Altair shook his head. "I'll rest tonight, once I'm sure everything is fine."

Anna heaved a sigh. "At least this time we'll be training them from scratch instead of retraining over bad habits," she grumbled, stretching out briefly as she headed back to the hideout.

"I'll make sure you do," Iris warned him as she checked on the baby. She always made sure Amaya was okay before she settled in.

"It will be easier this way," Ezio assured her. "It is much easier to train from scratch."

Altair just smiled a little and settled down there to let them rest. He wasn't going to rest, but he wanted them to get a nice nap.

Anna huffed and muttered something about having no time to themselves, but she didn't say anything else as she led the way inside.

Iris sighed softly as she settled in for her nap. Finally resting was an excellent plan, really.

Ezio caught up to her quickly and slipped an arm around her waist.

"We can make time for ourselves," he said softly to her, giving her a kiss.

Anna grumbled a bit but didn't complain again, just staying there leaning against him.

"Any idea where to start finding recruits? And where are we going to put them? Cause I'm not living with them."

"I'll figure something out," Ezio replied, holding her close. "Italy is a big place, after all. I'll find somewhere to put them."

"Good." Anna kissed him briefly. "I don't like sharing." She grinned before starting to tug her boots off so she could go get comfortable again.

"So I've realized," Ezio replied. Once she had her boots off, he put his arms around her waist and kissed her again. "Of course, I don't like sharing, either."

"I figured as much." Anna just smiled a little. "Well, at least life will never be boring."

"Indeed," Ezio replied.

Elsewhere, Malik had taken to looking for Altair. He had a few questions for his old friend, and he wanted them answered.

Altair heard Malik approaching, and he gently shifted Amaya so she was laying down. Then he got up and went to go greet Malik before the other Assassin could get into his room.

"Malik."

"Brother," Malik greeted in return. "Perhaps we could talk? It seems there is something that needs to be discussed."

Altair sighed. "Alright. What is it you wish to discuss?" He shut the door to his room, hoping to let the girls sleep.

"I felt it best to ask now, rather than later," Malik said. "Who, exactly, is that girl?" Nope, he wasn't going to dance around the question.

Altair shrugged. "She is someone I met almost a year ago on a mission. We had a brief encounter, I saw her once more two months after that. Next I saw her, five months later, she was with child." It was concise and didn't leave much room for inventing. He didn't like lying to Malik, but it was the story he and Iris had agreed on using.

Malik nodded slowly as he listened to the story. It didn't leave much room at all for scrutiny, and seemed solid. But he knew Altair.

"The truth, brother," he said, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I don't doubt that you took her as a lover, I think I know how your tastes in women run by now. And I will even accept that the child is yours. But if you had truly met her that long ago, and more than once, I think I would remember." It wasn't as if they kept many things like that from one another, even if they didn't necessarily advertise to the rest of the Order.

Altair raised an eyebrow at him, looking faintly amused. "I don't tell you everything I do, brother," he said quietly. "Much as I'm sure you don't tell me everything."

"This is true," Malik acknowledged. "But a girl you liked enough to visit again? And I would think you would have been a little more vocal about a coming child. Any man would." He grinned the slightest bit. "Even more telling is how much you were fawning over her."

Altair shot him a Look. He'd thought this might happen. Now he just had to decide if he should tell Malik the truth or keep trying to lie to him.

"Alright," he decided after several moments of silence. "I'll tell you. With conditions. That story is what we're telling to everyone else. And you must keep the truth to yourself." He motioned for Malik to follow, going to his office so they could sit but still leave Iris and Amaya to their nap.

Malik nodded. He could keep a secret. He followed his friend into the office, although he did cast a glance towards the bedroom proper. He knew the girl and the infant were still there, since he hadn't seen them leave at all. Once they were in the office, he made himself comfortable.

"Alright, I'm listening."

Altair heaved a sigh and started with the very first trip, leaving out nothing. He knew that anyone other than Malik not only wouldn't believe him but would also tell others to try and get him removed. But Malik he trusted.

So he told Malik everything.

And the only reason Malik did believe him was that he knew how the Apple worked. At least, in theory. Had it been anyone else telling him this outrageous tale, he would have the man locked up for insanity.

"That..." he trailed off. "I cannot even fathom what the world must be like so far into the future." He shook his head. "The world cannot possibly change so much." He looked at his friend.

Altair smiled humorlessly. "You can imagine my shock, then. Even just the first jump was... difficult." He leaned back in his chair, watching Malik carefully. Just in case.

"I can only imagine," Malik replied. He was quiet for a moment. "What was it like?"

"Unimaginable. In her time, they have towering buildings made all of metal and glass, and they have little devices that let them communicate across long distances." Altair shook his head. "It was... fantastical. And very hard to adjust to."