Tavení was lying on his back, facing the bright sky above his head. He was confused, he remembered passing out sometime while following the assassin. Was he left behind? Rolling onto his side, Tavení came face to face, with a wall. He yelped as he came in contact with the hard surface. Scooting away the child sat up abruptly and thoroughly surveyed his surroundings. He was sitting in an ally staring out into the market, he hissed angrily as he realized the assassin had truly left him behind.
"I should have known better." Tavení muttered getting to his feet slowly. He stretched his muscles, cramped and sore from sleeping in whatever position he had landed in. He attempted to brush the dirt off of his pants in vain and turned to one of the walls encasing him in the alley. He jumped at the stone, sticking to it easily and hauling himself up the face with ease. Once on the roof he darted to cover, hiding behind a rooftop chimney as the archer standing a few yards away turned in his direction.
"What will you do?" Altaïr asked. Tavení couldn't hold back a scream as he looked at the assassin sitting next to him quietly. The child jumped about a foot in the air and fell into the open, the guards crossbow pointed directly at his face. Tavení stared up at the man in a frozen fear; it was the second time in a few short hours his life was threatened.
"Hello, good sir." Tavení greeted politely. The archer stared down at the boy, a blank look upon his face. "I shouldn't be here, I know, I know. I lost my cat, and I figured she had come up here." Tavení continued. He squealed once more as a blade protruded from the archers' neck, blood splattering across the child's face. Tavení's eyes went wide with shock and he stared up at Altaïr who pushed the limp form of the guard to the side without a thought. The assassin left without giving the boy another look. Tavení sat in a stunned silence for a long moment, thoughts running through his mind at tremendous speeds. Only the thought of being blamed for this murder got the boy up and moving once more.
Tavení coughed, bile threatening to rise from his stomach. He rolled off the roof, none too gracefully, Tavení crumbled to the ground in a heap as he landed on the ground. Altaïr stared at the boy in mild amusement as the child stared up at him in a confused and shocked state. Tavení blinked and stuttered as he attempted to come up with a coherent sentence. Nothing came out of his mouth that made any sense at all, he finally decided to clamp his mouth shut and waited for Altaïr to say something to him. Unfortunately Altaïr wasn't about to say anything to him. Slowly Tavení's mind brought itself back into reality and he was able to speak once more.
"You killed that man." Tavení said carefully, each word short and concise. Altaïr turned his head towards the boy, and he began to walk away once more. Tavení blinked and shot up trailing after the stoic man angrily. "Hey, are you going to talk to me?" Tavení stated seriously.
"No." Altaïr said simply. Tavení stopped in his tracks, staring at the assassin as the man continued to move. Altair gave the boy a questioning look over his shoulder before leaving the child behind. Tavení hissed as the man disappeared into the crowd. It was a wonder how the boy had got away from him, if the assassin could blend this well without being noticed. Kicking out at a pebble sitting on the dusty pathway, the boy looked around for a while. He hurriedly decided to head in the direction Altaïr had disappeared and ran that way quickly.
Lost and jostled in the large crowd, Tavení's mind began to betray him. Just because one assassin decided to spare his life didn't mean the others would be as pleasant to him. Perhaps the master assassin decided that having him around was too much of a hassle. The boy was probably already commissioned to be killed. His musings drug up a panic from the depths of his mind and as the state of pandemonium set in Tavení began to feel jumpy and paranoid. His paranoia was justified as he noticed a guard staring at him with calculating eyes. Digging his heel into the ground, Tavení changed directions abruptly. He cursed as he heard the clinking of steel on steel as the guard began to follow after him.
Quickening his pace to a brisk walk, Tavení maneuvered through the crowd in an attempt to keep the guard at bay. His muscles itched and burned to break into a run, to scale the nearest wall and sprint across to rooftops to the nearest hiding place. Turning a corner he was faced with another dead ended alleyway, oh how he hated this city. Biting back a growl Tavení leapt at the nearest wall climbing up the surface a short ways before latching onto a windowsill. Drawing his knees up, Tavení placed his toes on the windowsill as well, before leaping at the edge of the roof. His fingers scraped against the stone before slipping. Shock didn't have time to set in as he found himself hanging off the side of the building, his hand grasped firmly in Altaïr's.
Altaïr easily hauled the small child onto the roof and motioned for the child to lie on his stomach. Tavení did as he was bade, slowly getting to his stomach next to the assassin and peeking over the roof quietly. The two sat as four guards entered the alley. Tavení's eyebrows furrowed as he looked towards Altaïr in confusion.
"Do you think you would survive if you were still down there?" Altaïr questioned his voice low and deep as he kept the sound he made to a minimum.
"No." Tavení said quietly, his voice frightened and soft. The master assassin nodded and backed away from the edge before standing up. Tavení watched him before standing up himself after backing away from the edge. "Where are you going?" Tavení asked, looking up at the assassin with puzzled eyes.
"Are you ready to follow?"Altaïr asked in response. Right now, the child knew that he wasn't going to get a straight answer from the assassin until he went with the man.
"What if I say no?" Tavení asked. Altaïr withheld a smile and watched the boy's defiant and testing face.
"Do you want to die?" Altaïr asked back once more. Immediately the look on Tavení's face fell into uncertainty his eyes darting in every which direction. The master assassin watched Tavení's inner turmoil with amusement, doubting he could make the boy any more frightened than he already was. Tavení finally looked back up, his face showing a veil of determination but it was easily detected that he was still frightened.
"I'll go with you." Tavení decided. Altaïr nodded and turned away and began to head towards the bureau. Tavení began to follow diligently, making sure he kept up with the swift moving assassin. The two stopped on the rooftop of the bureau. Altaïr pointed at the symbol beneath their feet, and Tavení looked down at it in confusion.
"You would do well to remember this symbol." Altaïr told him. Tavení continued to stare at the symbol with narrowed eyes before opening his mouth to ask about the peculiar shape. He looked up only to find himself alone on the roof. He leaned over the edge of the building, looking into the small courtyard like space that made up one of the many rooms of the bureau.
"What?" Tavení asked with a confused air before noticing that Altaïr was glaring up at him from inside the building with an angry face.
"I don't have time to wait. Come down here." Altaïr called up. Tavení winced at the impatience in the older man's voice; he sat on the edge and dropped down onto the fountain below. The boy stood and followed Altaïr as he walked into the main room of the bureau.
"Safety and peace, Rafiq." Altaïr stated.
"Altaïr!" Came the falsely joyous reply of the Rafiq of Damascus. Tavení cringed as the man behind the counter grinned happily. The Rafiq leaned across the counter, pushing the pot he was working on to the side so he could more properly speak to the two. "What brings you here today, brother?" He asked once more. Altaïr silently glared at the all too happy man.
"It is done." The master Assassin said simply, pulling the bloodied feather from his robe.
"Is that... did you... how did... blood?" Tavení squeaked out after stuttering for a good half a minute. Altaïr watched in amused curiosity as the child shook his head and sank to the ground slowly. "I think I need to lie down." Tavení muttered as he sat on the tiled floor.
"I see. What of him?" The Rafiq asked, pointing to the shocked and shivering figure of Tavení.
"I'm recruiting him." Altaïr said simply. At the mention of this, Tavení leapt to his feet.
"Recruiting me! I don't want to join!" Tavení shouted in protest. The two adults looked at him in a bored tone, and Tavení felt hot anger sear into his cheeks. "I have a choice in this, don't I!" The boy argued. He doubled over in pain as Altaïr's elbow connected with his gut; he immediately let loose a string of curse words in Czech.
"You do not. Your life belongs to me." Altaïr told the boy. Tavení sank to the ground clutching at his injured stomach angrily. He glared up at Altaïr, his stormy grey eyes displaying thunder. "It did when you decided to bargain for it." Altaïr continued. Tavení hung his head low and uttered out a few more curses.
"Why not kill me, then?" Tavení asked.
"Perhaps you are more useful to me alive than dead." Altaïr told him. Tavení groaned and puffed up his cheeks as he bit back words that would get him in more trouble than he already was.
"Just what the brotherhood needs, another assassin just as stubborn as you, Altaïr." The Rafiq said sarcastically with a laugh. Altaïr ignored him and continued to watch as Tavení got back to his feet. Altaïr pointed into the back room and Tavení looked in the direction with a confused air, Altaïr promptly smacked the boy on the back of the head causing the child to hiss.
"What have I done?" Tavení asked in a whine.
"Do not whine." Altaïr scolded, causing Tavení to snap his mouth shut and settle for a pout instead. "Go stand on your hands, and think for a while." Altaïr commanded. Tavení opened his mouth to voice his opinion about the task in an angry manner. Sensing the upcoming objection, Altaïr threw him a withering look and the child held up his hands in a defensive manner before sulking off into the back room. Altaïr turned back to the Rafiq, who wore an amused expression.
"God help that child, if you are to be his mentor." The Rafiq said chuckling to himself. Altaïr shook his head and looked briefly towards the back room; He could hear Tavení's shuffling as the boy tried to quietly ease himself out of the handstand.
"Tavení!" Altaïr snapped. The boy froze, all noise he was making ceased as he waited. "Back." Was the one word command from the master assassin.
"What!" Tavení said with an angered groan.
"Now." Altaïr bit out. There was a huff and a shuffling once more as Tavení got back into his hand stand. "He'll be a challenge." Altaïr told the broadly grinning man. The Rafiq laughed and gave a genuine smile to Altaïr, who was taken aback by the sheer oddness of the gesture.
"Tell you what, I'll send a messenger pigeon to Masayf for you, tell them you're coming with a possible recruit." The Rafiq said with a smile. Altaïr frowned at the man who continued to smile like a jester. "When do you plan to leave out?" The Rafiq asked.
"Before night fall." Altaïr replied easily. The Rafiq blinked in surprise, his expression was quickly hidden by a smile once more.
"So soon? I didn't have time to enjoy your company." The man said. Altaïr glared at him and moved to the back room silently. The assassin watched as Tavení struggled to stand on his hands in a balanced position.
"What am I supposed to be thinking about?" Tavení asked, his face red from the blood rushing to his head. Altaïr raised an amused eyebrow at him and simply shook his head. "You're kidding right? I have to come up with the correct answer on my own?" Tavení asked again.
"Correct." Altaïr told him. Tavení huffed and hung his head; the act of holding it up was too much for him.
"I'm sorry for disobeying you earlier and trying to weasel my way out of this." Tavení muttered.
"That was one of them." Altaïr told the boy, Tavení sighed once more. He went silent as he began to think of what he had done in the short span of time he had known the assassin.
"Is it the fact that I was defiant?" Tavení asked, tilting his head to look up at the man. Altaïr looked down at the boy's pleading face. The child was right, but Altaïr's face remained impassive and blank. Tavení stared at him and tried to determine his answer from Altair's neutral expression.
"That's another." Altaïr confirmed. Tavení stared at him with wide eyes and huffed irritably.
"There are more?" Tavení asked in disbelief glaring at the man angrily.
"There are." Altaïr said. Tavení hissed and spoke rapidly in his native tongue. Altaïr was interested as to why the boy would always resort to Czech when he thought no one could understand. "If you're going to damn me to hell, do it in Arabic." Altaïr told the surprised face of the boy. Instead of complying, Tavení spat something out in garbled and broken English.
"Is there nothing you can't do!" Tavení asked him finally.
"So you speak three languages?" Altaïr asked instead. Tavení sighed, and squeezed his eyes shut in a vain attempt to ward off the dizziness.
"Yes. I'm České though." Tavení muttered through clenched teeth. "When can I get out of this?" Tavení asked in a whine.
"When you stop showing attitude." Altaïr informed him.
"I'm not showing attitude!" Tavení immediately snapped. He caught his mistake as he looked at the impassive, yet somehow bordering on angry, face that Altaïr was wearing. "Yes, Učitel." Tavení relented. Altaïr was grinning with malicious accomplishment, in his mind of course.
"I believe you've gotten the better part of it." Altaïr said. Tavení's head snapped up as far as it could go in his upside down position.
"Really?" Tavení said happily, grinning up at the master assassin.
"You can't get down." Altaïr told him. Tavení's smile failed him, and quickly turned into a pouty scowl. "I'm going to teach you the creed." Altaïr decided, looking at Tavení with calculating eyes.
"I don't think that's a good idea." The Rafiq called from his position in the other room.
"Why? What's the creed?" Tavení asked curiously. Altaïr looked at the boy appreciatively.
"It's law, once you join the brotherhood." Altaïr explained to Tavení's eager face. The child hung his head tired of holding it up to look at the man above him.
"So, it's a rule?" Tavení asked, through his nose, his chin buried into his chest.
"Look at me when you speak. " Altaïr said almost automatically. Tavení pulled his head up and looked at the assassin in disbelief.
"Yes, Učitel." The boy said, looking Altaïr in the eye. The assassin nodded and looked at Tavení's strained face as he did so.
"When you learn this, I expect you to be able to recite it forwards, backwards, and in every language you know. By the end you should be reciting it in your sleep." Altaïr told the boy seriously. Tavení blanched and stared at the assassin who looked down at him cunningly.
"You're serious." Tavení stuttered out from his upside down position.
"I am." Altaïr said, Tavení sighed and looked up at the man in a determined tone.
"Alright, Učitel." Tavení sighed once more. Altaïr narrowed his eyes at the child's attitude; apparently the boy's demeanor wasn't going to change any time soon.
"Are you listening?" Altaïr asked. Tavení nodded seriously. "Good, the creed is made up of three tenets." Altaïr started. Tavení groaned.
"Nemůžu uvěřit, že tento." Tavení muttered out somewhere in his groan. He looked up at Altaïr's patient, yet somewhat annoyed, countenance and smiled brightly. "Continue, Učitel!" Tavení said cheerily. Altaïr sighed, and raised an eyebrow as Tavení wobbled in his hand stand.
"Stay thy blade from the flesh of innocents." Altaïr quoted, grabbing Tavení's ankle to steady the boy. "Remain discreet, and never endanger the brotherhood." Altaïr told the boy, before giving the child's leg a swift yank. Tavení yelped in surprise and immediately corrected his hand stand, to accommodate for his misplaced balance. "Now get to work." Altaïr told him. Tavení groaned and began reciting the three tenants still in his upside down position.
"Wait, do I have to do this in every language I know?" Tavení asked, pausing in his memorization to look at the assassin in a hopeful manner.
"Yes, all four of them." Altaïr said. Tavení's jaw dropped in surprise.
"How did you… I only spoke three to you!" Tavení shouted in surprise.
"True, but you lied to me."Altaïr told the boy seriously. Tavení laughed nervously and smiled at him before immediately launching back into reciting the creed, this time in four different languages, English, Czech, Italian, and Arabic
Yeah! I'm doin' good! I think. I'm hoping that the chapter is too your liking. Power to the people! I have nothing to say, honeslty, don't read this... I don't own Assassin's Creed. I want to talk to you people but I still have nothing to say... Please don't flame me.
-GigaRox