Chapter Text
It was dark but that was okay, H’zashi had better vision in the dark to begin with. He was a Niama, they are nocturnal and have excellent night vision. Don’t get H’zashi wrong, he still slept at night but it would be every other cycle. So with that in mind he was one of the few captives that was usually fed at night or had anything done to him at night. It’s also normal for Niama’s to eat less than others would think, needing to eat twice a cycle and those meals could be very small as well. If someone were to put those two meals together, it would probably add up to a normal meal for most sentients. He’s heard some others complain about his yelling and screaming because they are trying to sleep when he’s being taken out of his cell.
They can bit him for all he cares, it Kreffting hurts to be the zapping target at night, the guards got bored. This seems to be one of those times as he can hear some noise coming down the hall from his cell. They seem a bit rowdier than normal as they get closer. H’zashi gets ready to at least try and put up a fight, maybe they’ll underestimate him this cycle with only sending one guard in this time. He was slowly gearing up to fling himself at his door but stopped when he noticed the conversation he was hearing.
“Hurry up! Hurry up!”
“I’m Kreffting trying over here. If SOMEONE would also carry this thing it would be easier.”
“I’m not touching it! I heard this thing sweats salt water that can slowly destroy the covering of my skin, you know my obvious kreffting defensive mucus!”
H’zashi was trying to think about what he was going to do but was thrown off by that remark. A species that sweats salt water? There were some that sweat to cool down and it was always made out of some liquid that carries DNA and was always colored as their blood. Those spices also can’t sweat a lot because it’s kinda like bleeding out but not, their bodies reproduce this liquid quickly but it never has an abundance of it. It’s like a last ditch resort to cooling off if they are basically boiling alive and he thinks the temperature isn’t that hot. Actually it would be on the little bit of the cold side without his feathers. Anyways, H’zashi has never heard of something just producing salt water and why salt water, not just straight water?
As his mind was trying his hardest to think of what creature or sapient could be thrown into a cell near him, his door opened up. “Just throw it in there, it’s durable enough to be tossed around a bit.” At that a body was thrown into his cell, not far because how much the other complained about how heavy this one was. Then the door was promptly slammed shut. They need to stop doing that, it keeps waking up the others.
H’zashi tensed up as he looked over to the new arrival, he felt bad about them being thrown. Most species aren't tough enough to be thrown like that but the guards did say it was sturdier than most. Looking over he saw a giant puff of green… Fur? H’zashi was sure it was fur but that was all that was covering it. Besides the clothes they're wearing, H’zashi can’t see any other coverages or even protection. It was small and lean, from what he could tell because those clothes just swallow the poor thing whole. Not much muscle but it was very off putting to just look at them.
It reminded him of a youngling that just put together random parts from different species. It had decent sized arms, he thinks because it’s slightly curled in at the moment. Their legs bent at a weird angle so H’zashi hopes that it’s not broken, their knees are literally bent backwards but positivity always helps…. Kinda. Their feet looked odd and flat? They have 10 toes? Why so many? They also had, what he thinks is, 8 fingers but he can’t be too sure with their hands curled into balls like that. That must mean that they are dexterous because only those types of species have so many fingers, he personally only had 6 all together.
When he looks closer, he can see how they are breathing so they aren't a plant try species because they can never be seen taking breaths like that. H’zashi wishes he could se- HOW IN THE KREFFT ARE THEY WAKING UP!! He quickly backed up and slightly hit his back on the wall. He hissed in pain when used too much force to move backwards. Even though he wanted to shut his eyes and rub his back, he didn’t. H’zashi watched in quiet horror as this creature started to unfold itself.
They were curled up to about ⅓ of their size and that is impressive but also terrifying to think of. He watched as they slightly began to stretch out and they even moved their head enough so that he could see their face. Their features are soft and round, eyes squinted shut and face squished slightly into the ground. They looked young, their limbs slightly long but looked undeveloped, their face having a bit of fat like a fledgling would have before getting their downy feathers. Soon their eyes blinked open and oh how big and green they were, again like a small fledgling but just a darker color.
Seeing how this unknown, probably young creature, maybe sentient, started to realize where they were, he wanted to let out a small coo. H’zashi was able to stop himself but it didn’t take much time for that young face to start quickly whipping around to try and find out where they were. He can only guess that the face they're making is one of panic and terror as they slowly start to notice how they are trapped in here, just like him. They seem to make a whining noise and that just breaks his heart, it makes him want to reach out to them but H’zashi does not know how they would react to that. It helps no one that H’zashi’s species are well known for taking young if they feel like they are in danger, no matter what. H’zashi also still doesn't know what species they are but he feels like he should, something about them just feels… wrong?
As He’s looking at them, they lock eyes and both froze. H’zashi tried to look away because some species see eye contact as a threat or some type of challenge but he can’t look away. Those giant green eyes absolutely captivated everything in H’zashi’s mind. They were just too bright, as if they were glowing in this dark room. They are glowing what seems to be a toxic green color, so bright that it must mean they are toxic themself and their green fur must be some type of camouflage for forest areas. It’s perfect for younglings like this to blend in the best they can.
H’zashi sees when they finally tear their eyes away from him, even making some kind of strangled noise as it slowly backed into the corner it was close to. It seemed to regain themselves as soon as their back hit the wall when they locked eyes again. He must be making them uncomfortable with how much he’s staring but he can’t help it. They are most likely a young one and on top of looking absolutely fascinatingly familiar somehow, he really feels like he should know what this species is.
H’zashi slightly averts his eyes but still keeps them in his peripherals, it’s a youngling but that doesn't mean they're not dangerous. Most young are but this one has forward facing eyes meaning they are a predator species. From the corner of his eyesight, he can see them curl into a tight ball and keep their own eyes trained on him. Sense they have curled up to basically ⅓ of their height once again, it’s like nothing else is in this cell with him again and H’zashi could have believed that thought if it wasn’t for the faint breathing he can hear. That’s not to mention the feeling of being watched on top of that, it feels so wrong being watched by them.
He really wishes he could do something for that fledgling but with them being so guarded and not knowing if they know common, he’ll likely just get more scared so… the long road to looking as non threatening as possible has just been picked up for the next few cycles.