Il Lupo the Prowler has a minion!

Shadow the Kaspian

The sun was setting and the streets were quieting. Shadows spread over the city, crawling across the streets from the buildings. Candles were lit in windows, and shutters were cracked to let in the cool night breeze, the inhabitants no longer trying to keep out the harsh heat. No longer did citizens roam the streets, only the soldiers remained, silent sentinels making their rounds.

One fell motionless, as if sleep suddenly overtook him. His comrade rushed to his aid only to fall as well. Silent shadows streaked across their fallen forms. Other sentinels roamed the nearby streets unaware of anything wrong.

Jumping to the next roof, the wolf watched the shadows as they moved, leaving death in their wake. He followed them to the palace where they stopped in an alley. Peering over the edge of the roof, the shadows that were darker than the rest were right below him. They stayed motionless for quite a while, but if a wolf is anything, he is patient. One of the shadows slowly separated itself and approached the wall where it began to slither its way up.

The wolf waited behind a spire on the roof for the shadow to climb into his territory. Once there, he let the shadow get into position and build a false sense of security, believing itself to be alone on the roof this night. Quietly he snuck up behind the young apprentice, easily discernible from a master by the armor he wore. A hand over the mouth and a dual blade in the side finished the shadow off. 'These eagles never learn,' the wolf thought. He smirked then at the irony of it all. He, the wolf, standing above the eagles on the ground below. The roles would be reversed if they were truly animals. Standing where the bird was perched, the wolf watched the master below.

He watched as the eagle flitted across the ground and up a wall, only to jump over a fence shortly after. With the tip of his boot, the wolf kicked the other eagle's lifeless corpse off the wall and into a wagon of hay below. How convenient.

Jumping across the rooftops and over the same fence as the master eagle, the wolf watched and waited. The sentinels were tighter packed here, their rounds often overlapping. The eagle decided not to strike at any of them. 'Smart ' the wolf agreed. A body would draw too much attention and cause a lockdown.

After several complete circuits by the sentinels, the eagle moved. He was fast but deliberate in his movements, no hesitation of any kind as he got through without any notice. He entered the palace and did not return for several long moments. Thinking he had lost his prey, the wolf made to move to a different vantage point. He circled ahead, running along the top of the thin walls, a dark streak across the full moon. Coming to a different vantage point, the wolf could clearly see the other side of the main building. A lone lit window caught his attention. Silhouettes filled the panes and displayed a show of death. One walking by, another approaching, a turn, an apparent exchange of words, and an end. The light goes out. The window opens. The eagle flies.

**

Fiora Cavazza waited for the wolf she and Baltasar de Silva had trained. A wolf that acted like an eagle, but was theirs to command. She was proud of their accomplishment. But she was also afraid. A lone wolf was always dangerous and could never be trusted to not bite the hand that feeds it. Such is the risk for brilliance, though.

They had sent the wolf to tail an assassination. They taught all they could, but nothing is as effective as experiencing and watching for oneself.

**

The wolf met with Fiora and told of all he had seen. She nodded and looked thoughtful, though he knew that he made her nervous. Her arms were crossed but her hands were always just inches from her bladed fan, and she shifted her weight from foot to foot often. Eventually she left, saying that she would signal him if Cesare had an assignment for him. Cesare the Captain General of the Papal armies and Grand Master of the Templars. What a fool. He cared not for what the Templars stood for. The Templars were a means to an end for him. A way to gain the powers of the apple.

Walking along the rooftops, the wolf prowled and contemplated. He was taught to mimic the Assassins and kill them with the same flourish of death that they delivered. He heard them whisper of him to one another, unaware that he was close enough to hear them call him a mockery of their order. He smirked. A mockery No, he was not the mockery Cesare was! Cesare was a selfish young boy with delusions of grandeur!

Looking around, he realized he had wandered farther than he had intended. He knew the area well, he had hidden many times in the shadows watching the Assassins train the younger eagles. There, in the distance, he caught sight of the master eagle again but alone.

Working his way around, he approached the master. "Ezio," he whispered.

Ezio Auditore spun around, blades out. "Who is there?"

The wolf came out of the shadows a little ways from where Ezio was looking. "I have come to talk."

"The wolf has left its master?"

"My master is a fool, but if I am anything, I am loyal."

"A trait not to be looked down upon, to be sure. What is it that you want? I will give you the opportunity to explain, since you have come here and presented yourself for all to see." Ezio then held up his hand and lowered it. Up above the Assassins lowered their bows.

"My name is Il Lupo. I have come to understand that we kill for many of the same reasons, though we wish for different outcomes."

Tilting his head to the side in consideration, Ezio motioned him to the side. "Let us speak in private."

**

On his way back to the Templar controlled districts of the city, Il Lupo's mind was racing. He was brooding and pondering what to do next when he noticed a signal left by Fiora to meet at the docks. It would appear that Cesare had an assignment for him. But appearances could be just as sneaky as he was. This felt rushed. Usually there would be more time between missions. But maybe Fiora had her reasons. She was a bit more skittish than usual around him, though was she foolish enough to believe that he did not notice? Thus the question remained, return to his teacher to see what she wanted, or go back and continue to talk to the eagle.

Il Lupo spun on his heel and headed back the way he had come. If Cesare really had a mission for him, so be it. The wolf had missed a signal or two before due to poor placement, maybe he had missed this one, too. This time around, he did not come across anyone. His path was empty.

"You are back sooner than expected," Ezio remarked as he stepped out of the shadows behind the wolf. "I had thought you might not return at all."

Il Lupo stopped but did not turn around. "Something is not as it should be, and I believe it to be a trap that I do not care to enter."

"Oh? You have come here to ask for our help?"

He could hear the smirk on the eagle's smug face as he heard him raise and lower his hand, causing all the eagles up above to relax their bows.

"No. If they want me dead, then I no longer need my teachers."

"So the wolf has decided to cut his own leash. How interesting."

"Do not mock me when you are no better. How long ago was it when your wings were no longer kept clipped?"

Ezio laughed, "Fair enough, my lone wolf. Fair enough. But this still leaves the question, why are you here?"

"You know our views are not all that different, though how we reach our goals are. I do as I am told. I am loyal so long as I am respected. When I am no longer respected, I am no longer loyal. Take my offer or leave it. I will not beg, nor will I suffer being mocked. I will take one side, or I will take none at all."

The wolf turned around and took his turn at smirking at the now frowning eagle. He knew Ezio knew that he would kill whoever got in his way. If both the Templars and the Assassins wanted him dead, there would be no staying his blade. Missions on both sides would become infinitely more difficult, and all their careful planning could come to an end. It would be a disaster.

Ezio continued to think about his options, weighing every choice before either keeping or discarding it. Il Lupo admired that. He could see Ezio thinking. Cesare, the fool that he was, was brash and often times acted before thinking anything through. At long last, Ezio came to a decision.

"Come, my new brother, we must get you the proper attire. Eagles do not wear crosses."

Pet profile by Eco.
Art and Overlay by Draviel.
Story written by Dracoren.
Il Lupo belongs to Ubisoft.