By the time they made it to the aviary, Jayashekar tottered on his feet, half-asleep. The muscles in his arms ached like he'd tried to wrestle a bear. It was all he could do to keep pace with Bao, who limped along with no problem.

"I'm old enough to be dust and I keep pace better than you, boy," Bao said at one point. Jayashekar clenched his jaw.

But, despite his growing frustrations, they made it.

Jayashekar hugged his arms tighter around himself and stared at the building before them. "This is an apartment complex."

"Correct."

"I was invited to an aviary."

Bao pointed skyward. "What do you think is on the roof?"

Jayashekar pressed his lips together. "Right."

With a loud laugh, Bao fished through their pockets. "You're certainly the most interesting person I've met yet."

Frowning, Jayashekar replied, "Likewise."

Bao produced a ring of keys, ran their hand over the iron gate that kept the two of them out, and pressed a key into the lock. First shrieking, then a thick clang filled the air. The gate swung inward.

"After you, boy."

Beyond the gate, weeds brown and dying littered either side of the walkway. A deck of cards was scattered across the grass, the edges torn and frayed. From a window on the second floor, a shadow-wreathed face peered down at Jayashekar with a gaze that could wilt flowers. Really, he thought as he stared back, perhaps they were the reason the walkway was dead and dying.

A hand came to rest on his shoulder. "Don't worry too much about her," said Bao.

"I'm not." Even still, his voice wavered.

"She does that to everyone."

Who is she? "I said I'm not worried."

Bao guffawed. "Your face and voice suggest otherwise."

Red in the face, Jayashekar pushed past them and for the entrance to the complex. The floor inside creaked with each step he took. Cobwebs hung in every corner. A thick layer of dust spun in the air, tickling his nose. The bannisters were rough under his palms.

"You all don't do a lot of upkeep, do you?"

Bao's smile twitched. "We're not always here to do such a thing."

"You don't hang around the city all day, do you?"

"Of course not."

When they stopped on the second floor landing, a figure stepped out from the shadows. Jayashekar jumped, heart moving faster than a hummingbird's wing, and gripped the banister with pale knuckles.

"Margot, I thought I asked you to stop scaring the newcomers."

A white hand wrapped around the railing. From behind a thick curtain of tangled brown hair, a girl stared at him with wide brown eyes. Her pale lips trembled as she said, "I didn't mean to..."

Jayashekar tipped an ear in her direction. Her voice was more air than sound.

"I just wanted to see who the new person was. I saw him from the window." Margot's gaze shifted to the floor. "I like your skirt."

The heavy bundle of cotton and wood around his waist suddenly didn't feel as heavy. "Thank you."

"Baba, is he coming to stay here with us?"

Bao tilted their head. "That depends on him, Margot."

"Is he going to see the crows?"

They started walking again.

"He might be," Bao replied as they put their foot on the next step.

Margot's eyes lit up. "Oh, I love the crows! Can I come with you?"

"May, Margot. May you come with me."

She crossed her arms behind her back, cheeks pink. "May I see the crows, Baba?"

"Only if you bring the bread. And hurry! We won't wait for y—"

She was already gone. Bao chuckled and shook their head.

"Margot is quite excitable," they said. "About everything."

"She seems... nice."

Another chuckle. "Once you get past your first time in the yard, yes."

By the time they got to the fourth floor landing, the heavy thudding of footfalls behind them alerted them to Margot's return. Panting, arm curled around a bundle of bread loaves, she came behind Jayashekar and gave a tired grin.

"Got the bread, Baba."

Bao rest their hand on her head. "Good girl."

Together, the three of them made it to the fifth floor landing. All that stood between them and the aviary was a door.

"Would you care to do the honors, Jaya?" Bao asked.

Acid bubbled in his stomach. His hands shook. "I..."

What is there to be scared of? They're birds, not monsters.

Something about the thought unsettled him, but he wasn't sure what. Flummoxed, he shook his head and turned the knob.

Beyond, almost too dark to see, a wall of cages lined most of the rooftop. At their arrival, several shadows shifted and squawked.

"They're already dying to meet you, looks like." Bao pushed past Jayashekar, to the center of the rooftop, and touched something. At once, flames filled the center of what Jayashekar realized to be a lamp.

Jayashekar froze. Magic? They... They can't be a... can they?

Bao hummed a quiet song as the flames settled. "Don't be so surprised, boy. Surely, some inkling of you has known since we met."

Jayashekar was rather certain no part of him had known. Still, he didn't argue. Margot slid a loaf of bread into his arms, which he didn't argue with, either. At the sight of the bread, the crows beat their wings against the cage bars.

"They're excitable, but they won't harm you." Bao chuckled. "Margot, why don't you do the cages to the right. Jayashekar, take the cages to the left."

Jayashekar looked down to the loaf in his hands. "Are you sure?"

"These crows are the entire reason you're here. They see some promise in you."

He looked again to the bread in his hands, then to the cages of squawking birds. He watched Margot pull off a hunk of break, break it into small pieces, and scatter the crumbs at the food of the cages. Then, one by one, she undid the latches. A cloud of black stormed out of the cages and pecked at the ground.

With a deep breath, he grabbed a fistful of bread and crumbled it. The bread was tough and full of holes. After scattering it, he approached the cages.

His brain filled with clouds that grew bigger as he approached the cages. Like magic, the crows stilled.

"Don't fear them, boy. They can smell it."

"I don't."

"You do. Perhaps you don't think you do, but crows are not as easily fooled as our own minds."

Jayashekar's jaw set and he strut for the cages. "I don't," he said as he touched the first latch.

He quickly changed his mind when the crow inside lunged at his fingers. Jayashekar jumped back with a shriek.

Bao's baritone chuckle floated across the rooftop. "I told you, you're scared." The crow inside squawked in response. It sounded like a laugh.

Jayashekar's cheeks turned warm. "It's laughing at me."

"Will you let it?"

"I..." He sighed and threw open the latch. From inside, the crow tilted its head this way and that before squawking again. Then, it flew at him.

"Ah!" Jayashekar threw his arms over his head and ducked down, waiting for the impending strike of claws. Though he tried to keep a hold on the loaf of bread, it thunked against the ground.

"You can stand up, boy."

Jayashekar peeked through the space between his arms and huffed. On the ground before him, the crow pecked at bread pieces and hopped around. The remainder of the loaf sat at his feet. He picked it up and eyed the bird.

"It... didn't attack me."

"They won't, if you aren't mean to them," said Margot. "They like to mess with the new kids."

"Do you get new kids often?"

"No." Bao came to his side. "You're the first in a while." With a smile, they took a messy handful of Jayashekar's loaf and crumbled it up. The crow hopped a circle around Bao and gave a plaintiff cry.

"You've had your fill." Bao muttered something in a language Jayashekar didn't understand and chuckled. "Open the rest of the cages."

Jayashekar approached the next cage in the line and puffed out his chest. Bao broke out in laughter behind him. The tips of his ears grew hot. Still, he undid the latch. This time, he was ready. When the bird came at him, he flinched, but he didn't drop.

"Better."

"Jaya – can I call you Jaya? – you can do them all in a row. It's faster. The birds get impatient very quickly."

"Let him figure things out himself, Margot."

He didn't see her reaction, but he could hear the reluctance in her words. "Yes, Baba."

"Why don't you go down and tell the others to get ready for a meal. I'd like the boy's first day to be pleasant."

"Yes, Baba."

When he heard the door shut, Jayashekar approached the remaining cages and undid the latches. One by one, the birds stormed into the open air and flocked to the dropped bits of bread. As he watched them eat, he tilted his head and asked, "How come they don't escape?"

"Hmm?"

"The birds. They're... birds. They could leave any time they want to, right? Why don't they leave?"

"Too domesticated." Bao folded their arms. "I've been housing and breeding crows for several years. It was difficult at first, but it's been a few generations and though they are wild creatures... now they're so used to me they just keep coming back." They regarded the feasting birds with a smile. "And, one day, I hope that my children can form their own aviaries."

"What's the point of them?"

"Of?"

"The aviaries."

"Mostly for fun. But really, crows are quite versatile. I have a daughter in the Isles. She uses her crows to find orphans much like yourself – much like I do – and give them better lives. It's..." Bao's lips pressed together. "I suppose I don't exactly know what to call it."

Jayashekar crumbled up another fistful of bread. "I see."

"But regardless of what it's called, you're welcome to be a part of it."

He watched the crows peck at his offerings, stomach a maelstorm, and dipped his head. "I..."

"You haven't made a decision yet. That's okay."

"I just... Don't want to overstep."

"I'm the one inviting you, boy. Do you think I'd extend the offer if I couldn't back it up?"

Jayashekar said nothing."

"You don't need to come to a decision tonight. You don't even need to come to one a week from now. But." Bao touched his shoulder and Jayashekar winced. It wasn't an unkind gesture, merely unexpected. "It would make my conscience better to know I didn't send you back to the street. At least consider staying the night. We'll feed you."

He shrugged Bao's hand off. "Why."

"...Why?" Bao's mouth twisted like they'd eaten a sour lemon.

"Why are you being so nice to me? I can't pay you back."

Bao sighed. "Boy, I told you before. I don't want anything from you. Margot and the rest of my children? They don't, either. We're all beings of unfortunate circumstance just trying to make our lives better. The only thing we seek is to raise each other up." They stroked their chin. "And I suppose it would be nice, knowing there's people caring for my crows after I'm gone."

As if on cue, one of the crows lifted its head, squawked, and flew to Bao's shoulder. They pet the bird's silken feathers with gnarled hands and sighed again.

Jayashekar watched and the storm in his stomach began to die. "...Okay. One night. I'll make a better decision tomorrow."

A slight smile tugged at the corner of Bao's mouth. "We couldn't ask for anything more."