Praying that he didn't mess up their mission, Sho'ta nevertheless couldn't ignore a hurting kit. If that meant that he lost his Peacekeeping license, so be it. He doubted that Dzu would force him to stop teaching because of an incident. Might even increase his position because of his dedication to kits. Not that Sho'ta was doing it for recognition. He'd give up everything if he could help a kit, although he would do his best to keep Z'shi out of it.

Moving over to stand in front of the Terran, he waited to see if the kit would respond in any way. However, the kit did not stir or look up, even though he had been careful to make noise as he'd approached. No need to get attacked by a frightened kit. He considered for a moment that the Terran might be asleep before dismissing it. After having been attacked and with two unknown sentients in the cell, there was no way the kit would feel safe enough to sleep.

From the way they were holding completely still, the odds were either that they were petrified with fear or had passed out, either from fear or from injuries. Both of those presented different issues. Crouching down in front of her, maybe his height had been scary to the kit, he gently drummed the ground in front of them, hoping to get them to look up.

The tiniest of hitches in their breathing indicated that they'd noticed his efforts and weren't unconscious. Whether this was worse or better, only time would tell. Z'shi must've seen the hitch as well, as he crouched next to Sho'ta, adding in a soft trill as Sho'ta drummed his fingers again.

The kit tensed so hard at this that for a moment Sho'ta worried that they'd either attack or would hurt themselves. When a few ticks passed and nothing more happened, he gave Z'shi a firm nod. Z'shi's feathers had settled slightly, although he still looked ready to react if the kit offered any threat. Good, they didn't need fear reactions on either side and hopefully, this gentler approach would keep the Terran from lashing out.

Determination filling him, he reached out and drummed a third time, the sound louder and a little quicker this time while Z'shi gave the same, soothing trill. This time, the kit sucked in a deep, shaky breath and Sho'ta unconsciously let out a soothing purr, his tail lashing at the kit's obvious distress.

This caused the kit to still and Sho'ta kept the purr going, hoping that this was a good thing and not a distressed reaction. He made sure to keep perfectly still as they shifted slightly, clearly preparing to make a move. But would it be an attack or just an engagement?

He watched in fascination as two pale, five-fingered hands emerged from the cloak, reaching up and pulling back the hood a little bit, just enough for him to catch a peek of dark-colored hair. Then, slowly, ever so slowly, they started to uncurl until they finally came face to face.

Sho'ta sucked in a sharp breath, Z'shi echoing the sound half a tick later, as a pair of luminous blue-green eyes met theirs, defeat and hopelessness and just the tiniest hint of pleading shining brightly in their depths. But that was only half of the reason for their reaction.

Because besides their breathtaking eyes, the kit's face was heavily bruised on one side, dried blood crusted around their mouth and nose in rusty brown smears. Horror washed through him and he hissed, "Z'shi!"

The kit flinched back before managing to catch themselves, going perfectly still.

Z'shi's voice was quiet, just the thinnest thread of shrill panic that only those who knew him very well would pick up on. "Are they dying? Stars, those are horrific injuries! We have nothing with us to treat internal injuries but we can't let a kit die. What do we do? Should we..."

Sho'ta reached over and caught his hand, silencing him before he could give everything away. "Breathe. Yes, the kit is hurt but she doesn't smell like she's actively dying at the moment."

Z'shi's feathers fully fluffed, his voice rising, "Not actively dying? Does that mean the nestling is passively dying? Stars, Sho!"

Sho'ta gave a firm rumble, hoping to cut off his mate before he started to spiral. "We need to get the kit cleaned up and assess how bad the injuries truly are, then go from there. Go fetch my water ration." When Z'shi hesitated, clearly worried that the kit would die if he left for even a tick. "Now, Z'shi."

With a rustle of feathers, Z'shi was gone. Knowing that he would be back in short order, he needed to find a way to convey to the kit what they were about to do. Even the meekest of sentients could lash out from pain and he didn't want to risk an injury while they were locked up and vulnerable.

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Meeting the kit's eyes, he found that the initial emotions had vanished and the kit was watching him with a guarded expression, their arms wrapped tightly around their legs in what appeared to be a defensive position. While it was a relief for him, since it meant that they would be slower if they tried to lash out, it also left their face and throat vulnerable to attack and could possibly be putting pressure on unseen injuries.

Taking a deep breath, he decided to try introducing himself. "Hi. My name is Sho'ta and I'm going to help you. I'm not going to hurt you, kit. It's going to be okay. We're not going to hurt you, I swear. It's okay."

Her eyes narrowed a fraction and he wondered if he had upset the kit. However, there was no sign of understanding in the kit's eyes at his words and there was no spice of anger in their scent. There was a chance that the kit couldn't understand from their injuries but it was more likely that she couldn't understand Common, which made this whole thing a little more complicated. Still, just to be sure, he tried a second time. Placing his hand on his chest, he said slowly, sounding out each syllable. "Sho'ta. Sho'ta no harm."

The kit's head tilted ever so slightly, as if considering his words. If he hadn't been watching her so closely, he would've missed it entirely. It was a reassuring gesture, the first true glimmer of a positive emotion, curiosity, that he'd seen so far.

Then Z'shi was back, kneeling carefully next to him so that he wouldn't spill the water from the bowl. "Have they responded at all?"

Sho'ta shook his head, "No, I don't think they understand Common. You can try some other languages, but I don't think the kit is from this sector. After all, Terra is quite far from here, I didn't think that I'd ever see an actual Terran in my lifetime. I don't suppose you've ever studied Terran?"

He kept his voice calm and soothing as he spoke, not wanting to alarm the kit, making sure to keep his movements slow and reassuring. He knew that Pantera speed could be frightening to those unaccustomed to it. Flexing his fingers so his claws unsheathed, he reached for his forearm to slice off his sleeve for a washcloth, only to freeze as the kit scrambled backwards, a pained whine hissing from their tightly pressed lips.

Holding up his hands, Sho'ta froze, trying to keep his body language as non-threatening as possible. The kit's eyes were impossibly wide, their pupils dilated as their entire body shook. Drekk, this was not good. It was made even worse by the fact that he had no way to communicate what he was doing. But he couldn't leave the kit's injuries untended either.

Moving very, very slowly, he brought his right hand over to his left sleeve and carefully cut through the fabric, taking great care to not draw blood. Retracting his claws, he slipped off the sleeve and then extended his arm so she could see that he was uninjured. The kit's hands curled into fists and Sho'ta braced himself for them to lash out, they were just a scared kit, but after a tick, they dipped their head ever so slightly.

He asked Z'shi who was hovering behind him anxiously. "You're better at body language, do you know what they're trying to communicate?"

Z'shi slowly lowered himself to the ground, shuffling so he was kneeling next to Sho'ta, keeping his hands held out so the kit could see that they were empty. "It's hard to say, I have no baseline to work with. But I think it was an acknowledgment."

Sho'ta swallowed down a frustrated growl, knowing that the kit would definitely take it the wrong way, considering the spike of fear scent was still burning his nose. "An acknowledgment of what?"

Z'shi let out a small trill of amusement, tension lacing the sound. "I have no idea either. The nestling is obviously hurt and scared, it could be anything. It could be something else entirely, I'm flying blind here."

Seeing the way the kit was watching Z'shi without blinking, Sho'ta urged quietly, "Why don't you try to introduce yourself, give them a tick to compose themselves. Then we'll try again with the injury."

Z'shi nodded, determination filling his features as he shuffled a bit forward. Putting on a small, close-lipped smile, he chirped brightly, tapping his chest. "Z'shi. My name is Z'shi. What's your name, Lil One?"

Although there was no recognition of the words in the kit's expression, at least they'd stopped trying to meld themselves to the wall. That had to be progress, right? At least where they'd backed themselves into a corner, they wouldn't be able to keep fleeing him and Z'shi, although now there was the added risk of them reacting with fight instead of flight.

Z'shi dropped slightly, his eyes darting back and forth as he studied the kit. "They don't understand a word I'm saying, do they?"

Sho'ta shook his head reluctantly. "I don't think so. Still, keep talking. I think the sounds are helping them to ground themselves and maybe it will help them to realize that we don't mean them any harm."

He could feel his mate's suspicious gaze, "And what will you be doing?"

Carefully soaking the cloth, he answered, starting to purr soothingly. "I'm going to treat them and pray that they don't bite like our maus do when we have to treat them."

Exasperation and amusement mingled in Z'shi's voice. "Sho! You can't treat them like a pet!"

He shrugged, wringing out the cloth enough that it would be wet enough to clean but not so wet that it would drip all over the kit. Who knew how Terrans reacted to water? "I'm not treating them like a pet, I'm treating them like a feral mau. Fierce, independent, needing a helping hand and can either be grateful or pissy about it, possibly both at once."

His mate muttered something uncomplimentary under his breath but Sho'ta ignored it, fixated on the side of the kit's face that was injured.

Step one, tend the hurt kit. Step two, stop this operation and rescue all the sentients. Step three, hunt down whoever had done this to a kit and make them wish they'd never been born.

His purr deepened as he moved forward, content with his plan. Simple was best, after all.