Dylan was the first to see the approachers' faces, thanks to his ability.
"There's five of them, all bird kids. Two of them are carrying two others, one apiece, and the littler one is holding what looks like a cat. Three are boys, two girls."
"Carrying?" I asked. "I thought you said they were all bird kids."
Dylan squinted. "They're unconscious. One boy and one girl, they're alike enough to be siblings, close enough in age to be twins."
"ETA?" Iggy asked.
"Not long." Gazzy replied. "Are you sure Angel will be okay, Max?" he looked over at his gagged and bound little sister.
"Do you trust her? She's gotten better, mind you, but I don't want a repeat of last time"
Come on, Max. Angel's voice said in my head. I'll be good.
Not on your life. I thought in her direction.
"Incoming."
The new bird kids land on the deck next to the flock.
"We won't hurt you." the older boy said. He had shaggy, chocolate brown hair; glasses; and wings the color of his hair with a maroon sheen.
"In fact, we need your help." The girl had wavy blonde hair, and white wings with silvery streaks and tan dots. "The twins had another psychic attack, but all it normally does is give them a headache. This time, they passed out, and nothing we can do will get them to wake back up."
"Psychic attack?" I asked.
"That's their special thing," the boy said. "By the way, I'm Evan, and the twins are Eric and Erin." The twins had reddish-blonde hair.
"My name is Emma," the girl said. "This little guy is Eckl (like Dr. Jekyll), and our cat is Esme." She patted the shoulder of the younger boy. He had sandy, tan hair; glasses; and grayish-blue wings with darker blue veins. The cat, Esme, was a gray tabby with a blue collar.
Esme meowed, and Eckl tapped Emma on the shoulder and made a set of hand movements.
"Oh. Eckl wants to know if he can put Esme down. She wants to stretch her legs after the flight."
"As long as she doesn't fall. Come in, all of you, you guys must be exhausted." Dylan said, grabbed Angel, and opened the door.
After everyone was inside, and Eric and Erin were propped up on the couch, Iggy disappeared in to the kitchen, only for amazing smells to waft out minutes later.
"So, what do you guys like to eat? These audio cookbooks have everything and anything."
Emma cringed. "Isn't he blind?"
"Doesn't stop him from being the best cook out of all of us." Gazzy said. And he's right. Iggy makes a mean lasagna.
"Japanese hibachi?" Evan asked. "Fried rice, teriyaki chicken, the works? Some vegetarian for Eckl?"
"Coming right up."
Soon after, the twins' noses started twitching. They simultaneously bolt upright with a start.
"Where are we?" they say at the same time.
"Ah, there you two are. You passed out after your latest attack and we had to bring you here, to Max and her flock. We're safe, it's alright." Emma said.
They sighed. "Safe enough to take a short stretch before we eat?" Eric said.
"Because whatever that is, it smells really good." Erin finished.
"Thank you!" Iggy called from the kitchen.
"Sure." Nudge said. "This place is great for flying. I'll show you around," she looked at me, "right, Max?"
"Fine, fine," I said.
"And, um, I don't want to be rude, but why is she tied up? And trying to get me to untie her with her thoughts?" Emma said after Nudge and the twins had left.
I had forgotten about Angel. "Dylan, could you untie Angel? I think she'll be okay."
Dylan did, and Angel stood up and rubbed her wrists.
"She has a leadership complex." Dylan explained.
"It's complicated." I said.
Eckl opened his bag and pulled out a bag of cat food and a bowl. He shook the bag and meowed. And I mean meowed, it sounded exactly like a cat. Esme trotted over and waited as Eckl poured her food into the bowl.
"How did he do that?" I asked.
"That's what Eckl does," Evan responded, "He talks to animals. Any animal. He talks to Esme all the time. But he can't speak English or any other human language, so he either writes or uses his version of sign language. He understands English, he just can't speak it."
"And like we said before, the twins are psychic. Telepathic and telekinetic. They see things from time to time too, and that's what we call a psychic attack."
"What do you two do?" Gazzy asked. "Is it something cool, like shooting laser beams out of your eyes, or walking through walls?"
"Actually," Evan said, "Emma and I don't know what our special is. We know that none of us are related but the twins, but that doesn't help much."
I knew the feeling. It had taken forever for my hyper-speed special to surface.
"It's okay. It was awhile before I found out what mine was. How old are you five?"
"Eckl's around eleven or twelve, and the rest of us are about fourteen- or fifteen-ish."
"Does Esme do anything?"
"We don't think so. She hasn't done anything yet, and Eckl has asked her a couple times, but she doesn't know either. We don't even know what her recombinant DNA is."
Iggy walked out of the kitchen and dusted his hands on his apron. "It's ready. Call Nudge, will you Angel?"
Evan and Emma stood up. "The twins are a bit show-offy, but it is cool to watch them." Emma said. "Come see."
I stood up and walked to the deck, followed by Gazzy, Iggy, and Dylan.
What caught my attention first was the color of Eric and Erin's wings.
"We think they got DNA from a tropical bird." Evan said.
Their wings were like fire, and with the sun glinting off of them, I almost believed they were. They were every color from red to yellow and every shade of orange in-between. There was a metallic quality to them that made them shine in the sun. A more intense version of their hair color.
Their flying was pretty good too. I knew I wouldn't have to go through the same routine with them that I went through with Dylan. Heck, they could teach me a thing or two.
"Time to eat, guys!" I heard Nudge call from above.
They were on the deck in a heartbeat.
"Had fun, you two?" Evan asked the twins.
"Can't talk. Need food that makes good smell." Eric said, and raced into the kitchen.
"Thanks... Nudge, right? It was nice of you to show us around." Erin carefully folded her wings in.
"You're welcome."