"Why ? Because humans, although they think they are evolved and smarter than animals, continue to follow their primitive instinct. Even if they were able to build a society and invent things that I would never be able to understand, it is always the law of the strongest who will dominate them all." The bird answered without moving, leaving Naal to squeeze her in her arms to console herself.
"In that case... I wish I could be stronger... To be able to defend myself against them, against my father... Are the weakest forced to suffer if they want to live?" The little girl's sobs continued to ring in the dirty room that served her as a bedroom.
Although Astera's vision was realistic, she forgot to mention that there were also strong people who made their power available to others. Arun did not pretend to be one of the strong, but he would always do his best to give those who were weaker than him to get better.
"At that time, I did not understand that." Astera's adult voice interrupted the veterinarian's thoughts. She had once again read in his thoughts to intervene ..
"I hated humans. My owner at that time was an execrable man who took me for his slave, and forced me to deliver all day what he was selling, all this without taking into account my fatigue or the fact that even if I am an animal, I have feelings too." She continued in a calm voice, revealing her past to the young man in whom she had complete confidence. Even now, humans inspired her with disgust. But not him. She knew he was capable of anything to help those in need, and if she and Naal had met someone like that at the time, she would not have made the mistake she had made.
"I'm going to show you what happened next, I could not just let Naal live with a violent father who put her in danger, I understood her pain... And I did not want her to live the same ordeal as I. But where I was wrong was when I used violence to overcome violence." Without saying more, Astera was silent to let the scene continue under the veterinarian's eyes.
"I'm going to lend you my strength, Naal." The bird said, who was snuggled against the little girl, with confidence. She was not going to let her suffer any longer, it had already lasted too long. "The weak should not suffer to live, I will free you from your weakness." She slowly moved away from the child who was falling asleep against her feathers, and helped her lie down in bed.
"Sleep well." She added softly before leaving through the still open window through which she had entered. She was going to put an end to Naal's nightmare, and when she woke up, she could finally live in a dream.
Flying in the sky, Astera went to land on a building not far from the girl's house. The lights were still on, and his father probably did not sleep. She would wait for him to go out and act.
An hour passed, then two, and finally the man decided to open the door, half drunk. He held an empty bottle in his hand and stumbled along. People like that better not exist...
Taking flight, the raptor burst on the man and planted her claws in his neck, tearing off a piece of skin before quickly departing. The latter turned around screaming, not understanding what was happening to him because of the effects of alcohol.
"What the fuck is that, who did this to me ?" Astera did not wait any longer and plunged back on him, pushing him this time on the ground before continuing the cuts where his skin was visible. The screams of the man were so strong that it would not be long before someone would hear it, so she had to act quickly.
Lying on the floor, he could not even get up. Astera flew a few yards further, finding a rather large stone that would serve her. She doubted she could kill him only with her claws...
She grabbed the stone between her claws and flew away with difficulty, as high as possible, placing herself above the head of Naal's father. She should not miss it. Once she was sure she was in the right place, she let go of the stone, falling back straight onto the alcoholic's skull, which exploded and repainted the sidewalk with a scarlet liquid. There was no doubt. She had just killed him.
"Did you kill Naal's father ?!" Exclaimed Arun, surprised by the violence of the situation. Her father beat her, certainly, and made her live in deplorable conditions... But was murder the best solution ?
"Yes, I killed him. And yes, it seemed to me the only way to help Naal get by, I could not afford to do much more, I'm just a pet." Astera's current voice replied in Arun's mind. It was true that, as an animal, taking the steps to accuse a man of abuse was completely impossible...
"I do not need you to give me reason or not, I know that what I did is wrong. But it gave her a better life, so even if I had been killed for that, I would not have regretted it for a moment."
Arun lowered his eyes, a little sad to see that such situations existed. Child abuse was not a new topic, but dealing with it was more difficult than hearing about it. To tell the truth, he does not know if he could have done better than her to help the little girl.
"And after, what happened ?" Arun asked, curious to know how that sad episode of Naal's life ended.
"When she was taken to an orphanage, she stayed in shock for a momen. I did not dare to show myself in front of her, and I left her alone, just watching her from afar. Months later, she was placed in a host family much more correct than the man who cared for her before. That is when I killed my owner, and that I decided to go and see her again, to spend all my time with her. And even today she is convinced that I am her real pet, and at least I have become so, despite my actions..." Astera finished in a slightly sad voice.
"She does not know it's you who killed her father ?"
"I think that the shock of the sudden change of life caused her to forget a certain number of memories of this period of her life. In the end, it's better this way. This allowed her to live again without being haunted by the fear of falling back on a man like that. I will carry this secret alone, until I die, so I would like you to tell her nothing. I did not plan to show you all that, but in my present state, I was not able to choose... And then you probably understand a little better the bond that unites me to Naal, and that pushes me to do everything to bring her back safely. She has already suffered too much, I would offer her happy and peaceful days... "
Arun smiled, and his expression calmed Astera immediately. It was the comforting and reassuring smile of which only he had the secret. The smile that was enough to say that he, too, would do anything to help Naal.
"I'll take care of you. I'll make sure you can fly long enough to help Naal, and we'll get back to town, I promise you."