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Grian huddled in the corner of his cage, wings wrapped tightly around himself as he shivered. The cold iron bars around him seemed to leech all of the warmth from the air (not that there was much warmth to begin with) and there was a sharp ache in his chest that he couldn't ignore. The stone walls felt both claustrophobic and far too vast at the same time, preventing him from seeing the sun and the sky while also showing off empty space devoid of any other prisoners.
It had been at least weeks since there had been anyone else but him down here at the back of the warehouse. The shop owners had overstocked, stored dozens of hybrids in this space, but it had worked for the time. Workers were constantly pulling cages from the back to replace the ones who'd been sold in the front. But gradually, the amount of hybrids being pulled to display in the front of the store dwindled, from several a day to once per week, until it was just Grian. Grian and Grian alone.
Sometimes he wondered if they had forgotten about him. If they thought they were out of stock. But no, they still fed him every once in a while, threw water into his cage, kept him alive. They always wore masks to hide their face. To keep him from getting attached. His instincts were frayed, broken, desperate for flock. He could feel them straining at his heart, snapping, twisting, crying. His feathers were dirty and ruffled and itchy, his muscles ached to stretch, his entire body yearned for the sky. Sure, he'd never been great at flying, his wings weren't designed for it, but he missed it. He missed it so much.
The door to the rest of the shop clicked, then swung open. Grian turned to it immediately, a desperate chirp bursting from his lips without any pause or consideration to how it might harm him. He just needed someone. Anyone. It didn't have to be flock anymore. He just needed a person, someone to hold him, someone to pet his feathers and soothe his crying instincts. Please. Please.
A masked figure approached the cage, one of the shopkeepers, and they scoffed at him for a moment, standing just far enough beyond the bars that Grian couldn't reach them. He strained, stretching through the iron. All he wanted was a touch. Just a brush of fingers or....or something. Anything. Anything to keep him from falling apart, anything to stop him from being so alone.
The shopkeeper tossed a small bag through the bars of the cage, then turned around and left without saying a word. Grian ignored the bag, pressing himself tightly up against the bars, chirping over and over and over again, begging them to come back, to stay with him. He couldn't be alone. Scared-alone-stay-stay-stay-please. But they ignored him. They always ignored him.
The door shut behind them with a definitive clank, and Grian sank to the floor of his cage, a shaking warble echoing against the cold stone walls as he gently pulled the bag to his chest. He held it for a moment, feeling the warmth left behind by the hands that had held it before him, then opened it to reveal the same dried fruit and plain seeds that he'd been fed the past several...months? He didn't even know how long it had been. All he knew was that he missed fresh fruit, picked straight from the tree. He ate his meal slowly, making sure to enjoy each bite. He didn't know how long it would be until he was fed again. There was no consistency. It could be days until he was fed again. He wished he had water to wash down the food, but they hadn't brought the bucket back this time, which meant that he would have to wait.
And wait he did. Time dragged on forever in this place, but at the same time, he had no way of knowing how long it had been. He slept, mostly. There wasn't anything else to do, and sleep numbed the pain of being alone at least partially. Sometimes when he couldn't sleep, he would imagine that there were still cages piled around him. Other hybrids trapped in the same situation he was. It was selfish, he knew it was selfish, wishing that there were people with him in this nightmare of a place. But he was so lonely.
He didn't know how long it was before the door opened again. Again, he had no way of knowing. When it did, he hurled himself against the bars again, his instincts screaming for contact. His pleas bounced off the walls as he stared at the figure standing in the doorway, silhouetted by the light behind it. They weren't coming any closer. They were just standing there.
Please-please-lonely-scared-help-stay-please, Grian chirped, reaching through the bars, his wings spread as far as they could within the confines of his cage. Please-please-please
After a moment, the silhouette stepped into the room, then walked directly towards his cage. As they drew closer, Grian realized with a jolt that they weren't wearing a mask. He could see their face. It was still difficult in the darkness of the room, but he could see a soft expression, scars tracing their features, hair framing their cheeks. Their eyes were filled with an emotion Grian couldn't place, but it was more than he had seen in so, so long.
He stretched through the bars, fingers grasping at air as he continued to beg, his throat raw from thirst and exertion. Slowly, the person drew closer and closer, until Grian's fingers brushed against the bottom of their sleeve. He felt something in his chest snap, and he collapsed to the bottom of the cage, still reaching out but unable to hold himself up anymore. He didn't stop chirping. He couldn't. They had to stay. They had to understand.
He was shaking. Full body tremors that ran up and down his spine, rattling his wings and forcing a raspy sound from his lungs that made it harder for him to chirp. He tried to stretch out his hand again, and this time he was close enough to touch their boot. It wasn't much, it wasn't enough, but he was touching someone. There was someone there with him. He wasn't alone.
And then the boot moved. He cried as his hand was jostled from it, but it didn't last long before it was replaced by a knee, and then a hand. A hand gently cupping his. His hand was being held. Someone was holding his hand. It was warm.
"Hi there." A voice whispered, and it almost sounded scared. "Hi. It's okay, I'm here."
A sob broke its way out among the chirping, and Grian didn't try to stop it. More quickly followed, until he was breaking down, tears that he couldn't afford to shed spilling down his face as he drank in the feeling of touch. There was someone with him. He wasn't alone anymore. He wasn't alone.
"I'm gonna get you out of here, okay?" The hand cupping his moved and Grian panicked, grabbing onto it with a death grip. They couldn't leave. They couldn't. He chirped, stay-stay-stay, and the movement stopped.
"I'm not going anywhere, I promise." The voice murmured, and a moment later, a second hand brushed against his hair. He trilled, high and desperate, leaning into it immediately.
"Oh, birdie...How long did they keep you alone for?"
Too long. Far, far too long. Grian pressed tighter against the bars, pushing through the pain of the metal against his skin in an attempt to get closer. The hands weren't enough. He was selfish and greedy and it wasn't enough.
"Easy, easy, hang on." There was a pause before the hand in his hair left. "Hey, I'm in the back, I need the keys. There's just one in here, but they're really messed up. I think they've been back here for a while on their own. They're an avian, deep in their instincts, pretty much falling apart. Yeah. Thanks."
Grian warbled quietly, another tremor running through him as he clung to the person's hand, desperate not to let go. The other hand returned to his hair, petting through it delicately. Grian knew it was filthy, covered in grease and dirt and grime, but he didn't care. It felt amazing to have that contact.
"Scar?"
"Back here."
"Oh. Oh baby."
Grian peeled open his eyes (he didn't remember closing them) to see a second person kneeling down next to the first. They had a rounder face with a row of stitches running down one side, and their hair was a vivid red, even in the dark. They were holding a ring of keys in one hand, and in a swift motion, they unlocked the cage.
The door squealed as it opened, hinges barely used, and Grian tumbled out, landing on something soft instead of the expected stone floor. He lifted his head weakly to see that the first person had scooted forward to catch him, and that he was lying on their lap.
"There we go." They murmured softly, brushing some of his hair out of his face. "That's better."
Grian threw himself against them, wrapping his arms around their ribs and clinging to them as tightly as he could. They let out an oomf at the force of it, but they didn't peel him off, didn't throw him back into the cage. Instead, they held him in return, arms cradling him gently, one hand resting between his wings. Grian buried his face in their shirt, faintly picking up on the smell of blood, but he ignored it. For all he knew, it could be coming from him.
"Oh, they're really messed up. I wouldn't be surprised if they've been here alone for months."
"I wish I hadn't killed them so quickly."
"Me too."
Grian churred quietly as he felt his mind slow down, his adrenaline from desperation settling. He had used so much energy trying to keep them from leaving that now he was exhausted. He didn't want to sleep though. They might leave him. He couldn't be alone again.
"Hey buddy. Let's get you home, alright?"
Grian let out a weak chirp, doing his best to tighten his grip, but he found it loosening the longer he tried. His muscles were practically gone, they hadn't been used in so long. He didn't want to let go, but his body couldn't physically hold on anymore.
"They're exhausted. Poor thing."
"Are we finished here?"
"Etho and Bdubs are doing the last sweep of the shop, but other then that, we're good. I wouldn't recommend letting go of this guy for a while, they're so deep in their instincts that I think it would destroy any last bit of sentience they have left. I can't imagine how horrible it would have been for them these past few months."
"Alright. I'll take them out to the horses."
"We'll meet you there as soon as we're done."
Grian felt the hold on him shift until he was being properly held, the other person carrying all of his weight. He made a short trill, tucking his face deeper into their shirt, and they hummed in return. He laid limp in their arms as they carried him, all the way up until he felt a breeze against his face. The air was fresh, and the itch in his wings increased tenfold because of it. He squirmed a bit in his new friend's hold, his wings twitching.
"Easy, hang on. I'll fix your wings as soon as we get to the horses."
Grian laid still again, and a moment later, the steady pace of walking stopped and they settled down. He felt grass brush up against his wings, and he stretched out a hand weakly to touch it. His fingers clumsily fumbled with the blades, but he could feel it, could smell it. It was fresh. He was outside. He was free.
"Alright buddy, let's see what I can do about those wings."
The hands holding him let go gently, only to stroke through his feathers. Grian melted, a series of warbles and trills leaving him as he slumped over their lap. He couldn't remember the last time someone had preened his wings, and the sensation of it was overwhelming. He gripped onto their shirt tightly, doing his best to spread his wings so that they could reach them better. It hurt to move them, they had been cramped for so long, but it was worth it for the gentle picking of dirt and grime from his feathers.
"They should never have done this to you." The voice murmured when they were about halfway through his right wing. "Never. I'm never letting anything like them come close to you again. You're mine now, under my protection, with my family. I'm sorry you got so hurt."
Grian trilled distantly. He didn't really know what the person was saying anymore, the words weren't processing in his brain. He was tired. That didn't quite capture it. He was exhausted. Drained. Falling apart. He didn't know how much longer he could stay awake for.
"Shhh." The person straighted a row of feathers neatly, and Grian's last semblance of mental fortitude dissolved. "Rest now. You're safe."
And Grian believed him.