I'm going to be giving a presentation to a bunch of younger folks who either won't care what we say and will ignore us, or will be just as excited about these cute critters. This is the most relaxing thing I've done in forever." Elliott scruffed up the noibat's cheek fluff, or well... one of them. There would be a lot of cheek scruffing today.

"You?"

Oh. Well when he says it like that, it certainly helps to calm some of the nerves. Some of them.

"Doing alright?" Oh dear that sounded more uncertain than he would have preferred. "I mean. Nervous. But I think that's my default state....ah heh...but well! This will be fun. I think. You're right. This isn't a big deal. And hopefully we'll give everyone in there a new insight. Who knows, maybe we'll inspire a future bat....batologist?"

Leaning over, Virgil scratches under the chin of a small Zubat clinging to Elliot's shoulder as Virgil's Audino dutifully carries an armload of posters to hand out to kids after the presentation. Just then, he hears a tap on the door's window as the teacher gives the cue the class is ready for them.

"Well. Here goes nothing! Let's do this. And ah...thank you again for all the help Elliot. I owe you."

With that, Virgil opens the door to let his Audino, Elliot, and the bat brigade enter...

As for how it ended. Quite well! No disasters, no renegade bats flying amuck...much to probably some of the younger kids disappointment. And sure enough, there was a lot more talk about how cool bats were by the end than there were "ewwww" at the very start. So, mission success overall.

Not that it wouldn't stop Virgil from wheezing in anxiety ten minutes after they left cause public speaking. Heck!