"....all right, that IS a fair point." Ryker replied.

"But, I mean, this is a cafe IN dragon country." he said.

"The portions will definitely be larger than outside this place, but they might still be inadequate for dragon standards, if you know what I mean." he tried to explain.

"But cool. This needs to be cooked up, anyway." he reasoned as he seasoned the fish .

"Should be done pretty soon."

"......huh. I see." Ryker responded.

'Hm.....' he thought.

"Well, if she makes you happy, then she can't be bad." he said with a small laugh.

In the back of his mind, Ryker wondered about the girl, though.

He'd had encounters with those like her, and they generally weren't pleasant ones. But he dismissed his nagging doubts, telling himself he was being jaded.

"Fish is almost done."

"Relka." Ryker repeated.

"Nice name." he said.

"And heh, all right. Sounds like a plan." he told him.

He then finished cooking up the two large slabs of fish, and brought them over towards Eke.

"Here y'go." he told him.

"I'll make some up for myself while you chow down."

"It could very well be." Ryker responded.

"Also, you gulped those down pretty quick." he commented.

"Still hungry?" he asked.

"There's still a good amount of fish left." he told him.

"It'd be nothing to do up some more."

"That's natural." Ryker responded.

"Seriously. It's all right." he told him.

"It's just you being understandably nervous." he said, as he cooked and seasoned the fish.

"I'm sure it'll work out fine." he assured Eke.

"You're quite charming, after all."

Ryker just sighed again, before plating the fish steaks he finished, and taking them over to Eke.

"I don't know anything about dating." he said.

"But other people have told me about it." he told him.

"They've told me that love and dates and all that... it's a battlefield. And every time you throw yourself out onto that battlefield, you're taking a very big risk." he went on.

"But ya gotta do it. Y'gotta take that plunge and go for that glory. There are no rewards for cowards." he finished.

"...that's what I've been told, anyway." he added.

"I may have gotten weird advice." Ryker admitted.

"Regardless, just go for it, kid." he told Eke.

"I'll be back here waitin' for ya." he said further.

"Good luck out there." he went on, before giving Eke a quick hug.

"Make her swoon."

"................." Ryker was silent as he saw what Eke did.

'....I can only guess how the night went...' he thought.

He then sighed quietly, and made his way over towards Eke.

He sat down beside him on the bed... and laid a hand on his back.

He was silent, figuring words weren't needed right now.

What WAS needed, was for Eke to know his brother was there for him.

Ryker's eyes narrowed, and he gritted his teeth when he heard that, as he returned the hug and held Eke close.

"Bitch." he said.

"Worthless social climber." he said further, venom in his tone.

"I hate her kind." he growled.

"So much." he stated.

"They are nothing more than a smear and a blight on this planet."

Ryker could feel his other side wanting to take hold... wanting to help him indulge in the horrid fantasies that were playing out in his mind. And he would have given into him, had Eke not been there, sobbing, needing him.

'Later.' was all he mentally said.

He then sighed, and held Eke close.

He rubbed his little brothers back, and wrapped his free arm around his waist.

'So that's what they meant.' he then thought.

'Love is a battlefield... and sometimes... you lose that battle. And instead of a broken leg or a broken arm... you get a broken heart.'