His son? He knew that Cass considered Auro a son, but he didn’t take into account the possibility of Cass actually referring to Auro as such to other people.
“Left just to get pickles huh? Yeah, that sounds about right.”
A blush crept upon the giant’s cheeks, that warm, radiant smile lighting up his face once again as he nodded. So that’s where he went. Going so out of his way to get something for his sake. Typical. The thought of Cass referring to Auro as his son to total strangers amused him; he couldn’t imagine what this must look like to other people.
“Yeah. Well, obviously not by blood he kinda just…took me in.”
Auro’s face relaxes as he begins to reminisce.
‘He was travelling through a particularly nasty neck of the woods and was ambushed by some brigands or something. I stepped in and chased ‘em off ‘cuz I thought he needed the help. Gave him a lift home and he hasn’t let me wander off without a full stomach since. He insists I stay, but I can’t burden him like that. I…I dunno what I’d do without him.”
The guilt that had a stranglehold on Auro’s heart began to fade bit by bit, watching as the total stranger he tried to manhandle just minutes before greet him like an old friend. Like he was somebody. Giving himself a little time to enjoy the change of being addressed somewhat normally, Auro listened to Breaker’s story with an amused smirk on his face, leaning on his elbow that sat upon his knee, cheek resting on a balled fist. How typical of Cassius to invite total strangers into his house, and how that makes Auro worry sometimes.
Auro nodded at Breaker’s final statement, sitting up straight as he brushed his hair out of his face.
“Breaker, huh? Good to meet you. I’m Auro. Auro Lengdreal…if surnames mean anything to you.”
He ‘holds’ out a hand, the gesture being a semi-outstretched hand with his forearm still sitting atop his crossed knee. Some habits never die…handshakes being one of them in the giant’s case.
“And…thanks for giving me the chance to talk.” The boy said with a grateful smile.
Admittedly and notably, it all made Auro's thanks a surprise, one almost instantly met with a bright smile.
"Of course!" he chimed with barely a second of thought let alone any doubt. "I should be thanking you for being open to it! I've had far less mercy shown my way open over much smaller problems. You & Mr. Morgan have shown me more patience than I've received in..."
Breaker paused, a hint of tension in his stillness. It had only been some weeks since he was bound. A month, then.
Had all of this really happened only in one month?
A deep breath, a blink, & a smile was back on his face & turned to Auro. To the best of his ability, it was as though nothing had happened.
“Surnames, yes, yes I'd give you mine if I had one." A clumsy continuation of their conversation, but a continuation no less as Breaker mirrored the gesture respectfully as he tried to regather his thoughts, carding through everything he just learned to try & file his thoughts back into the moment.
Then a thought dawned on him: it made sense that Cassius wanted to give Auro his fill. He could see how his clothes hung on him like drapes on a clothesline, simple fabrics on little more than a frame. Garbs tattered & worn by weather & constant use. Garments that had seen better days, but were not lost causes. The Weaver could tell.
Again he had come to a shortstop, staring at Auro’s body, then, abruptly, a question:
"Can I see your jacket?" With thoughts now preoccupied, Breaker, sturdy as ever and barely waiting for an answer, rose from his spot on the floor and stepped away from the window to, from Auro's perspective, push something on the floor out of the way, then hop inside -- into the floor -- and barely a second after pop out of the dirt as though he was tossed out through some curtains; a visual that quickly smoothed out into the pristine grass once more as he landed on his feet almost effortlessly. Now on the same ground, Breaker began to move closer, fixing his own jacket's sleeves out of the way as he briskly approached Auro. Not a hint of his former hesitance or anxieties were in sight. Only a dutiful sureness.