Shady

Zander laughed at that, shaking his head. "Meh."

"I know it is," he said with a wink and playful smirk. He thought for a moment, sobering slightly, but still maintaining the shadow of a smile. "Gotta be smart ...

"As I said, he and I are similar in a lot of ways," Zander laughed but decided to move on quickly so as to not muss up the mood again ...

"No, no he's not," Zander agreed with a smirk. "A bit too easy, perhaps. But we can be useful to each other, so it all works out."

(haha totally fair! Magic is definitely one of the shakier aspects of my lore, but I've developed the As'veri haha Jerica's primary antagonist is one and is the exact one ...

"Oh, heh, wow, that's a big question." Zander let out a little chuckle, thinking for a moment. "Pratik and I took on an entire band of slavers by ourselves in ...

"Something," Zander agreed with a smile. "It's exciting if nothing else."

Zander scratched the back of his neck. "Well... I enlisted when I was fourteen. Was just a dumb kid before that. Well... was a dumb kid for a while after ...

"Oh." Zander let out a breath. "A long, long time. I've been around most places, always sticking my nose into anything that seems even remotely interesting."

Zander scoffed, grinning. "I would be seriously impressed if you found anything that could surprise me at this point. I've heard it all."

"Not at all." Zander shook his head. "It's good to get to know you better, warts and all."

Zander nodded too. "Not a great choice, admittedly. But we've all done stupid things. I'm certainly guilty of doing dumber things than kissing -- or more -- a pretty boy. ...

Oh, so he'd cheated with Tomhas-- "Oof."

"They certainly did," Zander agreed with a nod. He was quiet for a moment before a thought struck him, and he choked on a little laugh before he could stop ...

Zander grimaced, biting back all the vile comments that came to mind about Rand the Father. He needed to be gentle, not angry; this wasn't about him and his feelings. ...