Entertain my jealousy

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Eidor, whom had been so drunk he eventually fell asleep on the floor, was completely sober once he woke up. And miraculously enough, he didn't have a hang over. But he never had. Somehow alcohol had never been able to affect him for very long. As long as he stopped drinking, he sobered up within a few hours. He rarely stopped drinking before he fell asleep though, thus never got sober before waking up the next morning. It was like that for most of his country's people. They got drunk easily, but sobered up fast.

"I do hope you're ready. I'm not much for holding back." The old man warned with a grin as he approached Xerxes. He weren't sure what the other man's skill were, but he was sure that the man could give him a good round. It would be interesting to see if he would get beaten for the first time in a very long one.
 
"Well, you do that then." Tal muttered to himself and rolled his eyes before stepping away from the impending fight and going over to stand with his master instead.

"How do you think it's going to end?" Carl murmured to his apprentice as he watched Xerxes draw his sword in one smooth motion that was quite familiar to the assassin. As Xerxes settled into an equally familiar casual stance, it was doubly clear that Xerxes was at least part of the reason his student was quite so terrifying with a blade. Thinking about Eidor's reputation and remembering the bouts he had with Tal, he honestly couldn't say how he expected this to go.

"If you held back I would be terribly disappointed." Xerxes said with a mock pout before an excited grin split his face and he lifted the tip of his sword just slightly, waving it back and forth as if to taunt his opponent into an attack. He probably was. That was the beauty of his style, it worked equally well on the defensive and offensive and switched almost seamlessly from one to the other.
 
Eidor chuckled entertained. "I would never sink that low." He assured his mate and drew his sword. It seemed as if Kevin expected Eidor to attack first as he tried to taunt the man. People using such techniques usually had a certain type of plan to get the upper hand. People often thought that the one attacking first got the upper hand, but that wasn't always the case. Sometimes the same scenario could lead the first attacker into a trap.

Well, someone had to attack first, so lets see what trap he have in store, Eidor thought to himself. He approached towards the left of the other man before changing rout in the last second to attack from the right. Usually people were right handed, and if someone attacked to the left, with other words closer to the other persons right hand, they would feel confident. A sudden switch to the right, the opponents left, would not only confuse, but usually they wouldn't be able to switch side so quickly. Of course he never expected Kevin to fall for such a simple trick, but it was important to test even strong opponents so they wouldn't make the most basic mistakes.
 
"Ah, are we doing the basics of training now Eidor?" Xerxes cheerful expression never wavered through the attack as he easily stepped to the side, flowing over the ground like he was water and bringing up his own sword in a quick ark, though still well within the realm of human possibility. If Eidor was as good as Tal though then he shouldn't have any problem managing to defend himself in time. After that attack though Xerxes would go back on the defensive, unless Eidor decided to be the defender again. He was using this time to test out Eidor's strength and speed so he could pace himself for a good fight.
 
Eidor laughed. "Of course. I have to make sure you haven't gotten lazy with the years. It happens with far too many good swordsmen." He said as he brought his sword to take the hit of the other man's sword. Instead of jumping back to get space, he jumped closer and to the side trying to force Kevin into stepping back. Then the real fight began.

The old man wasn't as outworn as he had thought of himself. While the years certainly had taken its toll on his skills, he could still keep up exceptionally good. But he weren't going to get cocky about it yet. Not before he won. Attack after attack followed, from left and right. The old man used more strength than speed, as he never had very much of the latter but a lot of the first. As long as one used it in the right way, a slow person with lots of strength could do devastating attacks, and a quick but weak person could do exactly as much damage. It was all about technique.
 
Xerxes chuckled. "True enough." He took the step back, knowing that that was what Eidor wanted and ready for the attack that followed. He had an interesting time fighting with Eidor because he was more used to an opponent who relied more on speed rather than strength. It didn't hamper him particularly but it did involve some minor adjustments to what he was doing that actually involved some fairly close calls until he dialed in on the other mans style. From there it was a true fight. Xerxes had found just the right amount of speed and strength to give Eidor a go for his money.

On the sidelines Tal was looking particularly unimpressed, knowing now exactly what his father was planning to do now. He sighed lightly, catching the attention of his master. Carl raised an eyebrow at him and Tal made an annoyed, dismissive hand gesture without really answering.

As the fight continued, it seemed like the powerful blows were starting to take their toll on the smaller and lighter man. Xerxes was slowing down a bit and it probably wouldn't be long until Eidor got a blow through that ended the fight. While Xerxes normally was quite talkative during his fights he was very silent during this one, seeming to be concentrating fully on the task at hand.
 
It was unusual for Eidor to find a man whom could keep up with him for so long. Usually he was done rather quickly once he got into a fight with someone. And while he certainly could keep going for an extended amount of time, it was hard to keep his strength at one hundred percent for very long.

Eventually though he did feel that the other man was slowing down. He was probably becoming worn out. Eidor took the chance when he finally got it and were able to finally end the match. With his sword pointing at the place where Kevin's heart was, just having stopped the sword so it wouldn't penetrate, but still could be felt through the clothing, he grinned. "I reckon this is my win mate." He breathed heavily, feeling the sweat come down every corner of his body.
 
Xerxes let his sword drop and chuckled ruefully, looking at the sword pointing to his chest. "That was quite the work out." He too was rather covered in sweat but it was as much from the tension of maintaining just the right amount of speed for such an extended period of time, as it was from the actual exertion from the fight. He took a step back and slid his sword into it's sheath, rubbing at his wrists a bit. "You hit quite hard." He complimented before sliding his blade into it's sheath. "It looks like you've won your question, ask away." Xerxes gestured to himself expansively.
 
Eidor put back his own sword before sliding a hand over his face, trying to get away as much sweat as possible. Well, he would need a good shower before he did anything else. "Yes, the question." He said, as if he had forgotten. Which in the heat of the battle he probably had. "What is your real name, Kevin." Eidor grinned, knowing he could as well have gotten to know by just asking before, but where was the fun in that?
 
Xerxes couldn't help the sly expression that came over his face at the question. That was what made his act so convincing after all. "Technically, you already know my real name." He left enough of a pause to make it seem like he was just going to leave it at that. Finally though, a more friendly smile crossed his face and he gave a courtly bow. "These days though, I go by Xerxes Night." He straightened, giving Eidor a searching look. Xerxes was not unknown. For anyone who was familiar with nobility would know him as the Knight Protector of one of the Great Families, married into another. Among other things.
 
That name sounded incredibly familiar. It took him some time to realize where he had heard it before. "Well, that certainly explains why you don't like your sons career choice." He laughed not very bothered by the turn of events. "I do hope rumors won't spread about this. Me working for someone like you would completely destroy my reputation." He joked. It was probably true though, for both of them. Don't mix with the other side.

"Just out of curiosity. What would you have asked me if you had won?" Eidor then asked curiously.
 
"I have no intention of spreading it around." Xerxes sighed lightly. It was bad enough that he couldn't really hide the fact that Tal had run away. To hear that Xerxes himself was consorting with assassins would be quite the rumor mill. Honestly though reputation was something that was more of an annoyance than anything to him, he wasn't too terribly concerned about it aside from how it reflected upon his charges.

"Honestly, I hadn't thought much about it. Most of the things I was curious about you were quite happy to tell me about on the trip here." He chuckled softly. "Perhaps I would have asked how you acquired your impressive skills." He shrugged and started heading towards his son. "Either way, I think it is time to bathe." He fixed Tal with a serious look. "And then we will talk."

Tal gave his dad a frosty look, decidedly unimpressed with the whole spectacle.

Carl didn't seem to know what to think. He was processing the fact that his charge was the son of Xerxes Knight. It explained a lot of things, for sure.
 
Well that was a secret Eidor gladly kept to himself. Not because his old master could be find any longer. He had been old when Eidor trained with him as a child, thus now was long dead. At that time he had actually wanted to get out of the slum and become a knight himself. He trained so hard, but in the end got turned down simply because of where he had been born. They didn't care for skills, as long as you were born from the right family. And thus his skills had to help him on the other side instead.

"Be proud over your manly odor, my friend. Bath in the scent of your blood and sweat after a good days work." Eidor told Xerxes, and just for the effect he even raised his arm and smelled his armpit. "That's the odor of a man." Then of course he turned it a bit. "A man that will take a long bath so he can prove himself tomorrow again."
 
The look on Tal's face at Eidor's words was priceless, Xerxes laughed so hard at the revolted expression that he nearly fell over. "Ah Eidor you could not have done that better if you tried!" He recovered himself with some effort and wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes.

"I feel the need to bathe just looking at you two." Tal pointedly moved away from the group. "Spare your breath old man, I've got better things to do." Surely he could find one interesting person in this town. He half turned at the amused sound from Xerxes. "The scent of sex is quite different from what you two are exuding."

Xerxes made a noncommittal gesture. "Enjoy yourself while you can." He'd use this last little bit of time to try and find the right words to bring his son home.
 
"Kids these days." Eidor said while he shook his head slowly. "There was a time when both rich and poor, man and woman, child and adult only bathed once a month, and that was if they were lucky. There weren't even showers. The clothes stuck to the skin with the help of the dried sweat and everyone stank all the time." Given, that was a time before even Eidor was born, though the poor still got to bath incredibly rarely when he was young. Now a days there was a shower in almost every building, even the cheapest inns. It was mainly the homeless that had to go to the rivers to get clean.

"Don't spoil your kids too much Xerxes, it makes them unappreciative of what they have." An advice coming a few years too late. It was a learnt behavior, and now Tal had fallen prey for it in Eidor's eyes. It was hard to make people re-think their world view once they became adults.
 
Tal rolled his eyes. "You sound like some old gramps about to wither away. You should probably get that checked on." He was the epitome of an unimpressed teenager at the moment. "Or die faster and save the world your senile words."

Xerxes sighed lightly and turned towards the inn. He wasn't going to get involved in this. Tal was just picking a fight because he was in a mood. Tal was also more than capable of taking care of himself.

Carl hesitated for a few moments, looking around at the 3 men before shaking his head and muttering something about needing a drink before following Xerxes inside.
 
Instead of picking up on the challenge that might have been twirled into Tal's words, Eidor instead laughed. "My apprentice would definitely like you." He commented. Archer and Tal did think pretty much the same thing about him. "Well, if you want me dead, then you'll just have to come get me on your own kiddo." He then told him before turning around and walking towards the inn. He definitely needed a bad. And another fight before he had rested was out of the question.

But another fight weren't on his mind at the moment. He was done with his job and needed to get back to Archer before the kid's muscles withered away from laziness. He would take a longer way back though as he had someone to meet first, so Adrian and Archer would have a little more time alone.

Early the next day Eidor said goodbye to Xerxes. "Well, I'm on my way again. I hope everything goes well for you." Tiaf seemed eager to get going. Probably just to get away from the part demon she had the dishonor to be seen with.
 
Tal sniffed disdainfully and reluctantly accepted that no one wanted to take up his bad mood at the moment. Later that day he and his father had that spar they had talked about earlier and when they emerged from the surrounding forest it was clear Xerxes had not completed his goal. He had won the spar but lost the battle of words and stubbornness.

Standing next to Eidor, Xerxes flashed his sort of friend a rueful smile. "I would say the same, but I'd be lying." Everything going well for Eidor included a booming assassin business and as a Knight he didn't really support that kind of thing. "Anyway. Go back to torturing that poor apprentice of yours."

Back in Ruuk, Adrian was making great progress in translating the control panel in between increasingly wild bouts of sex. He was eager to go home, but Archer had grown on him in his own irritating way. Adrian sighed lightly and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes and pondering sleep. He didn't know where Archer was as usual, and had long since decided he didn't want to know. He rubbed at his eyes again as he stared at their shared bed, the thoughts and feelings twisting uncomfortably inside of him. Somehow, despite that turmoil he drifted off at some point, looking like one good breeze would send him toppling off the chair.
 
"Trust me, I will. He won't get away with being lazy forever." Eidor replied as he sat up on Tiaf. Soon they were on their way, far from demons, and a bit closer to home.

For once, Archer had actually done his training instead of bothering Adrian or running off to work, which pretty much was the only two things he had done these past weeks. When he came back to the inn, he found an adorable sleeping wizard, whom might just fall off his chair at any moment. He was working far too hard, he should realize when he needed to take a break and get to bed already.

"Thanks for staying up and waiting for me, my most beautiful wife." He said as a joke with a very serious tone as he tried to lightly shook some life into the other boy. He did however hold a hand and put his leg behind the chair to make sure to catch it in case Adrian would fall backwards.
 
It was one of those times where Archer should be grateful Adrian did not wake up well. He hardly processed what Archer said at all. "Wife? I'm a man." He mumbled in confusion before making a swat motion at the offending arm shaking him. Of course that was the trigger that sent him tipping over backwards and his eyes suddenly shot wide open as he made a muffled shout, his arms flailing as he tilted backwards and then stopped.

He gave a soft sigh that was equally relief and irritation. He had no one to blame but himself. "Right. Thanks for catching me. Think I'll be enjoying that bed now." He said almost in response to the thoughts he never heard.
 
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