Scientific Fantasies (Wattys2015)

Chapter Six

She didn't know what to do or say. He looked away from her almost immediately, hunching his shoulders in defence.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" she finally whispered, speaking to him as gently as she could. She had no idea what the pain would make him do. "I can stop it."

He just turned his back more firmly on her. She thought for a moment, and then crouched beside him. In a quick movement, she jabbed the needle into his arm, pressing the plunger before she backed away quickly, wary.

He barely flinched. He did nothing in retaliation, and she frowned, not understanding. But at the the pain would be receding now.

It took a good ten or fifteen minutes, but finally she could see him relaxing as she assumed his pain became less and less. And as he did, his wings relaxed, and she began to see just what had been done to him. She was horrified. No wonder he'd been curled into himself. All his flight feathers had been cut, leaving the edge of his wings with no protection, and she could see that some on the shafts were still seeping blood. Ingvar had gone too far. Nothing, not even an experiment, deserved this.

Unbidden, Linda's words from the night before surfaced in Natalia's mind. Shame filled her, and she looked down for a moment, trying to control herself. She swallowed, and turned away, busying herself with finding something the stem the blood flow. Finding some bandages, she knelt beside him, and then hesitated. She didn't know what to do now.

He turned his head, meeting her gaze for the first time since she'd entered the room. She froze where she was, nearly holding her breath, waiting for him to decide what he wanted to do.

At last, he moved, only shifting in place, and dropped his gaze. "Hurts."

She had to strain to hear his voice, and the vulnerability in it touched her heart. "I know," she said quietly, trying to keep her voice gentle. "Does it hurt more or less now?"

He didn't respond, and she began to think that he didn't understand complex questions. Just as she was about to rephrase the question, he surprised her.

"Same."

She frowned. "Do... do you...?"

He shook his head before she could finish. "Sleepy."

She sighed, looking down at the strips of cloth in her hands. She wasn't quite sure what to do now. With a sigh, she let them drop to the floor, getting to her feet. In the enclosure close by, the female was pushing at the glass, clearly trying to get closer to the male. Considering an idea, Natalia glanced between them, nibbling her lip as she thought. Her idea had the potential to help the male, or drop her into a lot of danger.

She took the risk. She was good at that.

Making sure that the door was closed and locked - not that she was expecting visitors at what was now four in the morning, she released the chain around the male's wrists before she unlocked the female's enclosure, pulling her out, and pushing her towards the male. There was no arguing. The female immediately curled near him, nearly on top of him, and he pressed close to her, clearly accepting her offered comfort.

Now Natalia didn't know what to do.

Before she could decide, what the female did surprised her. The younger specimen reached out for the bandages Natalia had abandoned on the floor, pulling them over to her. As the scientist watched, the female began to press the pieces of cloth to the still bleeding wounds, ignoring the slight flinch of the male. He didn't move away though, and slowly, the bleeding began to stop. Forgotten by the two experiments, Natalia breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't really known how she'd do that herself.