6.6: Troubled Gliding

Brooklyn was becoming worried about his rookery brother. Broadway had been so enthusiastic about coming on this sight-seeing trip, going to see some of the New Orleans attractions mentioned in Martha's books. Brooklyn knew the Musée Conti Historical Wax Museum had been one of those sights, since he'd read A Dish to Die For and remembered the scene where Irmina had escaped from pursuers by hiding in the midst of the tableau about the 'casket girls'.

And when they'd gotten to the museum and sneaked inside, Brooklyn had found himself entranced by the incredible detail to the waxwork sculptures—he would have sworn they'd been humans somehow frozen in time, except for their scents being wrong—and by Lucretia's storytelling ability; her words brought each tableau to life for them. Brooklyn didn't consider himself a history buff, but he'd really enjoyed himself… as much as Broadway apparently hadn't.

Every time Brooklyn had glanced at his rookery brother, he'd seen the same glum/irritated expression, as if Broadway would rather be anywhere else than there. Which made absolutely no sense, since the main reason Broadway had learned to read at all, was to learn for himself stories like the ones Lucretia had been telling!

Now, as they snuck back out of the museum and began the climb up to a good launching point, Brooklyn murmured to Yvette, "Listen, not that I don't enjoy gliding with you, but I'm going to help out my brother for the next trip. I think we need to talk."

"Of course, cher Brooklyn! Your brother's well-being is important, and I'm not so foolish as to be jealous of that," Yvette whispered back with a smile, and ran a quick talon through his mane before speeding up a bit to climb up the building just ahead of him. Which gave him a magnificent view of her gently swaying tail with its spade-shaped tip, and her bare oh my, what a view…

Now was not the time to get an erection, dammit! He had to talk to Broadway, and find out what was wrong with his rookery brother! Focus on Broadway, Brook, not on what you are not going to get into tonight, he sternly told himself. 'Three dates' rule, remember? No getting too cozy with anybody until after three dates! But it was still awfully hard to tear his gaze away, and it took remembering in graphic detail the last time he'd reluctantly changed little Alex's poopy diaper, before the tent in his loincloth subsided.

Once he'd made it up to the roof, he turned to wait for Broadway and Angela, climbing right behind him. "My turn to be your left wing, bro'," was all he said as Broadway reached the roof.

Climbing right up behind Broadway, Angela opened her mouth as if to protest, but then closed it and looked quietly frustrated and miserable. No doubt she'd been planning to take another try at being Broadway's wing-mate, as she had before when they'd left the safe house… but that attempt hadn't worked out too well. They'd struggled along for about a block or so before Cassius had ordered them to ground themselves on the nearest rooftop, and took over on Broadway's left side. Cassius had loudly announced that helping a guest glide was the host's job, and he didn't want to neglect his duties, but everyone knew he was just covering over the fact that Angela just didn't know how to glide in tandem.

It wasn't really her fault that she didn't know how; she'd been raised on Avalon by human guardians, and most of her warrior's training had consisted of "pounce on it and start clawing", with a smattering of training on whatever weapons Guardian Tom had made or brought back from his travels. She hadn't started really learning how to fight, let alone fight in midair, until after she'd left with Goliath on the World Tour. And until less than a month ago, she'd never even considered the possibility that she'd have to help someone in the air who was just too big to carry.

Angela's very first experience at assisted gliding had been the night of Hudson's surgery, when she and Goliath had arrived at the hospital to find that another fight against the Quarrymen had been already won, and Hudson, his good eye bandaged over after surgery, was in need of assistance to get home. Goliath reportedly hadn't said a word when, after he'd stationed himself on one side of Hudson while preparing to launch into the air, Angela had placed herself on the other side and mirrored his movements, folding in the wing on Hudson's side while slipping her arm around his waist. But less than 300 feet after clearing the hospital, Goliath had gently told her to disengage and fly solo, while he supported Hudson himself.

Hudson told the others that he'd said aloud as he'd extended his free wing, "Aye, I'm not entirely helpless; didn't I just prove that against those Quarry-Rats?" But as he'd privately told Goliath and the Trio later, he'd privately feared being torn apart or dropped if she tried to 'help' him anymore; the lass had no idea of how to coordinate her wing movements with a partner, and every cross breeze had jerked them about like an ill-made kite on a string!

Angela just had no practice at a skill that everyone who'd been raised at Wyvern learned well before they were declared adults; it was part of the standard warrior training, and even rookery keepers learned how to do it in case of emergencies. Hudson had privately insisted to Goliath that she receive remedial training in tandem gliding, and any other warrior skills she proved deficient in, but with everything that had happened in the two weeks since then—the P.I.T. meetings, Maggie's birthday party, the funeral for Anne's husband, the bachelor and bachelorette parties, Goliath and Elisa's wedding, being penned in by the Quarrymen's helicopters, Broadway's brush with death, and coming down to New Orleans to meet a new clan and experience everything they had down here… Remedial tandem training hadn't been the only thing neglected lately.

But Brooklyn remembered his training just fine, so he was able to help Broadway into the air and glide in tandem with relative ease. Lucretia and Cassius led the way while Angela followed behind them, and after a minute or so of gliding Yvette blew him a kiss before dropping back to Angela's position.

Brooklyn let the sounds of the city fill their ears for another minute or two, before saying to Broadway quietly and simply, "Want to talk about it?"

"No."

Well, he couldn't exactly put Broadway in a half-nelson and force him to talk, could he? Particularly not when he was focused on coordinating their wings and compensating for their different configurations and size differential. Since Broadway had to be at least halfway preoccupied by the same task, Brooklyn fell silent and continued following their leaders to the next tourist attraction, Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World. Hopefully Broadway's mood would improve soon…

To be continued…