Whiskers

Slipping Through

"I need to make a change to the new wolf's diet, again." He said. 

Sherry didn't seem surprised at all and tossed him a marker as he walked over to the diet book that held all of the information for each animal's feeding requirements. 

Flipping to the back, he snagged the damp papertowel Sherry tossed at him and rubbed off their last diet increase for Palace, then swiped his sleeve over the damp spot before uncapping the marker and writing the doubled amount. 

"Is everything going well?" He asked after capping the marker and flipping the book back to the page it had been on. 

Sherry nodded, but then held up a finger. "That hawk shifter you brought in with the wolf." 

He frowned, nodding as he replied. "Yeah, Knight. Did something happen with him?" 

The woman finished making the diet she was focusing on, then labeled it and slid it to the others waiting to be picked up before turning to him. 

"He hasn't been eating much. When you first brought him he would eat at least two or three mice a day. Now, his bowl returns with at least two, if not all three. I offered him human food, too. Fruits, vegetables, and some cooked meats, but he didn't even touch them." 

Leaning against the stainless steel table beside him, Jamie licked his lips, then took out his Chap Stick to swipe across them. "What do his keepers say?" He asked. 

Generally, him and Jared took care of him if they had the time, but dealing with Palace and the constant barrage of reporters trying to get in had taken Knight's care away from their hands most days. 

"They said that he's been in his hawk form more often than not. You guys gave him the ability to have a keeper take him to the restroom, but he doesn't even bother shifting to ask." 

Odd, he's been his regular self around us. 

"Thanks for the information, I'm going to go pay him a visit." Jamie said as he finished his apple, tossed it, and headed out. 

He caught one of the keepers they had assigned to him stepping out of the room right after he'd finished cleaning, making Jamie wave at him to keep the door unlocked. 

"How's he been, Rob?" He asked as he glanced inside the room through the small window in the door. 

Knight stood perched on one of the many different branches they'd brought in and fastened to different fake trees placed around the room. Judging by the wet spots from the mop Rob had used to clean, Knight at least seemed to appreciate their effort to offer his hawk form several places to perch. 

"Hello, sir. He didn't eat today, and barely ate the last few days. I was going to come let you know after I finished putting this stuff away." He said, earning a simple nod from Jamie. 

It wasn't abnormal for an animal to refuse food for a day or two in a row, and since he hadn't really refused to eat, just hadn't eaten much, he didn't mind that they weren't told yet. 

"Alright, thanks. Make sure to wright it in his records. I'll lock the door after I speak with him." 

Rob agreed, then picked up his cleaning supplies and disappeared around the corner down the hall. Jamie ran his Chap Stick over his lips one more time before sliding it back into his pocket and stepping inside Knight's room. 

The guy jerked his feathered head toward him right away, then leaped from the perch he was on and shifted so that he landed on his bare feet instead of talons. 

"What's going on, Knight?" Jamie asked, getting straight to the point. 

He knew that the guy didn't like being stuck in the room, and they tried to let him out as much as possible, but he wasn't the only thing they had to look after. Hopefully, after the paperwork for the case was processed and reviewed, then Knight was behaviorally tested to be safe around other people, they could just let him go.