"....well, that's good to know, so we can avoid stuff like that in the future." Ryker said.

"Also, good to know that the blizzard is still strong." he went on.

"...." he was then silent, his face turning slightly red.

"Uh... well..." he stammered.

"I came up here because... uh, well... I mean, I have... some questions." he went on.

"First one is... well, just as a refresher, how long did you say you could keep this up?" he asked.

Ryker paused.

"....what?" he asked.

"Wait, what?" he asked again.

"Okay, the alcohol thing makes sense. I figured that." he told her.

"But... no intercourse?" he asked.

"Like... at all? Full stop?"

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

"Ah... well... see, thing is... he... uh... well, memories of his mother are... kind of... well..." he stammered further, before the demon took control again.

"Gone." they said.

"Gone. Ripped out of him. He doesn't remember her anymore. At all. Doesn't know who she is or what she did to him." they told the female before them.

"I stopped the dragonling from going all berserk and murderous, and had to extract a toll from him. That toll was the memories he had of that mother of his." they explained further, before Ryker took control back.

"...yeah." he confirmed.

"Anyway, no bed stuff. Got it. I'll have to tell him." he said further.

"And... well... if you want to meet Eke... I'm sure you can..." he then offered.

"....I...." Ryker stammered.

"Well, I mean..." he said, scratching the back of his head.

"What I... well, I was just wondering..." he then said further, trailing off a bit.

"He thinks you're hot!" the demon shouted out, taking control again.

"The little baby has a crush on ya!" he laughed, before letting Ryker come back.

And he was now blushing beet red.

Ryker froze again, almost stunned.

"R... Reciprocate?" he asked.

"You mean... you feel... I... well..." he then stammered further, before shaking his head and slapping his cheeks.

"You're hanging around here because... you're interested in me?" he asked.

"I... wow..." he mumbled.

"Admittedly, I... didn't expect to hear that..."

"......." Ryker was silent, before audibly swallowing.

"Ah... heh." he chuckled.

"Fair.... fair warning, though." he said.

"You say my 'passenger' is 'funny'." he told her.

"But... he's a lot more than that." he warned.

"He's actually... well... the Demon Lord."

"Hey!" the demon said, taking over.

"I... you... that..." he stammered, before sighing.

"Demons aren't inherently evil, you know." he said.

"We respect the balance of light and dark. Or most of us do." he muttered.

"Just... don't go around saying I'm not a bad guy." he told her.

"...a king has a reputation to uphold. For the time being." he finished, before disappearing back into Ryker's subconscious.

"Uhhh, right. Yeah, what he said."

Ryker placed his hands on his head, and shook his head.

"No!" he said.

"No! You've spoken enough!" he told the demon.

"Just answer the question and I'll relay it!" he finished.

"........" he was then silent, before sighing.

"Yeah. He has a name." he told her.

"It's Jalreth. Jal, for short."

Ryker was silent, before shrugging.

"No real reason." he said.

"I mean, he pretty much is the 'other me'. He's taken up residence in my body." he went on.

"Also, he doesn't want many people knowing he's alive, until he's ready to mesh our minds and usurp control back of the underworld." he then added.

"Too many would want to attack and kill him while he's in this vulnerable state."

Ryker just sighed, as Jalreth took control again.

"For your information, it is because I need to wait until Ry-guy here reaches a certain age, when he'll be at his peak readiness for it." he told her, crossing his arms over his chest.

"......" he was then silent, before opening one of his eyes.

"....though I won't say you're wrong." he muttered.

"Dragons and demons have always been at odds. Establishing SOME sort of friendly ground is beneficial in the long run." he muttered.