“We need some time away from all this,” sighed Jerry.
Marcy stepped back in surprise as her former bra started talking before she could even enter the Venn Machine. Before she knew what was happening, he’d stepped out and the machine had closed once more. “But it’s my turn to be a pet,” she protested.
“We’ve been alternating weeks as pet and bra for three months now. We have a long weekend ahead of us. Spend it human with me?”
Marcy looked longingly at the Venn Machine. “As a tiny human instead of a cat, this time?”
“Please, Marcy. We spend all our time together, and we never really see each other any more.” Jerry held his arms open for a hug.
Marcy snuggled up against him, then closed her eyes and sighed happily. “Oh. Right. I had forgotten.” She tucked herself under his arm, still holding him in a half hug as they walked out of the mall. “What do you want to do?”
“Get as far away from Venn Machines as we can. There’s this nice little town on a lake, maybe an hour and a half’s drive from here. My folks used to take us there in the summer. It’s beautiful.”
“Sounds idyllic. Let’s go!”
*** *** ***
“I swear, it was just a little town,” moaned Jerry, as they drove past hotel after hotel.
“Still is, just... it’s half hotel now. Oooh! Look!” exclaimed Marcy excitedly, pointing off to the side.
Jerry hit the brakes. “Oh no.”
“A Venn Machine!”
“Come on, let’s see if we can find our hotel before you turn me into a bathing suit.”
“Hey, it’s my turn to change, buster, and don’t you forget it.” Marcy gave Jerry a playful poke as she spoke.
Jerry grinned. “As you wish, pet. I’d hate to miss out on the sights, after all.”
“Better.”
Their hotel was around the corner from the Venn Machine, much to Jerry’s feigned annoyance and Marcy’s delight. Twenty minutes after checking in, they were walking back to the Venn Machine. Marcy was the first to notice the sandwich board standing beside it, advertising Venn Aerial Tours.
A tanned guy about Jerry’s age was standing beside the board, and nodded to them amicably. Marcy asked about the tours, and that got a smile and a handshake as Dylan introduced himself.
Marcy asked what the tours were about, and Dylan’s smile faded. “I’m a little understaffed, I’ve only got three guys that can take tourists up right now, and they’re all out flying right now. I Venn them into eagles for the day, and the passengers get to be a flight harness.”
Jerry’s brow wrinkled. “How does that work? You can’t see anything when you’re clothing.”
Dylan’s grin returned as he gesticulated his way through an explanation. “We stumbled on a way around that, by turning my buddy into a camera harness so we could record one of our flights. He could see everything! Turns out all you need is some sort of lens and you’re good to go.”
Jerry’s eyes went very wide. “Oh, wow. That changes everything. How much for a run?”
Dylan named a modest price. “If you can wait an hour or so, we should have someone back. Often the passengers are keen to stay up longer, though...”
Jerry’s confusion returned. “But how would your eagle know?”
“Little speakers in the harness, works about the same as the cameras. It’s kinda one-way, we haven’t figured out how to make it so eagles can talk yet, without losing their flight instincts. We also clip on a GPS transponder so we have some idea where everyone is. Oh, and a timer. Don’t want to change back mid-air, after all.”
“Ewwww,” said Marcy. “That would be messy.”
“We’ve been careful, so we haven’t had to find out the hard way. Want me to give you two a call when the next bird is ready?”
Marcy looked at Jerry speculatively. “How hard is it to learn how to fly? I’d love to try being an eagle, and carry my sweetie up there to see the views.”
“Once you’re up in the sky, it’s fairly easy. Takeoffs and landings... not so much. It helps if you can listen to the bird’s instincts, but most people tend to tense up as they land and...” Dylan slapped one hand into the other, miming a hard landing. “It’s a good thing you can’t get permanently injured.”
Marcy nodded pensively. “We’ve run into that before. Being a mouse was fun until Jerry forgot to close the door and the family cat found me. I’m not afraid of getting smacked around a bit. Sign me up.”
Dylan gestured to the Venn Machine. “After you.”
A minute later, an alarmingly large eagle hopped its way out of the Venn Machine. “Marcy?” breathed Jerry. “You look amazing.”
Marcy let out a raucous squawk, then fanned her wings. Her wingspan was easily eight feet across. Jerry took a step back in alarm, then grinned. “Wow. I can’t wait to be your harness.”
Dylan looked at him oddly. “You sure? First hour’s mostly going to be crashing.”
Jerry grinned at Marcy. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
Marcy eyed him fiercely, which only made his grin bigger.
*** *** ***
It took three tries, each boosted by a heave from Dylan, to get Marcy airborne. Once she was up and climbing, Jerry guided her toward the nearby parking lot, which Dylan claimed made for excellent updrafts in sunny weather like they were having.
Soon they were hundreds of feet above the ground, and rising slowly higher as Marcy circled. “This is amazing!” cheered Jerry from his speaker. “Being worn and able to see and talk... and the views!”
Marcy screeched an affirmative. The lake was bounded by tree-shrouded mountains on three sides. The views from the lakeshore had been one thing, but up this high it was truly spectacular.
They soared out over the lake, staying close to the coastline to avoid a water landing. Marcy had to make more use of her wings without a ready updraft, and at Jerry’s urging started getting used to maneuvering with wings and tail. She tucked her wings in tight to her body and dove for the lake, building up tremendous speed, then flaring her wings and soaring back into the sky. Marcy chuckled her glee, and Jerry cheered.
Part-way around the lake, Marcy spotted a tall tree sticking up well above its neighbours, and veered toward it. Jerry tried to warn her away, but she determinedly approached it, flaring her wings as she closed, and letting instinct grab a branch. She chuffed her pleasure at the difficult landing, while Jerry grumbled.
The view from the tree was pretty, Jerry conceded after a time. He also admitted it was a clever idea, as Marcy could drop from the branch and glide away, simplifying takeoff.
After a rest, Marcy did just that, barely clearing the lower branches before she got enough speed to glide away from the tree. She angled over the lake again, and laboured her way back to a safer cruising height.
After the second hour alarm beeped, Jerry urged Marcy to head back. Marcy squawked her displeasure, but angled back toward town. Before long, she was lining up on a grassy park near the lakeshore, the same one she’d launched from. Jerry softly talked her down, and she touched down gently... then her claws dug in and she toppled forward onto her beak.
Marcy grumbled indignantly, but was soon cheered up by Jerry. He talked her through a quick self-check, but other than a few mussed feathers she was fine.
Before long, Marcy was hopping her way along the sidewalk, back to Dylan and the Venn Machine. Tourists gawped, but the locals seemed to take her presence in stride.
Dylan grinned to see them, and set the Venn Machine up so they could change back.
“Well?” he asked as they emerged.
“Awesome!” cheered Marcy. “I wanted to stay out longer, but my wings were getting a little tired.”
“Yeah, you need to learn to find thermals that let you glide and rest. Once you get the hang of that, you can stay up all day.”
Marcy nodded. “I bet. How much does the job pay?”
Jerry raised an eyebrow. “Job?”
“C’mon, we’re doing scutwork back home and you know it. Sure, the job lets us swap off, and that’s great... but we could be eagles! How cool is that?”
Jerry grinned at her enthusiasm. “I’m not sure I’m cut out for being an eagle.”
“You were pretty helpful on my first flight,” mused Marcy. “Maybe you could be a training harness?”
Dylan nodded. “That sounds good. The hard part is getting new guys past the training stages. An experienced harness would be just the thing. Eagles make half the fee, plus any tips. And the tourists here tip very well indeed. It isn’t enough to pay for a hotel room every night, but I know some folks here willing to take in boarders. Off the main drag, you can live fairly cheaply.”
“A place of our own, near a Venn Machine,” Marcy said, encouragingly. “Just what we wanted.”
“Sold,” agreed Jerry.