I wrote a backstory here because it seemed like a thing to do:

Once upon a time, in one of the many realms of fairies, there lived a colony of four-eared bats that looked a bit like mint-chocolate candies. One of the bats, a little girl with a purple nose and buck teeth, often got bullied because of her strange fascination with charcoal pieces. She would grasp a bit of charcoal with her feet and draw along the floor of her cave in the daytime when no one was awake,. She would often doodle what she saw in the world around her. She drew plants, animals, food, and the echo-located sounds she could imagine in her mind.

One night as she was sleeping (for she stayed up too late in the day drawing), a mean group of bats carried her into the Forbidden Glade, the home of a thousand mischievous fairies.

The purple-nosed bat was shoved awake by a trio of fire fairies who tricked her into eating Wish Berries, a magical fruit that not only grants wishes, but makes the consumer a slave of the fairy-folk.

Delighted by the prospect of having anything she wanted, the eager bat wished she could become a shapeshifter. Although her wish was granted, the fire fairies used their magic to limit her abilities and force her to perform in a circus.

After years of doing the same monotonous shapeshifting act, the purple-nosed bat begged to be free. Annoyed with her pleading and whinging, the fire fairies transported her to a place where she would not be seen or heard from again.

Meanwhile, on the planet Earth, a little boy was out playing in the woods with a parade of kittens trailing behind him. As the sun set, he thought he spotted a shooting star. The little boy wished he could have someone to talk to, as his parents weren't fond of their beloved son talking to strangers.

Some time in the night, the little boy heard rattling in the kitchen and went to investigate. On the checkerboard floor, he spotted his kittens playing with a strange green and brown feline with a purple nose and prominent teeth. She was very, very small and had sparkly emerald eyes. To the little boy's surprise, she spoke to him.

"Hello," said the feline.

"Hello," said the boy, quivering.

"Don't be frightened! I'm not out to harm anyone; I just want to find some place to stay. I saw you had a bag of charcoal outside, and I flew into your cave to draw."

"You flew?" asked the boy. "But how? You're a cat!"

"Not quite," said the feline, returning to her original form.

"Far out!" exclaimed the boy, using one of his dad's favourite phrases.

"I'm awfully hungry. Do you happen to have anything I can eat?"

"Sure! We have lots of food in my house!"

The boy and the bat had a fantastic midnight snack. While the boy ate bananas and bread, he helped his new friend discover "Earth foods." As it turned out, the bat loved blueberries, hummus, garlic, popcorn, plums, and toffee bars a lot, but did not like cat food, sauerkraut, or licorice.

Suddenly, the boy awkwardly blurted out, "My name is F.T.; what's your name?"

"I haven't got one," blushed the bat, realizing that they never made any formal introductions.

"Can I name you?" asked the boy.

"I suppose, but only if I like what you pick out."

The boy and the bat agreed on the name Taliesyn Kuvillan Bells. The "Taliesyn" part came from the name of an album that was sitting on F.T.'s dad's desk. The "Kuvillan" part came from the name of a dragon in a story. The "Bells" part was chosen because Taliesyn loves jingly-bells, and Bells sounded like a believable last name. Since the bat's name was a little hard to pronounce, they both settled on "Zyn" as a nickname.

Zyn and F.T. agreed that they would keep each other company and go on adventures in the woods together, but Zyn would never again be kept as a pet. They promised to be friends for life and protect each other in times of need.

F.T.'s parents spend much of their time moving from one house to the next, with Taliesyn struggling to keep up. It was hard for a talking bat to fit into this world, but somehow she and F.T. managed to stay together.

Things got very difficult when F.T. went to college. It was hard to hide Zyn in a room with several rambunctious roommates, especially since the poor bat didn't know where or when it was safe to sleep.

F.T. noticed his dear friend fighting for her life and happiness, and sought to improve Zyn's conditions. One day, as he was perusing funny videos on YouTube, he and his batty companion discovered "furries."

Zyn was overjoyed! By the looks of it, she could go to something called a "convention" and be seen as normal. It would be like a vacation; no more hiding, scrambling, or worrying about being caught for a few wondrous days of the year. She could hang out with other talking animals and unwind.

"I want to go to Anthro Con," Zyn announced with an air of finality.

After all she had been through, this seemed like a grand opportunity to have a good time and share her talents with others.

"Alright," said F.T. "We'll do it."

And so began their fantasic and shenanigan-riddled quest.