Poking An Enraged Badger
Altaïr wasn't the best man on Earth when it came to heartfelt apologizing and with Vivian being his verbal foe of all time, he would be walking over glass shards laced with acidic lemon juice. To help him with his interpersonal problem, he lowered his white hood to lower the chances of appearing hostile or distrustful to the sullen woman. He shivered lightly under his cozy robes when the cold morning air struck his face, unaccustomed to walking through open land without his concealing yet protective hood. He wasn't comfortable displaying his identity in the open as secrecy was crucial and quietly, he approached Vivian with silent footsteps as she sat in the dirt while eating breakfast. They had bought a small bag of oats in Cairo and she'd used it to make hot cereal, adding pieces of fresh fruit to sweeten the taste since honey was absent.
"Good morning, Vivian" he greeted calmly with a polite ambience, hoping she'd turn around with a cheeky little smile so he could forgo the conversation but that didn't happen. Her incident wouldn't be forgotten easily, it seemed. The woman merely returned the same words quietly without glancing back, shrinking into her spot as she offered Malik a cup of hot mint tea. If that wasn't a figurative kick to the ass, Altaïr didn't know what was.
The dai kindly accepted with a friendly smile but Altaïr shot him a demanding look over Vivian's shoulder that clearly stated he needed privacy to summon his courage. Malik found it hilarious that a mere woman flustered the grand master rather than their mortal enemies while Altaïr cursed the sympathy she was stirring within him. Assassins were supposed to be stoic and efficient, right? He was certainly changing since the day he set out for his redemption quest more than a year ago and silently thanked Malik with a nod when the dai stated he had to finish packing his tent to resume their journey. Giza would soon be in their sights and they could begin searching the ancient pyramids that Vivian spoke of.
"Vivian, I want to apologize for what I said back at the stream" he spoke evenly as he tried to keep his hands still, occupying them by fiddling with the maroon sash around his waist since serious talks with women were not his forte. They naturally tended to either attack or flee at his presence; they were anomalies to him. If this was an interrogation, he would dominate mercilessly without hesitation as he had during their first meeting but he was far out of his comfort zone. He'd never found himself stumped like he was at the current moment, hoping that Vivian would lead him in the conversation in order to resolve his mistake, and spoke slowly, "What I said was atrocious and degrading-"
"But you meant it, you've set out to prove me worthless since I first arrived and rub my face with it" she interjected simply without raising her tone while stirring her hot cereal with a wooden spoon, the taste bland on her tongue. It was a depressive sensation that she didn't want to endure nor fight its soothingly numb temptation as her mind wanted to fortify itself in a shell that nobody of that era could reach. Was it so much to be asked to return home? Her peppy demeanor had hit a definite standstill since yesterday and she pointed out bluntly, "Why apologize for words you meant?"
She was good at fueling debate, Altaїr would give her that, but he was wrong in this instance and would grudgingly swallow his pride to rectify it. He tried to apologize his way through it with subtle reasoning without pinning extreme blame on himself and simply offered his opinion, "But it doesn't make it right. I am thorough in my investigations for the truth and despite I broke your privacy, it does not grant me the right to insult you about it. Your mother means much to you?"
He was met with tense silence, quietly watching as her shoulders squared defensively and he ignored the evasion by continuing on with a calm tone, "I will not pry. I've never trusted anybody outside the Order and the only one that I have tried to kill me until I proved the Templars wrong. You have not tried to kill me once since we've met and from what I read, your actions, and your harmless behavior. . .I am going to place my trust in you."
That should instill her with my trust because she's been prying it from me since day one, he thought with satisfaction to his chosen words to cheer up the woman and show that she wasn't a useless burden to his team. Unfortunately, Vivian was beyond the point of acceptance to his offer and resisted from mouthing off about his contradicting behavior. There were times she wondered if he held a personality disorder or a hidden identity in that deadly mind of his.
"Once, I might have cared to have it. . .but you're not the man I imagined" she declined quietly since he'd destroyed all of her beliefs about his digital awesomeness and wanted to be home, curled up in her warm bed while playing as the silent animated assassin. Her dreams of wandering the AC world as a happy sidekick on a fat horse riding alongside the deadly assassin had fallen flat as the reality was bleaker with less pizzazz than imagined. It was somuch better to read about it on fanfiction rather than living it. Dropping her wooden spoon into the bowl, she licked her dry lips and stood up to pardon herself from his presence, "Excuse me, I've lost my appetite."
Vivian left the area without another glance as she decided to finish her meal in peace within her tent where he couldn't reach her without getting a foot in the face. She burrowed herself inside like a safe mole within its den as she closed the flaps to give herself some privacy and to be free of wandering mosquitoes. Altaїr stabbed his cereal with murderous intent to pent out his frustration over losing her attention and grumbled tightly, "Why are women such difficult creatures?"
Malik chuckled softly with sympathy as he sipped his tea and advised, "Keep trying."
The group continued their travel onwards to Giza with Altaïr trying his best to converse with Vivian the whole way there but she only participated in brief replies, evading any type of personal topics. Malik even tried to encourage the two to carry the canoe together for a while to mend their dispute but it was accompanied by uncomfortable silence instead. At their first stop along the empty road, Malik took the time to approach Vivian to gently coax her out of her sudden invisible shell and gingerly asked, "Vivian, I hope you don't think of this as intrusive but you're not yourself since you returned from the forest. . .it worries me. Would you like to talk? Even if it's to cry or yell, it could be very helpful for you."
Her gaze softened to his offer since his demeanor was a stark comparison to the broody assassin carrying the canoe from up ahead. Malik was the bright candlelight at the end of a long hallway that filled you with comforting warmth while Altaïr was a relentless black hole that crushed you into tiny star stuff. She was almost tempted to imagine him as an old overlarge tortoise snapping its jaws at nothing to privately retaliate but uttered quietly to decline politely, "Malik, I could never yell at you- never in a million years. You've been nothing but kind to me since I arrived, it would feel like betrayal."
He smiled with gratitude since he'd never found an acquaintanceship outside of the order due to the independent solitude Al Mualim had enforced. It was a new chapter in his life that he liked but with Vivian being an inexperienced civilian, her life would be prone to dangerous moments and battles for life or death. Life wouldn't be easy for the woman, especially when she was traveling alongside assassins wanted dead by Templars and smiled genially to offer his own thank you, "I appreciate your trust in me, Vivian, but I am here to help you as a friend."
She could never deny the dai with the kind face, blaming his innocent appearance, and hesitated for a moment before admitting quietly, "I've underestimated my survival abilities here since the beginning, trying to deny this existence altogether from the start, and it almost cost me my dignity along with my life yesterday. It was a traumatic experience that has shaken my courage considerably and I hate the fact that I'm weak here. I don't like being a burden on anyone and I definitely abhor being powerless against danger to myself or people around me."
"You're a civilian, Vivian, we were raised to be assassins" he tried to reason with her logic regarding her nonexistent fighting skills because the poor woman did try her best despite Altaïr's nitpicky teaching. She shook her head because softening the truth wouldn't help the matter and being productive was what she needed to be- a transformation was required to tackle down each fearsome obstacle that presented itself to her. Altaïr didn't back down from anything and although they weren't on the best of terms, she admired that intense determination; not her shameful crippling fear.
"And I must learn to carry myself as an efficient team member that isn't impulsively stupid at decision making" she pointed out firmly with self-loathing because the whole point of journeying alongside them was to learn a new way of life and a solution home. How could she be of any use if her defenses were atrociously lacking? She couldn't lean on them for help forever without adding in a little help of her own to show her commitment. Otherwise, Altaïr would be correct in his assumption that she was worthless pond scum and would be better off tying a leash around her waist to make sure she didn't accidentally get herself killed. She wiped her brow clean of any lingering sweat droplets as the day turned out to be a warm one and sighed softly under her breath, "I'm not a child, there is no excuse to hide behind."
Malik sighed softly because he had no problem with her skills since she'd helped them quite well at the village, given her background. She would benefit from defense training from Altaïr but he would probably have to do it himself to instill the confidence she lacked; her heart was in the right place but a comfort zone needed to be established to produce growth. If he could patch the two back together, they could learn from one another but fire would be achieved faster from using two rocks than the two reaching consensus. It really came as no surprise as to why he was the negotiator of the group and he put his word magic to work as he spoke softly, "Altaïr regrets breaching your privacy, he's rather protective over his trust now but I know you're trustworthy. I am very sorry for what he did-"
She smiled sincerely to his words, the back of her witty mind itching to tell Altaïr that he could learn a thing or two from Malik and interjected gently, "You've done nothing wrong so there's no need to apologize. If anything, I want to thank you for always giving me the benefit of the doubt despite how crazy I was at the start- or how I am at times- but you've always treated me kindly. Kindness and humility strengthen one's spirit and it's something that the Templars can't take away from you."
Altair watched them set out together on the path and grumbled under his breath for lacking the socializing skills that Malik naturally held. He almost cursed aloud for feeling envious of his friend since having shortcomings struck his pride and being agoraphobic, unable to swim, unnaturally afraid of pigeons. . .he didn't want to add more to his hefty list. Malik and Vivian easily got along since day one while he was fighting her half the time but it was better to find a solution rather than poke deeper into the problem itself. If so, he was certain she'd bite him right on the hand for prodding into her privacy (again) and would cut all possibilities for reconciliation. For now, all he could do was lead the way by himself and resent his newest temporary friend, the canoe, since inanimate objects wouldn't attack.
A few more hours of walking and the beginnings of the late afternoon brought them to the outskirts of Giza as the city's soldiers were stationed at the border to protect the land from criminals and foreign enemies. Altaïr had never been happier to see a foreign city in his life after feeling lost in an alternate realm like Vivian for the days of nonstop travel and almost ran into the district with childish glee but restrained himself. An assassin couldn't draw attention and running manically in a straight line with his arms wide open would obviously have him shot full of arrows before he reached the entrance and bleeding to death. Giza separated its great ancient city from the outside with a similar limestone wall but where Cairo's border was of symmetrical height and smooth limestone, Giza's walls held watchtower columns at each bending corner and the stone was textured by the age of time. He'd often heard of the ancient kingdom where pharaohs ruled, immortalizing themselves with pyramids that withstood time (even to Vivian's future as well).
Vivian's initial fear of her environment lapsed as her historian itch picked at her brain and she gazed at the beautiful columns that pierced the sky. For the first time since meeting, Altaïr forcefully wedged himself between his companions to face her and Malik found himself surprised to his intense determination. He said nothing about being brushed off when Vivian took notice of his white garbed friend, allowing the two a foot of distance and heard Altaïr inform helpfully, "Climbing columns like that is very dangerous, you know. The materials used for this wall, however, are quite good in gripping and-"
Vivian moved forward into the crowds to occupy herself elsewhere and Altaïr's mouth slacked for being left alone in his spot, finishing despondently between thinned lips, "And you completely ignored me."
"You've done the same towards her when her opinions irritated you" Malik reminded with light humor in his voice to the many times Altaïr had left Vivian babbling about history and heard a disgruntled growl from his friend. Altaïr followed after her with the efficiency of a bloodhound before she became lost because he would not fetch her with a happy grin on his face. He grumbled inaudibly to the recent miserable woes in his life, hoping he didn't whack anybody on the head with his canoe as he entered the city. Their enemies were dwelling within one of its many districts but he knew the best answers to his mission would come from the pyramids themselves and hopefully, another piece from within. If not, he'd dangle a baby kitten over Vivian's head to keep the cute fur ball painfully out of reach just for leading him astray. His group needed to find a place to rest for the evening because venturing into the heart of the city at the upcoming hours would not bring answers with quiet streets that would prove useless for Malik's investigation and he wouldn't allow Vivian to venture anywhere alone.
However, he was free as a bird to roam Giza's rooftops during the night.
The trio entered a small cozy inn after finding a small trading post where they managed to sell any loot or worn weapons they gathered from the battle and restocked on their items. Altaїr had tried to balance their rocky friendship by buying her an apple with his new coin but his hopes at reconciliation were dashed when she gave it to a nearby horse as a treat. Well, at least the mare enjoyed his token. Everything he tried since morning failed horribly and he was ready to give up on understanding the foreign woman until opportunity knocked in the form of an inn as they would spent the night there. If he could share a room with Vivian to clear the air entirely, there would be a chance for a breakthrough and he was going to seize it.
The air was thick with spicy herbs and Vivian's nose itched to the barrage, sneezing into the sleeves of her robes before slowly adjusting to the new scent. Focusing her nose on the good smell of cinnamon within the airborne medley, she placed her pack on a metal hanging rack as they were about to check in. The men were ahead of her as they approached the desk but a sudden crash placed them all on alert instantly, turning around to see what caused the noise.
The baggage rack had managed to become unhooked from the wooden wall with the weight capacity exceeded (especially with her fat packs) and laid in a heap at her feet. Vivian glanced around the room as all eyes were on her, cheeks tinting with a rose hue to the sudden attention, and she stuttered meekly with embarrassment, "Um. . .Uh. . .oh dear, I'll be paying for that."
"Add it to our tab" Altaїr instructed the check-in man, the owner of the establishment, as the elderly man glared at Vivian for ruining the decoration of the inn. She tried to find a place for the fallen item in the nearest corner by the door as she feigned a nonchalant appearance but was truly mortified beyond belief. It really wasn't hard for the assassin to feel bad for her as she tried to make herself scarce, sitting down bashfully in the nearest chair away from patrons, and he stated firmly, "I'd appreciate it if you didn't appear hostile towards my wife, she was robbed on her way to meet me and is quite shaken. She means no harm and we'll be paying for the damages since we're searching for a homestead ourselves so we know how to respect a home. Apart from that, I'd like a quiet room for us and my brother will take your smallest room-"
"What?" the dai exclaimed indignantly, his acting skills needed no help this time as he was struck by honest surprise. What, did Altaїr want to stuff him into a box for failing to sway Vivian into forgiving him? True, he didn't need much space to find a comfortable spot to sleep in but he would've preferred a decent room that didn't have the potential to asphyxiate him.
"Mother said to take care of you but she didn't say treat you to a life of luxury" he chided sternly like the 'older brother' persona that he was but shot him a small grin to play along. Malik's brow rose in acknowledgement while his lips frowned to continue the farce since they needed a place to spend the night. They were within the outskirts of Giza and traveling to the heart of the city would take an hour at most but the pyramids would be unreachable due to the long distance so rest was inevitable. Altaїr wagged a reprimanding finger towards the frowning Malik and enforced firmly like a disappointed parent, "You spent our savings so you will earn your keep in hard honest work."
Altaїr's amateur acting paid off handsomely for the first time in his life, adding a small boost in his confidence with the skill, and Malik really did get a tiny room (he was pretty sure it had been a cleaning closet once). It made no difference since he only needed a bed to sleep while their plans would mainly take place in Altaїr's room. However, Malik held doubts on his friend's idea for reconciliation and didn't hesitate to voice it because having the two furious at each other for the rest of the journey would not bode well for him. In fact, he might deem himself clinically insane for daring to continue the trip with them- or stuff his ears with cotton to drone them out. He'd asked Altaїr whether it was a good idea to share a room with a woman who despised him at the moment but Altaїr was absolutely certain he'd turn everything around. . .or ruin it beyond repair. Either way, he was not quitting until he achieved his desirable outcome.
"Right now, she's a mad badger that's been starved and cornered- I plan to change that" Altaïr assured confidently as he fixed enough food for the night on a table facing their only window towards the rear of the room. He was already hungry enough to eat some of the dried meat but restrained himself until the Vivian problem was resolved and knowing her, he'd be starving after endless quarreling. The robed assassin covered the food with linen cloths to keep it sanitary, ready for quick availability if his enraged badger turned ravenous and ordered carefully, "No matter what you hear- even if she might be killing me- you must not allow the door to be opened."
With the plan underway and fully explained, he ordered Malik to lock the door from the outside to prevent a hasty escape from the woman and the dai hesitantly complied- he really hoped they wouldn't be kicked out for disturbing the peace. Hopefully, Vivian wouldn't be too enraged with him in her present condition but Malik truly believed they needed a breakthrough into friendship because tension would only hinder their journey. He didn't know who to fear for, the innocent but easily enraged Vivian or the stoic but deadly grand master. Either way, he listened to his friend's order and quietly closed to wooden door to seal it from the outside before heading downstairs to rest in his tiny room (and enjoy a delicious cheese platter). From inside the shared room, Altaïr set his weapons aside under the bed for safekeeping because a mad Vivian could not be trusted with sharp weapons in the open. Grabbing an orange-red apple from the wooden platter set out on the table, he bit into the sweet crispy fruit to replenish his energy. He would need it in the upcoming battle to pry open Vivian's defensive shell and break through.
Vivian had changed into her loose assassin pants, courtesy of her unexpected entrance in the realm, and a brown linen tunic that was rather large for her petite frame but beggars couldn't be choosers in ancient times. She was exhausted from the long journey and planned to lie in bed curled up like an old hibernating bear, yawning into her right hand as she exited a small nook in the wall that she dubbed the 'changing spot'. Being the only woman did give her a shred of self-consciousness when having to find a decent place to change, especially with the strict social norms of the era. Noticing Altaïr fiddling in the far end of the room, she directed the cold shoulder towards him and headed for the door to see where Malik disappeared to. Usually, he was nearby with a book in hand but the place was void of his presence which poked her mind with an immediate warning since Malik+ Vivian= A normal Altaïr. Without it, Vivian+ Altaïr= catastrophe. When her hand tried to open the wooden latch, it didn't budge under her grasp and she used her other hand to desperately pry it open but received squat. She was ready to throw her weight against it to budge the door when Altaïr's voice informed calmly, "I wouldn't try that. The door has been intentionally locked-"
"Templars?" she asked worriedly as her posture shifted defensively and backed away from the door suspiciously in case anyone burst in without notice. He shook his head to the woman's odd crab dance around the doorway, her hands already resembling the crustacean as he wondered just how that was supposed to be threatening. Apparently, there were many things about her that baffled the logical mind of Altaïr.
"No, I locked it myself because you and I," he explained smoothly as he grabbed a wooden chair to set it at the end of the bed and sat down neatly in it to finish plainly, "are going to have a talk."
Instantly, she was reminded of the first fear inducing interrogation back at Masyaf and stepped back with caution as she objected shrewdly, "No! If I haven't made it clear by now, I don't have anything to say to you on a personal level. You want answers to questions on your quest, fine-"
"We need to coexist-" he pointed out firmly to conquer the fear dwelling within her and the apparent abhorrence towards him because he didn't mean to come off as callous. Vivian, however, wasn't having any part of it and backed up against the wooden door in the hopes that it could magically become unlocked. She expected him to jump out of his chair and chase her down for being defiant but he did nothing, merely crossed one leg over the other as he watched her like a hawk. It was. . .unnerving.
"We tolerate each other, that is enough" she stated firmly to end the conversation and returned to jiggling the wooden latch despite she'd no idea on opening archaic locks. Altaïr simply leaned over to pull his pack from under the bed, opening it to grab his handy rope, and quietly tied it to the nearest bedpost for security before bolting out of his chair towards her. His hands made quick work of tying the rope around her waist and although she struggled like a mad cat against him, he knotted it behind her back to prevent her from leaving. If there was one thing he was good at, it was making a superior knot that would hold anyone in place. Her patience boiled over to the shoddy treatment and she punched him on the left shoulder, not caring that he could end her existence with a flick of the wrist and exclaimed shrilly, "How dare you? I'm not cattle, you brute! I should scream my head off and have you arrested-"
"I'd rather you use an indoor voice to hide our presence and insult me with whatever pleases your fancy" he interrupted evenly without a raise in tone and her beige cheeks puffed to being bossed around, even if it was for her benefit (her mind scoffed at that). She almost resembled a ruffled feathered hen as her posture stiffened considerably and her oversized clothes added to the effect but he said nothing of it, stating directly with ease, "You and I must place our hostility behind us and yes, I know I am in the wrong this time. So, will we talk civilly like adults or will I have to keep you tied up like a disobedient barn animal?"
"You do know this isn't helping your cause" Vivian drawled sarcastically since being called an animal was degrading to any human being and he untied the rope from the bedpost in a show of good faith. She was more than happy to wriggle free of it before he had a sudden change of heart and tied her down like a calf. What he didn't expect was for her to use the rope as an extension to whip his legs and he ordered her to stop immediately with a stern voice as she grinned deviously in retaliation. This was not what a rope was for! Reluctantly, she obeyed since seeing him imitate a dancing monkey wasn't as amusing as she'd originally imagined and allowed it to fall onto the floor. Altaïr kicked the rope under the bed to make sure it didn't reappear in her hands again as she crossed her arms defensively to point out with bewilderment, "You chastise me for talking since I arrived and now you want me to talk? You're a very contradicting man."
"Yes, I've been doing that a lot recently" he shot back grimly to his illogical choices as of late (namely, keeping her) but lightened his tone since he was there to rectify his mistake and seek peace. She was going to be a permanent member of his time until he returned to Masyaf and having tense conflict would split them apart as a cohesive unit, allowing their enemies to use that as an advantage. He sat back down in the chair to cross his arms, keeping her within his sight as he spoke calmly to instill a sense of safety, "I'm here to amend my behavior after what happened out on the road. You experienced something traumatic and the last thing you needed was a reprimand about it. I am having trouble grasping the fact that you are truly from another realm altogether-"
"You don't think I'm scared of that myself?" she interjected stiffly but her voice weakened, her hands wringing over the hem of her tunic as she sighed desolately, "I'm in a world so very different than my own where I am truly alone. The fact that my realm could be a part of yours is daunting as it threatens my own beliefs, not to mention the logic of science itself," her arched eyebrows furrowed as she met his gaze to continue, "I don't know why I'm here but if I was led to you, then there is no question in my mind that I am another pawn in the first civilization's plans to get you moving. That or they seriously screwed up beaming in the right person."
Her words rang in Malik's previous warning and he tried to subtly appeal to her personality by attempting a small joke, "And why aren't you the right choice? Historians are in very high demand right now."
"I'd think just about anyone from the distant future could qualify, maybe they picked me because. . ." Vivian muttered under her breath as she'd mulled over the question since leaving Masyaf but couldn't reach a decent answer. She couldn't fight or held anything special within her grasp to lend an advantage to the man; plus, they didn't get along very well and most allies were trusted friends. Brushing her fingers over her unkempt hair, she quickly rambled out a quick hypothesis, "Iadmireyou and I play your game way too much for my own good."
Altaïr barely caught a hint of that in her high pitched voice and she patted herself on the back for the good job she'd done to confuse his mind with the inaudible words. Unfortunately, his ears had been specially trained to hear and decipher the tiniest of sounds from a long distance which caused her face to fall when he drawled slyly with a hint of arrogance, "You admire me?"
She avoided his gaze instantly to fight down the rose blush attempting to cover the apple of her cheeks, taking a sudden interest with the floor, and answered straightforwardly with the truth, "Not anymore. I rather liked it when you weren't biting my head off and we were from two completely different realms with no awareness either of us truly existed. Digital Altaïr was awesome and stoic, you're. . .coarse and distant."
He wanted to point out that he was the real person, not this doppelganger that she'd met during her strange futuristic games, as it unnerved him to know people knew of his real life experiences. He was a private person with what he'd encountered throughout his twenty-six years of life, feeling it as an unwarranted invasion of his privacy. However, Vivian wasn't the mastermind of producing his life as a game for the general public but he was there to mend the gap to mutual civility and grumbled softly, "You've said as much on more than one occasion."
"You haven't been entirely civil despite the many times I've faced death" she stated flatly in reminder to his brusque attitude before the village fight, remembering the hidden blade glinting in the sunlight as he'd chased her manically through the forest. Really, how was that supposed to prepare you to fight a Templar? He grit his teeth for being put in the spot about that particular moment since he'd been rather irritated with her lack of skills and having to check out a lead that might not have been true. Now that he looked back on that, the woman had simply wanted to learn how to preserve a few minutes of her life and had managed it during the fight.
"I face death on a daily basis, sometimes multiple times in a day, and I don't utter a complaint" he preened with a frown but reluctantly remembered that she was a civilian in an entirely different land- and a century ahead from her journal entries. His original belief that she was lying about everything had flown out the window with each entry that he'd read without her knowledge and had grudgingly come to accept it. The petite woman appeared ready to pounce onto his six foot form like the mad little badger she was, her feet digging into the floor as she eyed him dangerously, and he avoided another scuffle by stating clearly, "My actions were uncalled for, especially admitting the journal reading-"
"Especially?" she exclaimed indignantly to his chosen words about his breach of privacy and he tried to evade another explosion by attempting his first charismatic smile. He'd never tried to use his physical appearance (was he even an attractive man, for that matter?) to charm his way out of a problem, rather using words or physical strength to sway minds. Unfortunately, his suave smile came off as a saving face expression laced with eating something rancid that caused her to grimace at his catastrophic failure. Well, now she knew why Ubisoft left the charming skills to Ezio rather Altaïr's awful facial maneuvers and shook her head to state flatly, "I pity your facial muscles."
"And I pity you. . .in a good way" he replied with a gentle voice that grinded her nerves as he tried to play the good guy with her for the first time. Of course, being pitied like a poor mangy dog on the street didn't sit well with Vivian and she didn't hesitate to retaliate to his comment. She ripped off one of her shoes to fling it at his head but he dodged it efficiently with his flexibility, his face shifting into a firm glare as he reprimanded sharply, "Vivian!"
"You abandoned me when I needed you the most, chastising a person during a crisis helps nobody" she snapped tightly to his choice of words back in the forest and flung the other shoe to plant her bare feet on the cold wooden floor, the soles of her feet tingling to the temperature change. If she hadn't been under such paralyzing fear, she would've smacked him hard until he developed a gentler personality. It was a good thing he hadn't decided to be a doctor for the assassins because his bedside manner would've been horrible, leading her to jab her verbal sword at his acclaimed honor, "After all of your promises and codex scribbles about saving the world, you keep treating me like scum at the bottom of your boot. I never saw you that way-"
"You're always insulting me on the road!" he shot back knowingly as he remembered the nicknames she'd spouted throughout their travels and the awful rhymes. Oh, the rhymes. His order would've never poked fun in his direction but Vivian had entitled herself to use it freely, creating ridiculous tunes or names about him that really weren't true (or so he thought). Why would he not feel offended by her constant chiding?
She clenched her fists to his misguided conceptions because she'd made a catchy song just about near everything, even herself, and growled between clenched teeth, "It's a coping mechanism because you constantly degrade me in front of Malik and I will not bow to your verbal abuse. You were supposed to be this honorable man that had changed drastically for the better-"
"I have!" he insisted curtly since he wouldn't have attained the revered rank of grand master by being stubbornly cruel but his current tone of voice proved otherwise. Whether he liked it or not, he was forced to look at his behavior towards her from the start and it was a little shameful that he was arguing with a civilian woman until his voice ran mute when his enemies failed to rile him with such anger. She was an innocent soul, one that he kept stabbing with harsh words half the time to keep her silent like a mouse. It was a demeaning oppressive move on his part since he'd brought her along to help him figure out the answers to the pieces of Eden, which automatically meant she had the freedom to speak her voice. After all, wasn't that what he was fighting for? To give her the endless freedom to speak her mind? Even if the voice sang with the tune of a hundred rusty swords clashing upon gritty limestone with the tone of dying coyotes combined?
"A man of honor wouldn't breach someone's privacy, you should've asked me straightforwardly like a man" she pointed out matter-of-factly and wrung the hem of her tunic between shaking fingers as she itched to beat him over the head. How could a man like he simply steal someone's belongings without a care and jab it back in their faces tauntingly? That wasn't the picture of the assassin she'd imagined since enveloping herself in the AC franchise and she stated bitterly, "I have treated you kindly and never tried to kill you, unlike a certain ex-Templar, yet my trust is apparently nonexistent-"
He was quick to wipe that off the board since the woman had nothing to do with their current predicament and retorted sharply, "Maria has nothing to do with this."
"Then why am I different? Is it because of my predicament?" she demanded coldly as her friendly and calm demeanor took the back shelf to the ferocious side, adamant to know the inner workings of his mind. She charged up to the assassin without fear, prodding his chest with her index finger to enforce tightly between thinned lips, "I'm as normal as any other person in this world. I think, I feel, I bleed, or does my year of birth eliminate me as a real person altogether?"
Twirling her fingers before his face in emphasis, her green eyes locked onto his brown orbs and she questioned pleadingly, "Am I not as human as you are?"
"You defy the laws of logic and science!" he blurted with blunt honesty to her irrational existence in his time because it was the major point of his mistrust. His lifelong beliefs and logic had been twisted ever since he began his mission for redemption, leading him into a world that was nothing like he'd expected. Yes, his eyes had been opened to what he was fighting against and for but it took strong willpower not to be driven mad by what he kept uncovering. His order, much less the public, would never believe what he'd witnessed- especially when it came to the living mad badger giving him the evil eye right now- and could only trust in Malik to let him know that he wasn't losing touch with reality. It was actually quite exhausting sometimes to wake with such responsibilities and knowledge on his shoulders but he carried on with the burden. After all, who'd have expected an ancient people to create powerful artifacts that could manipulate the human mind?
She accepted his opinion since she couldn't magically blast her image into his mind to make him fall on his knees with everlasting love for her like a Mary Sue, cursing her average personality for not being able to instill that she was completely normal. It would've been much easier to swallow if he'd been zapped into her realm where she could've at least kept him on a leash and forced him to watch historical documentaries and play his own video game. Oh, and keep the technological and medical advances of her time (how she yearned to search the web). Of course, life decided to be fickle and stuck her in his realm instead. Her voice lowered to deathly silence as she locked her gaze with him to show she meant business and whispered in demand, "What is the belief of your creed?"
His honey toned eyes narrowed into slits as she struck the target with a viable reason he could accept and he spit out with regret, "Nothing is true, everything is permitted."
"Then why are you defying it? Get your head out of your ass and listen to what I'm telling you" she stated coldly with a furrowed brow, daring him to defy his own code, which elicited a growl deep within his throat to her bold tone. He'd encountered her sassy tone on a daily basis but it was one he could easily dismiss but this new attitude distinctly showed she wasn't kidding with her little flame of anger. She stood her ground admirably as he stared her down with his firmest of glares (or 'glower power' as she called it) and handed him a no-nonsense ultimatum, "Accept the fact that I am here to stay. If you and I cannot coexist, then. . .I will travel to Spain or return to Masyaf for my own answers and leave you be."
Was she out of her tiny mind? Did she really expect to survive the harsh times he lived in? She couldn't fight her way out of a cloth sack if he wasn't there to open it for her! Did she know how ridiculous her plan sounded? He had to find a way to make it perfectly crystal clear that she wasn't going anywhere and taking the blunt route, he stated coldly, "You will only find your own demise."
"Oh, and it's a better choice to stick with you?" she retorted curtly because sailing on a boat to either places sounded far better than hearing his sass day and night. He rejected all of her attempts to poke gentle fun at each other, deciding to become a figurative cobra with his humor but she wasn't the type to attack personally. She'd expected to find a way to click with him since day one but it seemed that he was kicking her out with all of her humorous gags alongside her. She broke her gaze away from his as she sidestepped to walk towards the open window to breathe in fresh air and murmured faintly, "I've had my say."
He let her be for an hour until she tried to open the door latch in vain, crawling to hide between the bed and the night table when he caught her, and received a kick in the shin when he tried to pull her out by the leg. There was nothing he could do but call a temporary ceasefire and sit back in his chair as he mended his broken pride, watching the cornered badger as she huddled against the wall with calculating eyes. The next hour brought her to drink water from the ceramic jug at the food table as he watched her like wildlife on a savanna, growling in similarity to a cheetah when she chucked her shoe at him for doing so, and proceeded to chase her around the room until exhausted. The tireless eagle and the obstinate badger were now in a battle of wills in the center of the room. She laid helplessly on the floor on her stomach, panting like a lame dog past its prime as he held her right foot prisoner in his grip and told her sternly with conviction, "You will be traveling with us-"
"Not with a man who betrays my privacy!" she shouted indignantly as she kicked her legs out in the hopes of landing a strike on his face. Her legs dangled in the air as he held her like a rag doll, keeping a firm grip on her thrashing legs to immobilize her from any strikes. The injured foot from yesterday stung in his grip but she said nothing of it, refusing to show weakness before him. Her teeth grit in fury as he gained the upper hand with his strength by lifting her off the ground, her loose hair cascading over her face as she hissed crossly, "Unhand me, foul devil!"
He released her at once with reluctance but this earned him a ten minute silent treatment when her legs fell onto the floor like a sack of potatoes. The woman was very hard to persuade as the grueling minutes turned into tedious hours and he'd yet to reach a gap of civility. She would be his greatest adversary yet- in the field of nonviolence- and he glared at her fallen form as she massaged her bruised elbows, ordering with deathly calm that betrayed his internal irritancy, "We are going to eat a light snack and resume this conversation afterwards."
The badger merely hissed in defiance and soothed her bruises.
Why is she not obeying me?, Altaïr declared madly as the hours of evening were soon to arrive as the sky had turned a lilac-orange to bring in a gorgeous sunset over the city but Vivian had yet to break. He blamed it on her necessity to relieve herself and realizing he was still within the room despite the small adjacent room that served as a temporary bathroom with its chamber pot (since the outhouse was inaccessible). She'd been absolutely livid for it, screaming at him through the cloth curtain in an attempt to simmer her embarrassment and mute any bodily fluid sounds striking the metal chamber pot. Nothing instilled trust like peeing next to somebody. . .oh, how she wanted to hurl herself out of the window for the mortification. It had taken her a few minutes to muster the courage to exit the area with her head held high but when he joked that her bladder must've been the size of a camel's- she crushed his left foot under hers on the way.
Now, she sat cross-legged on the floor and more than ready to incapacitate him with a kick to the legs as she eyed him vigilantly. Altaïr had enraged the badger to her full capacity as he stared her down from his seat in the chair, trying to show he wasn't going to yell at her but his imposing figure didn't help to transfer the image into her mind. Breaking eye contact, she slumped against the wall to the standoff and he heard her mutter faintly, "You just don't get it, you hardheaded doofus."
He didn't know what that last word meant but was certain it wasn't a kind compliment. When would he ever hear kind praise from her? Her worried rants after jumping from that burning building didn't count. . .or did they? She had appeared distraught during the fire, clinging to him like a child to their lost parent before checking him like a mother hen for injuries. Altaïr's mind was more boggled than when it began and he pressed his fingers against his temples, massaging the skin in circles as he sighed exhaustingly, "Then help me understand because for the last hours, I've reached nowhere with you. If anything, I feel as if I've gone backwards in this conversation."
"Fine, sit down and close your eyes" she ordered curtly with a firm stare and he listened grudgingly, sitting on the hardwood floor as he gauged her for any sudden movements. She sighed in exasperation to his cautious vigilance because she held no threat (her wrist could be snapped under his strength) and motioned to his narrowed eyes with her index finger, pointing out sarcastically, "That right there. Do you really think I'm stupid enough to attack a lethal assassin? What could I possibly do? A simple request puts you on maximum alert for no reason whatsoever. Close your eyes and trust me, just this once."
He wrinkled his nose to her remark before shutting his eyes closed to satisfy her nagging, keeping his other senses alert for any movements from the woman in case she wanted to break a bowl over his head. She might lack physical strength but that didn't mean she wouldn't utilize it through inanimate objects. Vivian shook her head to his intense reluctance to participate and could only see sharing her recent experiences with him to clue him into some insight as to who she was. Instead of being attacked as he initially suspected, she spoke slowly to draw him into her perspective of the world, "Imagine yourself in bustling city near the coast where buildings can touch the sky, your home a tiny dot in comparison as it resembles a small bureau. Your family consists of a father, a master of dispensing medicine for use by doctors, and the sole provider for a family of four. You are the oldest and hold yourself accountable for your two sisters, balancing the role of sister and mother for them when you are not studying at school."
It was obvious to him that he was walking daily steps in her real life but couldn't create a clear picture about the future, especially such a distant one. There was such a large disparity between them as to what daily life brought and their responsibilities but he would try his best to imagine this strange world of hers. He wanted the truth about her and she would give him its entirety, no matter how dull, trying to drill it into his mind as she continued, "One day, you return home after visiting a store that sells literature of all kinds and games for leisure because you're quite addicted to them. Reading or enjoying a life away from your own can be quite relaxing, especially during an exhausting day of lectures. You decide to play a game in your bedroom, one that features an impatient stab crazy assassin with serious anger management issues-"
"Vivian!"
"All right, so you're playing a game that resembles moving paintings and your machine malfunctions which brings a little impatience from you" she rambled on hastily to continue the events of that fateful day and he snorted since the end sounded very picturesque for the spitfire of a woman. Vivian contained the flicker of annoyance that begged to slap him upside his hooded head but let it slide since he didn't insult her and spoke evenly, "You try to fix it but your feet trip on several objects which makes you fall flat on your face like an idiot and hit your head pretty hard on the end of a table. This is the main reason as to why you later believe the new realm is a figment of your imagination. Now, picture waking abruptly in a world surreal from your own that is an exact replica from a history book of ancient times rather than your small bedroom filled with your familiar belongings and the voices of your family. You are alone with nobody you recognize and the only person there is the heroic assassin from the game that wants to save the world. . .except he hates you with a demonic vengeance of the likes which you have never seen before."
Her voice took on a sarcastically bitter edge as she went on to dig into his brusque attitude, "You could understand if it was because of that bite on the rooftop or pulling off his boot during the first days but after you realize he's as real as the world around you, you decide to help him while trying to find a way home. You put your entire trust in someone you don't know because all you have is his word and he's always kept it throughout the game so why should the real man be any different? You believe his honor will lessen his venomous tongue but he seems to thrive on it when it's aimed solely on you, striking you more than five times a day. You even try to help him in the heat of battle and he calls you an old turtle the next day! Let's not forget that he breaks your privacy, when you wouldn't dare think of it, to find your deepest vulnerabilities and chastises you like a child when you're happy to be rescued-"
She halted immediately when her emotions began to swirl out of control, bolting from the floor to head towards the table in the back. After all, she was there to make him understand their sole reason for conflict was preposterous since she couldn't make a dent in him, she was a tiny fly! Food was a wonderful comfort at that moment to dissipate her frantic emotions and she nibbled on a piece of soft cheese like a content mouse while observing the outskirts of Giza, her cheeks puffing with each morsel. The city carried the same architecture as Cairo, reminding her of her old leisure reading during the late afternoon and she scoffed distastefully towards that Barnes & Noble that steered her wrongfully to that comic book store. If she hadn't bought that big overgrown cutout, she wouldn't be suffering the wrath of a cranky assassin and enduring harsh sunburns on a daily basis- nor traveling around the world on foot! Altaïr had become a natural part of her life since then, a large share that she wasn't particularly fond of and sighed under her breath with regret, "So much for adventure. I should've just grabbed a make-your-own adventure book from the place but no, I just had to make him my inanimate roommate. I should've just bought Optimus Prime or Solid Snake."
Vivian refused to speak after her stroll through memory lane and Altaїr kept to himself on the bed, chewing on another orange-red apple while mulling over her words. She was hopelessly lost with no route home or any inkling of it. . .he couldn't imagine being torn away unwillingly from Masyaf in the blink of an eye. It was his home where his people lived and his entire life revolved around them, he knew nothing else. The closest he'd ever come to losing them had been the day he'd returned to Masyaf to find them possessed under his mentor's manipulation. . .it hurt deeply but in the end, he'd saved them. Unfortunately, Vivian didn't have a single shred of her old life- everything had been removed to leave her stranded like a newborn puppy in an entirely different world. People of her time lived life very differently than his and although Vivian was a woman in body and mind, her experiences in life were fit for an innocent unmarried civilian of a younger age. For Altaïr, it didn't take much for him to absorb the fact that he and Malik were all she had- a solemn circumstance that drew sympathy for the first time since meeting.
The sky had darkened into the black veil of night as diamond stars twinkled and realized it was solely up to him to find a solution that would rebuild her trust. He'd never been much of a mentor before his redemption quest, rather accustomed to issuing orders only, but Vivian was a special case- one that Templars could never catch wind of. Being saddled with a spitfire little creature like her had been the last of his expectations for the uncertain future, cursing whatever species had forged the items, since Vivian had absolutely no control over it. If anything, both of them were in agreement that the pieces brought nothing but misery to anyone in their vicinity. His boots thudded on the floor as he stood up from the bed to approach her, green eyes narrowing as she stepped back from his advance towards the table and her fingers grasped the half-empty clay pitcher of water. He halted immediately to show he wasn't about to hurl her across the room and raised his hands in a peaceful approach, lowering his hood slowly to show his own form of trust as he spoke softly, "If I apologize for everything and start anew with harmless sarcasm, will that suit you?"
"It may" she drawled slowly with skepticism since most of his jokes went hand in hand with insults. Her hand loosened its hold on the handle of the pitcher, lowering back down her right side as she tilted her head to the side in interest to his offer.
"You insult me half the time- no, we are not doing another runaround" he corrected himself with a small hiss to their tendencies to dance the endless tune of sarcasm until one achieved dominance, wagging a warning finger to her ambiguous tone. He expected her to lash out or hurl another object but Vivian said nothing, her left eyebrow simply lifting to his refusal to fall into another landmine field with her. Instead, he ended their endless feuding cycles like one would to a roach infestation and stated clearly as he placed his peaceful offer on the table, "You are a young soul in this era, ignorant to our ways and the dangers lurking in the dark. I will protect and chastise you for mistakes but it is only to open your eyes to avoid a repetition and keep you safe. Will you cease your harsh words as well?"
"Yes, although most are about your unsavory traits" she justified to certain times when she poked the dangerous eagle to lighten his mood because rising blood pressure wouldn't help him in the long run of his life. Her sense of humor didn't roll off his back very well and if tweaking it or seeking peace would nullify his glare power exponentially, she'd take what she could get. She couldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, right? She didn't aim to rip into his image (if anything, AC fans boosted it), especially on purpose, and deliberated further on her past actions with a sheepish voice, "I don't have it in me to argue or criticize you, I've been taught better than that."
Altaїr gazed at her with a dry stare because she'd certainly pounced on him like a mad monkey during their first days and shared his opinion on her behavior, "Having them thrown into my face doesn't help either but I suppose it is your own subtle way of alerting me. I'd rather tell you outright to clear the air rather than keep it locked away but it seems our personalities differ when facing conflict."
"You can keep your lectures but never mention my mother or I will rearrange your face, civilian or not" she stated quietly to drill that notion into his head because her family was strictly off limits now after his stunt and he nodded stiffly. He agreed that secretly prying into a civilian's belongings wasn't smart, especially when innocent, and banned himself from doing so- besides, who knew what lurked in those fat packs of hers. Crossing her arms, she took her position on the bargaining table as she added in her small list of demands as she shielded her vulnerabilities with a stony glare, "The same goes for my family. If I am stranded in this realm, the last thing I need are reminders or so help me, I will leave your group in the blink of a second."
"Agreed" he stated simply since the petite woman wasn't afraid to fight for her core values and wondered whether to have her bargain for items with vendors. She appeared satisfied to his acceptance, her shoulders visibly relaxing as she shifted her weight onto the right leg to show placation. He leaned back against the table as a show of good faith, gazing over his shoulder towards the night sky as he admitted slowly with a low voice, "I am very finicky about trust after what occurred at Masyaf. Al Mualim was a like a second father to me after being raised by his hand alone and when I learned he had betrayed not only me, but our entire Order. . .my brothers and sisters. . .it felt as if he'd shoved a poisoned dagger into my back."
"To be exact, he did stab you in the stomach" she pointed out quietly with a small smile and he shot her a deadpan expression for her tendency to correct his grammar. Yes, he remembered that moment quite well- not everyone can forget receiving a dagger to the torso. Her expression turned meek for being pinned under his hawk-like glare after digging up the past, quickly occupying herself by rubbing an old oil stain on her left sleeve as she mumbled out sheepishly, "Sorry, accuracy quirk of mine."
A moment later, her gaze returned to his and she asked slowly with a small grin hitching at her lips, "Altaїr, do you really think I'd do such a thing? I can't even hold a weapon correctly, I use a walking stick and pocket sand to defend myself! You could take a chair to the back and keep walking like nothing happened while I would be a broken heap of human bones on the floor."
The slightest hint of a smile appeared on the right corner of his lips and he commented simply, "Depends on what kind of a chair."
It was a small icebreaker within their recent heated confrontations and Vivian tried to keep a smile from surfacing on her lips to the first joke he'd uttered since meeting. Really, who could ever imagine the stone obelisk known as Altaїr to utter a joke? It would be like seeing a spotted cow wearing a yellow tutu jump over the moon! Her throat stifled a giggle threatening to surface, coughing into her hand to maintain courtesy to his light jest since humor was a new arena for him to explore. If only she'd been given a book of mad libs for this one way trip, it would've given his brain a few ideas to try out. She took two steps forward, ignoring her self-preservation as it always screamed to bolt whenever neared him, and decided to take her own leap of faith by stating amicably, "I'm Vivian Shore, a lost sheep in your realm who needs to return home to my loved ones," her brows furrowed slightly as she spoke softly, "Can you help me?"
"I am Altaїr Ibn'La-Ahad and I will shepherd you if you wish it but I can be stern" he reintroduced himself carefully since he wasn't the chattiest man around and she nodded quietly. It wasn't how he'd expected to end their conflict (he'd expected physical lashings) but it was a half-decent start where they wouldn't attack each other on a personal level. There was room to branch their acquaintance and knowing Vivian's loneliness in a different realm, he would tend to the dirt to blossom that trust. It wouldn't be easy, given their personalities, but he began on the right track by asking gently, "Did you check your injuries, Vivian?"
She rubbed the sides of her arms since admitting weakness wasn't a regular occurrence unless it was critical and lifted her foot off the floor as dull pain shot into her tibia. Her ankle had been swollen during the morning as the abused muscles were beginning to heal and she'd tried to keep most of her weight off it during travel but that didn't happen. Also, trying to kick him off when he'd chased and grasped her by the leg didn't help her poor limb either. Rotating her left foot gently to test its mobility, she answered his inquiry with a small frown on her lips, "My ankle hurts a bit despite I wrapped it in cloth to prevent a sprain while walking. Being on the road increases the chances exponentially, given our dangerous excursions."
"Keep your weight off it for tonight. . .are you hungry?" he suggested softly to prevent inflammation after their long walk and she plopped down on the bed to relax, massaging the covered ankle to lessen any lingering swelling. All she could use as supportive bandages were pieces of cloth torn out of rags but it kept her foot stable throughout walking. He watched her for a few seconds, a flicker of anger biting him at remembering the brutish man stepping onto that fragile joint without consideration for her pain. His thoughts were washed aside when she quickly uttered the word 'cheese' and found herself taken aback when he prepared a plate of food for her at the table since he'd never done such a thing. If anything, she was the one cooking and serving alongside Malik while he grumbled about her shabby cooking skills. It wasn't her fault modern conveniences were missing in his time.
Her mouth watered to seeing a variety of cheeses, soft fresh bread, a boiled brown egg, and chicken meat on the wooden plate he handed to her as he'd prepared one for himself as well. She supplied a grateful 'thank you' for the sudden generosity, trying to restrain her immense hunger by taking small polite bites from each item as she glanced at him covertly through her dark lashes. The last thing she wanted in this strange neutral ground was for him to see her as a messy overzealous eater but oh, how she loved cheese! Regardless of the era change, it was damn good and she nibbled on it like a content mouse relishing its last meal. He sat down on the opposite end of the bed to maintain propriety, using the chair as a makeshift table for his plate as he filled his hungry stomach with food for the first time since morning. Unlike Vivian who fought against pigging out over her plate, the assassin ate with extreme patience and the taste of the roasted chicken brought a curious question to mind, "Is. . .How is the food in your time?"
"Not as natural as this" she chuckled softly as she bit into organic chicken that held no added hormones or unnatural substances, pleasing her taste buds. All worries about catching illnesses from improperly cooked food or unfiltered water had been thrown into a backburner since life could end at any second during the troubled times, especially with the company she kept. Remembering the taste of her favorite delivered fast food, she grinned enthusiastically to explaining the concept and introduced him to modern food, "There's this food called pizza, it's made of baked dough that's shaped into a circle and slathered with herby tomato sauce as toppings of both vegetables and meat can be piled on top of it. It's so delicious and you can create many varieties, whether you buy them at stores, an eatery, or make them yourself."
She paused for a second to acknowledge whether he understood her explanation, using the pause to bite into her slippery boiled egg as she watched him tap his bread idly over the plate. His brow furrowed slightly as he gazed at his plate of food, concentrating on something Vivian couldn't interpret and finally, he requested slowly, "Tell me more of this 'pizza'."
"I'm pretty tired now" Vivian murmured with exhaustion as she rubbed her dry eyes, yawning into her hands from the long day as she was eager to fall into dreamland. Maybe there, she could hop alongside the fluffy sheep and take a ride on one towards the moon; creativity had no limits in the subconscious mind. Oddly enough, no dreams about the weapon wielding assassin had popped in since they'd met and she blamed her bleak reality on it. It was so much easier to blissfully dream of the stoic assassin and squeezing him like the rabid fangirl she'd been in her own time but it wasn't meant to be. Collapsing onto the bed, she moaned in sweet relief to the plush comfort the mattress delivered to her tired back as her vertebrae turned to jelly. This was a thousand times better than sleeping on the bare ground where tiny rocks jabbed into her back when she wasn't careful enough to sweep them away. A peaceful sleep was all she could ask after the current events in her life, her fingers tangling into the brown blankets to give them an appreciative greeting and she whimpered sluggishly, "So very tired."
Altaїr wholeheartedly agreed since his own body was drained of half its energy, especially after tugging the canoe on his own, and was having trouble keeping his eyes open. The fact that they were entering lands that weren't under heavy Templar control and constant fighting against Saladin's forces allowed him to lower his guard (only a for a millisecond) with a peace of mind he hadn't felt in many years since his childhood. Each of his days were spent training, leading to missions once he achieved his assassin rank and his life became deeply imbedded to serving the principles of his order. New changes had sprung into his life, the eccentric Vivian among them, and he had to adapt to make room for them or risk falling back into old habits. One thing he abhorred was the lack of surveillance during the night over rooftops since it decreased his exercise exponentially to keep all of his abilities honed to the maximum. How else could he bypass enemies and keep his stealth at its best?
Vivian grabbed an extra pillow and fluffed it up to hold it next to her, cuddling into the sheets to prepare for sleep. She hadn't slept in a bed in more than a week, although it felt like ages that she'd had the option of such a luxury. Altaїr's curiosity was poked after noticing this occurrence within all the inns they traveled to since her tent was her sanctuary so he could only assume it was present there as well. Her appearance within the bed reminded him of a wrapped newborn babe, bringing to mind her true identity in his harsh world, and he took a chance by asking carefully, "I always see you holding a pillow when we stay at inns. Why is that?"
Her hands clutched the pillow closer as if he would take it away without warning, green eyes pinning him with sleepy accusation but he merely stayed in his spot. Realizing she'd fallen into another misconception, she released her hold on the pillow and answered sheepishly about her strange action, "I, uh, have a little sister of five. When she gets scared, I let her sleep next to me since our dad has to work to keep our household running. She's a sweet kid, just like my mom. She makes imaginary tea every day after school but she lets you pick out your choice."
"I never knew the luxury of sharing a sibling, Malik shared a very tight bond with his since we were raised apart from our parents" he admitted softly since that was a bond he would never experience with another, adding further emphasis to his lone wolf image. His life was devoted to his order by carving out their continuance into the future and to fight for what they stood for- emotional bonds would only drive daggers into his heart if formed. The young man had yet to learn how such attachments could strengthen one's resolve to accomplish goals but time would serve to enlighten him.
"And you will change that, love is a very strong emotion as it brings loyalty, courage, friendship- many traits that differ from the Templars" she yawned with encouragement to embrace new values as she fought the exhaustion within her body from shutting her down. There was great potential in Altaїr as he sought questions to enhance his view on life, never allowing it to bring defeat when he was wrong and she could only aid him in that understanding. Wiping a watery left eye, she added in helpfully to build his confidence towards the concept, "You should be able to watch your children grow and pass on the wisdom you've learned, watching each teaching branch out like a tree to cement the foundation of your creed. I'm not going to say it'll be easy during the first years because toddlers can be lost in the blink of an eye with their rampant curiosity."
"Change can occur slowly but a small ripple in the water causes many more to spread" he stated quietly with little reluctance towards opening his heart to building a better relationship with his order, especially his friends within it. There was no question in his mind that he wouldn't sacrifice himself to protect each member without hesitation, down to the last child, and knowing who he was fighting for added a unique face to what he fought to preserve. He tilted his head to the side a moment later, a grimace forming on his lips and admitted distastefully to his companion, "Ugh, I can't believe I used a water metaphor."
She chuckled to the sound of his voice, especially the sarcastic note, as she turned to the side to curl up and mumbled sleepily, "Good night, Altaїr."
"Wait" he objected hastily before she fell asleep, her eyes snapping open to see him using nonsensical hand signals as he emphasized touching an invisible boundary around her. If this was about the sleeping arrangements, she'd stuff a thick blanket between them to show nothing was wrong. Really, who'd want to do anything scandalous in bed when she was tired out of her mind? Besides, they could barely withstand each other and any attraction was in the infinite abyss within the negative zone. She hoped this would be quick as she motioned with her right hand to move along and he stated quietly, "I still seek your forgiveness for what I did and I never offered my apology."
"Will you still brandish your polished silverware at my face?" she asked dryly to his many threats over the long weeks, remembering the polished blade that could've ended her life if he wished it. Meeting an early demise was not on her schedule or receiving cardiac damage from seeing it in front of her face so her only order of business would be to banish that weapon. Of course, she'd thank him gratefully if he used it against enemies but glinting weapons were not items a civilian like her needed to see on a daily basis- no matter how dangerous the times were.
"I have to, it asserts dominance" he mumbled disappointedly as he stared at his left hand, wiggling his fingers instinctively to bring forth his weapon. She directed a flat stare towards his blade, a sleepy smile creeping onto her lips for his odd attachment to an item that brought death to many but lent him survival. His shoulders slumped in defeat as his prized fear-inducer was banned within their interactions, his right hand touching the gauntlet to remove it for the night. Of course, that didn't mean he'd sleep without protection because hiding a knife under the pillow saved lives- period. Nonetheless, he kept his hidden blade close at hand as he obliged to her request and admitted with a slight hint of grumpiness on his crestfallen face, "All right, I'm very aware that this isn't normal but then again, neither am I. There is nothing to fear about me, Vivian, I will not hurt you."
"It's not about fearing you, I want mutual respect and. . ." she explained softly as she cuddled into the smooth sheets for warmth and to appeal to his good nature because stirring a little respect from him would help. Nobody wanted to be seen like a pesky bug or clinging animal so proving herself would be next in the agenda towards achieving a decent foothold in his world. Brushing back strands of loose hair behind her ears, she breathed deeply and spoke gingerly with a little hesitance, "I know trust and friendship are two different things to ask of you but. . .I've always wanted an assassin friend."
"You'd be killed for mere association" he warned gently as he raised his foot onto the wooden framework of the bed to unlace his boots, caked mud and dust gathered at the edges. His head lowered to gaze at the metal buckles of his boot and at knowing that no good could come of bringing a civilian into his life, it was better to keep her at arm's length. At least there, she'd have a fighting chance if she ever became captured and hoped to instill that idea by stating clearly with solemnity, "To immerse yourself in my world is a dangerous decision, Vivian. Not many live once they take a step into it."
She sat up with a small smile to the olive branch, knowing it was hard to separate the man from his blade and leaned over to help him undo a few of the leather buckles on his boots as he prepared for bed. It was the least she could do to return the same civility, carefully untangling the leather straps from the buckles as she angled her head to the side and gazed up at him to point out impishly, "If you haven't noticed, I'll be killed for traveling with you anyway. You're a strong man and you can help me fix my own frailties because what use will I be if I'm weak? Friendships fuel your determination and I'll just be another drop in the water pool."
She loosened two side buckles and groaned at spotting another on the back, wondering how many of these things were around his leather boots. Sighing dismally to his shoe style, she tried to find where his logic in footwear dwelled from and asked tiredly, "Dear me, Altaïr, why not use laces to tie it all up?"
"It also has laces on the upper back" he informed dryly about the extra tidbit on his boots and she uttered a meek 'oh' of disappointment to the buckle maze. This is why she wore leather loafers with straps to keep them from falling off but a maze of buckles and laces were insane. She leaned back into her old spot on the bed to allow him to finish pulling off the brown boot and her right eyebrow rose with intrigue when she spotted her handmade socks on his feet. He'd actually kept them? They had turned a light gray color with time and constant use but she smiled brightly when he caught her glance and admitted slowly with reluctance, "I must say these 'socks' do keep my feet warmer, better than what I used."
Vivian found herself smiling proudly but kept the beaming grin inside because she'd never heard a compliment without an insult attached. Oh, she felt like a baby kitten getting a gentle back rub from its new loving owner as she accepted his comment with open arms. Maybe things were truly changing for the better, allowing her defensive shell to open slightly after yesterday's fiasco and stated sincerely, "Glad to be of service. I'll be more than happy to knit a few more when this pair rips."
He pried off the left boot from his foot and placed it on the floor, leaning back against the wall behind them to relax the day's stresses away, and slipped his feet into the covers for warmth. His arms ached from carrying the heavy canoe on his own, deciding to ask Vivian for help next time to save his arms extra pain and rested his head against the wall to exhale slowly. The night was wonderfully quiet in Giza, the wooden covers of the windows closed to protect them from any intruders and Vivian returned to the groove she'd made on the bed to snuggle into the covers with a pleased smile. A small moment of peace during the night was all she could afford in this life and inquired softly, "Are you going to sleep?"
"I wanted to survey the land but I am rather exhausted" he admitted with a tired yawn, unable to stifle the sound or cover it with his hands and she smiled to the similarity of a lazy lion in the savanna. She couldn't weigh in on his life and order him to bed, despite the man sorely needed rest, and nodded agreeably in the hopes that he would. There was a sleep theory she wanted to test with the man: if more sleep equaled a less grumpy assassin. Thankfully, he wasn't going to debate sleeping arrangements or decorum because both were truly exhausted after arguing (and chasing each other) and mumbled languidly, "Go to sleep, I will watch over you while I write in my journal before I retire for the night. I promise my scribbling won't keep you up and if I do decide to leave, I will wake you."
"All right. . .good night" she yawned drowsily into her pillow and turned towards the wall to face away from the candlelight on the nightstand to bathe herself in comfortable darkness. It didn't take very long for her to fall asleep as exhaustion knocked her out, curled up in a fetal position on her side of the bed, and she entered the land of dreams. Who knew what dwelled in that hectic little mind of hers. Altaïr spared her a glimpse as he'd completed a worthy task within hours (although Vivian had been particularly feisty) and wiped the sleep from his eyes, leaning over to grab his pack to pull open the leather flaps. The mattress shifted slightly as he fished out his private journal for the order's library (not his codex) and began another detailed account of his journey by writing with a piece of unwrapped coal,
I am now miles from the historic pyramids of Giza, a land rich in its history, and one that the Order can one day establish a bureau to monitor Templar activity. The days during this September month are humid with rare light breezes during late hours but nighttime brings a sudden drop in temperature. It is best to bring abundant blankets for the night but dress lightly during the day. For those with an itchy mind for knowledge, there is a decent library in the city open to the public. I will be traveling there tomorrow to widen the horizons of my mind and write my findings for future readers of the order.
"Bad Desmond, motorcycles. . .make you. . .splattered road kill" Vivian mumbled softly in her dream induced sleep, clutching the pillow close like a treasured item and Altaїr shook his head to her random slips of the tongue. The woman was very. . .baffling with her quirky behavior.
Civilians can entertain a weary mind with amusement and must never be forsaken, no matter where they hail from. One has convinced me of such and although they have been a pesky thorn in my side, the core values that exist in the good of mankind are held there.
I will not fail them.
Inspired by: "Love and Loss" by Two Steps from Hell
A/N: Life has been hectic for me recently, personally and academically, and the fact Mass Effect 3 took up days of my time set this chapter back a few days but it's another whopper in length. We get a little downtime between the two as they blow over the incident to return to their main mission, now on friendlier terms, so we'll be seeing how Altaïr does in this new field of humor. For some reason, I picture him as the frightened Bambi on the ice scene while the happy Thumper (Vivian) assures it'll all be okay. On another topic, now that the trailer and main character info is out for Assassin's Creed 3, what do you think of Connor and the American Revolution setting?
Foreverafter: Yeah, I always reply to my reviewers since they might have questions that are in others' minds about the story so it's easy to knock out two birds with one stone. Altaïr always managed to redeem himself since he doesn't want to fall back into old habits, even if Vivian tests his patience.
KrnYong: The only time Vivian will dare to sleep next to the man is for self-preservation against hypothermia. Lol. Altaïr always has that elegant air, whether falling into rivers or jumping from burning buildings, and he'll always make things right- even if it means dragging Vivian by her leg.
Marli-chan Tuchanka: Hope you liked this chapter!
DesertPaint: Yes, there will be a romance blossoming between Altair and Vivian but it will take time since they're quite at odds- given her unfortunate time traveling. I actually thought of killing off Maria after the baby but I can't be that cruel when Templars need smiting.
ShizukaRen-Hime: I would've loved to use that line against Templars but Vivian lacks any decent power to awe them- the most she could do is throw a rotten tomato and watch it splatter on them. Thanks for the support on the story, Vivian and Altair bow gratefully to their readers while Malik hands out cookies.
chibiassassinsFTW: I'm glad to have done so.
Kallios the Scholar: Sometimes I wonder if Maria tried to kill him because of his craziness, which Vivian always pokes fun at. I tried to make Vivian's character as natural as I could for today's optimistic bookworm but leave areas that have room for improvement throughout the story. I know the AC fan falling into their realm has been done before but I wanted to take it in a new direction with his life. As for the menstrual cycle, my research popped in with the answer that small towels and sea sponges (inserted to the similarity of a tampon) were used for menstrual flows while others knitted reusable cloth pads (of cotton, terrycloth, or flannel) to use. Poor Vivian doesn't have anybody to ask which is why she'll mortify both when she goes shopping in Giza next chapter.
Lostwithoutdoubt: Thanks for loving the story, I hope this chapter kept the figurative car running after that temporary end. I've read similar stories with the same premise but I didn't want to redo his whole adventure since there are fanfictions aplenty that keep my brain satiated with that and wanted Altaïr to head elsewhere since Ezio took over afterwards. Plus, knowing how his life went on during Revelations helps to chisel out this story as I write it. Malik does deserve a hug for all he's endured with the two and Vivian will try to get him female attention at every city they travel to- starting in the next chapter- to Altaïr's dismay.
Next Time: Two Assassins, A Historian, and A Templar Walk Into A Bar. . .
When Malik realized his companions weren't below for breakfast and morning had fully bathed the city in its light, he began to worry for the duo- especially their civilian time traveler. After he finished breakfast (he was desperately hungry, damn it), he headed upstairs to open the door himself from the outside since his friend hadn't snuck out to open it. He didn't know what to expect from the two since nobody reported excessive noise and Malik hoped there weren't mutilated limbs with fresh crimson blood smeared on the walls. His assassin senses were on full alert as he stood before the bedroom door, the wooden latch opening under his fingers to reveal. . .
Vivian and Altaїr slept soundly on in their shared bed, her form hidden under the covers with only the top of her black mane peeking through while his friend slept soundly in the center of the bed face-up. He was relieved to see they didn't carry injuries, fallen unconscious, or had trashed the room, and decided to give them privacy as he retreated downstairs to occupy himself with a book.
Altaїr awoke first, being an early riser (meaning midmorning today), and found himself smothered by not only his blankets but another human body. He hadn't accidentally killed someone in his sleep, had he? Groaning in distaste for not having a bed all to himself, he wiped his eyes with his only free hand as the sun decided to shoot its bright beam on his side of the bed and lowered his head to avoid being blinded early in the morning. Altaїr lowered one brown eye to see Vivian draped diagonally, almost horizontally, over his vertical position on the bed and he had to wonder how she even slept comfortably in such a position (and didn't suffocate being face down). He wasn't going to lie, he was a notorious bed hog since he was a bachelor but she seemed to maneuver her way around that.
Yawning into the quiet room, he rubbed her back lazily to wake her crumpled form as he felt like an owner rubbing a cat that laid on him rather than the woman she was. Truly, they were strange companions and Vivian kept boggling his mind with the tiniest actions. Her feet kicked into the air in protest, picking up their blankets as she mumbled nonsensically into the mattress and he groaned aloud into the bedroom in slight annoyance. Is this what married couples went through because if so, he was glad he'd run off from Maria before he sunk deeply into what might have been. Then again, maybe it was just the crazy little badger known as Vivian (as he'd dubbed her). She kept insisting that he maintain his attention to Maria since his future generation depended upon it but Altaïr wasn't quite ready to settle down when the Templars order remained a threat. Of course, she'd sarcastically added in that he'd be holding a cane by the time that happened but he ignored her chiding.
"Get up, you're cutting off my circulation" he whined with an annoyed grunt and decided to take matters into his hands, sitting up groggily with a face full of sunshine to watch her roll into his lap like a bale of harvested hay. Well, at least she hadn't clung onto his clothes or bed sheets subconsciously. The dormant Vivian landed on her back without a change in sleep pattern as she kept dozing on peacefully and he sighed towards the ceiling in disbelief, running his fingers through his cropped hair. How much of a deep sleeper was this woman? When her left hand twitched, his brown eyes lit up expectantly as he watched her intently to wake up. . .only to see her reach up and scratch the top of her right breast.
Was he intentionally and cruelly being tortured?
He slapped her hand away from her own bosom before she decided to venture further south and expose him to something terrifying, eliciting a protesting groan from her lips. Deciding to use the same trick she used on him when he overslept, he pinched her nose to seal off her breathing and waited for her to gulp for air. It didn't take long and she coughed loudly, rising to sit up immediately to regain her full breathing but collided her head with his when he wasn't fast enough to dodge. The contact jolted her awake and she groaned painfully as she held her throbbing head, rubbing the throbbing spot while sputtering accusingly with blazing eyes, "Altaїr!"
"You wouldn't wake and I wasn't going to watch you scratch hidden places under your nightgown!" he shot back defensively before he was blamed for something he didn't do, preferring to be blamed for butting heads with her. Otherwise, he'd never live down the wrongful accusation of groping a woman, especially the little badger that was currently glaring holes through his face.