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When the other AniWayan spoke, Claudius felt ashamed for all the anger he had directed toward her. He didn’t want her to go necessarily; it would have just been easier if she had never arrived and therefore had never made Claudius feel angry. He was feeling a lot of different emotions he hadn’t felt before, some in new and different ways. Even a she thought about this, the words sounded silly and immature in his mind, but he knew it was the truth. And he also knew that he didn’t want to make Liliana feel bad. She had just been doing her job, like he had been – checking the borders for newcomers and whatnot.
Ocèane replied to Liliana, enunciating all of the words and thoughts that were stuck in Claudiuses head. Claudius nodded quickly in agreement and tried to avoid Liliana’s eye. He didn’t want to look at her when he felt this guilty. He didn’t want her to think he was rude or mean, but he also didn’t want to look up and see if he had hurt her feelings. He supposed this was even more childish for someone who was now two years old, but he didn’t know what to do.
Claudius was silent when Ocèane asked about Liliana’s work. He kicked his left calf with his right foot, holding his arms behind his back, unsure of what to do next. He jerked his head up when he heard his sister address him, but kept his hands clenched behind his back.
“Yeah, I suppose,” he replied awkwardly. He wasn’t sure how much more confident he was, but he was glad she had noticed him – anything about him, really, even if her observation implied that he had once been quiet and easily forgettable. Or, that was just how Claudius interpreted it; and he really didn’t want to be forgotten. “Well, we do have… things to t-talk about. I’ll t-tell you later,” he added. He began to stutter when he realized Liliana could still hear him. He didn’t want her to know about his argument with his mother and her eventual departure from AniWaya – or the more pressing matter: Noir’s death.