return to paradisa

[secondchances]

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[secondchances]

Hand holding while solving a mystery is a weird sort of throwback, and Steph has to resist the urge to pull her hand away. She's older now. More experienced. Not as boy crazy. It's fine.

"If the ghosts aren't here to serve us, I have a sneaking suspicion the townsfolk won't be around, either."

[assassino]

"I suppose not," Ezio replies. "But they have many, many more buildings to comb through... surely some of them will have something we can use."

[secondchances]

"Things to burn, things to eat..."

She looks to him as they make their way outside.

"What else?"

[assassino]

"Things to cook with, tools to make repairs with, things to keep warm," he replies. "It gets cold here in the winter, doesn't it? And we'll need to grow enough to store food for over the winter."

He knows she's not going to be happy at that prospect, but frankly, neither is he. He doesn't know shit about farming.

[secondchances]

She's not, but she's making an effort to not make this whole situation worse by complaining too much. She's assuming he does, in fact, know some shit about farming.

"I don't think we'll have trouble finding tools and clothes. If the people are gone, there has to be some stuff left behind."

... probably. Otherwise, they're going to have to check the castle rooms one by one, which isn't her favorite idea.

guess who can still spell monteriggioni on first try? this gal.

[assassino]

A perk of being a nobleman is never having to take more than a supervisory role in farming, and he's hardly in Monteriggioni enough to learn much of that, anyway. Fortunately for Ezio, he will one day actually be a farmer, but boy is that a long way off.

"It may be a great task, rummaging through an entire city," he muses. "There could be others here, too, that we haven't seen yet... farming takes a great deal of labour."

winner of the assassin's creed spelling contest 2020

[secondchances]

Steph nods along, listening.

"Right," she agrees. "I guess we'll go to the city and see what the situation is. If it's empty of people, we can check the shops, assuming people didn't get there before us and take the good stuff before... leaving? I don't know. I'm really hoping we get there and it's fine."

It's clear no one's gone from the city to the castle or vice versa in a long time, given the state of the path.

"This is a very romantic first date."

[assassino]

"I as well."

He weighs the odds of that -- not a lot of people in Paradisa were the type to travel in the wilderness, or else many more would have taken the opportunity and headed out. If that were the case, the situation would need to be truly dire.

Ezio glances at her, just a sliver of his eyes under the lip of his hood.

"We'll take care of business now, and forget all about this in the comfort of our bed."

[secondchances]

"Wherever that might be, huh?"

She's always preferred the city to the castle, no matter how drastically different it is compared to any city she's been to before. Whatever they find there will put some worries to rest, in one way or another.

[assassino]

"Whatever that might be," he repeats, squeezing her hand once more.

It's been an eternity since he last walked across this lawn, but it's different, now, the grasses untrimmed, wild and overgrown with dandelions. The city looms ahead, and behind the wall, it could be in any state. Ezio picks up his pace a little, eager to find out.

[secondchances]

Away from the musty kitchen, Steph's stomach remembers it's empty, and it hurts. Lovely. She can't actually remember the last time she ate, or what even it was. It makes her quiet as she matches Ezio's speed, trying to remember a number of things that just come up blank.

As they near the wall, she speaks up.

"Should we go in the front, or try and get a peek from a wall, first?"

[assassino]

"The front," he says. He gives her a little glance-over. "We should conserve our energy."

[secondchances]

"... for all the fun we'll have, not for lack of food or potential need to make an escape, right?"

She gives him a weak smile.

[assassino]

“Of course,” he replies, with a bit of a grin. “I can’t have you passing out on me.”

[secondchances]

"Oh, you wish. I have excellent stamina."

When fed well and able to properly sleep, which she thinks she might have trouble doing, tonight. And not because of anything pleasurable.

[assassino]

"We'll have to see who has more!"

He's teasing, but looking forward to it.

Upon approach, however, he realizes that the city gates are closed, the wooden portcullis lowered. He gives it a quick glance-over, thinking he still remembers where the winch is on the other side, but getting over could be a waste of time, too. He gives the wood an experimental nudge with his foot –– it's surprisingly soft, rotted out. Just how long has this been left uncared for?

"I think we can kick out a bar or two and sneak through the hole," he remarks.

[secondchances]

"Now you're talking my language." Free therapy. Why beat a dead horse and say for the millionth time how unsettling this whole situation is? Leaning back on one leg, her other foot comes down to break a wooden bar with an almost wet crack. It's so soft it doesn't break off, the wood bending and leaving the lower half hanging until Steph pulls it off.

"I'm no expert, but I don't think this thing has been pulled up in a long time."

[assassino]

There’s something deeply satisfying about watching Stephanie kick the shit out of a gate, and his attention drifts over her thighs while she does it.

“Well done,” he replies, joining her to look at the break. He crouches down. “These gates are supposed to last hundreds of years... I can only imagine the magic was holding it together.”

[secondchances]

She's surprised it's not riddled with termites.

"The magic's gone poof, or has it actually been a hundred years since we were last here?"

There's a laugh, but she doesn't really find that idea funny.

[assassino]

"No, no," he replies, a little quickly. Let's not spook Stephanie. "I just think the castle was perhaps the only thing holding it together. The things in the kitchen did not look hundreds of years old."

Much less the skeleton.

[secondchances]

"... right," she says, not sounding entirely convinced, and decides to kick in another wooden bar. Just like the first, it goes easily, and there's enough room for them to get in.

"Without the magic, this place is just a normal... place, huh? Hopefully that means no creepy crap coming at us."

[assassino]

Ezio figures she can get some fear out with a little activity. Kicking in gates is fun.

"I think so," he agrees. "I imagine the worst we might face are feral dogs. Perhaps some of those, ah... the cuter badgers."

He doesn't remember what they're called.

[secondchances]

"Cuter badgers?" Something is lost in translation there, though it does make her grin. "Raccoons?"

[assassino]

"Those ones!" Ezio chuckles. "Raccoons. They get into the garbage."

Lana had lived in the city, and he'd lived with her there for a time –– he'd seen raccoons plenty, but there's only so many names of weird little American animals one man can learn.

[secondchances]

"Cuter badgers," Steph repeats, charmed. "You're so precious, sometimes."

She hopes he's right and that's the worst of what they come across. Taking a breath, she easily steps between the rotting wood, waiting for him to follow.

"Shops or residential, first?"