Wild Wings

Cheetah Anxiety Attack

(A/n: Based on this comic, it doesn't belong to me the credit goes to the artist.)

Once the storm cleared, it was the late afternoon, so Chris and Martin wanted to test Rowan's speed against a cheetah. 

"So, you two think you can run faster than I can fly?" Rowan had her wings tucked in as she ran alongside the brothers in tracking down a cheetah. "Yep! But let's make sure we meet back at the Tortuga when we're done."

Rowan nodded and soon heard a chirp. It sounded like a bird, so she stopped and looked around, Martin and Chris stopped with smiles on their faces. 

The girl was confused since there weren't any birds around, so she copied the sound and out of some grass came a full-grown cheetah. 

"Blur!" 

A cub then jumped out of the bushes and ran up to Martin. "Hey, Spot Swat!" 

Rowan knelt down and let the cub come up to her and sniffed her. He was a curious little guy and seemed occupied with playing with the girl's hand. 

"Activate Cheetah Power!" Rowan shielded Spot Swat and herself from the bright light of the suits activating with her wings. "A little warning would have been nice guys." 

"Sorry, Rowan." Chris then sniffed the air. "Smells like a honey badger is nearby. I'm gonna check it out." 

Martin called after his brother as Chris ran off. "Just make sure you're back before sunset!" 

The two laughed and then slowly stopped, well before Rowan yelled, "Last one to the watering hole is a baboon's red butt!" 

Rowan and Martin took off, the girl staying low to the ground so it would give the blue brother some leverage. But she pulled this move by slamming her wings down and going a few feet up before gliding down and splashing into the water before Martin could reach it. 

"That had to be cheating!" Martin crossed his arms and Rowan got out of the water, shaking out her feathers and ringing out her hair. "No, it wasn't."

"So was." 

Rowan only laughed and stretched. "I was just using what advantages I had thanks to my wings. Let's just be glad Chris isn't here to see your humiliating defeat." 

The two then looked around, the sun was starting to go down, and Martin was starting to get antsy. His cheetah ear was twitching like crazy. 

"Chris is probably just exploring. This is fine. He's surely on his way back, the sun is so deep down, he will notice any minute." The teenage girl saw how he was acting, she has seen this before. 

"Martin, take a deep breath." He didn't seem to listen as he kept talking. "And if not the sun, the Tortuga will remind him as soon as they made it back; you can't miss a gigantic turtle in the sky." 

Oh, yeah. Jimmy, Aviva, and Koki are going to get some supplies. Said they'd be back before dark. 

Martin seemed more panicked now. "But he's never this late..." 

Rowan wrapped one of her wings around the man, using it as a weighted blanket. "Easy, Martin." 

The teen could practically feel his heartbeat racing with worry. Now, Rowan has helped members of the flock with anxiety and panic attacks before. She knew what to do for them but didn't know how to help Martin. 

"Oh. That's new." Seems he could feel what was happening. "Martin, can you tell me about cheetahs?" 

Rowan thought maybe a distraction could help. "Okay...cheetahs are nervous by nature, so this is normal." 

So, it was the suit that was making him act this way. "But how do they stop this?" 

Martin was trying to rack his brain. "They stop this by...uh..." 

Rowan didn't know what to do. She knew how to fight while flying, how to weave through trees without flapping her wings, how to draw, and copy sounds...copy sounds. 

The girl let out a cheetah chirp, then Martin let out some of his own after Rowan did. It seems to have worked for a bit, but his anxiety was a little strong because his attack was back. 

"Martin, listen..." Rowan could hear footsteps and Martin heard them too. It was Chris, he was back, and he looked worried. 

"Bro, Rowan, are you two alright?!" Chris skidded to a stop. "I'm so sorry, I lost track of time, and I really was on my way here, before I heard you-! What happened?! Are you two hurt?!" 

Martin calmed down enough now, and his heartrate was back to normal. "Sorry, sorry...I just got a cheetah anxiety attack. I'm good. Rowan helped a bit by copying the cheetah chirp." 

Five seconds later, both Chris and Martin were on each side of Rowan and under her wings as the three were in a cheetah cuddle pile. 

"Rowan, your wings are a good, weighted blanket." This made the girl chuckle. "Yeah, I have been told." 

"You have?" 

"I used to help the flock when an anxiety or panic attack happens. Max got them a lot, so I was the one the others would get when that happens. I was the mom of the group, not just the puzzle solver." 

They stayed in the cuddle pile for a while, the bros were purring like cheetahs too it was kinda cute. 

Soon the stars were out as the Tortuga landed to see the three now star gazing, Martin and Chris deactivating the cheetah power as they watched the sky. 

It was a beautiful night sky.