Liam decided to carry me outside after seeing my legs wobble once I got outside the room. A couple glances at Obsidian and Zine told me that they were slightly worried for my well-being but Zine gave me a grin, easing my feelings.

Once I got outside, the sun embraced me in their warmth and I smiled. I haven’t really been able to experience the sunshine mostly. Liam gently put me on the ground and knelt down.

“I have to go talk to Xavier and Kyle about some things. I’ll be back but for now stay with Obsidian and Zine alright?”

I scoffed. “Where would I go?” He smiled and ruffled my hair. “I’ll be fine- go take care of your pack business”

Liam snuck in a giggle before getting up to leave. He said something to Obsidian but the wind whipped up their conversation. I ran my hands through the prickly grass and smiled. It felt like my hands were getting small massages and the more I ran my hands through them, the more I didn’t want to stop.

Grass feels nice.

“So Kye before I do anything at all I want you to lay down in the grass, flat on your back and just close your eyes ok?” Zine sweep his hand before him, palm pointed down, indicating where he wanted him to lay.

Without missing a beat, I laid down. The overwhelming scent of grass calmed me, the sun overhead made me feel like I was snuggled into bed. I had to fight the urge to sleep as Zine began to talk to me.

“Alright so, there's things you should know about what the sun can actually do for you. Sun helps with your mood as well as certain good vitamins your body needs. If you have an issue with sleep or anxiety… or maybe even eating… getting more sun exposure can help you.”

“I didn’t know it helped you out that much. I lived without it for years and I thought I was fine. How does it affect your sleep or eating?”

Zine sat down in the grass next to me, and I faced him.

“You see…” Zine seemed to hesitate and dragged his fingers through the grass.

“I lived a pretty shitty life when I was younger…. There were times when I did not get a lot of sun either or it was limited. You were found in a basement or cellar or something right?”

I nodded slowly with wide eyes.

Zine looked up at me with a bitter smile.

“Same Kye...same… except I was never found…. I had only myself to protect….. And I just had to wait for my…….*captor*.... To die so I could be free.” Zine choked out the last part and he coughed into his fist.

I looked at him with shocked eyes. Hundreds and hundreds of messages bombarded my thoughts and it took all my energy just to keep them shut. Was he tortured like me? Did he ever face The Oven? Was his food ever drugged?

Zine shook his head, bringing me from my thoughts.

“Anyways… after some time and I was away from that all I found that being in the sunlight and not always being stuck…. Where I was to help my mood a lot. It did not help my sleep schedule but I fucked that up on my own. Honestly with the eating part though it could help. The main reason for not caring about eating is because your stomach right now is shrunken I bet.” Zine gave him a grin before continuing.

“Just like mine was for the longest time, I never really felt like eating for very long periods and then just stuffing myself… but again I did that on my own because of…. Personal reasons….but you see… sunlight, fresh air and not being surrounded by walls all the time is very important. Mentally speaking anyways… it gives you a sense of the world and how vast it is. How pretty and wonderful it can be, the scents, the sights, the sounds, the touch, and tastes it can create. I bet you have never really gotten much of a chance to feel what tree bark feels like. Or what wild grown berries taste and smell like. I bet you haven't gotten a chance to walk through grass with the sun on you face, smelling the air and getting to feel ALIVE, instead of sitting on a bed being fed the same few items over and over…..I get…. It's a good step up from whatever you were in before….but…. You need to continue to take more steps to get stronger… to enjoy life...instead of waiting...and being ok with being a bird in a cage.”

I looked at him and he seemed to be in deep thought. “A bird in a cage is all I know what to do. Just a week ago, I found out that there is life outside of a cage in the basement” I looked back up at the clouds and closed my eyes. “I sometimes wonder if I’ll wake up back in that cage”

Zine shook his head with a grin.

“Don’t.”

I looked back at him.

“If you spend your life wondering if you will go back to that… you won’t get to live… you will be mentally stuck in the past and never enjoy your present. You will never take the steps needed to go forward and try to enjoy yourself… never get to enjoy yourself because you will be in constant fear of the past. I did not allow myself to be like that, I sometimes have …..issues with remembering everything but I know I can not let myself get drawn into it…. Or I will forget about the progress I’ve made… the life I have yet to live…. Ya know?”

I huffed. “Yeah I get it. It feels like telling a fish to walk even though it’s used to swimming.” I rolled my eyes. “I get what you’re saying but it’s hard to take those steps.”

“Well then don’t take those steps.” Zine grinned and let his wings stretch out to their full length.

“Flap your wings instead.”

Zine let his wings lift him up to stand on his feet with a gentle flutter.

His tail came and curled around in front of him as he walked back towards Obsidian with a grin.

“Obsidian?”

“Yes love?” The man smiled gently at him.

“Launch me.” he ordered.

Obsidian smirked and cupped his fingers together as he leaned down.

Zine stuck his foot into the man’s hands and grabbed his shoulder as Obsidian lifted him up.

Zine let his wings flap and worked to use the rhythm he taught himself to go up higher and higher.

He peered down at me.

“Flying…. Is better than walking ya know?” Zine laughed out loud and did a backflip in mid air.

I looked at him like he was the cookie jar on the highest shelf. I was sitting up fully now and gazing at Zine. “How did you do that?”

Zine twisted around as he continued to hover, occasionally flapping and shooting back up into the air.

“.....Simple I wanted to! Plus my body is actually able to handle what I do now! YOU NEED TO EAT! YO BODY IS A TEMPLE! IT DON’T WORK UNLESS YOU TAKE CARE OF IT!”

I cocked his head to the right. “I do eat; I’m just not hungry”

“I said before! Jesus YOU DON’T EAT ENOUGH! Look at what I'm doing! It looks hard right!?”

“Well, it doesn’t look too hard but I couldn’t control it just yet so maybe yes?”

“What do you think food even is!? IT’S FUEL DUMBASS! You eat to move you eat to live! You will die because you don’t have the energy to breathe or move or do anything if you don’t eat! You need the fuel in your body to move right! I bet your potassium levels are complete shit! You won’t be able to do flying unless you have a crap ton of extra fuel! It’s like running! But UP!”

I shrugged. “I guess. You’re talking to someone who didn’t eat very often growing up”

“So are you.” Zine smirked and flapped up higher.

“Birds of a feather, flock together” He rolled his eyes.

“Oh dear god please don’t tell me you are as bad with idioms as Obsidian is with puns!” Zine groaned and glared down at Obsidian who looked amused.

“I am the punniest?” Obsidian said and cocked his head.

Zine shrieked in frustration.

“I don’t think I am?” I shrugged. “I just think and talk colorfully sometimes”

“..Plenty of people would say I have colorful language as well.” Zine grumbled dryly.

“Really? I wonder why”

Zine rolled his eyes.

“You won’t be able to learn to fly like that ya know?” Zine gestured at him.

“You can’t even properly move your wings! You NEED to eat more literally! Or you won’t be able to even properly walk let alone learn to fly! THAT’S WHAT I’M TRYING TO TELL YOU!” Zine roared out in frustration and leaned back, falling down the Earth where Obsidian caught him, holding him up bridal style.

Zine frowned in annoyance.

I thought it over a bit. Zine seemed pretty mad and I had to stop myself from flinching in his gaze. “If it really means that much then I’ll eat more. I don’t like people being mad at me”

Zine blinked and Obsidian let him down, wrapping an arm around his waist.

“...I’m not mad…. I’m trying to tell you to take better care of yourself… for the longest time I didn’t… then this guy decided to take matters in his own hands until I learned the importance of it. You won’t live long…. Or won’t live well until you can do that. I’m WORRIED DUMBASS YOU REMIND ME OF ME! And it bothers me a lot…. I don’t like seeing people in pain… or in fear… or… like ...like how you are… you don’t look well… you look sick Kye.”

I scrunched up my body and rested my chin on my knees. I played with the grass and let it roll over my bony fingers. I remembered the physique of everyone and remembered the muscles everyone had.

In comparison, I looked like a sheet of paper.

“I thought I looked fine but I guess not” He let go of the grass and looked at Zine.

“Can you honestly tell me you feel fine? Do you feel like you can stand up and walk easily over to the building by yourself? Do you feel like you can run around? Do you feel like your capable of trying to do anything that requires moving around? You eat enough to breathe and keep your heart beating… but that’s about it? That isn’t… living… that’s surviving…. Staying in one place… not moving… not doing… anything. Surviving….. Is different from living.” Zine walked over to Kye and reached out a hand to him.

“Let me show you how to live.”