IDEK.

[disarmingfaith]

 No, no, this is an excellent idea.

[Sarcasm? Check.]

And even if it inevitably goes wrong, what are you worried about? I still have three other limbs I can lose.

Comments

[theflyingone]

Not to mention your tongue. A lot of good that will do us here.

[No, NOT going to talk about how much he missed even Malik's glaring face and cutting remarks, in the several months since he's been living in the Country. Or his stomach turning once he realizes that, yes, Malik did indeed survive his injuries, but lost his arm in the process.

He tries not to stare.]

keywords.

[disarmingfaith]

[Dryly.]

Indeed.

[Have one of those beautiful glares you've missed so much, novice.]

And what would do you good instead, Altair?

[theflyingone]

Perhaps telling me how you came to be here. And perhaps that will reveal a way to escape the land I'm in and return home.

[Demanding information will solve all this inner frustration, surely.]

[disarmingfaith]

[To deal with a frustrated Altair and be from a time before the invention of the Advil, this is truly Malik's burden and fate.]

Perhaps. If that is how disused your investigation skills have become, that you would have me do your work for you.

[theflyingone]

[[Luckily Altaïr has found suitable herbal substitutes in the land he's in. He may share, if Malik isn't being completely belligerent -- WAIT.]]

I am perfectly capable of doing my work alone. I have been, for several months now, without contact with Masyaf or Al Mualim. Tell me, if there is some lesson our Master has imparted, some training I have missed, that reveals how to combat sorcery of all things, enlighten me.

[disarmingfaith]

[...yeah, okay, picking on Altair is always fun and a thing Malik might do from time to time, just to keep the man on his toes. But that outburst was a little too much, for his tastes.]

...brother, are you ill?

[theflyingone]

[Altaïr had no way of knowing if he was forgiven for what he'd done. Al Mualim's dagger had pierced his side, and he'd woken up in the arid desert of the Country. He expected Malik to berate him yet again for his failings as always, perhaps remind him of what had been lost in Solomon's Temple. He thought seeing him again must open the wound anew, no less painful than it had been before.

Instead Malik asked after his health. Odd.]

No, I have seen it with my own eyes. Creatures calling themselves Djinn attacking innocents. Sorcerers inflicting curses. There are even those who strengthen their potions with al-kīmīā beyond what any in our land has seen. This land has many wonders, and dangers. I am not ill.

[disarmingfaith]

[Malik listened carefully, brow furrowing slightly the more Altair spoke. It painted a strange picture in his mind, this land his brother spoke of.]

And before that? What knew you last, of Masyaf and your brothers, before you were whiskered away to such a place?

[theflyingone]

[Altaïr was in the habit of answering difficult questions with silence. His mouth worked almost imperceptibly as he turned his head away.

But Malik still called them brothers. That had to count for something. Altaïr tried to hide his unease by speaking as if he were giving details about a past mission. Curt, dry, and without feeling. He had a little trouble with the third.]

We returned from Solomon's Temple to find our home under attack. Robert led his knights to our doorstep, but was repelled. Afterward, Al Mualim spoke to me....

[Here he paused, unsure. He was almost convinced he'd tasted death on Al Mualim's blade.]

[lifescratched]

Be mindful of the ideas you give your mundane. They may construe it as a challenge.

[disarmingfaith]

Even if I were, after that pun, I already expect the worst.

[lifescratched]

Pun--?

[...ohhhh. Right. He gets it now.]

They should not make light of such things. It is unkind.

[disarmingfaith]

[Crisply.]

Kindness is not her way, I believe.

[lifescratched]

I would offer to exchange places if I could. So far, my mundane has treated me fairly. [...Most of the time.]

[disarmingfaith]

Each man is given their own burden and their own destiny to bear.

[He lets out a breath slowly, not quite a sigh.]

I will endure what I must, and so will you.

[lifescratched]

[Connor's dissatisfied with that answer, even if he knows it's true. He nods.]

I hope things between you will improve in future.

[disarmingfaith]

[Malik smiles thinly.]

Perhaps we might find common ground, at some point, without the need for excessive compromise.

[Maybe he and his mun share a love for tormenting certain Levantine assassin novices that shall go unnamed.]

Best Malik username

[givetheslip]

Can you really think your mun would be so cruel?

o7

[disarmingfaith]

[Without skipping a beat.]

Yes.

[givetheslip]

No safety and peace with this one? I haven't heard that they're all bad.

[disarmingfaith]

Oh, I would not judge them all on the faults of their worst. But indeed, I do not foresee much peace or safety in my immediate future.

[givetheslip]

I should think that an experienced Assassin such as yourself can handle even the worst of them, with or without both arms. Take heart, Malik. They may not bring you to such a terrible situation.

[disarmingfaith]

Perhaps, though it would be foolish of me, to disregard the very real possibility of danger or to assume it is nothing I cannot handle. I prefer to prepare myself for the worst, yet still allow the hope for the best.

[givetheslip]

Have they told you anything of where you might go? That might help you understand their disposition—it is a cruel mun indeed who would not allow you to make yourself ready. But there may be room yet for that hope.

[disarmingfaith]

She has not yet made up her mind. But of the four places she has others in... none of them are very alluring.