That's a wise rule to live by. Claude's tone may be light, but Altaïr thinks he understands that very well. Lies to oneself can lead to worse outcomes than those caused by even the hardest truth.

He stays quiet for a moment, while Claude speaks and afterward for a few moments. It's a heavy topic, and he can see why his friend wanted to discuss it here, away from and above everything else. There's some symbolism in that, he supposes — they can separate themselves to a degree, but they can't truly remove themselves from this world or its future. That's been true since they day they were summoned.

"If you don't want to live in fear, then don't." It doesn't really need to be said, but it's worth reinforcing the sentiment that Claude has already given words to. "We all have a choice, a say in what happens next. That's true regardless of what we don't know or what the odds are.'