[b]"Hmph, I gave you my name. [i]That[/i] was the favor."[/b] Zaino chided, scowling as he folded his arms in a grumpy and childish manner. He turned to take a gander out of the window, seeing that the day had already shifted to the dusk and painted the sky with sprinkles of silver. He would've sat there to marvel at the stars' beauty, but did that hold any significance in their cruel world? Maybe it did one time, but that was all the shadow of a past that now haunted him.

Zaino scanned around the malignant room for his sword, seeing that it was nowhere to be found and narrowing his eyes. He mumbled to himself, [b]"Where's my sword?"[/b]

That was when he caught sight of a cobweb located remotely at a corner of the room, where a spider rested. This caused him to fumble off of the bed and hit his head against the side, producing a loud banging sound. With a flaming passion, he held a great dislike for arachnids; he wasn't sure when or how it had surfaced, but the fear was more or less there. On instinct, he dove towards the spider and its web armed with a pillow like a predator catching its prey and crushed it against the wall, applying extra force to make sure it was dead and generating even more noise.

[b]"Whew..."[/b] Zaino breathed, letting go of the pillow and letting it stand against the wall. He turned to the woman who had entered the room, scratching his head. [b]"Do you have another pillow?"[/b]

---

Xanxus yawned once again at Darrian's statement on bastard children. While the possibility was a reality for the two of them, it didn't really concern him as much; he didn't intend on becoming a father now, or anytime soon, like Darrian had insisted with what he'd done for him. The idea of toddlers bearing the Mark of the Exalt amused him. [b]"Heh. You got me there."[/b]

Now for the statement that was half of a possibility, something that Xanxus knew was untrue in his case. He'd known Darrian ever since the man took power as the new reigning Exalt of Ylisse, and he was the only person to ever match him in a duel. He'd never been defeated, and the idea of being tied against someone had been foreign to Xanxus until the nineteen year old crossed swords with the eighteen year old Prince. Every now and then, they'd hold friendly contests with one another where no true winner was held; Xanxus didn't care about being the best at anything, even though it was what he was known for. Regardless, he sarcastically complied, [b]"But of course, 'Your Majesty.'"[/b]

[b]"I sent two assassins to join my kid brother and feign their friendship after destroying the eight barracks,"[/b] Xanxus shrugged. [b]"Who knows, maybe grumps killed them and is still out there, crying over a spider."[/b]