It was me

Before Reta had entered their floor, before KuliKuli met Zimi she had stood beside Na'Vi watching over her shivering state. Since their arrival, she had been wounded and left with bruise marks around her body, most focusing on her thighs and paws. Including the debacle they found themselves trapped in, KuliKuli felt overwhelmed with what to do. Leaning back until the back of her head tapped against the hard wall, she gave out an exhausted sigh in her defeat.

So many emotions coursing through her, the longer she pondered over their fate the less she could see beyond the walls. Her little sister was hurting inside, a fate she has had recent familiarity with ever since they turned themselves in. Her older sister was trapped in an altered form, lacking her paws, ears and tails, and had been taken away recently.

Along with their Mother...

"You look like you're having a bad day." From the edge of her vision, she could see a familiar stranger sat next to her, playing with her tails. KuliKuli didn't make the effort of looking up, keeping her shoulders raised as she closed her eyes instead. "That doesn't work, I'm still here."

Another sigh from the sad kitty, prompting her visitor to pet her hair.

"Cheer up, a moment ago you were so filled with optimism. Where did the cheerfulness go?"

Lifting her head up, KuliKuli flashed a brief smile. "It never went away, it's just taking a break for now. Sort of."

Leaning back again, her smile dropped as she rubbed her face in distress. She rubbed her tummy, feeling as if the contents inside were stirring. Nervousness perhaps? The noises it would make worried her that others would notice, she held on and fought the urge to hurl at that moment. Once it had passed, she sighed in relief as she began to collect her thoughts.

"I didn't think it through all the way. Everyone's just falling over their own messes, I don't even know where to start."

The cat girl shrugged, "One at a time I guess. Where's Mom?"

"Taken, and according to Dimyri we will follow shortly."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't... I don't know. I'm thinking about it."

They paused for some time, sitting still with a cat ear flickering now and then.

"Well?"

KuliKuli clicked her tongue. "I got nothing, so far all that comes to mind is that this is all my fault."

"It's not your fault." Na'Vi groaned from where she lay. KuliKuli turned around, scooting over and rubbing her friend's sore arm.

"Hey, lay still. Try not to hurt yourself just to make me feel better."

Both Dimyri and Syri glanced back as Na'Vi turned to lay on her back. "It's not your fault we're in this mess, don't blame yourself over it."

Both sisters locked eyes, sharing the same thought in mind as KuliKuli ignored her friend's words and pressed her paw onto her forehead.

"I don't know if you feel right, Dimyri you know more about this stuff. Is she feeling alright here?" She stopped as a tail wrapped gently around her forearm, stroking her skin with her fur. Dimyri and Syri both moved in with Dimyri getting beside Na'Vi, helping her up.

"Lay her against the wall." Dimyri said as her sister assisted as best as she could, being careful not to move Na'Vi too fast or too hard. KuliKuli could barely watch her in this state.

"Why did they do this to you? Those animals." Her voice cracked as she had meant to look away, catching Syri's look of understanding.

"Sis, I think... I think there's something Na'Vi..."

"There's something we need to tell you." Dimyri said with a knowing look. It wasn't pretty, more of a slight dreadful hint paired with guilt in her eyes.

"It can wait." KuliKuli responded, blinking her eyes and clearing her throat. "We have bigger things to focus on."

"No... it can't." Na'Vi groaned in pain, flashing her teeth as she scrunched her face briefly. "I've needed to tell you this for a long time now. I just never meant to in a spot like this."

"Na'Vi, what are you talking about?"

"It's about what happened to us." KuliKuli shook her head, quickly worrying her that maybe she wouldn't want to hear this. "It's more then that, but... I need you to focus."

"Na'Vi, please. This isn't something I need right now-"

"KuliKuli." That made her pause, staring back at her in silence. Nobody moved a muscle as the tension was made clear. "This is important. Back then when you were Nityri, what do you remember?"

She blinked, stressing out as she forced herself to think back to what she learned. "I don't know, not much. Mom mentioned I was under their control, and that they used me to find you guys. That I'm the reason we're in this."

"It was me."

Nothing, not a word for another uncertain period of time. Neither Nekomata made a move, only the dull, creeping groan of those metal gears turning down the hallway of their floor.

"It was a bad time, you wanted to know about those humans... so you kept sneaking out into their village in the middle of the night."

As she spoke, KuliKuli could vaguely remember her perspective being so low on the ground, the grass appearing like a vast jungle from her small stature. She could see tents set up around one area, a small village with market shops and tiny houses on the opposite side. Torches impaled onto the ground serving to illuminate around them and provide brief comfort, with tall looking strangers walking around, some wore dirty clothes and others seemed clean however with torn or whithered outfits.

"I should have told you not to go, Mother scolded me a lot for that but... I just couldn't say the words. I knew it was wrong... and I went with you anyway. Mom told us not to go, warned us about what would happen but-"

"I wanted to find Dad." KuliKuli added. Syri hugged her from behind, nuzzling her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.

"You were jealous that the other girls would get visits from their dads and we didn't." Syri mentioned, rubbing her back slowly.

Na'Vi spoke next. "And I remember those girls would tease us enough for being together, but even though we would shut them up they hurt you still. Even when they were away, they would hurt you, because you believed them."

KuliKuli held her sisters paw, sitting up and patiently letting this information sink in as they continued.

"So one night I caught one of the village kids leaving out a bowl of milk, and you drank from it when everyone was sleeping and the guards weren't looking. I didn't like it, we got into a fight. I was just... confused. Why do you need him, why do you need him, stop bothering to find him I said. Oh we said so much back and forth, on and on. But then you said that I was being jealous before telling me that this wasn't working out. I was being clingy, overprotective, and you needed some space to think about us."

"We said this at the village?"

Dimyri shook her head. "It was at the clutter, early in the day. Everyone was watching."

"No one knew what to say." Syri added. "You two never fought before and it got bad."

Na'Vi swallowed something heavy, adjusting and settling in her uncomfortable seat before looking towards Dimyri. "And then I did something really stupid."

She nodded, confirming for her to continue from her side.

"When the fight ended, you both went different ways. I went to check on her while Syri went after you. It was hard to find her, there was this huge crowd surrounding you guys just watching that when you both left we lost sight of you immediately. I found some paw prints leading me to the village, bringing me to a cabin with the front door broken through and several people watching and panicking. Then she stepped out."

KuliKuli turned over to Na'Vi as she finished the rest.

"I told them not to feed you, touch you or look at you again. Because I didn't want them to hurt you." Na'Vi sniffed, her face beginning to turn red. "And in doing that, I didn't care to hide myself until after. I came back home being yelled at by her, but you never returned. We stayed looking for days until suddenly you walked back to us. With a collar."

Her heart sank, that was when her Mother recalled what happened from her side. When Nityri had been used to lead Perdilius to her family, that was how it began. Her look of shock confirmed the worst for Na'Vi, leaving her to look away in shame.

"Humans, they just knock us up and break our hearts, leaving us a broken home to carry. I don't understand those humans or why you were seeking them, but when I got scared that they would hurt you, I only made the worst happen instead. You told me those things and... you were right. What I did afterwards proved it. It was never your fault that this happened, it's mine."

KuliKuli shut her eyes, breathing in to keep her heart from accelerating. Her throat felt full and her chest was beginning to feel an odd pressure inside, like some unknown object squeezing at her heart. It hurt, reviving that familiar pain she had forgotten once before in her past life.

"Kuli, say something. Tell me it's my fault, yell at me. Just... please feel better." Her heart broke as KuliKuli pulled away from her touch only slightly.

"I... I can't. Why didn't you tell me this before?" She directed her sight to her two sisters, putting them on the spot.

"It wasn't our place to say. It would have been unfair." Dimyri answered.

"I told them not to." Na'Vi sniffed. "I wanted to tell you myself."

"This isn't... I can't feel better about this. I can't. I just... I can't." KuliKuli moved away, walking to the front of the room and leaning her head onto the bars. Na'Vi hung her head, joined by Syri while Dimyri stepped forward to join her sister. "Don't, just not right now. Please."

"I know." Dimyri said, reaching to squeeze her sisters paw. This had been unsettling to watch for her, but in a way it felt nice to clear herself of that secret.

"I didn't think you would tell her." Syri spoke to Na'Vi. "She's going to be upset for a while, but you know it was an accident."

"I'd rather she be mad at me then at herself." Na'Vi flinched, rubbing her arm. "That's... what matters."

Right?

Suddenly, the gears stopped before moving back as someone else stumbled onto their floor.

"Hey, hey help her up! Miss, what happened?"

Someone groaned in response. "Please, help me. I'm so defenseless and pitiful, hold me."

"Miss?"

"Help her up, I'm getting Perdilius-"

"No, you're getting something else."

"Hey-Ah!"

"Ow!"

"Aagh!!" Another scream followed by the sound of two bodies collapsing onto the floor. Dimyri and KuliKuli looked around from where they could, waiting to find what the cause of that noise was. Clumsily walking towards them was a wounded young woman with a toned form, her arms bandaged heavily as she fell to her knees. Someone else was approaching behind her, a Nekomata.

A Nekomata and a cursed ally, facing them from the other side.

"Aunt Z?" Syri gasped, moving to the front of the room with them. KuliKuli looked over at the Nekomata before settling to ths sight of her old friend.

"Wolfy?"

"Hey Kitten. Missed me?"