What if these men are not meant to die?

[theflyingone]

Who| Alain Johns atouchofka & Altaïr ibn La-Ahad
What| attempted murder
Where| the forest
When| sep 29
Warnings/Notes| attempted murder!

Altaïr was going to stick to his plan this time. Hide, wait out the arena, and only kill those who tried to kill him. It wasn't about getting back Al Mualim's approval by following the Creed to the letter anymore; the old man was back home. It wasn't even about easing his conscience.

When he killed Jack Sparrow, Altaïr saw the sort of man he might become if he continued flouting the Creed, even if he did still question it. He could not afford to kill another innocent again and be no better than the Peacekeepers mindlessly following orders. He was still having trouble asking himself the hard questions about the Gamemakers—whether it was right to kill them, the true purpose of their Games—but keeping to the Creed seemed straightforward enough. He wouldn't be pulling any magical swords from stones this time.

He had gotten some climbing equipment—a good supplement to his abilities—and a winter cloak at the Cornucopia. A tempered metal contraption was the only thing that puzzled him. Altaïr was too curious for his own good, but since there was no one around to ask, he crouched behind a bush and decided to figure it out himself. It had moving parts, and could be folded and unfolded into something easy to hold. It was some sort of weapon, but he wasn't sure what kind. It looked so different from any the Peacekeepers carried... He was familiar with mechanisms like the Hidden Blade, but this was far more complicated than that. He flipped a switch and felt it thrum quietly to life, not unlike the appliances in the kitchen.

He was turning it over to inspect the underside when it exploded from the front in a burst of light and sound. He clutched his chest where the recoil had hit him, making sure he wasn't wounded, and backed slowly away from where he'd dropped the cyborg gun on the ground. He still wanted to puzzle the damn thing out, but not at the cost of his life. That, and he was sure the noise would have attracted attention...

Comments

[atouchofka]

Alain had to think for a moment, even having touched on such a revelation. There were times, he thought, when killing a gunslinger was no less necessary than killing an innocent. If it meant that the children would live, that his vow would stand...

...It wouldn't. In his heart, he knew that. He let out a long sigh, and, with an arm that felt heavier than lead, tossed the mask back to Altair.

"I'm keeping the gun," he said, firmly. "I've wanted a better weapon than knives every moment of the last Arena I was in, and I won't give it up now. But I've no wish to kill you. Give me your word that you won't follow me back to my camp, though, for I cannot speak to Roland's views on the matter."

[theflyingone]

He began to worry that his gamble had not worked at all when Alain still appeared to be contemplating a decision.

"If you begin to kill indiscriminately, you betray wisdom itself."

He didn't exactly relax when Alain sighed, but he felt the tenseness in his shoulders lessen. He caught the mask on reflex. Good, some of his faculties were returning. He chanced sitting up and stowing it away.

"Have you ever killed a man without feeling anything? I have. I used to be afraid to feel. Even now I wonder if it does not simply bring me more suffering, but I cannot lose any more of my humanity. If I see a way to resolve a problem without bloodshed, I must take it. There are others here who would protect these children as well. We should use that to our advantage and secure safe places for them.

"I would protest the stealing of my weapon, but that thing is more danger than protection. Be sure not to take off any child's head with that."

If the "gun" in "gunslinger" was any indication, Alain had pegged him as a killer of some kind. Unlike a knife, such a weapon couldn't be for anything but killing. To hear Alain speak of him, it sounded like Roland was similarly trigger-happy.

"Roland is a good fighter. I will avoid him."

[atouchofka]

"I know better than to shoot a child," Alain responded shortly, running one hand down over his face. "I'm no less a soldier than you. I've killed more men than I can count, and taken no more joy than grief in it." There's something hard in his look, belying the softness of his features. "Humanity is the price we pay, we who are the shield of others - we pay it, and pay it, and pay it, so they don't have to. And sometimes, there is no way but bloodshed." He looked down at his hands, shaking and week, and started to examine the gun he held. "There is no safe place for these children. Not here. Not unless we carve one out for them."

[theflyingone]

Ironic, that they intended to safeguard these children through such violence, that their strict codes were intended to preserve freedom, that their blind faith in this hope was so similar to the blind faith keeping everyone in the Capitol under control. Were they so different from the ones they claimed to fight? Altaïr's existence and the existence of this very conflict seemed to say so.

In trying to find out the motives of his targets, he sometimes found himself feeling sorry for them. He knew this was part of his humanity surfacing. He had no satisfactory answer as to why they must give that up piece by piece. Even if he did, he would be delving further into seditious talk that was sure to get them both arrested.

"Safety and peace, Alain," he uttered the farewell as he rose smoothly to his feet.