Hizashi's grinding and sharpening his talons, reshaping them so the broken edges stop snagging on skin and Shouta's fur while Shinsou stares at him. Shouta's in the corner, reading something on his padd, but Hizashi knows he's paying attention to what Shinsou's doing by the way his ears are turned toward the Human.
He inspects his last talon, taking away some keratin on the left so it can fit in his talon sheath. It'll prevent the root from constantly rubbing on the floor and protect the more fragile ones from splitting again when he walks.
Shinsou's touching his own talons absentmindedly. They're pretty long, but they're nowhere as sharp as Shouta's—really, even the broken off ends of his talons are sharper than the blunt things Shinsou has. He gestures toward his grinding stone. "Do you need to—?"
Shinsou's eyes go wide, and he places his hands over his hind limbs, shoulders rising to his ears. "I do not want to be trouble."
"It's no problem," Hizashi reassures. "I have another one here. Do you have those on Dirt?" When Shinsou shakes his head from side to side, Hizashi asks, a bit confused, "What do you normally use for your talons?"
"I use"—Shinsou flumbers a bit while he tries to remember the correct sign—"knife? Two knife that are sticked together, but they bite." He places his hands so they look like a mouth, his fingers as teeth, and he opens and closes them to 'bite'.
"Oh. We don't have that, but here, let me show you how to use this, yeah?" It kind of makes Hizashi feel useful, even if teaching Shinsou how to use a talon grinding stone is nothing compared to fighting off Feczoits. "You have to drag your talons like that—careful about your skin though!—and you just do it until you're satisfied about the shape."
Shinsou squints while he tries to file his talons, his mouth slightly open. The angle is difficult for him, he has to hunch over and even then, his upper limb is bent uncomfortably.
"Maybe we can put it on a stack of—" before he can finish his sentence, Shinsou picks up the weighted grinding stone one handedly, moving it back and forth instead of moving his talons. Right. Deathworlder—"Yeah, okay, that works too, listener. Just be sure to do it over the vent."
While Shinsou's doing that, Hizashi heads to the storage cabinet—Shouta and Shinsou's heads whip toward him at the same time, only relaxing when they both realize he's still in view—to rummages through the various beddings and sleep accommodations they bought for when other members of UA sleep over. He lets out a victorious thrill when he finds exactly what he's looking for.
It's a 4 in 1 cot, the same type as his own. Shouta and he had bought a spare when their usual one's seams ripped during a nap, but after one rest of tossing and turning, Shouta quickly mended it, grumbling about smell and wrongness, eager to return to their old yellow one.
The den mode is perfect for Shinsou, or at least Hizashi thinks it will be. It offers covers from every side but one, and it makes a great hiding space if Shinsou wants to burrow all the way inside. It's also the only cot that will be comfortably big enough for the Human.
He drags it next to the doorway, too lazy to make the trip to his resting quarters. He also doesn't know if his bondmate will be comfortable sharing a room with Shinsou. He needed several meetings with some of their friends before he stopped waking up hissing and all bristly.
Shinsou finished while he was looking for bedding, and to Hizashi's dismay, his talons are completely ground down, right to the pink part. They're absolutely useless now, can't be used to pierce or tear or scratch. He gestures to Shinsou's hands, trying to keep the panic out of his movements. "Are they supposed to be so… short?"
"Yes?" Shinsou looks down at his fingers. "I was not supposed to?"
"As long as it's what you wanted, it's fine!" Hizashi backtracks. He can't imagine intentionally weakening himself, especially after his stay with the Feczoits.
While Hizashi opens the faucet so Shinsou can wash away the talon dust from his fingers and his grind stone, a thought crosses his mind. Was Shinsou trying to make himself less threatening to them?
The uncomfortable thought sits heavy in his stomach. Hizashi's about to nip that idea right out of Shinsou's head when the Human's stomach rumbles. Shouta snorts and Shinsou instantly goes red in the face, bringing his limbs closer to his middle.
Hizashi wants to berate himself. He forgot Shinsou hasn't eaten in a while. He'll make something quick for Shinsou so they can go rest faster. To keep himself awake, and because it's information they'll need eventually, he asks, "How often do you need to eat?"
Shinsou tilts his head, refusing to look Hizashi in the face. "Three meals in a cycle."
"And how long does one of your cycles last?"
"24—" he cuts himself off, realizing the problem. "It is okay. I eat when I am hungry."
Somehow, Hizashi knows Shinsou won't serve himself without explicit permission. There should be a spare timer lying around somewhere. Shinsou shouldn't have to rely on only internal cues to follow his human circadian cycle. That's one sure way for Shinsou to wither away. Or for Hizashi and Shouta to have to handle a Deathworlder caught in a space induced delirium.
"What's the smallest time unit you can count?" Shouta has an app open, the one Hizashi uses to set a metronome.
Several feeps and some simple math later, they have an approximation of a human cycle. Three meals divided through seventeen of Shinsou's 'hours', and then one long resting period that should last around seven 'hours'. It's an awfully big proportion of time to be awake, but who's Hizashi to question human habits? There must be an evolutionary explanation, perhaps something about Humans having to defend themselves from... Deathworld... things…?
Stamping down on his curiosity and pushing his questions about Shinsou's home planet away for the moment, Hizashi goes back to planning. They can all go to sleep at approximately the same time after Shinsou's last meal, and while Shouta and he will start their cycle a lot earlier, they can all spend some time awake together afterward. If Shinsou stretches the time between his first and second meal, Hizashi and Shouta can squeeze their own resting time in between so they wake up right before Shinsou's second meal. The schedule will probably get disturbed when missions start back up and they still need to find good moments to nap, but for the meantime, everyone's satisfied with Hizashi's proposal.
This meal will be considered as Shinsou's third, and then they'll all rest. Hizashi got to nap on the clipper, but judging from the way Shouta's front limbs are almost dragging on the floor, his bondmate desperately needs sleep.
"What do you need to eat?"
"I do not mind." Shinsou is glaring at his stomach, as if willing it to be silent.
Hizashi lets out a long breath, in an imitation of human exasperation. "No, I meant what should be in your diet?"
Shinsou fiddles with the nonstick bandages around his waist while he looks at the pictures Hizashi pulls up on the padd and holds in front of the Human. He points hesitantly at some grains and the long strands made from a grain paste.
Hizashi tries to keep the skepticism out of his voice. "Are you sure?" Maybe he doesn't understand. "What did you usually eat every cycle? On Dirt?"
The Human looks down, squinting in concentration. He points more decisively at the grains again, but this time, he also gestures toward plants. "I need this more, and then"—Shinsou gestures unsurely at a hu'ue—"and then… this?" He stares at the aquatic animal's meat blankly, before agreement-shaking his head more decisively. "And after, I only need a smaller of… of…?"
Shinsou lets out a huff of frustration. "It is for the—? So you do not break your… wing? Or other parts."
"Unless he has a different bone composition, I think he needs a source of calcium intake," Shouta signs sluggishly, eyes barely cracked open.
After Shinsou confirms Shouta's hypothesis and claims he doesn't need anything else, Hizashi makes him choose a quick meal to rehydrate. Shinsou's diet is a lot more diversified than Hizashi thought it would be, but it makes sense, he supposes. Can't be picky when living on a Deathworld. Luckily, Shinsou's needed food groups are pretty common. They'll probably have to shuffle things around so there's less chance they miss a specific nutrient, and they'll need to scan him often to follow his health progression and build a profile that can come as close to his base state as possible, but that's something they can figure out as they go. The immediate obstacle would be the food's unfamiliarity to Shinsou and whether aliments will be to his taste. An unsuspecting allergy will be something they'll have to look out for when they actually start cooking instead of feeding him dehydrated food.
It doesn't really matter for now, Hizashi thinks as he watches Shinsou eat his dehydrated soft vegetable soup. If he likes those, he shouldn't have problems with replicated or cooked food.
Hizashi chews his cut fruit lethargically. He feeds every other slice to Shouta, holding them up in front of his bondmate's lips until he delicately bites around Hizashi's talons.
When they're all done eating, Hizashi almost has to drag Shouta to the washroom. He pushes a glob of cleaning paste on three toothbrushes, handing them to the two others. The washroom isn't very big now that the three of them are in it together, but Shouta and Hizashi are used to working around each other and Shinsou is pretty adept at keeping out of the way.
"Look, like this." Hizashi draws circle over the outer side of his teeth, and then crosses over to do the inside of the opposite row. Shinsou doesn't have that great of an access to his teeth, skin closed on the side of his mouth, but he manages to brush even the farthest teeth. He adds, "It's not food, so don't eat it."
By the way Shinsou's screwing his face though, that won't be a problem.
"You okay? Does the taste bother you?"
Shinsou's stills for a fraction of a click before he smoothed out his face, "No, it is fine. Thank you."
Hizashi doesn't understand how he can eat dehydrated meals but not endure the cleaning paste's taste, but it's amusing to see Shinsou try to hide it and fail miserably. The muscles around his jaw tenses when he forgets to keep his face impassive, his features mushing together from time to time.
After they all spit in the tub and rinse the foam away, Hizashi has to tackle the sleeping arrangement situation.
"No."
"Aww, come on Shouta, look at him." Hizashi turns to Shinsou, who had been trailing behind, holding the cot in his upper limbs. Unfortunately, Shinsou looks pissed even if Hizashi knows he isn't. Exhaustion carves lines down his face, makes his eyes narrower. The way he stares at them, motionless, combined with the ship's lights dimming—it awfully resembles a scene in a horror play.
Shouta doesn't even tame his words. He glares at Shinsou, points to the a spare workroom adjoined to their resting quarters—the same one he used to quarantine Lamp, and then Engine, when they first got them, only until they would get accustomed to them and wouldn't run and squeeze into their ship's nook and crannies. "You will sleep here."
Shinsou looks at him nervously, squeezing the cot tighter. He holds Shouta's gaze intensely. "What if the Feczoits find us?"
Shouta's hackles rise. Hizashi intervenes before his mate can snap back. "We're right next to Toshinori's ship. He won't let them enter the perimeter. And look, we're sleeping right behind this door, so we're really close."
He prays Shinsou accepts it. Shouta's not going to let him sleep in the same room. Maybe he shouldn't have drawn Shinsou's attention to the fact that the workroom has two doors. While it means two exits, it's also two entry points to defend.
Shinsou takes a steadying breath, stands taller, and says, "Okay."
Hizashi whistles gratefully as Shouta whisks him away to their resting quarters. The door closes on Shinsou signing, "Good rest."
Shouta's scarf unwinds, trailing behind him. He brings Hizashi close to his chest and sinks in their nest, a heap of beddings lining a wide bowl carved into the floor, crawling through the pillows and old sheets to get to their cot. His mate practically shoves himself inside the yellow den, rolling Hizashi until he's curled up between Shouta's limbs, head tucked under his mate's chin, his back to Shouta's chest. Engine and Lamp are in their own tinier cot, piled one over the other.
Hizashi waits for his bondmate to turn on the cot heater, all of a sudden excited by the prospect of a warm nest , but his bondmate doesn't budge. Instead, Shouta squints at Hizashi, inspecting him. He lingers on the bonding bracelet, and it takes Hizashi a click to realize the little patterns Shouta is drawing on his back matches his bracelet's grooves, tracing every line and dot with the pad of his fingers. Their meeting on his shoulder blade, running away together tickling his ribs, becoming bonded pair over his racing heart. Shouta doesn't finish the circle, stops right before their deaths and rebirths, breath shuddering under the weight of what-ifs and almosts. Bristly fur on Hizashi's back, where Shouta rests his head, a palm pressing right on his sternum, as if his bondmate has to remind himself that Hizashi's still here, his breaths in tandem with Hizashi's heart.
This isn't the usual position in which they sleep. Shouta usually enjoys resting his nose in the crook of his neck, and the memories of waking up with a slightly cold nose pressed there distressfully doesn't bring up the usual fondness. Instead, he's dreading it, and then feels horrible about dreading it. He knows Shouta will respect his wishes, won't ever stray close to his neck until he gives him permission again, but Hizashi knows it's his mate's favourite way to show affection, his species way to say 'I trust you, I care for you', and he wants to cry, maybe break a Feczoit's bone or two for taking that away from him. He doesn't know if he'll ever be able to forget about collars and electricity tensing his muscles; right now, it feels impossible to overcome the memories of fingers grazing his neck and tearing his feathers.
Shouta rumbles to get his attention. The lights are starting to dim, slowly adjusting to the rest part of the cycle. Shouta opens the cot so Hizashi can see him better, some of the heat rushing out into the room.
"You're thinking too hard. Sleep. I'll guard you."
The cot opening closes back up, darkness falling back on him. The heating pad starts warming up as Shouta's scarf coils around him, arranged in a way that prevents anything from touching his throat.
And Hizashi wants fur to tickle the underside of his beak, wants a satisfied purr to vibrate against his trachea, but just the thought of it sends his heart into critter-fast pace. His extremities are too numb to speak and there's an empty hole right next to his heart that aches with loss.
Hizashi brings Shouta's head down to his level. Under the heated covers like they currently are, all Hizashi can see is the faint outline of his bondmate's face and two bright red, glowing eyes.
He blinks, lets his eyelids stay close for several clicks before opening them.
A careful paw strokes the back of his head, smoothing his crest. Shouta slowly blinks back, the two glows disappearing for long heartbeats.
Hizashi closes his eyes again, 'Forgive me' and 'I'm sorry' and other apologies Shouta would have called illogical falling away every time he eer'ahseer blinks. He doesn't voice his guilt, he knows Shouta will deny being disappointed. He can only hope this is enough.
It's taking longer for him to peel his outer eyelids. They stick together, grow heavier under the secure red lights.
A gentle huff brushes his face. He's going to open his eyes soon, tell Shouta to not worry. He just needs to rest them a little, and then he'll force his mate join him in his sleep.
Shouta's fur bristles at the display screen. He's reviewing the previous rest footage while Hizashi's in a holocall with his flock, animatedly asking about the new youngs that hatched last season. His flock is distracting him; they're waiting for Hizashi to open up about the torn feathers and missed calls, giving him some control about the situation and trying their best to support Hizashi, even if they can't be privy to all the details. It's sometimes difficult for Hizashi to keep information away from his flock, even if it's for their own safety—plausible deniability and all—and Shouta knows it frustrates the Yamada flock when they're unable to reach out to Hizashi in times of need. There's been many arguments over holocalls, signs all harsh and angry in the beginning, after they learned about Hizashi's piracy stints. It had only started to calm down when Hizashi reassured them that he would always consider himself part of the flock, even with billions of s'phars separating them, that he would continue giving and receiving support, even if that support might look different.
Shouta leaves his partner to coo about name ideas, proposing some of his own. He has a Human to observe.
In the footage, they had stayed in their cot for about half of their rest before sitting up and looking around. Despite their eyes not showing any signs of being able to reflect light, they move around the room without much difficulty, following the walls and looking in every corner. They're surveying their den, or the equivalent for Humans, making sure it's secure.
It would have been all fine and good if the Human didn't head for their shared den door. They pace in front of it, occasionally stopping to run their fingers around the edges. They press their ears on the metal and Shouta has to watch them stand there, unmoving in the dark, as if they were stalking prey.
Hizashi had tried to explain the behaviour away before he holocalled his flock, but Shouta can't shake his unease.
The footage shows them going back and forth between their cot and their shared door, sleeping for intervals of feeps before getting back up to make rounds.
At least Shouta isn't the only one who's going to be exhausted. He hadn't been able to relax completely, spending more time stroking Hizashi's head and the side of his beak when his partner started showing signs of distress, twining their tails together in an attempt to loosen Hizashi's nightmare's hold.
And when he hadn't been soothing Hizashi, he was jerking awake at the slightest noise, expecting the ship's alarms to blare or for the Human to have sneaked in. He had strained his ears only to be met with the soft puffs of air beside him and his own pounding hearts, even if he had been sure there was scratching on the other side of the shared door. He knows now that it hadn't been a trick of his imagination.
The footage catches up to the present. They're awake now, circling the room again. Hizashi doesn't know the Human's awake yet. Shouta takes advantage of Hizashi's distracted state to observe Purple's behaviour before his partner makes him go fetch them from the room.
An inkling of guilt slithers through his thoughts when Purple starts scratching the back of their neck, ineffectually clawing over the relatively new bandages at the eleventh lap around the room. Shouta can't deny that they look pitiful like this—it reminds him of Lamp's anxious clicks when she would accidentally get stuck in rooms, before she learned how to open doors.
Shouta glances at his partner. Hizashi's entirely focused on his holocall, Engine precariously curled on his tail. He's reluctant to leave Hizashi out of his sight, but now is the perfect opportunity to establish ground rules with the Human. Lamp jumps off his back when he gets up, making her way to Hizashi and climbing in between his wings. He quietly tells Hizashi he's going to see the Human when he heads out, greeting Hizashi's flockmates.
Shouta enters the Human's temporary den by the main door, glad their human stench isn't as potent as he thought it would be. The washing must have helped, and airing out the room will be easy when they're gone, even if there's an odd underlining smell—slightly familiar—that Shouta can't quite place.
They don't see him at first, their back turned to him. When he walks up to their side, they startle, upper limb jerking back with a bang and leaving an indent in his door. They look surprised to see him, and when they register the position in which they've been found, the blood vessels in their face dilates.
"I—" They square their shoulders, but it looks ridiculous with the way they're slowly shuffling to hide the dent with their body, as if Shouta didn't already notice "Zashi is where? He is injured?"
Shouta's tail lashes at the implication that he's not capable of protecting his mate. It stings even more so with the knowledge that Hizashi was taken when he had been only a few s'phars away, only separated by two rickety stalls and a curtain of people. "Zashi is fine. I can't say the same about my door."
Purple looks down at the dent with lowered brows. "You scare me." They realize how accusatory they sound because they tack a less-than-honest apology. "Sorry."
They edge away when he stroll closer to inspect the damage. The door is made of almiun. They dented almiun. They're cradling their upper limb, so at least they aren't unaffected by the show of strength. It doesn't stave the irritation of having to replace the damaged door and Shouta's slight apprehension. He should have knocked on the door before entering, or flickered the door light to warn them.
They had looked so gentle when handling Engine and Lamp. This is a helpful reminder of Purple's true nature. "You have to be more careful. Everything here is more fragile than what you're used to on your planet."
Purple's shoulders lifts to cover the side of their neck. The door doesn't slide open all the way, but it closes fine which is what truly matters.
Shouta lets his scarf settle, rubs the space between his eyes. "And stop trying to get in my den. I don't know how it is with Humans, but if you aren't invited in, you don't snoop."
With the Human properly chastised, Shouta turns around. Their lower limbs pitter patter behind him, but even then, Shouta slows until they catch up and isn't in his blind spot.
He doesn't bring the Human to Hizashi even if he's eager to go back to partner's side; it would be unfortunate if they went through the effort to hide Purple from Toshinori only for his partner's entire flock to see them through the holocall. The Human also needs to eat their first cycle meal under someone's supervision until they have a good aray of safe food variety for Purple.
The Human watches him scroll through various meals, the robotic voice listing the nutrition facts and ingredients of each. Something with grains, something with plants, and something with meat. He can add calcium powder over whatever he replicates. He purposely chooses a meal with different and new ingredients to optimize the amount of new variety they can add to Purple's diet. Despite what Hizashi might say, they can't enjoy being watched by a non-pack member while they eat.
They inspect the food, bringing it close to their face to smell it. It's a pleasant Iodahc dish—grain ground into paste to coat stems, stuffed into hard shelled water he'eèc that crunch satisfyingly under each bite. They don't eat it immediately like he expects, glancing between him and the replicator. "You do not eat?"
"We ate before you woke up." Hizashi's whole plan was for all of them to share meals, but Shouta managed to convince him to eat when his partner's stomach had growled. "I'm full. I'm only here in case you react badly to anything." Shouta doesn't want them to think he's going to steal their food.
Purple nods hesitantly, waiting for a few clicks before pinching one he'eèc in between their fingers. Their skin doesn't change colour, and their breathing stays regular, but they chew slower than previous meals, and they pause in between bites for long intervals.
"Is it not to your liking?"
Shouta doesn't mean to imply any wrongdoing on their part, only curious about Purple's different taste buds. They still choke down what's in their mouth with their eyes squinting at a point in the distance.
"No, it is good. It is very good." They do their pleased teeth baring to sell the lie and shoves a he'eèc in their mouth. "Thank you."
"If you don't enjoy it, you can say so." They have a lot of food resources. As long as Purple doesn't take advantage of that fact, he doesn't mind making them something else that'll agree with their palate. Usually, foul tasting food indicates it isn't good for a species' health. Besides, it's important to eat good meals when they're this deep in space, away from their home planet.
Purple leans over their plate, their upper limbs coming around to shield it away. A muscle in their face starts twitching. "I like this a lot."
Shouta wants to reprimand himself when he finally understands.
It's not that he forgot Purple was held in that fighting ring ship for who knows how long, but in the face of them being Human and the threat they pose, he had pushed it to the side. Shouta gives them more space. "I can make something else. Don't force yourself to eat if it tastes repulsive."
Purple shakes their head up and down, but they don't look like they believe him. They finish their plate with a grimace, mouth held slightly open. "Zashi?"
"Brush your teeth first. He's in a holocall right now."
He waits outside the washing room, listening to the water dripping. He doesn't know how much Humans need to clean, and it's unlikely that there's a nice complete guide out there that'll carry that type of trivial information.
He's thinking about where he could find out more about Humans when his partner rounds the corner, wings relaxedly folded. "Our flock wants us to visit soon. I want to meet the new youngs!" Hizashi chirps at the closed door. Even after all these years, Shouta still feels a small thrill at being included in his partner's flock. "Is Purple in there? Did you get along?"
"Zashi. They can bend almiun."
Hizashi flares his feathers, but it's too coordinated, too thought out. When he shifts his weight from limb to limb, Shouta breathes out loudly, fixing his partner with an accusing flick of his tail. "You already knew."
Hizashi whistles innocently, and then moves forward to try and distract him. His partner shoves his head against Shouta's chin, copying the way Shouta marks him even though he lacks scent glands.
"Zashi…"
Hizashi keeps up the fake scenting, rubbing the side of his beak against Shouta's jaw until he caves and scents him back, covering his partner with the inner side of his scarf. It's slightly frustrating. If Shouta were a few decades younger, he would have pushed until an argument sparked into life.
He changes track and signs instead, "They smell weird."
"Oh, yeah, Toshinori gave me kit soap. I let Purple use it since I didn't know how his skin would react." Hizashi tilts his head to the side. "You didn't notice it on me?"
He hadn't. He had marked Hizashi almost as soon as he was out of the tub. He knows his partner will tease him about it if he knew, so he asks, "What if they take offense?"
"Purple'll understand, I don't think they'll mind." Hizashi leans into Shouta's space with a mischievous swing of his tail. "And it's not like they have to know."
Shouta snorts, bumps Hizashi's side in reproach for risking belittling a Deathworlder for a laugh. The only reason he allows himself to be amused is because he's almost certain Purple doesn't have that good of a nose. They haven't reacted negatively yet, and in the pod, before, they didn't show any indication of noticing that Hizashi had stopped carrying their smell.
Shouta's bumping Hizashi's brow when Purple steps out, the front of their clothes slightly wet. They shake their paw at Hizashi and look at Shouta right as his lips twitch to show a glimpse of teeth at his partner's trick. The Human glances at Hizashi for a split click, before their own lips turn up, their teeth in full view for a moment before their face returns to its original form. Shouta has to remind himself of Hizashi's warning about the significance of human teeth baring, even if he experienced it earlier.
They really enjoy mimicking. Shouta wonders what happened during Humans' evolution for them to keep that trait over others.
They head to the med bay, Hizashi helping Purple lay down and get into a good position for their scanner while Shouta sets up a new profile for them. He only gets interrupted by Engine, who he has to pick up before she runs into the Human without warning.
When his partner gives him the go ahead, Shouta activates the scanner. The Human stays still at Hizashi's instructions. They're holding their breath.
The line of light passes over them two times before results start showing up. He frowns at the screen while Hizashi lets out a thoughtful chirp. There isn't enough storage in their encrypted server to store daily full body scans. They could do it if they uploaded it on the machine, on a normal account, but that would mean praying for this quadrant's crawler and surveillance AI to not pick up on the very human scans.
"If we focus on their head and torso and do a full-body every fifth human cycle, it'll give us enough time to get more storage."
None of them really knows how to read the med scan. Usually, the machine does the work for them by comparing Shouta or Hizashi's base profile and doing its best to return them to their healthiest state, but since Purple doesn't have one, they're going to have to try their best by monitoring changes manually and hopefully catch anything that goes on with Purple quickly.
The machine stops. Purple sits up when Hizashi gestures at them, squinting at the screen where their information is displayed. They can't interpret it either, not that Shouta held much hope. Not that they try very hard. Purple immediately zones onto Engine. They don't blink, for longer than Shouta is comfortable, and their mouth parts with a soft exhale.
"Okay, all done!" Hizashi places himself in between them, stretching and rubbing at his bandages. Small clouds of feather dust cascades down the floor every time he gestures—more of his plumage is coming in, tiny feathers lining his face and the inside of his wings.
Shouta has to clean the trails Hizashi left behind. There's also their cot to wash, the entire inside covered with feather sheaths that got rubbed off during their rest. He'll wait another one or two cycles more before he starts, at least until Hizashi stops shedding as much.
A/N: If you find typos or weird grammar, just leave a comment and I'll fix it :) Tell me what you think! I appreciate every review :)