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Essentially, the entire repertoire of a seemingly lifelong criminal. Xander found it to be quite an oddity. He may have been young, but he was far from naive to the ways of the world. Being on the outskirts of the Kingdom, he had the opportunity to encounter a number of people that might be included in the seedy underbelly of the southern Midlands. But there was a major difference in the encounters Xander had with those individuals, and the one he was having with Rio. Those individuals he had encountered in Pyre, were more secretive of their past. They had even gone so far as to hide it, or at the very least refrain from talking to it all together. But this man, a career criminal it seemed like was more attuned to disclosure. 

Of course, his eyes did not widen as the story went on. But his face did contort into something of disbelief. Some men, Xander had heard, would openly boast about their exploits using events that they were not personally present or accountable for to boost their reputation and avoid unnecessary confrontation. It was a common occurrence amongst some of the more lackluster individuals of Pyre who were attempting to avoid some rapscallion or attention from the wrong people. Some of these things they spoke of, never happened all together. But why would Rio need to make use of such tactics with him? Xander was but a child trying to save his sister, certainly no competition for a full grown experienced warrior. Perhaps it was some sort of “cool-factor” that Xander was not aware of?

Such a bold mention of “shape-shifter” and “black blood” had struck him as odd. Shape shifters were infamous in his hometown. Exclamations of snatching up naughty children from their bed or those who wandered too far beyond the boundaries of their territory. Of course, those old wife's tales were often attributed to condemnations by the teachings of Yggdrasil. A belief that Xander had disregarded when he left. Descriptors such as “black” or “dark” blood were often times spoken in hushed tones. This Xander knew personally, although he was not so quick to disperse with that information. As it were, Rio did not appear to have the black blood as he did beneath his cloak. There was no way to argue against it without further proof. 

It was simple. Xander believed no such nonsense. Criminal he may have been, he could believe this. But a shape-shifter and a black blood, well, those were harder pills to swallow and Xander did not have the stomach for it. 

Xander stood up, turning his back to the flames of the hearth. [b]“I can’t think of anything more dangerous than facing darkness in the eye.”[/b] He made sure that his left arm had been concealed beneath the mundane cloth, [b]“I can’t think of anything that makes me more worthy than surviving that meeting.”[/b] He leaned in, locking his gaze with Rio’s which allowed him to take note of the powerful blue hue to the man’s eyes. At the same time, it exposed the slash of black scale like flesh noting a touch of darkness upon his face to be scrutinized. [b]“And since you offer, I would be stupid to turn down your company.”[/b] 

He took a few steps back to allow a comfortable space between the two of them, [b]“I’ve got me a tiny private room up the stairs, end of the hall. A bit pricey…. Maybe I shouldn’t have…”[/b] Xander bit his bottom lip as he turned his view to his feet slightly ashamed at such wasteful spending. [b]“It’s at the top of the stairs, third floor, end of the hall. I got a window too.”[/b] 

The boy turned away and began the short journey to his room. 

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