The air outside of the avian enclosure felt different. It wasn't, I knew that logically. The top of the enclosure was just a net, open to the sky through every link. Misters coated the area in a soft haze, mimicking the tropical climate the birds were used to. But even that couldn't account for the change I felt.
Maybe the mist cleared my lungs. Cleansed something heavy from my chest.
"So I know bugs are a no-go. Is there anything you'd actually like to see?"
Kay turned to me. He was pouting subtly over my comment about the bugs. He muttered something bitter under his breath and pulled out the little map we'd been given at the start. He examined it with more scrutiny than I would've considered necessary.
Kay was always like this, attentive, engaged, thoughtful. He treated every word out of his conversational companions mouth as holy. Hung on every word and felt them down to his core. I'd hadn't known what it felt like to be really, truly heard until I met him.
