Julien hadn't quite realized before how touchstarved he was, how much he wanted human contact. With a kind of distant disgust he thinks it's like he's engulfing Aaron in feathers, covering him; he thinks he'd let Aaron lay on his back if it just means continuing, staying there. It makes him want to start tearing feathers out, like he'd done in March.

He doesn't think of it this way but he is incredibly resilient. A few words and some time to collect himself is usually enough that he can work to adjust.

This time, he had not been on the verge of coming back on his own. This time he could probably have stayed out for a long time. "Okay, I'll play," he mumbles. "Why did you come out here? Besides 'I know you'."