There's nothing more contagious than the laughter of young children; it doesn't even have to matter what they're laughing about.
But Zane wanted to know why Milo laughs with Tesla.
What kind of dirty pills he discussed with his little sister.
So Zane asked it directly.
"Why do you laugh with him so much? What does he say in your ears?"
Milo laughed.
"He is very funny. He makes noises. Animal noises. Funny noises. Like a bird fighting with chicken. An elephant arguing with a bug. He can even mimic the sound of ants."
Zane raised his brows.
"Sound of ants? What is that? Can you show me."
Milo nodded rapidly.
"Yes. Yes. I can do it. Listen closely…"
Milo took a deep breath and…
Said nothing.
Zane waited.
Still nothing.
Milo and Zane stared at each other.
"... Did you forget?" Zane asked.
Milo shook her head.
"I already did it."
"What?"
"That was the sound of ants, brother!"
Zane quivered his brows.
"But I heard nothing."
"Exactly." Milo pumped her chest and then burst in laughter.
Zane went silent.
With a little effort, he got it.
He got the joke.
He never heard the sound of ants and the sound that Milo made, he didn't hear it either. Hence, the sound of ants.
"Tesla taught you this?"
"Yes."
Zane nodded.
He smiled.
"Very nice."
His face smiled but his eyes pierced Tesla's back.
Tesla's hair stood on his skin.
Someone wants to kill me.
He shivered and went outside the house as well.
Zane changed the topic from Tesla to something else and the siblings talked while Xavier dealt with the situation.
Zane mentioned not one instance about the relic or the Cathedral or whatever happened today with them to Milo.
He would give up anything to make sure Milo doesn't remember all that. If someone could wipe the memories, Zane would sell the entire Dwarkam to pay the cost of Milo undergoing such a treatment.
But such a thing didn't exist or Zane didn't know anything like that yet so the best he could do is to make sure Milo doesn't remember the past.
While talking, Zane also kept an eye on Xavier dealing with the neighbours outside.
Xavier argued with the neighbours, he bowed, then he punched one of them and then he bowed again.
He joined his hands. He did everything to make the neighbours stop complaining about the noise and commotion.
One Warden was also there with his sword and Zane saw Xavier was being warned by him.
Xavier's face clearly depicted he didn't like that but he remained calm.
He apologized to the warden too and one by one, everyone started walking away to their homes.
They were mostly old ladies, and few old men among the complainers.
The area around Xavier's house was clean.
Trimmed grass, birds chirping, clean roads.
The air wasn't filled with animal feces.
He was a Commoner but he had enough money to live in such an area.
One having their own house was merely a dream for millions of people and if this house really belonged to Xavier and his parents, then they must have been doing some high end job.
The house couldn't be on rent as Xavier wasn't earning money as far as Zane knew. He wouldn't be able to pay for it.
Either the parents of his childhood friend took care of the expenses or Xavier's original parents left some inheritance to last for a few years.
Nevertheless, Zane shouldn't put his nose inside Xavier's personal matters. He had to take care of Milo and himself first.
Eventually, after handling everything outside, Xavier came back to his house and stood in front of Zane.
"I was about to accommodate all of you somewhere private in this house but the chaos had gone out of hand."
Xavier panted heavily.
He pulled a chair and sat in front of Zane.
"Take a second. Your stomach was already bad. It might get worse." Zane said.
Xavier laughed.
"My stomach is fine. The blue pill worked."
"The blue pill?"
Zane recalled it.
Tesla had shown them two pills at their first meeting.
The red and blue.
Xavier had refused to take them though.
"So he gave you the pill after all? But Tesla was acting otherwise. In fact, he was shocked to see you fight with a bad stomach."
Xavier smiled.
"He didn't give it to me. I took it."
Zane opened his mouth but closed it.
He looked at Milo.
"Play with Tesla uncle for a while, alright?"
"Okay."
Milo jumped from Zane's lap and went to Tesla.
Seeing her with Tesla, Zane turned serious.
He leaned towards Xavier.
"You stole the pill."
Xavier raised his hands.
"Yes. I did. But it was important. You started fighting with everyone in the Cathedral and I had to move. That Enforcer would have killed you. So I stole the pill that Tesla showed us and ate the blue one."
Zane held his head.
"You could have harmed yourself if you have eaten the wrong pill. You could have simply asked for it from Tesla. You were lucky the blue one worked."
"He was stopping me from jumping in the fight. He never would have given me the pill. Besides, you know how he was confused between his own pills. Sometimes, it's better to leave things to your luck instead of trusting the conviction of others."
Zane let out a tired sigh.
"Fine. Your decision saved my life. I can't even be angry. But try to steal for good. Don't misuse your talent for petty things."
Xavier patted his knees.
"As you say, leader."
Zane laughed and Xavier followed it.
Then Xavier stood from the chair.
Zane did the same.
"Let's go upstairs. Some preparations are needed."
"Sure."
Xavier climbed the stairs and Zane followed behind.
They reached the top floor and Xavier stopped behind a door.
It wasn't the bedroom where the couple was.
It was a different room and Xavier pushed the door open right away.
Zane peeked and sighed.
It was the bathroom.
He expected some kind of secret room.
But why were they here?
"What kind of preparations requires us to enter a bathroom together?"
Xavier smiled. "The kinky kind."
Zane stepped back.
"I am flattered but no. I don't want any kinky."
Xavier laughed out loud.
"I am just messing around."
Zane heaved a sigh of relief and went inside the bathroom.
Xavier tapped his foot on each tile of the bathroom floor and Zane's brows twitched.
Why do I feel he wasn't messing around with the kinky stuff?
