Assassin's Creed: Phoenix

IX. sub superficie terrae

One look at the Headquarter, and Natalie Ivanova-Parker's brown eyes would be filled with disdain, and today was no excuse.

To be brutally honest, the way she always had been, she couldn't quite figure out why William insisted her to be here - he knew how much it repulsed her to be around this place, and more so, the possiblity of facing her mother. It fucking rots, she thought to herself as her eyes wandered around the old books, this whole place rots with the old men making decisions for everyone else inside of it.

"Glad you could make it." William's voice caught her off-guard, causing her to startle. She quickly pulled herself together, her expression changing from bitter to a mocking one. She didn't even realize he stormed inside.

  "Oh crap, did I scare you?" He grinned childishly. 

"Hell yes, asshole." She shook her head with irony. "So, englighten me would you, now that you're a Master Assassin, all the rest of us are supposed to be wherever you want us to be based on your daily schedual?"

Her cracking voice gave away her chain-smoking, but William couldn't help but laugh to her usual sarcastic attitude. "Sorry if I kept you from a special occasion." He gave her a quick stare from top to bottom, wearing all black - ripped jeans, high heel boots and one of her long jackets, alongside her black, vintage sunglasses that made her look like an indie rockstar from the 80's. Not to mention the black cowboy hat covering her messy, blonde hair. "...The occasion being a funeral?"

"Bingo, my self respect died the moment I stepped into this hellhole, r.i.p." She held her right hand up and performed a quick sign of the cross, which made William laugh even more.

"Come on now, you know you're always welcome here. Mentor Gabriel would never allow anyone to judge you. Him and Izar ask for you every now and then." William sat down to one of the chairs, as Natalie did the same. "Izar says we should stick to one another. I agree with him."

"Oh please. Stick together, my ass." She unexpectedly reached for William's pocket, grabbing his lighter and his cigarette box, causing him a little shock. Good. Now who's scaring who, babyface?  "And since when you're his little advocate?"

"I'm no advocate to anyone." He replied, without a doubt. "Though I think it's about time the Brotherhood got rid of outdated ideas. I'll make sure that happens."

"Nothing will ever change for us as long as bunch of men are ruling this place, making decisions for women of the Creed for centuries." She took out one of his cigarettes, and placed it on her lips. The lighter took a little long to catch fire. "Keep in mind, lesbians are hated, because women are hated. Simple as that."

William nodded in silence and watched her smoke. "I see." There was a small silence as he remembered everything Natalie had to go through that time, when she got out of the closet years ago. "Well, that kind of thinking got us where we are, it has to change if we want to face our enemy."

She let out a playful laugh. "Look at you, lecturing like a presidential candidate." She placed her legs on the top of the antique table, not caring about if she would damage the old thing at all. "Tell me, have you told Izar about your... situation?"

"What situation?" He suddenly thought about Jennifer for no reason, but he had told everything that happened with her to Izar. There was nothing more. Yet, he found himself hoping. Was Natalie going to crack jokes about him being flirty like Izar did? He most definitely was not being flirty.  

Natalie gave him a brief, allusive stare over her glasses. "The bank robbing at three a.m. after we drank all my tequila last night? Duh?" She rolled her eyes, then proceeded to talk really fast, quietly. "Are you kidding me? I'm talking about the fact that no one knows The Grandmaster of Templars wrote you a letter and got poisoned the day he met you! Which got you banished from the Brotherhood, remember?"