Chapter Seven

Gymnasium hall, 0630am

Wren couldn't stop yawning, each one seeming to stretch his mouth farther open until it popped and hurt his ears. Akifa was in a similar state, his hair still a tangled, fluffy mess with a pair of black shades over his blood shot eyes, and a pair of earplugs in to help keep the noise to a minimum. Apparently whatever drink he offered last night, had a terrible fight early in the morning when Kimi and Cam both came to pick them up and take them to the gym. Wren was sitting low, almost leaning against Akifa for a pillow as the pilot leaned up against the alien, making the perfect arm rest height for him as the two swayed and yawned on and off.

"C'mon you two, look alive! You've been dilly-dallying for a whole day, you gotta stay in shape! Wren, your doctor wanted you to practice in the pool more while we take Akifa and have him work on sparring. I promise we'll buy you guys breakfast later," Kimi explained, wearing a bright clash of neon yellow and pink in the form of leggings and sports bra as Cam wore only a belted kilt of red and black slung over his hips as he worked on a pair of weights with his arms, doing a series of lunges and lifts with his arms, his calves wrapped in weights as well.

(I can't even think clearly... if I drown, please come get me.) Wren yawned once more, popping his jaw loudly as Akifa startled and tried to catch his balance once his arm reset crawled away. He grumbled, ruffling his hair as Kimi came over and took off his sunglasses.

"Seriously?!"

"Uugh, you were drinking? I thought you weren't allowed!" she whispered, furrowing her brow as Akifa groaned, rubbing his forehead.

"I don't... We were celebrating because I was helping Wren practice his talking last night, using his actual voice and vocal chords. We were practicing so he wouldn't be stuck using telepathy on people who hated it. His doctor recommended it," he added, taking out the ear plugs with a hiss and shaking his head to try and clear the noise as he stepped over to a stretching mat.

"Well... it still doesn't give you an excuse to over indulge, especially as one of the ace pilots, Anubis." Kimi emphasized his call-sign, which told Akifa she was really pissed about the hangover, but he didn't honestly care enough this morning.

Leaning down, he slowly started stretching out his arms, legs, and back, hearing it click and pop loudly. He closed his eyes, working on a small set of yoga to help clear his head as his thoughts extended, whispering lightly as Wren's ears flicked in the water.

(Mm? Akifa? Are you trying to reach me?)

Hey sorry, I got really bored. Oracle's all pissed at me for being hungover, and Cam's just being a mountain of muscle, so not all that talkative. I figure I'd check in and see how you were doing, and it helps me work on my telepathy with you, right? Akifa chuckled to himself, leaving the headphones in to help him concentrate as he started on working with a twenty pound medicine ball.

(Well, so far, it's sort of getting better? I'm still bad at these darts in deeper depths, it's hard to track them. But I got it shaved to ten minutes trying to get about 15 darts. Doc has me working on laps now, but with making as little noise as possible.) Wren's voice seemed to pant a little in Akifa's head, telling him how hard the Icer was working to get back in top apex predator condition to please the therapist.

Well good luck. I'm just going to do some light stretches, but see if she'll let you check out the sparring ring. Wouldn't hurt to work on defending yourself, Akifa responded, glancing up as he finished getting his muscles to lightly burn.

"C'mon Anubis, I'll take you in the ring," Cam offered, chuckling as he headed to the ring, Akifa groaning softly.

"Seriously? You'll murder me with a bitch slap, Cam! So outmatched..." he grumbled, heading over into the next room where multiple rings were set up, some in normal gravity while others hovered inside a tank, some with water, and some just in zero gravity.

"Yay..." Akifa groaned, following Cam into a dirt ring as he sighed, taking a slow breath as he stripped off his top, wearing only the cargos and wrapping tape around his hands and wrists.

"Okay... the usual?" Cam nodded, raising his monster fists as Akifa took a low stance, mildly thankful Camulus hated the 0G tanks as much as he did. With the dirt ring, he knew he could take Camulus as long as he stayed smart and quick on his feet.

"Ready...? Go!" Cam shouted, going to Akifa who stayed low, spinning to swipe out with a leg, barely catching the back of Cam's knee before getting snatched up by Cam's hand clutching at his ankle as Akifa snarled. Twisting his body out of Cam's hold, he rolled to land on his feet, charging to tackle Cam's waist while his fingers jammed into Cam's nerve centers around his lower back.

"You damned jackal...!" Camulus snarled, grabbing Akifa before tossing him against the dirt mound.

"Fuck you, you damned monster of muscle... Who enjoys picking on the little guy, besides I never fight clean," he smirked, getting up as he noticed Wren walking in with the therapist who sat at the sides, watching the match.

Hey big guy.

(Hi... you look a little sore.) Akifa laughed before getting swiped and slammed into the ground, Cam's palm crushing the air out of his chest as he coughed, growling as he boxed Cam's ears once he leaned to get his hands in range, grinning as he rolled out from under Cam's hold. Standing back up, he stayed crouched, grinning wide as he watched Camulus slowly stand back up, rubbing the side of his head.

"Oi... I remember why I hated fighting you. Let's switch out... Oracle, get in here!" Cam hollered, Kimi skipping over as Akifa held up his hands.

"Whoa whoa, I don't think so... Let's have Wren try it out." Akifa got out of the ring as Wren stepped forward, his claws clicking uncomfortably on the floor of the ring as he glanced to Kimi who smiled brightly.

"It's okay, there's no "right way" to fight, just spar. It's a workout, just relax," she advised, smiling as she took a simple stance of lifting her arms and her left leg.

"Oh Oracle... that's kick boxing." Wren, please don't get close to her, she's using a powerful kicking fight style called kickboxing. It's meant to break bones...

(I'll be careful, I promise.) Wren growled low, crouching on all fours as his tail slid through the dirt, almost hiding itself completely. He watched Kimi as she came forward, lashing out with a roundhouse kick as he moved, his tail snatching her leg as it tossed her aside. Kimi stumbled, trying to get footing as she twirled and spun out another kick, this time catching Wren's shoulder who grabbed her ankle and tossed her away.

(Are you sure I'm doing this right?)

Relax, you're fine. Just focus on you, don't worry about Oracle. Akifa offered a smile as Wren pounced to Kimi, rolling with her as he pinned her down, his tail tip pressed to her neck.

"Oh... that was fast! OK, OK, round one goes to you, definitely!" Kimi smiled, suddenly using both legs to rabbit kick Wren in the chest, pushing him off onto his bottom as she hopped up, taking another stance. Wren coughed softly, shaking himself as he hissed, baring his teeth.

(This is annoying...) He growled low, crouching low as his tail whipped out, snapping at her feet to make her dodge farther away from him as he coiled tight. Akifa noticed Wren was leading Kimi towards him without her noticing, too focused on his tail until Wren pounced again. This time, Kimi turned and grabbed Wren's body, rolling him onto his back as she kept her footing, standing over him.

"Ha! I win!" Kimi smiled brightly as Cam hummed in thought.

"I'm not sure who to help him train with. No one on this ship has wings, a tail, and long limbs like him. He may need a teacher to help," Cam suggested, chuckling as Wren coughed softly.

(Can I stop? I'm tired of losing oxygen...) He groaned, rolling slowly over as Akifa smiled, going over to help him up.

"It's okay, you did very well..." He helped Wren stand back up as an alarm rang out, everyone stopping their exercise before running out.

(What's going on?!)

"Easy, it's just the lunch rush hour... hopefully. Sometimes, we tend to get attacked around this time." Akifa helped Wren up as they went towards the changing room, going to the showers.

"C'mon, you don't want to be the one stinking up the whole area," Akifa added, chuckling as Cam went by, grumbling to himself. Wren sniffed at the showers as they started up, spraying them with water as Wren shook himself off, standing slowly as he sighed, closing his eyes.

(So much quieter...) Wren hummed softly, glancing over as Akifa stripped his clothes off, tossing them into a bin before bringing over some small bottles.

"Shampoo, conditioner, if you use that, and body wash. Easy." He handed Wren a bottle before washing himself up, Wren starting to unbraid and straighten his hair before washing it slowly. Akifa watched him cautiously using his claws to help scratch and clean himself as Akifa went behind him, keeping a hand on his arm.

"It's okay, just relax. You can't get your back or tail, so let me," he muttered, soaping up a simple moss sponge before using it on Wren's stumps and the spine, scrubbing it carefully until he hit the tail. He hummed softly, testing the scales as he swapped to a rougher bar, starting to scrub away at the scales as he whistled low.

"Whoa..." His eyes widened as the dull, matte black scales scrubbed and cleaned away to reveal a deep dark blue, small flecks of light amidst the dark scales as the tip revealed streaks of the same bright blue of Wren's talons.

"That's a hell of a clean scrub."

(Oh gods, Akifa, what did you do? That felt amazing...!) Wren whined softly, kicking his leg like a dog as Akifa laughed softly.

"Just gave you a mean scrubbing. Feel better?"

(I think I can breathe through my tail now!) He mewled, glancing around at Akifa who offered a bright smile, his nose and scar crinkling over as another alarm went off, this one more a klaxon as Akifa glanced up.

"And that... is an attack drill. C'mon, time to show you what I'm really good at!" Akifa grabbed Wren, pulling them from the shower as they washed themselves off, drying along a similar hall of bamboo plants before dressing quickly. Akifa grabbed Wren's hand, racing off to the elevator as Wren looked up, his ears flicking at the dull sounds outside the ship.

(There's a lot...)

"I know buddy, it's gonna be noisy, but have a little faith. To the hangar, now!" he barked at the elevator, the doors opening as they jumped in, suddenly moving down to the hangar.