Beyond Chaos – A DiceRPG

[1045] – Y05.045 – Depression and Gambling

"Papa..." Konarot placed her hand onto little Jarot's leg, glancing up to her greatfather her brother was named after. “It is time to eat.”

“Mnn,” little Jarot shook his head, burying his head within his greatfather’s chest once more.

“No?” Konarot asked, furrowing her brows. “Jarot, we must eat.”

Little Jarot whined, and his greatfather brushed his hair, holding the boy against his chest. The warmth of his greatfather soothed the boy, who could feel a tightness within his gut, the boy sucking against his thumb.

“Jarot will eat later,” Adam said, returning from the Elder’s estate, brushing Konarot’s head as the girl hugged his leg. “How about we drink some milk first?”

Adam’s heart continued to ache, and the chill of worry slipped through into his heart. His son refused to eat, and when he did, he threw up moments later. Other than water, the boy refused to consume anything.

‘Milk’s basically water, isn’t it? If he can drink that, it should be okay.’ Adam stared down at the cup of milk for a moment, bracing himself, before lifting it up. He sipped the milk lightly, tasting the the slight tang. “Mmm. I love milk so much.”

Jarot blinked towards his father.

“This milk is a special milk, because it’s only mine and my Jarot’s milk.” Adam beckoned the boy with a finger. “It’s our special milk, no one else can drink it.”

“I cannot?” Jirot asked.

“Jarot, what do you think?”

“Kaka can drink.” Jarot returned his head against his babo’s chest, who brushed his head once more.

Adam placed down the cup to one side, reaching down to the baked potatoes, cutting into it. ‘Slowly.’ “Jarot, come to daddy’s lap, babo needs to eat.”

“I can eat without-,” Jarot began, stopping when he noted Adam’s dark glare. “Jarot, go and sit upon your father’s lap.”

“I want to cuddle you too, Jarot,” Adam called, patting his lap, reaching out for his son. Little Jarot reached out his arms and Adam lifted the boy up onto his lap, while Jirot climbed up beside her father, cuddling against side. Adam sipped the milk, bringing it up to his daughter’s lips, before handing the cup to her. “Make sure Jarot drinks, okay? I’ll cut up your potato.”

“I do not want cut potato.”

“Then I’ll put salt on it.”

“Okay!” The girl smiled, sipping some of the milk, before offering it to her brother’s lips. “Jarot, milk.”

Jarot reached over to the bottom of the cup, sipping the milk lightly, before pulling away from it.

“Make sure you lick your lip,” Adam said, ready to wipe his son’s lips dry, but first making sure his son consumed the tiny fraction of a calorie that remained upon his lip before doing so.

The others watched Adam as he ate his meal, assisting Jirot with her own, waiting, and waiting, and waiting. The boy continued to sip the milk whenever it was offered, only tiny amounts, but Adam didn’t offer him any other food.

“If you want to eat, you tell daddy, okay?” Adam said, ruffling his hair.

“Okay,” the boy’s shy voice replied, as the boy cuddled up against his father’s chest.

It was later in the evening when the children slept, the twins elsewhere with their babo, they approached Adam. The half elf continued to write within his book, mostly oblivious to their presence.

“Adam,” Sonarot called, sitting opposite the half elf. “Jarot has not eaten all day.”

“He ate in the morning, spat it out, but managed to sip some milk,” Adam stated, checking his notes.

Sonarot threw a look to Zijin, who took his place beside the pair. Adam had been too focused on his notes, he hadn’t even realised the Elder had arrived.

“Adam,” Zijin called, having braced himself to tell the father the bad news.

“Elder Zijin,” Adam replied. “I was just about to come visit you.”

“For what matter?”

“My son, he drank milk so well this evening,” Adam said, swallowing slightly. He cleared his throat, fending off the sudden bout of tension running through him. “I was a little worried, because if he didn’t drink milk, I didn’t know how to help him. If he can’t even stomach porridge, it was pretty bad. Milk? Okay, sure, I can work with that. He didn’t throw up even a single drop, so milk works, and that means there’s a little bit of hope.”

“Yes?” Zijin replied, before his eyes fell down to Adam’s notes. ‘What is this?’

“From what I know, there aren’t any tubes. Imagine hollow wire made of, uh, kind of like cloth, but not cloth, more like… rubber?”

“Rubber?”

“Damn. Alright, but, so…” Adam thought for a moment. “Don’t worry about it. It’s like, imagine the texture of a plant, hollowed wire made of something similar to a plant. If we had that, we could drip food into his stomach, through the nose, but I don’t know how that works, and I’m not going to use my son as a test subject for that in case we hurt him. Thankfully, though the level of technology isn’t there, there’s something we could only pray for back home, and that’s…” Adam tapped his amulet of Baktu.

“Okay?” Zijin replied, noting the word Adam had circled around within his book, the strokes holding great excitement.

“We’ve been using this spell to prolong our food, but it’s still a berry, and he probably won’t eat it. Now, I’m not sure if it’ll work, but if we’re able to reduce the berry into the milk, and somehow make sure it’s still the same consistency, texture, and flavour, I’m hoping that the magical benefits can keep my son from starving to-,” Adam cleared his throat, his eyes glistening. “Unfortunately, I don’t think a blender exists, but, if you can grind the berry, deal with the pulp, and then if I cast my spell to make sure the milk tastes the same, it should be okay. We can use a few berries, just in case, and water down the mixture to deal with the texture. If we’re able to do that, then, because of the spell’s magic, which for some reason allows someone to live with the nutrition someone needs, and I’m hoping that includes calories, we should be able to deal with Jarot’s dietary needs.”

Zijin wasn’t sure exactly what Adam meant by some of the words he used. “You wish for us to grind the berries into the milk?”

“Yeah.”

‘The magic within the berries?’ Zijin narrowed his eyes. They hadn’t thought of using the berries this way, and he was unsure if the magic would work if the berries were destroyed, but if one could chew the berry and then swallow it, then if they ground it into the milk, wouldn’t that still work? “I will requisition a mill.”

“I can prepare the spell tomorrow,” Adam said.

“We can prepare it,” Zijin said, rereading Adam’s notes. “May I take your notes?”

“Alright, but some of the words are probably not something you’ve come across before,” Adam said, before explaining the concept of the various dietary concepts. He had already explained calorie counting vaguely to the Iyrmen before, telling them how to gain and lose weight, and which foods could assist in either task.

“Even if it works, I’m not sure if the magic will be enough, so I’ll try and introduce more foods to him over time. He might be able to eat a spoonful of solids now and again, but we’ll do it slowly, very slowly, over time. Just a little bit, I’m talking bits of food. I’ll think of any foods from my previous life which could help.”

“He will need to eat thick food to grow,” Zijin said, writing within his own notes to prepare the appropriate food.

“Not entirely,” Adam replied, presuming he meant solid food. “Thick food is for the teeth, and my son has amazing teeth. Right now our goal is to make sure he gains weight properly as he grows, and, I’m not really sure how quickly he’ll keep growing, but he’ll need more calories, even if he is just sitting around all day. The secret to gaining weight is to do the opposite of losing weight, so that means it’ll be easier for Jarot to drink his calories. If solid food doesn’t work, we might have to lean on drinks to keep him fed, though it’s not the best, it’s better than the alternative.”

“Will you teach this to us?”

“I’m no expert, but I’ll try.” Adam reached up to his head, rubbing his pulsing forehead. ‘I should be worrying about dragons and monsters, not if my son is able to eat food.’

Zijin looked down at the notes. His heart ached, hoping more than anything else in the world, that Adam was right. “Adam, come with me.”

Adam followed Zijin to his estate, where he motioned with his hand, and after a moment, he leaned back, staring down at the half elf’s notes. Adam remained silent, allowing the Elder to ponder his thoughts.

“It is rare for one of our children to die by a blade,” Zijin said. “It is less rare for a child to die from other maladies. There are many which take our children, for some children are not born living, some children, they are born seemingly healthy, but gain maladies as they grow. Sometimes, there are children who grow well for a year, two, but they stop eating. They will sip water, they may sip water, but they will refuse other food, and they will spit it out if they are forced to eat. If your thoughts are correct, you will have brought us a boon we cannot repay.”

“Consider us even.”

“No,” Zijin said, catching the half elf’s eyes. “The Iyr always pays its debts.”

“You could have kept that to yourself,” Adam teased.

“I could have, but I will continue to bet upon you, Adam.”

Adam smiled slightly. “Well, then, I hope that you’ll take good care of my wife and my children.”

Zijin smiled lightly in return, slowly nodding his head, having expected Adam’s request.

This particular chapter was the most difficult for me to write.