Grand Meadow
Author: Sakura123 (weber_dubois22)
Genre: General/Friendship/Adventure
Rating: T+
Timeline: Assassin's Creed III/Liberation
Written: 7/14/2012
Finished: 7/14/2012
Characters: Aveline de Grandpre; Ratohnhaké:ton/Connor Kenway
Summary: ACIII-era. A headcanon story focused on the meeting of Aveline de Grandpre and Ratohnhaké:ton.
Disclaimer: Assassin's Creed III, and all things related to the franchise, is property of its many respected owners.
Authors Note: Normally, I don't do this, especially when you've got a game that's being promoted as little as "Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation" wherein you know little to nothing about the protagonist (Aveline De Grandpre) besides biographical bits that can't tell you anything about a character unless you see her in action, but this was knocking around in my head and I had to get it out. So here it is, a little bit of the "headcanon" I manifested in my brain about the encounter between Ratohnhaké:ton and Aveline even though it will most assuredly not happen like this.
Title: Blue Birds and Wolves
Summary: Ratohnhaké:ton encounters the assassin of New Orleans.
"Follow me, Frère," She slipped past Ratohnhaké:ton like a ghost, her hat - down low and obscuring her face - likening her to a bird observing its prey before the kill. Careful not to draw attention to himself, Ratohnhaké:ton pulled away from the wall of grandiose structure and followed her into the crowd. She moved through the populace as though unhindered by obstacles at all; her uniform, masculine in appearance, allowed her blend in with the environment far better than the attire provided by the order and he wondered if it was a conscious choice on her part or whomever taught her.
She never looked back once to see if he was following, as soon as they were in a more secluded area she sprinted toward a tree and scaled its body with ease. Ratohnhaké:ton followed, more than a little impressed by her speed. Hoisting her body up onto the balcony just across from them she entered the building and was met with little to no aghast. Quirking an eyebrow, he followed suit, using the momentum of his leap to carry him over the edge of the balcony onto the platform.
"Where is he?"
"In the room on the end, Mademoiselle Grandpré."
"Leave, now. I will take of him, you have my word."
"Please be careful," Connor's line of sight rose as Aveline disappeared from the room, blade gleaming and against the palm of her hand. Inside he found the sullen faces of servants and women of high birth; one in particular sported a split lip and swollen eye. They all stood and started to vacate the room, the one closest to him shrank away from him as though to avoid a blow he had no intentions of delivering. Stepping further into the room he made it a point to avoid eye contact and leave as quickly as he entered. Entering hall he heart a strangled cry and gurgling breath slipping past a choke. Rushing down toward the end of the hall he nudged the door opened to find the woman standing over a man gasping on his last breath in a feeble attempt to retaliate against the darkness closing in around him. Aveline cast a look over her shoulder at the assassin and blinked.
"Was he a Templar?" He inquired.
"Something worse," Aveline replied, withdrawing her blade from the man's throat. Dusting her sleeves off she turned to face him directly. "Agate told me there was another of the order in our midst. I didn't think he was being serious, though. Why are you here, stranger?"
"I'm searching for someone," He said.
"A Templar, no doubt," Aveline remarked, noting his in answer was deliberately vague. She removed herself from over the man and headed toward his armoire. Connor didn't answer; he regarded the dead man on the floor instead. "Was he a target?" Aveline emerged from the wardrobe, several articles of clothing hanging on her arm.
"Of a sort," Aveline huffed, pushing past him. He followed her, equally perturbed by her dodginess. "Why did you have me follow you?"
"You were attracting unwanted attention, which is not good me or you," She answered. "You should find something else to wear." Connor took a moment to regard his attire, white and smudged with dirt (among other things), and frowned up at her. "I should think I attract less attention than a woman in men's clothing."
"Normally I would agree, but you'd be wrong in this," Aveline turned and tossed the clothes at him. He caught them without second thought, but missed the hat that tumbled down to his feet. "Those are for you, stranger. Put them on and meet me on the rooftop." Before he could protest she hurried down the hall and out of the window. There wasn't a peep from the outside, no one even noticed her.
Pulling the hood from his head, Ratohnhaké:ton regarded the dark blue uniform with some suspicion. Normally, he wouldn't bother to think his clothing drew any more attention than the average redcoat or bluecoat. He'd seen the men eyeing him suspiciously; presumably, they may have been soldiers undercover, searching for him. The line between Templar and Assassin was blurred here in the colonies, there were times he recognized people as his brothers and sisters, other times their auras proved his innate trust wrong. Why hadn't he thought to think to do the same with the woman just now? Exhaling slowly he entered a vacant room and did as was asked of him.
Aveline sat crouched on the rooftop, observing the crowd below with detached curiosity. Agate's words rang in her head like an annoying little buzz; she believed him wrong about the presence of another assassin and now she stood confronted with a truth that made her otherwise impudent words taste bitter in her mouth. Her mentor frustrated her, but he was rarely ever wrong. She tapped her blades together in idle contemplation, counting each tap as the edges collided gently against each other. "Mademoiselle Grandpré?" Aveline turned and stood; she eyed the tall figure in blue with mild amusement. "If you must call me anything, call me Aveline."
"Aveline," Ratohnhaké:ton corrected, regarding the blue silhouette that watched him. "Connor."
"What?" Aveline folded her arms.
"My name is Connor, Connor Kenway."
"Is that a name they gave you?"
"No, it's a name I choose for myself," He answered, his tone sharper than intended. She seemed to consider his clarification for a moment then shrugged. "You should able to move around a little easier in those."
"They're a little small," He murmured, rotating his arm and grimacing at how the clothes stretched across his body.
"No, you're a little tall is all, about an inch or so more than he," Aveline said as she approached the edge. "Farewell."
Ratohnhaké:ton looked up from regarding the blue hat in his hand in time to catch Aveline's braids vanish from sight. Strange woman, he thought.