Page 6 of Birds of a Feather

“That’s fifteen minutes more than last week,” Dr. Brown announced when she emerged with a triumphant smile. “Let’s check your vitals.”

Lyla sat down as a nurse slid on the blood pressure cuff and clipped the oxygen meter on her finger. Dr. Brown listened to her heart rate and breathing. Once they were done, another nurse arrived with a tray of sweets for Lyla to replenish herself with. She gobbled up half the chocolate and fruit before Dr. Brown could review her vitals.

“Your stats are looking good,” Dr. Brown announced. “I’m really pleased with your progress.”

“But not pleased enough to take me off the IV yet?” she asked as one of the nurses approached her with a new one.

“Not quite yet,” Dr. Brown replied with a note of regret. “Be patient. I think your treatment is working, even if it does seem slow to a speedy hummingbird like yourself.” She gave her a kind smile before she left to check on another of her patients.

The nurse finished setting up her new IV bag and left Lyla to eat and drink. Lyla gulped down the rest of the apple juice on the tray, noting that they usually gave her four glasses of it. Today only two. She took that as a sign she was nearing the end ofher recovery, that her body had finally started to produce more energy on its own.

“Lyla, right?” A woman with long silky black hair approached her.

“Yes,” she replied cautiously. Paranoia after being abducted and held captive wasn’t easy to get rid of. “Who are you?” She eyed up the woman for any hints as to who she was and if she was safe to converse with.

“I’m Agent Nari Lee, from the Avian Soaring Society. Mind if I sit?” Agent Lee indicated the chair next to Lyla.

“Be my guest.” Lyla shrugged. She’d met another ASS agent—Cass Sparks—and she’d been nice enough, so Lyla had no reason to be wary of Agent Lee.

“How are things going here?” Agent Lee asked. “Is FUCN’A treating you well?”

“Yeah,” Lyla said, tearing off a piece of cookie and popping it into her mouth.

Lee smiled, though it didn’t seem to touch her eyes. “I’m glad to hear that. Traditionally, they don’t specialize in birds.”

Lyla glanced around at the aviary. “They seem to be doing a pretty good job after rescuing all of Sandy’s abductees.” Referring to herself and the rest as “experiments” seemed wrong. She felt it depersonalized them in some way.

“Have you thought about what you want to do after you recover?” the agent asked, ignoring Lyla’s defense of FUC.

“Ahh…” Somehow, admitting that she planned on going back to being a barista and saving up for online classes didn’t seem like the right answer. Suddenly, she realized that those were dreams of a different Lyla, one that didn’t know what it was like to be birdnapped and experimented on. Being fully recovered and able to leave WANC seemed months away from where she was now. And while she yearned to be home, the thought of moving back in with her family wasn’t entirely what she wanted.While she loved her younger siblings, at times the nest felt a little crowded. Lyla was ready to start her own life.

As if noticing the uncertainty in her mind, Lee went on as if this was a rehearsed conversation. “ASS has its training facilities in Australia if you’re looking for a change of pace.”

A change. Lyla could use a change. But could she leave all her siblings behind? Or her job at the coffee shop—if her position was still open? There’s no way it was. Lyla had been missing for half a year prior to coming to WANC for rehab. Maybe she could find a different coffee shop to work at. But what if she wasn’t able to blend in with regular humans again? Did ASS have a tech division? Lyla did love computers, after all. The thought of leaving was enticing. Spreading her wings and finding her own nest. A bout of homesickness struck as soon as she had the thought. “I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet.”

“Think about what it might do to help your recovery, then. Do you think you’d rather be somewhere with more birds?—"

“Agent Lee!” The new voice sent a shiver down Lyla’s spine, even though it wasn’t directed at her. She turned her head to see Clarice Tertius, legendary hawk shifter, heading in their direction. Lyla couldn’t believe Clarice was in the same building as her! She’d heard so many stories about the shifter that she felt in the presence of a famous person. Albeit a crabby one.

“Shit,” Agent Lee hissed before standing. “Agent Tertius. How nice to see you.” Agent Lee’s tone implied the opposite.

“I wish I could say the same,” the former ASS agent spat, narrowing her eyes at the current ASS agent. “How many times do I need to remind you that the aviary is off-limits? No trying to poach FUCN’A patients. They’re here for recovery, not for ASS recruitment.”

“Tell that to our boss.” Lee shrugged.

“Yourboss,” Tertius retorted, wrinkling her nose in disgust. “You ASSes can try to claim me all you want, but I’m fully FUC.”

Lee ignored the statement. “You know ASS is pissed about this new aviary. They think FUC is trying to expand into ASS territory.” Lee raised her head defiantly, showing she agreed with this perspective.

“They can be as pissed as they want about it,” Tertius replied. “But just as FUC is going to stand their ground and refuse to ship off a bunch of rescued patients—ripping them away from what family and support groups they have here—they’re also damn well going to approve building structures that will enhance the patients’ quality of life. Regardless of how insecure that might make a bunch of ASSes.” A wry smile spread across her face as if she were proud of her pun.

“And I can respect that. But you have to admit there are a lot of birds here now.”

“Blame that on the slew of illegal experimenters who think the Rocky Mountains are a great place to hide their labs. If your bosses don’t want FUC to help the rescued patients, then they’re welcome to establish something in the neighborhood so they can take in whatever bird comes our way.”

“Most ASS agents hate the Canadian cold,” Lee muttered, making Lyla wonder if she was one of them. Lyla was aware that there were many ASS agents who worked for FUC “on loan,” even more now that Sandy’s lab was busted up and so many birds were now at FUCN’A recovering. “Anyway, Lyla, it was nice to meet you. Please search me out if you have any questions.” She set an ASS business card with her contact information on the tray next to Lyla. “Clarice… I wish I could say it was nice seeing you again.” With that, Agent Lee left.

“There’s no pressure for you to decide what to do once you’re released,” Agent Tertius reassured Lyla, taking the seat Agent Lee had vacated. “There’s no rush on your recovery, either.”

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