"Yeah, sure, sounds great." Desmond sounded about as enthusiastic as if Jameel had told him he'd just found a web video made entirely of the introductory nature shots from movie trailers. Anything to help get me out of this place for a while.
"Can I come?" Lex looked up at Jameel. "What else am I gonna do? Tan more?" He'd been religated to the keep and the village proper, only allowed brief excursions outside the gates, and these were stopped when he reached the end of what he'd dubbed Masyaf's driveway, a long, winding trail that led to what looked like an old set of Roman pillars. Apart from that, he'd developed a healthy farmer's tan sitting outside doing the busy work Malik gave him, or just listening to the people and trying to pick up more of the language. He was happy about how quickly he'd been able to pick it up in the first few days he'd been listening--surprisingly, there were plenty of English words in it. At least, he'd thought they were English words. He'd actually run up to Desmond's haybale on one occassion when Jameel was away, jumping up and down, easily clearing two feet from the ground, a giddy little kid, yelling, "Desmond, Desmond, candy! They've got candy here!" Quandi wasn't exactly candy, but it was the first sugar rush he'd had in ages. He'd eaten the little treats until his stomach hurt.
"Yes, you can come, Lex." Jameel stood and immediately regretted it. He fell back against the wall, nearly blacking out again.
"Stop giving yourself a headrush," said the boy as he steadied him. The Master Assassin made a tsking sound of annoyance, but didn't reprimand Lex for reprimanding him. He was the one who kept forgetting he was stuck with doing low profile actions or none at all for the moment. He'd have to teach them through words. Although that wasn't his style, he had to try.
The trio moved down into the training yard, helping Jameel down the steps. "Careful. I don't think Dessy wants to carry you."
"What'd you say, short a**?" Desmond gave him a sour look across the Red Owl as they let him down on the grassy side of the courtyard.
"Nothing you didn't point out yourself, Miles." The man was seriously considering feeding the kid one of his daggers. Instead, he dragged his temper back home and looked at Jameel. "All right, what first?"
"Stay on the alert when doing a night run. There are usually more guards at night. You also have to map and know the area well. After all, there's hardly any light." You're telling me, Desmond thought. He'd grown used to the contant lights of the city, the buzzing thrum of life, even at night. The quiet and darkness here almost unnerved him. "The risks are great, but the rewards are even greater. Bodies are hardly seen, hardly any beggars or citizens to deal with, and the target in question will be either asleep or relaxing from a tough day. When their guard is down, strike hard, then vanish into the night. The only mess will be seen in the day and you'll be long gone before they ever think to search for you."
It was no wonder now to the time travelers why he was called an owl. He has this night thing down in all directions. Might as well call him a stealth tactician. Desmond shook his head in wonder. Jameel knows what he's doing. This Assassin's got the guts to look Death in the face and laugh, probably.
"Got it. Whose place do we hit first? The Templars'?"
"It's stealth," Jameel explained, "not suicide." He was coming to realize who was the child out of the two before him. "I need to teach you two how to fight in the dark and blinded as well. As you can tell, we won't be doing that tonight."
"Damn it!" Desmond looked like he was going to stamp his foot on the ground and throw a tantrum. "What the hell, man! Just what the hell! I could be sleeping in that nice, warm hay right now, but no. You said you were going to show us how to do this. If you..." Jameel tuned him out, eyes turning to the other boy. Lex was swaying on his feet, chin down against his chest, hair falling in his eyes.
The man shook his head and cut off Desmond's ranting, "Fine. I suppose you two can spar and I'll give you the directions on how to fight while blinded. This will come in handy when light is scarce." He settled in to watch. At least I can watch them. The two entered the training ring. I'm down, but I'm not out. Never. Not until my last breath.
"Where are the blindfolds?" Jameel cocked his head at the question.
"It's night already, but if you insist." He tossed them both long strips of clean cloth. The Novices tied them on. Leaning into the grass, he started with their lesson, "Use your other senses. Because one isn't working, it doesn't mean you're unable to use the others. Control and use of environment is important. That also includes detecting any strange things happening, such as abrupt movements and the sound of a sword being removed from its sheath. This is how I defend myself if I am detected." Usually, a voice nagged from the back of his mind. He gave it mental thrashing.
His eyes focused on the ring as movement caught them. Lex crouched down, pulling his boots off and setting them aside. He shifted backward, arms out at his sides. Desmond looked around ineffectively, strained his ears. He edged forward, listened for the kid, and walked squarely into the fence. He swore under his breath.
The Sparrow's head cocked as he heard the swear. He kept his head turned in that direction and took in a long breath through his nose, teeth clamped onto his bottom lip to keep from panting through it. He blinked behind the blindfold. The tang of Axe and sweat reached his nose, growing stronger. He touched his fingertips to the ground and moved backward until he felt grass touch his toes. There he rose and continued until he was jarred from whatever mode he'd set himself into by the touch of stone to his back. Fingers instinctively touched the solid, pitted rock. Slapped it experimentally.
Desmond gagged as he yet again ran into the fence, falling over it completely and rebounding onto his feet. He hurried to the noise as Lex padded off to one side, blundering right into the immovable obstacle.
"This will also help develop your warriors' sense--the ability to detect something's amiss, even when you don't see it." Jameel smiled, amused at the students stumbling around like newborn pups. He wanted to laugh at them, but remembered the he'd had to learn the same thing. The Owl kept the laugh to himself as Lex moved by, a little farther from the wall than before. His outstretched fingers nearly grazed the top of the Master's head as he went.
Lex threw himself out of the way as he heard the pounding of feet behind him, Desmond sailing headlong into the dirt. The boy rolled onto his feet, breathing faster, trying to find his equilibrium again as he backed up against the training ring. The Eagle snarled, rubbing his scraped face as he spun around in a circle. When I get ahold of that little b*****d, I'm wringing his scrawny neck, time travel or not!
"Jameel." Lex let out a loud scream as the voice from behind him shattered his concentration. Desmond drew up sharply as the one-armed Assassin stopped his charge toward the boy. When he was passed, he pounced, bringing the boy into the sand of the training ring.
"Stop scaring the students!" Jameel's swift glare turned to the other man. "They're learning how to fight in the dark."
"Jameel, I must speak with you."
"What of?" His eyes flicked to the two who'd frozen where they'd fallen, heads turned toward them. "Desmond, Lex, back into position. Did I say practice was ended?" The Red Owl motioned for the Hawk to take a seat. If Malik didn't scare them witless, he might make progress with these ones.
The Novices rolled, kicking up sand as they traded scrapping punches and kicks and snaps with their teeth and heads. The Eagle pinned Lex down, hammering his face with his fist. Lex spat, palming his throat had before kicking him off and rolling away. Desmond crouched, listening for the smaller male's quick breathing.
Jameel kept his eyes on the trainees, making sure they didn't hurt themselves too badly. He knew the man beside him well enough to know he could wait. The Assassin didn't need a distraction while technically on duty.
Desmond walked the perimeter of the ring. Lex took off at a run, slamming the taller man back against the fence. He gagged as a punch went into his kidneys, the breath jolted out of his lungs as he was picked up under a knee and shoulder and dropped onto his back. Desmond's eyes widened behind the cloth as he fell, his knee caught by the boy's foot. Lex pushed up and brought his weight down into a punch on Desmond's stomach.
The bartender caught him by the shirt and shoved him down into the dirt, punching him across the face. He yelled as a knee suddenly slammed up between his legs, clutching at his head when something set his eyeballs to rattling in his skull--the boy's arm. Lex stood up, panting around the blood from his lip. Tears burned his eyes, soaked the fabric in front of them. Why the hell'm I crying? He coughed and spat again, backing up, arms in front of him like a boxer.
Jameel stood.
"Enough. Try to get some sleep. We've been at this nearly all night."
Desmond shed his sweat-soaked blindfold and hobbled to the boundary of the training ring. He gave Jameel a parting wave and made for the nearest haybale. He dropped down and disappeared, glad to be away from that little ball-bashing menace.
Lex twisted the strip of cloth around in his hands after he removed it. He wiped the blood from his face onto his sleeve, staining the once pristine robes further as he moved to one wall and sat. He fell asleep as the first strains of the adhan broke through the pre-dawn air.
Jameel retreated into the castle to get some shut eye. Hopefully, there would be a mission soon. I'll have to give those Novices some tips, though, if they're going to fly out of the nest on their own.
"Jameel!" The man stopped and turned to Malik. He'd almost forgotten the other man's presence. Almost. "What do you think you're doing?"
"It's too early for such vagueries, Malik. Speak plainly. I'm weary enough of petty squabbles."
"The Novices. What do you plan to do with them?"
"I'm showing them how to perform night missions. Nothing more." His eyes narrowed at his brother. "You've been lazy too."
"Lazy, have I? Excuse me while I was getting my arm severed from my body due to Altair's stupidity and arrogance. We can't all ride from Acre with war wounds, Jameel."
"Wounds be damned. I don't see you teaching either of those boys anything. I haven't seen you attend to their studies since I returned either, apart from coming on us in the training yard twice now."
"That is what I wish to speak to you about." Malik ran a hand through his hair. "Al Mualim is sending me to the Bureau in Jerusalem."
"You're to become a Rafiq." Jameel sighed inwardly. Malik Al-Sayf locked inside of a Bureau. Helpful to the Assassins still, but a shame nonetheless to see him go.
"Yes." Malik stepped forward to a more comfortable distance. "I've spoken to Al Mualim about the boy. I would pass his training into your hands, if you agreed as much." His lip curved into a wry smirk. "You've stolen him already, Jameel. He's shadowed you since he came. What sense would there be in my retaining his place as my student?" He set his hand on the man's shoulder. "Train him well."
"With pleasure." Jameel squeezed his shoulder in return, barely sparing his rolled-up sleeve a glance. "Safety and peace be upon you, Malik."
"Upon you as well." The Red Owl found his way into the robing room of all places, thinking it the infirmary. Sprawling out on a mess of tunics that had somehow fallen to the floor, he slept. He didn't care where it was.
Jameel awoke earlier than expected in a cold sweat. Same nightmare again... Why? Things were going so well until he encountered Ravenwatch again. It had been a few days since Malik's departure. Now the nightmares were returning. Am I afraid of them? Probably. They are pretty scary. He tried to go back to sleep again, but a few hours later he awoke again. Same dream. I can't sleep like this.
He got up and wandered the halls, traversing the library several times before he stopped to get something to eat. He wandered a bit more, this time out into the courtyard and through the barbican. His feet carried him down to the first buildings of the village. What reached his eyes was fast becoming a foregone conclusion to the question "And what will I see sometime today?"
The Novice--his Novie now--was leaned against the wall of a house. His hands were pressed to his eyes.
"Lex? Is something the matter?"
"Huh?" He looked over at Jameel as the Master Assassin came to stand in front of him. "Oh, hey." Not over, really, by the time he finally stood still. More up than over. He rubbed at his eyes. "Nah, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong." He smiled. "See? I'm fine." Jameel's gaze wasn't frozen this time. Instead, it was a neutral stare.
"Something is wrong." The man leaned against the wall, standing on his good leg, the one the arrow had pierced. Something was definitely bothering Lex. He could tell, no matter how hard the boy swiped at the tear trails on his face. "What is it?" He fell silent after the question, waiting.
"It's stupid." Lex's eyes flitted up to his face, then away. "Just...I dunno." He folded his arms across his chest, hugging himself. "I dunno." He shrugged, fists clenching over the sleeves of his robes. "I--I'm pissed off, all right? I'm pissed off."
"Who are you angry with?"
"Myself. I'm mad at myself. Okay, okay, look. There's this person that I've met and I--I don't know." The Novice looked away, the wall at his side a very interesting phenomenon at this time. "Told you it was stupid." Would doing a swan dive off the tower and falling head first into the ground be so bad right now? Doesn't seem like it.
"Sounds like, to me, you're jealous, or starting to be. Why is that?" Jameel allowed his curiousity to surface in his face. He didn't mean anything nasty by the question; he merely want to know. Who or what could have gotten this Sparrow so ruffled?
Lex opened his mouth, then clamped it shut. A light splash of color dusted his sun-darkened face. What can I say? That I'm going out of my mind? That I'm an absolute God damned moron? He averted his eyes from the icy ones as he said, "Yeah, sounds about right." His voice dropped to a whisper. "It's a stupid reason, the one I have in my head, at least." Turning, Lex stood with his back to the wall. He pulled an earbud out of his pocket and twirled it between his fingers, eyes kept pointed toward the ground. "Hey, can I go jump into that over there?" He gestured toward the sharp drop into the river that awaited someone unlucky enough to miss their haybale below the tower.
"No." Jameel could have sworn he felt his eyeball twitch at that question. "I know what you can do, though." Lex took the bait, lifting his head and facing him. "I'm in need of some information that I cannot possibly retrieve while in my current state. My target is currently stationed in Acre."
The Master Assassin began to walk down the slope with him. After a full minute of waiting, the boy said, "And?"
"That's all I know." Jameel stopped at the edge of the market. "Care to ride to Acre with me to get further information?" He added as an after thought, "Desmond can come if he wants."
"What kind of question is that? Of course!" Jameel stumbled, taken aback as Lex hugged him impulsively. "I'll get the horses and Dessy." Hurrying off through the crowds came almost immediately afterward. The trade-off worked splendidly. A little something to distract them from their everyday problems and experience in the field that would come in handy for later. The Red Owl took a moment to look at his waist before he slipped into the market area, his destination the stables. The ghost of the Novice's arms remained around his middle, no matter the people who jostled him.
Meanwhile, a hand shook Desmond's arm. The man sighed in his sleep. I'm going to rip the face off whoever this is.
"Hey, Dessy." Yep, face-ripping will ensue. He opened his eyes and stared at Lex. "We got a mission."
"Hnn? Really?" Desmond stood and stumbled out of the hay. "Great. I'm coming." He shoved himself further into wakefulness as he trekked down the hill after Lex and to the stables. The boy led three of the horses out. The bartender was alone in his efforts as he struggled to get on the animal's back, hopping on one foot and trying to swing his leg up and over into the saddle.
Lex swung up into the saddle after a few jumps, holding the reins of Jameel's horse for the Assassin to mount. The man had a minor bit of trouble getting up due to his leg, but managed it after a few minutes and took the reins.
"Where are we going?" Desmond asked as he picked up the strips of leather in front of him, imitating the others. His heart jumped into his skull as the animal moved into a trot of its own accord.
"To Acre!" called Jameel.
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