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Jadzia wasn’t sure what had caused Kira to freak out, but it didn’t matter. The more pressing problem was that the major was currently sitting in the rafters and refusing to come down. Jadzia knew something must have triggered her fight or flight response—and for Bajorans, who Julian had remarked had many similarities to Terran squirrels and mongooses, that impulse was most often ‘flight’.
“Kira,” Jadzia tried, moving towards the nearby beam that Kira had scampered up. “Can you hear me?”
Kira’s large, dark eyes were fixed on her. She blinked once, slowly, but did nothing else.
“I’m going to take that as a no.” Jadzia sighed. “Alright, I’m coming up. I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.” Jadzia had never felt Kira’s claws before and she didn’t want today to be the first time.
The major opened her mouth and Jadzia hoped she was going to reply—but instead, Jadzia got a great view of her canines as she yawned.
Consigned to getting no help from Kira, Jadzia awkwardly climbed the metal beam. Kira continued to watch her, intent, as she struggled to make it onto the same plane. With a thump, Jadzia fell onto the beam where Kira was sitting, feeling a slight throb in her knee where she banged it, and assumed a similar hands-and-knees position.
They stared at each other for a long moment.
“Kira,” Jadzia said again, her voice quiet. “It’s me, Jadzia. You’re safe. The Cardassians are gone.” She still didn’t know for sure what Kira had heard or seen, but she could make a guess.
Kira’s eyes widened, and she sneezed.
Jadzia decided to attempt a different tactic. Slowly, she shifted forward and extended her hand in a non-threatening gesture towards Kira’s nose. “Kira,” she murmured. “Please, please recognize me…”
Nose twitching, Kira leaned ever so slightly forward and, after a moment of hesitation, pressed her face against Jadzia’s hand. A quiet muk-muk rumbled in Kira’s chest at the contact, and Jadzia watched with bated breath as Kira rubbed her cheek against Jadzia’s fingers.
Gradually, Kira climbed down towards her, and bumped her forehead against Jadzia’s chest. Jadzia giggled, running her hand through the thick fur on top of Kira’s head, and then cupped her chin in her hands. “Are you okay?” Jadzia asked.
Kira blinked once, then twice. Then she nodded slowly. “I’m fine,” she replied softly. “Sorry, Dax.”
“It’s okay,” said Jadzia. “I’m just glad you’re okay.” Then she paused, and added, “I didn’t know that you purr.”
“I do not purr,” Kira insisted haughtily. “That sound was nothing like a purr. It was—” She abruptly stopped talking and looked away.
Jadzia raised her eyebrows. “What?”
“Nothing.” Kira shook her head. “Just a… happy… sound.” She glanced around, as if she’d finally realised where they were. “Maybe—maybe we should go down.”
Jadzia laughed. “Yeah. I think Sisko would be pretty confused if he came in and found us climbing around up here.”
Kira let out a tentative snort, which turned into a giggle. “‘This is a space station, not a jungle gym’,” she joked, in a bad impression of Sisko’s voice.
And the two of them climbed down.