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[/html]Claudius remained quiet as Conor thought. The pale boy could see that his acquaintance was thinking long and hard about something, and he did not want to interrupt the other boy. Claudius suspected Conor was thinking about the things he'd read -- about Hume and other old humans, whose words were long and confusing. The title of the book was the only thing Claudius remembered, and even that he had forced himself to memorize it in case someone could explain it to him. However, it seemed as though Conor had just as poor an understanding of the book, for all he said was the man's name (and rather quietly, at that). A few moments later, Conor added another word, echoing Claudius again. Claudius nodded enthusiastically in reply, wondering what else he could say in reply. He was at a loss for words, so instead of saying anything, he simply waited patiently for Conor to finish with his thoughts.
Soon enough, Conor spoke again, but this time, it was not as welcome. And again, Claudius flinched reflexively in reply. He didn't like hearing that Claudius had such a mean father. In comparison, he wished Conor could have had a nice life like Claudius had. Attila had been mean and annoying, but it had not been wholly bad. Even if Claudius hadn't been able to run properly because of his one awkward leg, he'd had his sisters for a long time before they disappeared, and now he still had Tayui, Dawali and Addison. And perhaps now he would have Conor, too. He only wished Conor could have all of that.
“Maybe you could just... borrow him,” Claudius offered meekly. “Or, or... if both of your parents are... absent... maybe you could share my mother, too? You could visit. She's nice, really. She likes to read and tells me about all sorts of things. She wouldn't mind! Really! Maybe we could be like brothers,” Claudius offered again, a little more shyly this time. He didn’t want Conor to be sad anymore; not if he could help it. And he could! Maybe Conor could visit AniWaya and see Dawali or Tayui. And why not? There wasn’t anything wrong with it, was there? Claudius didn’t see why he couldn’t share his family, like he shared everything else.