"Very good, James," Anthony explained, flashing a brief smile at him. Or at least he thought that it was good. He wouldn't insult James. Not on purpose, at least.

James glowed with pride. "I'll be the best apprentice!" he promised.

"I'm sure you'll blow me away," Anthony chuckled softly. And it wasn't even just said out of politeness—he was fairly certain of it. James seemed like a smart kid, and like a good 'apprentice'.

James smiled and seemed happy, until he tried to get of his chair and his ankle hurt again. "But I can't run away now..."

Oh shit, yeah, his leg was fucked up. That was bad. "It'll heal soon," Anthony reassured him. Or, at least, he hoped it would. "and then you can run away to your heart's desire. 'Til then, I guess we'll just wait." He shrugged, looking at James's leg. Yeah, that looked like shit.

James hopped back to the bed. "I'll be so bored...." he complained. "What will you do in the mean time?"

Anthony followed him, and sat down on the bed. "You'll be alright soon enough," he reassured him. Or, well, he assumed he would. "and—I guess I'll just be doing what I do, then. Taking care of you, making money, et cetera." Though the 'taking care of a child' thing was very new.

James smiled at him. He liked the idea of being taken care of. "You're a good dad!" he said, and he hugged Anthony.

Anthony's heart skipped a beat at that. He really did not know how to respond to that. Though he froze and tensed up at first when James hugged him, he eventually relaxed a bit after a bit of time. Was he a good dad? He didn't think he would be. He absolutely did not know how to react at all to this....warmth.

"Thanks," he responded after a moment of silence.

James smiled up at Anthony. Then his face froze and he opened his mouth. "Oh." he let go. "I have to go poop now," he overinformed the man. And he got off the bed and skipped off again.