Realm of Opportunity

15: Ravenous

^^ Johnny and Kitten 😺😺 ^^

--- Dorian ---

I watched his face pale, and leaned back, crossing my ankles. "You know what... Imma let you sit and spin that around in your head, and try to come up with a way to explain that while the rest of us enjoy a quiet breakfast. Let's eat, huh?" I looked at the others.

Bete grinned, shaking his head. "Now this is getting interesting."

Riviera looked between us. "I apologize, I did not mean to create an internal dispute..."

"Don't worry, Miss Riviera, we're mature enough to keep our problems between us. Aren't we, Johnny?" I grinned.

He sighed and rubbed his temples, then began eating his food. He dunked some bread in his stew, tasting it, and nodded. "You guys should eat the Stew. It's good."

Bete nodded. "We came for it, specifically. Oi, Cat? Stew for all of us, except the Elves. They're Rabbit-Food Eaters."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm not. I'll have the stew, and some bread and cheese, along with a mug of cider."

She looked slowly between me and Johnny, and nodded. "Okay... Miss Riviera? Miss Lefiya?"

"I'll have the house salad, some wine, and a plate of vegetables." Riviera nodded.

"Uhm, the same, but cider..." Lefiya said shyly.

I leaned away from the table, and opened my art journal, drawing the scene with an attention to even the smallest details. On the next pages, I included sketches of everyone present, labeled clearly so that I could remember them. The waitresses returned, and began setting bowls and plates down around us.

I closed my book, and smiled, thanking her, then began eating quickly. I dipped my bread into my soup, and bit into it, nodding. "It is good stew, I can see why you guys came for it." I chuckled, and continued eating.

Bete finished quickly, and yelled for the waiter boisterously, ordering another bowl when she appeared.

I chuckled and ate my food at my own slow pace, then looked at Johnny, and realized he was doing the same thing.

We were holding our spoons the same, the same posture, leaning over our bowls, his jaw moved the way mine did when I was thinking of something that bothered me... and the way his did, I realized now.

"How did we not have this conversation before? It seems so obvious now." I asked curiously. The other people at the table breathed a quick sigh of relief when they saw I wasn't angry anymore.

He looked up, and sighed. "It's simple. I didn't want to, so I avoided the topic. I'm a master at not talking about something I don't want to, so you never had a chance."

"But still... we even eat the same, Johnny."

He chuckled. "I noticed... yeah. Your mother made me promise not to tell you, first of all."

"What? That she screwed my martial arts teacher, or that she let me be friends with you, and never told me?" I asked archly.

He nearly choked on his bread, while the small elf girl covered her face, blushing madly. "No! No, no no. Your mother and I never- no, we weren't like that. She wanted children, I had seed to spare, and I was the only man around that looked mostly like her, so you'd never see your father and go 'oh! I have that guys eyes!' I donated my seed for her, that's all." He said firmly.