Ezio slowly gazed around him from his perch at the top of the Isla Tiberina hideout, his knuckles barely brushing against the wood in his crouch above the water's edge. He watched the civilians bustle around, laughing and cheering as they callously drunk to their heart's content, either ignorant to the pain around them, or attempting to drink the pain away. Even from his vantage point, Ezio could not tell.
He looked up, and despite the shaded respite the sharp peak of his hood gave him, the sun still shone in his face, causing him to wince and squint his eyes, peering out from behind his eyelashes. Even as he tried to adjust his eyes, he realised it was futile and averted his gaze.
The clouds were scarce, remaining few and far between on this sunny, glorious Romagna day. He felt a calm go over him as he looked up at the empty, clear sky. If only everyone could look up and see there is so much more...there would not be nearly so much suffering down below. He thought wryly, letting out a soft sigh as he stood up, walking over to the other side of the building and looking down into the streets.
Poor women were running around, begging for coins, their feet bleeding from the effort of being bare. Drunkards lined the walls, either swaying around and blathering loudly about something unimportant, or they were already slumped against the hard cobble paving of the street, already unconscious. Many people just walked in groups, shuffling along with their heads down, their bodies and clothing covered with the grime and sweat that was eternally caking them. Many appeared to have been beaten, bandages loosely wrung over limbs, heads, and torsos. There was one woman just sitting in the side of the street, crying and holding up what appeared to be a dead child.
Life was hard for these people, and Ezio knew it. He also knew that, despite how hard he fought and how much effort he put in, there will always be people who must live like this. He gritted his teeth as he strode away, his brown cape fluttering alongside him as his boots silently pressed into the stone of the building beneath his feet.
It sickened him. Seeing the people happy and joyful on one side of the hideout, and on the other side there is pain and sadness. That these people could care so little about the livelihood and agony of their fellow Romagna citizens was just...
He let out a sigh as he forced himself to calm down. Getting angry at something like this is pointless. He thought to himself, quietly pinching the bridge of his node between his thumb and forefinger, not even having to remind himself to be careful not to activate his hidden blade.
Ezio did not move for many minutes, just letting the cool breeze running off of the river flow around him, trying to empty his mind as much as he could. After a little while longer, and the sun had began to set, he opened his eyes once more and lowered his hand; the muscles in his arm were stiff. He slowly turned back towards the side of pain, of agony, his robes twirling and spinning with his movement, the rubber of his soles barely scuffing against the surface of the building.
Ezio parted his scarred, stubbled lips, and mumbled, "Nothing is true. Everything is permitted."
