[London, May 13, 1252] [Moriel apparently needs to speak to Cosimo outside of their regular lessons, because he's arrived at the stable tonight just after 9 pm. Cosimo's ghoul horse is gone now - he must be off on some errand or another. Moriel tucks a note into a corner of the horse's stall and is turning to leave when his foot scuffs a flat parcel wrapped in leather, just lying on the floor in the aisle of the stable.] [Begin!] #06* Moriel blinks down at it, then frowns faintly in curiosity. Why would anyone leave something just sitting on the ground in a stable? It's dirty enough that it must have been there for a while. He bends down to pick it up and carefully unwraps the leather. #06* Moriel 's mystification is not at all lessened when he finds a book. Thanks to the leather wrapping, it's mostly intact, but still... He flips it open (from the back) and is even more surprised to find a script he can't read. It looks like that book Eliana was reading before, though. He stares down at it, trying to figure out what on earth it was doing there. #06* Cosimo had been out enjoying the cool spring evening's air. The slight crescent moon was just three days out of its hiding from the earth, but the darkness had served him well. "" he whispers in Farsi, leaning close to his faithful steed's ear. The horse seems to respond positively as Cosimo turns him towards the stables. #06* Cosimo remains cautious as he approaches the stables, trying to practice allowing his senses to explore the scene as Moriel had been instructing him, still finding it harder than Moriel had made it seem. #06* Moriel looks up on hearing hoofbeats and a voice in a language he doesn't recognize. He's still holding the battered, filthy piece of leather wrapping in one hand and the slightly battered book in the other. He does his best to blink his puzzled expression away. "Good evening, Master Castelletti." #06* Cosimo stops his horse after hearing the voice. "Moriel," he says softly. "Few people come to me unannounced." from the way you stand, this is no ambush... so then, what troubles you enough to seek me out this night? #06* Moriel blinks at Cosimo. His confusion just transferred itself to another target. After a moment he says, "It would be extremely foolish of me to attempt to ambush you. And why must I be troubled to seek you out?" #06* Cosimo pauses. He looks at Moriel closely, then smiles as he dismounts and leads Abdur-Rashid into the stall. "We have been meeting regularly for lessons. But tonight is not that night. For you to venture to this place on a night when there is no lesson, there must be cause. #06* Moriel tilts his head. "But not trouble." #06* Cosimo nods, conceeding the point. "fair... tell me then, Moriel. What brings you to me?" #06* Cosimo begins taking off the sadle and tack from his horse, carefully putting it away. #06* Moriel still seems half-distracted. "I had an idea of another way to teach you Auspex, but I didn't think our former meeting place would suit...and at any rate we shall have to leave it soon anyway. Mistress Casale said she meant to acquire it. I wanted to speak to you to see if you knew another suitable place." #06* Cosimo nods. "I am aware of her movements," he replies flatly. "Indeed, I know of such a place" i too have been in the process of acquiring a new hold within the city. #06* Cosimo begins brushing Abdur-Rashid. "do you remember Jenny's school?" #06* Moriel looks up, most of his attention back on Cosimo. His eyebrows rise, then draw down again. "Of course." it has recently been vacated... it is my intention to make use of it #06* Moriel 's gaze flickers in rapid thought. "Ah. Yes. That...could work quite well. If you are comfortable meeting there." i have been watching it for some time... it seems suitable. perhaps the question should be, are you comfortable meeting there? there are other places within the city we could use #06* Moriel starts to nod, then blinks at Cosimo. "So long as Ragged Jenny is no longer in residence, I have no objection to the place. I'll meet you there for our next lesson." agreed. is there anything else? #06* Moriel looks back down at the leather wrapping and book still in his hands. "I...found this on the floor in the aisle. Is it yours?" He holds the book out to Cosimo. #06* Cosimo stops brushing and looks down at the book briefly before going back to his work. "No. it is Eliana's." #06* Moriel stops and eyes Cosimo. "Mistress Casale left a book on the floor of your horse's stable." #06* Cosimo continues brushing his horse. "so it would appear" though 'left' may be more passive than she would approve of #06* Moriel discards the leather wrapping but retains the book. He steps closer to Cosimo. "And what might she approve of, then?" #06* Cosimo looks back up at Moriel. "i do not make attempts to know the mind of Eliana. it was a gift. she elected to leave it where you no doubt found it" #06* Moriel tightens, visibly trying to hold on to his patience. "Master Castelletti. What happened. Please." #06* Cosimo looks at Moriel flatly. his eyes narrow slightly. were he required to breathe, he would take a large, calming breath, but seeing as that is unnecessary, he calmly sets down his brush and walks over to stand in front of Moriel. i had left that book for her as a gift. she came to find me, as i figured she would. i had a matter that i wished to discuss with her. #06* Cosimo stops, now an arm's length from Moriel. His face softens, his grey eyes looking slightly saddened. #06* Moriel relaxes slightly now that Cosimo's not being passive-aggressively evasive. For whatever reason, having an upset assassin right in front of him doesn't seem to bother him. she is far more gifted than i in certain academic pursuits and i had hoped that she would weigh what i offered and join me in the task #06* Moriel asks quietly, "And?" she is untrusting, that one... and to finally put a reason behind her lack of trust and hostility i gave her one ...what? #06* Cosimo smiles. "Moriel... you are aware enough to know that she shows displeasure in every act and offer i make" i have made offers of assistance... i receive negativity and displeasure i have offered aid, she turns to another #06* Cosimo shakes his head, letting his thoughts trail off. "but no matter. i played the part she cast for me long ago" distrust is in her nature, she says... #06* Moriel looks up at Cosimo for a long moment, thinking. Then he says carefully, "Trust is a rare and precious thing among our kind. You expect to be distrusted. That is not unreasonable. But you see it even when it is not there." You said even this evening to me that you saw no reason for me to seek you out, and even that I might ambush you. #06* Moriel spreads his hands. "Do you have reason to think I distrust you?" #06* Cosimo stares at Moriel intently. He does not break eye contact. "At one time, I did... though that has passed as i have come to know you... and you know me through our bargain." #06* Cosimo opens his arms, palms upward. "still... my clan is rarely given that same trust that you have shown." every action i make in the presence of others is to show that i do not move to strike them down... and yet every move i make is watched closely... i cannot leave this city, for i am held captive by my actions. #06* Moriel tilts his head. "...I think I must agree with you there. But perhaps not in the way you mean." You are not your clan. You dislike it when others judge you solely by that. Yet since you expect it, you interact with others almost solely on that basis. 'Giving them what they expect', as you say. But if that is all you ever show, why should anyone see you differently? because my trust was so easily discarded #06* Cosimo looks at Moriel closely. tell me, Moriel... #06* Cosimo says softly. "do you know when i first trusted you?" #06* Moriel blinks. "No." the first night i met you. in the courtyard as we floundered under accusation of murdering the emmisary from the Court of Love. how easy it would have been for you... for anyone... i am an assassin. a killer. it would have been so easy you would all have been free #06* Moriel 's eyebrows flick upwards, and then as Cosimo continues his eyes grow downcast. "Perhaps," he says softly. Then he looks up again. "In fairness, if your criterion for trust was our honesty when we could have blamed the one assassin in our midst, then you must know none of the rest of us had the reverse opportunity for you to prove good faith, as we were not assassins." And you presume we all knew who and what you were. I did not. #06* Cosimo frowns. #06* Moriel tilts his head, looking at Cosimo. Hopefully that is a frown of gears turning. "Would you like to know when I first began to trust you?" #06* Cosimo looks down, breaking eye contact as his frown hardens into a scowl. He stands motionless for a few moments before looking up. When he does, there is no expression. "go on," he says softly. #06* Moriel watches Cosimo carefully. "That day and night we spent in Belit- Sheri's tower." His tone turns wry. "When you were playing a game of questions with Mistress Bellamy." Before then...you had shown so little of yourself, I had no knowledge on which to base a decision. I knew that you observed the customs of court, and that you would work with others when your existence was at stake, but that is very little. you trusted me because of a game? I trusted you because you seemed honest. #06* Moriel glances away. "That is also a rarity." everything is rare in this life... compassion, trust, honor, honesty... friendship... #06* Moriel 's smile is edged with bitterness. "Only the good things." what does it matter then? why bother? an existence without compassion is meaningless, without trust is baseless, without honor... failure #06* Moriel raises his eyebrows. "Simply because they are rare does not mean they do not exist. If you value them, you will create them. And it seems you do." but for what end? for what purpose? #06* Moriel 's eyebrows climb higher. "That is a rather personal question. I would say that virtue is an end in itself, and that it brings one closer to God. You, however...if there is some other end you seek, and virtue is the path to it - then seek it." #06* Cosimo frowns. "your god will not bring me salvation. i am beyond that." #06* Moriel goes still. "No one is beyond God," he says softly. the soldiers of your god ravage the holy lands in his name... they bring death and fear and destruction more than any plague. they kill men and women and children. there is no honor in that... #06* Cosimo spits. "no honor at all" #06* Moriel looks away and his expression tightens. "Men do wrong in God's name. That does not make Him culpable. Men always do wrong, no matter in whose name they do it..." this is true... which is why there are judges. my kind... my clan has always been called to bring justice and restore honor, usually at the expense of friendship and trust... but it is our task and our trial. one we accept for the simple matter than it needs to be done and someone must do it i accepted my role as well as my fate. #06* Moriel considers Cosimo for a long moment. "Then it seems you need not ask to what end you uphold your own honor." He sighs. "And if by your fate you mean distrust and isolation, I would suggest you not completely resign yourself. I am standing here, after all." #06* Moriel looks down at the book still in his hands, nearly forgotten. "As for Mistress Casale...I can assure you that if she dislikes or distrusts you, it is not for your role. She knows better. She willingly associates with a madman, after all." #06* Cosimo smiles slightly. "to hear her speak of it, she has not wished to be party with any of us... she has been forced. but i thought better of it. and you have confirmed that." it is good that she has you, Moriel. She needs you. #06* Moriel blinks up at Cosimo. He has no idea how to respond to that. Finally he says, "I believe we all were, at first. But...I am not sorry." forced together or not, we have fought beside each other as brothers. #06* Moriel tilts his head to one side, smiling. Then he looks down at the book in his hands and the smile flickers. He glances up at Cosimo. "I am not putting this back where I found it. And it seems you will not take it back." #06* Cosimo looks at the book. "it is not mine" I see. i am finished with it, so it was given freely #06* Moriel sighs. "She may not know that." i told her as much, but she does not listen. #06* Moriel 's gaze flicks up to Cosimo. "She listens. She simply does not always agree with what she hears. Will you tell me what happened?" #06* Cosimo snorts. "what happened? she came here looking for answers but did not like them once she found them. her usual fortress of distrust prevented that. she accused me of leading her like a horse" you do not lead a horse #06* Cosimo gestures to the steed behind him. "i do not lead Abdur-Rashid... nor does he lead me. we go together." #06* Cosimo shakes his head. "i sought her help in a matter which she possesses skills beyond mine, but she had the power to decide if she would assist or decline. i would not make that decision for her" #06* Moriel looks down at the book, forehead creasing into unhappy lines. He says quietly, "She may not have seen it quite that way." Back up to Cosimo. "Whether you intended it or not, she likely thought you were trying to manipulate her. Like most, she dislikes being manipulated and reacts poorly to it." #06* Cosimo shakes his head sadly. "she searches for answers... but will not open her eyes to see that which is just beyond them" #06* Moriel gives Cosimo an extremely dry look. "She is not the only one who is guilty of that." #06* Cosimo pauses thoughtfully. After an agonizingly long moment, he lowers his eyes and says softly, "your words cut deep, Moriel" #06* Moriel 's expression twists. "I am sorry. I did not intend them to. But...it is foolish of you, to presume that everyone will react to you in the same way, for the same reasons. Dangerous, potentially. Think on it." #06* Cosimo nods. "indeed. it is. i have been shown this twice now this night." #06* Cosimo takes a deep, though completely unnecessary, breath. #06* Cosimo chuckles to himself. "and i presumed to teach you how to fight when i had lost sight of this truth" #06* Moriel blinks, then smiles faintly. "Ah, well. I do not think my bladework has suffered for it." indeed. you are doing quite well. but i will take this lesson to heart... and act accordingly #06* Moriel nods. "I am glad. And..." He looks down at the book in his hands and sighs. "Perhaps I will go speak to Mistress Casale, and try to discover what angered her." He looks back up at Cosimo. "I'll meet you at the usual time, at Ragged Jenny's former stronghold?" #06* Cosimo nods, though he seems a bit distracted. "yes," he says distantly. "do you remember the entrance you used?" #06* Moriel frowns, thinking. "I believe so." #06* Cosimo looks at Moriel, and nods again. "I will be at that end of the complex at that time." #06* Moriel inclines his head in a gesture half-acknowledgement, half-bow. "Good evening, then, Master Castelletti." #06* Cosimo bows his head in response. "be well, Moriel," his voice lost in thought. "and be safe" #06* Moriel smiles wryly. "As much as I ever am." And, tucking the book under one arm, he heads out into the night. [Mini end!]