[closed]

[familyissues]

Who: Desmond Miles, Ezio Auditore, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Caterina Sforza
What: Nipote is in Asgard again and has some grave news from home
When: Day 308
Where: Needle in a Haystack & in the Bureau
Rating: PG-13?

[ Desmond has just arrived in Asgard for the first time (that he's aware of, at least) and has had quite a day thus far. Ezio found him and brought him back to the shop for a little debriefing and ancestor chat. Everything's sinking in, and not in the best of ways. ]

Comments

[sicarius]

[The hesitance he sees in Desmond's eyes isn't that different from normal. At least, whenever they meet. Or, well. Whenever Desmond re-meets Ezio. The boy has been and left Asgard three times now. This makes it his fourth. But this kind of uncertainty- this kind of fear? It means something more than just his usual quips about seeing things or hearing things in previous lives.

His walk into the shop is one that makes Ezio worry the more he watches, like a cornered animal threatening to strike. Or, in this case, have another outburst. The shop is mostly quiet, save for a few customers and a few other faces that belong to natives. There's a nod to several other employees, and quietly, he gestures towards the back.]

Prego.

[After you.]

[canmakemore]

[Caterina was at the desk in the back with Altaïr, going over some paperwork. It wasn't entirely shop paperwork, it was that combined with some Bureau paperwork, because it takes a lot more money to run an Assassin's Bureau than anyone really realizes. But hey, the shop does well, so most of the time it's not a problem.

When the door opens Caterina looks up, and she smiles when she sees Ezio, then sits up a little straighter when she sees Desmond. Her eyebrows raise, but other than that she looks unsurprised.]

Desmond. Bentornato.

[And then she looks between Ezio and Desmond's expressions and amends her statement.]

Or benvenuto for the first time, as the case may be.

[pushesgently]

[Not for the first time, Altaïr is glad that the gods have seen fit to include Caterina Sforza among their ranks. He is no idiot, but he is also not a merchant, and even after two months here, she's still got a much better head for the books than he does.

That's why he takes a moment longer to look up and notice the new arrival, his gaze lingering over the paperwork as he tries to crunch numbers in his head. When he does look up, he's not expecting to see anything particularly shocked—certainly not a man who looks strikingly similar to himself, and who looks just as surprised as Altaïr feels.

He stares for another moment before turning to Ezio, who surely must know something about this person he's just escorted in.]

What is this?

[familyissues]

[ Caterina Sforza and Altaïr? Desmond doesn't quite register that he's in retreat mode until he bumps shoulders with Ezio, and sidesteps away like he's been scalded, mumbling an apology. It's foolish, carrying on like this, but... what was it Clay had said to him, deep in the Animus? "Your memories and your ancestors' are all smashed together... your mind's falling apart." Despite the surety that that's not what's going on, it certainly feels like it, and the memory is just as unpleasant as the reality had been.

Caterina gets a nod, his mouth pressed in a line, but his eyes are on Altaïr as he bites the inside of his lip. No wonder Maria mistook him, the resemblance is uncanny. ]

[sicarius]

[Being backed into causes Ezio to stop where he is, and as Desmond falters that is where he steps forward again.]

Desmond. [Gently-] Breathe.

[But he does notice Altaïr's reaction, and he turns his head quickly, to both address him and to explain.]

Easy, fratello. He is with us. [There is the look on his face that says he'll do what he can to explain, but right now their priority is making sure the poor boy doesn't break down or suddenly bolt out the door. Ezio knows his skill, knows how well he can react, and what his instincts may immediately spring to.

He keeps his distance, because invading his space is the last thing the Italian wants, especially when he's in this kind of mode. He won't push Desmond, but he does seem to gesture that this is not the best place to fall apart, by any means.]

[canmakemore]

[Caterina looks between the three men carefully. It's an extremely delicate situation, that much is absurdly obvious. She looks over at Altaïr and smiles just a little, murmuring to him.]

Things are about to become quite complicated, I hope you are prepared.

[She looks back to Desmond, speaking gently as Ezio.]

Desmond. Everything is fine.

[pushesgently]

[Complicated. That certainly is one word for it—accurate, and yet not accurate enough, Altaïr can already tell.]

So it seems.

[Though he's at a loss to comprehend what's happening, it doesn't escape his notice that there certain similarities between this scene and another recent time Ezio brought a guest into the store. The Mentor has earned enough trust that Altaïr stays where he is and nods as he watches the newcomer like a hawk.

It also doesn't escape his notice that he's the only one who seems to need an introduction.]

[familyissues]

[ He'd be embarrassed at all the concern being sent his way if he were feeling up to snuff. Right now though his legs have that queasy, rubbery sensation that always came with a particularly bad episode, helped along with the sudden, uncomfortable cold sweat under his hoodie.

Caterina seems a little more... safe? somehow in the middle of all this, not tied so directly to him the way that Ezio and Altaïr are. Desmond looks past Altaïr's uncomfortably heavy gaze to her, nodding at her gentle words. ]

Is... is there anywhere more private we can talk? I need to sit down, this- [ he really hopes they don't notice that brief quaver in his voice ] -this has been a really bad day.

[sicarius]

[There is only a brief pause before Ezio pushes forward- not into Desmond's space, but besides him, and gives him one of the familiar looks.]

Seguimi. ["Follow me."]

[He said he would take you to the bureau, Desmond. Follow nonno, he knows where he's going.]

[canmakemore]

[Caterina raises her eyebrows and looks to Ezio.]

Would you like me to join you, or should this just be... a family affair?

[She says it casually, but with a certain amount of care. She's being delicate.]

[pushesgently]

[He's not Ezio, but even Altaïr can see how shaky the newcomer is and how Caterina may provide a steadying presence.]

I think it would be best if you came along.

[He gets to his feet, ready to follow along for privacy, the facts and figures of the shop forgotten for now.]

[familyissues]

[ Desmond bites down on the inside of his cheek, dutifully following after Ezio up into the bureau with minimal difficulty. Part of him would still like to bolt, to run as hard and as fast as he can away from all of this, as if in doing so might lessen the wide gulf he feels between himself and home and the terrible finality of knowing he'll never make it back. ]

[sicarius]

[He doesn't speak on the climb up. There's so much that apparently has happened- the last time Desmond spoke to him, they had just recovered the Apple and were trying to avoid the Templars.

Now... now he's dead? But what happened to the mission, the words given to him by Minerva, that the boy saw? What about the Apple, the supposed destruction forthcoming? There are a lot of unanswered questions, and he wants to ask them, but Desmond isn't in any sort of mode to answer them. Not yet.

So he waits instead. Lets the other feel the Bureau out and breathe and settle. The answers will come in time.]

[canmakemore]

[Caterina nods to Altaïr and quickly neatens up the papers and puts them away. She makes sure the shop is under good supervision, then follows the men up to the Bureau.

She's still not really an Assassin. It's why she asked if she should join them or not.

But she hopes she can be helpful, especially as Desmond seems to have much more going on this time around.

They reach the Bureau proper and come to a stop. Caterina pulls out a few chairs if they decide to sit. She figures Desmond looks like he might need it.]

[pushesgently]

[Altaïr remains on his feet, at least at first. He feels steadier this way, less thrown off balance by the appearance of the strange (and strangely familiar) man who's joined them—who looks as if he might be sick any second now.

It may be rude to stare, but Altaïr can't help himself. He does wait for everyone to situate themselves before asking one of the many questions on his minds.]

Who are you?

[He glances at Caterina, then Ezio, then back at Desmond.]

Clearly, I'm the last to know.

[familyissues]

[ Grateful for the chair, Desmond sits heavily, uncomfortable with his racing thoughts. Is this really happening?

Maybe his mind really is collapsing. Maybe he's still standing there before the sphere and this is just some final glimpse of everything all crashing in on itself. He's never had cause to believe in an afterlife, not out of surety that there wasn't anything waiting after, but because it just wasn't something he ever gave serious thought to. People who thought so much about the end of their lives unsettled him. What about what life meant right here, now?

He barely registers the question asked, looking up at Altaïr as if startled, remembering that he's not alone. ]

Desmond. [ Something thick lodges in the back of his throat, eyes suddenly burning. Resting forward, elbows on his knees, he runs his hands back through his hair, staring through blurred vision at the floor. ]

Desmond Miles.

[ His shoulders begin to shake. ]