Evie Frye is the intrepid sister (thesilentknife) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-06-26 18:24:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, evie frye, ezio auditore da firenze |
Who: Ezio and Evie
What: Food, company and a night of alcoholism in the wake of heartbreak.
When: This evening
Where: Ezio's place
Warnings: Mentions of murder, emotions, but otherwise pretty tame
Being apart from his family was sometimes difficult, yes, but his sister seemed to know Ezio very well - she knew when he would best benefit from care packages, and even if he would be traveling to Italy soon (presumably to stock up on delicious things), she’d sent a box stuffed with goodies to celebrate the end of his first semester as a professor in the States.
The crowning glory in that box, however, was the bottle of golden liquid called gocce imperiali - or imperial drops if you wished to translate, and named such a thing for a specific reason. That reason being the liquor, made from scratch by monks in an ancient abbey, must be consumed ‘drop by drop’ or else it would literally burn your throat - it was arguably the strongest liquor in the world, at 92% alcohol and giving off the aroma of saffron and anise. Ezio thought it tasted like licorice and hellfire.
It was perfect when you wanted to give the bird to life, in his opinion.
Helpfully, the box was also stuffed with kinder surprise chocolates (probably outlawed in the States, because of the choking hazard - merda, some people were just stupid) and pan di stelle, cocoa and hazelnut cookies with sugar stars sprinkled on top. He could kill a box of those easily.
Evie was back in Orange County, so he was happy to have her take up his offer of being fed something delicious and getting fall-down drunk. He’d spent all day preparing maiale al latte (pork cooked in milk - it was simple, tender with a touch of nuttiness after mingling with things like garlic, onion, and prosciutto, and very homey). Since nothing was worse than burnt milk, it also meant slow cooking. And sipping wine while getting comfortable in the kitchen. With it went a fresh fettuccine, because it was well-documented that carbohydrates cheered you up.
He was on his third or so glass of wine, stirring, while he waited.
It hadn’t been easy to go back home to London, not after the last attacks that had rocked the city. But Evie had also found it to be what she needed. She’d been able to see her brother and catch up with him. Of course, despite how well she could stuff her emotions into a box and lock them away, Jacob had been able to tell something was wrong. That had led to a blubberfest. But aside from that, she’d done some work, trying to help attain intel as quickly as possible.
Evie had also been in London on election day, and stuck around long enough to hear the results and the hung parliament that had come of it. After that, and with her superiors’ okay, she left. But Evie didn’t return to America. Instead, she took a very roundabout way to get to the Middle East so as not to be easily tracked or pinpointed for her visiting the Middle East. Eventually, she’d arrived in Dubai and took ground transportation from there.
Evie had all the intel she needed to track down a couple ISIS cells. She spent a lot of time tracking them down and then planning her approaches when she’d take them out. But they never knew what hit them. She always struck under the cover of darkness, all the better to blend in with her black Assassin clothing. Silent strikes took down the men one by one until she’d finally taken them all out. Then it was a rinse and repeat for another cell.
A couple weeks had passed and Evie had now come back to America. While the time abroad had been good to distract her from the heartbreak she felt, the instant she was back in California it all hit her again, especially when she got back to her flat. Which was one of the reasons she was going over to Ezio’s. She wanted company, and to try and forget her feelings, but she wasn’t completely certain she would be able to.
Arriving at his place, she knocked on the door and waited. She’d gotten a decent amount of sleep so she wasn’t so jetlagged, and she actually looked halfway decent for someone who had spent two weeks running around in the desert. She hadn’t suffered any wounds either, so she didn’t have to explain away any gunshot wounds to anyone.
Ezio opened the door, greeting Evie with a grin that was crooked and charming. “Bueonasera,” he invited her in - no doubt it smelled like mouthwatering delights in this house, and he was proud of that. The whole idea was to make sure Evie ate something hearty (she’d been busy lately) but also to hear about her trip. Not to mention, back in Orange County Ezio had gotten up to a few things as well.
Dan Smith appearing at his house, bleeding and suffering a gunshot wound. Apparently he was deeply embedded in the kind of life Ezio lived in his dreams - only now this was a whole new life entirely, and Ezio had tracked down the one who shot his friend. With a dual Hidden Blade mechanism, it didn’t take much to kill him. Now was he, a mere Art History professor, getting back into that life too? It was difficult to say.
But even though he knew the burdens of that life, the thanklessness it brought, a part of him still wanted to be out there with Evie, doing what they did best. He was not sure what that said - besides that something had awakened within him. Like a light bulb switching on.
Ezio would go over that with her though. “Have a seat, and I’ve got imperial drops from Italy - but other alcohol as well, whatever you like. You look well-rested, somewhat, mia cara.” She looked nice in general. Honestly, he had no idea what was wrong with that former lover of hers. He’d have wooed the fuck out of Evie if he wasn’t already involved.
Evie managed a smile in return, though it probably wasn’t as bright as her smile tended to be. But then she was hit with the scents of the food Ezio had been cooking as she stepped inside. It smelled positively delicious in here. Thankfully, Evie had brought her appetite. The long, hard work she’d done in tracking down ISIS had burned a lot of carbs, and she hadn’t exactly had full, hearty meals in between her hunting. She’d gotten by on near ration type food, and eating what she needed to keep moving.
“I think wine, for starters. It would go better with the delicious-smelling food you’ve made.” She responded. Perhaps later she’d try the imperial drops, but for now, wine sounded like a better option. Besides, Evie would rather be mostly sober while relating what she’d been up to the past couple weeks.
“Thank you, I made sure to get a decent amount of sleep before coming over. Still have some jetlag, but nothing that I won’t get over shortly.” As long as she didn’t have to work around the clock, of course. Terrorism never slept, and sometimes Evie herself didn’t sleep because of it. “How have you been, Ezio? Hopefully you haven’t gotten into too much trouble while I’ve been away?”
“A fair amount of trouble,” Ezio winked, going to his extensive wine rack to select a bottle of white - a bit dry, but it would pair well with pork. It gave off the delightful aroma of peaches, allspice, even rose petals. Pop went the cork, and he poured them both glasses. “It has been...interesting. But first tell me all about your trip. You went to London, yes? Did you see you brother?”
He handed Evie the glass, settling on the sofa while simultaneously letting the decadent dish finish its fragrant simmering in the kitchen.
“And don’t leave anything out. Especially the parts that involve blades.”
Evie just chuckled softly at the trouble comment. She finally took a seat and made herself comfortable while Ezio opened the wine. Taking her glass with a note of thanks, she took a moment to inhale the aroma of the wine before she took a sip of it.
“Yes, I went to London. And I did see my brother. He had me worried because he hadn’t returned any of my messages, so I may have scolded him a bit when I saw him, as well as delivering a punch to his shoulder, but he was fine. We talked for a while before I had to report in for work. Which I cannot talk about because it’s all classified. But I think I can say I helped to make the world a little safer in the couple days I spent back home.”
She drew in a breath, letting herself relax a little more. “I was also in London on election day, even saw the results roll in before I began my journey to the Middle East.” Evie had not been a supporter of Brexit, so she was more than a little relieved by the fact the conservative party lost their majority in Parliament.
Ah, to be in London for such a historic thing. Ezio kept up with the news, naturally, and to him it just seemed like the world was going to hell in a handbasket. That was why it seemed important to do all they could do, to right such things, if they were able. “That was quite a debacle, no?” he chuckled throatily. “I am interested to see what happens next.” He sipped his wine, after swirling it in the glass a little to let the scents waft up into his nose - what was that saying, a good wine was like a gentle kiss? He would make love to this wine if it were a person, but Italians did enjoy their vino.
“We in my homeland had our Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian Donald Trump. They had much in common, not just a bad spray tan and being lecherous. Europe’s made its fair share of mistakes too. I am glad you are doing what you can to make the world safer, bella,” he said. “And then what happened?” He waited to hear with bated breath!
“It really was,” Evie agreed as she sipped her wine again. Things were a mess, that was for certain. However, she also knew there was a bright spot of hope in it all. “At least the French of all people didn’t go off the deep end in their election.” It hadn’t been a given considering how much the far right in that country were supporting Marine Le Pen. “Now it shall be interesting to see what happens in Germany later this year.” She hoped Germany could maintain sense as well.
“Indeed Europe has, but so has the world at large. As long as I am able to help capture some terrorists and stop some attacks from happening in my day job, then I’m happy.” Which was only as much as she could expect when she wasn’t supposed to be in the field tracking these dangerous people around.
“Well, I obviously took a roundabout way to get to Afghanistan. I didn’t want my superiors getting suspicious of where I was going. I met in person with a couple of my contacts just to confirm some of the intel they’d passed to me a couple weeks earlier. They had knowledge of three cells. So, I took their intel and began my hunt. It was almost laughable getting into their compounds. While they had guards and defenses, they obviously weren’t expecting anyone to actually attack them, let alone someone do it from shadows at night.” She smirked a bit at that. Oh, she definitely enjoyed being a one woman army. That was the beauty of being an Assassin, you didn’t need an entire army. If you did things right, one person could take down many.
“They were not even expecting anyone to find their cells,” Ezio grinned a bit - when you got down to it, ISIS was not terribly hard to predict. They were somewhat disorganized, even. That was evident when some cracked out ‘homegrown terrorist,’ or whatever they were called, built a bomb from materials in the pantry and then used it out in a public space - and ISIS jumped in to take credit for it. Right, of course. That was completely them, masterminded this whole time.
Although taking out ISIS was more difficult than the American president thought - he had not accomplished it yet, despite his promises that it would only take thirty days. Cazzo.
But he was glad to hear that Evie...enjoyed herself. In a way. Alright, it was enjoyable to take out scum on a cleanup job. “You blew off some steam, yes?” he asked. “I was worried for you, I admit. Not that you wouldn’t be able to handle yourself but I suppose I just do not like seeing you hurt.”
“Precisely,” she responded. Evie always did enjoy the element of surprise and catching her opponents off-guard. ISIS had always been opportunistic. They were semi-organized in that they knew how to recruit soldiers to their cause and generate propaganda. But beyond that, they did have finite numbers. Even more finite now with Evie’s accomplishment of taking down a few of their cells.
“I did, yes. Lots of steam.” Evie sipped her wine, thoughts momentarily turning to Yang before she pulled herself back to the present conversation. “How sweet of you to worry for me, but I assure you I was not injured. At least nothing more serious than bruises. I was not shot. I’d make a very poor Assassin if I got shot easily.” She chuckled.
Evie was also one whose strength was in stealth. She couldn’t very well call herself a master of stealth and get shot. That was the opposite of being stealthy.
Ezio gave her a look - just a quirk of a raised eyebrow, really, but it spoke volumes. “I more meant hurt...emotionally,” he clarified. And of course Evie had been hurt by a breakup - she was not made of stone, after all. It seemed as if she and her former companion were not together long but still. The heart could be broken at any point, even if not much time had been invested. Time did not seem to matter in these situations.
He leaned forward his elbows on his knees, cradling the wine glass, holding it carefully. “I am not saying talking helps all of the time - “ There were instances where it could make things worse, even. This was probably not one of them though. “But you need to not hold everything in, bella. Did you at least confide in your brother about how you feel?” Ezio hoped she did. Evie was young, and beautiful, and resilient - obviously she would find someone else who would work to make her happy, and would want to work on a relationship too. It was just hard to get back up again, after being left for someone else.
Especially in that instance. The girl hadn’t even made up some bullshit about how ‘it’s not you, it’s me.’ Evie pointe blank knew she was being tossed aside because of a dream love interest. At least she got the truth, but fuck - that was a harsh truth to swallow.
Ah, he was going there. Evie drew in a breath, looking into her glass of wine for some moments. “He had to pull it out of me. I wasn’t going to get into it, but he knew something was wrong. He hadn’t even known I’d been dating anyone, mostly as I did not care to put up with his teasing on the matter.” He never would leave her alone if he knew she was dating.
Evie sighed softly and took a sip of her wine. “I had a good cry, which probably unnerved Jacob. He’s almost never seen me cry.” No one really had. Evie wasn’t the crying type. And she was trying not to become the crying type.
The break up had been harsh, but Evie had wanted the truth. She cared about being upfront with people, and she wanted people to be upfront with her. Of course, it didn’t make it any easier to move past, it probably made it harder now that Evie knew she didn’t stand up to someone’s dream girl. But it also just made her more cautious for the future, more protective of her heart. She wasn’t going to give it up easily to anyone.
Not even Henry Green if he showed up here. Evie was perfectly fine just being married to her job. It certainly took up enough of her time as it was, dating wasn’t exactly easy to begin with when you had a job that was classified and could send you across the world at a moment’s notice.
“I am glad to hear it - that you had a good cry. Sometimes that can put things into perspective,” Ezio replied, snatching up the wine bottle and pouring a little more for both he and Evie, refilling their glasses. And if she came to the conclusion that she ought to protect her heart and only give it to someone when all the doubts were gone, then so be it. Closing one’s self off entirely was different than being cautious - and there was nothing wrong with being cautious.
Getting up, he went to fetch his box of chocolate hazelnut cookies, bringing it back and setting it on the coffee table. Dessert before dinner, why not live dangerously? “I do not share these with just anyone. Not even Elia,” he winked. Well. Elijah found most human food to be bland, but even if he didn’t he’d have to do some fast talking to get Ezio to share this food of the gods.
But Evie was special, she could have as many as she wanted.
“There is something else I received that I wanted to show you,” he added. “I assumed only you could really appreciate it so I waited until you returned to even do anything.”
“It felt more embarrassing than anything,” she confessed. And it wasn’t just that whole British stiff upper lip thing that she tended to have. It was more a matter of pride and keeping her emotions under control. Evie should’ve been more cautious to begin with, and now she was paying the price. She cared more than she tended to let on, and that could come back to bite her later. Evie was wondering if that had played a role in the break up, that perhaps if she’d said something earlier things might have been different.
But she doubted it.
Evie looked at the box he brought back, a little smile on her face. “I’m honored that you would share these with me.” And, well, chocolate was a girl’s best friend, right? Right. Evie leaned forward and took one of the cookies, taking a bite of it. “Mm these are amazing!”
“Yes, this is what I hear,” Ezio chuckled. He had yet to find a person who didn’t like these wonderful treats - they could cure many ills. Maybe not a broken heart, not right away, but they made Evie smile so that was something. “Do not be embarrassed, bella. You did nothing wrong and even so, we cannot help what we feel. In fact, we were put on this Earth to feel things, even pain and sadness. You have a wonderful heart, mind, and soul - someone will be there to appreciate all of you soon enough.”
He got up again but not to find cookies this time. No, this time Ezio returned with a small red pouch. Inside was, shall we say, something of an infamous gift. It could create illusions, control minds; activating it could mean an instant kill. It was dangerous and should not be mishandled.
It was the Apple of Eden. Ezio’s specifically, though funnily enough, it didn’t resemble the fruit at all. More like, it was a golden ball with various symbols etched on the relic. “It is the first Piece of Eden either of us have gotten, I think?” he guessed. “Normally it might unnerve me. But seeing this now - I think it really is time we go out there and do more. To protect the innocent. To bring peace.”
“I know, I just prefer to keep my emotions like that private.” Evie was notorious for keeping it all inside, but she had the kind of mind and personality that allowed her to put her emotions aside and focus on whatever task she had at hand. “It’ll probably be another ten years or so before that happens. If it happens.” Evie didn’t date much, it took a special person to really catch her attention. Yang had. And that had clearly not ended well.
She polished off her cookie as Ezio got up to retrieve something. She chased the cookie with about half her glass of wine. Sipping wine or not, she was trying to stuff her feelings back inside. Which wasn’t going to happen when alcohol was involved.
“A Piece of Eden?” She asked, gaze moving between the red pouch and Ezio. She was afraid to touch it, knowing just how powerful such things could be. Hell, one had nearly killed her when she accidentally blew it up. “I agree though, we must protect the innocent. We must also find a place to keep this safe. As well as whatever may show up from my dreams.” Thus far it had just been the various outfits and equipment she used. But if Ezio had received a Piece of Eden, there was a chance she could receive the one she was hunting.
“Exactly. I am tempted to seal it off in a titanium box beneath the floorboards,” Ezio laughed a little. He had become accustomed to using the Apple of Eden in battle when he had to, but it always drained his energy and the power it possessed was simply too dangerous. Carrying it around with his other weapons probably would not be happening - this was a ‘in case of severe emergencies’ sort of thing.
Still, the history of it was fascinating. All of the Pieces of Eden had their stories - but they were not meant to be used rashly, or their power abused (like it would be in the hands of Templars). “Or I will get an actual safe, I think. And if anything like the Apple shows up for you, you will tell me?” he asked, offering Evie the bottle of wine in case she wanted more - there was still a little left, then they ought to open another bottle. This one had been killed relatively quickly.
“At least it is in your hands, and will be kept safe,” Evie commented. She had no knowledge of any Templars being around, but such an artifact should remain within their possession and kept away from those would abuse the power it wielded.
“A safe may be the best approach. I will certainly let you know if I receive a Piece of Eden from my dreams. I hope I do not receive one, but best to have something in place to keep them safe.” She wouldn’t use the Pieces of Eden herself, but she was highly interested in their history. She studied them in depth, and she was tracking the one that was hidden in London. Miss Thorne was, well, being a thorn in her side on the quest. One of these days, they would see which one of them was truly better in a fight.
Which had almost been neither of them. Miss Thorne had been hanging from Evie’s neck, and Evie barely managed to not have her throat impaled on a broken shard of glass. That was not a position she ever thought she’d find herself in, and she hoped to never repeat it.
She did take the offered bottle, finishing it off. Evie wasn’t a heavy drinker, she barely touched alcohol save for nicer dinners. But right now, she could use the inebriation.
Ah, there we go. Not that Ezio was trying to get the signorina drunk, but - well. She would be safe here, nothing would happen to her. Sometimes you just needed that one night of complete and utter intoxication, to throw all your cares to the wind.
He would try not to get so completely shitfaced that he couldn’t hold Evie’s hair back if she upchucked, however. That was not being a good host.
Popping the cork on another bottle of wine, he refilled both their glasses. “I hope they are all lost and do not find their way here,” he said bitterly about the Pieces of Eden. More trouble than they were worth, really. “But if they do, we will handle it. I am on your side. You know this, yes? I will even harshly judge your next romance,” the suave Italian charmer winked. Oh, indeed. They’d have to pass his tests first.
Ezio never made anything easy, fair warning.
Considering how much Evie tended to keep her emotions close to her chest, she really could use a night of being drunker than a skunk, as they say, and just let it out. Yes, she’d had a good sobfest with her brother, but that had been done while sober. She could still use a night of unwinding completely if she’d let herself.
“It would be far easier if they do not come here.” As much as Evie found them fascinating to research, she was well aware of the dangers of having them around. Even if there weren’t Templars here, there were plenty of others present who would seek to use and abuse the powers of the Pieces of Eden. “Yes, I know you are. I do appreciate it. Though there won’t be a romance for a long time. I’ve got too much else to do.” Which was just an excuse that she’d hide behind, but Evie really had no intention of getting involved with anyone else if she could help it.
Her job came first. Then the Assassin’s Code came next. There was little room for love in Evie’s life. Perhaps she should’ve realized that before getting her heart broken, but not much she could do about that now.
“Of course, bella,” Ezio replied - he didn’t believe that, of course; he thought that when the right person came along, they would be adept at getting Evie to work hard, play hard. Saving the world could happen during the day - but at night there was fun to be had. Or was it the other way around? The Assassins did tend to operate best in the shadows (hiding in plain sight too).
Point was, the right person would not just sleep with her a few times and then leave her for someone else. The wounds were raw now though, so it was understandable that she was not ready to think about being with someone else.
For the moment, he would grant her a night of good food, good company, and brief alcoholism. All of that tended to do its part in healing a broken heart, especially a beautiful meal. “My masterpiece smells complete,” he added then, a delicious whiff coming from the kitchen. “Now you must eat - and drink some more, but eating will help with that.” Salute!
For Evie, it was save the world by day and night. Her day job helped save the world, and her life as an Assassin saved the world. That was a job that never ended for her. And with the state of the world these days, her day job tended to be an all-hours one. She’d had more than a few all nighters on the job recently. Not counting the recent trip into the Middle East, of course.
The food, company and alcoholism would certainly be welcome. Evie could definitely use all of it. The food certainly smelled wonderful, and it made her rather hungry to keep smelling it. So she had to smile at his announcement. “I will eat and drink as much as I possibly can.” Evie had some tolerance for alcohol, but if she got emotional, which was most likely going to be the case, she might eventually need Ezio to hold her hair back. But until then, she was going to eat, drink and attempt to be merry as long as possible.