Noctisardor Bypass Stop posting the eyeballs -- if you don't stop I'm gonna take them away from you

Charles blinked as the woman got angry. He recoiled to the ground, pressing his belly against the ground and remaining silent, though he didn't look frightened per say. He had learned that if he was a good boy and didn't bother anyone the anger would go away again. He just needed to make them see that he wasn't dangerous at all. This all seemed to be based on a misunderstanding, really. Charles meant he didn't know what he wanted with his future, not with now. He thought they were pretty set on guiding him home, anyway, so he didn't think that required any answer from his side. He wasn't used to having to answer questions, because they were usually rhetorical, anyway.

His face remaining blank while he licked his lips in a subconscious show of submission, Charles just looked up. At first he was silent again, because he wasn't used to be given a choice. He was used to be given ultimatums -- used to be told to do or not do things -- but he wasn't usually asked: what do you want? So he didn't really think he would have a say in whether or not he'd get brought home, either.

Yes, you can bring me home, he said, the decision tasting weird on his tongue.

Mother would usually decide whether she wanted him anywhere near her or not.

Riley would decide whether he would get pummelled or not.

Leta would decide what sort of games they played.

Usually when Charles decided to do things, they were bad things, so that everyone would pay attention to him, even if just for a little bit. So that he could see that things he decided meant something, did something. So that he could see he could make a decision. But they didn't feel like real decisions, not really. When he did bad things, it felt more like a compulsion. Like he had to do a bad thing, because...

He didn't really know.

It didn't matter.

Only if Arbiter's body language would get less agitated by his decision Charles would get his belly off the floor and show the way back to Easthollow, if they didn't already know it themselves.