Sharpie

Teutus Quinctilius Varus "No," he said, as she commented that neither of them had been born for adventure. "And yes," he added, as she continued that he had been a slave. So he had, but he was a slave no longer, although he didn't always feel particularly free, either. "I think also that one can find adventure if circumstances change - although considering that sort of change tends to be in a time of war, perhaps it's better not to think about it." He studied her, head slightly on one side (a mannerism exactly like his father's, although he was unaware of it). "The fourth son... perhaps you would have joined the legions. Probably you would take your seat in the Senate - the political and military are very much intertwined, after all." It was very much a career path he knew his father had hoped he might take, one day, until reality had borne in upon him and he had grown resigned to the fact that Teutus was limited by his status as a freedman. Maybe Tertius might live long enough to see Teutus' son begin such a career path? Probably he wouldn't care by then - but maybe he would. He'd have his other, legitimate, son's career to think about before then. "You want a life of responsibility and duty, then?" he asked. Which meant that she would be looking to marry - as the first part of this whole conversation had insinuated - and run her home, raise her children... "Is that something that will make you happy?" @Sara

Aulus Calpurnius Praetextatus "You should take more credit than you do," Aulus told her, taking the offered tablet and setting it aside; he would read it later, when he could give it his full attention as it deserved. "And no, I haven't - not yet. I daresay once Titus Caesar is more settled in his role, I will. Is there anywhere in particular you would like me to petition for - although where I will be sent is in the lap of the gods and the mind of Caesar, of course." He had no real inclination towards anywhere in particular and there were several places that would offer their own challenges, from the untamed wilds of the lands north of Britannia where the painted people dwelt, to the religious fanatics of sun-scorched Judea and the new sect that had arisen there and had swept up people of all races and backgrounds, although it was most popular among the poor and the slaves. He couldn't help laughing at Horatia's quirked brow. "I know you well enough by now to see the question you are most deliberately not asking me," he said. "Yes, she is old enough to marry now, and no, I have not arranged a husband yet. I will admit that I was wondering whether Tiberius Claudius Sabucius would make her a good husband? He is of the right class, and he is a thoughtful and perceptive young man." @Sara

Teutus Quinctilius Varus "Would I be happy...?" Teutus echoed, thoughtfully. Happiness was not something he'd really thought about much; his life was far too complicated, really, for 'happiness' to mean much. "I don't know," he confessed. He had found his mother and was making his own way - yes, he'd used his father's money to start with, but he had gone beyond those funds by now. "Maybe not - but life would be different. It's like trying to compare wool and wax. Both very useful but in very different ways and one can't possibly substitute for the other. My life here... Rome is familiar to me, and it's where my family is. Such as my family is, of course. But Hispania would be... different. Adventure." He laughed, briefly. "I'm not sure I'm cut out for adventure, to tell the truth, although I'm not sure I'm exactly unadventurous." He shrugged. "I'm a contradiction above all, Ovinia Camilla. I think I'm happy enough here, really, despite everything I've said earlier!" @Sara

Aulus Calpurnius Praetextatus "A dinner or some sort of gathering to raise funds for your endeavour," Aulus said with a smile, watching her brow crease in thought and then smooth out. "I'm sure you have a proposal written out, somewhere, a draft where you were getting your thoughts down to clarify them. A neat copy of that would be enough, and I will draft something with Xanthos, and run it past you before presenting it anywhere. It's always best to have some idea of what to say before you're called on to say it, after all." Aulus was a Roman politician, after all, and so much of political life was the ability to stand up and make a speech on whatever the topic at hand was. Presenting his wife's plan to friends was not in the same league as making a speech on the Senate floor, but Aulus was a pragmatic sort who prepared for all eventualities that he could. He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb as she interlaced her fingers with his. They fit together so well - it had taken work, after his return home, but they fit. "I would not be half the man I am without you, my dove," he told her fondly. "I hope you know that." @Sara

Teutus Quinctilius Varus "Eastern medicine? I don't, but I can make enquiries," he said. It was not the sort of thing he generally traded in, but it couldn't hurt to enquire and see - and if there was a market for that kind of thing, he would like to get in on it, and undercut those who would no doubt be involved in price gouging the desperate. She was sweet, and an innocent if she thought Teutus had the freedom to do exactly as he pleased. He did to some degree, and was aware of it, but if he had gone to Hispania, or anywhere else, it would probably have been against his father's will. Not that the question had ever really been raised for him to know that, but he knew Tertius well enough to know that his living in an insula on the lower slopes of the same hill of Rome as his father's domus was probably the extent of the distance Tertius would permit him to move away. Tertius hadn't even been happy about his moving that far, truth be told. "Maybe I have some freedom, I'm not sure it would have extended to my moving to a whole different province of the Empire," he said lightly. He was grateful, in a way, that he had not married Ovinia - she was too good to have been dragged into the twisted tangle of Teutus' family relationships. "Perhaps it's a good thing I never made the move." Even if it did mean he was still under his father's thumb more than he cared to admit. "I suppose you'd like to marry someone who will take you to some of these interesting places, then?" he added, swirling the ruby wine a little in his cup before taking another mouthful of it. @Sara

Aulus Calpurnius Praetextatus "People would do very well to think what they would want for their mothers, sisters and daughters," Aulus said with a wry smile. "Of course, a great many of them are probably very conscious that they could not hold a candle to their womenfolk if said women had half the opportunities their men squander. The vast majority of us are well aware that you would run rings around us, given half a chance." He lifted his winecup in salute to his clever beautiful wife. "The rest of us are intelligent enough, I hope, to have made alliances with the women in our lives and to wish to be on the same side." He knew exactly how strong his marriage was, and that it was not between equals was merely due to the law and the legal system as it stood; he was perfectly aware that Horatia was his equal in every way that mattered. They had weathered so much together, even in the last few years. He wondered momentarily if she realised that he would kill for her, and rather hoped that if she thought about it, it was in the abstract rather than in the very real sense that he both would and could - but actual physical threats to his family were unlikely. The most recent threat had been dispatched swiftly and without the sharp threat of unsheathed steel. "I shall have to see what words I can put into the right ears and minds to get people to consider that this might be a good thing for them and for Rome," he added lightly, watching the light catch on the blue stone set into the simple wedding ring she wore. @Sara

I would suggest: Slim down the timeline to include just since the civil war (that's fifteen years ago ICly, which is plenty of time). The stuff before is [i]AeRo[/i] history but doesn't need to be referenced in apps or by characters. I didn't reference anything from before even when making Aulus Have a shorter, simpler app and reopen to new characters and members. I'd suggest that a character history gloss over the early years and concentrate on maybe the last five IC years, possibly the last ten - where have they been, what have they been up to, why are they in Rome now? What would a reboot entail? I don't think a timeskip would help with staff load, TBH, because it would just mean writing a whole [i]new[/i] history instead of adapting what there is already. And I don't think a freeform style would suit AeRo, as a board that's always been known for its historical accuracy. If a reboot would mean that current threads are AU, what does that mean for current characters? Would they need to be rewritten - which again would only add to the staff workload. Or would we be encouraged to drop them and create a whole new list of characters? Which, again, would be a workload issue plus an influx of new apps for new characters. It's easier to rewrite existing characters than to create new ones - and most of us have more than five characters currently in play. And what are you thinking about Imperial and canon characters? It's hard to do political things without them, and currently we need staff involvement for politics anyway, which, again, is adding to your workload. A slimmed-down app and shortened history would be easier to moderate - staff could deal with things like apps and new character domicile boards on a given day a week, say, rather than feeling overwhelmed by everything all at once. Just a few thoughts, I hope it helps?

Teutus Quinctilius Varus "Your mother - yes, you did say it was your mother who was Hispanian," Teutus answered, with a nod and an apologetic look. "Did she like your gift - I hope you don't mind indulging my professional curiosity. " He didn't think any woman would have disliked receiving something made of the fine soft merino wool, but who knew - and if Ovinia's mother had liked it, that would bring more custom from this household and others within its influence. He could hope, anyway. He found himself tracing circles on the cushion under his arm and looked back up. "I would be lying if I said I had never had the wish to see more of the world - truth be told, there was a time I was considering taking a ship and going to Hispania to settle, but that was before my business here was established. And and travel I undertake now would be more for professional reasons than simply the personal urge to see more of the empire." @Sara

Aulus Calpurnius Praetextatus Aulus couldn't help laughing. "I don't know if I can make that sort of promise," he confessed. "But if I do start out on another building project, I promise that I will do my best to keep all my enthusiasm to an appropriate minimum and that you can ask me to talk about anything else if it gets too much - although I would think that the need to talk about it incessantly is rather less with a second building project than the first." He set his winecup down, gazing into the ruby depths of the wine before looking back up. "If there's anything in my property portfolio that would be suitable, you do know you only have to say? I'll get Xanthos to give you the list - although knowing you as I do, you've probably already gone all the way through it, twice, and discounted everything on it for one reason or another - not close enough to a bath-house, perhaps, or too close to a bakery, right under the shadows of the Aqua Claudia or who knows what else!" Well, technically, it was his father's property portfolio, but Tiberius was spending more and more time at Baiae, content to leave his affairs in Aulus' hands. Were he pressed, Aulus would not be able to say his father had very much longer to live, although Tiberius might well surprise them all and live for another decade or more. They could only hope he would! @Sara

Gaius Vipsanius Roscius "And you are an honourable woman," Gaius said - that had been proven by the fact of her story, which she need not have told him. He had a suspicion that most women, in her situation, would not have mentioned anything, too concerned about the possible damage to their reputations. She seemed right for him in almost every other respect. He had not really considered marrying a widow, but she was still young, young enough to have more children, and she had a son already. "Most men would possibly consider breaking off any sort of understanding," he continued. "You weren't worried I might do the same?" He supposed that, in that case, he would not be the sort of person she would want to marry, and it was surely better to learn that sooner rather than later. @Atrice

Teutus Quinctilius Varus "But of course you set the fashions, Ovinia Camilla," Teutus said, affecting a look of surprise that anyone would suggest his elegant hostess would not be the one setting the fashion in Rome. "I daresay they're all extremely grateful to find themselves somewhere warm for once - maybe the blue isn't paint but the effects of the cold?" It wasn't; he'd seen Britons in Rome, in the slave markets and the streets, and was well aware that the blue was inked-in patterns. He agreed fully with Ovinia's opinion that it was completely savage looking - but if the wild cold North was in fashion, who was Teutus to complain about that, when he was considering looking to buy and sell wares from there? "I doubt the Princess' female bodyguard is tattooed, as yours is," he added with a slight shrug. "You're from Hispania originally, and your bodyguard is from Britannia. Is there anywhere in the Empire you would like to visit, given the chance?" @Sara

Aulus Calpurnius Praetextatus "Not so busy I can't spare him for a few hours if you do discover you need him to look something over," Aulus replied, reaching for a sprig of grapes, and chuckled at her declaration of making her revenge count. "Surely you must admit the result was worth the effort, though - and the library is one of the finest in the city, if not in the civilised world." He adjusted his position, reclining respectably on the couch as he watched his wife. Horatia Justina was the epitome of Roman womanhood, in his opinion - beautiful, and with a lively mind. "Dare I enquire whether you have any particular sites in mind yet?" he asked, finishing his grapes and setting the stalk aside as he reached for his own wine cup. @Sara

Teutus Quinctilius Varus Teutus responded to Ovinia's shrug with one of his own. He was thoroughly Roman, whatever his social standing within the ranks of his society, and as such fully believed that to be Roman was to be a member of the best and most civilised nation in the world. The Romans had built temples, baths, aqueducts, roads far superior to any rough cart track anywhere else. What was there not to be proud of? Charis might not appreciate that, but even Teutus could allow that Charis hadn't had the best introduction to Roman culture and all that it had to offer. "I think perhaps we prefer the familiar," he said. He had thought several times about taking a ship and simply leaving, heading to Hispania or somewhere, somewhere still part of the Empire but away from his father and the whole mess of his life here. It had been a very strong temptation indeed, and the only reason he didn't still think of it sometimes was that he'd found his mother and begun to build his own life outside of his father's house, although not out of Tertius' control and influence. He'd never be out of that in Rome because he was his father's son (whether legally acknowledged or not) and client. Patrons had very nearly as much influence over their clients, and demands on their time, as a master did his slaves. "The baths and their libraries, and the temples too," he added, contributing to her list. "Although I daresay if we'd been born British, or anything else, we wouldn't notice their lack because we wouldn't be used to having them at all." It was an odd sort of conversation, perhaps, but they were far removed from the discussion of dull things that had characterised their first meeting. @Sara

Teutus Quinctilius Varus It sounded unutterably dull. Poor Charis; Teutus might not know the precise terms under which she'd been freed by Tertius, but he knew his father well enough to know (well, make a very good guess at!) that there were terms, and they were probably almost as restrictive as her actual slavery had been. Tertius did not make a habit of freeing his slaves - the only other slave he'd ever freed was Teutus himself, and that was only after he'd promised to do so, a string of promises stretching back years. And Charis had told him, once, that she'd basically run her husband's business for him, dealing with customers and making the sales and everything. Being confined to the tiny world of Tertius' wife must be... It couldn't be worse than any other senator's wife had it, surely - she could go to the baths, to the markets, the theatre - probably not the games; she'd hate the arena. She would probably find the sort of social events high-class Roman women attended boring in the extreme. Teutus was rather glad he wasn't expected to attend such things, though doubtless he would have a very different view if his life had turned out as it should have done. "Do you ever visit any of the public gardens?" he asked. She liked Tertius' garden, surely she'd like the public horti of Rome, from the Gardens of Maecenas to the Gardens of Sallust. Tertius could have no objection to her visiting them, surely. @Sarah @Sara

Rufus "I heard something, but only rumours - I was a house slave in Campania at the time, and that's not exactly the best place to hear gossip, not like around here where there's all the gossip you could want right outside the door," Rufus admitted with a shrug. "And it's old history around here. My master doesn't exactly encourage gossip about his family, and everyone has more recent things to talk about anyway." Like the current Caesar's lack of a wife and rampant speculation about who the lucky lady might be. "It's very different, to what I grew up doing. My old master never came to Rome, I don't think he went further than Pompeii, maybe Neapolis - he certainly never took me with him anywhere. He had his own body slave who was freed when the master died." Looking after Octavius Flavius Alexander wasn't hard, though it had taken a little while to get used to attending his master rather than waiting to run an errand, or serving drinks and waiting on the diners at the evening meal. "Octavius Flavius is pretty good, as masters go - I could have ended up in a far worse place." Like a brothel or somewhere, even. He'd been incredibly lucky and he knew it. "You've got a good mistress then?" he asked in turn; it sounded like it, at least. @Atrice

Aulus Calpurnius Praetextatus "Not as busy as you, it would seem," Aulus said with a smile. "You seem utterly enthralled by whatever you're working on - I never knew accounts to be so absorbing. Do you need Xanthos to help untangle it?" His secretary was good at that sort of thing, and equally good at spotting where money could be saved and if it looked as if something wasn't quite right. "That sounds as if you intend on making quite different mistakes, although I don't think you would make any sort of mistake at all. You are a perfectionist, columbina mea!" He helped himself to a piece of bread, pushing the plate with the rest of the loaf across to his wife. "It is this afternoon, the Senate session is over for the day, I will see my clients tomorrow and so this afternoon I am as free as a bird, and perfectly willing to distract you from your labours, or to listen to you describing your issues. After all, I must have bored you nearly to tears with the Calpurnian Baths, it's only right you should have your revenge." @Sara

Rufus "Your mistress is safe enough here. Probably safe enough anywhere on the Palatine," Rufus said. "And there are more people in Rome than anywhere I've seen before - I think it was only Mother and my sister and me who had red hair, back in Campania. Even your hair would stand out down there." Cynane's hair was golden, more like spun gold than the straw colour he'd seen on some slaves from the north. It made Rufus and Cynane exotic among the dark-haired olive-skinned Romans. "I can understand not relaxing when you're out and about with your mistress - there are so many people in Rome, who knows what might happen otherwise." But here on the Palatine, with her own family and the Praetorians... the Flavii-Alexandrii dynasty was relatively stable, certainly in comparison to everything he'd heard about Caligula, and the various civil wars. Even though Titus Augustus was young, he had good councillors and Octavius spoke of him as being sensible and thoughtful. He wasn't married, but he was young yet. Cynane looked far more competent as a warrior than Rufus would be; he was good at being unobtrusive, pouring wine and simply attending on his master. He'd be completely lost if he was given armour and weapons. It was an interesting thought, that a woman would be better at fighting than a man - but Rufus had only once ever handled a sword, and that one had been sheathed at the time. @Atrice

Jason Saturnalia 77AD Jason wasnʻt quite sure how he first discovered the place, nor how heʻd missed it before - no, not quite true... He first found the place when returning to the Villa of Sallust after running an errand for Tiberius. Heʻd missed it despite walking the same route numerous times because he was usually one slave in a whole entourage, Tiberius didnʻt generally stop or divert down side-streets, and the thermopolium was in a less-travelled side street off the main Via Lata. What Jason was absolutely sure of, a hundred times over, was that he had to bring Azarion here, once heʻd scoped the place out and found that it was what heʻd thought, hoped, it might be: a hot food bar which offered actual Sarmatian food. And had proper sit-down seating inside for people to enjoy their food in a nice leisurely manner instead of having to lean against a counter or risk burnt fingers and dropped food. He didnʻt tell Azarion where they were going, he wanted it to be a surprise. Last year, Azarion had given him a treat from home (and it had been rather fun to see Tiberius high on hemp, he hadnʻt thought the young Imperial had it in him to relax and unwind, but hemp had always had mystical powers!). This year, it was Jasonʻs turn to return the gift. "You'll like it, I promise," he told his cousin, leading Azarion into the out-of-the-way side street. He'd made certain to check they would be serving today, and hadn't chosen the main day of the festival to bring his cousin anyway. Just in case. @Chevi

Rufus "It's the hair, isn't it - has to be," Rufus said, shrugging. It was a distinctive colour, he knew that - the vast majority of people in Rome had dark hair, either brown or black, and dark eyes, and Rufus knew that his own red hair stood out like a beacon. "I don't do it very often," he confessed. "Only when I know I'm not going to be wanted, and people aren't going to just walk in." Although working in a palatial house like this was very different from the small villa near the sea where he'd grown up - there were more slaves here, and his own role was much more focussed on his master than the position he'd had as a house slave in that coastal villa. He wondered, for a moment, whether it had been bought by now and extended into a more luxurious villa maritima... it would surely only be a matter of time before someone bought it for that reason. "I guess you don't get to relax very often," he said. She was sitting upright, looking somewhat fierce and rather regal, and he couldn't help wondering how she had come to be here - though the Romans were bent on conquering everywhere and of course they took slaves from the people they conquered, although his own mother had come to Rome before the Romans had sailed to invade Britannia. @Atrice

Rufus "I'm Cynane, Claudia's bodyguard... in case that wasn't obvious." "Ah. I did wonder," Rufus said. Her own appearance was as singular as his, although in a very different way. Red hair was unusual in Rome, and so were female warriors. It was probably the colour of his hair that had prompted her question. "And no. I'm from Campania originally - but my mother was British." He indicated the furniture. "There's no harm in sitting, nobody's going to be using this room for a while, and we'll hear if we're wanted." Doubtless some slaves would take the opportunity to make themselves scarce and a lot harder to find, but Rufus was more conscientious than that, and it seemed as if Cynane was, too. @Atrice

Rufus Rufus knew of several places where it would be possible to wait out of the way and out of view, yet within call, and indicated a particular doorway. The room it led to was as richly decorated as the atrium, with chairs and couches where its occupants could make themselves comfortable. Almost as if they, and not Octavius Flavius Alexander, were the owners of the house. They weren't supposed to be here, but there was nobody to chastise them and their owners were out in the gardens and would be there for a while. And it wasn't Rufus' duty to fetch and carry refreshments for the master and his guests; that task belonged to the house slaves. "I'm Rufus, Octavius' body slave," he said by way of explanation and introduction. The reason for the name was plain enough, and the reason he wasn't dancing attendance on his master right now could doubtless be inferred. Octavius had plenty of other slaves whose duties included serving refreshments to the master and any guests. @Atrice

Rufus Rufus' master had no need of his body slave, taking his niece into the garden to enjoy the sunshine on this later summer (early autumn?) day. He hadn't exactly been left to his own devices, but the chore he had been left to do hadn't taken as much time as Octavius doubtless thought it would, which meant that Rufus had nothing to do until he was next summoned, and that might be a while. He emerged from his master's rooms into the atrium and paused, a little taken aback by the appearance of an unknown female slave dressed in a very masculine manner, with a blue tunic and braccae and leather armour, her hair pulled back in several braids to keep it out of her way. He'd heard rumours about the princess' British bodyguard, but hadn't really expected to see her. "Salve," he said, his Latin with the somewhat rustic accent of Campania. "Have they just left you to wait for them?" It wouldn't be the first time a slave had been forgotten until wanted; he could keep her company until then unless she preferred to keep her own company. @Atrice

Gaius Vipsanius Roscius "You could have become a military tribune, that's hardly boring," Gaius pointed out, and sighed. There was no way back through the waters of Lethe, and he had told his brother to think long and hard about what he was planning to do - and now they both had to live with the choice he'd made. He gave his brother - erstwhile brother in the eyes of the law - a tight smile. "I can't say I'm not glad to hear it," he said. "Considering all the hard times you've given me over the years. Still, it doesn't look as if you're having too much of a hard time with them." Doubtless the slaves were glad they didn't have the young master under their feet all the time, too. "How is your plan of reform coming along?" he asked, reaching for some olives. @Chevi

Jason "I said I wouldn't tell him, sir," Jason replied, although this man probably thought of a slave's promise in much the same way he did a dog's bark. Marcus Junius Silanus was so thoroughly Roman, after all. "What should I tell him if he asks, though?" Probably the ancient lie about walking into a wall or door, or missing his footing down some stairs in the dark. He still had the sense of Junius Silanus as a predator waiting for Jason to slip up in order to spring and get him in trouble, although he wasn't sure the man was quite as deliberate as that. He probably would be if he had half a chance, slaves like Jason were far beneath him and it would be like a cat playing with a mouse just for its own amusement. @Atrice

Jason Jason briefly opened his mouth to protest as Ovinia praised him to his master - he'd only done what anyone would have done - but closed it again, the words unspoken. He stepped forward quickly to open the door for her. "Thank you," he said quietly to her, stricken by her expression. He trusted Tiberius, but it was evident that she was unsure whether she could - and something had rent between them. Tiberius could not be any other than how he had been and Jason hoped that their friendship would survive. She had been so brave, and her words would see the monster doomed to whatever punishment the Romans could mete out. So many women would owe their future to what Ovinia had said and none of them would ever know it. "Look after her," he said to Lucius as they passed into the anteroom, before looking towards the older lady who had also come. "Will you come? Ti - my master is waiting for you." It was so easy to forget his servitude with the strange mix of people who had come together to hunt the vicious murderer down, but he was still a slave, and right here, right now, that's what he was expected to be. He was surprised to find how much it grated for these people, Romans all, to see him be a slave, though. He held the door open for Pinaria Gaia, following her and closing the door quietly behind him before pouring a cup of water for her and then taking up his previous position by the wall. @Chevi @Atrice @Sara @Sarah