When the storms get rough, flee to the basement.

[Catone[Inactive]]

If he could have stopped for a moment, he would've questioned the presence of a dog. A storm was fickle though and gave no time to think.

Catone didn't move as fast as he could, to his latter shame. If anything, he was slower than a snail racing on a turtle in his frightened state. Then, Rosa's canine companion jumped and pushed him as it passed, giving him the push he needed. Stumbling, he quickly followed the woman down the stairs.

Whatever Rosa felt, he did too. In some deep bowel of his gut, something stirred. Maybe, it was his fear. Maybe, it was just his Assassin instinct. Something kept nagging at him. Was this some ordinary, everyday storm?

Or was it a hurricane?

[Rosa Giovanno]

Finally, he started moving. Rosa led him down, followed immediately by the Donna, the last to enter the cellar and to close the door. Fumbling through the dark, she could hear some of her sisters talking excitedly, though she could still here them trembling in the shakiness of their voices. They were all trembling, whether they knew it or not. Rosa felt safer in the cellar, another barrier between them and the storm that brewed over them. But even she became suddenly aware that her own knees were shaking, as if her body had overdosed her with adrenaline and was stunned by her lack of movement.

After a few minutes, one of them found the candles and matches, which were distributed through the pack of women. They all began to light them, holding dearly to the only source of warmth and light they had. Rosa received a few and passed one to Catone, along with a match before igniting her own. Maybe one small candle was just that: small. But together, they soon had the entire room lit up. That was when she realized just how many of them there were. When they were all spread out throughout their large brothel, their number was difficult to ascertain. But in a cellar like this, roomy still but with all of them huddled together, they looked like rabbits or a coup of pigeons. The products of many different stories ended here by Rome.

And yet, they were family. Not a real family, of course, and perhaps not even comparably close. Someone who actually had a family would have never understood the analogy. But they were. They looked out for each other, even when they competed on the streets, they looked out for each other. Because at the end of the day, each other was all they had.

Rosa found herself a corner, only slightly off from the main group, for herself and her boys. Sitting down and leaning against the wall, she patted her leg to summon Salvi, who came plodding along, ears lowered and tail between his legs, to her side. He was a big mutt and there were many like him, but this one was hers. She scratched his ears softly as he settled on the floor under her arm, and her other arm she extended towards Catone as she looked up into his face, searching it for signs of emotion.

[Catone[Inactive]]

In total darkness, he was king. Years of roaming the night made him accustomed to the shadows. Comforting him as much as Rosa's presence, he smiled in the murky blackness.

Flame ruined it. Shocked, he stared as match after match was struck. Out of the storm and into the furnace. Not the best travel destination he wanted. Swallowing his inhibition, he quietly accepted the candle and match with a shaking grip before handing it off to a girl who had none, passing it off as of he didn't need one rather than him being deathly afraid of fire as well. Another crackling noise as the match was lit and he flinched like a kicked puppy.

Backing away from the main group, he followed Rosa to the darker corner of the cellar. Mouth set in a grim line, he graciously accepted her hand and sat. Her dog was frightened as well, a kindred spirit. After all, hounds were fearless creatures, dangerous and wild. Yet, here was one seeking Rosa's comfort and protection from a little storm. Not so little anymore he surmised as the wooden door rattled with the force from the gale.

Head bowed, his eyes peeked out from under the shadow of his brow and observed the rest of the small underground room. There seemed to be a large group in the middle with smaller packs dispersed around it. Catone realized that it was situated by closest relationships, one made over work. The group in the middle worked mostly at the brothel itself while the tiny outsets of four worked the street with the people they trusted the most. A grin, an honest smile appeared on his face at the revelation. Unable to protect themselves, they split into small squads for better efficiency as well as creating a more valid opponent if threatened.

The Assassin, in his thoughtful state, didn't notice he never let go of her hand.

[Rosa Giovanno]

The buzz of conversation lasted for a while, until gradually it died down again. The change was so smooth, Rosa hadn't even noticed it until another grumble of thunder was audible without the interruption of the girls' babbling comments. It was true that the storm was vicious, but it seemed so much easier to pretend in the safety of the basement. Her head leaned back against the wall as she closed her eyes for a moment, listening to the war outside and breathing in the luxurious scents of the candles.

Her eyes snapped open. Ah, the candles. She had forgotten about these little ... treasures. They were made to calm, and also to entice. She laughed for a moment as she pushed hers gently away with her foot as far as her leg would extend. It was fine to have the light of it, but the sweet and delicate fumes were not something she wanted to get too drunk on in current company.

It took her a while to notice that Catone was still holding her hand. But when she did, she tried not to pull it away or to give him any clue that she had become aware of it. Rosa wanted to think of how to use it to her advantage first, an opportunity for more answers. After all, there were many questions she still had about him.

When she finally decided on her strategy, she picked up her hand, taking his with it. She shook it playfully in some lazy kind of handshake before resting their still-clasped palms where they had been before between them. "That's an awfully long time to hold a woman's hand without saying anything, Catone." she teased him, and then tried to ask a little more casually than before. "What's still troubling you?"

[Catone[Inactive]]

He had leaned back, just breathing and trying to ignore the close proximity of the candles. But every inhale brought a whiff of some exotic spice. In and out. In and out. He chuckled. He didn't even know why he found something funny. Didn't even know what he was finding hilarious.

Looking over at the entwined hands, he giggled in response. Was it out of his confused daze or embarrassment from unconsciously yearning for her contact. Not knowing if she wanted to continue the contact, he let his fingers untense but remain in their position, giving her the choice to let go if she wanted to. "Nothing."

His eyes darted to the candle. "Nothing of interest, Bella."

In an effort to change the conversation, Catone used his other hand to reach across them both and tentatively offered his open palm to her pet. He liked animals, but life as an Assassin prevented him from pursuing life with an animal companion. That, and he lived on a gondola. Where would he keep one? "Beautiful animal. Where did you get him?"

[Rosa Giovanno]

Watching him carefully, it didn't take long for the effects of the fumes to surface in his behavior. At least... she thought it must have been the fumes. It was the only thing that she could think of that would explain his change in mood. Especially the giggling. Although she pitied him, Rosa couldn't help but laugh when he did, though her laugh was legitimate.

Salvi picked his head up, allowing Catone to pet his ears. His great tail wagged only slightly, thumping noisily against the ground. Rosa decided to answer his second comment first so she could re-change his change of subject. "Salvi has been called many things." she smiled, stroking the mutt's head. "But never beautiful." He was a stray after all - or had been before Rosa took him. A thing people kicked stones at or tossed only their most meager scraps to. She scratched the scruff of his neck, and used the dog as an excuse to remove her hand from Catone's gentle hold so she could pet Salvi with both hands, pinning both of his bat-like ears to his head and making his eyes seem large. She laughed. "From the streets." she said simply, opening her hand as Salvi licked her fingers. "I got him from the streets."

Returning her gaze to Catone, she stopped petting her dog and crossed her arms. "It's of interest to me." Rosa was bringing the conversation back into it's circle, intent on finding out what it was. Though still she had some consideration for his embarrassment, and paused as she tossed a few questions aside before picking another one. "What's the story?" she asked. If he wouldn't tell her directly what he was afraid of, other than the answer he had already given, maybe this riddle-teller would be more willing to tell her a story. "Why are you afraid of storms? I refuse to believe that an Assassin would fear something like that without reason."

[Catone[Inactive]]

"Some things hold more beauty than most would give credit," he murmured, gazing at her. Her smile and laugh always brought a small incredulous expression. How could someone so looked down upon hold this much joy?

Sighing, he looked to the side and avoided her stare. Should he tell her? After all, she knew enough of his past already while he knew very little of hers. Maybe it would make him seem weak for harboring it for so long. Suddenly, a single thought interrupted his internal debate with sudden clarity. Catone was there those few months ago. He was there in Rosa's time of vulnerability and now here she was, in his. "A story. Mine's a long one."

Voice lowering to not let any of the other denizens eavesdrop, he began. "Before I was on my own, my mother and I lived with an old man, Messere Leonni. He owned his own bookstore in the middle of Venezia. His customers loved him and so did we. Looking back, he's probably the closest thing I had to a father. Anyways, he had a thing for writing riddles and poetry." Catone smiled at the memory. "He always did on the rooftop, gave him his creativity or something. Well, one night he left some of his drafts up there and a storm was coming. I decided to help him gather it up, he was starting to get feeble in his bones."

He paused, slowly inhaling and holding it in as he remembered what happened next perfectly. "We were all alone and the wind was picking up. He looked over and told me, 'you should try writing, little Rino, you might enjoy it.'

"Those were his last words. Lightning struck the roof about a foot away from us. We both lost our balance, but I fell back into safety. Leonni didn't. His body was found in the canal the next morning."

He stopped, looking at her for a moment to gauge his reaction. She now knew why he was deathly afraid of lightning. It was refreshing, revealing his past. His shoulders felt as if the invisible chains there had been loosened for a miniscule respite, allowing him to soothe the chafed soul. The Gondoliere closed his eyes and softly admitted, "but that's not even the end of it."

He needed a moment to let that sink in for her and for himself. So he slipped back into silence and waited until he was ready to finish.

[Rosa Giovanno]

A swirl of thoughts rushed through her mind as his words formed a memory in her mind that was not her own. So many, that she didn't know how to sort them. He was fatherless, and at a young age, too. Why? Where had his father gone? This Leonni man was probably the reason Catone liked riddles so much. He must have been a good person, to have left such an impression on him. Rino? What was that, a nickname? Rosa failed to see the connection.

But her thoughts stopped and her eyes snapped back up to look at his face when he told the fate that happened on the roof. "Catone I'm so sorry." she said, but then he murmured something that made her eyebrows furrow. But that's not even the end of it.

Expecting to hear more of his sad tale, Rosa was a bit surprised when he only became more silent. Not wanting to push him, her eyes lowered again, looking at Salvatore as an excuse. Catone would speak when he wanted to. But still, she stole only quick glances at him, wondering when he would continue.

[Catone[Inactive]]

Closing his eyes, he frowned and his hands came together, clasped as if in a silent prayer for those he had lost. "What happens when you combine a spark with some old wood?"

It wasn't so much a riddle than a rhetorical question. The answer was simple enough. Fire. "The bolt that killed Leonni was that spark. I barely had time to recover from shock before I saw the flames starting up. Stamping it out was impossible. Every time one fire was out, another took its place. I took too long."

Catone stifled a feeling in his throat, biting back a sob as his eyes watered. In a shaky voice, he continued. "I heard my mother shout my name from downstairs. She wouldn't leave without me. The fire spread when I was busy trying to put it out. I ran down to find her waiting for me, the flames growing. We ran for the door, but a strange sound I later found to be the cracking of wood distracted me. I stopped to look up and was pushed out of the way of the entire second floor coming down. My mama saved me."

He offered a weak smile as he patted Salvi's head. "But I couldn't save her. She was trapped on the other side and I couldn't clear the wreckage away as much as I tried. The last thing she told me was how proud she was and to run."

There. That was it. All of it was on the table. His fears as well as some of his past. She knew some of his greatest secrets while he knew her biggest one of all. A child, died before it even lived.

[Rosa Giovanno]

Her eyes widened as his story continued, though she knew how it would end before he even said it. It was like a horrible gut feeling, an intuition she could only hope was wrong. Though his final sentences confirmed it. Rosa watched him for a moment, frozen. He was... an orphan. And while it was an old story to him, an old pain, something he had lived with since he was young, she could still see and hear the hurt in him. Rosa knew, more than most in the room, it wasn't something that just went away.

She opened her arms briefly, quickly closing them around him in a tight embrace. She racked her mind for something encouraging to say, something comforting or at least... she didn't know. After a few moments, she found it. "Your mother would be very proud, if she knew what you are today." She said quietly, looking over his shoulder at the shadows in the lightless portion of the room beside them. "She raised a very good son." A hero, she thought to herself, as she regarded every assassin. But she didn't want to make it awkward.

Sensing something was wrong, the dog got up and laid his heavy body across Catone's lap, separating the two people and wagging his tail slightly as he looked up at him, ears still drooping. Rosa thought to give a quick glance at the other companions in the cellar, expecting jokes and commentary from the ignorant bunch. But instead she saw only sleeping faces, leaned back contentedly against the wall or each others' shoulders. Some of them talked peacefully, quietly, though she doubted if even they knew what they were saying.

Her attention returned to Catone with a sad, sympathetic smile, not knowing what to say. But she leaned forward and snuffed out the candle, getting rid of the flame that she now considered too near to him, knowing his experiences. There were enough others to keep them at least partially out of the dark.

[Catone[Inactive]]

Catone returned the embrace tightly, trying to squeeze the memories out of his head by focusing on her instead. It had been a very long time since he had meditated on these memories. Whenever it happened, he tried to distract himself and forget. But, pasts are not some trinket you can hide on a shelf. No, history was a branding mark that you carried with you. One can't just throw away his memories.

A surprised gasp escaped him as the dog laid across him, trying to comfort him in its own way. With a small smile, he appreciatively scratched behind the ears. "Thanks, Salvi."

He was immersed in darkness once more, the blasted candle put out. Relaxing, he leaned back and placed an arm around Rosa's shoulders, shifting to accommodate the pup as well. He slipped into silence as he considered their relationship. It had skipped the acquaintance phase and immediately rose to friend status. Strange. They both must have been craving some form of human interaction to create this bond.with such ease.

He pondered some more as his eyes began drooping and a yawn escaped him. It had been a very wearisome day. Cracking a single slit open, he glanced at Rosa to see her situation.

[Rosa Giovanno]

The quiet seemed to envelop them at first, and then it only grew louder. The thunder was clear above them, and Rosa wondered about the size of the storm all together. It was strange, she thought, that it would remain over them for so long. Mentally, she started to blame the city somehow as her eyes began to feel heavy and close. The candles of the others flickered, some of them emitting quiet pops every now and then as the flame found fault in the wicks.

But in time, these unfamiliar sounds also faded in her ears, and she snuggled into her personal pile of safety - the blanket covered heap of dog and assassin, both of which had been her saving grace on more than one occasion. Catone was... different than most. She certainly enjoyed his company, and he hers. But somewhere deep inside herself, Rosa knew she had to keep herself in check. It was always the nice ones, the good guys, the innocent men who suffered. And she suffered. They were friends, fast friends maybe, but nothing more. She couldn't let him get too close. She couldn't let herself get too close. Because if she did, then that was when she would have to let him go.

Yes, the courtesan still had her own secrets, hidden away contentedly as her head rested on his chest. Slumber was something that came without dreams, without noise, as if her head had been submerged in a strange and solid darkness.

**********

Rosa awoke first to Salvi's whimpering, and then to a disgusting amount of slobber as he licked her cheek. Slowly her eyes squinted open, sleep still weighing heavy on her limbs and oh so reluctant to leave her. Her spine straightened into an upright position as she stretched, previously folded arms pushing out to invisible walls. And she inhaled.

Her eyes snapped open, suddenly completely awake. Smoke. She couldn't see it, but she could smell it. The crack beneath the door at the top of the stairs glowed a bright yellowish gold, flickering in a way it shouldn't have. Panicked, her eyes looked around. They were in the cellar. She sprung to her feet, calling loudly for everyone to wake up. They needed to move. The girls just lazily waved their hands at her though, even as she grabbed them by the collars of their shirts and nightdresses, their heads fell back and they laughed stupidly, eyes drunk with sleepiness and something else.

The candles.

[Catone[Inactive]]

His one eye closed and he relaxed, his head leaning back. Thoughts revolved around the various aches in his body as he tried to invoke sleep to come.

Catone stretched as his mind started to cloud and his focus on the inside of his lids fogged. Like sinking into a small pool of color, his dreams came and went, albeit a little strangely. Talking dogs, men who turned into mice, and a crocodile adjusting his collar before attacking a bird were just a few of his odd little sleep visions.

Then, his dreams became dark and he fell into a comfortable blackness.

---

All he felt was something shifting beside him. Groaning, he turned away only to have noise wake him further. Annoyed, he sat up and opened his eyes, prepared to remove the disturbance.

For the second time that week, he choked up and froze in horror. Too much smoke from a few measly candles and that ominous moaning could only mean one thing.

He was trapped again. And this time, people were depending on him to get them out alive.

Slowly, he sneakily rose to his feet, head spinning. Either he was really scared or some of the noxious fumes must've wafted over to his sensitive nostrils already.

[Rosa Giovanno]

"Come on, idioti!" she shouted at them as she tried to jerk them from their ridiculous stupor, but to no avail. Frantic, Rosa's head was spinning, trying to grasp onto ideas in her own still blurry mind.

The Donna. Where was she? Rosa scrambled among the groups as she searched to find the lady of their house. In the dim light, it was hard to discern whose shape was whose. After about a minute though, she found her, curled on the floor a little ways off from the main congregation of girls with beside her own candle, which now burned much shorter than it had at the beginning of the night.

"Donna! Donna, wake up!" she shook her by the shoulders, only to evoke the same girlish laugh from the older woman that had come from the other courtesans, along with the wave of a hand. "Stop it, Marcello." was her reply, though her head lifted briefly and her eyes peered about for a moment before drifting back to the floor in sleep.

Now frustrated and desperate, Rosa was left with no choice. Holding her hand back for a moment, she swung with great speed and slapped the woman across the face. "WAKE UP!" she roared at her, at them all, which even got a few verbal responses from the other girls a few feet away.

The Donna, however, was sobered. Her eyes snapped open as she flew to a sitting position and grabbed Rosa by the blouse. "How dare you hit me, you little bitch!" came the monstrous response of their mistress, though she stopped as she too smelt the smoke. Letting go of her, the Donna tried to get to her feet, only to stumble dizzily and fall back on her bum. Cursing, she tried to stand again, this time with success and went to the other girls to wake them.

The room was spinning as Rosa stepped out of the invisible cloud of fumes that enveloped her sisters, breathing in the not-so-fresh air of the dank and heating cellar. Her eyes landed on Catone, who at least was standing up. Going to him for a moment, she searched his face, only to find the same horror that had been there before. "Now is not the time for fear!" she told him, her usual softness she displayed towards him torn up in her own panic as she tried fruitlessly to calm herself as well.

But then she had to leave him, struck with the sudden realization that they had no way out. Running to the door at the top of the stairs, she flung the door open to see how badly the situation was. Forced back a few steps as the door flung itself open as hot air clashed with cold, Rosa gasped and held her hand close to her body. The doorhandle was hotter than she had expected. Much hotter. Squinting though, she tried to see into the room on the main floor. What was wet from the storm remained so far unscorched, which was much of the floor and the furniture by the windows. But the candles, those in jars, along the walls, on the tables and beside the balcony had been tipped over and had shared their sparks with whatever cloth was nearby. The tapestries burned, parts of the carpet and one of the sofas were all alight. The rug directly in front of the cellar door had caught, too, shielded from the rain as it was in the corner but not from the wind.

Retreating back down the stairs, Rosa grabbed Catone's shoulder. "We have to look for another way." she told him, and began feeling along the far wall. Her burned hand screamed at her for a moment, and then relaxed as she held it against the cold stone. It hurt, but at least it was better than the open air. Though it couldn't last long, as she moved her hand along the wall, the pain ebbing away with new adrenaline with each empty and failed grasp she felt along the rock. There had to be a way out. There just had to be.

[Catone[Inactive]]

His stance shifted as he fell against the wall in surprise. He had forgotten of Rosa's will. Whatever she wanted, she got. And right now, she wanted to live.

Suddenly, he saw something in the smoke. Wisps of a memory started to take form. No, not now. It wasn't the time to be seeing ghosts of his pasts.

Wait a second. His past! Remembrance surfaced as he welcomed the thought. Long ago, on his first visit to Roma, he was being given a tour of the catacombs. There was this one, where the tunnel had collapsed into a large cavern. Rather than traverse it or try to repair the damage, everyone simply took a different route. Apparently, that tunnel led to the base of their courtesan allies. If the Rosa en Fiore is their home, then that would mean....

Catone suddenly jumped away from the group of women and started tearing apart the cellar like a madman. Any thing that was close to the wall, he tore away. Boxes, shelves, everything was subject to his furious theory. Nothing was safe. And nothing was there. He cursed at the top of his voice, probably scaring the already frightened courtesans even more. A wracking cough tore at his lungs, his body hunching over in discomfort. And that's when he saw it.

A small hole surrounded by small indents that had been worn away by time. Relief flooded his entire being as he flicked his wrist. Only to realize his weapons were still in the room, including his hidden blades. Fantastic.

Scowling, he ran over and grabbed the nearest candlestick and threw it at the wall. If he had no blade, he would make one. As the brittle metal broke apart, he nodded in approval as he noticed the base had broken away with a long sliver of metal jutting from the top. It should work.

Catone had no time to register the flames licking at the trapdoor as he jabbed the makeshift knife into the hole and began fervently twisting. "C'mon, c'mon you putagna!"

As if obeying his command, a small click noise came from the wall. Then, a large portion seemed to sink away from the rest and fall into the earth, revealing a solid blackness beyond. The Assassin turned to the group and found his lungs could produce no sound other than another hacking.