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Klu woke up groggily, she was used to not sleeping in beds but this cobble floor was proving to be quite a challenge to get comfortable on. She didn’t know what time it was, no windows made it quite rigorous to find out if it was the middle of the night or the middle of the afternoon.
Klu would’ve liked to go back to sleep, she had splayed out her wings and finally got all cosy, but unfortunately she couldn’t. The sounds of loud Kobold chatter was heard from the hall, she didn’t exactly eavesdrop but with how loud they were it was impossible to not overhear.
“I don’t know man, I don’t think any Kobold that's qualified is gonna take their case,” He began, his tone serious. “I mean– they killed a bunch of kobolds! They didn’t even stop when our God told them too!”
“Yeah but like,, what about that one guy? Snagit Teeth or whatever his name was? That dude takes any case.”
“Snaggle Tooth?? I wouldn’t trust that guy with a slip and fall case.”
Their chatter got louder until they finally got to the cells, one was holding a lantern to see the prisoners more clearly, the one holding the lantern grimaced, clearly not a fan of what he was seeing, he looked Presilla up and down with clear disgust in his eyes.
His partner noticed this and elbowed him in the side, “Dude, don’t piss the big one off.” they mumbled, also eyeing the shark before moving his gaze to the other cell, taking note of the tired bird and the curled up skeleton in the corner.
“Get up, all of you.” The one holding the lantern spoke, no one really listened to him right away–everyone was a bit sluggish due to the whole no beds aspect of their cells.
“I said get up!” He repeated, stomping a foot on the ground. It was a little funny seeing such a small creature boss around a whole crew of pirates. “Get up or else we won’t even give you a case in court and you’ll all go straight to the pit.” He spoke smugly, knowing that they would have to listen to a threat like that.
Klu was the first to stand, despite how tired she was she still wanted a chance to walk free. The Kobold scoffed, mumbling ‘finally’ before giving a glare to the rest of the party. Eventually the others followed suit–with Roger being the last, they weren’t exactly sure what ‘the pit’ was but it sounded daunting.
“Wow. Guess pirates aren’t as dumb as I thought..” He spared another glance at Presilla, “..Maybe not you but the others.” The Kobold said with a toothy smile, enjoying provoking her knowing that she couldn’t harm him.
The other Kobold gave Presilla’s side of the cage a small smile, silently apologizing for what their partner was saying, “We don’t have that many Lawyers to begin with, and the few we have refuse to pick up your case,, but there’s one guy who’s up to the task.” He waited for anyone to say anything, but when he received no response he sighed and continued, “He tries his best, more loses than wins but he’s a smart fella.”
“What’s his name?” Araza asked, curious to learn the one person who’d be willing to help a crew like them out.
The two Kobolds looked at each other before both looking at Araza, speaking at the same time; “Snaggle Tooth.” They spoke his name like it was Bloody Mary.
“He’s fairly young,” The one with the lantern spoke, his sentence was interrupted by his partner, “But he also takes this kind of stuff pretty seriously,, and he’s the only one willing to represent you guys so it’s either him or you represent yourselves,” They looked over at Presilla, “I would recommend letting him rep you guys.”
Presilla scoffed, she knew she was smart, maybe not courtroom smart but she could hold her own against some Judge. “I can represent myself.” She said gruffly, crossing her arms over her chest.
The two Kobolds look relatively surprised, not expecting that from someone that looked like Presilla. “I mean,, it’s your grave.” The Kobold holding the lantern said with a chuckle before getting another small hit from his partner. “Well? How about the rest of you?” The other said, their voice a bit softer than the former.
The rest of the crew seemed a bit strained on what to choose, on one hand they didn’t exactly trust a random Kobold with their life–especially after they had just taken a handful of Kobolds’ lives. On the other,, they didn’t exactly know much about court, how to act while being examined, how to answer the prosecutors questions without making themselves look worse, how to interact with a Judge… It was all things they had little or barely any experience with.
Eventually it was split; Roger, William, and Presilla chose to represent themselves. While Klu and Araza chose the help of Snaggle Tooth.
“Seriously? Big and dumb,” The Kobold snapped his fingers in front of Presilla, “You of all people should be taking Snag’s help.” He spoke with a laugh, flicking the tip of Presilla’s nose–he was still confident in the fact that she couldn’t harm him.
Much to his dismay though, Presilla had enough of his comments and decided that—even if she couldn’t reach him—she’d do her best to hurt him. Presilla lunged at the Kobold, only being stopped when her body hit the bars, she was able to fit her arms through and get a couple good swats at him, even drawing blood. Unfortunately, this caused the bells attached to the bars to ring and clash against each other, causing more Kobolds to come check what was happening.
Three other Kobolds rushed to the cells, weapons drawn—most times when the bells rang it meant a prisoner was trying to make a break for it. They were quite surprised to learn that the cause wasn’t an escape attempt, but a violent shark trying to get at another one of their kind.
“Step back!” One shouted, commanded the previous two Kobolds to make some space, when they complied they ushered a much larger and more protected Kobold.
The aforementioned big guy approached the cell, staying out of arms reach while keeping an eye on Presilla, waiting for her to calm before speaking. When she finally realized that she wasn’t going to get at the Kobold who was antagonizing her she sulked off to the far end of the cell.
The large Kobold adorned in armour looked at the others, "Separate them, I don’t trust them to be near each other anymore.” He spoke with a stern voice, one that demanded obedience and respect. “They can reunite when they get to the court house.”
Much to the crew’s dismay the other Kobolds actually listened, talking about where they were gonna place the prisoners, what cells to keep them in, who to keep a close eye on (which they eventually landed on Presilla, she would need extra attention), and who needed the least guards. They left the hall, instructing the two guards that were already present that they’d be back and to prepare the prisoners for transport.
-.-.-
Klu was the first to be moved, they wanted to start with the one that would pose the least struggle, “Where am I going?” She asked hesitantly, her eyes going from guard to guard, she knew they wouldn’t tell her, but it was worth a shot anyways. They put restraints on her arms and began to pull her down the hall to the left, where Beefcake was—he just got off break and tagged out a different guard.
Klu didn’t expect to see him again, not after the last time she had spoken with him, his words echoing in her mind; “Beefcake miss Klu when gone.” She assumed that she wouldn’t get another chance to meet, but when their eyes met she felt a strange sense of calm, the tension in her shoulders relaxing slightly. She didn’t have too much time to dwell on the feeling before feeling a sharp shove from the Kobold behind her, forcing her to keep moving.
She stumbled along, eventually passing by Beefcake–he stopped the other guard accompanying them. Klu couldn’t hear what he was saying but his posture was straight and stiff; it was a stark contrast to his constant slouching.
Klu was brought to a near identical cell, only a little more small considering she won’t be needing to share a cell with another person. A part of her was glad she didn’t have to share with Roger, he seemed like he needed some alone time after the whole ‘losing everything he worked on the past 300 years’ thing.
She got the shackles taken off her arms before getting shoved into the cell, “Don’t even think about moving.” He warned, “A guard will be by to watch over you.”
“What's gonna happen to Presilla?” Klu asked, despite her little mess-up with the last time she spoke to the shark-kin she wanted to make sure that her friend was going to be safe.
“She’ll be put in a more secure cell, and two- maybe three of our more experienced guards will watch her.”
“..Who’s gonna watch me?”
The Kobold didn’t get a chance to answer before two others showed up, some sea green Kobold and Beefcake. Klu felt the same flutter as before, the calm. Again? Klu shivered, trying to remove the feeling from her stomach. Moving her gaze away from Beefcake and onto the other Kobold who had entered, she had a confused look across her face.
The sea green one sighed, she looked like she just got told she’d have to work on a holiday. “He wants to watch this one.” She spoke to the first Kobold–referring to Beefcake, the Kobold in front of Klu rolled his eyes. “Seriously?” He brought up a hand to rub his eyes, “Why does he- God’s..” He glared over at Beefcake, who didn’t have an expression on his face, “Yeah.. Yeah, whatever you want, big guy.” He clearly didn’t want to argue with a man who was more muscle than brain.
The two others scampered off, now chatting with each other about the upcoming trial, leaving Klu and Beefcake alone.
The two didn’t talk to each other, Klu was more focused on learning her surroundings, learning where the escapes were, what the cell looked like—no furniture at all, it was just a cube of cobble and compacted sand mixed with dirt.
Klu frowned, No bed again. She thought, she was used to sleeping on weird surfaces, hells, she even fell asleep on the ocean's current before and woke up well rested.. But the hard cobble of these cells was something she just couldn’t get used to.
Beefcake didn’t initiate conversation either, he just stood outside the bars, arms crossed and his back facing Klu. Despite not looking at his face anymore, his presence was more than enough to make her posture straighten.
-.-.-
It’s been a few hours, not one peep from either, which was a considerable feat from Klu—but now she was getting antsy, she wanted to talk, to infodump about the latest creature she discovered, and hear Beefcake's responses to her fun facts about sea life.
But before she could get a chance to talk Beefcake began to move, out of her eyesight and around a corner, Where was he going? Didn’t he know you aren’t supposed to leave prisoners alone? Klu thought, Maybe he’s switching shifts? The thought made her frown again, she didn’t want to think of Beefcake leaving.
Klu counted the rocks in the wall for what seemed like the fifth time–101. There was laughter down from somewhere she couldn’t see, she heard the pitter patter of small rodents running past.
While she was alone Klu took the opportunity to peek her head through the bars, she was already used to the look of her cell, she wanted to see what the rest of the place looked like.
There was nothing of interest other than a hanging lantern, a hallway, some door, and a bench. Nothing that was going to help Klu entertain herself while she stood alone, her thoughts drifted from the upcoming trial to her friends,, then to Beefcake.
Why would he leave? If another guard comes by they’re gonna ask where he went– and if I tell them- oh geez,, he would get in so much trouble..
What was she thinking?
He was just a guard, a Kobold.
Someone who brought her food once and gave her a bracelet way too big and heavy, she didn’t know why her mind kept drifting to him..
Like how she noticed that one of his horns were more slicked back than the other, how he picked at his scales when there was nothing to do, the way he stretched then slouched back over..
Her mind kept going from detail to detail, though eventually her fear came true, she heard footsteps coming toward her cell–heavy and slow. Klu snapped out of her daydreaming and stepped away from the cell bars, hoping it was just another scrawny group passing by and not a huge beast coming to rough her up,, or something along those lines.
The sound got louder, footsteps echoing off the cobble walls. Klu shivered, her feathers puffing up as the scrawny group thought was stomped out. Just pass by and don’t bug me. She repeated in her mind, eyes closing tight as the footsteps finally stopped in front of her cell–her blood ran cold, her brain imagining all sorts of creepy monsters.
“Got food.” The voice rang out, oh! It was just Beefcake,, he was back.
Klu slowly opened her eyes, letting her nerves relax before looking at him. He was holding out a small wooden plate—it had berries and some seafood on it. “Remember Klu don’t like meat.” He said simply, holding out the plate to her.
..Must be meal time for the prisoners. Klu thought, she still hadn’t said anything, she was still trying to calm herself from the mild heart attack she had just received. Beefcake noticed this, he knelt down and placed the plate on the floor.
She hasn’t said anything. Beefcake wasn’t used to her being quiet for so long. Klu scared? He thought, Food not right? He frowned, unsure of what to do about her current state, so he just pushed the plate closer to her.
“Klu okay?” He asked, his voice slightly less gruff than usual.
She nodded, mumbling out a small thank you before retrieving the plate. It was a bit hard for her to eat with the future looming over her—court. At least she didn’t have to worry too much, despite not meeting her lawyer, she had trust in Snaggle Tooth.
Her stomach was in knots, she just moved the berries around the plate–forget about touching the boiled shrimp. Beefcake noticed, and he repeated his question; “Klu okay?” He was a bit worried, the last time they met Klu was talkative and joyful in spite of her situation. He stayed near the ground kneeling, looking at Klu like she was a wounded animal.
Klu finally dragged her gaze up back towards Beefcake, nodding again. “Yeah,, I’m okay, don’t worry about it.”
He nodded in return, but he wasn’t completely convinced of it. Deciding he had probed her enough he placed his hands on his knees and heaved himself back to his feet, sighing as he turned his back to the cell and went back to his typical guard duties.
Klu picked at the plate, occasionally eating some of the berries—she could recognize them by the taste, they were merry berries! She cooed quietly, merry berries were her favourite, her momma always gave her some whenever she felt sad.
After a minute of quiet chewing Klu looked over towards Beefcake, “Did you get food?” She asked, a big guy like him would require a lot of food and she hasn’t seen him eat at all today. “,,not hungry.” He replied, casting a glance over his shoulder–locking eyes with Klu’s food before looking ahead once again.
Klu looked down at her plate, ..Do prisoners always get food like this? She thought, usually when she thought of prison food she imagined mush or rotten food,, this seemed more like a meal for a worker. She noticed the fresh shrimp, the berries that looked like they just got plucked off a bush.
“Do all prisoners get this kind of food?”
Beefcake looked over his shoulder again, eyes on the plate before landing on Klu, “No.”
Klu was a bit surprised by this information, No? What did he mean no? She furrowed her brow and thought of why she would be getting special treatment, she didn’t do anything to be treated differently,, at least that's what she believed.
Before Klu could ask why Beefcake was already speaking, “Klu need eat.” He said as he moved to the bench on the other side of the room, it was clear that he wasn’t going to explain why Klu got different food than other prisoners.
-.-.-
Klu was informed that their party was going to be held for a longer time so Snaggle Tooth could prepare for the upcoming trial, they gave her an estimate of about a week–the guards who told her didn’t seem too confident in their answer though.
Klu eventually got used to receiving the berries and shrimp, occasionally she would get something else like small bits of lobster, she even got a starfish.
On a day when she got another starfish she offered to share it with Beefcake, “I usually eat them whole but I’d love to share with you!” Klu chirped, tearing the sea creature in half with her beak before offering it to Beefcake.
He stared at the offered chunk with a blank expression, the only tell to any emotion was the way he scratched at his scales. “Prisoner food. Not allowed.” He responded as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Klu scoffed in return, “Come on, I know that this isn’t what prisoners typically get,” She offered the starfish half to him again, “Starfish is one of my favourite foods, I wanna share.”
Beefcake hesitated, he didn’t really want to take food from Klu, not that he didn’t like what was given to her, but because he wanted to make sure she wouldn’t go hungry. But with those big eyes staring at him he felt like he had no choice but to take the offer, in which Klu beamed happily.
“I never really cook starfish, I tend to swallow them whole,” Klu said with a little chuckle, downing said starfish with the expertise of someone who’s done it a thousand times before. When she finished she looked over at Beefcake, “Go on, this one’s pretty tasty!”
Beefcake was no stranger to weird and unusual foods, he pretty much ate whatever was in front of him, but he struggled with eating a starfish. He looked down at the squirming creature in his palm, then back at Klu.
“You can eat them raw, promise!”
He looked back down at the creature, who was he to determine if it was going to be bad without even trying it first? With that logic, he plopped the starfish in his mouth and swallowed.
“I- I mean you could also,, chew,, a little. Us gulls have special muscles so we can swallow things whole!” Klu spoke, a little worried that Beefcake was going to choke.
He seemed to handle it just fine, struggling a little to get it down but it was clear he wasn’t gonna die from it. Which Klu seemed quite happy by. “It’s not that bad, right?”
“Like meat more. It’s fine.” Beefcake mumbled, his large tail dragging side to side slowly, regardless of his preference for actual meat he was appreciative that he got to share some food with her.
“Soo.. How long have you been a guard? If- If you’re allowed to tell prisoners that kind of stuff-” Klu began, now that she had gotten used to the cell she wanted to chat more. “I get it if you can’t uh- disclose that information or-”
“Long time.” Beefcake cut her off, “Longer than can remember.”
“..You’ve always been a guard?”
“They want help, Beefcake help.”
Klu didn’t know how to respond, she couldn’t imagine staying in one place for so long, doing the same, repetitive task day after day. There was some silence between them, his words sticking in the air like barnacles did a rock.
“I’m- I actually– I’m a marine researcher!” Klu stuttered out, maybe by sharing more things about her would open him up. “Ever since I was a little fledgling I always loved the ocean- Not just because I was a gull-” She said with a little laugh.
“My parents loved the idea of me researching more about the oceans, they were a bit sad when they learned that my passion would have me travelling nearly everyday but,, they still wanted to see me happy, even if they couldn’t see me directly.”
Beefcake hummed, showing some interest in what she was saying.
“I have a bunch of notes in my bag– if I had it with me I would show you all the different sea creatures I’ve encountered so far!”
“..Draw?”
“Sorry- what? I- ooh! Yeah! I drew a bunch of the creatures in my notes– again, if I had them I would show you..”
Without saying much more Beefcake began to walk away, Klu was a bit confused on why he was leaving in the middle of a conversation but chose not to ask, maybe he just remembered that he had some guard duty to do..
Klu felt a little deflated, maybe she shared too much. Stupid, stupid bird. She chastised herself, You always talk too much. She took a seat near the wall, staring ahead of her. You do this all the time, you never think before you talk. But you know this’ll keep happening, you’ll forget you even thought this and go back to yapping about anything.
She waited for Beefcake to return. She took a moment of silence to preen her feathers, it’s been a while since she did so and it helped her calm down a bit.
Eventually he returned holding some stuff in his hands, Klu couldn’t make it out since she was still sitting on the floor plucking at loose feathers.
Beefcake cleared his throat a little and kneeled, rolling the objects towards her, it was some chalk. She looked a bit confused before remembering the last thing he had said to her; Draw.
She perked up when she realized, “Oh! You want me to draw some sea creatures?” She didn’t wait for a response before she started sketching on the cobble wall, it was a bit awkward due to the bumps and grooves but she did her best to draw out a large sea serpent she had once saw, “Uh,, it- I’m having a little trouble remembering,, but I think this is pretty accurate?” She said with a little bit of uncertainty, looking over at Beefcake.
“Big?”
“Oh- very big! Like an underwater dragon,, except without the wings,, or legs.”
“Bite?”
Klu chuckled a little, “Hahah, yeah! It tried to get me when I got a little too close, I’m just happy I can fly!”
-.-.-
There were drawings of a variety of different sea creatures along the cobble walls; the floor, Klu, was covered in chalk dust after rubbing failed drawings away over and over. Beefcake seemed to enjoy Klu’s enthusiasm, asking questions with every new creature she sketched out, nodding along even when he didn’t understand the sea jargon she used.
Beefcake was about to ask his usual questions about a weird sea urchin she had just drawn when he heard footsteps coming from the hall, he was a bit confused–this part of the wing didn’t exactly have any interesting rooms, and he told the others that he didn’t want to tag out to take a break anytime soon.
A battle worn Kobold made their way over, they had deep gouges along their body, one of their horns seemed to be missing, and it was clear that this Kobold wasn’t going to be as kind as Beefcake was.
They stopped beside Beefcake, scowling as they took in the scene; chalk drawings everywhere, the prisoner looking happy instead of miserable, the guard seeming to be all chummy with said prisoner. It was a disgrace in their eyes.
“What did your training say?” They spoke slowly, like someone who was trying to stay calm even when a storm was brewing inside them.
Beefcake didn’t speak, he just looked at the other Kobold.
“..It said to resist getting close to the prisoners, correct?”
No response, Klu felt a bit awkward witnessing this, but she couldn’t hide away or tune out the conversation.
“Correct. So why am I hearing talk of you skipping meals and bringing them to this,,” They gestured toward Klu, “Hollowbone?? Need I remind you of the last time a guard was caught being ‘friends’ with another prisoner?”
Beefcake finally shook his head, his eyes downcast. Despite his large stature he looked like a child being scolded for staying out too late.
Klu’s eyes widened slightly, skipping meals? He was bringing his meals to her? That’s why it looked so much nicer than others,, why she never saw him eating.. She didn’t understand why he was doing it, he needed the strength if he was going to guard properly.
“Don’t need,” Beefcake finally spoke, his voice quieter than normal.
The other Kobold scoffed, “Yeah, big guy. Guess you can survive well over a month based on your tubb, huh?”
“Listen, this is your last warning, you need to distance yourself from this bird and refocus on your duties. Remember that you’re only here to make sure she doesn’t escape or kill herself.” Before the Kobold left they snatched the chalk away from both Klu and Beefcake, mumbling about how annoying hollowbones were before finally rounding the corner.
The two were alone again.
Neither wanted to talk first, Klu wasn’t sure if Beefcake even wanted to listen to what she had to say, not anymore, at least.
Time passed, and their routine continued. Beefcake still brought her food but now it was the usual prisoner food; stale bread, mystery meat that Klu never touched, and occasionally some water that wasn’t exactly transparent.
He didn’t talk to her anymore, he already didn’t say much but now it was like he had taken a vow of silence. Klu felt responsible for the reprimand he had received. If it wasn’t for her talking so much they probably wouldn’t have gotten in trouble at all..
Klu moved around the meat on her plate before looking up at Beefcake, he was farther away than usual, his posture still slouched but tense. She wasn’t sure if she should speak or if she should just wait until she could talk with Snaggle Tooth, but before she could really dwell on the thought she was already speaking.
“I’m- uh– I’m real sorry for,, for getting you in trouble and all..” As soon as the words left her mouth she immediately wished she could take them back, not that she wasn’t sorry, but because she didn’t know if he’d forgive her or not.
When Klu didn’t get a reply, or even a look over the shoulder, she let out a dejected noise, feathers ruffling slightly as she accepted that he most likely rejected her apology.
Beefcake rested with Klu’s words, it wasn’t her fault–if anything it was his. He was the one who stepped out of line, trying to be nice to a prisoner, one that had killed his own kind..
“Beefcake’s fault.” He finally replied, voice quiet. “Not supposed to make friend with prisoner.” Beefcake kept his arms crossed, still refusing to look at Klu–his superior was right, and he didn’t want to end up like the last guard who got too friendly with a prisoner.
Klu smiled slightly, at least she knew he wasn’t mad at her, “We can say it’s both our faults then, right?” She spoke with a hopeful inflexion to her voice–she didn’t get a response.
Klu started to hum to herself, the same one she had been humming before she got moved to this cell, she was starting to get tired–the floor wasn’t comfortable at all but she didn’t want to ask Beefcake for some padding, she didn’t want him to get into trouble again.
She found a small soft spot in the dirt. This must’ve been where other prisoners slept too. Klu thought as she began to find a position to sleep in, having wings really meant sleeping on your stomach was the way to go. Every few seconds she’d have to remove another pebble from underneath her body, she was getting increasingly frustrated with the lack of comfort in her prison cell.
Beefcake waited for Klu to fall asleep before moving to the bench on the far side of the room—he was quite exhausted, he had been taking double shifts to make sure he was the one to watch over Klu, and by the God’s it was tiring.. Sure he was just standing in front of the cell all day but he was still tired.
The same Kobold that had reprimanded him came by, taking in the scene once more–although now they were more happy with what they saw, no more chalk drawings, the prisoner looked miserable, and there was an appropriate distance between Beefcake and Klu. They gave him an approving chuff before turning back around and heading out. Beefcake felt a little relieved, he was gaining back the trust of a fellow guard.
-.-.-
The following days remained the same, the same prisoner food, the same distance, the same cold at night. Klu was now just waiting for the chance to speak with Snaggle Tooth, to share her side of what happened that day.
As she was thinking of what to say when she finally got the chance to see her lawyer another guard came by, the sea green one from before.
She only peeked her head in from behind the door, calling out to Beefcake; “Hey, big guy! They’re putting you back on the east wing tomorrow.” He didn’t get a chance to respond before she was already gone, door closing to seal the fate of Beefcake. He would have to return back to his usual shifts, which meant he couldn’t watch over Klu anymore.
Beefcake seemed more visibly stressed, he knew how rough the other guards could be, and he didn’t necessarily want Klu experiencing that if he could help it. Beefcake had grown to like Klu, and now having to leave left a sour taste in his mouth.
But he didn’t go after the Kobold to try and argue that he should stay, he just sat on the bench, staring at the closed door. He knew this was going to happen, separate them, lessen the chance of the two of them getting close again—he just didn’t expect it to happen now.
The following hour came the familiar cold that signaled to Klu that it was becoming night, during the time she's been in this cell the nights have gotten more and more chilly.
It was cold enough that even wrapping her wings around her body wasn’t enough to keep her comfortably warm anymore, most of the time she just couldn’t get to sleep and ended up taking naps throughout the day since it was warmer.
Klu curled up on the soft patch again, it was now circled with the feathers and it looked like a very shitty makeshift nest. Klu did what she’s done the past few days; curl, wrap, hope to get even an hour's worth of sleep.
It seemed like she didn’t get a chance for the latter.
Klu curled up tighter, her feathers puffing up, she’s never felt this cold before—she might’ve been exaggerating but it felt like she would freeze into a solid block soon enough. Whenever Klu finally relaxed her body another shiver would run through and reset her progress back to zero.
Her body tremored every now and then, and she could only curl tighter, for any chance to retain body heat.
It didn’t work.
Beefcake was still sitting on the bench, thinking of what it’d be like to go back to his usual shifts; he never came to this wing. He’d be losing Klu forever.
Well, maybe not forever. He would see her during the trial and all, but he would be losing his chance to be near her, to talk.
He looked over at the bird, noting how frequent she was shivering, how she looked like a ball of feathers, he knew what it was like to feel cold.
Beefcake looked down the hall, then got up and checked if anyone was near the door, Nobody, nothing. It was just him, Klu,, and the lantern hanging from the ceiling. Beefcake reached up and untied the lantern from its worn string, sighing heavily as he did so. He took a glance at Klu, remembering how happy she was talking about the sea serpent, her face when she was offering him the starfish..
Transfer tomorrow. His memory reminded him, Leave soon.
With the thought of not seeing Klu until her trial looming in his mind he absentmindedly reached for the cell keys, unlocking the cell and pushing the door slowly open so the bells wouldn’t ring. He approached Klu’s curled figure, for once, her back was facing him.
Beefcake let out a soft, small chirp, it was a noise he never made before–he didn’t even know his body could produce a sound like that. His tail moved back and forth, disturbing the pebbles and dirt in Klu’s cell.
He placed the lantern near the back of her head and took a seat next to her, waiting for her to notice his presence. When she didn’t react Beefcake scooched closer–he knew his body ran hot, other Kobolds primarily hung around him when the colder seasons hit, and they occasionally called him a ‘walking furnace’.
Klu shivered again, her feathers puffing up more.
Beefcake stared at her, moving a hand to reach out and touch her shoulder, before stopping himself.
Not supposed comfort. His brain argued, ..Also not supposed open cells. Or touch. Prisoner. The last word echoed in his mind, Prisoner. Prisoner. He shook his head–he was leaving tomorrow anyways, what was one more rule broken?
With that reasoning he placed a warm hand onto Klu’s shoulder, he could feel how cold she was, how her body shivered again before relaxing into his warmth. He’s never done this before, never cuddled up with anyone- let alone someone going to court for killing Kobolds. His movements were slow–Klu could’ve pulled away if she didn’t want him there.
But she didn’t.
If anything she leaned into his warmth, his body.
Klu sought out the warmth instinctively, she was still half-awake– partly awake— barely. A soft sigh escaped her beak when she pressed her back against Beefcake's leg, moving her wing to drape across his lap.
The warmth reminded Klu of when she and her mother would cuddle during winter, how her mothers wings encircled her and the soft humming would lull a small fledgling Klu into a deep sleep.
Beefcake stilled. He expected Klu to wake up immediately, to scurry away, avoid his touch.. He didn’t expect her to snuggle up to him. When he looked down at Klu, noting how the shivering had stopped and how her feathers looked less puffy–he began to smile.
He carefully lowered his body to lay down next to Klu, his tail curling from behind him to blanket Klu’s legs. Beefcake knew he shouldn’t be here, that he should be outside the cell, standing guard.. But with the feeling of her feathers against his rough scales, Klu pressing her body against him to absorb his body heat better, the thought of tomorrow slipped out of his mind.
The light from the lantern burned low, casting long shadows along the walls, highlighting the few chalk drawings that were still up. Beefcake looked at the drawings, then back at Klu. He let out a soft sigh before moving his arm to encircle Klu’s waist, he’d be gone by tomorrow.
But for tonight, he’d keep her warm.