I Wish For A Silver Tongue
A sweaty Vivian with a frown, a bored brown horse (who happily chewed on a carrot she'd found in its carrying sack), and a nervous Amil walked up the carved road path towards the remote village in the Nile River outskirts. Altaїr and Malik followed them closely from the left as the forest aided in shrouding their presence, giving them the advantage in entering the village via the foliage rather than finding a hay wagon to hitch a ride onto. Altaїr didn't mind the smell of hay as it played a perfect role in concealment but Malik couldn't handle the smell for too long as he preferred using the shadows; either way, they would always choose the open outdoors to gain entrance into a settlement.
Vivian wiped the back of her hand over her sweaty forehead, using the hood of her robes to conceal her unbrushed hair and a few inches of her face in case anybody in the Templar order was a good sketch artist. If they decided to put up 'wanted' posters and distribute scrolls throughout Giza, she wanted to mimic Ezio's handsome trademark look or a cool Jedi face rather than resemble a frazzled crazy woman suffering a bad hair day. She didn't know how the assassins managed to look ruggedly alluring despite being centuries old for modern conveniences that would've had them plastered all over fashion ads in her time. Vivian was deciding on creating a new persona for the road where she'd play the loyal shoe shiner to two handsome carpet merchants because let's face it, her current appearance was far from what it used to be with the current lack of daily makeup and showers. Oh, how she lamented them- even worse than when Dumbledore died off in the story books.
She was called to attention when she spotted two Templars standing guard at the wooden gate entrance, their imposing figures causing her to tighten her hands around the reins of the horse. Their garb remained a neutral gray to fool the lands they visited, their malicious plots hidden under their metal frames and Vivian couldn't help but feel the menacing aura in the area when one of the men called out, "State your business."
"I'm a traveler heading to Memphis and met my small cousin south of here on a horse he had to take to find me because apparently, you newcomers seem to think you own the place" she stated calmly with fake niceties but mischief was hidden in her eyes as she flashed them a friendly smile. She'd added a hasty hitch in her voice because keeping their attention solely on her to the point of irritation with her ramblings would allow for her companions to move into action. While keeping their attention with her explanation, the men failed to see the two assassins slipping into the village through the southwestern wooden fence as the large shrubs and mooing cows concealed their presence into the village. Even Vivian failed to see anything from her spot as she batted her eyelashes for feminine effect.
Unfortunately, Templars were immune to feminine charms and the one to her left flatly informed her with an authoritative voice, "We're here on behalf of Saladin under strict classified orders."
Sure, and I have the awesome wizarding powers of Gandalf, she thought sarcastically as she fought the wry laugh that threatened to spill out of her mouth.
"Goodie for you but I need to see my family" she dismissed casually as she played the innocent card and tried to enter with a lazy swagger but they blocked the way with their heavy builds. She had half a mind to order the horse to kick them in the side of the head but that would result in immediate expulsion and a fight on top of it all. No, she needed to keep levelheaded in this situation because her enemies were not to be trifled with. . .and pissing off Altaїr was not a good prospect either.
Feigning ignorance didn't seem to be working for her and she frowned instantly when the taller Templar stated matter-of-factly, "Only village residents may enter and the boy stole private property-"
"Look, Stumpy, I've family to see and they've been expecting me for more than a month" she stated briskly with a perfect voice of assurance over her conceived lie but Amil hid behind her in case the men decided to lash out. She didn't mind playing shield for a child since the poor things were regarded lowly in this era just as women, especially those originating from low castes, and wondered how Maria didn't go crazy and hack every chauvinistic man into bite size pieces. Straightening her posture to appear as the confident woman she was in her own era, she placed her hands on her hips to show she meant business and continued adding fuel to her argument, "As for this property excuse, he brought the horse back but he wouldn't have taken it in the first place if you people weren't playing the role of sheep herders."
From afar, Malik peeked through a bale of hay he'd been unwillingly dragged into by his friend in order to avoid a Templar that had been doing rounds through the area. Of course, the man had decided to pee right next to the hay and almost caused Malik to faint at the horrible stench but Altaїr kept him strong by pinching his ear to focus on the new pain until the man left. Afterwards, he'd shoved Altaїr aside to find a new place in the hay to observe the whereabouts of his friend but kept his nose covered because really, the smell was almost inhuman. He could see their third companion breaking apart an argument to its bare pieces at the village entrance and didn't stray his line of sight as he asked quietly, "Is it just me that finds this scene amusing?"
"I'd rather you didn't become attached to that creature- she irks me" Altaїr muttered darkly under his breath as he analyzed all of Vivian's movements to make sure she wouldn't blow their plan out of the water. Despite the fact that Vivian assured she'd improvise in case the Templars decided to kick her out on her ass, he didn't trust the little spitfire of a badger. She managed to crawl under his skin with words alone since he wasn't keen on sharing every aspect of his life with someone he'd never met and couldn't shake off the eeriness of having her on the journey. That wasn't to say he was wary of her (an assassin would never be daunted by a petite banshee) because he could crush her in one blow and added in bluntly, "Part of me is hoping a coyote will drag her off into the darkness during the night."
Malik directed a dry glare to his friend because he certainly didn't fantasize about the demise of a traveling companion and flatly stated, "I pity what dwells in the dark recesses of your mind."
As the two men craftily hid in the bale of hay until the coast was clear, Vivian remained at a heated deadlock with the Templars as she snapped sternly with thinly set lips, "If you don't let me in, I will send for my husband and he is within the vizier's trusted circle which will make sure you crawl back into whatever mucky hole from the Nile that you crawled out of."
One of the Templars backed away to let her pass when she mentioned the vizier but the other still denied entrance, his metal covered arms crossing across his chest as he refused with the simple reason of, "You don't look Egyptian."
"And you don't look like a man under Saladin" she shot back quickly like a king cobra ready to strike a bothersome hand and both men tensed to her accusation, practically growing in height once more. Uh-oh, that definitely wasn't good. Realizing she might be sticking herself into deadly quicksand rather than choosing an easier path, Vivian raised her hands peacefully to stay on their good sides (as if there were any) and returned to the friendly tone she'd used earlier to sigh, "All right, let's resolve this peaceably."
"I was born in the holy city but my residence is Memphis where I am a seamstress, happy?" she explained her intricately weaved lie of a life with a proud voice for her nonexistent job to add in credibility points. She didn't appreciate having an automatic stamp placed on her head due to her physical looks but since the New World had yet to be discovered, she let it slide. . .for now. Her hands motioned to her current new robe, which she'd changed into to fit the role of a seamstress since the gray fabric was deemed wearable by the fashion conscious Altaїr. Taking a page out of a finicky fashion guru's handbook, she wrinkled her nose to play the part as she took in the men's garb with a critiquing eye and stated smartly, "You might want to forgo those dark monochromatic tones, they are very last season. Beige is the rage at the moment and the old Phoenician trend of royal purple is coming back with the force of a tidal wave."
The first Templar who previously allowed her entrance glanced down at his own clothes to inspect them more closely, his fingers grasping the linen fabric of his left pant leg. It almost brought Vivian to humorous laughter at seeing a fearsome Templar being self-conscious all of a sudden, especially over clothing. Of course, the one who hadn't allowed her entrance was unfazed to her cocky remark but grit out tightly, "You get one day. Tomorrow, I expect you gone."
"Gladly" she replied listlessly as she breezed past them with a triumphant smile for gaining entrance into the small village, gently tugging the leads of the horse, and puffed her chest to stroll forward. Never did she imagine herself arguing with Templars in an ancient remote village and counted herself lucky for surviving another obstacle in her new life, keeping the peppy smile plastered on her face. This newest success added in another task that she'd completed for Altaїr and he'd have to face the truth that she wasn't there to suffocate him with a pillow during the night or throw him off a canoe to pitifully drown in the river. Stroking the horse's snout to comfort the poor animal because who knew what it witnessed as a Templar steed, Vivian missed her trusty Shadowfax and hoped she was safely happy back at Masyaf eating oats and barley. Her other companion seemed at ease to be back home but his dark eyes carried apprehension for the hidden agendas carrying on which led Vivian to reassure him on their easy entrance, "See? That was a piece of cake."
The young boy could only blink with confusion to her comment and asked, "What cake?"
Amil opened the main doors to his family barn far enough to allow he and Vivian inside, slipping through before anybody witnessed them. The barn was dimly lit and without animal life as the family's livestock grazed outside for the day so silence filled the inside to grant them privacy. Vivian's historian side itched to study the farming tools hanging from the walls and scattered on the floor for further knowledge since she'd yet to visit an ancient barn so who knew when the next opportunity would come. Amil tried to tidy up a few random tools lying around the floor to clean up since his chores had undoubtedly been completed by his older siblings. Vivian was about to lend a hand as she leaned down to grasp a sickle but a dark shadow stationed itself over her spot on the hay covered floor and she tensed immediately.
They weren't alone.
"You have a way with words" Altaїr spoke up in acknowledgment, his eerily smooth voice causing her to yelp immediately as she stood up to pinpoint his presence. The last thing she wanted was to unexpectedly tackled or knocked out by the assassin because he did it just for fun- on her alone. His immaculate white robes were easily distinguishable against the yellow hay on the second story area overlooking the horse stables and Vivian couldn't help but be reminded of a barn owl. The man already resembled an eagle with his name and reflexes alone but his current position on the level imposed intimidation upon those below as his honey eyes scrutinized everything in sight. Vivian was tempted to grab a broom to swat him off from the wooden ledge like a pesky bat as he tilted his head slightly to add in the insult attached to the original compliment, "It's a shame you can't fight your way out of a barrel to save your own life."
Vivian narrowed her eyes since she'd expected a begrudging 'satisfactory' from his mouth after playing decoy but since that wasn't happening, simply replied, "I should count myself lucky then. . .and stop squatting like that on the ledge, you're not at a view point."
The assassin growled under his breath from his perch, disliking her knowledge over his private dealings and the two engaged in a heated staring contest. Their battle for dominance was broken when a muffled cough popped in from the first floor where bales of hay and wooden barrels were collected in the farthest corner of the barn. Vivian's tense posture relaxed as she recognized Malik's soft coughing and expected him to pop out of a small mound of hay at any second.
Instead, she laughed with delight when a brown barrel tipped over and the navy robed dai spilled onto the ground on his back to glance at each of them upside down. Vivian merely smiled brightly at him to nonverbally assure him everyone was prone to a little clumsiness and he spoke with a sheepish smile, "The hay was too obvious a choice. It turns out I like barrels better."
Amil watched the peculiar trio as one practically guarded the barn like an owl by squatting on the ledge and the other two turned to order the man in white to come back down. The stoic man refused to listen, raising his chin towards the roof to ignore them, but Amil caught their attention by informing them gently, "You can meet my family and have lunch with us."
Vivian smiled amicably to his friendly invitation as she helped Malik stand on his feet and before Altaїr could offer a tart retort, accepted cheerfully, "Splendid."
Altaїr cringed inwardly to Vivian's instant agreement since he wasn't the best 'family' type of man that could easily blend in among families to chat about. . .what topics did normal people talk about nowadays? He wondered if it was too late to jump out a nearby window and go Templar hunting because that would be undoubtedly easier for him.
It turned out that Amil's family consisted of seven children, all less than fifteen years of age, and all of them took a liking to a certain grand master shrouded in mystery. The wandering trio had explained their reason for visiting due to Amil's request and his parents kindly informed them of the recent changes to the village that began the previous week. Vivian had taken notes in one of her journals to keep track of each of the Templar's movements and for once, Altaїr didn't complain to her hasty scribbles. They'd learned the Templars in the village were currently stationed within the main governmental building as business was conducted there and their enemies didn't hesitate to seize it. Their excuse for arriving was to inspect nearby villages on the way to Giza for information regarding the history of the pyramids as they preyed on the civilians by lying that Richard's army wanted to conquer said lands in his kingdom. Altaїr decided to use the building to their advantage as isolating their targets in one specific area would lessen the risk to civilian casualties and allow for easy maneuverability as he'd observed it from afar.
As they bided their time by planning their strategy in an empty corner of Amil's house, Altaїr had been followed incessantly for the past two hours by the curious children as he tried to shoo them away with their endless questions. He wasn't a fatherly type or a chatty man to socialize with and didn't know whether allowing Vivian to answer them on his behalf was the smartest thing to do, given the fact that she was from a different century. Malik, on the other hand, enjoyed relaxing in a cozy home with amicable farmers as they spoke about farmland (he'd always wanted a little piece of land to call his own), watching with glee as the children pulled on Altaїr's robes from behind. With Malik playing the chatty Cathy of their group, the task of guarding over the master assassin fell to Vivian to allow his brain to stew on plans and this meant prying the young children away as she told each a short story to keep them entertained for ten minutes. Of course, they always came back for more and she was soon running out of tales.
"Maybe you should stop the storytelling" Altaїr remarked simply as he used a piece of parchment to write out his ideas while another held a sloppy uneven sketch of the building. Vivian visibly winced at the horrible artwork that resembled an elementary school child's and wondered if this was the same man who had drawn such beautiful sketches in his codex because nobody would believe those two sketches came from the same man. The game had shown unique detailed drawings created by his hand alone, which blew her simple sketches right out of the water with his skills, and that poked her brain immediately.
"And let them tear off your pretty little robes?" she replied back with the same listless voice, snatching the parchment with the drawing to sit down next to him and began cleaning up the lines. There was no way he using that shoddy sketch to create his plan and if she had to find an artist nearby to teach him a few tips, she'd jab him inside a building with the end of her walking stick. She could already sense that he was growing restless with the lack of action as prolonging a mission caused him unease but he couldn't head into the enemy's den without a perfect plan. The lack of the eraser put a damper in her sketching as she added in a few architectural features that he'd missed in his hasty scribbling and quickly passed it back to him as she mumbled dryly, "We need to get you some art lessons, fast."
Altaїr was ready to fire his argument against her insult but she restated calmly to douse the flames, "You will need to sketch very descriptive sketches in the future and they must be perfectly legible, even in secret script, to be read by your descendants. With that said, this will not do and I must find a task to do to be a good guest here."
He contemplated on yanking Vivian back to her seat since she kept the children at bay but his grasp was evaded when she turned a sharp left to venture into the adjoined family kitchen. The master assassin could only scowl under his white hood, returning to his task once more to concentrate as he cloistered himself in the lonely corner of the home. If anything, he wished he could turn invisible against it so he could be left to his own devices. He was both grateful and wary to be in a stranger's home but they needed aid while he needed answers which shoved aside his need to be a lone wanderer that remained in the shadows. He was used to the constant loneliness which gave him an advantage in having both Malik and Vivian in his company, two individuals who didn't hesitate to socialize with people to give him that required space (that and he didn't know how to start a conversation without it being work related).
Vivian happily passed the time away by helping around the household, glad to be of help to the humble family since she was a guest. She'd learned the meaning of hard work when she learned how to prepare a dead hen for the dinner meal and warmed old day bread over a roasting fire. It sorely had her missing the conveniences of her time when she was plucking an overwhelming amount of feathers off the hen but it was worth a free loaf of bread as they played unofficial heroes. She highly doubted that they'd end up being Tolkien legendary since assassins worked in the shadows but if it could find her strong courage along the road like the cowardly lion in Oz, then it would be worth it.
Even the Amish have it easy at this point, she thought tiredly since helping with chores tired her in the ancient era and wiped her brow with the back of her hand to bring an end to her workload. She was surprised to the large amount of time needed to complete simple things that would've only needed a microwave in her era and sighed aloud as she sat down in her previously occupied chair next to Altaїr. Time had passed easily for him as Malik occupied most of the children and for the ones that managed to break free, Altaїr simply patted them on the head awkwardly and told them to be good children by helping their parents. It was plainly obvious that the master assassin didn't have parenting traits but he managed by being exposed to such situations. . . but kept a cautious eye out for the hasty pitter-patter of feet as Vivian yawned next to him.
"You have feathers in your hair" Altair mumbled simply as he sipped water, taking note of the main entrance of the building that they'd use to blockade all of their enemies. The rest of the doors around the first floor would remain locked as he counted on both Vivian and Malik to keep them under close watch while he would fight any remaining forces on the second. Templars on rounds or within the village would be drawn in by his quirky banshee and he would eliminate them quietly.
"You have a child stealing from your back pocket" she mumbled back with her own lethargy and rested her head on the arms as she made a makeshift pillow out of them. She didn't have the energy to laugh when he scared away a young toddler before she made off with one of his small throwing knives, patting her on the head gently as he advised that weapons were dangerous. The raven haired child merely blinked before scampering off to play with something else and Altaїr sighed deeply because he would not have the stamina and possible, the patience, for child rearing.
Of course, Malik was happily sitting next to warm fire as he regaled the young children with a tale of adventure about a traveling man and a river crocodile. His friend could draw crowds with a single sentence while Altaїr had his actions speak for him. He was glad for it at the moment as he bided his time until Templar butt kicking time. . .ugh, the boredom was starting to reel in words that only Vivian used.
"I'm more than ready to escape the little demons, facing the Templars seems more merciful" Altaїr muttered flatly as he closed his eyes under his hood for a small moment of peace because everything would have to go as planned for success. Malik could hold himself well in a fight but he'd yet to face Templars since losing his arm and he'd mostly knocked out the controlled assassins when they fought at Masyaf to defeat his former master. Vivian was the uncertain variable in the group because she lacked any skill so unless he could use the screeching she called singing against the enemy, he'd no idea how she'd do in close combat.
"My muscles hurt, massage my back" she whined pitifully as she burst into his thoughts, flashing him a green eyeful of the puppy eye expression. It worked splendidly for children but she was well past the cutting age and with Altaїr being a statue of stone, it merely rolled off his back without any effect. She added an innocent smile to sway his thinking and piped up with a voice that was too sweet to be her own, "Please? I will love you forever and ever."
Vivian allowed herself to believe that he actually going to do so when he leaned over, letting a dopey smile grace her face as she waited to reap the benefits of the puppy eye bit. Unfortunately, she didn't see the evil gleam hidden in Altaїr's honey eyes as his hand descended upon the back of her neck. A second later, she yelped painfully when a sharp jolt shot down her spine as he pinched her on the nape of her neck with his thumb and index fingers.
She whimpered into her arms like an injured puppy as she nursed her newest boo-boo with a pout, cursing the man's deceit and natural reflexes. Her fingers gently kneaded the abused flesh on her neck, flashing the cruel man a glare before stomping her smaller foot over his booted one which caused an instant hiss to leave his lips. Altaїr decided that his time in the civilian home was done, especially before he maimed Vivian in front of Amil's family, and stood up to grab his belongings into his arms. She called it a small victory in her favor since it was a rather painful pinch but Altaїr gained the upper hand by subtly adding in his insult when he called out, "Time to leave, men."
Oh, how she hoped a Templar would shoot an arrow into his butt.
The plan started off just as the cool evening approached to allow better gripping for Altair since weary sweaty hands did nothing for an assassin on the move and Malik needed all his strength to take out the front lines. Also, the gathering cloud cover would allow for their shadows to be concealed when defeating Templars while clearing out the busy hours of the day in the village. Vivian's job came at drawing the attention of the weaker Templars there to drive them towards her companions who would be ready to kick the crap out of them from their hiding spots. Altaїr knew her hesitance to fight could cause a problem which is exactly why he was using her as a decoy for nabbing attention because nothing screamed helpless like Vivian. Of course, he didn't tell her this for fear that she'd double cross him and have him hanged by the Templars. . .that or the most likely result, having an unwelcome animal thrown into his tent at night. Nonetheless, he drew her in by convincing her that she was crucial in the decoy plan and he needed her to do this- it wasn't very hard to persuade her when he promised he'd buy her treats. It was hard not to imagine Vivian as his little lapdog in the making but he wouldn't demean both of them in that manner, no matter how hilarious it would be.
They needed direct access into the administration building to eliminate the Templars while keeping civilians completely outside, practically barricading them form entering. Malik would take care of that problem once Altaїr was inside but he needed Vivian to gain access first by heading into the lion's den. Vivian approached the nearest Templar group huddled at the left side of the building, certain that they were consolidating their evil power for malicious Templar stuff. . .or simply guarding but whatever. She was flawless when it came to grabbing attention at the most inopportune time, clumsily knocking over a few barrels as she'd been preparing to clap, and improvised by calling out to the Templars with a witty smirk, "Oh look, a scumbag convention! It's painfully obvious that you Templars fail at disguise, a blind baboon with neon fur could do better."
The rabble it caused put Frankenstein's pitchfork and torches crowd to shame as the Templars became enraged and chased after her with brandished weapons to strike the infidel down. Like the cartoonish Roadrunner, she smirked evilly to attracting them like flies to a carnivorous plant and ran with all the speed her muscles could muster, dodging bales of hay and hitting nearby crates to knock them over to hurt a few Templars that didn't watch their step. It worked for a few that hadn't expected it but most were sharp and agile enough to know better, keeping up the chase against the woman. She wasn't about to be prematurely impaled or killed this early in life and hoped Altaїr was nearby to rescue her like a clichéd damsel in distress. Although he'd taught her a few basic defense tactics, it wasn't helpful in her current scenario since an exposed back could bring about an easy downfall with any hurled weapon. Shouts that demanded she halt were disregarded entirely because she knew damn well that they wouldn't treat her fairly if so.
As she reached the first checkpoint, she jumped into a nearby bale of hay (conveniently placed by her companions) with the same fluidity as Altaїr and was proud of herself as she blended in flawlessly . . . but held her nose to the awful smell. That was something she'd never adapt to anytime soon. Shadows flew by her little mound of hay as the first group charged forward to find her cornered on the same path and. . .
They stumbled right into a large pit of fresh mud that was temporarily free of farm pigs.
The men fell on their backs, face first, and on their sides as they lost their balance and slid into the soft fresh mud to be completely slathered by it. Vivian's ears were very pleased to the disgusted noises emitting from the pig pen since she'd fallen in mud more times in the AC world than in real life, a cheshire grin growing on her lips for succeeding with her task. Although it had been a simple run that anyone could do, she was thankful that she hadn't been caught or struck dead with an arrow so she put that imminent fear on the back shelf for now. Altaїr wasted no time jumping out from another bale of hay across from hers but he was the offense of the decoy team. He used his crossbow to aim at the temporarily incapacitated enemies to eliminate them one by one, piercing their bodies efficiently with each shot to deal a critical blow. The silent noise of the arrows took care of their enemies subtly and the mud reduced the creation of echoing noise to alert anybody nearby that would care enough to investigate.
Vivian took the lack of noise as the all clear signal to leave her hidden spot and she smiled brightly at seeing Malik nonchalantly spreading loose hay over the dead bodies to cover up their work. With the settlement being small, they needed creative ways of disposing the bodies temporarily until the job was finished. Altaїr took this time to reload extra arrows into his crossbow, casually glancing over at Vivian as she approached them slowly. Her hands grasped nearby hay from the dirt floor to add her own contribution by covering a booted foot and couldn't believe she was now officially an accessory to murder. Helping an assassin murder was not on her life's 'to-do' list but she'd only been defending herself, right? Oh, and helping save humanity by ridding the world of one evil Templar at a time.
Thankfully, Altaїr's direct attitude broke her away from the moral dilemma.
"Go distract the Templars inside the entrance and be careful" Altaїr ordered quietly but firmly to make sure she understood him clearly because there were no stops in his plan. Once she cleared the next checkpoint, they would move into position and there was no room for mistake as they depended on her. Wiping her hands clean of hay, she took a deep breath and chastised her brain to hurry up in sending adrenaline to her system because she'd need it once she entered the lion's den.
Trying to maintain her upbeat attitude, she piped up confidently with a peppy grin, "Careful's my middle-"
"Go!" he commanded sharply to cut her short and she gave him a military salute, obeying him quietly as she left the area with deliberate steps to leave the irritated eagle. Despite the danger surrounding the area, she mimicked his bossy order with her lips as she broke into a leisure run to find her next target and kept a careful eye around the entire area. While she headed towards the next checkpoint of her objective, Malik and Altaїr would take care of any wandering Templars to be rid of them once the real fight occurred. Villagers were going on in their everyday lives as they hid their presence very well so far but with her being known as a temporary visitor, she played her role as a simple woman heading to the market.
That is, if the market was in the main area of the village and a sharp right corner turn brought her directly to the village's equivalent of city hall. She needed to gain access into the building and knowing her craftiness at being outrageous, she was going to make this good enough to the point that she'd have landed herself in a YouTube video back in her own time.
A/N: I wanted to post this before the new game's out because some of us tend to be crazily addicted to anticipated games so I'll give you guys a dose of Altaїr. I was sick with a pretty bad sinus infection which kept me away from my dear computer but went crazy with it this weekened to finish this chapter and the next while starting on the others. Needless to say, I would love to own a barn just to have Altaїr play an owl and have a child simply poke him in the ribs just to irk him. In the next chapter, we'll see our trio take on the Templars to be rid of them. . .for a while, anyway.
Thanks to all of the new subscriptions/favs since the last chapter, I appreciated reading each one and a heartfelt thanks to my last reviewers:
Diiah: Thanks so much, I hope my writing stayed the same in this chapter since I was sick for half of it and tried to edit it to the best of my abilities this week. Vivian's naturally curious without even trying and she can be downright outrageous if Altaїr commands her to do something. She's his grenade against the Templars.
Bearybeary: Thanks a bunches, I gladly bow to the compliment.
Linda Chicana: Yep, she's always finding something to make a parody out of to grind on his nerves. My chapter's get long sometimes that I push back the Adventure Time songs until the situation is perfect. I think the next one is Billy's song after she and Altaїr finally put their antagonism to rest, which he doesn't complain about because it'll be about his awesomeness.
Foreverafter: Thank you for loving my writing style, I try my best to please my readers with Altaїr and Malik humorous goodness.
Marli-chan Tuchanka: Yep, she's a good lightbulb that gets under Altaїr's skin and he doesn't hesitate to put Vivian up for decoy but for him. Although, I would think he'd do it to protect her from any real fighting while keeping her out of his shots.
Girl13: Thanks for loving the fanfic, I love stories that will make me laugh until my lungs hurt and this comes from an asthmatic.
Next Time:
Vivian pushed Malik towards the stairway to lend aid to their companion (who wasn't hesitant to keep voicing it) and told him, "Go, I'll play decoy."
She didn't mind running around like a chicken with its head cut off because a lone target made an easier kill for the Templars. Thankfully, they bit onto the bait and she would gladly play the role of the innocent worm. Luckily, the first floor was a major trade area that regulated business with the other cities to maintain their rural economy and Vivian used the empty burlap sacks to throw at her enemies to blind them temporarily while using the barrels nearby for safety. Crawling through the little maze of barrels wasn't bad as she'd become used to finding the craziest places to play hide-and-seek from with her youngest sister. Everything worked fine and dandy until swords began impaling the wooden barrels to fish her out which put Vivian on high alert to dodge the sharp metal. Escaping from her discovered hiding spot by standing up, she called out to the enemies on the other side and beseeched, "C'mon, I sang you a song!"
"It was atrocious!"
"Hey, now that's just rude" she scolded with offense to her singing voice (although they we right on the money) since a song about Templars did not please any audience with kindness in their hearts. Lifting one of the lids off a wooden barrels, she chucked it at the armored Templar that had called out the insult and although it missed hitting him as another knocked it aside, it was worth it.
From the stairwell, Malik and Altaїr made quick work of the last two Templars with their swords as their enemies lacked speed in small spaces. Catching their breath, Malik wiped his sword on the nearest body and admitted confidently, "I haven't had a good fight in quite a while."
Altair managed a chuckle as he quickly retrieved his knives from the dead bodies slumped over the stairs and they heard Vivian singing downstairs with her awful voice, "Everybody was kung fu fighting- ha ha, die Templar!"