Chevi

"Oh? Well, it's your fault I am the size of a domus, so we're even" Metella pointed out; pregnancy had not helped her temper. But today, she was in a good mood, against all odds. She smiled a little as Attis put his arm around her. The small temple was just ahead. "And it is important to me. It's not like we can have an actual wedding celebration. But I do want to be at least on some gods' good side when the baby comes." It was clear that Metella was worried about giving birth. All women did, as far as she understood. @Sharpie

Early September, 77AD The baby was arriving any day now, and Metella felt like a beached whale. She had to stop and rest multiple times on the short walk up the Aventine, even with Attis there to support her. "If I give birth in a temple like the consul's wife did, I'm blaming it on you" she pointed out in no uncertain terms. Still, she was happy they were making this trip. They had good reason to. Hidden in a street on the Aventine was a small temple to two gods the Romans didn't actually steal from someone else: Pomona and Vertumnus. Attis liked their story for some reason. And the shrine was as good as any for two slaves to make an offering, and declare themselves married. Metella was wearing a clean tunica (made for her current condition) and flowers in her hair. "Tell me why we're climbing up here in particular again?" @Sharpie

"You really trust those people" Aia observed. She loved Decimus and his loyalty; she trusted him, so by definition she trusted those he trusted. Even though she felt herself way more cynical than him. Romans and their laws, indeed. For now, she was content with sharing her bed with Decimus, being alive. "No one told me it would be this much more dangerous to be a woman around Rome. Maybe I should dress as a man again." @Sains

"Children are a blessing. And I think you do yourself a disservice. You have educated me far more than my own mother...I think you have it in you." Aia grinned and chuckled, but somehow, Ovinia's words touched her. It was sad to think a mother would not tell these things to her daughter (provided she knew them at all). Maybe, she wouldn't be terrible at it. "I know that type well. I have been flirted with, or groped even at too many parties to count. I think they see any woman as a challenge, no matter what she looks like. But I just...it is difficult. I had...been so set on a path. Everything in my life had been building to it - a husband, children, honour, duty. And...now I find myself adrift." "Because you like him?" Aia ventured. Of course she did. She'd kissed him and everything. Poor baby girl. She had a crush, and no way of turning it into something decent on the long run. @Sara

Iophon cheerfully and completely ignored the warning look. In his experience, that usually worked. "You're not going to go away until I do, are you?" "Not likely." he beamed innocently. And the story did come out. "I was a gladiator. Pretty damn good one, too. I met my match in a fight and my leg got messed up badly. Took a stab wound to the shoulder blade that struck some nerves or something and messed up my arm, too. I guess it's a miracle I can walk at all, but I can't walk without a limp now... and my dominant hand is pretty much useless now. Hurts more often than it doesn't, too... There you have it. Forgive me if I'm not exactly happy when I've been reduced to a shadow of my former self." Well, that was a story. Not a very uncommon one, if not by the sheer fact that he was an injured gladiator who was still alive. Those injuries could have meant his death in the arena, easy. Iophon let out a low whistle. "I can see why that would make your mood sour." he agreed, sipping his wine. "But I have to say, you must have been a formidable gladiator if this is just a shadow of that self. For a shadow, you still look pretty good. I'm just observing, not coming on to you. That's a different profession. But still. You're sitting here and everything." he smirked. "So what do you do now, instead of fighting?" @Mobius

Calpurnia would not have recognized Lexus in the murmillo armor, but she didn't need to; his name was announced, and met with a roaring ovation from the spectators. He was popular. And he looked formidable too, against his opponent. Calpurnia watched the fight with keen eyes; she saw the slight tilt of his head as he slammed his opponent against the wall below her. Did he look at her? It was hard to tell. But he hesitated for a moment, and it gave a chance to his opponent to bolt a way. Calpurnia winced; she leaned forward, opening her mouth, and she barely managed to bite back a cry of warning. She was not supposed to act like this. Sure, sometimes even Vestals were carried away by the excitement of the fights. But she felt guilty about it. @Atrice

"Melita... is pretty" Metella allowed. She honestly did not have many ideas yet either; the names that came to her easy were all names from her childhood, and she doubted they would be allowed to use those. "We have time." she added with a sigh, holding Attis' hand to place it back on her belly. "Some time, anyway. We'll figure it out." @Sharpie

"We have some time" Metella sighed, rubbing her waist. Being pregnant made her back hurt. Among other things. In the whole, it was a less than enjoyable experience. But the baby moved, and that made her smile nonetheless. "But we better come up with something before the dominus names her Baby or something." She added with a small smile. @Sharpie

Germania. He sounded Roman, but he was sentenced to the arena as a slave. Calpurnia knew about Germania, from books and from stories from others, but she'd never met someone who actually came from there. The cart began to move, and he asked if she'd see him fight. "I might" she smiled after him. Smiling at someone openly was not really fitting for a Vestal, and she returned to her usual expression in the next moment, turning to return to the house. *** The next fight came several weeks later; the gladiators needed time to heal. Calpurnia was offered a chance to accompany her sisters, and this time, inconspicuously, she agreed. The Vestals had their own seats in the Amphitheater, good ones; she could see the entire arena very well from hers. She had to admit, while she usually didn't care much for the fights, right now she was curious to see how Lexus would do. @Atrice

The look in Aia's eyes softened as she smiled. "I do want a family with him, I think. I just... never saw myself as the mothering type. Maybe it will take a few more years of living as a woman." Decimus would make a good father though. She already knew that. "If it meant to be, you will find the time. And the place. Or he will." She chuckled. "He seemed to really care about you. That's precious. Some men just want the conquest and their own pleasure." @Sara

"But...I would still have to bare my body for him, would I not? I..." "Yeah. You would." Aia nodded with an amused smile. "I have been brought up to believe that such an honour is for my husband. It...feels wrong to think of doing such a thing with another...surely if the Gods intended for that to be the case, such knowledge would be more widespread? Or more women would..." "I don't really think the gods have anything to do with it." Aia noted with a shrug. "Not with the spread of information, anyway. From what I can tell, many women... especially patrician women... don't really know any of this, even after getting married. And the lucky ones that do don't... movie in the same social circles." she gave Ovinia a pointed look. "I know I am lucky because I really have nothing to lose, by being with Decimus. And we can marry eventually. Although I'm not sold on the childbirth part yet." She shrugged again. "If you ask me, if one's entire life is chalked up to fulfilling her duties... a little fun doesn't hurt. As long as they are smart about it." @Sara

"Do yourself a favor, and try it." Aia said with an amused smile. "When you're alone. And obviously, you won't have to tell your husband about it." Men liked their blushing brides all innocent, for some reason. "But here's the thing. That place you touch... that can be touched, without anything entering your vagina. That means, it gives you pleasure, and leaves you a virgin." She chuckled. "If you get an excellent man, they can even kiss you there. And believe me, that's worth it." @Sara

"The two are not mutually exclusive. Men do it all the time." Aia smirked. "Besides, you are the one feeling the pleasure. You need to teach your... um, husband, what you like. If you let them guess, that's just bad for everyone involved." she chuckled. Granted, she had no idea what she was doing, her first time with Decimus either. Other than what she knew about herself. Luckily, Decimus was a very attentive man. @Sara

Aia looked up at the women; they didn't stop to linger, but they made Ovinia jumpy. They moved over to a secluded spot with a bench, which was good enough. These spots in baths were invented for conversations like this. Maybe exactly like this. "Alright, good start." Aia thought about what, and how, she wanted to say things. She tried to imagine what she'd have wanted to say, as a girl like her. "Well. That... the whole, man inserting his penis in the vagina, that can be pleasurable too. For him, obviously, but for some women too. But it's not really needed when you're on your own. You just take your fingers, put them between your legs, and see what you like." @Sara

The man was in a foul mood, even the blind could see that. "Well, that is too bad" Iophon noted. No one deserved to have a perfectly good festival ruined for them. A girl came up with some wine and cups, and Iophon filled them. "Festivals exist to let us all be merry for a little while. Neptunalia especially." Why would people work and struggle and toil, if not to sometimes reward themselves with festivities? "I care, because I like people. And I'm a storyteller, so I like stories. Want to tell me yours?" @Mobius

Calpurnia gave him a surprised look; she was speaking more forwardly than most men she spoke to. Even senators did not dream of talking about her touching them. Slaves definitely didn't, even though they, unlike senators, had a very good reason for wishing so, and it had nothing to do with her being a woman. "Where are you from, Lexus?" she asked curiously. He said he had been named; which didn't mean he was not from Rome, exactly, but it did make her cuious. @Atrice

Oh, gods. Aia had more work than she'd expected. Because that question was a resounding no. "Alright... So. Do you know what a woman and a man do together when they have sex?" Most maidens knew at least the basics; if from nothing else, then scribblings on the walls. Romans were not exactly shy about penises, and their many uses. Ovinia seemed sheltered, but she was not a Vestal. @Sara

Oh, now they were talking. Ovinia might have been shy, but she was curious. Aia grinned. She wished there was a career in this, like language tutoring. But for women. The would would be a better place. "That's because most women are married off out of duty, to men they don't desire. And most men, accordingly, are shit at pleasing their women." she noted, keeping he voice low as she lay on the edge of the pool. "Then again, most women are also shit at pleasing themselves. Have you done that yet?" @Sara

"Oh, it is completely inappropriate" Aia grinned at Ovinia. It was kind of adorable, how flustered she got at the mere idea. Aia had skipped that phase in her life, on account of being surrounded by soldiers who had no shame whatsoever. But now, living the life she was, she felt responsible about not leaving young women in the dark. "It's fun, though." @Sara

Aia blinked, surprised at the judgment, and then let out an amused snort. She had no illusions about what well-bred girls would think about her arrangement with Decimus, but then again, she did not give a shit. "It's fine if you want to wait." Aia noted, watching how flustered she was about the whole topic. "But apart from kissing, there are a whole lot of other nice things you can do that still leave you a maiden. Just so you know. He probably does." @Sara

She was not wrong. Aia knew that families took their daughters' honor very seriously. It was one of the reasons why her father dressed her as a boy. And she wasn't even patrician. Patrician girls were currency, to be exchanged for social gain. "Just for a kiss?" she chuckled, watching how Ovinia blushed. @Sara

"No family, no. But as a praetorian, he can't marry, and I was working at an imperial woman's household at the time. So whatever I did would reflect on them, or at least that was the idea." Aia shrugged. It was done now, or rather, she was living her life in a different way. Then again, visiting a popina in secret was not everyone's idea of a solution. She quirked an eyebrow at Ovinia. "Too secluded?" @Sara

"Attagirl." Ovinia was still pretending like she was not the carefully protected daughter of a rich family, but Aia was not really interested in that part of the story. She grinned, folding her arms to rest her chin on them. "Yeah, the meeting places are tricky. But not impossible. I've met Decimus in all sorts of places... a pantry on the Palatine, even in a cemetery. That was a bad idea." she snorted, remembering the skirmish with the grave robbers. "Mostly, we rented a room in a popina, that was decent enough. Lots of secluded places in this city..." @Sara

Aia smiled, a more genuine smile, at Ovinia's hesitant admission. Bless this child. Roman rules about romance and marriage were kind of shit, especially when it came to patrician girls, as far as Aia understood. While no one gave a fig about what Aia did with her body, life, or reputation, they sure cared a whole lot about what Ovinia did with them. Especially her family, probably. And no, she will not marry the vigile. But at least they got to make out. Good. "But?" she tilted her head. "He's bad at it?" @Sara

"How...how did you live around so many men for so many years and not get discovered? Was there really no alternative?It is my idea of torture, I think." "It took some finesse for sure. But honesty, the idea that a woman would serve in the legions is so far out of Roman men's imagination that I don't think they even thought to suspect" Aia chucled. "I'm glad I'm done with it though." She could tell her question threw Ovinia off; she could see the wheels turning as she was trying to decide what to share. "I...I...suppose I like him." There it is. "But it won't work. Because he's an equite and I am not and...I have to marry eventually. That is the sum of it." "Yeah. That blows." Aia noted, giving her a sympathetic look. "But until you do marry...?" @Sara