Davus

Slaves

Posts
26
Last visited
July 10
Player
Sharpie

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Max Minghella
Location
Roma

Face Claim

Max Minghella
Location

Roma

Topics I Participated In

Io Saturnalia

Started by Titus Sulpicius Rufus · December 19, 2020

For the fifth time that day Titus had to shoo away Betua's anxious form that kept hovering about the entrance to the kitchen. Yes, it was her territory as much it was his possession, but there was a tradition to uphold. If she found the results of said tradition inedible she was free to go and serve something up on the sly. If Titus had to be honest, though, he thought he and this three helpers were faring quite well and did not warrant such levels of worry. Valeriana had helped pluck a chicken with unfettered, gleeful abandon, tearing out the feathers in small but forceful fistfuls before gathering an amount she deemed sufficient and running off giggling, possibly to disturb her indisposed mother. Publius was surprisingly adapt at peeling fruit and vegetables; in another life he might have made a fine tailor, or perhaps a medic. Still, the boy was just the right amount of both careful and daring with a blade in his hands. And Titus? Well, he had finished plucking the chicken, quartered it - clumsily, yes, but he was no butcher -, taken out the nasty bits and tossed the good ones into a big clay pot where onions, lentils, carrots and chestnuts awaited company. Copious amounts of garum and red wine and a handful of assorted herbs and spices, selected with no concern for how well they would go together but merely for their fragrance, had followed suit and the pot, properly lidded, had been placed in the oven to work its magic and hopefully turn all that food into a passable stew.
At the same time, his eldest hadn't been idle either, and had prepared quite the artfully decorated platter of assorted cheeses and cured meats before moving on to dessert: apples boiled in a mix of red wine and honey with chopped walnuts and more honey on top, and some stuffed dates and preserved plums on the side in case someone didn't fancy apples. Titus felt a surge of parental pride well up inside him: if his attempt at preparing a meal for the slaves failed, Sulpicia would save his honour by making sure they would still have something decent to eat.
The clay pot was smelling like it might be done cooking, and after a moment's deliberation with his son on how they would take it out of the oven without incurring serious burns, Titus spotted two thick and seemingly well-used squares of leather hanging from a hook just by. They served their intended purpose and soon enough the pot was set on a table and uncovered, belching out a great curtain of steam. It smelled like food, which was a start. As he portioned the stew into two big bowls Titus dipped his ran his fingertip along part of the edge of the pot and brought it to his mouth to taste. All right, so maybe he had been too careless with the garum and the gravy was a bit saltier and thicker than intended, but he had had worse. All in all, it was a valiant effort; he was pleased.
Now all that was left was to serve it to the critics. He picked up one of the bowls, Sulpicia the other and Publius the charcuterie platter and the three of them made off into the triclinium, where bread, wine and olives had already been freely made available to the servants. Titus had the feeling it wasn't only just Betua's expectant look that was trained on him, and that made him a little uncomfortable - nobody liked to be judged, after all. But a natural inclination for resting bitch face and years of making intentional use of it meant his expression remained mostly neutral, even as they placed the food on the table and began ladling the stew into individual bowls for the slaves' convenience.
"Dinner is served, my fine ladies and gentlemen. I hope you'll enjoy it."
@Chevi @Ejder @Sara @Sharpie
_____________
I suggest no set posting order since there's a few of us. Also, feel free to NPC Betua and any other slaves!
Clumsy cleanse

Started by Artemon · October 16, 2020

October 75 CE
After a successful praying session to the ancient gods of his homeland, Artemon was feeling quite ready to honour another Egyptian custom of old - a nice mug of beer. Even though his deity of choice was Sobek, the crocodile god to whom he had not found a temple yet, he had faith that neither Isis nor Serapis would object too much to being second best.
The small tavern a couple of streets away was mostly frequented by countrymen of his and, as far as Artemon was concerned, had pretty decent beer for its price. He hummed an old tune all the way there and headed straight for the counter upon entering, where he parted with a bit of coin and was given a big cup with a generous amount of beer inside. He took a sip, sighed in delight and made his way outside again, intent on enjoying his drink under the autumn sun...
That was, until he walked into something quite solid and proceeded to spill half his beer over it. As he processed the event he first mourned the loss of his drink, and only a moment later did he realise he had unwittingly given a young man a beer bath. With a sheepish smile Artemon awkwardly and futilely tried to pat the man dry as he apologised in Egyptian. "I'm sorry brother, my mind was elsewhere."
@Sharpie
Shabbat shalom

Started by Davus · October 13, 2020

September 75

"Onions, garlic, figs, cumin, lentils," Davus murmured to himself, repeating the shopping list over again (minus the items he had already bought, of course). "Onions, garlic... oof!" He had been distracted in his search and ended up very nearly walking into someone. The someone, when he'd recovered his wits and stepped backwards, an apology ready, turned out to be a young woman, of similar complexion to him, dressed simply, and with a veil over her head.
"Apologies," he said, checking that he hadn't dropped anything - he hadn't. "I wasn't watching where I was going - I hope you're not hurt?" His Latin was perhaps more melodious than a native would pronounce it, thanks to his Egyptian Greek accent.

@Echo
Davus

Started by Sharpie · October 11, 2020

DAVUS
24 | July 51 | Slave | House slave | Straight | Original | Max Minghella

Personality.
Davus is generally a quiet, reserved type of person. This is partly due to his upbringing and station in life and partly from natural reserve. He is thoughtful, intelligent and observant, traits that might otherwise get him in trouble - and did so on more than one occasion in his younger days, until he learned to rein himself in and just be what the Romans wanted him to be, a useful tool and of no more intelligence than that. He is very aware of the insecurity that comes with being a slave, having changed owners several times since he was ten, and while he has served in the household of Titus Sulpicius Rufus for six years (the longest he has spent in any one place since his birth), he knows that it would take one word from his master to see him at the slave market again, and he would do almost anything to avoid that.

Appearance
Of average height, Davus is clearly one of the many foreign-born slaves in Rome, although this is given away more by his features than the colour of his skin. He has the dark eyes and dark curly hair that denote his Egyptian background, although the paleness of his skin owes far more to his Roman father than his Egyptian mother. He looks more exotic the more time he spends out of doors in the sun as he naturally tans. He wears the clothing provided by his master - simple tunics in undyed linen with a plain leather belt, although he may be given smarter clothing if he is to serve guests at a party or other event. If he leaves the house, he will have simple leather sandals.

Family
Father: unknown (in reality Gaius Clovius Frontinus, a legionary stationed in Alexandria)
Mother: Tabia (slave)
Siblings: None known
Spouse: None
Children: None
Extended family: None
Other:

History
The web of the Roman slave trade was a wide net, cast right across the Mare Nostrum from Aegyptus to the Pillars of Hercules. Davus was born a slave, the son of a slave, in an Egyptian brothel in Alexandria, but was fortunate enough not to be exposed to die as many prostitutes' babies were. He grew up in the shadow of the Museion and the great Library of Alexandria, although he never had the fortune of entering the place. When he was ten, he and his mother were shipped across the wide blue Mare Nostrum to the biggest slave market in the world at Delos, where he saw even more people than he'd seen in Alexandria, and with other colours of hair like red and gold and very pale skin, which he couldn't recall ever seeing before.
It was at Delos that he was separated from his mother; her buyer didn't want to spend even the few sesterces a ten-year-old would cost, and so Davus endured the first and greatest heartbreak of his life. He was eventually bought by a trader from Corinthos. He served in his house for a few years, before eventually being sold again when his master's fortunes took a turn for the worse. Now aged fifteen, he was sent west across the sea to Ostia and thence to Rome (along with sundry other slaves and various goods from all over the Empire and beyond).
Unable to speak anything other than Greek and a smattering of Egyptian, he was sold again to a senator in whose house he learned Latin (which he still speaks with an Egyptian Greek accent). Eventually, aged eighteen, he exchanged households yet again, finding himself being given as a welcome home gift to one Titus Sulpicius Rufus and his wife, and he has been in their household for the last six years.
He has heard stories of the Christian God all his life, but has not yet decided whether this path is one he is willing to embark on, despite being told of the love and comfort that believers have found in Him.

Sharpie | GMT | Discord (#4424) or PM
@Gothic
The gif game

Started by Gothic · October 7, 2019

Basically reply with your character responding to the one above with a gif of their reaction to the person above.