Elijah tried to ease Noah, "there's plenty of time. He seems torn between a life with easy food and leaving you. He does love you, but even I think he deserves to not worry about eating or warm clothes. " He held up his hands, "I have never questioned your love for him. But it isn't for you either. I'm leaving the choice to him."

"The little traitor," Noah muttered, and he walked back to the bed and sat down to sulk.

"Because kids always make the best choices," Anthony said to himself, but otherwise decided not to get himself overly involved with this. This wasn't in any way amusing or interesting, and so he'd much rather just wait this out.

Elijah frowned, "he isn't a traitor. I am sure if you thought you could get free food and a soft bed to sleep on , you'd jump at the chance. The only thing keeping him from it is because he doesn't want to leave you." He was not going to give Anthony even a glance.

"Not if I was betrayin' me family in doin' so!" Noah snapped. Because his family was totally great.

Anthony sighed and raised his eyebrows in exasperation. "Get a grip, Noah." He wasn't even saying that just to be an asshole or to get attention, he was saying that because Noah was so insufferable that he couldn't in his right mind stay silent about that.

"Noah.."Elijah sighed. "What if.. just.. what if.. you had a chance with another family when you were younger. They had you as their own. Now it is true, you aren't a part of that family any more legally, that doesn't mean you have to never see them again. If the court did its duty and found you a good family, you could bring money or food from your new family to help your parents and siblings, within reason..'

Some part of Noah knew there was a point in what Elijah was saying, in all of this. But another part had been raised to believe differently. "We don't go to t' court. Not voluntarily anyway. And we don't go to t' coppers either."

And he was being ignored again. "I think that this won't matter if you all just died a terrible death. Including the kid." He was getting kind of desperate, now. Please, god, give him some attention again soon.

Elijah was never going to finish his paper work. He clicked his tongue a couple of times. "Tsk.. You know the law isn't against you, right? Your family makes bad choices, that's why things go badly sometimes. But haven't I tried to help more than once. Haven't I been easy on you and your mother. You two almost killed me that one time! But I just made you both cool your heads in a cell for the night, didn't I? I really, really want things to be better for you guys. I don't think ignoring you and letting you guys have your way, or even if you had free food and money would fix things. I've seen what you personally do when you get a few extra coins." He sighed looking straight at the young man. "You are still a very young man, but I feel like you are already throwing away a future."