The Eagle and Hawk Of Masyaf

by allseer15

Shahin has a few secrets she's hiding from her fellow Assassins. She's a woman, she can grow wings, fly, and possesses a few unknown abilities. She lives a cautious life unnoticed by mostly everyone until Al Mualim partners her with Altair after his failure in Solomon's Temple. But she's not the only one keeping secrets. AXOC

14. Chapter 14: Bandits

I'm so sorry! I have plenty of reasons for why I haven't been able to work on my stories that range from school taking pretty much all of my time to my bike breaking down, but I'll just tell you that I haven't been able to get to a computer until now(Friday august 31). But now I have a three day weekend and I'm gonna make the best of it!

I don't own any of the Assassin's Creed games or characters. I just own Shahin and the harem women. Pfft. That's pretty funny once you think about it.

ONWARD!

Chapter 14: Bandits

I woke up early this morning. Out of habit. Again. Damn.

I muttered curses under my breath and moved my neck. Thankfully, the crick that had been there yesterday was gone and I could move my head however I wanted without discomfort.

"I thought you didn't like to curse?"

The sleepy question made me turn my head to see Altair lounging on the pillows, hood pulled back from tossing and turning, and eyes only half open. It was obvious that I'd only just woke him up with my curses. His face was beginning to look rough from the days without shaving and his amber eyes were only half focused as they focused on me. His face was relaxed for once while he was conscious. His face looked nowhere near as tough and…guarded right now.

He looks cute. He looks handsome with his expressions guarded, but now he's cute, I thought absently before I beat that thought back. I had no right thinking about Altair that way. He was just a friend and Brother. Nothing more. Nothing. of thought.

I rubbed my eyes. "I hate mornings," I grumbled my short response. I didn't have enough energy or patience to come up with a better one. I liked it when I didn't have to talk or socialize in the morning, and I never had to worry about that until Altair came along.

"Then why do you wake up so early every day?" he asked as he laid his head back down on the pillows and closed his eyes. My hand twitched with the urge to run itself through Altair's short hair and I fisted it to hold it back.

I sighed and reached to push my hood back only to find it already fallen back like Altair's. I thought about worrying about that for a moment before deciding that if anybody and seen me I would've sensed it while I slept and woken up. Bringing my braid over my shoulder, I untied the leather and unwound my hair until it pooled around me.

I held the comb Altair had brought back to me and smiled a bit. I was…touched that he had gone and gotten it for me last night as an apology. And the necklace. I would put that on later when he wasn't looking. I loved how elegant this comb looked with its small jewels dotting the creation, but also how it looked strong. I knew that a big knot or a strong pull wouldn't snap it.

I finally brought the comb to my hair and began brushing my hair, which had been neglected for three days. I closed my eyes and let the tugs on my hair pull pleasure from my scalp. Sighing, I forgot everything much like how I do before I train.

It was sometime later that my hair was silk again and I put the precious comb into a secret pocket before reaching under my hair and pulling at the soft hair at the base of my skull. My shoulders were relaxed before that, but I felt the rest of my muscles follow suit.

When I was putting my hair back into its braid I saw from the corner of my eye that Altair was watching me. I frowned a little when I realized I didn't know how long he'd been watching. When I forgot everything, I forgot my detecting sense as well.

I jumped a little when my friend suddenly asked, "What do you think of women being warriors or soldiers?"

I felt my heart start racing, but nonchalantly looked at the man, who still hadn't moved. "Women? I don't know," I murmured as I kept braiding. "You don't really see a lot of women who are interested in doing actual work. They just like to do simple things."

"But if one was interested in fighting, what would you think?" he persisted and I frowned at his determination.

"Well, I guess it would depend on the woman," I replied cautiously.

"How so?"

I shook my head and tied off my braid. "The same way it depends on a man. Only certain people can actually put up with the rigors of training or battle. The woman would have to persevere against normal training and then any ridicule she gets for her gender."

He 'hmm'ed and was silent for a moment before asking, "Who do you think would make better Assassins? Men? Or women?" He sounded honestly curious but also seemed to be waiting for my answer to examine it critically.

I frowned again as I faced him, not bothering to bring my hood up since his was still down. It sounded like an innocent enough question, but I my gut told me to be careful when the topic included 'women' and 'Assassins'. "Both would do a good job, really."

His expectant face turned into confusion. "Why do you think that?"

I shrugged and settled down in my nest so I was lying down with my arm under my head, acting like a pillow, and I was facing my friend. "Each gender has its own specializations. You can even go so far as to say each person has their own areas of expertise, but for the sake of this question I'll stick to gender. You see—." I stopped mid-sentence and pulled up my hood quickly when I heard sound of movement in the next room.

The Rafiq came to the door way and looked down at where we were laying on the pillows. "Good morning, Altair and Shahin," he greeted cheerfully, and I wondered how he can have so much energy and be so awake this early in the morning. "I hope you slept well. I packed your bags with food for the trip back to Masyaf. Feel free to stay for the morning for breakfast, though I'm sure Al Mualim would like to hear about the black merchant's death as soon as possible."

I nodded and rolled to my feet. Altair just growled half-heartedly and allowed his head to thump back on to the pillows. I walked over to him and held out my hand, "Come on, my friend. We should go before the guards change shifts. Plus it's good for you to make a habit of getting up this early."

He blinked his eyes up at me. They didn't look sleepy at all, so I knew he just didn't want to move like I did. He scowled at me before demanding, "What good is it to wake up at this unholy hour?"

I smiled before responding, "It's good to get your worthless bag of meat into shape." Anger and a bit of humor entered his eyes as he growled ferociously and moved to roll to his feet. I dodged out of the way of his dodge with a twirl and chuckled when he turned towards me. "You really think you can catch me? I've seen turtles move faster than you."

He growled, "And you really think I'll let you get away with that?"

I shrugged, "You'll have to, seeing how you don't have the ability to get me. Let alone let me get away." I smile was bordering on a grin as I dodged out of the way of his lunge again and climbed up the wall to the roof. I couldn't help but grin down into the Bureau, "You'll have to move faster than that."

I dashed across the rooftops as the Assassin climbed up the wall with a determined look in eyes. I tossed back more teasing insults as I wound our way to the gates.

—Altair's POV—

He came to instant awareness as he heard quiet murmurs and was reaching for his knife when he opened his eyes and saw it was only Shahin sitting up with obvious tiredness. The other man's hood must have fallen off his head while he slept and he could see that more than a few strands of hair had escaped its braid. Altair watched silently as Shahin slouched his shoulders and rotated his neck. It was then that his brain registered the fact that the mutterings Shahin was saying were curses. Mild ones, but still curses.

"I thought you didn't like to curse?" he asked, sleep evident in his voice.

Shahin turned towards him and blinked his golden eyes. His expression was unguarded and it said that the man wasn't the happiest Assassin at the moment. "I hate mornings," he replied with a rough voice.

Altair couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at that before his neck got too tired and his head hit the pillows again. He closed his eyes and questioned, "Then why do you wake up so early every day?"

Shahin didn't answer and just sighed. The man obviously wasn't much of a morning talker.

Altair must have drifted off into sleep again, for when he opened his eyes and looked at his friend he saw that he'd unwound his braid and was currently combing it out with the comb Altair had brought back last night. Altair blinked at the image and memorized it almost unconsciously. Shahin had his eyes closed and his face was…peaceful and had a hint of pleasure. The man's hair was so much longer than what it was in his braid. When it was in a braid his hair only came to his waist, but unbound it pooled around the other man slightly. Despite its length and thickness Shahin was patiently running the comb through each strand until it gleamed in the little light there was. This man's hair put all of the harem women's hair to shame with its shear mass, length, and shine.

And the image altogether… If Shahin ever looked like a woman it was now. Without the cold look in his golden eyes or the sharp planes on his face from being on guard, he just looked…feminine.

He looks beautiful, he thought sleepily before he pinched himself, hard. That had to be a sin: to think another man was beautiful.(A.N.: I'm gonna say now that anything I write down in my stories is not always what I believe. Hey, I just saw more than one man in school who could be described as beautiful. I'm just saying this so no one gets offended.) But Altair couldn't help but believe it. There was something about the man that reminded him very much of a woman.

The next thing he knew he was asking, "What do you think of women being warriors or soldiers?"

Shahin stopped mid-braid and looked at him. There was a bit of confusion in his eyes. And Altair could've sworn there was a flash of…fear? Worry? "Women? I don't know. You don't really see a lot of women who are interested in doing actual work. They just like to do simple things," Shahin replied with a shrug. He noticed it was all very nonchalant and wondered if that was unintentional or forced.

He's being evasive, Altair thought before he persisted, "But if one was interested in fighting, what would you think?"

Shahin frowned at the lounging man before answering, "Well, I guess it would depend on the woman."

"How so?" the former Master Assassin asked, still waiting for an answer that would hint at Shahin possibly being a woman.

Shahin shook his head as if in tired exasperation, "The same way it depends on a man. Only certain people can actually put up with the rigors of training or battle. The woman would have to persevere against normal training and then any ridicule she gets for her gender."

Altair nodded and 'hmm'ed. What the other man said was true. Not all men could become a soldier and even fewer men could become an Assassin. The training was absolutely brutal on Novices, so the weak could be weeded out and the strong could be tested. The number of women, if there were any, would have very little chance to become a soldier, let alone an Assassin. And that was if that woman was willing to leave behind her reputation and family. The latter because culture just said that women couldn't do more than run a house, and the former because this woman would be living among nothing but men.

The perfect question to trap Shahin came to mind and he asked, "Who do you think would make better Assassins? Men?Or women?" Now he knew that a woman would defend women as the better Assassins, but a smart woman would side with men to further hide. Shahin was smart so if he was in fact a woman he would vote men.

Altair felt a little pride in himself for coming up with such a clever question when Shahin frowned at him. But that pride was crushed when Shahin answered, "Both would do a good job, really."

Altair blinked. He hadn't expected the other man to pick both options. There went his 'clever' question. But his sense of foolishness was quickly dashed as his mind registered Shahin's words and curiosity quickly took over. "Why do you think that?"

The Master Assassin shrugged and laid down so his head was pillowed by his arm and he was facing Altair. The elder man could tell by Shahin's half-open eyes that he really wanted to go back to sleep, but he kept himself awake for some reason.If he was tired shouldn't he go to sleep? Altair thought so."Each gender has its own specializations," Shahin began and Altair could tell from experience that this was something like a lecture.

Altair sort of appreciated the fact that the other man didn't ridicule him, the best Assassin the Brotherhood had to offer, for asking questions. Everyone at the castle seemed to assume that Altair knew everything and were quick to make sure that he knew that he should already know this or know that if he asked any question. So Altair stopped asking questions and answered some of them for himself. But there were some things that he could figure out and he was afraid to ask. But he could tell from the past days that, although Shahin was easily hurt and quick to pull away, he had a lot of patience. Even when Altair snapped he lectured his elder on points he should know and remember and that just spoke of patience. So, although Altair was hesitant of being made feel foolish, he risked asking the patient man.

He listened intently as Shahin continued. "You can even go so far as to say each person has their own areas of expertise, but for the sake of this question I'll stick to gender. You see—." He blinked in surprise as Shahin stopped speaking and his face suddenly disappeared into shadows as he pulled up his hood. He was about to ask why he had stopped when he heard the Rafiq moving around in the other room. Altair pulled up his hood as well and lifted his head slightly when the Rafiq appeared in the doorway.

The Rafiq smiled and cheerfully greeted, "Good morning, Altair and Shahin." The former Master Assassin held back a groan. How could the man be so energetic? It was too damn early and it made him just want to go back to sleep. "I hope you slept well. I packed your bags with food for the trip back to Masyaf. Feel free to stay for the morning for breakfast, though I'm sure Al Mualim would like to hear about the black merchant's death as soon as possible."

Altair growled a little bit and let his head fall back. He didn't want to get up. He didn't want to run across the roofs. He didn't want to face the world. He just wanted to keep lying down in the pile of pillows and talk with Shahin. Altair grudgingly let himself think that the other man's voice was soothing.

When he opened his eyes he was surprised to see Shahin leaning over with one hand braced on his knee and the other reached out towards him. He could see the tired amused and sympathetic look in the other man's face. "Come on, my friend. We should go before the guards change shifts. Plus it's good for you to make a habit of getting up this early," the Master Assassin coaxed.

He scowled before challenging his statement. "What good is it to wake up at this unholy hour?"

Shahin's lips twitched a bit, but he could see the amusement grow in those golden eyes. "It's good to get your worthless bag of meat into shape."

Altair knew he was teasing and felt like he was a little Novice again. Where nothing was ever really serious and he could have fun. He play growled and moved to lunge at the other man, but he found himself stumbling as Shahin dodged out of his way with a little twirl. "You really think you can catch me? I've seen turtles move faster than you."

The former Master Assassin turned to glare at the other man and he was afraid Shahin would think he was serious, but the twitch in the other man's lips told him that Shahin knew he was playing. "And you really think I'll let you get away with that?" he demanded.

Shahin shrugged and said matter-of-factly, "You'll have to, seeing how you don't have the ability to get me. Let alone let me get away." Altair saw his friend's smile briefly as he lunged. He grasped air again and saw that Shahin had used his superior speed to climb up the wall and poke his head through the roof entrance. "You'll have to move faster than that," he teased before disappearing as Altair rushed up the wall, his heart light for the first time in a long while.

His lethargy was forgotten as he sprinted after the man playing this game with him. He felt his own lips twitch into a smile as Shahin made a beeline across Damascus' poor district to the gates.

—Rafiq's POV—

The Rafiq couldn't believe his eyes and even blinked his eyes hard. He ran the memory over in his head and shook his head in shock. Altair had been…playing. And this unknown Assassin—no, Master Assassin—hadn't been threaten. The almighty and powerful Altair had been taunted and hadn't threatened to kill the man responsible. If anything he'd played along.

And this Shahin man had appeared to be close to the former Master Assassin. He'd felt safe enough to goad someone who could very well end his life easily. But the Rafiq supposed that was because he was a Master Assassin and could defend himself. With the speed the Rafiq had seen him climb up the wall the Rafiq knew that he could hold his own against Altair at least for a short while.

The Rafiq walked back to his counter and pulled out a piece of parchment and picked up a quill to write his report to Al Mualim. He wondered briefly if he should include how close the two Assassins seemed to be before deciding he should. The Grand Master had asked for a very detailed report on Altair and how the man was reacting to Shahin.

It appeared they got along well if the way Shahin gently scolded Altair and Altair accepting it were anything to go by. And then there was the talk they'd had last night. The Rafiq hadn't been able to hear much, but he had been able to hear enough to understand that Altair had made a mistake when it came to Shahin and that he had apologized. From what the Rafiq had heard, and seen for himself, Altair was a very arrogant and prideful man that never apologized to anyone expect the Grand Master and even then that was rare.

The Rafiq blew out a breath and set to write a report that would surely surprise the Grand Master.

—Shahin's POV—

I took a deep breath to even out my slight huffing and looked behind me to see Altair finally come through the gate. Our chase game had turned into a race to see who could get through the gate first when it had come into sight. I had chosen to go over the guards' heads and Altair had decided to blend in with a group of scholars. I don't know what had made him think that scholars would get him through faster than my climbing and jumping, but it had allowed me to win.

I waited outside the stables and allowed Altair to see my small smile. Altair just huffed and murmured, "I'll beat you next time."

I chuckled as we entered the building that smelled strongly of horses, dung, and hay. "Like you could ever match me for speed. You'll be lucky if you ever even catch me."

"I will someday," he replied grudgingly as I glanced from horse stall to horse stall, looking for my black mare.

She found me first. A loud whinny caught my attention, and, when I looked at the source, I could see my black mare rearing up as much as her tether would allow. He brown eyes locked on to me and I chuckled lightly as two nearby stable boys stumbled away from the horse with fear written on their faces. I approached her as she lifted into a second rearing and I lifted a hand to her snout to gently pull her down to the ground. She blew a hot breath in my face and I returned my favor, which she obviously appreciated for some odd horse reason, for she tossed her head and stamped her feet happily. She calmed down when I rested my hand on her face again and butted my shoulder affectionately. I smiled and rubbed her jaw as she finally rested her head against my chest.

I was murmuring soft words when Altair passed behind me and muttered, "Stupid, loud horse." I heard him so of course the horse heard him. I thought I saw a brief flash of anger in the black mare's eyes before she moved with enough speed to rival mine. I don't know how Altair dodged the horses bite, maybe it was the distance already between the two, but the horse's teeth came together with a loud CLACK! and I barely held back a grin when I saw Altair's face pale and he pointed an accusing finger at my horse. "I'll still kill you." The sound my horse made sounded very close to a growl.

I blinked in shock before jumping into my horse's stall. I didn't think it was a good idea to open it just yet. Somehow I was able to calm my very sentient-seeming horse as I saddled her up. 15 minutes later we were heading up the zigzagging path away from Damascus.

We rode in silence for the first two hours, for there were too many guards around to pick up our pace or risk talking. When we'd gone a fair amount of time without seeing any guards Altair turned to me on his white steed and asked, "So what were you saying men and women both being good Assassins?"

I blinked at the question and only hesitated a moment before responding, "I was saying that each gender has their own specialties. Women, for example, probably won't ever be as strong or big as men while men won't ever be able to seduce a male target and draw them into a secluded area for a kill." I shrugged and scanned the cliff tops that were only 30 feet high. I kicked my horse into a canter and knew that if we kept this pace that the cliff's in the area where we would stop for the night would be closer to 60 or 70 feet. "I said earlier that you could even go so far as saying every person has their own area of expertise. Like how you are very strong and I'm very fast. Women will always be a bit smaller and quicker and, obviously, have their looks while men will always have their size and strength. A woman could specialize in dagger, or throwing knives, or stealth, and a man can specialize in those as well, but men are more likely to stick to sword fighting. It just varies from person to person." I looked over at him, "Do you get what I'm trying to say?"

He nodded slowly and was mulling over my words as he absently answered, "Yes. I do." I patted my horse's neck and she tossed her head a little in acknowledgement. I sighed, but felt my lips twitch. I have a strange horse, I thought.

"Which do you think is better to fight with? Small knives or a sword?" Altair asked and I smiled. This is going to be a long discussion.

And it was. We spent almost the entire day talking about the advantages and disadvantages of this weapon or that weapon and which situation would be best for this or that. I felt that warmth in my chest pretty much all day. Talking with Altair on simple things was…great, for the lack of a better word. I just didn't want it to ever end.

Altair asked what my preferred weapon was and I said knives and daggers. When he asked why I told him that they best worked with my speed and agility. I in turn asked him the same questions. It didn't surprise me when he said he preferred a sword in battle and that it was the best weapon, with the exception of an axe that would always get in the way, thatworked with his strength.

Through our talk I figured out that, although Altair was good in battle, he didn't have the imagination or cleverness needed to be a battle strategist. He even told me quietly and, I think, a blush of embarrassment that he was much more comfortable with someone telling him what to do. He admitted that fighting was his strength, not planning. I nodded and told him that while I was fast in battle that was the only thing I had going for me. If I was ever captured I didn't have the brute strength to break away and it only took a few well placed hits to take me down.

This in turn brought up the question of why I didn't wear armor, which turned into me explaining that my armor was in my robes and him asking how I pulled that off and why I did that.

After that bit was done we debated which armor was the best to wear. Was light leather armor better? Or was heavy metal armor?

We were still debating that as the sun began to touch the horizon and I was absently thinking that we should find an area to camp. Altair was talking when suddenly stopped mid-word and froze. I felt the hair on the back of my neck raised as my sense went off louder than it ever had before. I got a very bad feeling and slowly turned to look up.

There on the cliff edge was two dozen archers aiming their arrows down at us. I gritted my teeth and felt my heart begin to race. This was not good. I cursed viciously under my breath and heard Altair doing the same.

Both my hands shot to my weapons when a sickly sweet voice called out, "I would do that if I were you!" My eyes shot to the source and saw one man standing tall with a smug look on his face with his arms crossed. I blinked to eagle eyes and took in the man's appearance with sharper eyes. He had shoulder length black hair, a beard that really needed to be shaved, brown eyes, and an ugly scar that went from the corner of lip to his temple. I blinked my eyes to Eagle Vision and saw that every single one of him was red. No surprise. "If either one of you Assassins make a move my archers will put too many holes in you for you to count," he shouted down at us. It was unnecessary since there was absolute silence and the cliffs created an echo.

I cursed again, but moved my hands in a defeated way to rest on my hips. They were very close to the throwing knives strapped to my side. How does he know we're Assassins? He should've thought we were travelers or scholars. Or maybe he's actually smart and figured our weapons meant we were Assassins. Either way, it means we've lost one of our surprises. I took in all the men's rugged clothes and figured that these were the infamous bandits.

"You play a dangerous game, bandit," I called up in an icy cool voice. I looked over at Altair and saw his hand was nonchalantly close to his sword. My horse shifted nervously, but I didn't dare move my hands away from my weapon to comfort her.

The bandit leader spread out his arms and motioned to the archers on either side of the cliffs bordering the road. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems as if you're the one who is out numbered, Assassin." When I was silent he smirked and crossed his arms again. "Do not move an inch. Do not put up any resistance when my men come for you or your lives will be ended before you know what happened."

As if on cue we heard the sounds of horses thundering towards us from the front and behind us. I glanced at Altair and our eyes met. A rare understanding passed between us as we nodded ever so slightly. Altair glared up at the leader and said with easy arrogance, "You should know better. You can never outnumber an Assassin. Let alone two of them."

As the horsemen came around the curve of the road and into view I moved my hands to my knives so that I had one in between each finger. I gritted my teeth as I made minuscule adjustments to my grips and arm as I moved to throw my knives. Each target was at least 30 meters away and above me. The wind was only a slight breeze so it wouldn't affect the knives too bad. As I released the throwing knives as fast as I could I knew that not all of them were lethal, but I would at least hit each person.

Altair and I dove off our horses and got our weapons ready. There were screams from above as my blades found their home and only one or two arrows were actually released. I vaguely heard the leader begin to roar at his men, but I focused on the men who were approaching us from behind as Altair focused on those coming from the front. I pulled three daggers out of their hiding places and three horsemen fell dead. By that time the horsemen were on us and I ditched my normal knives for a sword so I had enough reach to actually strike the saddled men.

I sliced my blade through the air and cut a man's gut open and raised my hidden blade bracer to block a sword. We were surrounded by horse bodies and my mind struggled to keep track of everyone. It was doing an okay job until I heard Altair's shout of pain behind me. Forgetting the attackers around me, I spun and saw Altair stumble and saw the man who had brutally struck him in the head. I opened my mouth to call out to him, but I felt something strike my skull hard. My knees went weak and I just barely stopped myself from collapsing and saw that Altair was being swamped and pinned to the ground. In the stunned moment I took to get a hold of myself I was shoved to the ground and I yelled out my anger in curses as I twisted and writhed against the hands trying to hold me.

I only stopped moving when I saw a boot come at my face and savagely kick my poor head. My vision went black, but I fought off unconsciousness with everything I had. I heard someone bellow my name as I my limp body was dragged across the ground by my hood. Struggling to move my limbs more than a weak stirring, my foggy mind indentified the voice as Altair. Vaguely, I was aware of being dragged up a very steep incline as I fought for control of my body.

It was only as I was tossed onto level ground that I got my vision back. I blinked blearily and put my hands on the round to try and stand up. For the life of me I couldn't understand why I was laying on the ground. I only got a few inches before someone kicked my side to send me sprawling. Out of instinct, I snapped my hidden blade out of its sheathe and plunged it into the calf of my attacker. The man howled in pain as multiple hands pulled me to my weak feet and held my arms painfully tight behind my back.

I lifted my head up and looked around. I saw a group of men standing at the edge of a cliff. Three or four of the men seemed to be struggling to hold a figure in white still while another man yelled at him. My slowly clearing mind figured out that the white figure was my friend Altair. I smiled a bit when I saw that Altair could only half struggle against the men holding him still thanks to the blow he took to the head while the men holding him seemed to be holding Altair with all their might.

The man yelling, the leader of the bandits, was getting angrier by the second until he finally seemed to have enough and delivered a vicious punch to my friends head. Altair instantly went limp though I could tell he was still conscious as he tried repeatedly to lift his head. I shouted angrily at the leader of the bandits, but stopped when I saw him glare at me and turn to the men holding Altair and waved to the cliff's edge.

My foggy mind couldn't make out the words he said, but I knew he had just ordered for Altair to be thrown off the cliff.

I twisted clumsily out of the grips of my captors, which had been slack since I hadn't fought it at all until then, and forced my mind to clear for a few moments as I sprinted towards Altair. It would be a moment forever burned in my mind like when Altair had been punished. I watched with wide eyes as the bandits carelessly threw my friends somewhat limp body over the edge. I heard a woman scream Altair's name in utter horror and fear, and in the back of my mind I realized it was me who was screaming. The bandits turned in surprise as I dove off the cliff's edge in a perfect dive, my hands out stretched to catch my friend.

I absently felt my wings rip out of my back for a second time as my eyes locked with Altair's flickering amber eyes before they slid closed. My heart was pounding as my hand grazed his and I latched on to it for dear life as I yanked him up flush with my body. As I wrapped my arms around Altair, I snapped out my wings and they caught the air painfully enough that I cried out. We were so close to the ground that I felt the toe of my boot graze the ground as I arched us to fly up. I clutched Altair to my body in a bruising grip and looked around as we passed the edge of the cliff.

I saw the arrows flying towards us too late. I couldn't dodge or drop out of the way. I could only take the hits. Unconsciously, I moved my wings to shield Altair's unconscious body and tried my best to cover him. Just before the arrows struck I felt a strange…muscle flex. I had never used this 'muscle' before and I felt it move for the first time and it stretched painfully. I was vaguely aware of my feathers changing to a bright gold that was no way a natural bird color. What I felt was my wings grow impossibly heavy and I was barely able to keep them up.

The next thing I know I hear a quick series of ping! ping!ping! and then I was falling through the air. The impossible weight disappeared from my wings and I twisted and spread my wings to fly away. That was all I could think in my fuzzy mind.Get away get away get away get away. Stroking my wings down, I struggled to keep us in the air, but my wings weren't accustomed to Altair's additional heavy weight and no matter what I told them to do we still lost altitude.

When my mind registered the fact that we were about to hit the ground, I twisted so Altair was on top of me and curled my body and wings around him as best as I could. The wind rushed out of my lungs in a painful gust as we struck the strangely hard sand. I gritted my teeth as we skidded across the sand for a few more second before relaxing when we came to a stop.

I blinked my eyes up at the night sky and struggled to keep my eyes open. I had to do something. I couldn't remember what it was other than it had something to do with Altair. After struggling against my body for a few more seconds, I finally gave up and let my eyes close.

I fell into unconsciousness with my wings and arms still wrapped around my friend and the dessert chill just beginning to descend.

—Altair's POV—

"ALTAIR!"

Altair wondered briefly who was the woman that was screaming out his name in horror. He absently registered that he was falling as he felt the familiar rush of air going past him. Or was he flying? He couldn't tell. Falling and flying felt the same either way.

He saw something white appearing in his blackening vision and absently wondered why Shahin was flying after him with such a scared and fearful expression. They were flying. He should be happy.

His eyes met Shahin's golden eyes and it hit him that maybe he should be scared. HE had never seen Shahin so afraid and he knew that Shahin's terrified face would remain with him for the rest of his life.

He couldn't stop his eyes from closing and he felt himself wrapped in the safe hold of unconsciousness.

Alrighty! Finally finished. You got to see Shahin's second Ability! Yay! She can harden her feathers and use them as a shield at the price of being able to hardly move them at all. Now I have an absolutely horrible memory and I lost my list the other day, but I think I came up with this idea on my own. But I did have a little help from someone by the username of Denzal. He suggested that I use Shahin(or Altair's. I can't remember) feathers as knives and that got me thinking. Harden feathers as hard as steel and use them for a shield. So I just want to thank Denzal for the little nudge.

I'm gonna try and get another chapter up this weekend to make up for a week with no updates, but no promises.

And I want to also say that I have decided that instead of two abilities each, Altair and Shahin will have three abilities each. I couldn't really decide between all the ideas sent to me. THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO PM ME ALL YOU PEOPLE OUT THERE! And I've decided on all the abilities. Feel free to PM ideas you think are really good but I think I'm gonna stick to these ideas.

I'm sorry if I didn't give credit to someone who thought up Shahin's ability. If you did think up the ability please PM me and I'll correct that in the next chapter posting.

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

Safety and Peace, Brothers and Sisters.