asgardmeridiem | [OPEN] Birinci ◉ Varış

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[OPEN] Birinci ◉ Varış

Who: Yusuf Tazim and YOU!
What: Yusuf has just arrived, and is exploring the city by leaping about on rooftops.
When: Day 510, morning to early afternoon
Where: All over the city!
Rating: PG-13 at worst.

Asgard [OTA]

As dawn breaks, Yusuf steps out of the castle, feeling ready to take on the world. But as he glances out over his new surroundings of the sleeping city of Asgard, Yusuf realizes something.

It's far too quiet.

So without further ado, Yusuf makes his way to the nearest climbable building, and scales onto the roof. Anyone can be woken by the sound of feet tapping on their roof, or be greeted by the sight of a metal hook latching onto their windowsill as someone bounds past it, or just on their way to work only to find a man leaping from signpost to signpost in the direction they're going. He may even stop for a minute and say hello.

Someone who knows of the Assassins would be able to tell from his bearing, his movements from ledge to ledge, and the sheer amount of weapons he appears to be carrying that he is probably one of them. Though this face is brand new, and with much more mirth on it than to be expected for a trained killer.

Needle in a Haystack/The Assassin Bureau [closed to Assassini]

Later in the day, after an invigorating jaunt through the city, Yusuf happens to find the entrance to the bureau entirely by accident. It is no surprise that it is there, of course; he wouldn't be able to recognize it as the entrance to an assassin bureau were it not situated one one of the taller buildings in the area. The familiarity of home makes him pensive, but only for a moment, before he tests the hatch and finds it unlocked. So Yusuf opens it, somersaults into the bureau, and uses his hookblade to shut the hatch behind him, landing on two feet. He greets those inside with open arms.

"Kardeşlerim! Bacılarım! I was not expecting you to be this easy to find! Am I late for the party?" He gives a broad grin before offering the "proper" Assassin signal, right hand over his heart, signalling that he is, in fact, supposed to be there. You can put down your weapons now. No, really.

(( ooc: Put preferred time/place in subject header. Will format-match as necessary! ))

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Maria had been minding her own business, drawing up lists of what stock needed to be held back and what they were still able to stock in the shop with the food shortages still effecting the city. It had been relatively uneventful.

That is until a very loud, hairy and scruffy looking stranger suddenly appeared in the middle of the bureau and proclaimed his arrival for all to hear.

Startled, Maria drops her ledger and immediately pulls her knife from her belt and points it at the intruder's jugular.

"You have five seconds to explain yourself."

Yusuf does take a step or two back on instinct, but when the knife is stuck directly at his throat, he freezes in place, and carefully moves his hands up in the air to prove that he means no harm. "Easy, easy, Hanımefendi." He smiles again, though this one is clearly meant to disarm Maria rather than to make light of the fact he's at knifepoint.

"I am Yusuf Tazim, formerly the leader of the Ottoman branch of the Assassin Order. You can see my hidden blade on my wrist." He shifts his left arm downward slightly, so that he can unsheathe and withdraw the blade away from her. "Nothing is true, everything is permitted."

With the maxim said, Yusuf slowly moves his right hand toward his neck, his index finger gingerly pressing against the point of the blade and shifting it slightly away. Better to get a cut on his finger that would easily heal, than a gash under his ear that would drain him in minutes. "I was expecting a bit of a warmer welcome than this."

Maria's eyes remain narrowed as she fixed the intruder with a long, hard look. Disarming smiles were all very well, but she knew all too well that a wolf in a pasture would bear its teeth before it struck.

"I have known Templars bear Assassin arms before," she said carefully, still not letting her guard drop. "And I know not of this 'Ottoman branch' of which you speak. When do you hail from? What was the year?"

Time had a funny way of making fools of people, though the presence of the hidden blade and his knowing of the creed made his story more plausible, Maria was determined not to relax her guard until she knew for certain that this Yusuf Tazim was no enemy to the Brotherhood and her family.

Garrett's been keeping to himself ever since running across Desmond accidentally during Connor's training. Either by paranoia or by sheer stubbornness, he's determined to better himself with what he's learned from the Assassin. He keeps getting caught by them, keeps being thwarted and shoved back where he should be able to easily slip by. Truthfully he's aiming to simply be better in his skills overall, but with the Assassins around, they give him a greater challenge than any guard of the Watch could ever pull.

It's morning by the time he's returning towards the clocktower- he's kept his word on what he steals, taking only minute and unimportant things (and it's both humiliating and boring, honestly, but he grits his teeth and deals with it), booking it back to the familiarity of his home in a similar style to Yusuf. It's not until he passes by, a few houses over, head turning, that he pauses in his traveling and studies him.

Definitely not a person Connor pointed out, but he's armed well enough to be considered one. There is a wary sort of stance that he takes, feet light and cautious as he quietly walks to the edge of the building he's on to watch him. His arms are sore and he's tired, but curiosity gets the better of him, and Garrett trails after Yusuf as he makes his way around the city. He's nowhere near as skilled, he takes time where most Assassins can simply climb and pull themselves up with ease, but it's a start, and he's faster than when he first began.

[The city is tense these days, nerves worn down from the curfew and days spent waiting for the next danger to draw near. (Too often, the number of those days isn't very high.) But Altaïr still prefers to run the roofs of the cities when he can, to maintain his training and connect with Asgard itself, in a way. Stealth isn't necessarily part of this morning routine.

What's that? Could it be a man dressed vaguely as an Assassin (in a very old-fashioned way) freerunning not far from Yusuf?

Indeed, it could.]

"You think I am a Templar?" Yusuf can't help but get a good laugh out of that, even in such a situation as this. "The Templars I know would hardly come into an Assassin hideout with open arms, Hanımefendi. They would much sooner shoot us on sight, rip us limb from limb, leave our bodies hanging from the nooses as a warning, that sort of thing." But he plays it cool, eyes still locked on Maria and his hands still stretched out to where she can see them, even though he's still eyeing her knife occasionally.

"I see you have not been well informed of us. Very well. The Ottoman Assassins officially formed in my homeland with the death of the Templar and last Byzantine Emperor, Constantine XI. That was some thirty years before I joined the Assassins. The Byzantines have still not been eliminated, though."

It was an odd question to answer - what year it was - but knowing what he knew now about this place, it was a reasonable question. And answering it kept him from being sliced open ear to ear. "It was the year 1512 at home. Do you remember a different year?"

"Yes. It was the year 1196," she replied dryly. "And I hail from Masyaf. I know nothing of this Byzantine Emperor of whom you speak, I fear it may well be after my time."

But 1512... that placed him squarely in Ezio's time. Perhaps he might know something of this strange new arrival.

Finally she lowers her knife and backs towards the door, not once allowing her eyes to drift away from Yusuf as she opens the door just a crack. Saulé is making her way towards the door with a flagon of water that Maria had asked for earlier and the older woman privately thanks whatever higher power might have orchestrated such convenient timing.

"Saulé, I need you to track Ezio down and have him come here as soon as he can," she told the novice in a low voice meant only for her ears. "Be quick about it."

The girl needed only to look at the grim set of Maria's jaw before she was off about her errand, which allowed Maria time to return to evaluating the situation at hand.

"In answer to your earlier question: no, I do not think you a Templar," she said carefully. "I am well aware that they are more... subtle in their approach."

It is easy enough to spot Garrett the first time, mostly due to his dark clothes that stand out in the early morning sun. Yusuf pegs him as a thief almost instantly. Having been one himself for most of his childhood, he understands the sort of things to look for. The general shiftiness of his body language, the lurking around on rooftops, the quickly calculated but remarkably cautious glances over the city... though the thieves he knew operated during all hours, not just at night. Yusuf probably still would be a thief himself, if Ishak Pasha had not found him and seen the potential in him; so it is partly sympathy, partly interest in the rest of the city that leads to Yusuf mostly ignoring the man, though the thought that he could be an ally is tucked into the back of his mind for later.

It's only after he makes a bit of a turn across a set of rooves that he spots Garrett again out of the corner of his eye, tailing him though at a slower pace than he expects. Surely he's not a target, Yusuf thinks to himself, having little on him worth anything except perhaps his kilij. Perhaps there's some ulterior motive there, and what it could be makes Yusuf rather curious indeed.

So he slows down a little, making sure to keep Garrett visible in the corner of his eye as he leaps from roof to roof, allowing him the time to catch up while he appears to look around the scenery. He gets to the edge of a roof, and then--

-- he performs a Leap of Faith into a haystack below, meant to feed horses, but thankfully also in view of a courtyard-like area that's somewhat closed off from the streets that are now starting to bustle with activity. There he watches and waits, to see what his new friend will do.

[Yusuf had been happy to leap around the city on his own, explore as he wanted, and generally get a lay of the land. But when he sees another person (most certainly an Assassin from the way he's dressed and the way he fluidly moves from perch to perch), it lightens Yusuf's heart and gives him a sort of second wind to catch up to the other.

He soon approaches with a leap to a flowerbed windowsill and a simple flip onto the roof, so that he's only two or three rooftops behind Altaïr on the other side of the street. And then he'll continue at the same pace, watching the other's every move for a sudden turn or drop to the street level.]

Ezio is tending to a customer downstairs, speaking with them and conversing on recent politics, when Saulé gently interrupts him. It's a quiet one, her head titling slightly and a simple mention of una problema, and he excuses himself from the conversation. The words themselves mean only one thing- there's something going on in the Bureau and he's needed to either settle it or figure it out where necessary.

However, when he arrives it is a thick Turkish accent that comes to his ears and the irreplaceable sound of Maria being cautious and biding her time. He has to bite his tongue to keep himself from laughing as he rounds the corner finally, brow raised, and the wryest of smirks on his face. Yusuf, you are such a troublemaker.

"It seems I cannot leave Konstantiniyye for five minutes, arkadaşı- already you are causing problems for the locals."

[Altaïr notices his follower after a few minutes when he makes a turn to leap across a narrow street. It's not his habit to show strong reactions without reason, so he keeps going. At least it isn't another young girl this time.

The man's attire isn't familiar, but the experienced way he moves is. An Assassin, then, or one very like their people. He could stop and ask the man himself, but why not learn by observing? He speeds up a little instead. Time to see what this fellow can do.]

"That is a very long span of time. I will do what I can to fill in three hundred years or so, if you feel up to it," He adds, almost about to lean against the wall before something the woman says startles him.

"... you are from Masyaf? Truly?" His eyes light up, almost akin to a child hearing the opening sentence to his favorite story. "Inanılmaz! I would love to hear your story, sometime. To hear about it is one thing, but to have actually lived it..." That smile which seemed impossible to get any bigger somehow does. "And to meet Sayın Büyük Üstat just this morning...! I could not have asked for a better greeting from this city!"

As she speaks with someone whom he can only assume is a pupil, Yusuf does finally lean against the wall as he grins like an idiot, his arms crossed in front of him as he studies this shrewd woman. There were very few women in the beginning workings of the Order, at least of the ones he knew about from the stories his Mentor told. Who could she be? She had yet to give her name. But until he was proven to not be a spy of some sort, he supposed he'd merely have to live with it.

He finally responds back when the woman admits he is probably not a Templar. "A few of them, evet. But there are many others who would flaunt their presence to deter us away, no?"

Yusuf actually starts at the sound of Ezio's thick Italian accent in return, having been so interested in the identity of the woman that he hardly had noticed Ezio's arrival. But the moment he's spotted, Yusuf pushes away from the wall, opening his arms in greeting.

"Ezio Auditore, arkadaşım! At last, the Mentor shows himself!" His smile turns more into a grin as he claps Ezio on the shoulder. "I had thought one day I would have to come rescue you from the ends of the earth, but I did not expect to find gods with you! And to recover you in one piece, no less! How was your trip to Kapadokya? Did you find Palaiologos?"

[He can't help but grin as the other assassin turns, and then quickly picks up the pace. Finally, a challenge! Yusuf accepts it by making a sharp turn past a chimney and vaulting over the street into a roll, picking himself back up onto his feet as he too picks up the pace.

Now he's only about a rooftop behind, though the path he's chosen seems to involve a little more weaving and ducking to keep up. Not that Yusuf minds; he's keeping up rather well.]

It's after the commotion dies down that Giovanni shows up, his usual amusement at the morning's gossip shifting to curiosity at the new face. He may not be in his robes or wearing his hidden blade but he did drop in through the hatch with practiced ease.

"Should I be thankful or sorry that I missed your arrival, fratello?" He sighs, there was probably some sort of commotion about it anyway.

Yusuf has managed to find a nice corner with a small ottoman, which he has taken to perch on. He's leaning forward and checking for dullness of his weapons - the one thing he barely had time for at home, for which he's partially disheartened. But he doesn't let it show as he's spoken to, glancing up at the new voice and grinning when he recognizes one of the few Italian words he knows.

He laughs, motioning to Giovanni with his free hand. "You should be sorry, and I think I should be grateful! You look like a man with deadly aim. But this lets me know that word gets around quickly, here. A good sign." The Turk then gives a rather deep and almost theatrical bow, adding, "Piacere di... di conoscerla, or... something like that." He stands, waving his hand dismissively. "My Italian is horrendous, I am afraid. It all sounds the same to me."

Edited 2014-09-16 14:29 (UTC)

"There are few who can run across the roofs as well as we can." He grinned, "And people talk about strange men flying past their windows at ungodly hours of the morning, especially to charming gentlemen who listen to them. Your italian is better than others though, so all is forgiven."

He waves a hand dismissing the matter and drawing nearer to take a look at Yusuf's weaponry.

"I am Giovanni, and yourself?"

"There are fewer still who can keep up with me!" He teases, flipping one of his throwing knives up in the air and catching it with ease. "If it is any consolation for butchering your tongue, Bay Giovanni, my Latin is much better."

Yusuf has about twenty of those same knives spread out, along with his sword and his hidden blade, though he still has the hookblade attached to his wrist. There is also a dagger, sitting rather suspiciously to the side, away from his usual weapons. But given its style, it is obviously from his homeland.

"Yusuf Tazim, formerly of Istanbul. I was the leader there, of the Ottoman Assassins, after my Mentor passed. But I suppose now I am merely a humble servant of this Order, waiting for someone to tell he where I should be pointing my blade. We were brought here to fight a war, yes? I am not sure what sorts of measures have been taken, and need to be taken."

"No need to keep up behind you if you can be predicted in where you will go and end up in front." Giovanni countered, giving him a slightly crooked grin.

"I had been in Firenze, doing much the same though there were far fewer of us there then. At least actively pointing our blades at our enemies. Here in Asgard it is... mostly waiting and preparing ourselves. Thiazi is our enemy though there are those who also work against us but they are apparently unreachable." He sighed, sitting in a nearby chair.

"If you want someone to tell you what to do, speak to Ezio or Altair. I do work with the supply coordinators and keep an ear on the gossip of the city for us."

[His follower is keeping pace and more, and Altaïr is reminded of the first time he encountered Desmond above the city so many months ago. If this man has even half that much ability, he won't mind being tested further.

So he sets a course for a nearby block that offers considerably more vertical buildings, and without looking back, he goes up.]

[Yusuf can't help but smirk to himself as he sees the path this new friend of his has taken. Vertical is no problem, not with his trusty hookblade on his wrist.

He stops a few yards from the bottom, watching the other gracefully scale the building with only his hands. Yusuf is impressed, because he has excellent technique. But when he reaches about three-quarters of the way up, Yusuf suddenly gets a running start at the wall, leaping and latching on with ease, his hookblade extending and catching on a small design, which he then uses to vault himself upward to the next handhold.

By the time Altaïr has reached the top, Yusuf is already halfway up, and gaining fast.]

"This is true!" Yusuf nods in agreement, before leaning in and adding, "Assuming, of course, you let yourself be predicted." It's said with a teasing grin and a slight nudge with the elbow, before he drops the subject for now. There are more interesting things to discuss.

"Ah, Firenze! You must know Ezio, then? He mentioned he was born there when we first met - while correcting my Italian no less." He gave a small chuckle as he settled for leaning against a nearby wall, listening as Giovanni also settled himself into a chair. "Some war we find ourselves in, eh? Watching and waiting... it was not so back in Istanbul. It feels... off, to have some time to myself. That was when I knew the Templars were planning something."

The mention of Thiazi and the "unreachable" forces do pique Yusuf's interest, but he puts that in the back of his mind for now; he feels he would need to devote a lot of time to that particular topic, and for now he wants to learn more about Giovanni and the workings of the Assassin Order here.

"Evet, I will. What sorts of supplies do you oversee, Giovanni da Firenze? Weapons and equipment?"

"I have known Ezio for his entire life as far as my own memories are concerned, he is... older now than I left him." Giovanni replied, "I know his brothers and sister as well and grew up with his uncle."

He didn't know how much Yusuf knew, or if he'd been informed about who Giovanni was.

"They are always planning something, that will never change. Hold on to and enjoy the peace they allow you when you can."

He let out a laugh, shaking his head. "Not specifically, it is mostly paperwork and making sure that numbers on them match to what is in locations. Making sure nobody is taking more than they need when there is little to go around, it is not so different from running a bank though I keep having to rewrite things because none of them have legible handwriting."

[The man gets once chance to make up some ground when Altaïr pauses to look at what his follower is doing, and what that noise is. Impressive, and intriguing—but now is not the time to ask questions, and he continues onward.

And then he repeats himself. As he did with Desmond, Altaïr waits for the man to get close to the top before moving to the opposite edge and stepping off in a graceful leap of faith.]

Sadly, it seems Yusuf had been told very little, if anything. He tilts his head to the side, his curiosity piqued at this new information. "Really? I was not aware Ezio had any brothers, or an uncle," He finally admits, his full attention turned on Giovanni. "I know he has a sister; he wrote to her often while in Kostantiniyye."

As he listens, Yusuf nods along, crossing his arms Giovanni explains his extra role outside the Order. "Troubling that there is little to go around, but it happens in war, no? It is good to have someone to take that task. Even better that you are with us."

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[OPEN] Birinci ◉ Varış

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Asgard in the morning

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8D !!!!!

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1/2 (Maria)

2/2 (Ezio)

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Early Afternoon/after the stabbing threats

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