Word from Hack: This chapter was supposed to be fluffy :'C
Onward!
Chapter Title: Ezio Auditore: The Second Keeper.
Ezio Auditore Da Firenze, a mouthful and a handful.
This man was on a whole other level.
Where Altair had been grumpy Ezio was extremely happy. Where Altair had been careful and calculated, Ezio was carefree with a smile apparently permanently plastered to his face.
The Apple hasn't the faintest idea of how it ended up in Firenze, Italy. This was a long ways away from Syria. It felt homesick for Masyaf castle.
Being in Leonardo's studio is strange as well. A new environment where it could move and explore. The Apple was reminded of Altair's study, slightly a mess, but the Apple could freely move around.
The metal ball didn't want Leonardo to see it stirring on its own, which wasn't easy with the man examining it most of the time whether Ezio was around or not.
For a Piece of Eden like the Apple, being capable of getting hungry didn't make it any better. A bowl of fruits situated near the edge on a table behind the artist taunted the Apple. The fruit bowl was always there. One day the Apple became fed up and squawked loudly at Ezio, who jumped back and drew his blade.
"Dio mio!" The Auditore exclaimed.
"Chirp!"
Ezio's friend came down the stairs with the Altair's Codex in his hand.
"Ezio il mio amico! I've translated the third Codex; it is a rather strange one too! Did you bring a bird in her—"
Da Vinci startled at seeing the Piece of Eden moving and glowing. What made it more alarming was it's birdlike behaviour and noises.
The Apple wanted food! Food! F-o-o-d! FOOD!
"Chirp! Chirpchirpchirpchirp!"
Ezio looked lost. That infuriated the Apple, prompting more noisy chirping and bouncing in place from it's spot on Leonardo's desk.
Oh for the love of the Creed! Altair had figured out much faster that it needed sustenance!
The Apple rolled itself off the desk, sped across the floor, and towards the table that held the fruit bowl. It tried to bounce onto the top of the table, however it couldn't get high enough. Instead the Apple opted to bump against the table leg in order to shake the furniture. Getting the bowl to tip over the edge is the primary goal.
The dish dropped with a loud crash to the floor, splintering into large pieces.
"Ezio what did you do?" Da Vinci asked the Florentine assassin with wide eyes.
"Nothing! La Apple ha appena strillo! Penso di aver fatto qualcosa per renderlo pazzo!"
Both Italians watched as the Apple calmed. Rolling itself over and nudging pieces of the broken bowl out of the way. When the Piece of Eden got to the fruit, it went for the grapes first. A small hole opened on one of the glyphs carved into it. Thin tendrils of golden light picked up the grapes and placed one of them into the hole.
Said hole closed, little munching sounds were heard. The Apple repeated the process until it had eaten most of the grapes and moved on to a banana.
Leonardo crept towards the Apple, eyes lit up with wonder. From watching the little ball, he guessed the Piece of Eden was hungry. Clearly the small hole that opened and closed is the Apple's mouth.
"Oh!"
Realization dawned on the artist's face when he remembered the strange translation he was able to decipher from the Codex.
The Piece of Eden began to nibble on the banana. Leonardo tugged Ezio upstairs into a separate room.
"The Codex! Now I know what Altair meant!"
Ezio looked at Leonardo with confusion until the excited blonde explained.
"I just finished translating the 3rd Codex you brought me! At first I thought there was a mistake in the meaning—"
He opened the Codex and placed it on a desk. Pointing to a sketch of the Apple and words written in elegant Arabic under it.
"—It said feed the treasure or it won't be pleased. I hadn't a clue why it was written until…we saw a demonstration."
Ezio couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's choice of words. He wondered though, why hadn't the Apple begun moving until now if it was hungry? He voiced his question aloud to Da Vinci who answered promptly.
"There's another inscription. An observation judging from what is said—"
He pointed to another caption.
"—I find that the Apple did not chirp nor move when Maria was around. Perhaps the cause of this is the lack of trust. For it is quite comfortable following Malik and I around. The Piece of Eden is also capable of expressing displeasure when it is not given sustenance. A lesson I learned quickly."
Ezio rubbed at his beard, absorbing the information and taking a few moments to let it sink in as he watched Leonardo put away the Codex.
"So what it did just now was express its displeasure at both of us?"
"No. The Apple squawked at you mio amico. I think the Piece of Eden became fed up and trust only you for it to put on such an open display."
The assassin scowled at Leonardo causing the artist to shake his head and laugh.
"The little fledgling never moved an inch when I was around. I thought it was my imagination, except I saw it twitch when you went near it the last time you visited."
More questions swirled in Ezio's head; he decided to save those for later. He raised a brow at what Leonardo called the Apple.
"Piccolo uccellino?"
Leonardo smiled.
"Si, it sounds like one, and it behaves like one. So it is a fledgling."
"I don't think—"
Thump!
Both men startled at the sound. It repeated, getting noisier as it came closer. The racket was coming from the stairs.
The Apple didn't like being alone. After realizing Ezio and his companion had left the room while it was eating, the tiny ball bounced up the steps. Leonardo poked his head out of the room. He was treated to the sight of the Apple jumping up each step of the stairway.
The artist moves out of the way with an amused expression when the artifact rolls into the room in search of Ezio. Giving an excited squeak at seeing the Mentor , the Apple rolls quickly and bumps against his boot, bouncing off from moving to fast.
"Merda..."
Ezio steps away from the Piece of Eden with a pensive face of uncertainty. Objects like that weren't supposed to be living things! Leo is busy holding in a laugh.
The Apple of Eden moves forward again, stopping against Ezio's foot, a happy wiggle is given when the man doesn't move. The little treasure gives a bird-ish purr of satisfaction.
"Krrrk."
After the Apple's outburst, things seem to return to normal. The metal ball develops a routine with Leonardo and Ezio. When the blonde artist wakes up in the morning he makes sure to feed the Apple fruits and bits of bread. Occasionally he gives the Piece of Eden meat. When Ezio comes around, he also feeds it; mostly sweets, seeing that the Apple tended to be happier and much more energetic when it ate them.
Leonardo was able to study Apple's behaviors, observing how it responded when he spoke directly to it. Seemingly the Apple prefers him calling it Little Fledgling rather than just Apple like Ezio does. The level of intelligence displayed when solving puzzles and other problems presented to it were startling, as was the ability to attract birds.
Leonardo grows fond of Little Fledgling. The fondness becomes protectiveness, Ezio finds that this development is both entertaining and amusing. Especially when the ball rolls after his friend as a duckling trailing it's mother.
Ezio experiences for the first time just how useful the Apple makes itself.
He takes it on a mission with him after it refused to be left behind with indignant squawks. Doggedly following him until he gave in. The Mentor is astonished when the Piece of Eden jumps from his bag to defend him; a bright flash of light to blind Borgia guards, then watching as the small orb flings itself into a Templar's head. Not only did it dent the helmet, the Apple caused the man a large egg-sized lump on his cranium (plus a concussion.)
That had been the absolute strangest mission he'd ever been on. Leonardo at first was unhappy that the both of them where in that kind of danger. The artist always worried. He did start laughing when he told him about the rest of the mission.
As the days go on, Ezio becomes attached to the Apple just like Leonardo.
For some reason there is growing sense of dread, as if every time he turns around he expects the Piece of Eden to disappear entirely. He can't shake the feeling. Ezio doesn't tell Leonardo, his friend already worries enough as it is. The Florentine just doesn't understand why he feels this way.
The Apple of Eden has also grown extremely clingy the past few weeks.
One day the Apple begins to glow brightly while Leonardo is holding it. Echoing chirps coming from it because...
Well...
It was leaving their time.
Apple doesn't want to go!
"Chirp! CHIRP! Chirpchirpchirp!"
Leonardo panics and attempts to contact Ezio, however by the time the assassin arrives to Leonardo's studio, there is a huge blink of light that forces both him and Leonardo to close their eyes. A sudden howling sound, the blowing of wind, papers scattered everywhere, and abrupt silence that ends it so quickly their ears are ringing.
Ezio's friend blinks the spots from his eyes, they widen once he sees that his hands are empty.
"Little Fledgling! W-where...?"
It is then that Ezio understands. The Apple is gone. There is no way they'll be able to find the instrument. He feels hollow inside as he rubs at his eyes to clear his vision. No wonder it clung to him so much. The little ball had been a person all it's own within the time it stayed with them. Ezio already misses the Apple.
"torna indietro per favore."
The Apple never did.
I want an apple now...
Dio mio: my god
mio amico: my friend
ezio il mio amico: ezio my friend
La Apple ha appena strillo! Penso di aver fatto qualcosa per renderlo pazzo: The Apple just squawked! I think I did something to make it mad!
Si: yes
piccolo uccellino: little fledgling (little bird)
merda: shit or crap
torna indietro per favore: come back please