I do not own any character contained herein apart from Night who is solely mine. (that includes the concept of assassin creed)
~*~
Altair sat in the gardens. He was tired in body and mind but he wasn't going to sleep. His mind, while being tired, was racing along at a fast pace taking in every movement and sound around him as it always did after a hit. He got up and walked to the stables saddling up and galloping out into the surrounding scrub, he needed to ride hard for an hour or so, until he was truly exhausted.
He nodded to the gate man as he went out of the compound signaling that he would be back later and threw back his hood so he could feel the breeze on his face and through his hair.
Altair followed the road back towards Damascus for a while before slowing to a walk and watching the moon, shivering slightly at the night air of the desert which, without any buildings, had dropped below freezing. He let out a sigh seeing his breath come out in a cloud of white closing his eyes and forcing his brain to calm it's self but it continued to work at the same pace no matter what he tried.
There was the sound of horse hooves on the dust and his head snapped to where it was coming from, a horse came out of the distance losing speed as it came towards him, he put up his hood. The horse was laboring to breath and was injured from the look of it but it seemed to be in a better condition than its rider who was slumped over the horses neck and in danger of falling off at any moment. Altair frowned.
As he went over to the beast it shied away panicked at the smell of blood coming off its burden that seemed to be more of a shadow than a person, dressed entirely in some sort of black cloth, the only skin he could see was their fingers protruding from gloves. He frowned and made soothing noises to the horse stroking it's nose and neck moving towards the person warily incase the horse was battle trained and decided he was an enemy.
He shook the persons shoulder and they moaned pushing themselves up in the saddle somehow managing to get upright and look at Altair. By her curves she was a woman. She started and drawing her sword urged her horse backwards leveling her sword at him with a week arm gasping for breath through some sort of cloth that wrapped around her head and shoulders coming out at the back to flap in the slight breeze. Was she one of these Orientals?
"Who are you?" she asked. "Get away from me."
"I was trying to help you."
She nudged her horse backwards again. "You wear the robes but you could be an imposter." She was skittish her eyes wide and disbelieving.
"What do you know of the brotherhood?" Altair asked drawing his sword.
"I-I know…" She let her sword drop to her side and then it slipped out of her hand falling into the dust
"It doesn't matter now…"
Altair jumped off his horse and caught her as she fell to the side picking up her sword and sheathing it for her.
"Where are you going to take me?" she whispered.
"Masyaf, where else?"
"I…" She gave up and let herself be carried over to Altair's horse. "Malik." she whispered.
~*~
"So who is she Malik?" Altair asked leaning against the wall across from her sleeping form in the infirmary. Malik was opposite him sitting in a chair by the bed he was looking at her like she was a ghost.
"She's supposed to be dead, I knew her many years ago when she was only just graduated." He said.
"Graduated from where?" he asked frustrated at the lack of explanation.
"She comes from Japan, I don't know where specifically but it took her months to get here and when she did she was half starved."
"Why did she come?"
"She..." He paused seeming to look for a way to say it and decided to tell Altair everything he knew about her. "In Japan there are Clans, all of these clans have fighting forces called Ninjas who are silent death if you cross them who are only supposed to be trained if they are of purely clan blood going back three generations."
"They train women as well?"
"Yes, to them a woman can be just as effective if not more because they are lighter." Malik shook his head and continued. "In any case they wear these face cloths from the age of eight if they are chosen to keep their identities a secret so that their families may not be used against them and that's how she escaped detection. She discovered she did not look like the others as she began to mature but kept it to herself. It was only after she graduated from the Dojo, where she trained all her life, that her mother was found to have been unfaithful with a European. She ran and stowed away on a boat leaving for the Holy Land where I met her. I was interested in her because of her dress and she looked like she was going to faint so I gave her some food but she refused to eat it in front of me so I took her in for a while wanting to know her story. We became friends and she asked me if there was anything she could do to help me so... I initiated her into the brotherhood and she assassinated a few people in ways I thought weren't possible."
"Then what happened?" he asked.
"Her brother killed her." Malik said looking at her sleeping form.
"Well obviously not."
"I know but one day he just appeared out of nowhere and they fought a spectacular battle and then he kicked her off the side of a building and him being a ninja I assumed he had cleared up the body."
There was a silence for a while in which Altair watched her sleep.
"What is her name?" He asked.
"Naito, but she used to ask me to call her Night."
She turned over in her sleep and said something neither of them understood.
"Does she speak English?"
"Perfectly, and Arabic." Malik shook his head. "She's quite amazing."
"Did you two..."
Malik cut him off. "No, it is against their code to reveal their identities to anyone."
~*~
A cool breeze rustled through the leaves of the massive, ancient fig trees in Masyaf's gardens making the trainees pause and sigh as the sly wind's fingers trailed across their skin. Chilling the sweat that ran down their backs as they went through exercise after exercise with heavy practice swords. It was the dull thump of wood against wood and the sharp cries of the boys themselves that woke the sleeping ninja who opened her eyes and sat up wincing as pain clawed its way up her back.
The room she was in was blank apart from the brotherhood's symbol painted on one wall that made her smile slightly. She had to be in Masyaf, which meant, that unless something had happened to him, Malik was here also. She pushed her legs over one side of the bed and realized that someone had cut away most of them till they were only shorts with bandages covering the wounds she had sustained while fighting those Templars. She ran her fingers over her head band obsessively feeling the markings of skill she had earned before pulling the trousers someone had left her off the nearby chair and putting them on stiffly.
~*~
Malik stood looking out over the gardens thinking about nothing in particular feeling the breeze ruffle his hair slightly from where he stood, on the balcony of his chambers.
"Its good to see you."
He spun around looking at Night who stood a meter away. How did she manage that with all her injuries?
"There are fifty steps up here." Malik said.
"Don't remind me." She edged forward trying to read his face.
"How are you feeling?"
"Fine." She didn't answer the question choosing instead to lean on the railing of the balcony her sharp eyes taking in the country she could see unconsciously making a mental map. "Why am I here, what does your master think of me?"
"Al Mulaim is dead."
"Really?" There was some curiosity behind her dark eyes. "By who's hand?"
"The man who brought you here, suffice to say that Mulaim was corrupted."
"Ah." Night turned to Malik. "The man didn't take off my Beru did he?"
"No, I explained to him certain things."
Night widened her eyes in a slight betrayal of nervousness.
"Altair can be trusted."
"Altair? That's Latin" she ran the name over her tongue frowning. "The one I've been hearing about who has his name barely whispered as if he was some sort of god?"
Malik smiled. "Don't tell him that, he'll get even more arrogant than he already is." He watched her noticing her tense muscles. "Are you alright? You seem... tense."
She glanced at him before looking away. "I have to leave as soon as I can."
"Is this about your brother?" Malik asked remembering the tall deadly shadow that had killed her.
"Yes, but he has two others with him this time, less skilled but... good enough."
"We can protect you."
She looked sharply at him backing away slightly. "No, he's too dangerous. I have to keep moving it's the only way to stay alive. He tracked me all the way across Europe through the desert and he will surly find me here." She shook her head sadly. "He has earnt himself the name Kamikaze, holy wind."
"I can't see what's so holy about killing your own flesh and blood."
"I'm not of the same blood to him, I never have been." She sighed banishing the thought realizing her legs had begun to ache, she turned but as she was about to speak a runner came crashing through the door.
"Sorry sir but I thought id give you warning that Altair…" he stopped mid-sentence as a man dressed in white robes swung over the banister of the balcony and approached Malik both fists clenched.
"...is here to make you suffer." The man finished the sentence a hidden blade sliding into the space where his ring finger used to be.
"What is going on?" Malik asked while Night, her eyes wide watched the scene from the shadows aware she was unarmed.
"I have a problem with your orders which according to our agreement cannot be given to me by you."
"I didn't give you any orders, someone must have got it wrong." Malik didn't flinch as the powerfully deadly man glared him down watching for a lie.
"So you aren't going to try and send me to France for a recon mission?"
"No, that is another, more tactful, persons assignment." Malik said bitterly, angry at being threatened.
Altair growled almost, making Night think of an angry cat with its back up and then he retracted his blade almost like he would a claw and stepped back taking a deep breath.
"My apologies." He said softly.
"Likewise." Malik relaxed like nothing had happened. "How was your mission?"
Altair shrugged his indifference "He's dead."
Night froze as he turned his eyes running over her and going out of the window and then he turned back as if to confirm, yes there is a person there.
"Night meet Altair," He paused. "The best assassin in the Middle East and the most explosive."
Night struggled not to swallow in slight fear as his eyes wandered over her studying her form in a way, far from sizing up an opponent. She waited for him to say something but he didn't and there was a tense silence in which the pounding in her legs suddenly went to her head. Not wanting to lose face she blinked a few times to clear her vision and walked out of the room knowing that he watched her all the way to the door.
"Altair." Malik warned.
"What?"
"I know that look." Malik looked through him.
"What look?" Altair asked still looking after her.
"Just don't even think about it. She is a ninja for a reason and she won't have a problem killing you even if you did save her life."
"I look forward to it." He replied absentmindedly and then looked at Malik. "Why didn't she say anything?"
"Because she was reading you," Malik said moving back to the balcony. "Like a book…"
~*~
Edited with help. You know who you are and I hope this makes sense now.
