Chevi

"We have to tell the master." Metella had not even gotten that far in her thought process. Now that Attis said it, she froze. Longinus... was a very patient master, but not exactly one that suffered children. And he was under no obligation to put up with theirs. Hers. Whatever Attis thought about the child, he was not stuck with it. And she was no use as a nurse if she was... actually nursing. Metella stared at her hands. "You think he will sell me?" @Sharpie

"You're preg- that's.... Oh.... cock." "Yes. Yours. Bastard." Metella folded her arms, curling up on the opposite end of the bed. The more she thought about it, the more her situation made sense, and it was the one thing she had always wanted to avoid. How did it happen anyway? The gods were playing a cruel joke. Attis looked dumbfounded. "Are you sure?" "No." she frowned "I just figured it out, didn't I?... But it does make sense. I lost track of time. I have not bled in... two months?" @Sharpie

They were led into the triclinium of the house, where Pinaria Gaia met them. So fa, so good; she was under no obligation to admit either of them, given the scandal Lucius had managed to stir up. But she seemed friendly when she did join them, and even greeted Lucius as if they had still moved in the same social circles. He returned her smile. "Lucius, how good to see you. What brings you and your... friend? Here?" "This is Alexius. He is a friend. We are... working on something together." Lucius waited till they all took their seats and got their refreshments from the slaves, before broaching the subject. "I am sorry we showed up here unannounced, but this matter is... fairly serious." @Atrice

"What the fuck did I do?... I swear to the gods I didn't put anything in your food, if that's what you think!" Both of those sentences would have merited very witty comebacks, and it spoke to how distressed Metella suddenly was that she did not take up either chance. Instead, she threw her pillow at him. With more deadly force than playful banter. "You did do something, you fucking idiot! I'm pregnant!" @Sharpie

Metella ran through the calendar in her mind. The past weeks had been busy... Saturnalia, before that, the preparations for Saturnalia, before that, all the errands she had to do, and... Attis. When...? She stared into space for a moment, her lips moving as she worked the weeks out. There were entirely too many of them. She turned paler than a moment before. "Attis, you utter bastard!"

"No, I have been eating here. And Saturnalia was not as... wild as usual..." she muttered, with a deep sigh, sipping some more water. Because she had nothing better to do, she sat back on the bed, trying to run through what all she had done in the past week. Or weeks. She had no fever, no headache, no pains, she had not fallen, or noticed any p... Her eyes suddenly went wide. "Oh shit. Oh no." @Sharpie

"No headache. Just... queasy." she muttered, reaching for the cup of water. She really needed to drink some. She had nothing to throw up anymore, but she was still feeling... upset in her stomach. "No fever, no headache..." she sighed "Must have been the food. Is anyone else in the house feeling ill?" Maybe it had been the Saturnalia cooking, after all... @Sharpie

"There's only so much pampering I can do in your domus. It's not exactly a haven for female pleasures." Lucius arched an eyebrow at her. Surely she was hearing her own words. Or maybe she was still too innocent to hear them. Either way, he turned his attention to his gift for the time being. "I wish you wouldn't. I can get you something better." "I'll be the judge of that" he chuckled, opening the box. There was a book scroll inside, and... "Honey cakes?" He glanced up at her. "Did you... make these?"

He held her as long as she needed it, and he felt her slowly relax. It was a familiar feeling; he was better at comforting her when neither of them was talking. She finally pulled back, and even managed a smile. "You know, my pampering day only takes us to the end of the first day of the festival. What else are we going to do for the remaining days with no servants around to cook and clean?" "You are settling for only one day of pampering?" he quirked an eyebrow at her, and smiled. "We have plenty of food. But I can cook more if I need to." He reached over, picking up her gift again. "But first, I'm going to open this."

Lucius by now had known Ovinia long enough to read her many moods. She was touched. She clearly cared for the cat, and the cat cared for her too; it settled into purring, which was much improved from him trying to claw at Marius earlier. But Ovinia was not completely happy, and also seemed a bit embarrassed about her gift. As a slave, her gifting options were limited, and she had not been expected to give him anything at all. "Come here." Lucius pulled her closer to hug her. When words failed, holing her was usually a good idea. "It's really not much. But I am glad he makes you happy."

"Y-you were there?... Yes. Yes, I'm sorry, I'm pathetic, ugh." "No you're not." He was not sure what else to say. Seeing her car, from her old life... it was probably hard. Lucius mentally kicked himself for the idea. "Don't open that. Your real gift is tomorrow." "Hey, that's my gift!" Lucius reached for it before she could take it away. He was not going to let her hide it away. "I want to see." The cat meowled again, probably not appreciating the two of them moving around him. Lucius leaned back. "He's... going to be okay. Marius got some kind of an ointment for him, and he otherwise seems healthy. Already at a whole fish in the kitchen."

There was a not-zero chance that Lucius' assumptions had been wrong. When he went back to Ovinia's old domus, looking for inspiration, and found the cat with the collar, he had made the logical leap that it had to be the cat Ovinia had mentioned in passing before. But then again, he could have been entirely wrong, in which case, he would have just gifted a completely random stray cat to Ovinia. Luckily, he had been right. "Y-you found him?!" "At your old domus" he nodded cautiously, not sure what to think of her tears. "Are you... alright?"

"Her name is Pinaria Gaia." Lucius told Alexius as they headed out. His head was a little heavy from the unwatered wine, but he was sure a brisk walk was going to clear it right up. It mostly did. It only took asking a few people, once they got to the neighborhood where he had last seen Pinaria, to find the right domus. Lucius knew that showing up unannounced was going to be... unconventional, but it was for a good reason. Pinaria Gaia was a clever woman. She'd understand. He told the slave at the door his name, and that they had something urgent to talk with Pinaria Gaia about. @Atrice

"Close your eyes." He agreed, but she was already doing it, and poking him to get a move on. Lucius chuckled, leaving her in bed, not entirely sure she was not going to peek. He had to go to another room for her gift, but he soon returned, carrying a covered basket in his arms. He settled back onto the bed, holding the basket on his lap so she could see it when she opened her eyes. "Ready."

"You could try and be more enthused. I put thought into it." "I can't wait to open it" Lucius smiled. Saturnalia was a time of gifting, and of course he had been thinking about what he could get her. It was a hard choice; expensive things she would have to hide, and many others would be reminders of how her life had changed. In the end, however, he had settled for a good one. "Do you have a present for me?" "Indeed I do." Lucius smiled "Do you want it now, or after the pampering?"

"Not some cheap tacky man with a lyre," Lucius chuckled. Old habits died hard, and he knew Ovinia would demand quality for everything. "Well, I would say you could wash my hair for me... But I have a feeling you'd do a terrible job." He perked up at the suggestion, but Ovinia managed to talk herself out of it before he could comment. Too bad. He did not know how to wash a lady's hair, but he would have definitely made a valiant effort. "So why don't you go out present shopping? I, unlike you, have been organised. Yours is in there. Don't tell Marius I took his money." Lucius looked at her sheepishly. Sending him away while she pampered herself?... If that was her wish, he would go, but he really did not like the idea of spending precious Saturnalia time apart. He glanced at the gift, and his look softened. He had not thought Ovinia was the gifting kind. "Who says I don't already have a present for you?"

"I want to lounge. In bed. And then I want to..." "So far, I like this plan" Lucius chuckled as she held his hand. She had been helping him with his exercises, and his arm hurt a lot less than a few months before. "And then I want to lounge in your baths. And pamper myself. And then I want you to hire a musician for dinner." "That... is definitely possible." Finding a musician during Saturnalia would be tricky, but they were always up for money and good food. He pulled on her hand to press a kiss to her wrist. "And... what am I gonna do while you lounge?" @Sara

"You don't have to call me that. I don't call you domine after all. Unless I'm annoyed." "As you wish, domina" he grinned at her, settling back on the bed. He doubted he could keep that up all day, but he was not done poking fun yet. "Are you working today? Or are you going to pamper me all day?" "Well, that is up to you, isn't it?" he smirked, popping another grape into his mouth. "In all fairness, I have made the schedules yesterday for the patrols. Saturnalia is always all hands on deck, but..." he shrugged, lifting his right hand. If he ran into action again with his arm like that, he would die. Or worse, she would kill him. "If something goes down, they know where to find me." @Sara

Ovinia was not quite awake yet. Lucius smiled, setting the tray down on the table next to the bed. She smiled, and he smiled too; she was beautiful in the mornings, before she tried to make herself look more... presentable. "Morning. All for me? You shouldn't have." "Well, it is Saturnalia." he noted, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Which means, for this week, you are the domina. It only seemed decent to bring you your breakfast." He grinned, taking a grape from the plate. "And some of mine." @Sara

They all breathed, and the chief coughed. Azarion smirked, lying back on the pillows. He was happy to enjoy the light feeling he got from the smoke, it was a peaceful time, a festival when one did not have to work. But he was sharing the tent with three other people, one of them a chief, and it was going to get awkward fast. Cynane must have thought the same, because she suggested games. Azarion glanced up at his cousin. I have knucklebones, he noted, providing a small pouch from his belt. Saturnalia was also a time for gambling, and the easiest of all was throwing bones, like children did. We just need something to wager. To win or lose. @Sharpie @Atrice @Sarah

A month later It was Saturnalia. The gods help everyone. Lucius had been living in quiet bliss for the past month, and nobody could fault him. Ovinia still shared his bed and many kisses, although nothing much happened beyond that. He was happy to wait. The haousehold servants got used to the new normal with alarming speed, and no one seemed to mind much that Ovinia was sharing his bed, as long as she did not take it as an excuse to boss them around. But now she would. Saturnalia was a festival for everyone, but especially slaves. Roles were reversed for the duration of it. Which meant, that the moment the first day of Saturnalia dawned, Ovinia was in charge. The servants celebrated in their own way, some in the house and some away, so the brunt of the reversal was going to fall on Lucius alone. He had woken up earlier than her today, and since no one was on duty in the house, went to scavenge for his own breakfast in the kitchen. He piled food on a tray, and returned to the bedroom, where Ovinia was just stirring. "Good morning." @Sara

Lucius watched Didia and Artemon go, and sighed. Well, that was... one way of doing it. They had one more person looking, that was good. And they had some leads to follow. "It seems like we all have our parts to play now." he noted, looking around. "Everyone... be careful. We don't know what else this man is capable of. If you need me, find me at the barracks of the vigiles. And we'll... meet here again, once we have things to discuss. And do not... do not try to apprehend him alone." Hopefully, they could all work together, and no one else would get hurt. @Sara@Sharpie@Atrice@Liv

Azarion rolled his eyes. At least the idiot, and the snappy woman were finally gone. He did not have anything else to add, and he did not want to anyway, since apparently the idiot was now under the impression that the barber was his... friend. He hated the thought, so he folded his arms and sulked. There was not much more to talk about now. They all had their parts to play. Well, except for Azarion, because he was useless at asking questions, and the killer had already seen him. There was one thing to say, though. He gestured to Tiranes. I want to be there, when they have him. @Sharpie@Atrice@Liv@Sara

"Of course. A good move for anyone, I should think - and I am all but guaranteed to be elected. Quintus Augustus has told me he will support me in my endeavour for the position." "Sounds like you are ready to rise to the challenge" Calpurnia smiled at her brother. She was excited to see what all he would accomplish in one year as consul. Her brother was hard-working, clever, and ambitious, so it was going to be a spectacular year, no doubt. "Do you have a body slave, at all? Or do you need one?" "I will probably need one. But I can pick my own, unless you have a suggestion." she stretched her legs, enjoying a sip of wine. "And of course I call first dibs on trying the new baths when they are ready." @Sharpie

"I don't know. My wrath is probably equal to that of the city of Rome if you cross me." "I am starting to get that feeling" Lucius grinned at her. He had seen her angry before, but he never, ever wanted to see her truly furious. "Buuut... I'm not feeling particularly wrathful today." He smiled into the kiss she gave him. He loved the mere thought that she would initiate it; he enjoyed kissing her, and even more the feeling that she enjoyed it too. There was... so much more to show her. "And we have a few more hours until you have to be at the barracks, don't we?" "We do." he smiled against her lips, his hands running down her sides and finding her hips, pulling her closer. He kissed her deeper, immersed in the sensation. He muttered, amused, once they broke for air again. "You... would make a terrible Vestal."