Baatar was not an angry man by nature, but the gin traps had turned his stomach and rebelled against his strong sense of justice. The farmer had received another lecture as they'd collected them up and a stern warning before Baatar left him to return to the city. Hopefully word would get round, although he conceded the farmer's point that something would be needed to keep pests away from the fields and coops. After all, had not the foxcrow originally been a thief, raiding their stores. He made up his mind to put his engineering skills into finding a more humane solution. Perhaps some kind of cage trap, that would trap the animal whole and alive, for release later. Or even just a cleaner death would be more acceptable than the sharp, snapping teeth of metal that wounded and left an animal in such a state.
He found Su in her study, lying on her side, facing the back of the sofa with the foxcrow tucked against her stomach, wrapped up firmly in her robe.
"How is it?" he asked softly, unsure if Su were asleep as well.
"Still unconscious." She sounded as though she'd been crying. "I don't know how I'll get it to eat if it won't wake up."
His heart went out to the pair of them. "Well, sleep is a great healer, so they say." He tried to comfort her. "You should get some rest too. Why not take it to our bedroom? It'll be warmer in there. Perhaps that will help. This place is so high and draughty."
Su sat up and looked around, as if only now noticing the high ceilings and airy room, so perfect for a study and office but not for anything recovering from injuries. "You're sure?" she realised this was an intrusion the foxcrow had never made before.
"I can sleep on the sofa in my office. We have sleeping bags after all." He smiled, trying to be cheerful, hiding his own distress. The foxcrow looked so small and deflated without its fur and feathers puffed out. "That way you can try and feed it every few hours and not have to feel bad about disturbing me." He didn't offer to help, recognising this as something Su wanted to do herself.
"I just don't understand why it ran away, all that way." Su stood up and gathered the foxcrow gently to her, standing still for a moment, waiting to see if stirred.
"We can investigate later, once it's better. I doubt it'll run away again in a hurry, after this ordeal." He kept his vision optimistic, although he knew if they were unable to get fluid and food into the foxcrow soon, its chances were bleak.
"No." Judging by Su's voice, she was more than well aware of the foxcrow's chances.
He held the doors open for Su so she could keep both arms wrapped around the pathetic looking bundle. It looked even smaller, tucked up against a pillow on their bed. He reached out, gently flattening the ears as he stroked a hand over its head, willing the ears to twitch in response to the unfamiliar touch, but they barely straightened up again. He would've been happy if it had snapped at his hand. "Get well soon." He avoided Su's eye, unable to remain cheerful now and left the room.
Su slept fitfully, waking suddenly every half hour or so, but the foxcrow never stirred, even when she got up to prepare a syringe of the food mix and tried desperately to at least wet its muzzle with a wet cloth. Baatar looked in once before going to sleep to say good night, but she had no good news.
She shuffled her hand through the folds of the robe, resting it against the foxcrow's side, hoping against all hope that if she fell asleep, she would wake to feel the faint heartbeat still going. Her tears fell once more at the thought, and she squeezed her eyes tightly shut and leant close to whisper in its ear.
"Please. Please live. Let me wake up and find you alive. Somehow."