Hawks and Eagles

The Choice of Predator and Prey

A/N:
I want to be clear as the next few chapters touch the subject. Slavery is bad. I do not support slavery whatsoever. It's immoral and there is no gray area.

If people are starving and homeless and view slavery as their only option it's because society failed them. No one should ever have to turn to selling themselves just to have basic necessities. 😅 I thought that was clear but I've seen some people... use this as idk a reason why slavery has a "positive" side and just... Nope.

You'd been up all night with Malik and Altaïr, drinking and telling stories, making Altaïr the butt of most jokes. Eventually the night came to a close and Malik left to take care of Kadar in one of the back rooms. Altaïr and you moved to the foyer to sleep but you found yourself uneasy, the manifest finally in reach and the ship that much closer to being tracked down.

You sat up quietly as to not wake Altaïr. You read over the shipping manifest again, memorizing the name of the ship and the city it sailed to. You memorized the name of the ship's captain until your eyes burned with the need for sleep. You'd arranged passage earlier that day, a ship's captain agreeing to make the stop where you needed to go, an exchange of coin and information for his services.

Altaïr reached out, arms sliding around your waist and pulling you closer to him. He moaned something incoherent before reaching up and snatching the book from you. "You can read it later. You are with me right now."

You gasped when he tossed the book across the floor. "Truly?"

"You are going to leave me soon." Altaïr's hands tugged at your hips, pulling you downwards across the floor until you were lying next to him. He ignored your laughter and protests, moving his hips over yours and pinning you firmly where you were. "This moment is still mine."

Your lips pulled taut into a wide smile, eager to forget the daunting task you had ahead of you. "And what shall you do with this 'moment', Oh Great and Powerful Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad?"

His head dipped downwards, lips brushing across your cheek to your ear. "Whatever I please." His hot breath moistened the skin along the bend of your neck, pooling a heavy weight low in your abdomen. "Can I convince you stay? A few more days? Just until Kadar is better."

"Altaïr..." Your smile faded, your heart sinking suddenly. "I can't. You know I can't."

"You could." He stilled, his breath wavering in his lungs. Even his hands were steady as they gripped your waist. "You simply choose not to."

Your eyes narrowed and your teeth clenched. "Choose? This is not a matter of something so trivial as getting dressed. It's not the difference between wearing red or orange. It's someone's life."

"Those people--"

You shoved him, forced him to look you square in the eye. You met his gaze with a blistering fury. "My people."

"And how are they 'your' people?" He had been bordering on annoyed until that moment. An anger consumed him, fueled by your own when you didn't back down. "You are not some 'guardian' or their 'protector'. You were just a vigilante patrolling their streets."

"This 'vigilante' is going to find them and bring them home. Even if it means sailing across a sea to a foreign country to get them." You growled and snagged the closest pillow, throwing it hard into the closest wall. You scurried to your feet in order to get as far away from Altaïr as possible.

"Even if you left now, they have likely already been bought and sold." Altaïr just as quickly stood, more interested in following you than giving you space.

You spun on your heel and faced him. "So I should what? Give up?"

"I am not suggesting that you give up on helping 'your' people. But should you not focus your efforts on the ones you can save rather than the ones you've lost?"