Winchester/Fairfield Expedition - Day Two Open Mingle Post

[fanstheflame]

[by now, everyone has had a chance to look around Fairfield and get their bearings, right? those who came along and remember it from a few years ago probably found a lot changed and in need of repairs.

as for the distress call, Dr. Brewer and his friend Heath have been pretty friendly and outgoing, but the other refugees from Draconis have stayed in hiding. maybe you're helping with the repairs, maybe you're trying to find those other refugees and see if they need help ... or maybe you're just wandering around and doing your own thing.

either way, there seems to be no sign of those creepy, crawly Collector bugs from Terre Haute, today, so you're free to do as you please! post in one of the sections provided, or make your own - it's all good!]


((OOC: Apologies if I seem to be stepping on any plotrunners' toes - this was done with
mod approval. Here are your section links: REPAIRS | AROUND TOWN | THE GRASSLANDS ))

Comments

[hellofist]

[Like she was really going to let that go.]

It's okay. Can be... our secret.

[eaglet]

[But his puppydog face........

Well, whatever. He does sort of glance around to make sure nobody is within earshot, then leans in and lowers his voice.]

I freed the eagle Ezio was keeping.

[hellofist]

[She leans in too, just to further the idea of this being a secret. What he says is surprising, but... well, eagles aren't meant to be pets, kept in cages with hoods and only let out to chase after meat on strings. It wasn't much of a life, so it's hard not to side with Connor now.]

I understand. Better for it, this way.

[eaglet]

[He nods, the corner of his mouth curling up just slightly enough to give away that he's pleased she agrees with him. At least he wouldn't have to worry about her telling Ezio, he thinks.]

This is also what I felt.

[hellofist]

[Nope, his secret is safe with her. With a quiet laugh, she hugs him again. He'll just have to get used to this.]

Good job, Connor. Did you see... where it went?

[eaglet]

[He's still not hugging back!! Looks like she'll just have to keep trying.]

Into the woods. I did not see it on my way here, but this world is vast.

[hellofist]

[Unfortunately for Connor, Cass is perfectly happy with that. And also not letting go until he hugs back now what smart guy?]

Maybe we'll see it... flying around somewhere. I could read it, tell you... if it's happy, being free.

[Spoilers: it will be happy being free.]

[eaglet]

I think it is. That is how it is meant to be, after all.

[CASS......... Connor's beginning to get the feeling she's waiting for it, so he kind of awkwardly pats her on the back. Okay????]

Ah... can you read animals as you can humans?

[hellofist]

[It's a good first start. She lets him go, giving him a quick smile and squeezing his shoulder affectionately before giving him his space.]

Not as well. They're different, so can only... compare, see what matches. Still close, though. Can tell hunger, happiness. Simple things.

[eaglet]

[He'll get there... maybe...

Still, Connor nods. It's interesting to think that people and animals would have body language that is similar.]

I can only see where they have been, and if they will attack. How close I can get before they flee. Things like that.

[hellofist]

[No, he will. She'll make sure.]

Still useful things. Especially the... attacking part. Is it the same, on people?

[Comparing notes like this is kind of awesome.]

[eaglet]

[It's not exactly comparable, he knows; Cass can actually read body language as easily as listening to someone speak or reading a book. Connor can only see intent, can only see muscles coil and pupils dilate. He can only react to things just before they happen. So he thinks her skill is infinitely more useful, but it's still something interesting to talk about.

He's never actually talked about it with anyone, before.]

Yes... mostly. When dealing with animals, I can see if a buck will charge before he does it. I can see the angle of his ears, the way his eyes move, the way his hoof strikes the ground. It is easy to see if an animal is to attack. Men have similar tells; the way their eyes move, if they are fidgeting, if their muscles are tense. But some men are also skilled in hiding these things. Animals do not do that.

[hellofist]

[She nods as he explains, finding it fairly similar to what she does. He isn't wrong that what she does is more refined, but it's still nice to feel like she shares this with him.

There's one big difference when it comes to what they use their abilities for, of course.]

Have you... killed anyone yet?

[eaglet]

[He nods.]

Yes. When I first met Achilles, there were men trying to rob his home.

[He doesn't seem ashamed or haunted or even proud. It's just pretty much a basic fact, something expected of him. His people are warriors, and though he left his village before he was old enough to join a war party, he grew up expecting that he would kill someday.]

[hellofist]

[It's the answer she expected, really. Sometimes she worries about how Bruce would react to her surrounding herself with people who kill so easily, but it never takes her long to remember it doesn't matter what kind of people they truly were, if they counted as a distraction for her he probably wouldn't like them anyway.]

You saved him?

[eaglet]

[If Connor met Bruce, he would probably not like him. Like, at all. You have to choose, Cass........

Connor smiles a little sheepishly, glancing down.] Ah... not exactly. I fought the men off, but one of them knocked me down... it was Achilles who saved me.

[hellofist]

[No don't ask her to that would be cruel and unusual punishment. Let's just all be glad there isn't a Bruce around to ruin everyone's fun.

And Cass smiles back at him, but it's just to encourage him to keep talking, there's no mocking looks there.]

Team effort, it sounds like.

[eaglet]

It was strange... I still do not know why he saved me.

[He looks up with a small shrug.]

When I went to him to train me, he refused. I was determined and slept in his stables for several nights, and every day I would knock on his door and ask. Every day he refused. It was while in the stables that I saw the robbers.

[hellofist]

Don't know why?

[She frowns at him now because it's so obvious to her.]

Connor, sometimes... people see our worth, even when... we can't. They see how... to make us better. Must have seen that, in you.

[eaglet]

[He shakes his head slowly.] Achilles had given up on the Brotherhood. I cannot imagine my being overwhelmed by brutes was more convincing than my insistence.

[hellofist]

Maybe he saw... past Brotherhood stuff. Just saw... boy worth teaching.

[eaglet]

[He doesn't seem convinced, but. Whatever. He shrugs.] Maybe.

[hellofist]

You are, you know. Worth teaching.

[eaglet]

It is my obligation to learn to be an Assassin. Worth does not matter; it is something that simply must happen. There is no recourse.