Chevi

Ovinia, in true Ovinia fashion, shoved first and asked questions later. Lucius was prepared to assume he deserved whatever he had coming, even if he had done nothing wrong. But then he could see the recognition in Ovinia's face, and a moment later, she launched herself at him again. This time, he did lose his balance, and the both went down, the wind almost knocked out of him as she was cushioned by his fall. "Ow..." "You're okay. You're here." "Yeah, I'm here" he agreed, a little breathless, and wrapped an arm around her. "I'm alright. It's alright." @Sara

Lucius swore, already braced for what he would have to face. After more than a week of hell, and then the ride out to the villa, and Marius' hurried explanations, he was already on the verge of losing it. He managed to get the door of the cupboard open, and a blinking, furious-looking Ovinia spilled out into his arms, nearly knocking him over. "Whoa!" @Sara

The next letter was delivered by hand. Marius' hand. Saturnalia was still weeks away, but the household servants showed up at the villa one evening, carrying the belongings they usually brought for visits, but all looking grim, Marius more so than usual. The note was short and badly scrawled. Ovinia, Rome has been going up in flames for three days now. We try to put the fires out but they keep catching, different parts of the city. I'm sending the household to the villa until we get things safe here. Don't let them come back until I send word. Don't worry, I'll be careful. Lucius @Sara

Dear Ovinia, Thank you for your detailed and entertaining letter. Next time, try writing it with your left hand. I imagined you lying by my side in the evening, to see what I'd tell you about tonight, but honestly, I did not get far into the conversation. I'll try again. We broke up a fight at a brothel yesterday. Which is not all that uncommon, but this time, it was the prostitutes fighting, and the guests looking on. Apparently, there was some kind of a feud between two houses, and suddenly there were women and boys everywhere, beating each other up with their sandals and broken pottery. We got there before the guards got involved, but we were at a bit of a loss at separating the rest. And someone in the crowd was charging people for the spectacle. I don't even know how I am going to report on all this to the praefect. The entire castra is snickering about it. I hope the girl with the ankle is doing alright. It was kind of you to go looking for her. Still love you, Lucius

At first, Azarion did not know why his name was on the wall. It looked like some kind of a list. His gaze trailed up to the top, and he slowly made out the letters of the question. Who do you most want to... well, he knew that one. Azarion blinked. "Well. It seems you've made an impression on someone," Someone wanted to... What? Azarion looked at the question again, and then the list of names. He recognized Rufus' name too. "Looks like you've got a secret admirer!" Azarion looked stunned. Someone actually... noticed enough to put his name on the wall? Or was it just some kind of a joke? He tapped Rufus' name. If Azarion had an admirer, he did too. He arched an eyebrow. What did that even mean?... @Sharpie

Dear Ovinia, I hope to visit after Saturnalia. I would love to spend the festival at the villa, but knowing Rome, everything always goes up in flames when people get drunk and rowdy. Once the year turns, I'll take some time off to travel. I am glad you found my sister agreeable. (I decline discussing who has what kind of moods.) I wish I could have been there for the harvest. I miss you as well, but I am happy to hear you have not regretted your decision. I know the feeling of sitting on the beach well. I am happy to share that with you, even at a distance. And I stand by Catullus. I would write more, but there are really no news to write. We put out fires and break up fights. I can do this even with one good hand. I hope to hold you again soon. Love, Lucius

"I understand I make mistake. But... no next time, I hope." "Oh, don't let one cracked head put you off women" Iophon grinned, dabbing at the blood as carefully as he could. A lot of it was in Wulfric's hair. He really had gotten clonked on the head. "Unless you want to move on to men, in which case, their gain." "She was good. But after, I want more. And she... needed pause. So, we rest. But then fall asleep." "Insatiable, are we." Iophon chuckled. He turned Wulfric's head to keep up his cleaning work. "That was the mistake. Next time, you find the guy, pay him for another round, and then you fall asleep. Or pay for the whole night. If you have the coin... You liked her?" @Atrice

The girl could hear and understand her; Calprunia suspected maybe she had not been born mute. She looked at the scrawled note curiously. I have voice but it is just sound & very rough, not words. Use gesture & former masters taught me to write. She had a voice, but no words. Interesting. Calpurnia looked up, studying the girl, wondering if she should probe more. She decided against it. For now, she'd just leave it at that. "Well, writing might prove awkward in your everyday duties" she noted, tilting her head "Would you be willing to teach me the signs you use? I think that would make it easier... Is Latin your first language?" She waited for response for the first question before she asked the second. @Jenn

Not alone. Not alone. Metella was panicking, so it was hard to put meaning to the words. She did feel alone. With a baby in her body, and the both of them at the gods' mercy from here on out. She tried to breathe, because it was embarrassing to melt down in the atrium like this. Finally, Attis pulled her into a hug, and somehow, that worked. "We'll figure it out, together." Attis, with all his flaws and annoying sense of humor, was a good man. Metella had always known that. She burrowed into his arms. "I'm scared" she admitted in a small voice. That was new, for her. @Sharpie

Horatia was younger than Calpurnia by a few years, and even heavily pregnant she looked poised and elegant. She was shorter, but that was no news - most women, and quite a few men, were shorter than Calpurnia, and she was used to that. "Oh please, do sit down" Calpurnia waved a hand. No one wanted a pregnant woman to jump at attention, even to a Vestal. "It is a pleasure to meet you. Please, call me Calpurnia." She was not going to insist on terms of honor, not with family. Not in private, anyway. "How are you feeling? I hope traveling wasn't too hard on you. Are you settling into the domus yet?" The servants had prepared drinks and food in the guest hall, and Calpurnia busied herself with pouring two glasses of wine. @Sara

"I said, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to touch her! It's not like she told me! I can't go and ask everyone I bed if it would be alright that I do. That's not how it works." Felix was not exactly a virgin, but his experience was limited, especially when it came to people out of his league. Which was... basically everyone who was not a slave. Alexius was a freedman, from what he knew, but he still should have at least assumed that some women were not to be seduced. So, he was either that dumb, or that cocky. And Felix couldn't even imagine what kind of situation he had been in that these questions did not come up. "Do you really want to fight me? Really?" Felix hesitated. No, he did not want to fight. He wasn't even sure he could win. But he also didn't really have a choice. "Not really. But I was ordered to. And if it's not me, dominus will send someone else." @Atrice

Metella took deep breaths, trying to hold back the panic that was bubbling up. Now that they had talked to the dominus, she'd assumed the worst fear would be over. But it wasn't. Instead, it was replaced by the reality of what she was about to go through. Pregnancy, birth, motherhood. She suddenly felt the absence of a family like she had not felt it for many years. Attis rubbed her shoulder. He probably didn't really know what to do either. "Do you need to lie down again?" "I don't know" Metella gaped, trying to stop the world from spinning "I don't know what I need... Gods, how am I going to do any of this?..." @Sharpie

Metella left the room along with Attis, still reeling. That... could have been worse. For now, Longinus did not seem angry, although it remained to be seen whether he would change his mind once the baby started crying throuhg the nights. The baby. They were going to have a baby. Metella paled again as the tension left her, and the world spun around. She caught herself against one of the columns of the atrium, breathing heavily. Shit. How was she going to do this?... @Sharpie

"Maybe I should, but it's too late for that now, isn't it?" It really was. Now he just had to pay the price and learn the lesson. Felix was not sure about how to get either of those points across, though. The man looked like he could hold his own in a fight. "But... you're not going to. You can't go home now either though. Your master will know you didn't complete your task. Why don't you tell me your name, and we find a way to solve this? Without anyone getting hurt?" "You think you can talk your way out of this?" Felix frowned. He was still not sure the man was honorable in any way. Honorable men did not do what Alexius had done, even Felix knew that. "If you were an honorable man, you would not have dishonored the domina." @Atrice

Dear Ovinia, Please don't write things like that about Marius, the poor man is already distressed enough. The household is in decent order, and the vigiles are finally learning to behave themselves again. But when they come over to visit, Marius always threatens to quit. I kindly thank you for offering an argument, but honestly, planning has never been my family's strong suit to begin with. Except for my brother, I don't know how that happened. I know my sister will treat you kindly, I hope you get along. And please put the tunica away until I'm there to see it. You are composing music now? Such a talented student. Can't wait to hear you sing and play. I don't read much poetry, but I have been partial to Catullus. Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred, then another thousand, then a second hundred, then yet another thousand, then a hundred; then, when we have performed many thousands, we shall shake them into confusion, in order for us to lose the count, and in order not to let any evil person envy us, as no one will be aware of how many kisses have there been. Love, Lucius

Ovinia, I am sending you the things from your room, and some small gifts alongside them. The household has been terribly quiet without you, and my bed terribly empty. I spend most of my time at the castra, the men have been slacking off since I left. Maybe you should be in charge of the drills, since you have done a good job with the exercises. Marius is keeping me on task, but he is not quite the same. I hope I will get to hear you sing soon. And play the lyre. And laugh. And make other noises I'm not going to list. Gods, I even miss you arguing with me. Lucius @Sara

"I love you too." He still could not get enough of that. "And I can read and write. If you want to suddenly become a poet and send me verses professing your love." "Only if you write back" he smiled. Neither of them was going to turn into Landicus, but write he would. If he ever found a way to put into words all the things he wanted to say. He wrapped his arms around her. "Do you want to go back to sleep?" "No." he leaned up to kiss her, tangling a hand in her hair. "We have a little more time."

"I see... well, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to touch her. She didn't exactly tell me not to." Felix frowned deeply. He did not like this man talking about the young domina like that. She was kind, and... well, apparently not that pure. Still, she had an honor to be protected, and it was not in good hands here. "You should have known better than to touch any noble woman." "So... are you going to try and beat me up now?" Felix looked at the man warily. "I have been ordered to." @Atrice

"I'm going to the Gardens of Sallust next week. With Perses." Lucius nodded. Perses would not go anywhere anytime soon. Which meant, he had to take care how often he showed his face, because eventually, sooner or later, it would all get back to Ovinia's father. "And then Alexius and I are planning a day in the library." That earned a genuine, amused smile. Alexius and libraries. How... chaste. "That's something I didn't think I'd hear." "But after that, perhaps, we could see one another." "That sounds like a plan." he nodded, stepping away from the wall. At least Alexius could keep an eye on her when he couldn't. "Take care, Ovinia. Next time you want to threaten me, you know where to find me." he added with a smile. @Sara

Felix watched realization dawn on the man's face. Did he know whom he was talking about? "I touch a lot of people... I wouldn't touch someone who didn't want it." Well. Felix frowned. He was not lying. If he had... forced, the domina, he'd already be dead. Dominus would have had him hunted down and quartered. As things stood... it was pretty clear the young domina had wanted this man to touch her. "Who exactly are we talking about?" Oh, screw him. "The daughter of a very important man. Who does not take kindly to any of this." Felix was not sure the importance of his dominus would make this man stand down and let himself be beaten up, though. So they were at somewhat of a stalemate. @Atrice

"Wouldn't it be a sad world without any Romans" Azarion grinned as they got to the top of the hill, and crouched among the shrubs. Below them, the hill sloped down to the great river, grass giving way to sand and pebbles. On the other side, the same thing, like a mirror image - except on the hill opposite of theirs, the square silhouette of a Roman fortress stood out against the sky. A few Romans could be seen by the riverbank on the opposite side, watering their horses. A few women, probably belonging to the settlement behind the fortress, were washing clothes downstream. The horses were larger than the Sarmatians', and seemed more skittish. "How do they even ride those without stirrups?" Azarion muttered, craning his neck to see if there was anything on the closer side of the river. @Sharpie

The man got free and turned, staring at Felix. He seemed ready to put up a fight. Shit. Felix could find it in himself to beat up someone if they deserved it, but he was not exactly a fighter. "Please, stop! Why are you doing this?" Felix moved towards him, but he could not throw a punch without all of it devolving into a brawl. Dammit. How was he even supposed to explain it? If anyone came out of the popina, this was going to get worse. "Because you touched someone you shouldn't have." @Atrice

"Or kiss me?" Lucius ducked his head, before the emotions written on his face would bring Perses down on him. "You shouldn't have thrown it all away." Lucius had thought about that too. Sometimes he wondered what life would be like if he had made different choices. But he did not regret choosing to join the vigiles. Not yet, anyway. "We can be...friends. I...misconstrued what you meant. We can be friends. We can go for our walks in the Portico or the Gardens." "Really?" he glanced up at her. She looked... upset and miserable. But at least she was not fighting anymore. "I... would like that." He smiled a little. It would probably kill him on the long run, being near her without ever getting closer. But he did care for her, and if friends was all he'd get, that was still good. "But please don't leave any more messages on the wall. People tend to misread them." he added with a smirk. @Sara

"Stop it!" Well, Perses was about a blink away from slamming him into the building again. "You were the one who said it was Saturnalia and that it wasn't Saturnalia anymore. And now you, what? You're dreaming of me?" "That's not what I meant!" he lowered his voice too, and tried to look like they were just having a conversation. But it was easier for Ovinia, since she had her back to Perses. "Do you know what I needed when I saw you at the Portico, recruit? A friend. Or more, I don't know, but after everything I had been through, on one of my first visits out of the house, I did not need to be humiliated. Again." Lucius sighed. He wanted to be her friend. And he did not want her to feel humiliated. And he had no idea what to do or say. "So you do not get to change your mind. You were right. It isn't Saturnalia anymore, and...and..." "And that means I can't hold you, not in public, even if I want to." he finished her sentence. "That's what I meant. I meant that I can't show up at your house like it's a festival. Or get lost in the crowd with you." Having this conversation right here in the alley, it was straining. Too many vivid memories. "I want to be your friend, Ovinia. I want to be there for you. And I have no idea how to do it, and you know what, that fucking hurts. But I'm trying." @Sara

Lucius rolled his eyes at Ovinia's comment about slaves. There was a world of difference between doing labor, and watching someone else do it. But they had more important things to talk about, and Perses was already staring daggers at him. This was his one chance to say what he wanted to say. "Don't embarrass yourself. I'm not a little girl, I don't need to be pandered to." "I'm not..." "As I said, we don't need to see one another, and when we do - if we do - I am happy to keep it a professional relationship, as you wish to." Lucius exhaled through his nose in frustration, pressing his lips together. Ovinia really got on his last nerve, which meant, it was his turn to resort to sarcasm. "Sure. Let's keep it professional. That's what I want, right? I want to keep it so professional there have been entire nights when I didn't dream about you. Two, at least. Three, even." @Sara