Awaken

When Toby finally stepped away from his plates with a round belly, the mayor's father came back to the house with a sad look.

"Dad, how's Kumur and Tulu?" the mayor quickly asked.

"Kumur's fine. Well, his mom hit a ton on his bum and half the village can hear him screaming. Other than that, he's well and kickin'. As for Scott's lad… he'll live. But he can't hear anything from his left side now."

An old woman walked out of the kitchen. "Ain't it better than dropping dead? At least he's not totally deaf."

Annoyed, her husband tapped the floor using his walking cane. "Aye, I know you are sorta sick of the lad's grandmother. But be nice to the boy, will ya?"

As the old couple went outside the door to argue, the mayor gave Angor an apologetic look.

Not interested, Angor stuffed Toby into his pocket and left a gold coin as payment for dinner.

"Thank you for your time, sir. I'll go and check on Tulu instead of occupying your schedule."