But I do not believe Altaïr and Malik to be fools. Give them time as you would give me time, back home, when I was away. That is your greatest ally for them right now.
[ that only stokes the flames of her temper, and anger flashes in her eyes. they are not her brothers; her brothers are dead and only one, standing before, always leaving, never listening — ]
It doesn't matter. I've spent twenty years outside the Order. They can count on me, whether I am Assassin to them or not.
[A hand is instantly on her shoulder, him noticing that anger, and only trying to soothe it, not flare it any more.]
Look at me. I do not always agree with them, or like how things must be done according to their way. But we need to remain together, united. You know this, as do I. This is just as difficult for me as it is for you.
[Dio help him for the crying fit that is about to come flying back at his face.]
[ and claudia breaks. she almost does not remember the last time she cried, but it had been for mario: only a few and she had wiped her cheeks to greet her mother. oh, the thought of her mother is always a dull pain, but still, she cries harder, hand pressing to her face. gone, all of them. all of them. and ezio doesn't even know how much more they lose. ]
[This? No no, he was not expecting this, and it shows. In his face, in his eyes, in his heart. He has never seen her cry like this, not in this long at least- the last he can recall was when she was fifteen.
(...has it been that long, now? Where he can't recall his own family's struggles, their fears, their times of happiness and of sorrow? Federico, Petruccio, his father, his mother, Claudia, Mario... No, he remembers, but it's hard to pull them at times when he has spent most of his life living and breathing as an assassin. He always has.)
Arms reach for Claudia and he turns her to face him, pulling her close and simply letting her cry. He would say something, but he fears that speaking might only make things worse, instead just trying to calm her through quiet words in Italian.
Their life has been nothing but pain. Nothing but pain, sorrow, and emptiness. And it will not end, only follow them until they die, because that is how the life of an Assassin is.]
[ his comfort is not what she wants — is but as an understanding of what the templars have taken, as an understanding of what remains of their world. but it isn't, and claudia's knees buckle; she slumps against her brother, his arms the only thing keeping her from sliding to the ground.
she wonders. what if the rest of their family arrives? will they leave, smoke in her hands, blood on her face? most days, she thinks little of them; and the others, she does her best to make those memories fond. but she can imagine: petruccio growing old and strong; federico becoming as skilled as they are; their parents, together again; and mario... in her reach, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, and wishing her well on her birthday. she would complain, loud and playful, of the canons.
for all her tears, though, claudia only feels angry. at what or who, now, she has no idea. ]
[He cannot understand what she is thinking, only knows that by the way she reacts, and how he has to steady himself to keep her upright, that this is more than what he believes. Were they younger, he would fix it, do everything he could to make sure she would stop crying, to make the tears stop and to see her smile again.
But she is older, as is he, and while they continue to support each other their wants and needs are much more complicated now, more complex. Nothing is simple. He won't ask why, or what, or who, but just lets her get it out, knows that this is better than her keeping it in. All the while he can only comfort, only offer himself as a foundation, be the one who is actually physically there for her to hold. And even then, he knows it isn't enough.
It is the first time in a long while he has felt this helpless.
Ezio is prepared for many things in life, but he is not prepared for this. To not know what to do beyond comfort, to try and fix what cannot be fixed. It frustrates him, leaves him feeling that if he cannot aid his famiglia, then how will he help others, makes him wonder if this fighting between the Assassins and the Templars will ever end. And will it? He doesn't know. How can anyone ever tell when it came to this?
So there is only silence and quiet musings on his end as the night passes, a brother holding his sister as she cries in frustration, certain that the gods do not care about their Traveler's troubles, only their own. How could they, if they were to let all this happen, to take them from their worlds and to force them into a new life without warning? There are still so many questions, with no answers in sight, and Ezio is sure that is how they will remain for as long as they are here.
[ eventually, she feels...nothing. cold and empty and her heart feels like a marble in a templar's palm. it doesn't hurt, but what her thirty-ninth birthday should have been like plays in her head over and over. a different scene, a different cut, a different place, a different world, a different everything.
numb, limp, she speaks against her brother's chest. claudia could just as easily have this conversation on the ground. that would be more fitting, she thinks. ]
The Borgias kill him.
[ her throat is tight, but her voice is quiet. no more tears, only drying salt on her cheeks and air stinging the red of her eyes. ]
[Her words jab into him like the cold metal of an icepick, jutting the truth of something he doesn't want to know right into his heart. Another family member, dead by the hands of a Borgia. Just how many would be killed, how many would suffer, for this war?
She's quiet, and he cannot think of what to say. Not at first. His heart aches, at the situation overall, and how he has to make it right. It won't fix what changes back home, he knows this- but perhaps even just being united will at least make things about this city one step easier to handle and possibly escape.
Ezio simply grabs Claudia tighter, finally finding the strength to speak again.]
I will not let that happen.
[A promise he will do his utmost to keep. Both as an Auditore, and as a brother.]
[ claudia shuts her eyes, breathes deep, exhales heavy. it isn't everything she wants, but it's close enough. it's good enough. she says nothing but stands a little taller in his arms. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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I doubt I will be welcomed, if you fix it.
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[There is a nod to his words, as he understands.]
But I do not believe Altaïr and Malik to be fools. Give them time as you would give me time, back home, when I was away. That is your greatest ally for them right now.
...i think she might. have a crying fit, ohgod.
It doesn't matter. I've spent twenty years outside the Order. They can count on me, whether I am Assassin to them or not.
[ claudia turns away, prepared to leave. ]
saghjsafghjsfaghjsfa oh god babbyyyyyyyyyy ;;
[A hand is instantly on her shoulder, him noticing that anger, and only trying to soothe it, not flare it any more.]
Look at me. I do not always agree with them, or like how things must be done according to their way. But we need to remain together, united. You know this, as do I. This is just as difficult for me as it is for you.
[Dio help him for the crying fit that is about to come flying back at his face.]
my closest icon, hahaha.
/CRIES BEING AN AUDITORE IS SUFFERING
(...has it been that long, now? Where he can't recall his own family's struggles, their fears, their times of happiness and of sorrow? Federico, Petruccio, his father, his mother, Claudia, Mario... No, he remembers, but it's hard to pull them at times when he has spent most of his life living and breathing as an assassin. He always has.)
Arms reach for Claudia and he turns her to face him, pulling her close and simply letting her cry. He would say something, but he fears that speaking might only make things worse, instead just trying to calm her through quiet words in Italian.
Their life has been nothing but pain. Nothing but pain, sorrow, and emptiness. And it will not end, only follow them until they die, because that is how the life of an Assassin is.]
magical girl assassins.
she wonders. what if the rest of their family arrives? will they leave, smoke in her hands, blood on her face? most days, she thinks little of them; and the others, she does her best to make those memories fond. but she can imagine: petruccio growing old and strong; federico becoming as skilled as they are; their parents, together again; and mario... in her reach, wrapping his arm around her shoulder, and wishing her well on her birthday. she would complain, loud and playful, of the canons.
for all her tears, though, claudia only feels angry. at what or who, now, she has no idea. ]
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But she is older, as is he, and while they continue to support each other their wants and needs are much more complicated now, more complex. Nothing is simple. He won't ask why, or what, or who, but just lets her get it out, knows that this is better than her keeping it in. All the while he can only comfort, only offer himself as a foundation, be the one who is actually physically there for her to hold. And even then, he knows it isn't enough.
It is the first time in a long while he has felt this helpless.
Ezio is prepared for many things in life, but he is not prepared for this. To not know what to do beyond comfort, to try and fix what cannot be fixed. It frustrates him, leaves him feeling that if he cannot aid his famiglia, then how will he help others, makes him wonder if this fighting between the Assassins and the Templars will ever end. And will it? He doesn't know. How can anyone ever tell when it came to this?
So there is only silence and quiet musings on his end as the night passes, a brother holding his sister as she cries in frustration, certain that the gods do not care about their Traveler's troubles, only their own. How could they, if they were to let all this happen, to take them from their worlds and to force them into a new life without warning? There are still so many questions, with no answers in sight, and Ezio is sure that is how they will remain for as long as they are here.
Siamo tutti pazzi.]
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numb, limp, she speaks against her brother's chest. claudia could just as easily have this conversation on the ground. that would be more fitting, she thinks. ]
The Borgias kill him.
[ her throat is tight, but her voice is quiet. no more tears, only drying salt on her cheeks and air stinging the red of her eyes. ]
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She's quiet, and he cannot think of what to say. Not at first. His heart aches, at the situation overall, and how he has to make it right. It won't fix what changes back home, he knows this- but perhaps even just being united will at least make things about this city one step easier to handle and possibly escape.
Ezio simply grabs Claudia tighter, finally finding the strength to speak again.]
I will not let that happen.
[A promise he will do his utmost to keep. Both as an Auditore, and as a brother.]
no subject