Chapter 7

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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.

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