(will be re-edited)
Jin's POV
What could she possibly need to eat first?
Meat? Yes, some ripe fruits as well... I know as a hybrid she'd need more but since she's probably spent more than half her life in her animal form, I don't want to upset her stomach by including other types of food, so meat and fruits it is for now.
Not completely raw, but not completely cooked either because I want her stomach to start getting used to a new type of diet. Sounds good to me, let's do this.
With that in mind, I start working in the kitchen, ingredients taken out one after the other, maybe just a little more than what I should be allowed for one hybrid but who cares, I'll just buy more later.
This is my soulmate we're talking about and after seeing her unconscious for more than a week, a constant fear that she might be stuck in a coma crawling at the back of my mind every single minute of every day, I intend to spoil her as much as I'm allowed to and I will bend the rules if I have to as well.
She'll be eating like a queen and she'll be recovering twice as fast. Heck, I know I've done the exact same for our other soulmates.
It's been wonderful to see them learn to trust us, seeing them allow us closer, hands petting their fur and scales, the bath times getting splashed by them because they're having the time of their life jumping around, I love it all.
The cuddle sessions they've slowly started getting into within their small group as well, the drugs leaving their body finally allowing their natural scent to seep out, they must not understand the attraction they feel, towards each other and towards us and it must really confuse them because I doubt they learned much at all at the circus, but I just know they feel the bond as well, they know we're different from the others, that something unites us, something not visible to the eyes.
The little snake is one cuddly little guy, always wrapped around me, Jimin or Taehyung and it's mainly him who managed to convince the others to open up to us, to let us in some more, to see for themselves that we're not here to hurt them, that they're not here to keep hurting and since then, they've been really close to us, following us everywhere and always asking for attention.
I put the pieces of meat into a big container next to the fruits as they get cooked and sigh to myself.
Seeing the percentage of drug in their blood, something absolutely illegal that forbids hybrids from shifting forms, it makes me so mad. They've been trapped like animals in cages more than just literally. They've also been trapped within themselves. So much we're going to have to teach them, lessons about everything we can possibly think of.
Luckily, we have some wonderful teachers getting everything ready, classes that will focus on the most important first, on the bases, such as telling aliments apart from one another, types of buildings, types of places, what it means to play games, to have fun, products used to wash oneself and how to use them, how to cook, how to get dressed, how to choose complete outfits appropriate for different types of situations before gradually adding school lessons, it will take a few years but we don't have much choice.
If they want to live a normal life outside of these walls, then it has to be done.
They're also going to have to attend therapy, no doubt that everything they went through will weight heavily on their mind. To have to fight your friends, to be forced to kill while thousands of people cheer loudly around you, of course you won't trust those same people, even if not everyone is like that. Their situation was from an extreme you don't see everyday and some are heavily traumatized, so much that they have yet to allow any humans nearby.
"Hyung... how many hybrids are you going to feed with all this?" I hear Taehyung's voice ask all of a sudden and turn around to see him eyeing everything I got ready so far. I frown and look at the few containers to see that...
"I might have made a bit too much" I mumble quietly. There's no way she can eat all that.
Taehyung comes over and wraps his arms around my waist from behind me, curious eyes gazing at the meat still cooking on the stove from over my shoulder. "Are you stress cooking for the hybrids? Did something happen?" he asks softly as he leaves a kiss on the nape of my neck, the contact one that helps soothe me slightly.
I nod softly. "She woke up, Tae, The snow leopard, she's awake, I- when I saw her, I went into panic mode right away and dashed out to make some food, you know she hasn't eaten anything for a week, she got the fluids but that's shit if you ask me, try converting a whole meal into liquid, no thank you. She needs to eat proper food, meat, fruits, I know leopards love those, I just wonder if that's enough, would she want something else? Should I add a wider variety?" I let out, eyes taking in the food with worry, should I add more? Will she be happy with this?
I start rambling, needing to let my concern out in the open and he hums after each few words, the news that our soulmate is finally awake making him squeeze me slightly tighter, but he remains calms and keeps listening, just silent listening as I keep packing more and more for her. I know it's too much, it definitely is, but I can't help it.
After a while though, Taehyung grabs my wrist carefully to stop me. "You've made enough, hyung, that's enough. Let's bring half of this to her and give the others the rest, how's that?" he offers and I still, mind screaming at me that no, this is all for her, just for her.
"I... let me see her eat first, let me see her eat until it's enough for her and then we can go around and distribute what remains... but not before, let me bring everything" I plead, knowing this is childish of me, but I need to allow my instinct to be soothed.
It's her first, the others can wait. Unprofessional, very soulmaty, I know. I would probably be scolded for saying that out loud to anyone else, but I know Taehyung can understand.
"Okay hyung, let's do this then" he murmurs and pulls back from me to help me gather the containers so we can bring them to her room together.
"Jiminie is going to be shocked" he says with a small laugh and I purse my lips, hoping he won't scold me for that.
He can be rather strict when it comes to the rules here as he doesn't like giving special treatments to one more than another, which I understand, but I can't help it, we've been waiting for our remaining soulmates for so long, those who would fill the emptiness of our souls and knowing the kind of life they had to go through, I can't not do my best to make them happy.
While we were young and happy, they were already suffering.
"Breathe, hyung, it's going to be fine. Jimin knows how you are, he won't be mad" Taehyung reassures me when he sees my bitten lips turning red and I nod, arms now filled with food she will, I hope, enjoy. "Let's go" he continues, smiling eyes at me before he nudges my side to get moving.
I follow him out of the kitchen before remembering something important. "Wait, weren't you supposed to give our soulmates a bath?" I ask him and he sighs, discouraged as we start walking through the corridors.
"You tell me, I couldn't find them yet, they're probably hiding somewhere. I told the others to call me whenever they find them. I think they might be looking for the tiger and the snake, it's okay, the bath will still happen, just later" he explains, a small huff leaving his lips.
I hum, an amused smile on my face. They're really becoming at ease here if they allow themselves to act like spoiled brats.
Your POV
Once Jin left the room, Jimin left as well to go do some chores knowing that the man would take a while and told me to relax, that he would be back in around thirty minutes.
With no one to keep me company, I have to admit, it's rather boring.
Although I'm not too sure how to act towards the people here, I have to say Jimin is nice. He has a reassuring scent and I like the sound of his voice.
As for Jin, the way he tried to protect me at the circus, his reaction to seeing me awake and how fast he left with the mindset of feeding me, I can tell he's soft. His scent is inviting and sweet, light and I just want to roll in it, to have it spread all over me, something I would never do because that would be immensely embarrassing and inappropriate.
There is one smell that I could tell apart from theirs on the both of them and it makes me long to see who is its owner. There has to be something about these smells, something that can be explained and it annoys me to no end that I can't tell what it is.
As soon as I shift to my human form, I'm asking them. I don't want to stay in the dark, confused about smells that make me feel like they belong to me, that I can claim them and it would be okay.
But I'm especially excited about being able to communicate again with my family. To hug them in the most satisfying way, arms around each other, chest against chest, something that can't be done as an animal.
I remember hugging mom that way once, when I was very young. It was the only hug I ever got, but I can never forget about it.
The door opens and I look up to see a stranger enter the room, someone I don't know, a scent I don't recognize. Instantly, I tense up and growl, a warning out in the open that I need him to stay a good distance away until I can make sure he's not dangerous.
He freezes and stops moving, eyes going up from his feet to meet mine and they widen, as if he can't believe what he's seeing but he remains still and quiet to give me the time to process what is going on.
My eyes look up to the top of his head where I see a pair of silky ears, white and fidgety and I immediately recognize the young man as a hybrid when I see his tail wave behind him. The fact that he's similar to me helps me relax a little. Not a human, but a hybrid. A hybrid is safe.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't know you were awake. Has anyone come to you yet or did you just come to consciousness?" he asks, eyes looking around to see the room cleaner than clean and an antiseptic cream by my bed, which brings his gaze to my wounds, freshly stitched. He breathes in and hums, the freshness of the doctor's smell enough to tell him that he was inside not long ago.
I pay attention to his own scent, something flowery and light, but it doesn't bring forward the same feeling within me as the others do, I don't feel the need to claim him as mine. There's definitely something I need to know about this.
I might be ignorant, but I'm not stupid. I will get these answers.
"I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Sunoo, I'm Doctor Jimin's assistant, you might meet Heeseung some other time as well, his other assistant and my friend, he's a human. I was tasked with coming by once every few hours to make sure that your state is stable so... may I? It won't be anything stressful, I promise, I just need to feel your pulse and take a look at your pupils" he explains, expectant eyes on me as he awaits my answer.
My tail hits the air quickly before I nod my head to let him know it's fine. I could eat him up in an instant, he doesn't scare me.
He smiles and trots over closer as I follow him with my eyes, curious to see how he doesn't seem to mind being in the presence of a bigger predator than him. Is he just stupid or is the outside world that much different from what I expected?
He does exactly as he said he would and presses his fingers against my neck for a few minutes before writing numbers on a paper and then proceeds to take a look at my pupils, something incredibly uncomfortable but I let him do his thing, it can't be worse than being shot at twice.
He writes some more notes and hums. "A good meal won't be a luxury, you need to regain some strength. I'll see if I can get someone to take care of that and bring it to you soon-" I chirp to cut him short and motion my face towards the door where the Jin man comes in with arms filled with more food than I have ever seen in my whole life. Sunoo turns around and lets out an amused giggle.
"Oh, well I guess that's taken care of then. I'm sure I don't need to tell you to not let her eat that much, right hyung? We don't want her sick" Sunoo says, a smile playing on his lips and Jin's ears turn a pretty pink as he nods before coming further inside towards a table where he sets the food down while another man follows inside, his arms also holding a lot.
I've never seen him before, but his scent is familiar, one I could smell on both Jimin and Jin. His eyes meet mine and I become hesitant about keeping the eye contact, it feels like he's finding out too much about me in such a short time, the way his gaze pierces through me in mere seconds.
"How are snowy's vitals?" he asks as he hands Jin the remaining containers and his gaze falls on the cat hybrid before the latter gives the man his notes. The former grabs them and stays silent as he analyzes everything before handing them back to the hybrid.
"A good meal is actually a very good timing right now, you did good, hyung" the man says and Jin blushes slightly before nodding, hands going to open containers that allow the smell to reach my nose and I can't help but drool right away.
That's... that smells amazing.
I try to sit up, with some difficulty and although I know I shouldn't since Jimin didn't give me the good to go, Sunoo reacts instead, a quiet hiss sent my way before he hurries to make me lie down again, eyes completely ignoring my glare as my tongue goes to swipe across my lips to get rid of the drool. I growl in annoyance but he tuts me with a frown of his own.
"This isn't a game, young girl, I can see your stitches have been redone not long ago and you can't move yet. Don't worry, we'll make it so you can eat without straining your body, just let us handle this one" he gently scolds me and I huff before laying my head down the opposite way from where he is.
The strange man with the piercing eyes laughs at the sight and it just makes me even more sulky, so I let out a grumpy grumble of sounds to let them know that I'm not happy with how they're treating me at the moment. Sunoo simply chuckles and pinches softly the tip of my ear, which earns himself a slap from my tail.
"Oh my, I guess you two are going to become great friends, aren't you?".
I growl lowly, unable to deny it but not willing to agree either. I can't believe he called me young girl when I'm probably older than he is.
And scarier. And stronger. Age doesn't matter, I still could gobble him up in seconds.
I smell the enticing new scent getting closer until the strange man crouches in front of me so his eyes can be right in front of mine, orbs warm and kind, but still piercing and too... knowing. He knows too much.
"Aren't you just the cutest girl I've ever laid eyes on. You haven't met me yet so allow me to introduce myself properly. My name is Taehyung, I'm the center's psychologist for hybrids, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable earlier, it's now instinctive for me to analyze the hybrids' body language when I first see them, you'll quickly get used to it, don't worry" he says with a soft deep voice, face relieved when I don't make an apparent move to gain distance between us.
He raises a hand in a way that I can see it before moving it in front of my nose and then stays still, something that tickles at my curiosity.
I raise my head from the bed to get a better look at this strange human. His eyes are earnest, transparent, he doesn't seem afraid that I could bite his fingers off, none of them are, something so different from the jailers who would yelp whenever I snapped my teeth too loudly.
I sniff his hand lightly, the smell one that makes me feel a rumbly purr build up in the back of my throat and although I try to resist the urge, I know I can't hide all of it, the small vibrations being heard for anyone close enough around me.
Still, he doesn't react, eyes patiently trained on mine, something that pleases me and so, after determining that he can be trusted too, I let my chin fall on his hand, the warmth of his palm against my skin so nice and comforting.
Taehyung smiles proudly and without warning, proceeds to scratch under my chin and onto my throat with gentle pressure, something that has my eyes rolling to the back of my head, instantly transported to another dimension.
My muscles give up on me and my head's full weight becomes supported by his hand only, the way his fingers scratch into all my sweet spots making me see stars and rainbows, purrs set free, loud and unrestrained and I would be humiliated if I wasn't in total bliss, completely losing all connections with reality.
Goodness, who knew something like that could feel so good?
Unaware that I'm now drooling like a stupid cat, the feeling continues some more before everything suddenly stops and it takes me a moment to come back to my senses, phantom of fingers still being felt where the scratches were happening.
My purrs eventually settle down into a constant rumble before I open my eyes, noticing right away that Jimin came back, his scent mixing in with the others and harmonizing perfectly well with one another, his arms wrapped around Jin with a bright smile, as if something amazing just happened.
And then I realize exactly what just happened.
Eyes widening, I quickly avoid theirs and bring my tail to hide my face in an attempt to get rid of the shame quickly spreading through my whole being. I can't believe I did that. I just let myself go as if there was no tomorrow and it's so embarrassing!
"Aww, it's okay, sweet girl, this is a normal reaction, you don't have to be shy about it" Jimin coos and I let out an incoherent assortment of grunts and grumbling in response, some more drool decorating my chin before I let my tongue get everything to hide the evidence.
This will never be okay. Yoongi and Namjoon would try to remind me of this for the rest of my days and they would definitely laugh their ass off if they'd seen this.
Jin cackles, a weird type of laughter leaving his throat and I slide my tail slightly to the side to see him holding his stomach while Jimin looks just as amused, Taehyung's deep chuckle also easily heard as he moves from his crouching position in front of me to stand with them.
Hoping to get some support from the other hybrid in the room, I'm disappointed to see him hiding his face with a hand as he too laughs, his small giggles light in the room that is now filled with their joyous sounds, something I've never experienced before.
As happy as it makes me to hear happiness, I allow out a growl, unhappy because my embarrassment is not there for their personal enjoyment, but when Taehyung goes to get a small container of fruits, I perk up at the sight, humiliation quickly forgotten, especially when the colours I manage to see are vibrant, smells delightful instead of bitter and gross.
I jiggle a bit in place, excitement filling me as I come to realize that this might be for me and when he sets the container between my two arms, I look at everyone in the room first, just to make sure that I really am allowed to eat these.
The fruits look too precious for me to eat alone but when they nod, creased eyes on my form, I slowly allow my tongue to get a few pieces, eyes still on them just in case they might change their mind.
As soon as the taste reaches my taste buds, it's an explosion of flavors that makes me enjoy eating for the first time in my life. Not a chore, not something I need to get through to survive, but an experience worth enjoying.
My hesitation quickly gives place to possessiveness, purrs leaving me as I keep eating, satisfaction settling within me because some of the fruits fit with Taehyung and Jimin's scent, they're my favourite.
Who knew food could be so good. I just woke up but already, my belief that this place can't be worse than the circus grows stronger by the minute.
"Hand me some meat, hyung, she's going to love this one" Taehyung's voice chirps and I open my eyes as I realize that there are no more fruits, tongue licking an empty container, it's a terrible realization but I could never complain, what I was just allowed was the best meal of my life.
With careful hands, Taehyung takes the now empty fruit container away from me and fills it with tender meat under my confused eyes, the smell one that makes my stomach grumble loudly.
This can't possibly be for me alone. I could share this single piece with Hoseok, Namjoon and Yoongi and we would be fine for a whole week.
I look up to meet their eyes again when it gets settled back between my arms, soul taken aback as my stomach screams again for a taste. Are they really expecting me to eat this? All by myself?
Jin bites on his bottom lip and frowns a little when I don't make a move to eat the meat. "Does... does it not look good? Do you want something else?" he asks quietly, voice sounding as if he did something wrong. Why is he worried about me not being pleased?
I look down at the food, then up to Sunoo when I notice him step closer in curiosity. Does he want some too? With my nose, I push the container towards him, eyes going to meet his and watch as they widen. Do small cats like him even eat meat like this? Is this too big for him?
Using my teeth to get smaller bites out of the huge piece, I put them aside for him and then wait to see if he's going to get them or not, but he too doesn't make a move to eat, eyes wide on me.
"I... are you trying to share your meal with me?" he asks, voice surprised as he gazes at the bites I made for him.
Is it not obvious? Has no one shared their food with him so far? Confused, I notice how Jimin crouches next to the bed with a soft smile, although his scent has turned slightly sad.
"Sweet girl, you don't need to share, this is for you, all of it. Sunoo has regular meals here and already ate so I'm sure he's not hungry. Your offer is very generous and you're such a good girl for worrying about him first. Still, you don't need to worry, just eat what you can, it's fine" he tells me, a gentle hand going to cup the side of my face before he moves away to give me more space.
Can I really? Has my family been eating so much as well? Each of them? But what if I eat it all and they get hungry? What are they going to eat then?
My tail flickers through the air anxiously, not sure of what I should do. Should I eat only a small part and leave the rest for another hungry hybrid?
That sounds like a good idea, I can't be selfish. Starting with the small bites I made for the cat, I eat slowly, eyes trying to keep track of how much is left so I don't eat more than necessary. I got the fruits anyway, I'll be fine with just a little bit of meat.
But then I hear a soft sob reach my ears and I automatically look up to see what is happening, the heartbreaking sound making me whine in worry.
My eyes fall on Jin, his face stained with tears while Taehyung tries to soothe him, soft words said to him that it's going to be okay, that I just need time, that it was to be expected.
Have I done something bad? Is he crying because of me? Sensing a pressure rise within me, knots formed around my heart, my breath quickens and shortens uncomfortably, the sound of his crying tearing me apart. Did I do that to him? Why? What did I do? I was just trying to be careful, so why is he so sad?
Jimin notices the sudden shift in my behavior and leaves their side to sit next to me on the bed, a hand gently going to rub between my ears, the touch grounding, but it doesn't bring an end to the cries and my heart keeps squeezing painfully in my chest.
"You're okay, sweet girl, it's not your fault. Jin just hoped to see you eat some more, it saddens him to see that you feel like you have to neglect yourself to allow others to get something. Everyone will get food of their own, no matter how much you eat, but if you're not ready, we'll go a little at a time. Just eat a few more bites for me and that'll be enough for now, okay? Can you do that?".
I bring my gaze back to Jin who's nodding, hands going to wipe his cheeks while Taehyung leaves a kiss to his nose. He's crying because I'm not eating enough? And my eating more will not have another hybrid starving?
Jimin's fingers stroking behind my ears helps me calm down slightly and I decide to take a bigger bite. I might not be very hungry anymore, but if that can make him happy, then I will try, as hard as it is.
"That's a good girl, just like that" Jimin coos, voice proud and surprised, relieved.
"Look, hyung, she's eating, it's okay". A sniffle with a broken hum. "She is, thank goodness. Oh thank goodness".
And with that, just because it seems to make them happy, I do something I would've never done otherwise. I eat the whole piece of meat.