Shadows: Whisper | Assassin's Creed

[TwilightMoonDragon]

Casio snorted and shook his head. Aelia had to be retorting about everything. Her physique surely was feminine, but not her attitude... She had wonderful, gentle curves and long, fair legs... Of course, he had seen them as she jumped and how much power they possessed... He rubbed the ridge of his nose and shook his head. Maybe he should just shut up. Maybe he could always say that Aelia was right. But then he would never live it down. Why was he trying to win her over so bad, anyway? "I need a massage..." he grumbled as he walked over to the rocks and began to climb. Just as he expected, there was a jabbing pain in his arm and his lower back. "Maybe Scipio can give me a massage! His manly hands are sure to cure me from this pain." he cackled at the end and shook his head. Scipio and him often acted like a couple; going out and always touching each other. But it never exceeded that. They acted like brothers, touchy, bumpy brothers that always wandered around with each other. "Do you see anything else, Scipio?" he called, grabbing onto another rock and hauling himself up with a groan.

Ambra began to climb up after Scipio and Casio. Her eyes went to Aelia. She had ordered her to do something and she did not listen. But now she felt bad. "Hey, Aelia..." she whispered. "I hope that you don't mind me staying... Back there... I just wanted to die with you if you were going to get killed... I couldn't risk losing either of you..." she murmured, climbing faster.

[Mousia]

Aelia heard Casio just ignore her. A smile slipped across her face for a second. She had won. But what was it worth? Was it worth anything? Was it any more than that one instant of pride? No, not really. She shook her head to clear it and climbed after the rest. Hearing Ambra whisper to her, she listened closely. "We all disobey orders at one time or another. You need to have intelligence and do what's right. I just didn't want any of us dead. Maybe Scipio should teach you more," she chuckled. Maybe if she knew more, she could do more. Maybe she wouldn't be so squemish. Maybe she would blossom into a good assassin someday. Aelia knew that she was very different from Ambra, but part of her saw some resemblance. Almost every assassin started out that way. Scared and sloppy. Most became better at doing their job and went through the motions. Few went beyond. Few cared and lived to the fullest. As full lives were lived in the shadows as in the light. Mostly...

 

Scipio blinked, senses returning to normal. "Hm...there are rocks...," he pointed out, voice rich with sarcasm. He casually dropped the comment about the massage. He would not be giving Casio a massage. Then, a thought popped into his head. "Maybe Aelia could massage you!" He chuckled heartily at his comment. He knew the Casio and Aelia had a thing going on. The just had to. Aelia couldn't tease him forever. No woman could refuse to give in forever. Casio would not accept it and Scipio knew it. No one could say when it was going to happen, but most knew it would. It'll happen any day, now! they would exclaim. The assassins would gossip and plan. They would laugh and toast and ponder. Some dared to tell other what they were doing or planning, but none did. No, Aelia and Casio would need to remain oblivious. It would have to be spontaneous.

[Danniphantom]

Kristi held onto the spire she was atop. She enjoyed the view as she always did. For some reason she found it easier to think while she was up there. She could also see a lot more and it made her feel in control. I'm starting out today at the Guild in Rome. She thought to herself as she gripped the spire tighter. I hope he's here, I traveled all over in hopes of finding him. She was determined to find her brother that she had few memories about. Perhaps the guild could assist her in finding her older brother? She smiled at the thought as she began to climb down from the spire. "That's enough for now." She said as she descended. "I must get to the guild and meet the guild Masters." She said. She dropped onto the streets and walked along to enjoy the hustle and bustle of Rome. "Bene." She said. She smiled as she walked passed a jeweler, and then a flower shop. Despite being more serious than most she was still a young girl at heart and she would enjoy the things that made her happy. She approached the Guild and put up her hood. She entered and looked around. Hoping to find the guild masters. She searched everywhere inside besides their personal bedrooms and sighed before walking back outside. She sat down by the wall that hid the entrance from view and waited. She needed to know who was in charge so she would wait for their return. The sun moved across the sky in its usual path and after a while Kristi fell asleep waiting. She curled up against the wall to keep herself warm.

Edited September 9, 2012 by Danniphantom

[TwilightMoonDragon]

Ambra listened to Aelia speak. That was true, assassins usually disagreed once or twice in their lives. She usually didn't go against what Aelia said, only when she was right. Her eyes dropped to the rocks again. The rocks were kind of smooth and wet, and Ambra wondered why that was so. Maybe an underground river ran close by. But she felt the warm breath of the outside air against her face. Maybe she was close? No... Maybe they were close. "Who was your mentor, Aelia?" she asked, climbing up still. She wanted to make conversation with Aelia, and she wanted to know if Aelia had a mentor like Scipio. "How was he or she? He must of been good at... Training you."

Casio rolled his eyes at Scipio. "What I really meant is if you see an exit." he grunted as he slipped slightly on the rocks and scored his chin. Ow? At least it was a scratch. Not like the beating he had gotten from the rocks as he dangled violently from the vine. When the man said that Aelia could give him a massage, he became tense and rosy cheeked. He really didn't like people seeing his back, since they would question about the lash marks that ran from the base of his neck to his lower back. Thus, it would bring back bad memories. "Shut up." he hissed out, glaring up at his friend. Aelia's hands all over him sounded great. But the thought of his back being questioned made tingles in his stomach. "Hey, is that light?" he questioned, tipping his head to the side as he saw small beams of light coming from up ahead.

 

[Mousia]

Aelia pondered at Ambra's question. "My...mentor?" She had to think for a while. Her memories were mostly of practicing and crying herself to sleep before she started to sob only with silent tremors. "I had a few..." She tried to grip the faces, but the evaded her. They slipped by her like water. "Dextra de Rea...she was my mother and mentored me from when I was old enough to understand her. My mother went on a mission, though, and so Furio Cato had to step in. My father...was...intense. When my mother came back, she, my father, and the other leader gave me a new mentor. My brother was my mentor for the rest of my days as an apprentice. He would never show me his face or tell me his name. He just...was. He was just a commanding voice and and instructing body. He left when I became an assassin and, for a while, I tried to find him. He disappeared, though. He's probably dead, in a hole. Everyone forgot him because nobody knew him." Aelia Cato was an only child, as far as she was concerned. It didn't matter where her brother had gone. When he left, his familial ties were cut and burned.

 

Scipio was silent for a while. "Why do you think we're climbing these rocks? There's an exit up ahead." He could feel the crisp air from the outside brush his face. "I think you should over it. The past is the past. Besides, even though I don't know why you're so protective of your back, it's probably nothing. Over the years, scars go away. If you wait long enough, no one will be able to see them." Scipio felt like a bit of a hypocrite, but Casio needed the support. Sure, the two were always joking and laughing and poking each other, but brothers still had to support each other. They had to know when to say what. It was hard, to say the least. But Casio always seemed so carefree and, when it came to his back, he changed. "She could massage you with your cloak on or with a shirt on. No one has to see your back like that. Ooh, I bet Aero could do it. He could rub you real good," he smiled, obviously joking. Aero...Scipio was still getting over what he had done.

[TwilightMoonDragon]

Ambra listened to Aelia, a frown on her face as she continued to climb. Poor Aelia. She had been taught by her family and she went under intense training. She was kind of glad that she did not get born into the guild, while others thought that it was a great honor to be born into the Creed. But Aelia pratically didn't have a childhood because of that. Shaking her head, she climbed up after the men. "... I like Master Scipio." she murmured, her voice low so that her mentor didn't hear. She wouldn't hear the end of it if he did. "He's nice and sweet, but he has a side that shows what a good teacher he is. But you seem to be a good mentor too, Master Aelia." she said, looking at her for a second.

Casio rolled his eyes as Scipio sommented on his back again. Why did he have to bring that up now? Only he had seen his back, not anyone else. And he sure hoped that Aelia wouldn't comment on it either when she saw the scars. "Nah, I'll take my shirt off. She likes my sexy body." he laughed as he climbed the rest of the way up the pile of rocks. Crawiling into the open, he looked around. "Wherr are we?"

 

[short, crappy post.]

[Mousia]

Aelia nodded, hands starting to ache. "Thank you, Ambra. You can just call me Aelia, though. I guess I'm still not in a "master" type of mindset. I was always the odd sister who couldn't get her act together. I guess Scipio's okay. He's less of a trouble-maker than Casio, I'll tell you that much. I know that he isn't good at keeping his own secrets. If you stay up late enough, you can hear him talking in his sleep. When he first came, he screamed. It was not amusing, at the time." A distant smile flickered across her lips at that memory. When everyone was young and naive. When everyone thought she was blessed for being born into the Creed. When she was already a full assassin in her teens. Those were the tortured days. Tortured for being different. The older assassin apprentices had to swallow down their pride when the masters were around, but they hit her and laughed at her when they weren't. It was a Hell on Earth. She wished no one to ever go through it again. Perhaps that was why she heard whispers in the street. There's the Dark Maiden! She watches over the children in the shadows. She protects a few by intervention. But she wears an assassin's robes. It will be a shame if the Templars strike her down, but she should have known better. Ladies shouldn't kill. They could cook and clean and watch over their own children. Wait! Where did she go? She had heard that conversation once. Some drunkards in the night called her an angel. Some called her the devil, taking children's souls.

 

Scipio crawled out of the hole and took in a sharp breath of fresh air. "Casio..." He felt a tiny spark of rememberance. "We're not too far from the city, but...I recognize this place. I was here." Memories flickered around in his mind.

The dirtied boy wandered around. He could hear some people not too far off, but didn't trust them. He had already been betrayed. Pulling his blanket, his only covering, around his closer, he kept on. Shortly after, he stumbled into a city called Rome. There, he slept in boxes and found the Creed.

"I was here... I stood right here. I...I was just a boy. There were people there," he pointed to where an abandoned barn stood and dead crops degraded. "I took a nap there," Scipio approached a tree with two parallel roots, making a seat. "Rome...is that way." The man pointed again. It was straight ahead. But the man was stuck in nostalgia. It was too much. Too many memories.

[TwilightMoonDragon]

Ambra was surprised that Aelia just wanted to be called... Well.... Aelia. She was one of the assassins masters, and she didn't want to be called master? That was strange. She listened to her speak about Casio. At times, she heard him grumble in his sleep. She never got close enough to hear what he was saying though. He seemed... Troubled. Afraid. At times, he even whimpered, or it was her own imagination. Casio on the other hand... He had terrible nightmares. She could hear him when he screamed. Actually, she, no, everyone could basically hear anything since the walls of the HQ were so thin. So she heard Casio scream almost daily as he woke himself up from his dreams. At times, she woke up with cold sweats. The toll... The toll on this job was great. You... Weren't yourself when you came here. It was as if the darkness inside of you had swallowed you up. Sighing, she climbed the rest of the way up and looked at Scipio as he said that he took a nap in the tree roots. Her heart plummeted. She had heard stories of the man, and how he had come to the HQ. It was sad. They all came there when they had nothing left. "Let's get going," she whispred, getting closer to Scipio and pressed against him. She did that to comfort him and waited for him to walk to walk beside him.

Casio frowned at his friend. The man seemed to be hurt by his memories, and he backed away when his apprentice went to comfort him. He fell in beside Aelia and sniffed. How was he going to ask her to massage him..? "So..." he put an arm around her shoulders and began to walk. It was the way he treated his friends "How about you come up to my room later... And... Um... Massage me?" he blushed. That sounded cheesy. "Maybe I can tend to your wound as well, Aelia."

 

[Mousia]

Scipio was comforted by Ambra's touch. So he didn't mean nothing. So he was important. So he did matter. He put an arm over her shoulders and sighed as they walked. "I still feel like that dirty, scared kid, sometimes. I think I died a little bit on that day. I think I'm only an assassin because I need to take revenge. I think that every time I kill a Templar, I want them to feel what I felt. I was the people around them to feel what I felt. In doing that, I am a monster. I am a ruiner of people. Of lives. Promise me something, Ambra. Never become a monster. Don't be vengeful. Please...don't ruin yourself." He meant every word. Such a fragile person...

 

Aelia flinched at Casio's touch. "Oh...um...okay. I hope you didn't tear something or break something." She wasn't used to the affection. When a man touched her, it was for attention or punishment. She stifled a shutter at her memories. The brother that had trained her to her limit and then abandoned her. The brother that seemed not to care about the Creed any longer. The brother that just dropped everything and left. No one had any respect for her, then. She couldn't even please her brother. What a shame! What a horrible person! He should have been the Master Assassin, not her. Not a lady so fragile and unskillful. She missed him, sometimes. She missed the way he laughed. The way he smiled when she did something right. She missed his rich voice. Full of stories and warmth. Despite all the torture, she loved her brother. She would give anything for him to return. Somewhere in her cold heart, there was a weeping girl. Sobbing and yelling. Wanting him to come back.

[TwilightMoonDragon]

Ambra was pleased when the arm over her shoulder. Then, Scipio spoke. He said that he thought that he died a bit on that day. That he was only an assassin for revenge. Her eyes went up to his face. His manly, manly, square jawed face. The crease of his brow that she knew was hidden in the shadows under his hood. His brown, chocolately eyes, that were full of warmth when she did something right, and glittered with malice when she didn't get something right for the tenth time. The laugh he emitted when he was happy. His grumbling at night. His yells of anger when he argued with someone on the streets. The way that he was splattered with blood on his very white cloak. He was a perfect man, yet he was calling himself a monster. He wasn't a monster. He wasn't anything bad. "You aren't a monster." she said as her feet reached the cobblestone roads of Rome. She walked deeper into the city with him. "... ... I have to ruin myself... To please you and serve the guild..." she lowered her gaze. "I'm an assassin... Because I looked for people who would protect me... I was a farmer, and my parents died of a disease... I used to gather crops and flowers to feed myself... And I said to myself... Why shouldn't I join that famous assassin guild?" she drew a sharp intake of breath. "Can I tell you a secret..? I used to have a brother... But we lived two very different lives... I had grown disgusted with the Templars, he understood them. So I became an assassin and he became a Templar..." she shivered as she walked. "If you think about it, all of our lives are ruined, which was why we're here right now... We embraced the creed in our darkest hour."

"Nah, it's just a massage." Casio walked ahead of the cuddling master and apprentice and down yhe street. He turned a corner and entered the HQ, and looked around. There was a woman..? Who was she? Ah, she probably came around to say hi to him... Yawning, he stretched and flinched slightly at the pain at his lower back. Yawning, he led Aelia up to his room and stepped into the room. He say on his soft bed and looked around. His room was messy, though, but not that messy. He sighed and took off his shirt, and laid on his belly on the bed. Ah. So soft.

[Mousia]

Aelia went with Casio was he quickened the pace and went into the HQ. She saw the woman sleeping, but said nothing. No one would want to be woken if they had to sleep in the day. As they went towards the steps, Aelia grabbed a bandage for herself and kept going. As Casio laid down, Aelia blushed. "I have to bandage myself up...," she whispered. How could she do it without taking off her cloak? Oh, how things were getting awkward. She finally resolved to put the bandage on over her dress. The pulling of the skin was almost unbearable, but she did manage to do it herself. Then, she sighed and sat beside Casio on the bed. It was so soft. Oh, how she wanted to curl up and sleep forever. Knowing that she couldn't, her strong hands worked at his skin. She saw lines all across his back but didn't ask about them. "Have you ever had a massage?"

 

Scipio listen to Ambra's reply as she went on. She was already cracked. He could see it. It was only a matter of time before she'd shatter. Before she'd shatter like a mirror. "Non ti rovina, il mio fiore. Sei troppo bella per essere infrante." It would be a shame. Scipio would never be able to forgive himself. If he let her fall, he would be to blame. It was one thing to see someone who had no hope, but another see someone's soul die. To see the light fade from their eyes. "Let's take a walk." The constant darkness was not good. To go from a cave underground to a cave of a building. No. Both of them had to feel the sun's rays. They had to feel the warmness.

 

(Translation (Italian): Do not ruin yourself, my flower. Your are too beautiful to be broken.)

Edited September 9, 2012 by Mousia

[TwilightMoonDragon]

Casio sighed as his face met the soft pillow of his bed. Instead of the rumors that he had not even cared for his room, it was actually quite tidy and clean. Sure papers scattered the floor, but only in corners and under the cover of shadows. It had a quite homely feel, of course. Aelia said that she had to bandage herself up, and he said nothing. He remained quiet, noticing that she had wrapped the bandage around herself and that was it. It was before her strong hands started kneading at his skin, which made him groan softly. That felt good... But painful. Of course it did. It was hurt. Why in was why he was getting a massage. He looked over his shoulder, his hair a messy, uncombed appearance on him. "I've never gotten a massage for fun, but just to rub the pain out of torn and strained muscles such as this." he continued looking at her. "Why not take off your hood? It's dark in here... No one really is watching." he tipped his head and thought. "Now that I think about it, I should replace that candle over there. It's dying on me."

 

Ambra perked at what Scipio said. Italian, one of the languages of Latin. She knew t of course, buy she was denying what he had just said. What? Did he just call her a flower, and that she was beautiful? She paused for a moment and then kept on walking alongside him. What was wrong with men? All of a sudden they came to her saying that she was beautiful. She didn't know what to do. But a walk sure seemed fine. Instead of coming up with an answer, she sent up a confused, yet flustered look at him. "A walk sounds fine." it was hard to see how long they spent in the caverns. They had gone in at dawn and now it was nearly sundown. They had a while left though. "... It is a warm day." she commented softly.

 

[short post. Sorry, visitors.]

[Mousia]

(Ha ha. I call people beautiful as a regular comment. Cultural differences.)

 

Aelia just kept her hands moving fluidly. It was not her place to speak. It was her turn to work. It was her time to listen. The exchange reminded her a bit of her brother. How he could be harsh and then soft and back in an instant. It had caused her so much pain, but she loved it in an odd way. "Casio, you may feel safe here, but nowhere is. Your window has no coverings. A Templar could be watching right now. Besides, I am cold." Her voice was stoic again. The emotion had gone. It had vanished into the air like mist. That was the thing about Aelia. Her feelings never really stuck. She was always dynamic and confusing. Part of her appeal, but also part of her problem.

 

Scipio looked around the city. There were some other people out, but the crowds were dying down. He relished the breeze caressing his face. He could hear it's whispers. He could feel the tales it told of times long past. Times of war and peace and unrest. She also sang a lovely song. A moaning song full of feeling. Full of meaning and sadness and anger and love. A love so strong for the Earthly people that she watched them and touched them almost every day. She stroked their cheeks and explored their bodies and smiled. She howled to warn the people of storms and bad weather and whistled through trees and leaves. "Let's start training with closed eyes? It will help you ease into using Eagle Sense. Until then, just close your eyes and let me lead you."

Edited September 9, 2012 by Mousia

[TwilightMoonDragon]

[]

 

Casio began to purr softly at Aelia's fluid movements. The powerful, delicate hands of the woman seemed to be working out the pain out of his lower back, and it made him feel... Well... Good. He placed his head on the pillow again and felt her magic hands work at his torn and tired body. When she spoke, however, he perked up and looked at her. It was true that the window was bare, but really? As if a Templar knew who they really were or knew where the HQ was? "Aelia." his voice was comforting but firm, controlled but soft. Kind of like a rumble. "... Lay back a bit." he said. Those words were all he said at the moment. The woman before him was stiff, curt, dry. She needed to relax. "I really like your hair. And your eyes. They're common... But... Pretty, you know? It think it would be nice if you can just let your hair down. I'm worried that your hair would never see the light of day and it will turn black as night." he cackled then, his broad shoulders shaking with the laughter. "Come on Aelia. Loosen up. Be happy. Smile."

 

Ambra walked alongside Scipio for some more time before she spoke. She listened to the wind and smiled as it blew through the trees. She watched as some of the flowers of the trees blew into the ground. The russet haired woman blinked softly at what the man in front of him said. Eagle Sense practice? She rolled her eyes and then closed them. "Don't go so far from me." she said, concentrating on where he was by sound.

Edited September 9, 2012 by TwilightMoonDragon

[Mousia]

"I wish to keep my hair dark," Aelia replied. After a moment, she let out an annoyed sigh and flopped down next to the man, but with her body in the opposite direction. "Your back is tiring to massage, you know. I had to massage my brother and my father and my mother and some other assassins but you...you are a tough one. Thanks, though. I like my hair and my eyes, too." Even she was surprised that she let a joke slip out, but she laughed anyway. It wasn't a giggle or a brief laugh, but hearty one. Full of feeling and emotion. It seemed she was knocking down the wall she had so carefully built for herself. "You know, Portabello, you have a way of making me so mad. It's as if you disregard the fact that I am trying to be professional." Her voice was serious and stern for moment before she burst out laughing again with tears coming from her eyes. The man could make her laugh without saying a word. He was manipulating her, but she let him. She let him play with her as if she was a doll.

 

Scipio took Ambra's hand. If she got lost, he would never hear the end of it. "Be careful, we're taking a left." He turned, still grasping her hand firmly. As the outskirts of town grew near again, he felt compelled to warn her again. "We're going into a forested area. Be careful not to trip." He tried to lead her through areas with little underbrush and debris. The forests got more and more shadowed, just in case she tried to take a peek. He knew he had done that the first few rounds. He hadn't trusted his mentor. What a fool, that man was! Perhaps that was why Scipio had turned out the way he had. Well, Casio was an influence as well. A bad one, but a fun one. The blond-haired man was always fun and exciting.

Edited September 9, 2012 by Mousia

[TwilightMoonDragon]

Casio rolled his eyes and sighed as Aelia flopped next to him. Never in his whole life woild he have thought that she would be in bed, with him, facing him. She was... Beautiful. A sight to behold. She had such delicate, pretty features, that he wished that he could touch them without getting in trouble. Not to mention that she seemed warm. Her body was coursing with warm, russet blood, such as his was. Of course it was. Everyone had blood. It was something natural. It was spilled over and over, and it was in paintings and dried traces of it splattered even in books. However, he was surprised when Aelia laughed. Not a giggle or a simple laugh, but a full on laugh. He just stared at her for a moment. What? He didn't even make her laugh. He just was laying here facing her. "You see, it's because you're so upright," he said, smirking. He felt proud at making her laugh. Making her smile. Making her happy. His eyes sparkled with laughter. "You know Cato, you alwys devastate my plans of fun an excitement. I remember that one time that Scipio, Aero, and I went to Carnevale and you caught us with women. You had us come home with rosy cheeks and bruises." he shook his head and laughed along with her. Even her laughter was contagious, that is, if she laughed hard enough.

 

The soft touch of Scipio's skin against her hand made her trust him even more. Ambra closed her eyes as he spoke, keeping them shut. She had to trust Scipio. He had to trust that he was not leaving her anywhere dangerous. Ambra was tempted to open her eyes, even as Scipio said that they were going through a foresty area. The woman loved nature. She loved the roses that bloomed in spring. The bees that drank from the flowers in summer. The lovely smell of fall. The sights of winter. Even though Rome was bordering on winter, she knew that it would stay warm basically all year. At least she thought so. "Where exactly are we going?" she asked, peeking out from one eye. Ugh! It was too dark. She began to get antsy and nervous. She couldn't see anything. She didn't know where they were going. Her fingers dug into Scipio's hand in nervousness.

[RainDash]

"Are you the ones to dish out justice? Are we the ones who decide who dies?" Lucia asked. "No, we have been nothing but acting on whims. I thought you were going to torture me, not debate morals? You're not very good at this are you?" Lucia taunted. Her sides ached, and her face bled, but he wasn't very intimidating. However, Lucia wondered why he had joined the Templars to begin with. Was it because of the power they offered? Or was it because he could torture people? Either way, it had been his choice to join the very group that had caused so much hate and hurt. Was there ever any reason to their ideas? Lucia curled up in her spot again, shivering from the damp and cold. She closed her eyes as well, thinking that maybe death had finally come to her. It would almost kind of it, to make her labored breathing fade, to make her stop crying. If she hadn't been drunk...

~

Grabbing artifacts? Joan rolled her eyes. Something about the past and time, then staring out over the Tiber. Time seemed to drift away faster than one could catch it. It didn't seem all that long ago that she thought Assassins as little more than killers. Then she met one, fell in love with one. She ran away from Templars, swearing into the group which she had swore was evil. The Assassin... she died before Joan could be sworn in fully. Time and Templars took everything. "So.... Romulus and Remus. I thought those two were myths. The whole being raised by wolves thing sounds murky at best. Also, what is it exactly we're looking for?" Joan wondered. 'A relic' wasn't exactly specific enough to pin down why they were searching for this thing.

[Mousia]

(I don't have the heart to RP Scipio atm. HW is needing to be done. I'll just do Aelia and then I'll be stalking until it's done.)

 

Aelia laughed some more. She laughed and laughed until her sides burned. "Good times, good times. I tell you, you guys almost got away with it. It's a good thing that I found you guys, though. Those girls are the kind you have to pay." She smiled, looking at Casio. His haphazard hair was kind of...enthralling. His wild eyes sparkled with amusement that contaminated the air. "I can see where you made the mistake, though. Drunk men often make it," she winked. Sitting up, she adjusted her dress before observing the candle Casio had been speaking of. He was right, the thing was screaming for a replacement. Picking it up, she ran her fingers over it. The texture was soft and fluid. After a smile, she put it down again and started to look for another candle. "Where do you keep your candles?"

[TwilightMoonDragon]

[should we Timeskip to the next day, RD? You know, so Tano can feed her and try to win he over? If you want, can you start? I have to style my hair.]

 

Casio sat up as Aelia got up and adjusted her dress. The woman was so slender and thin, it was surprising. She was very, very fit, actually. Her hits hurt. At least, her training hits. When they went into the courtyard and trained. He watched her movements, studied them. So fluid, so sleek. She was beautiful, to say the least. Rubbing his shoulder, he watched her stroke the candle and sniffed. She was looking for the candles. "In that drawer." he motioned to a wooden and rotting drawer. He smiled. The sun was setting and they needed candles.

 

[short post, sorry! Visitors are annoying and I have to straighten my hair.]

[Mousia]

Aelia placed her fingers on the drawer. Stroking the wood, she could feel its history. She could feel its story. The people who had touched that very same drawer before her. After a moment of contemplation, she reached under it and opened the drawer ever-so-slowly. Pulling out a flower-soft candle, she placed it onto the candle holder. Not bothering to light it, she laid down next to Casio again. "What now?"

 

Scipio suddenly stopped moving. "Stop right here." He looked around. The blackness was all around and he could barely see a few inches before his nose. "Now...what do you sense? Can you hear the whispers of the breeze? Can you feel the stories of the trees? Can you pinpoint the creatures around you?"

[TwilightMoonDragon]

Casio watched Aelia. She seemed to be stroking the wood, becoming entranced by the smooth touch. He had felt the same feeling. He had felt that wood and felt the grooves and wear of the wood by countless years of touch and pull. His eyes went to the window again. There he was, bare cheated in front of a window. He suddenly became aware of his exposure and pulled on his robe again. Ugh. That was warm. Blinking, he realized that Aelia had not turned on the candle and was laying on his bed again. Wow, she seemed interested in his bed a lot. Buy what she was questioning made him think. What would they do now? His eyes went to the paper that laid on the bed, written in Greek and English. Should they try and translate that? Or should they just hang around and relax? He thought the latter. He leant against the wall, sighing and running a hand through his unruly and tangled hair.

"I don't know." he murmured. His voice was soft, as if it were a rumble. He was usually loud and unruly, but since he was in his room, with a woman, he decided to act gentlemanly for once. Aelia was being polite, so he would too. "Maybe we should look at the paper." he said, shrugging. "I was thinking that we could just relax, but it's too quiet and calm to not do anything after that fall. Hmm. Let's see. You said it was German and English?" he purposely messed up to at least pull at Aelia's leg. She deserved it. He really didn't like it when she called him 'Portabello'. Usually that meant that he was in trouble and was about to have his ass handed to him.

 

Ambra nearly bumped into Scipio when he stopped. She could hardly see anything, but as he spoke she closed her eyes anyway. He never said to open them. She thought that she would get in trouble and trouble was the last thing she wanted. She relaxed. Could she feel all of these things before her? The trees, the breeze, the creatures? She strained her senses, pricking her ears and trying to will her skin to feel any touch. She tried to taste the nature and smell the leaves around her. Before she knew it, she had opened her mind; only for an instant. She felt everything around her, the wind blowing from the east, bringing with it the smell of water. She heard the pawsteps of feral dogs that had strayed from the city and smelled the ground with their noses. She heard the distant call of birds, the animals looking for mates desperately. Then, it vanished, and she groaned, pressing her hand against her throbbing head. "Yes... For a moment, I heard it... There seems to be a water sources to the east because the wind is picking it up and bringing it here... But it hurts..." she tried to relax, but the pain was still there. Ow...

[Mousia]

Aelia nodded for a while until she realized he was wrong. Oh, he had to go there? Did he? Huh? It wasn't worth her voice. It wasn't worth the relaxing moment they had just had. "It was Greek, actually." It didn't hurt to tease a little, did it? It didn't hurt to be nice every once in a while. It didn't hurt to bond. Did it? Yes. It did. She had been hurt by men so much... She had been abused and hurt and interrogated and hated. But she had also been loved. She had been loved for a while. It showed through the tough exteriors of her father and brother. But then they left. Her mother and her father died together, blood mingling. She had been watching. Learning, her brother had told her. Learning how it was done. Her brother vanished after he, as an assassin master, himself, told the others that she would be an assassin master at twenty. Five years to wait. Just fifteen, Aelia had been. The girl sobbed silently for days. She looked for him. She searched for every waking moment. After she turned sixteen, she figured he must have died. He must have been burned or thrown in a river somewhere. But a glimmer of hope still lived. Maybe he just didn't want to be found.

 

Scipio listened, too. He listened to her breathe and listened to her take in a sharp breath when the moment started. It worked. She had the first taste of Eagle Sense. "Just relax and be quiet. Listen. Just listen to the little things around you. Just listen for the whispers. Feel the tendrils of wind against your cheeks." He whispered into her ear softly. Gone was the man who cared of nothing. Gone was the man who only wanted woman for one night. Gone was the man who evaded his fate. "Shh..." He quieted her, as he had a feeling she was going to speak. After a little moment of silence, he thought of something. Well, it wasn't really a thought. It was more of an instinct. An act without a meaning. It stood alone in the planes of logic, for it had none. Leaning in, he smelled her skin as his face drew close. In the darkness, he knew he would not being seen and neither would Ambra, but he still doubted it. Even as he kissed her, he doubted it. Surely, things would be odd for them in the future, but did it matter? Could he help the thumping of his heart? Could he help anything? No. But that was okay. He eased into it.

[TwilightMoonDragon]

"Greek, German, what's the difference?" Casio shrugged and looked down at the paper. It was torn and looked so... Old. Written in black ink. He could picture a man, fluent in strange languages like olden Greek and older English. But they had to translate it. The blond haired man didn't even know what to do. Who knew Greek? Not only Greek, but ancient Greek. Ah, he knew someone. That woman. A woman that he saw... Often. A woman that he... Paid? For things like that. But he wasn't about to explain that to Aelia. In fact, he thought of bringing only Aero to the brothel, not even Scipio. Aero and Casio were friends that were not going to squeal on each other..? Or were they? Well, if it was last resort. He remembered Carnevale. The star speckled sky and the wonderful moon bathed streets of Venice... He smiled as he laid next to Aelia. The woman was next to him again. He pressed against her and felt her warmth flood him. Her smell. She smelled of flowers... Of nice, little, fleshy roses at the beginning of spring. He shook his mind from the thoughts and rolled to face her. "Seriously, why is it in old Greek?" he frowned, almost childishly. "It's like they want to confuse us." of course, he knew exactly why they did it. It was exactly what he said. If they confused them, imagine enemy eyes who weren't exactly fluent in Greek. It was meant only for their eyes. Freed eyes.

 

Ambra removed her hand from her head. Scipio was saying to listen again. To be quiet. To listen. She forced herself to relax, to become limp in the nature around her. Again, she seeped into Eagle Sense, all of the things around her coming into sharp, sharp focus. She focused on the bugs that scuttled through the undergrowth. But she couldn't keep it up. Eagle Sense drifted away from her once again, leaving her with a burning sensation in the back of her head. "I just c-" the sound of him shushing her, his breath warm against her skin. The easy, easy breathing of her mentor calmed her softly, and she went into Eagle Sense again. It was kind of hard to concentrate because her mentor was leaning so close to her face... But...

All of a sudden, she felt something warm on her mouth. She pulled out off Eagle Sense, but then she felt it more. The kiss. The kiss of Scipio. His warm, soft, loving kiss... She wanted to melt into it, to put her arms around his neck and hold him close and let him kiss her, let his hands to on her body. But... For some reason, she was completely terrified. Horrified. She just realized that she was stiff in his loving kiss, and she bounced away from the touch and against a tree. She breathed harshly. "What..." she wanted to back away further but she was pressed against a tree. "What are you doing, Master-?!" her voice held panic. Confusion.

[Mousia]

(Dammit. I had hoped that wouldn't happen. 'Tis okay, though. I have the perfect idear...)

 

Aelia blew a strand of hair out of her face as she turned to lay down on her back. "I can read it. Give me time. I will figure it out." She didn't tell him about the little dictionary, but he didn't need to know. Besides, she wasn't even sure if she could figure it all out. The dictionary was incomplete and messily written, but she used it in any case. Did it matter how much she could figure out? As long as the important points were covered, the rest was useless. But how could she know what was important? How could she possibly figure anything out? "Casio...do you know that feeling of loving someone, but not? I was just thinking of my brother, today. I might start looking for him. I need to know why he left. I...was so young..." She didn't expect Casio to understand, but it was worth a shot. Maybe he could shed some light. Maybe he could help her...no. That was silly. He didn't need to be dragged into it.

 

Scipio blushed, but it could not be seen in the darkness. "If you use Eagle Sense too much in the beginning, it gets harder as time goes on. Like what happened to Aelia yesterday. You needed to snap out of it. Besides, slapping you would be much too noisy. The forest would stop speaking..." He formulated the story on a dime, but it was true, he guessed. There could be complications with Eagle Sense if one did not ease into using it. There could be troubles with normal senses, too, but he didn't want to scare Ambra. "It's an assassins job to always adapt. The sad truth is that you have to pretend. Like, when Casio and I were fighting those Templars at the tavern. Aelia had to pretend that she was related to us. You know what she was back there? She was confident. She didn't show a shred of doubt. You want to be like Aelia, right? Strong and powerful and successful?"

[TwilightMoonDragon]

[Ambra is... Skittish? She got spooked. Not to mention that she's... Well... Already kinda liking Scipio a bit, but not going toward him.]

 

Casio sniffed and handed the paper to Aelia. This was useless. So, so useless. Giving Aelia the paper, he rolled his eyes and laid back on the bed. He stared at the wall for a bit, then the ceiling. Wow. This place was a dump. For sometime, he had known that they had to fix the room. It was all peeling and soggy and weird smelling. The only light was the light from the window and the candle. The sun had fully set. There was basically no light left in the room. Only shadows and words. "... Ebizio..." he thought of the Spaniard that had mentored him. Ebizio... Was... Big. A gigantic man. He had arms that could carry two full grown men easily. He lugged wood and timber to burn in the HQ for warmth. He remembered the harsh, harsh lessons he gave him. Aelia had met him once or twice. He preferred to stay alone. He was a weird assassin. The man had passed from his wounds a few years ago. Casio had grown temperamental with his master and yet he cried his heart out when he passed. "... Your brother..?" he tipped his head. He had learnt that Aelia did indeed have a brother. But he had never met him. "... Why do you want to find him, after all of this time? He abandoned us, Aelia." he rolled to face her. "He abandoned you."

 

Ambra dug her chewed up finger nails into the bark behind her. Her eyes narrowed. Her shoulders were tense. She didn't want this, she didn't want to be taken advantage of. She didn't like that. But Scipio began to speak about Eagle Sense. What did this have to do with Eagle Sense?! He had just kissed her. He had just taken her lips as his own. "The hell?!" she barked out, gritting her teeth sharply. Her face was flushed. Her shoulders were trembling now, and she shook her head. "You don't know what you are speaking about! You just kissed me. You just..." he shook her head, sniffing. "Why? Why are you doing this?"