And now it feels so amazing
Can't see you coming
And we'll never grow old again
You'll find us chasing the sun

I'm never, I'm never down
Lying here, staring up
And you're looking down
I'm never, I'm never down
Live forever, forever
With you around

Chasing the Sun, The Wanted, from the album The Wanted, released in 2010.

Apparently there was still numerous plans we had to prepare before we could begin our siege. And it was going to take, at the very least, a month to prepare. And while I was anxious for this to be over (and to finally leave Bartolomeo, whom I still didn't have good relations with, and for good reason), it gave me time to prepare for Ezio's birthday, which was little under a month away. Twenty or so days, give or take. I had managed to sort out the first half of the present, and was planning to leave for that soon (who knew I was so good at subtly sneaking messages in with the courier bird), and it was left to me to handle the second half. I had said I had issues coming up with a gift, and that much was true. But inspiration for little gifts was something I had managed to come up with. So rather than give him one big gifts, I thought to give him lots of little ones. So I went to the blacksmith's biweekly when I had my 'me' time, and practised the pain staking art of engraving into metal. It was, to be frank, fucking difficult. Too deep, you would damage the blade, as for every dagger I forged (using it as practise, and only keeping the ones that weren't good enough to sell for engraving), almost half ended up with a snapped hilt. Too shallow, and the next time the blade was sharpened it would come straight back off again. And that was just straight lines! Engraving intricate details is an entirely different experience entirely. Forcing a thin chisel through such a durable metal is not easy, and it is difficult to do a perfect curve. I had spent just as much time practising as I had drafting potential designs, and that was a lot. But now, after painstaking hours of drafting and drawing, relying on my incredibly limited drawing ability. I had done many different designs- for his hidden blades, sword, and his gun. I could describe every design I went through, but I will just describe the design for the hidden blades. The design for them both are the same, because you know, they are literally both the same blade. My design consisted of the Auditore Crest in the centre of the blades, surrounded by flying eagles which all bore the insignia of the assassin Brotherhood. Can I mention how much of a pain it was going to be to try to engrave them that small?...The things I do for love. Despite what I said before, there was one difference between the two blades- the phrase inscribed. There were only two inscribed- one for each blade- and both were different. But other then the fact that when the blades were laid next to one another they joined up, and by that I meant that the eagles were joined together by a wispy, cloud like chain. The phrase for the right hidden blade was going to say- after a few million redrafts- "Benché separati, insieme siamo uniti." and the other says "Lavoriamo nel buio per servire la luce.". A nice and classic quote. And one of my favourites. Now the only problem was, other then the fear of cocking up, was to actually obtain his sword. I couldn't do it far in advance as he would be sure to notice, and if I were to switch his normal blade with my own, he would surely notice. The hidden blade would be easily enough to grab hold of and switch, as the two blades were literally identical. I could do those in advance, and simply give him them on the day, but his main blade would be difficult. Looks like I was staying up the night before..and I'm hoping I could get it done in the eight or so hours I had. At least I wasn't trying to juggle all three in one night. It was most definitely possible, even without the amazing drug called caffeine.

Meanwhile, the second present was a lot easier to work on. I designed some new bullets for his pistol, although they were mainly centred on being loud and causing damage. Tact wasn't a word in his pistols dictionary, which is why he reserved it for 'loud' occasions. The first bullet I was trying to work on, was an incendiary bullet. It would, for lack of a word, set things on fire. What? Expecting something more complicated? Ha, no. I had chiselled small channels into the front edges of the bullet, leading to a small hollow store in the centre. This was filled with gunpowder, and a tiny, and I mean tiny, sliver of lithium. Lithium, for all of those non-chemistry buffs out there (although I myself fall into that category) is highly reactive with water, causing a small flame when they combine. I had managed to get that part done, but I was struggling to establish how I would get water in there. I was thinking having a small wall blocking the water off, and when it made contact with someone or something, the wall would break, allowing the water to flow through the channel. Then, the water would come into contact with the lithium, causing a small spark that would ignite the gunpowder. The force would propel the shell apart, and allow the flames to spread. It would be nasty if someone had the bullet in them. Bullet number two was a lot more pacifisty- although it would still hurt quite a bit if you ended up caught in it. It was a bullet that was centred around my 'sting bombs', essentially the same idea except stored in a bullet. It would help gain more range then you could get my hand throwing the bomb variant, and if you shot someone with it, it wouldn't seriously injure, just release a smoke cloud. I had recycled some of the paralytic poison we had used to kill Marco, but I knocked out what caused the body to shut down, and replaced it with something that could safely knock them out. The bullet itself was unique- for it was a shell made of rubber. It sounds stupid, I know, but hear me out. The rubber would come into contact with the victim, and when it came into contact it would shoot the poison into the victim. The smokescreen, which was stored in the outer rubber shell, would combine, and the smokescreen would bellow out, allowing the user to escape while hidden. I had planned it out meticulously- my hastily made notebook was filled with dozens of sketches by now, and I kept it hidden in the Blacksmiths, whom I had become extremely acquainted with by now, (his name, by the way, was Paolo. Soooo there.). And those were just two ideas of mine. I still had many more to ponder over, create, and test. Speaking of which- I span around with a gun, loaded with my incendiary bullet. We had set this test up outside, with a dummy set up surrounded by some grass. The grass was surrounded by a wall of stones, to act as a fire break and a fuel break. Just to make sure, we drowned the stones in water beforehand, making sure that none of it hit the grass. Paolo was on standby a distance away, a thick wooden bucket on hand which was filled with water. I wasn't a fan of accidentally burning a building down. I fired the gun after going through various safety checks, which were in place to ensure I didn't accidentally blow myself up or set fire to my self. Stop, Drop, and Roll. The lesson where I had learned that echoed in my head, despite not having heard it in almost a decade. The bullet fired from the gun successfully, and other than the slight ringing in my ears, I was unharmed. The dummy on the other hand?..well...maybe we should wait for him to stop burning before you asked him that. My bullet had worked like a charm, with the bullet making contact and only spurting flames then. It would be..safe to say...disastrous, if it started to burst flames before it left the pistol. It would look cool though. The smell of burning straw became even more intense, as I saw Paulo lob his bucket over the dummy. Apparently my bullet had been a bit too efficient. That is, if the half decomposed, black remains of the dummy were anything to go by. Part of it was still on fire, believe me or not. I had underestimated how reactive lithium was..but it sure as hell did as I wanted it to. I unloaded the gun swiftly, and carefully, carefully, stored the bullets in the pouch, and passed the gun back to Paolo, who was standing in some degree of shock. It was clear that he wasn't anticipating the bullets to either work at all, or to work so well, and I felt a small measurement of pride and a smile come to my face. I did like to prove people wrong.

So, present number three. Remember when I found out that Ezio liked to sketch? I hadn't forgotten, and it wasn't rare to find loose sheets of paper filled with sketches. So, I made him a pre-future version of a sketchbook. First, the cover. I knew that Maria could sew decently, so I sent her a request in my letter before last, asking if she was willing to design and sew a cover. I told her it was for Ezio's birthday, specifically a sketchbook, and she agreed without hesitation. Since I wasn't sewing it, I wanted to give her full reign on designing it, but she refused. That was how we ended up sending one sheet of paper back and forwards multiple times, with each other adding bits to the design that would give it it's own unique look. We had settled upon one- after a lot of deliberation- and it had a dark red base. In a golden threat, it would have his full name embroided in fancy lettering. The Auditore crest was cross-stitched on the side, with three eagles lining up on the right side. They didn't represent Altaïr as you may think, but rather Petruccio, Federico, and Giovanni. We thought it would be the most subtle way, and we knew that Ezio liked to honour them whenever he could. We had decided against placing the Assassin Emblem on there, because it would be easy for Ezio to be found out as an assassin if it was present. Anyway, the cover arrived yesterday, as well as confirming several details involving the main gift. I had managed to successfully hide it, shuffling it in between my own pieces of paper. He just assumed that it was another sketch of mine. He had decided to gift me a heart attack, when he remarked how much I'd been drawing lately, and I just told him that it gave me something to do. My excuse was that I hadn't been able to sit down long enough to read, so the drawing was a way to release the pent up energy. Shockingly, he believed me. For once in my life he actually believed me. Anyhow, resuming with the gift making. I had a spool of string next to me, and a soft bit of rubber left over from the rubber shells I had made. There were a few chunks left, and I didn't want to waste them. So, I spent a little bit of time hunting down Ezio's loose drawings, and let me tell you, it took forever. There were so many...and I probably still missed a few. I shuffled them all so that they were the right way, and placed them at the front, with a large stack of paper placed at the bag. I had left one piece of paper aside, as I carefully wrote a birthday message to him in Italian, with the best calligraphy I could manage. It read something like this: 'Ezio, il mio amore, la mia veloce aquila. Quando sono venuto qui, tutti quegli anni fa, desideravo ardentemente. Desideroso di cosa, non lo sapevo, finché non ti ho incontrato per la prima volta in quel vicolo. Non solo mi hai salvato la vita, ma hai salvato il mio cuore nel processo. Come un salto di fede, mi sono innamorato di te, solo per essere confortato dal fatto che tu, per qualche motivo, anche tu ami me. Non sono mai riuscito a superare questo. We have had five years together, and yet our quest is far from over. But I will always stand by your side, through thick and thin, dusk and dawn, and I will always be loyal to you. Never forget, that should we ever be torn apart, by either death or by enemies, I will always love you. Il tuo piccolo passero, Isabella Allesi.' I then placed that on top of the other sheets of paper, and placed the cover on, before lying the rubber underneath the spine. I stabbed my hidden blades every four centimetres down, making slits for the rope to go through. It was a simple enough practise. I removed the rubber (which was now sporting holes in it) and started to thread the ropes through, making loops. I tied them off, making sure they were secure and loose enough, before I cut the edges off, so that they were neat. And that, everybody, was Ezio's third gift complete- with plenty of time to spare. Now where to hide it…

***Two weeks later***

Okay, so...the last few weeks have been boring as all hell. Training, working, forging, horse-riding and tutoring. Safe to say, nothing interesting had happened. Antonio and Bartolomeo were preparing for the siege, and I was trying my damnedest to not explain to Ezio where I was going. Fortunately, Antonio was covering for me, and had told Ezio that he had a small mission for me to do. He wasn't best pleased that I was going without him, and that it was about a week away I was spending (especially so close to his birthday, which was 17 days away. He didn't know that I would be back the day before, just making sure that Maria and Claudia were safely out of sight.), leading him to believe that I would arrive during his birthday. I would never do that. Ezio was a bit grumpy, but knew that it wasn't (it was) my choice, and that I would spend the rest of the day (all of it) with him, making it up to him. Anyway, that was why I was saddling up Argento, who was eager for a long distance journey. He had been rather limited when it came to riding as of late, as we couldn't afford to leave the city for long periods of time. He had his black saddle hitched on his back, with his white-speckled blanket laid underneath. Small stocks of arrows were stored in a quiver attached to the saddle, followed by a bag of human (my) food and a bag full of horse (Argento) food. Flasks of water were attached similarly, and there were hooks on the saddle for any game I was going to keep. Salt was in another satchel, soon followed by flint, in case I wasn't able to light a fire going. It was hardly my first mission alone, but as usual, Ezio was over-protective, and I, over prepared.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

He whined. Yes people, Ezio Auditore whined. It was cute actually..and it could normally cause me to cave if I hadn't been exposed to it so many times before. That, and I wasn't about to blow his surprise that I had planned.

"Ssh."

I kissed him on the lips in an attempt to shut him up before I spilt the secret. I was quite happily proven right when his face went an interesting shade of red. He was unused to such public displays of affection from me.

"I'll be fine- I'll be back before you know it."

His face told me that he didn't believe me. It was hilarious to see that expression on his face, and even more so the look he was giving me. He helped me onto Argento (even though I could do it perfectly fine myself. If it kept him happy, it kept me happy) and I got my self settled, grabbing the reins loosely. Ezio clasped my hand loosely, before he dropped it, allowing me to re-grab the reigns.

"I'll see you soon, la mia veloce aquila."

He nodded in agreement, although I could see that he was still worried about it. However, he seemed to push away the worry he felt, as he looked into me, his orbs meeting mine.

"I love you, passerotto."

"And I you, and I you."

And with that, I spurred Argento on, with the city of Venice leaving behind me. As Ezio thought I was going somewhere off, I was leaving Venice by land this time rather then by boat. It was a couple of hours later but oh well.

This was the time where I wished MP3's and portable music existed. The trip was a bit dull, considering that the only thing I had to listen to was the wilderness and the occasional pants of Argento. Well, either those or the sound of my own voice. And I don't want to be seen as crazy. Even if there was nobody around. Soon enough, I was preparing to pull over and bide for the night, knowing that I wouldn't make it to Forli before sunset. I would have been able to if I'd travelled by boat, but again, I couldn't. I was the escort after all- I could hardly ditch them to ride a boat. Not like I enjoyed going on a boat- it made me seasick just thinking about it. I pulled Argento over, and near a wooded area that would provide not only game but also shelter and protection. I jumped off Argento and left him loose, knowing that he wouldn't run from me. He snorted as I patted him on the back, and I reached into the saddle and retrieved a ruby apple. He bit into it with a whinny, and soon had eaten the entire thing. Meanwhile, I laid out my bed role, as well as making a circle with some nearby rocks. I had a small tomahawk with me, simply for the use of chopping small trees down for wood. I didn't like to fight with them- they were far too unpredictable for me. It took me a while of searching for a suitable tree that wouldn't cause me to collapse upon trying to break it, and after ten-fifteen minutes I had suitable stack of firewood in my hands. I backtracked to my half-made fire, noticing that the sun was beginning to set. I was loosing sunlight to get my tea. I laid the logs on the circle, before returning to the depths of the forest and climbing a tree. I retrieved my bow and held an arrow in my hand. I was beginning to get a sense of deja vu. I wonder why..

I switched into my second sight, and I was pleased to notice that the headache that occurred was not as painful as it used to be. Anyway, the world around me gradually dulled, but I could now clearly see the path of an animal. I looked closer at its translucent form, and it seemed to look like a small foal. Nope. I am not killing a baby animal. I have morals. I jumped to another branch, balancing precariously, as I scanned for another path. This time, it seemed to be an adult deer, which was far too big for me to eat. I wasn't going to kill something if I was going to use it all, and even if I saved the meat by covering it in salt, It still would be too much. I jumped from branch to branch, coming across various deer, does, baby deer, and even a fox. There wasn't a wide range of species available was there? Soon enough, however, I saw a rabbit. And it was good, because I was beginning to consider relying on my backup food. It was beginning to get too dark to see. I followed the path by walking through the trees, making sure that each branch I stood on could hold my (light) weight. I froze as I knocked an arrow, looking upon the small dulled out rabbit. It was the perfect size for me- and what I didn't eat I could save, either raw or cooked. I aimed my arrow, shifting my position, as I pulled the string back. You might question why I didn't simply air-assassinate the rabbit, but with their superior hearing, it could easily hear me, especially when I was so close to it. And I wasn't about to risk my tea. I let the arrow loose, and it speared the poor thing in the neck, causing it to go limp and bleed against the grass. I leapt down as I carefully pulled out the arrow and grabbed it by it's feet, intending to return to the campsite. As I headed back, I gave the rabbit a last goodbye. Call me emotional, stupid, whatever you like, but if I took it's life then at the very least I could thank it.

"Thank you for allowing me to use you as a tool to survive. May you rest in peace, forever grazing."

Translations

Un Legame Familiare - A Familiar Bond

Benché separati, insieme siamo uniti. - Although separated, together we stand united.

Lavoriamo nel buio per servire la luce. - We work in the dark to serve the light.

Il mio amore, la mia veloce aquila - My love, my swift eagle.

Quando sono venuto qui, tutti quegli anni fa, desideravo ardentemente. Desideroso di cosa, non lo sapevo, finché non ti ho incontrato per la prima volta in quel vicolo. Non solo mi hai salvato la vita, ma hai salvato il mio cuore nel processo. Come un salto di fede, mi sono innamorato di te, solo per essere confortato dal fatto che tu, per qualche motivo, anche tu ami me. Non sono mai riuscito a superare questo. - When I came here, all those years ago, I was yearning. Yearning for what, I didn't know, until I met you in that alley for the first time. You not only saved my life, but you saved my heart in the process. Like a leap of faith, I fell for you hard, only to be comforted by the fact that you, for some reason, loved me too. I've never been able to get over that.

Il tuo piccolo passero – Your little sparrow

Author's Note

So, aside from cheesy notes, Ezio's birthday coming up, and Isa's impromptu 'mission', nothing much happened in this chapter. In all honestly, I genuinely struggled with ideas for Ezio's birthday gifts, and I didn't want to give myself the easy way out of just having various items upgraded. That would be incredibly boring. So...I hope they were original enough.

I'm also trying to improve my characterisation, but I still have issues with that so bear with me. Ezio can be very OOC at times, but I will try to improve it. Next weeks chapter may or may not be delayed as I have a assignment to prepare for (worth 20% of my grade) and a massive english assessment to revise for on Macbeth. Safe to say, plays are not my favourite, especially when I have to memorise many quotes such as: 'look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it' My memory is awful.

Anyway, enough complaining. I'm going to try and get a head start on both revision and writing next weeks chapter.

See you all next week,

~Cait