Chapter 5

When Everton woke up the next morning, the first thing he did was rant and rave about the horrendous conditions he was placed in, luckily he only did so for about 15 minutes before the door opened, in walking that tiger mink from yesterday, D...-D...-D... -something. Her ears and tails were drooping, and there were tears in her eyes, but Everton took no notice of these details before speaking up.

"Ahem, I do believe it is time for my meal?"

Darcy was startled, before adopting a wide grin and wiping her eyes, and laughing.

"Nyahyahyahyah! Thanks for cheering me up, mister Evan!"

"For the last time, my name is not Evan!" said Everton, not Evan, completely missing the rapid change in demeanor.

"Whatever you say! Now what do we eat for our afternoon meal? Hey, want some potatoes!"

"No! I refuse to eat a potato! Do you have any filet mignon, or some escargot?"

"Nope! Are those more of your fancy foods that you were telling me about yesterday?"

"Indeed! At least you remember something!"

"Ok, I'll make some soup! And while it cooks, we can play some cards!"

"Cards? Finally! I've been bored out of my mind since washing up here! Well, what are you waiting for, bring them out, hurry!"

"I've gotta start the soup first!"

"None of that, I'm itching to play!"

Darcy considered skipping one meal in order to play a game... a game with someone else wanting to play with her! Skipping one meal won't hurt anyone, right? "Ok, let's play!"

They played some amalgamation of 'poker' and 'go fish', which neither truly knew the rules too. Everton was too occupied with his superiority, and Darcy was simply having fun interacting with someone.

They played a few hands before Everton got annoyed. "Usually this gets my blood pumping! So why not now?" He questioned using all of his available brain power for this task. The two sat in silence for a full minute before Everton loudly exclaimed, "Betting! How on earth could I have forgotten the most important part!"

"Betting? You mean gambling? I'm just a kid, I can't do that!"

"What do you mean? By the way, how old are you?"

"I'm 13! And don't you know that gambling is bad for you?"

"I started gambling at the casino when I was 8 years old, and I've turned out just fine!"

*Snicker* "Gambling IS bad for you! The adults in the village go to Kano every now and then, and gamble tons of money away! Grandma calls it a plague!"

"Well your grandma is obviously wrong! I've always had plenty of money to gamble with, so how could it be different?"

"Nyahyahyahyah! You are really funny mister Evan! People like us don't have as much money as we want, we have to work hard for our money!"

"Work? For money? You people don't do it because you have nothing better to do?" Everton asked with genuine curiosity.

"Nyahyahyahyah! *Snort* Y-you're gonna make me choke! Nyahyahyahyah!" Darcy falls down on her back and rolls back and forth on the ground while laughing. "I-I'm good, phew. You made me laugh really good!" Darcy sits up and wipes the tears, this time from laughter, away before explaining. "Yeah, regular people don't get given money. We have to get a job, something where someone tells us to do another something else that we agreed to work for, and in return we get paid!"

"Hmm, it sounds like my servants, but giving them money? Hmm, strange. Tell me more about normal people."

"Ok! Hmm where to start... Ah! I know! I'll tell you all about how we get our food!" Darcy began.

-0-

After a few hours where Everton was legitimately interested in the subject for the first time since, well, ever, he realized he had forgotten something important. Well, he didn't realize, his stomach did. *Growl*

"Oops! I forgot to make you food! You haven't eaten for two days! Wait here!" Darcy dashed off.

"Hmm, normal people, huh? What is so different between us, and them? Hmm..." Everton was so distracted dealing with this philosophical rabbit hole, that he did not notice Darcy leave or come back with food 20 minutes later.

"Mister Evan! Dinner is ready!" Darcy called out in front of his contemplating self.

"...ah? Ooo, that smells surprisingly good! What is it?" Everton asked, throwing the storm brewing in his heart to the back of his mind for now.

"It's a baked potato with butter! I told you that you have to try at least one!"

"Hey! I told you that I would never eat something like that! *...although it does smell good. It's not as sophisticated, but it's much stronger. ...and it looks good. It's not a piece of art by any stretch of the imagination, but like Darcy said earlier, uh, what was it again? Oh, that's right! 'Why does it have to look good if it comes out the other end the same way anything else does.' A bit crude, but she does make a good point... maybe I should indulge in this 'Potato', just this once... yeah.* Well, never mind that, if I must eat it, I shall." *Chomp* *Freeze*

"Mister Evan, why are you crying!?"

"It's... so... terrible, ...but... I... can't... stop... eating!" And true to his awkwardly spaced words between bites, he is shedding tears like a man-baby, so hard they are getting his bandages wet. "This... taste... is... awful, ...but... it... makes... me... feel... good?"

*Badump* *Badump* *Badump* "Why?" Asked Everton weakly. "Why do I feel so good and yet, so miserable, why does my chest ache, like I'm missing something?" *Badump* *Badump* *Badump* "I feel... warm? Satisfied? What is it? Can you tell me, Darcy?"

Darcy giggled as she bore witness to one of the greatest miracles in the last 800 years, a Celestial Dragon gaining some measure of respectable humanity when none had existed before.

"It's ok, mister Evan! That's just the feeling we all get when people help each other for the sake of it! It's the spirit of kindness! And it's probably new to you, cuz' you were a super greedy bad guy, Nyahyahyahyah!"

"C-can you tell me, h-how do I get more?" Everton asked, almost desperately. I mean, I don't blame him, it's probably the only emotion he has ever felt, besides pointless arrogance and mildly indignant anger.

"Silly! You don't just get more! You've gotta earn it, remember, like normal people!"

"Normal... people..." Everton muttered, seeming on the edge of enlightenment, but just not quite there yet, just one more push!

"Speaking of normal, have you tried to stand up at all?" Darcy asked, breaking up Everton's epiphany.

"Huh? Uh, not yet why?"

"What do you mean!? You've been in bed for 2 weeks, you should be good to go now!" Exclaimed Darcy in surprising levels of shock.

"I've been in bed for much longer periods. Besides, what if I get up and it still hurts?"

Darcy looked at him like he was trying to convince her that ice was hot, "First, there shouldn't be any more poison in you, and second, have you never gotten hurt before?"

"Oh, I once fell off a stair, and bruised my arm. I then had the building burned, and I would've had the owners executed, but the building was my own manor. What of it?"

Darcy giggled again, before asking how long it took to heal.

"About a week, why?"

Darcy almost fainted at this, "Why!? It should only take a little over 2 hours for a bruise to go away! How in the name of the storm god do you heal so slowly!?"

"How in the world would I know!?"

"Nyahyahyahyah, it's probably cuz' you were cursed!"

Everton went pale after hearing this. "Cursed!? Who dares to curse a World Noble!? I'll find whoever did this, string them up on my balcony, and force feed them the most vile thing I have ever eaten... brussel sprouts! And I will keep feeding them until they explode!"

After saying this with all seriousness, Everton looked over at the surprisingly quiet Darcy, and saw that her mouth was bulging, eyes watering, and she was doubled over, hands clenching her stomach. "Are you ok?" Everton asked out loud, but not even realizing that he had shown concern for another person.

"NYAHYAHYAHYAH!!!" Darcy fell on the ground, fists repeatedly hitting the ground. She laughed like this for a full 30 seconds before she was able to put herself together. "S-sorry, but you're really too funny! Feed someone brustle sprouts until they explode! Bruised your arm, so you burned down your house! Nyahyahyahyah! Too silly!"

"S-silly!? I am not silly!" Everton clambers out of bed, standing upright with so much less effort than he had at the beach. "Listen here, you! I am one of the Celestial Dragons! If there was anyone who could call me silly, it wouldn't be you!"

"But you are silly! You say all these wacky things that no normal person could come up with, and you're all super serious about it! How is that anything more than silly?"

"For your information, we Celestial Dragons are not normal people! We are so much more, standing at the apex of the world from the moment we are born! We are Gods!"

"Nyahyahyahyah, how could you be a god if you could get hurt, and be hungry like the rest of us normal people?"

"Because! ...because... um, gimmie a second... because... well, I don't have an answer for that, but it's true nonetheless!"

"Nyahyahyahyah, well, look at ya self now, mister Evan! You're standing upright, all on your own. I'd say that you're all healed up and stuff!"

"Huh? I guess you are right! Pufufufufu! I do have a god's body!"

"Hmm? Whatcha' going crazy over now, mister Evan?"

But before he could brag about his very much not a god's body, something happened.