ąųdįţǫŗę (mentori) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-05-12 08:34:00 |
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Dan’s apartment was located directly over the Double Tap up a narrow and steep flight of not-so-greatly lit stairs. It was one of four, the other three currently full of crap left behind by the previous owner, or even the owner before. Dan hadn’t gotten around -- or really cared -- to go through them yet. Dan’s apartment was made up of one room that served as a living room, bedroom and dining room. There was a small galley kitchen through a narrow doorway. Another narrow door lead to a closet of a bathroom. Dan would be the first to admit that the place looked rough. The wood floor was scuffed and pitted. There were odd and random holes in the walls. Paint was peeling off the ceiling in strips. And the furniture had been new back in the 1970’s -- and that couch, god was it ugly, but surprisingly comfortable. But, be it ever so humble… Ezio was one of the very, very few people who knew about the apartment, much less been to it. In fact, Ezio and Carolina were the only ones. It wouldn’t do for a hired killer to have his dwelling common knowledge. Ezio and Dan had shared a good number of drinks at the old round metal table that designated the “dining area” of the apartment, which was where Dan sat now, cigarette between his fingers and studying the strange ring that had appeared on top of the ISZK TV sometime literally overnight. If you asked Ezio, he would say that Dan’s apartment had character. He liked the place, it suited his rough-around-the-edges friend. Ezio’s own house, with its deep, rich colors and its art and striking photographs, his marble fireplace, that all suited him - a man’s home should be his castle, no? And Ezio would also keep the location of Dan’s dwelling to himself. One thing this Assassin was good at was living in the shadows, locking secrets and skeletons up and throwing away the key. You had to, or things would have gone downhill for the Order very fast. He arrived without his robes and belt (which had pouches for a good number of things - smoke bombs, poisons, medicine vials, bullets) but definitely wearing the Hidden Blade. The mechanism of it was fascinating, at least in Ezio’s opinion - da Vinci had really upgraded the tool Ezio inherited from his father, also an Assassin, and made it so that he did not have to lose his ring finger to wear it. True to its name, it was hidden - looking at Ezio in his t-shirt with light jacket over that, you’d never even know it was there. Until he stabbed you, anyway. “Danilo,” he knocked on the door lightly, sloshing the contents of a bottle he gripped in his hand. “I brought you something, I hope you are ready for company.” Hearing the knock, followed by Ezio’s distinct voice, Dan set his cigarette down in the ashtray before getting to his feet to answer. The floor creaked and groaned under his feet. No one was going to be able sneak up on anyone in the apartment that was for damn sure. He saw the bottle in Ezio’s hand and broke into a wide grin. “;Ow sweet, ya brought me a present.” He opened the door wide, “C’mon in. Ya know where the glasses are, yeah?” Once Ezio was inside, Dan closed and locked the door behind him. Ezio may have been one of two people who Dan had divulged the location of his home to, but one could never be too cautious. “Don’ mind the mess,” he said. The mess being the large number of books of all genres and in various states of read that littered the apartment. Other than them, and the fact that Dan’s bed was in a constant state of unmade, the apartment was fairly tidy, even if it was falling apart at the seams. While his guest made himself at home and made with the drinks, Dan returned to the table to pick up his cigarette for a drag. “Ya wanna see the ring?” “Not at all - is not a mess, really, it just looks lived in,” Ezio grinned, in that patented Auditore sort of way, crooked and charming. He did indeed know where the glasses were and he got two of them, plus a bottle opener - and he could not wait to dip into this gem of a prize, something his sister had sent from Italy. It was sloe liqueur, a rare kind of spirit - the sloe were a deep shade of blue, berries called prugnole in his home country, gathered with sticky and stained fingers and soaked in grain alcohol with white wine and sugar. Over time the flavors rounded out nicely, and this bottle had been sitting for awhile in Claudia’s cellar. She must have known her brother needed a little pick-me-up, what with all the ridicolo nonsense that happened in where he chose to live. He poured them both glasses of the drink, prugnolino (and you’d be hard pressed to find such a delicious version outside of Italy - what, Italians knew their after-dinner beverages) and settled at the table. “A ring that set your curtains on fire? Of course I want to see it. Then I will also show you something - these dreams have been somewhat generous lately.” When they were not causing problems, that is. Generous wasn’t the term Dan would have used. So far all he’d gotten from these fucked up Dreams was an old TV – which was currently sitting on the floor in front of his bed – and the Fire Ring. The hell was he supposed to do with a TV that didn’t actually work? Dan didn’t watch a lot of television anyway, just enough to remain up to date with what was going on in the world. His entertainment came from books. That is, when he wasn’t out committing death defying feats with his Italian friend here. The ring, though. That might actually prove useful at some point. Dan wasn’t sure if using it would be a good idea. So far those who dreamed of magical jewelry all had horror stories to tell, and they had been more than happy to share. Dan had accidentally set the curtains on fire and nothing bad had happened directly to him. No possessions, no “my precious” or anything like that. Just singed curtains. “Take a look an’ tell me whatcha think,” Dan said. He traded Ezio the ring for a glass of that extremely delicious looking liqueur. He grinned as he took a drink from his glass. “Ooooh, Ezio, this is good! What is it?” The ring itself didn’t look particularly interesting. It was sized to fit Dan’s finger, of course, and had a setting that looked a lot like a class ring. There was no year or school name engraved in the band. The stone could have been a ruby, it was dark and red, but there was nothing about it that looked especially threatening or powerful. “In the Dreams I got it from a little girl’s head I found in the washroom,” Dan explained between draughts from his glass. He paused when he realized just how that sounded. “I mean, the girl’s head gave it to me.” Yeah, that didn’t sound any better. “It is prugnolino, made from handpicked berries and - que?!” Ezio interrupted himself, because what Dan said just all of a sudden hit him like a ton of bricks. His reaction was a startled laugh, because no, getting a ring from a girl’s head did not really make sense to him. He had so many questions. “Why was a girl’s head in the washroom? And where on her head did you find the ring?” He knew of looting bodies, of course, but looting a head (by itself, one lone head) seemed a little macabre even for him. As always, he was morbidly curious about Danilo’s dreams. They were just so...odd. The ring with its blood red stone was studied in his grip, carefully, and he slipped it on - didn’t fit Ezio exactly, but he could get it on his middle finger at least. “It does not feel hot or anything. Which is good. Perhaps you have to activate it for it to - “ A stream of fire shot from the fucking thing then - though luckily there was not anything directly in its path to burn through. It reminded Ezio of a miniature blowtorch or some such. “I will just leave this to you,” he chuckled again, taking off the artifact. “Could be useful for many reasons. And I would not worry too much about it - sometimes a fire ring is just a fire ring, no matter what other people say.” Really, he didn’t think Dan was cursed for an eternity just by owning this piece of jewelry. Everyone’s dreams were different, after all. Dan shrugged, another draught from his glass and puff on his cigarette. The two seemed to go together, although, Dan hadn’t found an alcohol yet that didn’t go with a smoke. “Dunno,” he said. “She was just there, hangin’ out in one a the dryers with tha ring inner mouth, as you do when yer a head, I guess.” Another shrug. “She told me this really weird story ‘bout how cloudy days were the best days to-” It was that moment that a jet of flame erupted from the ring, licking the air harmlessly between the two men, but cutting Dan off right in mid thought. He watched the flame until it died again, back into the ring it had come from “-use a dryer…” He raised a brow and looked at Ezio, a grin slowly spreading across his face. “Aye, that’s pretty much ‘ow it ‘appened t’ me the first time.” A head hanging out in the dryers, merda. That must make for one incredible prank, one incredible surprise, when unsuspecting people went to do their laundry. “Cloudy days were the best days to do what?” Ezio asked, taking a sip from his glass. Ah, delicioso - sometimes you could make a spiced version of the drink too, with cinnamon and cloves, but he liked his homemade liquor either way. And for some reason he really had to know what cloudy days were the best days for. “Do you think you will get any more rings like this? One that shoots icicles, maybe?” he smiled wryly. The television was still a mystery though. What was that thing for? Then, a television could just be a television also. Maybe there was nothing supernatural about it at all. Dan had figured out what the television was for, and he wasn’t sure if he liked it. The idea that he could, at any time, switch into any of the other Smiths by way of the electronic legit gave him the creeps and he was more than willing to leave it well enough alone. “Cloudy days are the best days t’ use the dryer. That’s what she said,” he shrugged. “I don’ know if she meant usin’ the dryer fer laundry, or if she meant usin’ the dryer t’ ‘ang out in. ‘Cause she was spinnin’ around good in there when I found ‘er. She also said that particular dryer was ‘er favorite an’ she never lets anyone else use it. Then said I was in the way, called me rude an’ shut the door.” How a head could talk much less shut a dryer door was one of the many, many mysteries Dan’s Dreams seemed fully content in not explaining. The Flame Ring was back on Dan’s finger by this time and he took a moment to glance at it. “Dunno,” he said thoughtfully. “Kinda got a feeling I probably will.” He drained what was left in his glass and turned his attention back onto Ezio. “Awright, I showed ya mine. Time t’ show me yers. Whatcha get from the Dreams?” Dan hoped it was some new badass weapons. He had a thing for weapons. Nope, using the dryer on cloudy days did not make sense to Ezio either. He had a feeling that most of Danilo’s dreams would be like that - if he tried to make sense of them, he would just end up with an exploded head. It would not be pretty. “I hope you do, useful rings are much better than something...sconveniente,” he smirked, accent wrapping the word up warmly. Yes, inconvenient - like injury or death, those were two prizes he did not feel needed to cross over into this world. Though, yes, speaking of badass weapons. That was exactly what Ezio had. “It is called the Hidden Blade,” he said, pushing up the sleeve of his jacket a little - the leather bracer on his wrist was visible, metal plates on either side, but that’s all it looked like for now. Then, making sure he wasn’t close enough to stab Dan, he let the blades out. Thwick was the comforting sound he was used to, he’d used them so often - in dreams, rather. Thwick was usually followed by squish. Dual Hidden Blades meant, basically, an instant kill. He held out his arm, in case Dan wanted to examine the mechanism. “I have a Poison Blade and a Hidden Gun also. And a sword,” he added, laughing lightly. “Most of the weapons were upgraded by da Vinci at some point.” Dan let out an appreciative whistle at the sight of the blades thwacking into existence from the bracer. His eyes looked over the weapon with covetous glee. Why couldn’t his Dreams give him neat shit like this? Course, the type of Assassins the Smith Syndicate was were much more the In Your Face sort. Stealth was not something his Dreams commonly dealt with. In that aspect (as with just about every other aspect of his Dreams) Dan was envious. “Vera nice,” he said with a hint of awe. He did not for one moment take his eyes off the bracer. It was like looking at a fine piece of art. It was sinful what Dan would have given of himself to even the devil himself in order to have a Hidden Blade of his own. “Ya say these were upgraded by da Vinci?” Dan’s eyes finally flickered up from the weapon strapped to Ezio’s arm. “As in Leonardo da Vinci? Ya tellin’ me ‘e was a part o’ yer order, Ezio? Eagle Sight an Leap o’ Faith an’ all?” In Ezio’s opinion, the Hidden Blades really were like a work of art - the intricate details of their design, the belts and buckles, the sharpness and the beauty in its deadly nature. “Si, Leonardo added a second blade to my own - long ago, before I ever inherited my father’s Hidden Blade, the design required the wearer to remove their ring finger. But - “ He turned his arm a bit, studying his wrist, “...luckily, that is not the case now.” Whew. Having all his fingers was important. “Leonardo, he was more of a, hm...supporter of the Order and our goals?” Ezio tried to think of how to describe it - he and da Vinci had been friends for what felt like eons; they’d been through everything together, and Ezio missed him even here. “He designed new weapons for us throughout our travels, our missions, and upgraded other weapons. Then eventually he was offered a place in the Order but he refused, wanting to lead more of a solitary life. I suppose I cannot blame him.” Leonardo had made his own decision anyway, it was his own choice. Ezio respected that. “‘Spose that’s lucky fer you,” Dan quipped with a grin. “Dunno what it was like back in yer day, but aroun’ here, people tend t’ notice when ya don’ got all yer digits.” It was time for more of that amazing prugnolino Ezio had brought over. He refilled his glass and then Ezio’s as well. “Da Vinci was an amazing man,” he commented as he poured. “An’ from what I’ve read a ‘im, there is a part o’ me that wouldn’t at all be surprised t’ learn that ‘e supported some kind o’ secret order o’ assassins in this world as well.” He set the bottle down again and took a drag off his cigarette. “But seein’ ‘im as an actual assassin?” Dan looked thoughtful. He’d read quite a bit on da Vinci and his contemporaries some years ago when he was going through a Renaissance-ey kind of phase. “No. I don’ see ‘ow he could’ve been.” Another drag. “But’cha got t’ meet the man ‘imself.” A wistful sort of noise followed that statement. “That in itself is a great gift, Ezio.” Even if it was only in the Dreams -- supposedly a completely different world. To meet a man like Leonardo da Vinci, to know a man who had literally changed the world. There weren’t enough weapons or alcohol known to man that could compete with something quite so wondrous. That grin was back a moment later, cock-eyed and smirking. “An’ ‘ere I am talkin’ wit girls ‘eads in dryers. What a world, Ezio. What a world.” What world indeed. Ezio retracted the blades he had out, ensuring the safety mechanism was on before he picked up his glass and took a grateful pull from it - ahhh, the refreshing taste of the sloe; it slithered through him in tendrils of warmth. “I suppose you are right. I wonder how it will end for the both of us - there, not here. We still have much of a life to live here,” he replied thoughtfully. That also brought up something he’d been considering more and more, ever since he had his tarot reading with Vanessa at the bookstore. She’d spoken of contentment, at least until what wa undoubtedly his death. And Ezio could see it - he was not getting any younger, after all. In his dreams, he aged every day. Medicine was not as advanced as it was in this day and age... “If something happens here - “ He paused, realizing this may seem ridiculous. “I want you to have this,” he motioned toward where he wore the Hidden Blade. “And my other weapons.” The sudden shift in conversation caught Dan off guard. If something happens -- the fuck? Dan really did want that beautiful piece of art strapped to Ezio’s arm, but not at the expense of his friend’s life. Let the Devil come and dangle it front of his face. Dan would shiv the Dark Prince in the stomach before agreeing to such a deal. Fuck that. There was some honor left among thieves -- or professional killers in this case. The words were so loaded and given what both Dan and Ezio dreamed about, Dan had to wonder: did someone have it out for the scholarly Italian? His eyes narrowed, but just for a moment. If that were the case, well, he would just have to step in on his buddy’s behalf. Free of charge. It’s what friends did. “You expectin’ somethin’ t’ happen t’ ya, Ezio?” He asked carefully. He had no compulsion to lay his cards on the table if the answer was yes. And Ezio rather loved his Hidden Blade - anyone who tried to take it would have to pry it from his cold, dead fingers but should he in fact ‘bite the dust’? He at least wanted to be assured that his weapons would be finding themselves with someone worthy. The assassin to assassin kinship was a strong one. “Sort of,” he confessed, knocking back the best of his drink. “I had my tarot cards read with someone from the network. She saw a period of contentment before death - for the man in my dreams, I mean. I am uncertain as to what will cross over to me now, but just in case.” You might not think so, but he was glad to go out the way he did in Italy, in the 1500s - he had survived so much, he’d accomplished so much for his Order and made quite a name for himself; he had this beautiful, wonderful, terrible life and what finally took him when he was old and grey (early sixties, which was somewhat long-lasting for the times) was likely something mundane. There were worse ways to go. That he knew firsthand, because he had been responsible for ending his fair share of lives. Tarot cards. Not the answer Dan had been expecting and put hard and fast breaks on the whole notion of telling Ezio that he didn’t just dream of killing people. He couldn’t help but a little laugh. “Ya got a readin’ on the man in your Dreams? Kinda sounds like ya got gyped, man.” Dan took a drink from his glass as he gathered more of this thoughts. He didn’t like the idea of the Dreams dictating when and how they died. “I’m flattered t’ be in yer will, Ezio, but all the same,” he grinned and held up his glass, “I ‘ope ya decide t’ stay on this cold rock for a little while longer, ‘cause it’d be boring as hell withoutcha.” “She just did a general reading, and it was the man in my dreams - me there - who she saw in the cards,” Ezio said, and he remembered Vanessa telling him that when she did readings for those who experienced the dreams, sometimes that happened. It certainly made him not want to close his eyes at night though, he would admit that much. Who wished to dream of themselves dying? Especially when so much crossed over, and no one could control that here. But he would simply have to hope for the best. “You are right that it would be boring, and besides, I would haunt you if I was dead,” he winked, and clinked his glass against Dan’s. Cheers to being an annoyingly charming ghost indeed. |