There is a lot about me you don't know -Tales of Arcadia ENG

10- Reassurance

TRACK 10

The world I know can hate you

The world I know can break you

But as you go remember, I'm by your side

The love within you can heal these tears that burn

(As you go - Red)

********

Toby, Claire, Steve, Nari, Blinky, and Aaarrrgh sat around the table more or less quietly as Jim returned to the kitchen station, starting to finish his work.

Archie, shortly thereafter, gently propped Douxie on one of the chairs, then, once he was sure he would not fall off it, returned to his original form.

Hisirdoux did not fall but ended up banging his head on the wood with a thud, a single crash that did not even rip a cry of pain from him. The others, all except Nari, assumed weirded-out expressions.

"Bro. You good?" Steve commented, then looked at Archie. "Are you sure this is normal? He seems dead."

"It is." Archie shortly answered, wagging his tail. "He had done worse before. He's lucky he has a hard head."

Douxie mumbled something unclear.

"What did he say?" Asked Toby, confused.

"Nothing important. He insulted me." The dragon blurted out, jumping on the table and rubbing against him, to force Douxie to pull himself up slightly. But failing, for he did not move even a millimeter from the woody surface.

He murmured something again.

Archie sighed. "Now you eat, then go to sleep. No excuses."

"Mmmmmh." The raven-haired boy answered more with a humm than anything else at first. He did not retort in any way. Quite the opposite. "...'kay," he muttered.

Jim in the meantime continued his work, turning from time to time. He had little to go; he just needed to finish the final details.

Without the worry he had felt earlier -which had breathed down his neck quite a lot- he was managing to work much better.

He thus finished the job in a couple of minutes, placing the Roll with the Coulis on the five plates and serving in front of them with quick movements.

Steve jumped on his food as soon as it arrived. Toby, Claire, and Nari thanked him and waited for him to sit down. He first grabbed the basket that would be his breakfast, then extended other ones to Blinky and Aaarrrgh.

Archie moved his head after he sat down, similar to a silent thank you, as he resumed trying to pull up his Wizard. This time succeeding in his goal, causing him to raise his head with a somewhat blank stare. His iris seemed to have made the pupil disappear.

Douxie struggled a bit to grasp his fork, from what Jim could also notice rather easily because his hands were shaking intermittently. So much so that it made him wonder if this would even cause Archie to feed him himself. And it also made him worry a bit, more than he expected -And yes, it had been made clear that it was normal and that he had used too much energy, but was that really how it worked? Wasn't it too much?... Maybe not. Still, it looked terrible and he didn't envy him, not even a little- But after a couple of seconds the boy thanked him in turn -or tried to- and started to eat.

Douxie, shortly after, emitted a sort of hoarse blessed moan at first bite -Which tore Jim a shocked expression. It had been a while since he had received such responses when it came to his cooking. And most of them had been from his mom.