asgardeventide | voice-->video;

Entry tags:

voice-->video;

[Good morning, Asgard, your bracelets are currently being serenaded with the sounds of crashing glass and muffled yelling and bunch of shuffling going on. It's probably not the first sound you'd expect, coming from this bracelet in particular, but after the recent escapade made by the Assassins who knows these days.

The racket you hear is continued for a few minutes, with breaks of actual words heard every so often- "let go," ""Ya Homaar!" "CAZZO!" The voices are somewhat distinguishable, and somewhat not. But when the sounds finally die there is a sound of a very frustrated Italian running his mouth off in a frenzy of insults.]

Ha una faccia tosta testa di merda! Sono incazzato! [There's sounds of angry struggling, and more incomprehensible swearing.] Let me go, stronzo!!

[For those within the shop A Needle in a Haystack, you can hear this entire commotion going on in one of the back storerooms. Which is getting entirely destroyed, by the way. You're welcome.]

Not until you speak the truth! Who are you, and what is your business here? What is this place?

How should I know, you are the one who's causing trouble!! Faccia di merda! GET OFF ME!

[There's a large WHUMF and the camera flicks on and smacks into the ground, the bracelet sliding off Altaïr's wrist and clattering across the floor. There's two men among the mess of what looks like a storage room, in white robes, one pinning the other to the floor. For those who know the voices, they will recognize that Altaïr is the one holding the other down- and the one on the ground sounds awfully familiar. Like Ezio, only… younger?]

I will ask you once more. Give me your name and return my blades, and I may spare your life.

[Ezio hisses angrily.] I don't have your blades! You have mine! Give me back my father's blade now-

Enough of your foolishness. You had your chance.

[With a sudden twist to the side, Ezio manages to escape Altaïr's pin and rolls to his feet. He rushes Altaïr in an attempt to gain the upper hand, only to essentially be suplexed and hit the floor with a loud thump. A cry of pain escapes him as the wind gets knocked out of his lungs, and Altaïr lets go long enough to grab the bracelet and cut off the feed there.]

[ooc: As punishment for their hubris as the ringleaders of this little expedition, Altaïr and Ezio have been cursed to become younger versions of themselves—Ezio is 19, and just from his killing of Vieri di Pazzi and Altaïr from one day before the incident at Solomon's Temple. Which means they're jerks now. The curse will last for three IC days. Have fun! Also, threadjacking is highly encouraged.. Bracelet replies will come after an IC delay once they stop fighting and get curious about the talking jewelry.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Alastair's late to the party because he was out on patrol, but the moment he returns it's explained to him by the other novices what's going on in the back and he wastes no time. He barges into the back room, his hood still up (because patrol okay), and he takes one look at the situation and just lets out a long, frustrated breath.

And then he sees Maria, crouched on the floor and clearly in pain. Leaving Ezio to Desmond and Altaïr to his own devices, Alastair chooses instead to help Maria, crouching down next to her and holding out his hand in a silent offer to heal.]

Sorry I'm late. What's going on?

[One second he's leaning against the chair, having just thrown something at Altaïr. The next, he finds himself wrapped in his own cloak and being pinned into the floor, being told to stop what he's doing. There's a growl and a yelp and Ezio is baring his teeth as he struggles to get the fabric off his head, wanting to throw whoever just did this to him.]

Mah, che cazzo hai?!

[At least they're not all on him this time. Altaïr gives the newcomer and the woman a stony glare as he gets to his feet.]

Explain yourselves.

[She said something about being...his wife? Someone's wife? She can't possibly be his, but he's not sure who else she'd be talking to.]

They've been made younger, just as Desmond was. Apparently this means they've become a pair of asses, especially my husband.

[Her words are spoken through her teeth as she holds out her wrist to Alastair, accepting his offer to help her.]

Altaïr just calm down and stop trying to kill him, can't you see he's only a boy and just as confused as you? You are amongst friends, we are not trying to cause you harm or lie to you. I swear to you this is the truth habeebi.

[Alastair's eyes widen and he curses under his breath. But first things first. He takes Maria's arm gently and concentrates, healing it quickly. When he's done he takes a breath and pulls down his hood, turning to look back at Altaïr, then over to Ezio. Alastair frowns and walks over to squat next to Ezio, speaking to him earnestly.]

Calm down, please. The last thing we want is for anyone to get hurt.

[Of all the people to speak to him, Alastair is the first to approach him calmly, and treat him as an equal. Not some irrational boy in robes that do not fit him, not as some impostor who is missing his father's blade. Just as a young man who has been burdened with a legacy that he must carry now, by himself.

Ezio stops struggling from under Desmond's knee, only tries to undo the cape around his face slowly, as a way of showing he's heard Alastair. There is a sigh, and a huff of frustration, but he doesn't say anything. Just stays quiet.]

[ Well y'know, Ezio, when you throw ink like a child that generally warrants getting treated like a child. Desmond does, however, slowly relent, lifting off him with no small amount of wary caution. ]

If you'd both quit squabbling, we could explain. We're not your enemies.

Then explain quickly. If you are not my enemy, why have you brought me here? Why did you take my blades? And how?

[He won't show it, but he's more than a little unnerved by how easily it was done. What drug could leave him unconscious and without memory, and how had it been administered?]

[Alastair looks between the two men, somewhat at a loss as to how to explain everything. There are a couple ways he could start. He picks one, and speaks slowly and carefully, thinking before he speaks, choosing his words with care.]

...Please just bear with me on this, it sounds crazy, it always does. This is the city of Asgard, and we were all brought here to help fight in a war to prevent the destruction of all creation. The people who brought us here are incredibly powerful and have brought many people here from many different worlds and times.

[He hesitates.]

Your missing weapons are another, longer story that might be less easy to believe. First though... what's the last thing you remember before realizing you were here? It's... important.

[If they can establish exactly where Ezio and Altaïr are coming from, it might be a little easier to find good ways to deal with them.]

[He's acting like a child because he's not been given a moment to breathe outside of being threatened or considered an idiot. How else would you expect him to react? BT

Alastair's words sound utterly ridiculous, and Ezio wants to snap back as he slowly pulls himself up, undoing the cap and revealing his face again. It's one that both Desmond and Alastair should be familiar with, the scar still only two years old and Ezio himself still really only a boy. Hearing Altaïr snap at the others, though, gives him pause, and instead watches the group around him warily.]

I had finished fighting the Pazzi.

[He breaks the silence, if only momentarily, to annoy Altaïr in giving away something so easily. Perhaps not the smartest idea, but at least Alastair is being much more trustworthy than anyone else at this point.]

]Altaïr let's out a huff of breath, irritated that the strangers persist in this folly. But if they demand an answer, fine. He can play along for the moment.]

My brothers and I had arrived in Jerusalem.

[ Desmond tilts his head, as if mistaken in what he's heard, but then things fall into place and the Assassin looks like he's seen a ghost. Images, really, that come flooding to the forefront of his thoughts.

"Fighting the Pazzi", then Vieri de Pazzi is dead, and this is only the very beginning of a long, harsh road for Ezio. What Desmond had taken as full-tilt arrogance, now it codes properly as fear, uncertainty, the outpouring of an angry young man's rage at only the very first of his family's killers.

As for Altaïr...Jerusalem? When, though? When... "My brothers and I", did he mean Kadar and-

Desmond's thoughts move immediately to Malik in the Bureau above them. He covers his mouth with his hand to hide his grimace, trying to pass it off as idly scratching his face. ]

Oh.

[ Clearing his throat, he folds his arms across his chest. ]

Alastair is correct. We haven't taken you anywhere- we were brought in as well, against our will. You're standing in the front we have here to hide the Brotherhood from the rest of Asgard.

[Seeing Ezio's face and hearing that name immediately brings to mind the dream Alastair still vividly remembers, of the sunlit square and the gallows surrounded by shouting mobs and one boy. He remembers what Ezio told him about what happened next.

Alastair stares at Ezio, and he feels a sinking feeling in his chest and stomach.

He knows exactly where Ezio is and what he's probably feeling right now.

He swallows and looks back to Desmond, and works to gather his thoughts again.]

No one in this city is your enemy.

[Altaïr just looks back at them, waiting for a reaction that will mean anything to him. They look surprised, though he can't imagine why. The younger man's response is no surprise to him, however-of course they want him to believe they are allies, to keep him placated.]

I know all those who give their loyalty to the brotherhood, and you are not among them. [Odd, though, they they speak of it with such familiarity. The existence of the Hashashin is known to many in the Holy Land, but few are familiar with more than the name.]

You'd best stand aside and...

[Altaïr trails off as he really looks at Desmond's for the first time. In an instant he's charging forward again, not to attack but to get a closer look. Why does this man look so similar to him?]

What is this sorcery?!

[ Desmond keeps himself from reflexively taking a step back, squaring his shoulders. ]

Right, look...

[ He pinches the bridge of his nose, squinting. ]

They pull people into Asgard from different times and places. I'm your descendent, Desmond.

[ He lowers his voice, talking quickly, carefully, searching Altaïr's face. ]

You were traveling with Malik Al-Sayf and Kadar Al-Sayf. Al Mualim has sent you to Jerusalem, to Solomon's Temple, to retrieve the treasure the Templars have there.

We are not Templars, Altaïr, we are not conspirators or spies, we are Assassins.

[Whoa what.

What.

What.

There's this whole Bureau and Brotherhood and Assassins and missions and it's making Ezio's head spin. He makes a face and raises his hands at that, not wanting to know anything else of what Desmond is saying.]

I have no interest in your Brotherhood or your Bureau or whatever else you may call this.

[He gestures, indicating the entire clusterfuck around them.]

I am going to avenge my family, as I planned to do before coming here.

[He looks like a concoction between a deer caught in the headlights and indignant, stepping back a few paces to give himself space.]

Keep your group as you wish, I want no part of it.

[Excuse him, he's just going to turn on his heel and make his way out the door. BYE LOSERS.]

Ezio wait, hold on. If you give us a moment I am sure your sister Claudia will be able to confirm everything Desmond has just told you.

[She holds up her hands, her wrist feeling much better thanks to Alastair's attention, and leaves her stance open and friendly.]

We are not your enemies here, and we did not do this to you. Every one of us in this place has been brought here against our will just as you, we've been taken from our families and our homes and brought to fight a battle that is not ours. I apologise for my husband, he is behaving like an ass and not himself.

[And then she turns her attention to the aforementioned ass.]

And for once in your life could you stop assuming that everything you don't understand is attributed to sorcery? Formidable though your mind may be my love, sometimes I fear you can be as dense as a brick.

Ezio, please, there's nothing you can do about avenging your family here, and there's no way to get home. It's hard to accept, but it's true.

[Alastair sounds like he understands, because he does. He knows exactly how Ezio feels, because he's felt the same way.]

We're not asking you to do anything or join us in any fight, we just want to help how we can.

[He keeps his attention to Ezio because that's who he understands right now. Anything he might try to say to Altaïr would probably come out wrong and not be a good choice of words, so he leaves him to the people who understand him better.]

[Most of this farce is so unbelievable, he shouldn't dignify it with a response. He should kill these people for their impertinence, and to keep them from impersonating the brotherhood, but...he has agreed to Al Mualim's test. Discretion may be the better option now.

But. He fixes his gaze on the woman for now, the corner of his lip curling up in a sneer.]

These men may be liars, but you speak as one crazed. Step aside and let me pass.

[He glances at Ezio, reconsidering. He has no more respect for the man than he did before, but he at least has the right idea. Neither of them want to be here.]

[The look on Altaïr's face is one so full of haughtiness and arrogance that for a split second, Maria is taken about by how unfamiliar his face seems while wearing it.

He doesn't recognise her, that much seems certain from the way he is looking at her and speaking to her, and to reveal to him who she was at the time he is from, where her loyalties laid, that will not help him trust her but she has never backed down from a challenge. She will find a way.]

I will not until you calm yourself and listen, and calling me crazed shall not sway me. This madness is not any of our making, it is the will of the gods of this place and we are slaves to it. We are not your enemies.

[She fixes her eyes upon him and tries to find the words to earn his trust.]

You do not know me, but in some months on from when you last remember we shall meet in Jerusalem. [Though she'll spare the specific details... probably for the best.] A year later our paths will cross again in Acre, and from there we will travel to Cyprus and onwards, and when we next return to Limassol together you will make me your wife. I know it is hard to believe when it has not happened for you, but I swear that the words I speak to you are the truth. Test me; ask me something only one dear to you would know.

[The others' lies make him angry, pretending to be Assassins as they do when he knows their faces are not those of his brothers, and even if he did not, he can see they have ten whole fingers.

But this woman. Despite her boldness, Altaïr is confident she is no threat. Despite that, her words set his blood to a slow boil. How dare she speak so familiarly to him, so matter-of-factly, as if the events she describes actually took place. As if he would ever feel enough for a woman to make her his.]

Cease your prattle and listen closely.

[Before anyone can stop him, he steps closer to Maria and grasps her upper arm, pulling her closer so she can hear him despite his low, icily-calm tone.]

Only one woman has been dear to me, and she is not you.

[He holds her gaze for a moment longer, then abruptly lets go.]

And never will be. I'll ask you nothing.

Now let me pass.

[His words are like a slap in the face, and despite the sick feeling that Maria feels in the pit of her stomach at seeing such ice-cold disdain from him directed at her, she refuses to move and raises her chin, keeping her gaze even and upon him as she replies in a low voice.]

I know I am not Adha. Regardless of what you may be thinking right now, you are dear to me and I would not deceive you.

[Altaïr nearly reels back in shock, that she would know Adha's name, and even his self-discipline can't hide some of the surprise he feels.

He stares at her for a long moment, considering how she can know about this part of his past, how he might learn more about their schemes to entrap him. But no—it would take too long to untangle truth from lies, and the part of him that still aches at having not been fast enough to save the woman he had thought might lead him to rest.

So he strides forward without a word, knocking her aside without a care.]

[And now, the dread and panic sets in. He doesn't know, he really doesn't believe or trust her-

Perhaps unwisely, she follows for a stride or two and reaches for his sleeve, tugging it to try to get him to stay.]

We have a son! Please habeebi do not go- I swear I speak the truth, I have pictures- ask Malik!

Edited 2013-11-17 15:49 (UTC)

Enough!

[Barely looking at her, Altaïr shoves hard to get her to release his arm. He refuses to pay her ravings any more mind.]

voice-->video;

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

Re: [Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]

[Action]