Ryker paused and raised an eyebrow.

"...all right, no sweet stuff." he said.

"I can do that." he told him.

"I'll make up some hashbrowns and such, as well as fish." he told him further.

"....so how are you?" he asked.

"You LOOK better, but how are you actually feeling?"

"I'm fine." Ryker responded.

"And our ally is a dragon, apparently." he said.

"She's the one that's been keeping this blizzard going, so no undead dragons can fly in and get close." he explained further.

"....what was her name...?" he then wondered aloud.

"Ah!" he said, snapping his fingers.

"Arissa!" he remembered.

Ryker froze when the questions were asked.

"I..." he stammered.

"She IS quite attractive, yes." he admitted.

"And... will I ever date? I don't know." he admitted, before the demon took over.

"In an optimal world? No." he told Eke bluntly.

"The queen should hopefully still be alive out there." he added.

Ryker regained control, and thought for a moment.

"......hm." he mumbled.

"I... maybe..." he said.

"Yeah... yeah, maybe." he agreed.

He then sighed heavily, shaking his head slightly.

"You're right." he admitted, smiling at him.

Ryker was silent for a moment.

"If you think you can." he said.

"I.... ngh." he mumbled, scratching the back of his head.

"I know how to give advice on women, yet I know nothing about them, myself." he then admitted.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to say or do." he went on.

"I never thought I'd need to worry about it."

"......" Ryker was silent, before his face went red.

And then the demon took over again.

"Before Ry-guy says something stupid again..." he muttered.

"If you want to help, you can make some juice for breakfast." he told Eke.

"And after that, you can make up the potato hash to fry up. Ry-guy will take care of the fish once he's done being a dumb-dumb." he added with a laugh.

Ryker was given control of his body, and composed himself, before starting to cook the fish. As he did, he cleared his throat and made sure things went smoothly.

".....hey, Eke?" he said.

"Thanks." he said further.

"I can tell you're feeling better than before, and it makes me happy." he told him.

"So thanks for cheerin' up a little." he continued.

"Nobody likes seeing you sad."

Ryker just smiled and placed a hand on Eke's shoulder.

"Good to hear it." he said.

"I'm glad you're remembering that things aren't ALL bad for you." he told him.

"Now. Let's get this breakfast made up." he continued.

"You want some coffee or tea with it?" he asked.

"Or... well, whatcha want to drink, overall?"

"I'll get some tea for you, then." Ryker told him.

"We have so many blends." he chuckled.

"And yeah, coffee." he then added.

"Oh, by the way..." he then said further, trailing off a little.

"Seems our dragon friend is really interested in protecting you." he told Eke.

"She's certainly a powerful ally."

"Well, she said she loved your father." Ryker responded. "She also followed that up with 'everyone did'." he then added.

"If I were to wager a guess, she wants to make sure that you survive, as she wants your father's genes to carry on. For his name and legacy to continue." he said further.

He was then silent, noticing that Eke seemed to be enjoying doing little things around the kitchen. Or, little things in general.

"Hmmm." he mumbled.

"Hey, Eke?" he said.

"Lemme ask you something." he said further.

"Would you be all right with getting a fish tank in this place?" he asked. "Like, one that can hold various kinds of fish, and be like a calming centrepiece of sorts?" he clarified.