Disclaimer from Chapter 1 applies here as well
Riku looked up when they entered, glancing from Kairi to Sora. "Low cages?"
Sora nodded. "For a long time, apparently."
Riku nodded back, then turned to Kairi. "Good thing I gave her the tall one. She'll be able to stretch her legs there."
Kairi didn't meet his gaze. Even though his attention was on her, he didn't seem to acknowledge the fact that she existed, talking to Sora about her like she wasn't there.
Seeming to sense her discomfort, he shifted her weight and turned away from Riku. "Thanks. I'll get her settled in."
Riku nodded and went back to his book, propping his feet up on the desk. "Mind doing some filing when you're done? I need to follow up on a couple of files."
Sora sighed in exasperation as he walked off, nudging the door open with his shoulder. "A couple? Knowing you, probably most, if not all, of the files we own. You really need to stop putting things like that off, Riku. Especially stuff as important as keeping up on files."
If Riku had a response, they didn't hear it, because Sora kicked the door shut behind him. Kairi looked around at the room they were now in, expecting to see rows and rows of cages full of other slaves, but was surprised to see only about four or five cages of various heights, all empty. The largest one was cleaner than the others and its door was open. Her cage, she supposed. In the far corner of the room were a small desk and a dented file cabinet.
Sora nudged the door of the cage open and, noticing the somewhat lumpy pillow and threadbare blanket, he sighed. "Riku..."
Kairi didn't understand his exasperation. The cage was very spacious, much larger than she had grown accustomed to, and bedding of that condition was par for someone of her status.
Sora gently put her down on the cage floor. It wasn't cold in the room at all, but she felt some warmth leave her as he let her go. He squatted beside her after putting her down, his elbows resting on his knees. She could feel his gaze, but many years as a slave had taught her to keep her gaze lowered. Slaves were not to meet the eyes of their masters or traders. She found a scratch on the floor and became resolutely interested in it.
"Hm. Call me crazy, but I don't see what's so interesting about that scratch."
She blinked and almost looked up at him, but stopped herself at the last moment.
Sora sighed. "You can look at me, you know." She didn't respond. Until Sora gently raised her head with a finger under her chin. She blinked and looked at him, unable to stop herself. He grinned back at her. "Don't worry. I won't tell. Hungry?" Taken aback by his question, she broke off her gaze and looked at the floor again, not answering. Though Sora wasn't going to give up that easily. "Are you hungry?" He asked again.
Kairi started to shake her head, but her stomach betrayed her with a loud growl. Startled, she slowly nodded.
Sora chuckled softly to himself and laid a hand on her shoulder. She flinched in surprise at his touch but didn't pull away. "I'll see what I can do about that, and your… accommodations." He looked pointedly at the pillow and rumpled blanket. "But unfortunately," he continued with a sigh. "Riku's horribly lazy when it comes to maintaining files, so I have a good pile of work to do." He rolled his eyes at her dramatically, and she couldn't help but smile slightly at his mood. "Can you hold out for an hour or so?"
Kairi nodded.
Sora smiled and gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze before letting go and standing up. "Great. I'll see you soon, then." He got up and left the cage. "I won't lock the cage, so feel free to roam around the room once you can stand if you want. With this much space to move around in, you should be able to get the cramps out of your legs in no time." He turned back to her when he rested his hand on the doorknob, however. "Just do me a favor? Don't leave this room. If Riku sees you… well, let's just say I'm supposed to lock the cage, and he's not as friendly as I am when it comes to slaves out of their cages. So stay near the cage if you can."
Kairi nodded. "I'll… remember that." She replied, still not used to speaking freely to anyone considered "superior" to her. Then again, Sora didn't exactly act like a trader, or that he was superior. She noted that he didn't seem to hold any guilt about her being here, but at the same time he seemed to want to make her as comfortable as possible, which she was thankful for.
She'd miss this place when she went to another trader. Because after all, every trader she'd ever had had considered her too valuable as a "display piece" to sell, and just kept her around for advertising to attract customers, but she was never sold, and when another trader gave a high bid to use her, she was traded off again. Surely these boys were no different, no matter how friendly they seemed.
… Right?
There's Chapter 2, after a long enough wait… . Next chapter will be in Sora's point of view.