Sho'ta's heart nearly stopped when the kit reached up and started prodding their injury. They winced at the touch, why were they causing themselves pain? The bruising and swelling looked incredibly painful, there was no way the kit could've forgotten she was hurt. Was she trying to use the pain to control her fear?

Before he even realized what he was doing, he'd moved forward and caught her wrist, giving an instinctive chuff to remind her to be gentle with herself, like he would've with a Pantera kit. She froze and stared at him and he wondered if he had scared her. However, her scent seemed to be more puzzled than upset, if he was reading it right. Praying that she wouldn't try to touch her face again or lash out at him, he gave a chuff that meant be calm before lowering her hand down to join the other one.

Thankfully, she didn't fight back, allowing her hand to rest with the other. Knowing that he only had a few ticks before she realized that he was closer to her, he settled so he was sitting right next to her, not wanting to loom over her and scare her further. Then, praying that she understood, he held up the damp cloth and mimed washing his own face.

He half expected her to try and take the cloth from him to wash her face on her own, which he would have to decline seeing how she hadn't been gentle with herself. To his surprise, she gave him a tiny nod again, which seemed to be her signal for yes. When he hesitated, she did it again, the motion a little bit larger this time.

Praying that he was understanding her signals right, he brought up the cloth and gently started to clean the grime away from the bruise so he could assess the extent of her injury before moving on to the dried blood. He nearly dropped the cloth in surprise when her eyes closed halfway and she leaned into his touch, making a hoarse exhaling sound.

Holding still so he didn't worsen her injury, he inhaled deeply, trying to figure out what was going on. Instead of the acrid scent of pain, a gentler scent filled his nose, almost like the clean scent of a renewing rain. It felt calm and soothing, relief, maybe? It was a soft scent, one that had him unconsciously relaxing.

However, he was a little concerned by the sound she had made. Other than a tiny whimper earlier, the kit hadn't made a sound. It was, unsettling. Kits were normally never quiet, always moving or making small sounds. This one's stillness and quietness was concerning. How long had the traffickers held this kit?

Swiveling his ears, he listened carefully. The kit didn't seem to be struggling to breathe or move, which argued against any internal injuries. However, now that he was listening carefully, he could hear the slightest wheezing rasp with every inhale she took.

Trying to keep her calm, he resumed cleaning the kit's face, trying to carefully gauge the extent of her injuries and whether they could cause the sound. But while the bruising and swelling was bad on the one side, and she had a split lip that was probably the source of all the blood, there didn't appear to be any underlying injuries that would affect her breathing.

To his surprise, the kit was surprisingly pliant while he was cleaning her face, leaning into his touch so trustingly that he started to purr. Z'shi had given an amused chirr at that but since it didn't disturb the kit, he didn't bother to flick him with his tail in retaliation. He had to rinse out the cloth three times before her face was clean enough for him, his anger growing with every rinse.

Satisfied that he'd gotten all of the dried blood off, having been extra careful around the lip so as to not reopen the wound because they really didn't need the kit bleeding out on them, he rinsed the rag for what he hoped was the final time. Taking her chin in his hand, he started to tilt her head back to make sure that there wasn't any blood where he hadn't been able to see.

She stiffened in his grip, letting out a pained hiss and resisting him for the first time since this had all started. He glanced over at Z'shi, but his mate seemed as lost as he did. Wondering if he had spooked the kit somehow, he studied them carefully, but they seemed to be intent on escaping his grasp rather than scared of him or angry. His instincts screaming at him, he tried to lift her chin again, gentler this time. She squirmed harder and gave a pained hiss, batting weakly at his arm. It stung a little bit but he could tell that the kit meant no true harm, so he let it go without reprimand.

Z'shi shuffled closer to him, his feathers rustling, "Sho? Is something wrong?"

His instincts practically roaring now, his words were grim even as he kept his voice gentle. "There's something wrong with the kit. She didn't flinch or make a sound when I was cleaning her face, even though it had to be excruciating. But when I tried to lift her chin so I could clean her neck, she started acting like this."

Z'shi crooned sympathetically, creeping closer, his hand reaching out as if to pet her hair before snatching his hand back. "What's wrong?"

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Sho'ta said firmly, "I'm going to find out."

Not releasing her chin, he allowed it to dip a little bit until she gave another little hoarse exhale. Since she wasn't fighting him anymore, he took the opportunity to duck his head and tug aside her cloak so he could see her throat and neck. What he saw made him hiss, his ears pinned back and tail whipping from side to side.

The kit let out a whimper and he immediately released her, holding up his hands to show that he wouldn't touch her again. Instead, after a long moment of throttling back his anger, he re-wet the rag, leaving it a little more damp this time. Then, he mimed applying it to his throat. He had to do this twice before the kit gave a tiny jerk of her head and took the cloth, being very careful not to make contact with his hand.

She applied it to her throat, a pained hiss escaping her throat and he had to resist the urge to snatch it away from her. However, after a long moment, she relaxed, the relieved sound escaping her again. Content that she would be okay for a moment, he scooted back a little ways before springing to his feet and going to the other side of the cell, letting out a hissed stream of curses as he paced, trying to work off his rage a little.

Z'shi remained sitting by the kit, although his eyes were hard, clearly on guard for anything that might attack them and also making sure that the kit didn't pass out.

Sho'ta was suddenly, extremely grateful that his mate was with him. He didn't think he would've been able to deal with this mess if he'd been all by himself. He permitted himself exactly one click of anger before shoving it all back down to be dealt with later. Once he was certain that he had iron control over his emotions, he moved over to the front of the cage, staring down the prisoner who had been bold enough to warn him away from the Terran.

The sentient shrunk down, the scent of their fear souring the air. If he had been even a smidge less furious, he would've reassured the being that he wasn't mad at them. But the kit was in terrible shape and he was furious that such a travesty had happened because of monsters lacking all compassion.

Once he was certain that they wouldn't dare think of lying to him, he hissed, "What happened to the Terran?"

The sentient stuttered after a long moment, "I-it w-was the Cresica. It t-tried to st-strangle the Terran. It al-almost suc-succeeded too, but the Terran took them down with a single blow. That's all I know, I swear."

Sho'ta raised an eyebrow at this news. A single blow? Was it an accident or had they known exactly where to strike and how hard? It was impossible to tell right now, but considering how little fight the Terran had offered him once he'd made it clear that he wasn't trying to hurt her, he'd wager on the first.

He growled, "Has there been anyone else in the cell with them?"

The sentient cowered even further. "No. Since I've been here, it's only ever been them in there. No one has tried to talk or engage with them. They saw that Terrans can hypnotize those who speak with them or meet their eyes, so none have dared to engage with the savage."

What foolishness. Both he and Z'shi had met her eyes several times without any ill effect. He could be right about the speaking, but since it didn't look like the kit would be able to speak comfortably any time soon, that was a problem for another day. With one last warning growl, he turned on his heel and immediately forgot about the cowering being.

Instead, he moved back over and knelt next to Z'shi, his tail twitching as he tried to figure out what to do next.

Reaching over and gently carding his talons through Sho'ta's hair once, Z'shi asked softly, "What is the matter, Sho'ta? What did you see that has made you this upset?" He paused, swallowing hard, before continuing. "Is the nestling dying?"

Sho'ta shook his head, reaching over and lacing their hands together. "No, I don't think so. I think if they were, they would've passed by now. I think that this is a very strong Terran kit. But she is undoubtedly in a lot of pain and I doubt that she can eat properly. The Cresica that was in the cell with her, the one before us. It tried to strangle her before she managed to fend it off."

He glanced over at the kit, only to find them leaning against the wall with one shoulder, looking exhausted even as they continued to hold the cloth to their throat. "Her throat is terribly bruised. I doubt she can talk right now, even if she wants to. She might not even be able to drink, she might slowly be starving to death, even if she isn't dying from her injuries."

Z'shi faltered for a brief moment before strengthening, squeezing Sho'ta's hand tightly. "You would be able to smell if that were the case. And we can find a way to help her eat and heal." He dropped his voice so that only Sho'ta could hear him. "If our calculations are correct, it will only be a few solar cycles until we reach their destination. Do you think she can last long enough for that or should we call in help now? I won't risk a chick's life for no reason."

Sho'ta hesitated, feeling torn, before shaking his head slowly. "No. We have to see this through. I think she'll be strong enough to make it that long and we'll have the best healers on the rescue to tend to the victims."

Z'shi nodded, studying the kit. "You're right. And it sounds like the Terran is an asset, so as long as we tend her and not threaten her, we should all be left alone. After all, it doesn't seem like there are any other cells empty enough for us to be moved to."

Relief tugged at Sho'ta, making his anger die down a little bit. He grumbled, "Didn't think I'd ever be grateful for an overfull trafficking ship."

Z'shi gave a tired chirp of agreement. "Same. Still, what can we do for the nestling?"

Sho'ta eyed the kit who looked like she was ready to fall asleep now that her wounds had been properly tended. "Let's try to get some food into her and then we can let her sleep. We don't know how long it's been since she's last eaten but it's probably been at least a couple of cycles."

Z'shi feathers, which had just started to settle, fluffed again. "Cycles? Goodness, how are they still conscious."

Sho'ta shrugged. "We can figure that out later. Right now, we have a hungry, hurt, tired kit on our hands. So let's start with getting food into her."