Ezio Auditore (mentore) wrote in the100, @ 2016-04-20 21:50:00 |
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Entry tags: | !log/thread, claudia auditore, ezio auditore |
WHO: Claudia Auditore & Ezio Auditore
WHEN: April 18th, 2016
WHERE: Intake
WHAT: Claudia arrives. Ezio hugs her a lot. She threatens to stab him. Ah, siblings.
WARNING: None really. For assassins, they’re pretty well-mannered here.
The Auditore are not dead. It was a line throughout their lives, and now Claudia felt herself whispering it as they ended up in this strange, strange world. The only thing saving the people that brought her in was that they swore - on their lives, though they didn’t know it - her brother was here. ”Only just recently returned”, they said. Of course her brother was here. If there was trouble brewing, Ezio was involved. Recently, Claudia had found herself more in the loop, but the fact that her daughter was here as well was troubling. Giuliana was often left in the villa, with guard and governesses abound, protecting the youngest Auditore. Giuli was now exploring, at her mother’s wary agreement, and Claudia was left alone with her thoughts as she waited for someone to notify Ezio of her arrival. But Claudia was never very good at waiting. She did it out of necessity, most days, but she had an itch to do her own exploring and her brother was taking his sweet time. Finally, Claudia huffed and ripped open the door, intent on searching for Ezio. Getting back to the mountain had been a whirlwind so far, and frankly, Ezio wasn't sure which way was up. He would be doing fine one minute, and the next he was getting a headache from the blurry memories of a life he hadn't really lived, or overthinking the two some odd weeks he had lived. When they had told him his sister and niece were here, he'd feared they were toying with him. It would be the brilliantly unfair topper to an uncomfortable day. That didn’t stop him from beating a hasty path for intake. After not even remembering half their family existed for several weeks, there was nothing Ezio wanted more than to see Claudia and Giuliana. He nearly ran into someone in the hall, he was in such a single-minded rush, which is why Claudia opened the door to Ezio apologizing profusely to someone. He caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye and spun towards her. “Claudia. You are very late,” he announced in a mock-serious tone before his smile dawned bright and wide, nearly as wide as his arms opening to her. “I insist on your immediate undivided attention, as recompense,” he joked, knowing full well she might have a million yet unanswered questions and very little patience left to ask them. “Oof.” She muttered a swear word under her breath in Italian, just as she was drawn into a hug with her big brother. Big, being the operative word. He often engulfed her slight build beyond measure. But Ezio was always a big fan of giant hugs and reunions, something they had become quite accustomed to over the years. Most of those years spent apart. Early on, they had paid a toll on her, being the sole one with much responsibility on her shoulders when Ezio was off being an Assassin, but she had eventually grew into the role and accepted the solidarity of it. “My invitation must have become lost in the mail, Ezio. Though I am not surprised to find you here.” Her words were slightly muffled by his clothes, but she leaned away enough to give him a harsh, judging look. “No doubt getting in trouble.” Ezio was in no rush to let his sister go. Surely she would vanish in a blink, leaving him feeling like he’d been kicked in the teeth. That was apparently the sort of thing that happened around here, after all. Still, he forced himself to ease back, pressing a kiss to Claudia’s temple as he let her go. “Me, trouble? Never.” His teasing smirk wobbled, falling into a serious line. “Are you well? Where is Giuli? Is she well? How much did they tell you?” It likely wasn’t fair to be pestering his sister with overbearing questions already, but old habits did not die after a mere few months apart. A few months was nothing. They had practice at that. The only difference had been the fear that it was forever, and the lack of contact whatsoever. Perhaps he would give her the letters he’d scrawled out to her, hidden away in his wardrobe. “Ezio. Fratello.” It was impossible to get a word in when Ezio was like this, and she knew it, but it didn’t stop Claudia from rolling her eyes in the most exaggerated of ways. She didn’t believe him about the trouble, but no matter where they had been or what they were doing, she would not have. Trouble found Ezio. Ezio found trouble more than it found him, even. “Giuliana is exploring, she is well - I am fine.” There was a lot to unpack with all of his questions, and she wasn’t completely sure where to start. Their lives were already strange, yes, which made this adjustment … easier, than it would have been otherwise? “They told me a great deal, though I am still not sure what to make of it. And they were pleased I did not stab anyone, though it was a close thing. I am to work as a teacher, here. It is true there are no Templars?” Merda, Ezio was so happy to see her, he thought he might burst. He managed to temper his smile at fratello at least, and only grinned half as stupidly as he might have otherwise. Pressing a hand to her back, he gestured down the hall. If she’d been told to wait for him, she probably hadn’t seen much of this strange place for herself. “It is true, as far as we know. There are other enemies here, natives to this world and some who are unbelievably foreign, but if Templars are here, they have not shown their hand.” Ezio walked slowly down the hall, assuming she would follow along. “Teaching, though. That is good, yes? It will let you keep close to Giuliana. At least until you are more comfortable here. We are...we are not the only assassins to end up here,” he said quietly, leaning towards her. It wasn’t a secret any more, but it still felt odd talking off such things loudly, as if he was putting Evie and Jacob at risk with his loose lips. Thinking of Jacob made nervousness zing up his spine and he turned more fully to Claudia with a shaky smile. “They are good people. Siblings like us. From England.” Claudia did not only follow, but increased her stride so that she could walk at his side, as his equal. It was something she did often, with most men, due to the fact that they were always so insistent she was a lesser woman. Ezio never did it maliciously, at least, but it did take him a while to see her as an equal and not just a baby sister - through more fault of their environment and his need to protect her than anything. He was the only person she didn’t hold it against, because it was … well, Ezio. “Teaching is… good. Familiar. I did a great deal of it home before-” Before she was inducted into the Order, and before things got .. decidedly more crazy. “Well. Before things. But- Other Assassins and no Templars? Tell me the downside.” More Assassins was not an unfamiliar idea to her, at least, not with how much time she spent with Niccolo and the other Italian Assassins, especially when Ezio wasn’t around, and over the last year. But siblings was pleasant to hear, and had her raising her eyebrows. “Another woman, really?” “Well…,” Ezio smirked darkly, “...I suppose the downside is that our home is now a stifling mountain and the world is mostly rubble and overgrown nature.” Having had a few months to adjust to that, Ezio might not have sounded all that bothered. But after a few weeks with modern conveniences and things he could never hope to see here, he was a little conflicted. Not that he wanted to go back to Storybrooke. Quite the opposite. Shaking his head to clear his wandering thoughts, Ezio smiled mischievously at his sister. “Anyway, yes. Another woman. Dame Evie Frye. Very skilled, very bright. She knows, well, much of what there is to know about us. She will be beside herself to meet you.” Ezio skipped past explaining why Evie knew so much about them, though it would likely come up sooner rather than later. If they’d explained much of this world to Claudia, then at least he wouldn’t have to be the one to talk about the future with her first. Selfishly, his mind kept circling back to Jacob, anyway. “I’m sure Jacob will be pleased to meet you as well. He is…” Ezio paused, not wishing to throw too much at his sister at once, but not wanting her to find out certain details elsewhere. He settled for a vague middle ground for now. “I am very fond. Of them both. I will introduce you once you are settled.” Claudia wrapped her mind around that - more Assassins, never truly a bad thing, though because they were being mentioned made her acknowledge that Niccolo was likely not here. No true matter, especially not that she would ever mention missing her occasional mentor. The idea of another female Assassin was most intriguing, however, and had her smiling privately to herself. Much questions would be asked there, as there was always an understanding between women that men could never understand. “Bene, Ezio. I look forward to meeting them, if you speak fondly of them.” She smiled, and suddenly remembered what was stashed among her things when she was brought here. “Speaking of fond friends-” Reaching into the secret compartment of her skirts, Claudia brought out two letters, both still sealed and smelling of old parchment from their time. “You will want to read these later, I am sure. Save the one from Niccolò for when you need to go to sleep, it is no doubt long and boring. I do not know when you last saw Leonardo, though.” Ezio’s eyes widened slowly as she pulled out the letters and he definitely snatched them up with a little too much zeal. He smiled, stared at them for a moment and then pulled his sister into a tight hug. “Claudia. I thought never to see read such letters ever again. I am…” Pulling away, he cleared his throat and stood straighter. It was ridiculous to feel emotional over a pair of letters that would likely be very mundane with Cesare out of the picture, but here he was. “I am very grateful,” he finally said, quietly, tucking the letters away for later. “Now, what can I do for you? Do you have other questions? Do you want a tour?” Ezio looked down the hall, where remnants of the goblin battles were still be cleaned away. “I will be getting back to helping with clean up soon, but I want to make sure you have everything you need first.” “If you do not stop hugging me, I will stab you,” Claudia warned, shaking her head at her brother’s ridiculousness. Not that she would have it any other way - but she would never admit that to him. Her threats were empty, and she knew it just as well as he did. But it never stopped her before, and she would not let the strangeness and newness of this place stop her, either. Perhaps the lack of places to hide and run if she did murder her brother stopped her short, though. Glancing around at her whereabouts, she had a good feel for the place already, but no true desire to poke her head where she was not wanted so early, so Claudia nodded swiftly. “I believe I have everything I need, but I would like a tour.” She looped her arm through his, in their customary escort fashion. “Lead on, Ezio. You always know the most interesting places to go and people to meet. I have high expectations.” Ezio lifted his chin and laughed. Were that threat aimed at anyone else, he would have no choice but to take it seriously. As it was, he only curled his arm snugly with hers and smiled obnoxiously wide. “All I heard out of that was the flattery. Come on, then. You’ll scarcely believe the wonders hiding in this drab mountain top.” |