"It was before noon," Talon said dryly, not looking up.
"You two suck so much," Sabrina spat. She turned her wheelchair with a sharp, angry pivot and went back into her room, slamming the door shut behind her.
Kev and Talon looked at each other. "I didn't think she'd be so upset," Kev said.
Talon frowned and yelled at the door, "Are you coming swimming, sister?"
"Fuck off, you assholes!" Sabrina yelled back. "Get out of my apartment!"
Talon looked deflated. He stood and put his dishes in the kitchen. "Just give me a second," he said before going into his room to change.
Only minutes later, they were exiting the club and walking out into the backyard. "We really need to get Sabrina down into the club at night," Kev said.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Talon murmured. "The west wing is a bit... hedonistic."
"I know," Kev said. "That was my first time walking through it too. But she's obviously bored. The east wing wasn't so bad, though." They stepped onto the pool's deck, the sun already making the smooth surface hot to the touch. Kev tossed his towel on one of the chairs. "I remember my first week. I was losing my mind with boredom, but at least Fang was entertaining me during the night. Sabrina doesn't have that."
"Sister is a little bit stubborn. If I try to tell her to do something, she'll just fight against it," Talon said before diving into the pool.
Kev pulled his shirt off, the sun warm on his bare skin. Talon was right; Sabrina definitely wasn't the type of girl to take directions from others. He'd have to think of another way to get her out of her room. He dove in too, the cool water a welcome shock.
Today, Kev decided to teach Talon a bit about breath control. He watched Talon practice his breaststroke for a few laps. The eagleman was a natural athlete, his movements powerful and increasingly efficient, but Kev noticed he was lifting his head out of the water with every single pull, a slight gasp accompanying each movement.
When Talon reached the edge, Kev swam over. "You're getting really good," he began, "but you're tiring yourself out. You don't have to breathe on every stroke."
He explained that as you get better and better at swimming, you learn how to pace your breathing. "Think about it like running," Kev said, treading water easily. "A short sprint might allow you to burn your oxygen and push your body, but for a longer swim, you need a steady rhythm. Breathing every two or three strokes keeps you more streamlined and saves energy too. The swimmer has to weigh the pros and cons, speed versus endurance."
"That is quite interesting. I didn't know there was much strategy in swimming," Talon said, listening intently, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"It's something you would have figured out subconsciously," Kev said with a shrug. "Your body would just find a more efficient rhythm over time. This just speeds up the process."
Talon nodded, a flicker of genuine appreciation in his sharp eyes. "It's nice to have someone fill you in on the details."
As their swim continued, Kev had to excuse himself when he felt the sun begin to prick at his skin. He toweled off and pulled a joint from his shirt pocket before walking over to the bench under the oak tree. He struck a match and lit the joint, the fragrant smoke a familiar comfort.
As he watched Talon swim, the smooth glide of the eagleman's strokes a testament to his quick learning, the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end. He looked over his shoulder but didn't see anyone, except one of the cleaners who was snipping away at a hedge a respectful distance away, her movements placid and rhythmic.
Kev's eyes scanned the surroundings once more before he saw them. Two shadowed figures standing in the conservatory, their forms dark silhouettes against the bright interior, looking through the glass directly at him. He couldn't tell who they were; the two silhouettes were hard to discern, one large and one smaller.
Kev, feeling a mix of curiosity and slight unease, waved his hand at them.
The smaller shadow stiffened and then ducked low, disappearing from view. The larger one looked over at the smaller shadow's position and then reached down, pulling the smaller one back up. The small shadow then began waving their arms animatedly at the large one before, in a sudden, unmistakable gesture, wings popped out from their back.
Kev looked back at Talon swimming, wondering if he should get his attention. The display in the conservatory was odd, almost theatrical. When Kev looked back, the shadows were gone. He stubbed out his joint on the bench leg, carefully tucking the remainder back into his case, and walked back to the pool.
As he finished putting his things away, just before he jumped into the water, a deep voice called out. "Excuse us, but are you busy, Mr. Kev sir?"
Kev caught himself mid-jump and nearly fell into the pool, his arms windmilling for a second before he regained his balance. He turned and saw the two figures approach, one large, one smaller, the same silhouettes from the conservatory, now resolving into familiar faces in the bright sunlight.
Kaiote was unmistakable. She wore a large, dark grey sweatshirt with the hood pulled so far over her face that only the tip of her beak and a sliver of her dark, intelligent eyes were visible. She was squinting, glancing around the sunny backyard as if it were the first time she had seen natural light, her movements small and hesitant. She looked like a creature of the night dragged unwillingly into the harsh glare of day.
Next to her, a solid, reassuring presence, was Barry. The grizzly bear bouncer, whom Kev hadn't seen in nearly two weeks, looked enormous and powerful, a walking mountain of fur and muscle. He was dressed in a suit, but it was a bizarre one: a full, three-piece ensemble tailored from green forest camouflage fabric. The pattern, designed to blend into woodland, made him stick out spectacularly against the manicured green lawn and shimmering blue water. It was a strange, almost comical choice of attire for a bouncer at a luxury nightclub. He walked with a slow, deliberate gait, one massive paw hovering near Kaiote's back, seemingly encouraging her forward. The odd couple approached the pool, their contrasting forms a surreal sight in the bright, cheerful backyard.
"Kaiote, and... Barry, right?" Kev greeted, a friendly smile on his face. "I'm not busy at all. What can I do for you?"
"Well, Kaiote here," Barry said, his voice a deep, gentle rumble as he nudged the crow woman forward, "she had a bit of free time and wanted to come by and say hi. Isn't that right?"
Kaiote looked up at Barry for a long moment before turning to Kev and saying, her voice a soft, hesitant caw, "I, uh... saw you two swimming and it looked like it might be fun."
Kev smiled. "If you ever want to swim, feel free."
Kaiote wasn't looking at Kev anymore, though. She was staring at Talon, who was still doing laps, oblivious to the world around him as he worked out. Barry nudged Kaiote again. "Yes," she murmured, her gaze still fixed on the eagleman in the water. "I think I want to swim now."
Barry laughed loudly, the sound a happy boom in the sunny backyard. "See? I told you they'd let you join!" He then looked down at Kev with a big smile. "She's been talking about this for a few days now. We didn't see you out here yesterday, though."
"It's no problem at all, the more the merrier," Kev's voice trailed off as he noticed Kaiote, who had kicked off her shoes, begin to shakily pull off her sweatshirt.
Barry grinned and helped her, grabbing the heavy fabric so she could snake out of it. Underneath, she wore what looked like a surfer's full-body rash guard, a sleek, all-black suit that covered her from her neck to her wrists and ankles. Kev choked back a surprised laugh at the sight of the incredibly modest swimwear.
Once she was free of her sweatshirt, Kaiote looked at the water and said, her voice a mixture of nervousness and determination, "Swimming doesn't look hard," and then, without another word, she jumped into the pool.
The crow immediately sank to the bottom of the pool like a stone, thrashing and kicking, a flurry of panicked black against the bright blue tiles. Kev and Barry were stunned. Did she really just jump into the deep end without ever having swum before?
After a moment of frozen disbelief, alarm bells rang in Kev's mind. He and Barry both looked at each other, yelling, "Oh, shit!"
Kev turned, ready to dive into the pool, but there was already a second form in the water near the flailing black bird. With a powerful push off the bottom, Talon shot to the surface, pulling Kaiote up with him. He held on to her waist as she thrashed violently, her arms and legs windmilling in a desperate attempt to stay afloat. She gasped and coughed loudly as she broke the surface, yelling, "Help! Help!"
Barry moved quickly. Down on his hands and knees at the pool's edge, he reached out a massive paw and grasped Kaiote's thrashing arm, pulling her out of the water and onto the side of the pool, where she landed with a wet slap.
Talon was out of the water in a flash, his wings puffed out, his sharp eyes wide with alarm. He immediately straddled the prone and gasping Kaiote. He quickly moved down and, tilting her head back, the moment his beak touched hers she went completely still.
"Dammit!" Talon yelled, his voice raw with panic. "We're losing her!" He moved down, folded his hands over her chest, and yelled, "I'm doing compressions! Stand back!"
But before he could push down, Barry grabbed Talon by the shoulder and pulled him off the crow.
Talon looked up at the bear, his voice a frantic squawk. "I'm doing CPR! Why did you stop me?!"
Kev put his hand on Talon's shoulder and said, his voice calm, "I think she's okay."
"She almost drowned!" Talon gasped, his eyes wild. "She went still! Let me save her!"
"Shut up, eagle," Barry laughed, the deep sound rumbling in his chest. "I think you almost gave her a heart attack."
Talon looked down at Kaiote. She was staring straight up into the air, her dark eyes wide and unfocused, her chest rising and falling in a slow, steady rhythm. A single trickle of blood leaked from her nose.
"Oh no, she's bleeding!" Talon tried to move towards her again but was pulled back once more by Barry's firm grip.
"Slow your roll," Barry rumbled, and then his voice softened. "Kaiote, I told you swimming isn't as easy as it looks."
Still not moving, her gaze fixed on the endless blue sky, Kaiote murmured, her voice a dreamy, faraway whisper, "Swimming is awesome."