Disclaimer: I have no ownership rights to Assassins Creed. I only own my OC.
Prologue
"Come on Abel!" a four-year-old girl shouted. "We gotta go or we'll be late!"
A soft laugh echoed through the forest clearing, "Alright, little crow. I'm coming." The owner of the voice was a man in his early teens with soft features and a kind smile. The little girl was tugging the man, Abel. "Calm down, little crow. We'll get there on time.
The little girl looked up to the man and smiled at his gentle features. The man was her older brother, yet he looked nothing like her, with his stark white hair and pale complexion. He was a perfect contrast to the black haired, dark tan skinned girl. The only trait that they shared were their electric blue eyes. Suddenly the man crumbled to the ground in a coughing fit. "Abel!" the little girl exclaimed, rushing to her brother's aid. His body shook with each hacking cough as his little sister wrapped her arms around his neck with a concerned look on her face. "You shouldn't have gone out today. Now you're sick again!" the little girl reprimanded in a way that would have been comical if it weren't for the situation.
"It's alright, I'm just choking on some spit," the man said with a sheepish grin.
The girl gave a long, theatric sigh, shaking her head in mock exasperation, "What am I going to do with you?" The little girl tapped Abel's head with her wing as she pushed off the ground and hovered over his head like a cherub. "Well if that's the case, then get up! I'm not losing my big brother to a little spit!"
Abel gave a sly smirk, before theatrically falling on the ground, "Oh no! I've been defeated by saliva!" The young man dramatically reached out to his hovering sibling, "Go on without me." His heaved a gasp before "dying." The winged girl giggled and dived, landing perfectly on her older sibling's stomach. The air in his stomach was forced out by the weight of the girl. They erupted into a fit of breathless laughter.
10 years later
"Will you play for me little crow," a twenty-year-old Abel rested against a tree, his snow-white wing cushioning the back of his younger sister. Beside him was his sibling, now nearing womanhood.
"You know this crow will play for you, great dove," the girl answered back cheekily before tucking the instrument under her chin. Her black feathery curls tumbling over her shoulders. A small but happy smile lit up her face as she played a slow sad tune that told the story of a crow and an eagle. It was sad but it was beautiful.
"You've gotten better," Abel observed, receiving a proud nod from his sibling.
"Yeah, I've been practicing really hard and now I can play without looking at my fingers, just like you said."
Abel chuckled, ruffling his sister's head, "I'm so proud of you little crow."
"I'm just happy you're better," indeed the young man's condition had improved. His wings had grown large and strong and his body was as thin as it once was, lean muscle more pronounced through his shirt. His coughing fits had ceased and he no longer needed to stay in bed. He even felt well enough that he started to teach his sister fighting techniques.
"Yeah…me too," Abel said, looking off into space as what ifs started rolling through his mind.
2 years later
"Get in the air!" Abel shouted to his sister, as he turned mid-air to confront the oncoming Abstergo fighter jet.
"But what about you?" she called back in concern, hovering above the battlefield after destroying the engine of another jet.
"Don't argue Dominique, just go!" Abel growled as he punched through the glass and ripped the pilot out before tossing him off to the side. He chanced a glance at his sister, "I'll be right behind you, I promise, Dominique."
The black hair girl, now sixteen, gave her brother one last concerned look before flying off into the clouds, two jets following behind her despite the foreboding shadow of the grey clouds. Dominique glided through the dark grey mass of vaporized water. Dread welled in her stomach as the screaming of the jets sounded through her cloud cover. The electricity in the air raised the hairs on the back of her neck. Her pointed ears twitched when she heard thunder and the clouds flashed up ahead. She heard the screaming of the jets right behind her and glanced back to find the two jets closing in. She growled in frustration, and did something that in hindsight she thought was stupid. Her wings flapped harder and faster in response to her desperate plan. She sped into a cloud that lit up with lightning. Bursting through into the open space in which bolts of lightning furiously jabbed the air as if sensing the intruders. Without pause she dodged through the clouds, avoiding the lightning as the jets barreled through. "Time to follow the leader," Dominique muttered to herself as she dodged a bolt of lightning that took down the jet directly behind her. Now all she had to worry about was the other jet. Taking a chance, she abruptly shot up, hoping that the lightning would be more attracted to the hunk of metal than her. She sighed but didn't slow down as she shot above the clouds into the deceivingly peaceful sky above. Only then did she stop, but she found that to be her biggest mistake.
"Dominique!" Abel cried in joy. Everything seemed to slow down as Dominique turned to find her brother flying towards her, but behind him was a lightning bolt steadily reaching out to strike him.
"No," she screamed out and tried her hardest to race the lightning, knowing deep down that she wouldn't make it in time. She watched in horror as her brother turned to see what alarmed her, only to receive a bolt of plasma in the chest. He looked to his sister in shock as his wings slowed and his eyes rolled to the back of his head, falling back into the black abyss. Tears blurring her vision, Dominique dived after him, hoping to catch him. However, just as her fingers brushed his arms, fate decided to be cruel. She cried out in pain, her wings malfunctioning and twitching violently as she steadily lost her senses. "Abel," she whispered before blacking out.
This is not the end, Dominique. You were meant for amazing things, child. Do not be afraid, I will not let you fall, for the Crow has yet to meet her Eagle.
A young man was pulled from his work when he heard a loud crash. The sound came from the corner of his workshop. He rushed there to find that something crashed through the roof. Black feathers floated through the air as he cautiously approached the mass of debris that rustled with movement. He heard a pained groan as a wooden beam fell away to reveal a young woman in strange clothes. She pulled herself out of the rubble, her limbs still twitching with electricity. She appeared to steady herself as she raised her head to look at the artist. "Signorina, are you alright?"
"What?" she slurred before her eyes rolled back and she fell forward. Without thinking, He rushed to catch her, hissing at the electricity flowing into him. When the shock wore off, he raised his head to where she fell only for his sight to be blocked by something large and black. His eyes widened when they fell limp at the woman's sides. Huge feathery wings were attached to the mysterious woman's shoulder blades.
"Did an angel fall into my workshop?" he asked himself in awe before he shook it off. "That doesn't matter, she needs my help." He shifted her surprisingly light body onto his back.
She felt warm sheets caressing her cheek. Her eyes fluttered opened to find that she was lying on her stomach in a bed. Pushing her arms under her arms under her, she pushed her upper body up and hissed at the tightness in her back. Her wings flapped in frustration in the struggle to rise out of the bed. That was how the man found her when he came to check on her. He rushed to her side, dodging her wings, and gently pushed her back onto the bed, "Careful, you do not want to reopen your wounds."
The winged woman stiffened at the gentle touch of the man that entered the room. She turned her head to find a blonde man with warm brown eyes and a red hat resting on his head staring down at her with concern. Dominique was puzzled his old fashioned clothing, but pushed that aside for the moment. "Who," she winced at how horrible her voice sounded to her own ears. Seeing this, the man leaned Dominique onto the headboard and placed the glass of water that had been on the nightstand to her lips. She greedily gulped the water down, soothing her soar throat. Feeling better, she tried to speak once more, "Who are you?"
The blonde man smiled gently at her, "My name is Leonardo da Vinci."
The ravenette's eyes widened at the name. "As in the artist and inventor?" she asked in disbelief, only to receive the same look of disbelief from the famous man.
"Yes, but how do you know that I'm an inventor? That is not common knowledge," he asked cautiously.
Dominique didn't fully hear the question due to freezing from her revelation. She was in Italy during the Renaissance, and she was in the home of the most brilliant artist of his time. Then another realization hit her like a ton of bricks, something that, Leonardo noticed brought great pain and sorrow to the young woman's eyes. Abel's dead. He's really gone, she thought solemnly. She shook the feeling off as soon as it came. He wouldn't want me to be crying. He told me himself. He said that he wanted me to keep smiling if it ever happened. She gave a sad smile, knowing that such a request wouldn't be easily fulfilled. She returned her attention back to Leonardo to get her mind off this depressing fact, "What was your question?"
Leonard repeated his question. "How do you know who I am? You are a foreigner yet you speak of me as if I were famous. Why is that?" the way he worded the questions made it difficult for the winged woman to answer.
"Well, where I come from, you're well known," it wasn't necessarily a lie but it wasn't the whole truth either.
"Where are you from?" he asked curiously, dark blue eyes shining with a hunger for knowledge.
"It doesn't matter anymore," she said solemnly, "I can't go back." She said nothing more on the subject as she averted her gaze from Leonardo's in favor of the window.
Leonardo felt the change in mood and tried to find something to change it. Then he realized, "I am sorry, signorina, it just occurred to me that I never asked for your name."
Dominique blinked in surprise at the sudden change of subject before giving him a small smile, "My name is Dominique Nightroad, Pleasure to meet you."
"Why did you help me?" Dominique asked as she finished eating the food that Leonardo had brought up.
Leonardo gave her a puzzled look, "I am afraid I that I do not understand."
"Why would you help a stranger, one who looks as strange as me for that matter?" she reiterated.
Leonardo gave an understanding look, "I can not watch as someone dies in front of me. I can not turn a blind eye on someone who needs my help."
Dominique had gained a new respect for the artist. She huffed, "You're either the nicest person in the world…or the most foolish."
Unperturbed by the comment, the artist chuckled, "Now that isn't nice, signorina." Dominique laughed with him and couldn't help the feeling of nostalgia as she pushed herself up, much to Leonardo's chagrin. "You should not be trying to move, you have a terrible burn on…your…back," Leonardo's jaw dropped to find that she easily rose to her feet and began to stretch her wings and arms.
She gave the inventor a curious look, "Is there a problem Leonardo?"
"How are you standing so easily? You have lightning burns all over your back!" he exclaimed. True to his word, Dominique felt the tug of the bandages wrapped around her torso and the tight feeling that comes with scarring.
Bending backwards, she simply said, "I heal fast," with a shrug. "Although it will scar up pretty badly, but I'll live."
"Why? I thought women value their appearance before all else," Leonardo inquired curiously.
I chuckled, amused at the mindset of the women from this era, "A wise man once told me that scars tell stories. They are there as if to say, 'I've been through life and made it my bitch.'"
Leonardo had found a new respect in the woman that fell through his roof, although her sayings were rather strange. Any other women he knew would have burst into tears at the mere fact that they have a scar in fear that they would never find a husband. However, she was just grateful to keep her life even if she had to carry the proof of her survival with her for the rest of her life. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud moaning sound. The ravenette's face became bright red in embarrassment. "I guess that means I should feed you before you decide to eat me," Leonardo said jokingly.
"I wouldn't eat you. You're too scrawny," she quipped with a sly smirk. Who knew that she would become fast friends with a famous artist?
A chill ran down her spine as a breeze blew through the window, making her realize that she was standing in front of a man with nothing but bandages covering her chest. She folded her arms over her chest with a bright red blush, "Um, may I have my clothes back please?"
Leonardo gave her a sad look, "I am sorry, but I had to cut your clothes off you in order to treat your wounds. The only things salvageable were your shoes and gloves. However the fingers of the gloves are missing."
Dominique giggled, "They were made that way."
The artist looked at her as if she'd grown six heads, "Why in the world would they make something as useless as fingerless gloves?"
The avian young woman giggled, "They have their uses. I use them to have a firmer grip on weapons during practice."
Leonardo's eyes lit up with interest, "They allow women to fight in your home land?"
She shrugged, "Well yeah, men and women are equals and everyone has the same opportunities for the most part."
Leonardo appeared to be amazed by this, "Your home sounds amazing, signorina."
Dominique gave a mock bow, "Thank you kind sir, but not all that glitters is gold. Now about those clothes."
"I will go get them," he said before rushing out. Minutes later the artist returned with a blouse in which he had cut two holes for her wings, a pair of trousers, her shoes, and her gloves. He placed them in her hands before heading back to his workshop, telling her that he would be waiting there for her. Dominique absently hummed in acknowledgement as she examined the articles she'd laid out on her bed. She saw before her a white blouse with loose sleeves, a pair of black trousers, her black fingerless gloves that stopped at her wrist with titanium plates on the back, and finally her black converse boots that would stop just below her knees.
"I can work with this," Dominique said to herself. She pulled on the shirt and pants, finding them surprisingly comfortable despite how they looked. Slipping on her gloves, she tucked her pants into the boots and left the room to explore her new surroundings. When she stepped out she was met with numerous feathered bodies swarming her before landing on various areas of her body. She froze at the feel of talons gently gripping her head. She glanced up slowly to be met with the fierce gaze of an eagle. It tilted its head as it examined her before lightly chirping and nipping her nose. She giggled at the feeling as she felt the other birds preening her feathers.
"Don't move!" she heard a familiar voice say. Leonardo walked into her line of sight with a canvas and easel. As quietly as he could, he set it up and began to paint the comical scene before him. Knowing that it would take time for the portrait to be finished, he decided to fill the silence and take her mind off the situation. "I was painting them in the garden and then out of no where they all fly off into my house! Imagine my surprise when I find them here practically begging for your attention," he chuckled.
Dominique blushed in embarrassment as the eagle on her head began to nip at her hair. "It's always been like this," she said as she gently blew in the eagles face, causing it to jump in surprise. She giggled as the large bird squawked at the nightingale on her shoulder, scaring it into moving so it could take that space. "Abel told me that me that they like me because I'm warm."
"Who is Abel?" Leonardo asked with a curiously raised brow. He immediately regretted asking when she looked down sadly. The eagle noticed her change in mood, so it rubbed its head against Dominique's cheek.
She absently began to rub its chest feathers, "Abel is my brother's name. He died."
"I'm sorry for your loss. You must miss him a lot," Leonardo said sympathetically.
"I do, but he wouldn't want me to be sad," she said reassuringly.
The artist wiped his hand on his apron to clear off some of the paint before turning the canvas for Dominique to see, scaring the birds off save for the eagle who stared curiously at its double. "What do you think?" Leonardo asked anxiously, hoping he didn't offend her with the way he saw her.
On the canvas was her smiling face with her black wings curled around her back and various birds of different shapes and sizes perched over her. The eagle, seemed to watch over them, standing strong and tall, as if posing perfectly for the portrait, stood out as the largest bird. "You're amazing Leonardo. Its beautiful!" She approached the canvas, her strong, steady stride going unnoticed by the bird of prey.
The artist noticed the large talons gripping the woman's shoulder and winced, "Does it not hurt?"
Dominique gave him a puzzled look before following his gaze to where the eagle gently gripped her. "No, she's being gentle," she tried to explain.
"Still, that cannot be comfortable," Leonardo tried to point out, only to receive a one armed shrug from the ravenette.
"You get used to it when birds flock around you wherever you go," she said with a nonchalant shrug.
"I have never seen an eagle like that before," Leonardo observed.
"That's because harpy eagles usually live in jungles," Dominique said. "How did you get here young one?" She gazed up at the majestic bluish grey and black bird towering above her head like a watchful guardian. She held her arm out and watched as the bird hopped from one limb to the other. "You better get going," she pushed her limb up, bidding the eagle to go, but it held firm.
Leonardo chuckled, "It appears that she does not want to leave. I will allow her to stay as long as you keep her out of trouble." The harpy eagle screeched happily and playfully nipped her new companion's nose. "She will need a name as well. What do you propose?"
Dominique stared at the eagle with deep scrutiny, noticing how she stood with pride, and seemed to be waiting in anticipation for her new name. "How about Altair? It means flying eagle, and with those strong wings I'd like for her to fly with me," she said with a serene smile.
The eagle, newly named Altair, flapped her wings as if to demonstrate her strength. "It appears she approves," Leonardo said with amusement in his eyes, causing Dominique to laugh.
That Night
"Be careful, Dominique," Leonardo warned sternly as he handed the woman a cloak to hide her wings should she need to. It was a pitch-black cloak with a large hood that would overshadow her face. He pulled it around her shoulders and patted her back, signaling he had finished his work. They stood by Dominique's open window, Altair circling outside, waiting for her flying companion.
"Don't worry Leonardo, I'll stay out of trouble," Dominique said, pulling up her hood, grabbing the upper lining of the window, and launching herself out into the night. Quickly she unfurled her wings, the wind pushing her up, and flew after Altair to explore Firenze.
She had to admit, even without the electrical lights of her time period, the city of Firenze was beautiful. Her boots clicked against the tiles of a roof as she landed on a nearby house. Altair landed on her shoulder made herself at comfortable on her master's shoulder. "What do you think Altair? Do you think that I can get used to living here? I don't think they have time machines in this time period, "Dominique mused as she turned to her feathered friend. Altair playfully nipped her nose as if to reassure her that everything would be all right.
However their moment was interrupted by shouting, "Let me go!" There in the streets were three men surrounding a scantily dressed woman, who Dom recognized as a courtesan, furiously resisting their horrible attempts at romancing her. Not that you could even call it romancing when they were practically trying to drag the woman into the alleyway next to the house the duo were currently standing on. It was obvious what the men wanted but it was just as obvious that the woman didn't want what they were trying to give.
Dominique, used to such sights, clicked her tongue at the potential rapists before turning to Altair. "We can't have that now can we?" Dom asked before returning her attentions to the people in the middle of the street. "Ready to cause a scene?" Altair got a gleam in her eye similar to her mistress's before taking off into the air with said mistress trailing after her.
Down below in the street, the three men were nearly successful in pulling the scantily clad woman into the alley. Suddenly a screech sounded above their heads, giving them barely enough time to duck in fear of being scratched by the large eagle. "What the hell?!" the men cried out as they watched the eagle settle on the sign of the tavern called The Crow's Nest. Then, a flash of black swept through the streets, taking the light of the lantern with it as it kicked up a fierce wind.
"Wh-what was that?!" one of the men stuttered nervously.
"What was what?" a deep, echoing voice asked the men. They stood straight as the hairs on the back of their necks stood on end. They saw the wide-eyed fear in the courtesan's eyes, and, against their better judgment, turned to face their intruder. The intruder was what they assumed to be a man with a face that couldn't be discerned through the shadows that hid it. For all they knew, that stranger's face was the very shadows that hid it. However that wasn't the cause for their fear. Their fear stemmed from the large black wings stemming from the stranger's back. "Are you talking about me?" the stranger asked in a mock innocent tone.
"Wh-who are you?" the man still holding onto the courtesan demanded, and he would have at least sounded half intimidating if his voice didn't quiver.
"Me? You may call me Corvo," the stranger gave them a dramatically mocking bow, giving them a chance to see that the wings were indeed real. "Now do tell, why are you harassing this young woman?" he inquired.
No one spoke, until a short, fat man with a face not unlike a pug's mustered the courage to utter words before this imposing figure, "She is a courtesan, it is her job to cater to the needs of her customers."
"Oh, but you had no intentions of paying her did you? Also, the last I checked, you can't touch a courtesan unless she wants you to? Do you want them touching you dear girl?" the cloaked figure asked.
"Of course she does, she is a courtesan," the ringleader snorted derisively, seemingly forgetting his fear of the figure.
His courage died when the strangers cloaked face snapped towards him. "I do believe I was speaking to the lady. I'd assume there is a dick between your legs, however small it may be," the courtesan snickered at this and gave a nervous smile to the figure.
"No, I do not. Frankly I would much rather lie with dogs, at least they would be better to look at," she said without hiding the disgust she held towards the men.
"Very well," the figure nodded, and before the potential rapists could understand what was happening, the winged stranger was standing in front of them barely inches away from their faces. The only thing they could see through the veil of shadows were the cold, soulless eyes of the intimidating being, daring them to defy it. "Leave now while I still possess my mercy, for Morte doesn't take lightly to me sparing people like you. Expect your deaths to be slow and painful, but it won't be today – oh no – it will be when you at the peak of your comfort, when you don't suspect a thing." The figure had lowered their voice to a whisper at the end of his premonition, and the men stumbled away from him and the courtesan, desperate to put distance between them and death's messenger.
The messenger, seemingly satisfied with his work, turned away from the courtesan and let out a low whistle. The eagle that had stayed perched on the tavern sign flew off and landed on its master's outstretched arm. The courtesan watched as the bird settled itself on her savior's shoulder. Just as the man spread his large black wings, the courtesan found herself reaching out to the stranger. "Wait!" she called out louder than she originally intended. The figure paused and barely turned his head enough to let her know that he was listening. "Th-thank you signore. I am sorry to ask, but can I ask that you walk me home? I fear that with my occupation comes certain hazards."
The eagle and Corvo exchanged uncertain looks before they hesitantly nodded. The courtesan gave them a wide smile before running over to the man's side and latched onto his arm much to his chagrin. Corvo sighed and allowed the woman to lead him to whatever brothel she came from.
Why did I ever fucking agree to this? Dominique was seriously debating whether or not to crack her skull on one of the alley walls. Sure, she would recover not even ten seconds later depending on whether or not a piece of bone would get stuck in her brain, but at least she wouldn't be able to hear the sound of the courtesan's incessant chatter.
The bitch wouldn't shut up, and it didn't help that she could hold an entire conversation by herself. Dom was about 150% done with her shit. You'd think she'd have to stop to breathe, but no, she only did that twice in her entire rant about something or other. Dominique couldn't be happier when they reached the brothel that the courtesan lived in. At least now she would be rid of the infernal woman. She swore that she would stab the person that says that walking her home was the right thing to do.
"Grazie Signore Corvo, I hope that we will see each other again," the courtesan that Dominique learned was named Allegra, fluttered her eyes flirtatiously.
Oh HELL no! Fortunately for our protagonist, Allegra's friends called her over. "Allegra! Where have you been?!" one courtesan called out in worry as she approached said woman.
Dominique took that chance to take her leave. She sent Altair off and promised to follow after her. However Allegra said something that made her freeze. "You have horrible timing. The signore's wings should not be the only things that are large about him." The ravenette took pride in the fact that she was able to walk away from them like she didn't fear for her virginity.
That is until she turned into alley. From there she ran like the hounds of hell were on her heals and leaped into the sky like her life depended on it. "Fuck this adventure. Let's just go back to Leo's before I lose my lunch," she whispered to Altair as they returned to Leonardo's house.
They flew back in through the Dominique's room window to a quiet house. Altair perched herself on the wardrobe in the corner of the room as her master hung her cloak up on the coat rack by the room door. Slightly curious as to what the inventor was up to, she crept out into the workshop where Leonard told her he usually worked. Her eyes softened when she saw the blonde man slumped over his worktable sleeping on his folded arms. In his place she could see a pale white haired man with a scar on his cheek and a dopey smile on his face. She shook her head to rid herself of that image and moved over to the artist's side. "Leo," she said softly as she shook his shoulder.
The blonde mumbled something incoherently and snuggled deeper into his arms. Dominique sighed and kneeled down tucking her wings in as she threw one of Leonardo's arms over her shoulder and wrapped one of hers around his waist and lifted him up. "Come on, let's get you in a proper bed. Your neck will thank me later," she grunted as she lifted the surprisingly heavy man and proceeded to drag him down the hall to where she hoped his room would be. Dominique had to juggle Leonardo's weight in order to nudge various doors open before finally finding the one that lead to the inventor's personal quarters. She practically dragged the blonde over to his bed and dropped him on the mattress as gently as she could, knowing that mattresses of this time period were most likely filled with feathers. She didn't want to think that she probably fucked up his back more than it probably was before she dropped into his life.
Dominique snorted at her unintentional joke as she tucked the grown man in, "Let's not make this a habit, okay Leo?" She received light snores from the man in answer and sighed tiredly. "Why do I get the feeling that's its exactly what you'll do?" She shrugged and trudged back up to her room, plopped her happy ass in the bed, and drifted off into dreamland, dreading the nightmares that would soon follow.
When she finally drifted into the void of slumber, her eyes snapped open when her conscience pissed a little insight on her.
Leo's going to ask what happened tonight… Now you're thinking of the things that courtesan wanted to do to and with you…Have fun with that.
FUCK YOU CONSCIENCE!
Poor Dominique, left with her own mind to keep her company. That's not exactly a good thing. Anyways this is the update for this chapter, I kind of fucked up the first time around, so I decided to fix it.