After the long winded rant, the avian slumped into his chair. As much as Lyam didn’t like to admit he cares for people, it was clear that he was saddened by his current case and those whom were involved in it. “This is not the first time Mrs. Herefern had an affair.” He mumbled, with a much more depressed tone of voice. “People who knew called her a slut. They say that she was never the right one for Mr. Herefern, but you know what I think?” The heron didn’t wait for Red to answer as he  continued. Lyam didn’t even bother to have the phone to his ear. 

“I think that Mr. Herefern needs to stop ignoring and neglecting his wife’s emotional needs and affection. I’ve tried all the ways to hint at it. At this point, I might as well outright say it to his face, but that’s only going to earn me a black eye, I’m sure.” He chuckled softly, trying to ease the tension of the conversation. With a long sigh, the bird finally noticed how far the phone had been the whole time, reaching over to grab it off the desk. He wanted to make sure that Red could hear him properly as he spoke. 

“I guess, to someone like me, who asks around and observes things from a neutral standpoint, the answer is clear as day. She’s trying. He’s not. And it’s the wife that gets labeled as a problem? Now that doesn’t seem fair, does it?” Finally, he paused and awaited Red’s response, if anything, just to make sure she’s still listening. 

“You’re right, it doesn’t. Someone should really tell him the truth.” Red responded, “I am sure many people, including his wife, have tried to give him a hint. It is his fault for not taking them.”

The mentioning of ‘wives’ led the heron to be reminded of his own. “I’m just…” Lyam’s eyes shut and brow furrowed, shaking his head. “If I knew marriage was going to be this much work, I never would’ve married.” The heron sounded rather defeated, now that the topic of marriage was directed at his own experience instead of someone else’s. He turned to watch as the rain lightly drizzled onto the glass of his office window, making pitter patter noises.

“It wasn’t enough that I needed to provide for myself. Now I have to make sure four more mouths are fed, and they all demand attention from me. Attention that I can’t give, damn it!” The ramble went from the feeling of defeat to resentment within a few words. The bird stood up from his seat once again, and started pacing back and forth. 

“I was pressured into marrying!” He exclaimed, so much so, his voice echoed within the walls of his office.”Gotta have a wife and kids to take care of you when you’re old, they said!” Getting angrier the more he spoke. The phone scraped against the desk as he walked towards the window, opening it up, letting the rain fall on him. “Well, fuck you all for guiding me into this hellhole that is now my life!” Lyam squawked, shaking his fist towards the skyscrapers.

“Fuck you, too, old bird. It’s past ten o’clock now, go to sleep!” an unknown voice yelled back at him from another building. Slamming the window shut, Lyam stomped his way back to his seat. Regardless of his anger, he still held the phone to his ear. 

“All isn’t ruined, your life, your marriage, it all can be fixed.” Red said, trying to reassure the heron. 

Lyam heard what was being said to him, but he didn’t have it in him to respond. He was so caught up with his emotion, it felt like he was about to burst. His mind started to race, to find anything that he could talk about to ease this tension within him. The detective tried to retrace his footsteps and recall what he was originally ranting about. The marriage, the wife, the small cases, his work. “Anyways…” He tried to get himself to talk again. “There is this… one case that I’ve been trying to solve for… Fuck… How long has it been?” 

Lyam knew that he was about to break his one big rule, to never speak of the Royal Owls case. Trapped in the misery of life’s difficult trials, in the wake of all this negativity, he felt like he just had to let go and trust Red. Nothing bad has happened so far with him speaking to her about the other cases. Perhaps this case wouldn’t be any different. “The one… big case…” He mumbled, slowly pushing and testing Red’s reaction. It wasn’t just a big case with people’s lives on the line. It was the very thing that got him fired from his job. The one that gave him sleepless nights. The one that was keeping him from his family and worsened his relationship with his wife into what it is now. 

“It has to do with a group called ‘The Royal Owls’.” Lyam explained, leaning over his desk and rubbing the base of his beak.

“The ones you asked me about before, correct?” Red asked, seemingly still not knowing anything about the group.

“Correct, yes!” The detective was glad that Red was actually listening to his rambles and still remembered what he said during those conversations. “As of late they have been plaguing the city with drugs, and harassing the local businesses.” The heron let out a light sigh before continuing. “I have been chasing them for years. Years, I tell you! And I found nothing to pin on them. No matter how close I got, something always seemed to be missing.” 

He then went through his desk drawers and pulled out a little vial that contained the drug. Displaying the concoction on the table for his own reference. A weird looking petal with long thin stems, but a fan-shaped spread at the top of it. Following that, another vial was placed, this time the drug in liquid form. “This.” Lyam hissed, “This is the drug. It’s called ‘Hush’.” He said to Red, shoving the drawer closed. “It is a hallucinogen that can also cause the user to be hyper focused at the same time, but this was at the cost of becoming reliant on it. You try it once, and you become stuck with it.” The detective shook the bottle a bit and let the particles in them move around. 

“I had gotten close once, with a lead that is. Someone had mentioned a laundromat and I started to investigate.” The heron let out a disgruntled mumble of exasperation, remembering what had happened. “Recently though, that lead went up in flames, literally. Everything burnt to a crisp. Gone. Neither me nor my partner Wilson could find anything.” 

“I am sorry to hear… I can understand how frustrating that can be.” Red replied.

“If only I had it. Just the one thing from the laundromat to prove that their revenue is not legitimate, I could-” Lyam stopped himself short, the resurfacing feelings of failure fell over him. “I-I need to clear my head. Do you mind if I step out for a moment?”

“Of course, nothing wrong with some fresh air.” Red’s tone felt caring. A foreign sense of understanding, odd yet welcoming to the detective. Allowing for his emotions to be at ease and find rest. “Good night, Lyam.”

“Thank you.” The heron said, his voice matching the softness of the therapist’s. “Good night.” Absent-mindedly nodding when he gave his parting words, and proceeded to end the conversation, placing the phone back onto its receiver with gentleness and care. It was certainly a difference from his usual treatment of the phone. 

At first, with the silence in the room, Lyam’s mind went back to what he spoke of, replaying his words in his head. The case, the drug, the Royal Owls. Perhaps just like the other cases, the talk he had with Red would help him catch something he didn’t notice the first few times he worked on it. 

The detective found no revelation, only the repetition of his own voice echoed in his head. Instead, he took note of his office space, and how stuffy it was. Rain continued to tap against the window, and the idea of opening it vanished as soon as it came. He didn't want to hassle with mopping up the floor later, so Lyam left his office and began to climb up the flight of stairs of the building.

The rooftop was the best place for Lyam to get the fresh air he needed. During his migration to the top of the building, the heron couldn’t help but run the case scenario on repeat, it was difficult to stop the thoughts from flooding his head. He quickened his pace to reach the top. Snatching the handle when it was within reach and wrenching the door open, the detective was met with a soft wind and drops of rain on his face. Stepping out, Lyam took a long deep breath as he felt the crisp night air. He watched as the city lights danced in the night sky, with the rain making them twinkle even brighter… like stars.

Memories washed over him, back when he was a young boy, back home when he could go out at night to see the millions of stars in the sky. As time went on and the city grew in size, those stars were slowly replaced with light pollution. 

Lyam sat there, taking in the moment, and thought of how happy he was now, compared to when Red first talked to him. He knew he trusted the doctor, and was glad to admit it. Feeling as if an immense amount of weight was lifted off his chest when he talked about the case to Red, wishing to savor that feeling. Wanting to chase these moments more. The heron spent the rest of the night not thinking of the time, until the sun started to bring a warm light upon the city.