Actually, Altair was willing to bet they'd irritate him more because he knew what they should know at the level they claimed to be, but he didn't say that aloud. He was fine with taking the advanced group, and he nodded.

"Excellent. Ezio, if you want I'll help you with the other group."

Ezio nodded. Now, at least, he would be able to help correct the rather egregious errors in training. Really, it couldn't be any worse than training fresh recruits. These Assassins had to know something, at least.

Ezio and Altair had decided to start training the next day, so the gentleman could get all the Assassins in that he could and could divide them into their two respective groups. And, of course, the girls wanted to get involved.

"So what, exactly, am I doing?" Anna looked over at Ezio with raised eyebrows.

Altair glanced over at Iris, mentally debating how much he could do without getting her pissed off at him, before looking back at his group. None of them looked very happy, and the few that recognized him looked somewhere between totally floored and almost scared.

"You, la mia dolce, are going to help me get them into shape," Ezio replied. "You are the most familiar with my teaching methods, are you not?"

Iris glanced briefly at Altair before doing a quick check on her blade and stepping up next to him. She couldn't help but grin just slightly at all of the stunned, terrified looks Altair was getting.

"What are we starting them on?" she asked him.

Anna grinned. "Oh this will be fun. You get to take them climbing, though. I am not going up that damnable church tower again, or I'll do more than dump you in the canal."

Altair considered for a few moments, choosing his words carefully. "I need to test each of them individually. I need you to watch to see what I may not." Because he couldn't see everything, and in combat, even faked combat, he would be too busy testing their skills and holding his own back to be taking detailed mental notes on every Assassin there.

"I will teach the climbing on my own," Ezio replied. He knew better than to try to get Anna to do that. Oh yes, he knew better.

Iris saw the denial for what it was; Altair was forbidding her from participating.

"I am still perfectly capable of helping," she said to him softly, so as not to be overheard by their 'class.' "I'm not helpless yet."

"Good." Anna grinned. "Okay, this half is going running with me, and that half will go roof-jumping with you. You have to have your daily dose of death-defying feats, after all." She grinned teasingly at Ezio.

"Of course you're not," Altair said, just as quietly. "But if you wish to help me, this is where I would appreciate your help." Because Altair would be damned before he admitted that he actually needed help with this.

Ezio rolled his eyes but motioned for Anna to take half the recruits.

"I will need them back," he said.

Iris considered that for a moment, and nodded.

"Alright," she said. "But because you asked. Not because I can't do anything else."

"Don't worry, you'll have them back in one piece by lunchtime." Anna grinned and started shooing her recruits off to one side. "Have fun, darling."

Altair nodded and kissed her forehead briefly, which was all he'd allow himself in front of the others. "Thank you, sevgili," he murmured, almost too low to hear. He'd taken to calling her that recently.

"Good," Ezio replied. He waved a hand at her to go, and then turned to his own recruits. Time to find out what they could do.

Iris blushed slightly when she heard the pet name. She hadn't quite figured out what it meant, yet, but she loved the way he said it. Taking a few steps back so she was out of the way, she gestured for him to start.

Altair started testing the Assassins one at a time, sparring with each of them to see their strengths and weaknesses. Later he'd watch their climbing and running and hiding, but for he wanted to start with the basics, since every Assassin had to know how to defend him or herself.

And he trusted Iris to keep more detailed notes than he did, since he was a little more distracted than her.

And Iris was keeping more detailed notes. She kept track of who left themselves open where, and who desperately needed more work. She would see about helping with that training later, depending on how long it took. Because she wasn't going to be able to help for too much longer, and she knew it. She just didn't want to admit it yet.

Altair kept them all busy through the whole day, letting them go only after the sun had set. He'd managed to test all their basic skills, and found them all wanting. Already he wanted to throttle someone, or multiple someones, even if just a little.

"Just calm down," Iris said softly later that evening when she settled in with him. "They aren't too terrible." She leaned against him a bit. "I was worse, remember?"

"You also had no experience," Altair said quietly. "You did not claim to be anything, not even an iniate. They claim to be fully-fledged Assassins, and yet they are worse than some trainees I have seen."

"Then take the opportunity to rid them of their ignorance," Iris replied. "You can only help them at this point." She rested her head on his shoulder. "I would offer to spar with you to get you to relax, but you'd go easy on me and it would defeat the purpose."

Altair slid an arm around her waist after a moment, just holding her there. "It will be a long process," he said quietly. "It is... difficult. Seeing the Brotherhood reduced to this."

Iris cuddled into the embrace.

"Modern life is different," she said softly. "A lot of things are easier, and can be done remotely. I guess training standards just couldn't hold up to that."

Altair snorted. "They will now," he muttered, his voice dark. He'd make sure all of these Assassins were up to his approved level of competency before he let any of them back in the field.

Leaning up, Iris gave him a quick kiss.

"Just don't kill any of them before you get the chance to set them free again," she teased gently.

Altair snorted. "I will try not to kill any of them," he said, kissing her again briefly. It was about time they headed back to the hotel, and he wanted to make sure she ate dinner.

"Come. Food first, then bed."

"Alright," Iris said, smiling a bit. She could tell he was trying to take care of her, and she appreciated the thought. "I'm a big girl, you know, I can look after myself." She grinned teasingly. "I can sharpen my own blade and everything."

Altair snorted. "Just because you can does not mean you have to," he said, steering her towards the restarurant from the night before. "That's my job."

Iris grinned a bit and gave him a kiss.

"You just like to be in charge," she teased. "That's alright, though. I don't mind."

"Good." Altair smirked faintly and kissed her briefly before he sat across from her, putting his back at the wall and watching her back for her. He knew it wasn't likely that anything would happen, but he was paranoid.

Besides, this was Iris. If anything happened to her, he'd kill the person responsible and then mentally flog himself for weeks.