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Sharpie

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  1. Sharpie
    Today's meeting with Ovinia Camilla was in the Gardens of Sallust - not the best proposition in November, but hardly the worst, if one dressed for the chill. Things were progressing relatively well between them, and it was with a little surprise that he registered the chill in her voice, which rivalled that of the November wind that whipped at his cloak. She looked rather less pleased to see him than she had the very first time, at that incredibly awkward dinner. "Ovinia Camilla, lovely to see you again. I hope your day has been a pleasant one so far?" He stepped into the portico out of the worst of the wind. Her expression certainly did not look as though it had been a pleasant day. She looked rather as if she had bitten into an orange to discover that it was in fact a lemon and he could not think why. @Sara
  2. Sharpie
    "I'll muddle through and find someone somehow," Gaius said, though he privately thought there was likely to be a massive outburst from Ovinia's family when they heard about Lucius, and that Gaius was letting him do it. "I'm hoping that my brother will come to his senses within the week, although the chances are slim - a snowball would have a better chance of making it to Aegyptus, I think. I may have to consider fortune-hunting equite or plebeian girls when the news does come out in the Senate." He might have to beat a hasty retreat to the villa in Campania to get away from the gossip-mongers. At least, he thought, somewhat viciously, if Lucius were to find his calling in the vigiles, he'd be stuck in Rome with all the gossip swirling around his head. It was a mess, and of course Lucius wasn't the one who was going to have to clear it up! @Sara
  3. Sharpie
    The Reds' driver (one of them; which, Marcus couldn't see from here) came within a hairsbreadth of colliding with the spina as he made his turn, and Marcus watched the inexperienced young Azarion steer his horses around it - it would have been a nasty shipwreck had he not avoided the other chariot. He was nodding in satisfaction as the first racers reached the turn nearest him, with Azarion half a length behind them - enough to be able to catch up by the end of the race if he could hold his nerve. He glanced up into the stands; there was someone in the Imperial box - probably not the Emperor (they would surely have heard about that if the Emperor was here!) but likely one of his relatives. Yes; he could see a young man, avidly taking in the action on the dirt track as the last chariots rounded this end of the spina, completing the first lap. @Sarah @Chevi @Járnviðr @Atrice
  4. Sharpie
    "There's nothing wrong with Ovinia, or her family, or anything of the sort, don't get me wrong," Gaius said. It had been a very pleasant afternoon stroll at the Mausoleum of Augustus, after all. He was doing the lady a disservice; marriages were supposed to be for the betterment of the families involved and the continuing of the husband's line, and Ovinia Camilla was perfectly suitable for that. If only he didn't have the nagging feeling that she would rather not marry him, and that there might even be something between her and Lucius. Ridiculous thought. "Oh, I've got more than enough wealth for me - a seat in the Senate isn't cheap, as you know very well, Legate." He raised his cup in salute. "At least you have a daughter, it's more than I have." He didn't think his brother wanted to inherit everything; Lucius was adamant enough about not following the expected political path as it was, Gaius didn't dare imagine what he'd say if he raised the subject of marrying and having children. If he was going to do that, he really ought to lead by example and have his own wife first. @Sara
  5. Sharpie
    "It's by the river, I think it's in a very good position for goods coming up the river from Ostia - I believe it has its own wharf. And it's a decent size, too," Teutus said. "I know you were a gladiator and I think you've been a personal bodyguard - I don't know if you have an eye for security, but you'll be better than me at spotting any potential security problems with it." He took the towel that one of the apodyterium slaves offered him, roughly towelling his hair dry before drying himself off and reaching for his clothing. It hadn't been touched and he found a coin in his purse for the attendant. "It's down by the river, or course," he said, once he was dressed. "I believe that one of the nearby units is taken by a slave-trader who has teams that he hires out, so there won't be nay issue when it comes to the loading and unloading, either." @Atrice
  6. Sharpie
    "Inclinations have nothing to do with it," Aulus returned, though he would have to get someone trustworthy to take Titus down to the Venus for a night - he should be a man when he put on his toga virilis, after all. "And oddly, no, they haven't. Not yet, anyway - and you'll hear about anyone who does almost as soon as they do, I promise." Still, as he'd told Tiberius Sabucius, and Horatia, there was time. They didn't have to find a spouse for either of their children just yet, and time would give them the luxury of being a little more picky with who they considered. "Titus is younger than Tiberius, anyway, he's got even more time. And I know of... three senators who have girls that might be suitable wives in the future, though right now it's hard to judge. Two of them at least are three years or so younger than Calpurnia, after all. There's time, we're not in any hurry." @Sara
  7. Sharpie
    Gaius groaned. "Yes they were - and I am not telling him that, I don't want him to come back with more and the impression I somehow condone his acting like a pleb or a freedman." He swallowed the rest of his wine and held his cup out for more. "Don't remind me - I haven't seen a single girl I like. No, that's not true. I've had a very pleasant conversation with one Ovinia Camilla, though I suspect that isn't going anywhere. How does a man find a good wife he's going to actually not mind being married to for long enough to get a son on her, anyway?" He found that he was looking forward to reminding Lucius about the paperwork and that rank came with certain expectations, even for equites. It probably wouldn't be enough to bring his brother to his senses, but he could hope, at least. @Sara
  8. Sharpie
    "I haven't been able to think of one and Lucius doesn't seem to want to - he's got this idea now and honestly? I think I would rather he was prefect of the vigiles than a stall-holder selling olives in the Forum." He gave a rueful shrug. "He didn't tell you about that, did he? I found out from one of my own slaves, who had it from the slave of Gnaeus Julius Agricola. And yes, I know you can't trust slaves, but Lucius didn't deny it - and even had the temerity to present me with a jar of olives from his morning's work." To have a brother willing to mind a market stall, even for an hour or so, was just as potentially damaging to his reputation. "At least Clodius Pulcher got adopted into an equite family so he could run for a political office!" @Sara
  9. Sharpie
    "All right, all right," Aulus disengaged his hand from Horatia's only long enough to put them up in surrender. "Who were you thinking of, then, my beautiful clever darling wife?" He had not even considered Calpurnia for Titus, knowing she would be ill-suited to the position. He wanted the best for her, and Tiberius would be a far better prospect for her as well as being close to the Augustus. Better a long-lived marriage to a relative of the Emperor than a short ill-matched one to the Emperor himself. "And if you're thinking of potential names I could suggest for the Augustus to consider, what about potential wives for our own son?" Several senatorial sons already knew in their childhood the partners their parents had selected for them; Aulus and Horatia had never been parents in that traditional style, at least. "If only everyone were as fortunate in their wives as I have been," he said taking her hand again and running his thumb over her wedding band. @Sara
  10. Sharpie
    Being male hadn't stopped that Roman forcing himself on Tiranês, a painful and humiliating experience that vied closely with witnessing their treatment of his cousin as the worst thing he'd lived through. "I am, for the most part," he said, clenching his fist as if to crush those memories. Despite his current slavery, he had good things to think about now - he had a good master (not that he ought to have a master at all, but he'd take a good master any day over a bad one), and now he had family in his new blood-sister. He managed a chuckle. "Well. My feeling about most Romans aren't mixed at all. It grows hard to remember that when you get to know them, though I doubt they concern themselves with our thoughts and feelings." Being treated as an object helped keep that hate of his masters bubbling, not they would ever see it. Not that they cared to look. "If we can, ever. I would like that very much," he said, and turned his head, thinking for a moment that he had been called. He hadn't, and he turned back to Cinnia and indicated her hairstyle. "Can I ask... Do the braids have a significance, among your people?" @Atrice
  11. Sharpie
    "That is precisely the issue," Gaius said, somewhat gratified at the reaction he had provoked. He wondered if his brother had wanted to provoke a similar reaction in him when he'd informed Gaius of his decision. Probably. The slave behind Longinus had a similarly shocked expression on his face - a sign that slaves weren't as emotionless as they should be, and couldn't ignore the conversation between the citizens they waited on as much as they should. "Because this is my brother and he is a damned idealist," he said. "He rather likes the idea of helping people, in a more immediate sense than a senator does." He heaved a long-suffering sigh. "What could I say! I gave him a week to think it over, the good and the bad, and told him I'd find an equite family to adopt him if he still wanted to after that, Jupiter help me!" @Sara
  12. Sharpie
    "Don't tell me you're thinking of marrying our daughter to the new Augustus," Aulus said, rubbing his wife's knuckles with the pad of this thumb. "And I thought I was the ambitious one in this family. Calpurnia would hate it, though - I don't think she has the same keenness of thought and interest in politics as you, my dove." But if not Calpurnia, was there anyone they could come up with to suggest when Titus Flavius Alexander Caesar Augustus did start thinking about marriage? "Titus Augustus is young yet, of course - only a few years older than our own Titus. Calpurnia would be much better suited to Tiberius, who is happy to support his cousin. She is altogether a shyer person even than you, my sweet." From incursions along the Parthian border to coming up with potential wives for Titus Caesar to consider - the life of a Consul was varied indeed! @Sara
  13. Sharpie
    "He wouldn't," Gaius said, following his host and erstwhile legate in the direction of the triclinium, in the private area of the house, oddly touched that he was allowed into the more intimate family area rather than being entertained in the atrium. He settled on one of the other couches and sighed at Longinus' question. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure where to start," he said, accepting the cup of wine Longinus' slave offered him. "He has decided on a career path, at least. He confessed to me the other day that he has decided he wants to be a tribune." He paused for a moment to give the next words their full effect. "Of the vigiles." He swallowed two mouthfuls of wine while waiting for the words to sink in, eyeing Longinus over the rim of the cup as he did so. @Sara
  14. Sharpie
    "I chose to follow the course of honours, hence my current position - although there is nothing that would have prevented me from becoming a lawyer too; Cicero managed both, after all. And yes, he is - Caesar's consilium includes Jullus and Octavius Flavius Alexander - his uncles. Myself, and my fellow Consul - of course our place will be taken by our successors next year. The Princeps Senatus, the Praetorian Prefect, the two Tribunes of the people, and two others chosen by Titus Augustus himself, of whom Tiberius is one. I understand that they are very close." He shook his head at her, somewhat chidingly. "I would certainly not denigrate your womanhood, my dove. It was your keen mind I was referring to." @Sara
  15. Sharpie
    "Cassius Longinus!" Gaius managed a grin; obviously he'd interrupted something that Longinus didn't want to be doing (he would lay an aureus to a bent quadrans he'd been doing paperwork of some ilk). "I need your advice - or at least, a listening ear.." He noted Longinus' scarred body slave approaching from where he had sequestered himself, to pause just within Longinus' eyeline so that he didn't have to actually interrupt the two citizens. He knew his legate's sarcastic slave from of old, but his actual training couldn't be faulted. "To tell the truth, it's about my brother - I understood he could follow directions enough to come and see you, at least." @Sara
  16. Sharpie
    "Such a voracious reader that you even read the graffiti on the walls around the city, scurrilous though it may be," Aulus said, amused. "I did see the piece declaring that I'm apparently the worst consul Rome has ever had, but I think you could replace my name with that of any other consul Rome has ever had. People write things like that because they have some paint, a little time and a grasp of basic writing skills. I notice the author didn't attempt to spell my nomen or cognomen, probably because they are beyond his limited level of literacy." He crossed his legs, getting more comfortable. "Honestly? I don't know him that well, but he strikes me as a very thoughtful young man, who knows he lacks experience and is willing to learn. I'm not sure if he reminds me most of myself at that age, or of you - and I think he would be a good role model for our son. And if I do end up being posted somewhere next year, surely it would be good if he is already familiar with my family?" @Sara
  17. Sharpie
    Two days after his brother had burst into his tablinum with news that he had made a decision and wanted to pursue a career in the vigiles, with the aim of attaining the rank of prefect, Gaius had almost reconciled himself to what needed to happen. Almos, but not quite, which was why he was in the Piscina Publica, his faithful Cassander in tow, going to call on his own former legate. He needed an older man's opinion on this (even that of the irreverent Longinus would be more helpful than continually going over the same line of thought in his own head - maybe Longinus could see something he hadn't seen?) Anyway, it had been long enough since he'd seen his former commander. This was more of an excuse than anything - and he had sent his brother round to have a talk with him, Longinus might well want to know what, if anything, had come of that talk. He let Cassander knock on the door and go through the formalities - "My master has come to call on your master, if he is in?" - and then they were admitted to the house. The decoration in the atrium was as eclectic as he had remembered Longinus' house to be, and there was a dog barking somewhere in the back quarters. It sounded like quite a large dog. @Sara
  18. Sharpie
    "Devious? That's a new one," Aulus said. "I've heard all sorts of epithets, a great many of them vastly uncomplimentary, but I can't say I've heard anyone call me 'devious' before. Anyway, it's entirely possible that they won't get along. I'll only really start worrying if she's still not married in ten years' time." And if that timespan didn't help settle her nerves - and Horatia's - there was very little else Aulus could do. His wife's suggestion was a good one. "I don't know how Titus will feel about it, but yes, I think that is a good idea. If you oversee it and veto any truly outrageous ideas - although I don't think Calpurnia is likely to come up with anything truly outrageous, she isn't that sort of girl." He turned serious again. "I wonder if Tiberius would like to come to dinner sometime - if not for this celebration, perhaps a more intimate convivium, maybe with his sister?" @Sara
  19. Sharpie
    "We had not, at least as of the last report I had - but it takes time for even official reports to cover the distance from the Parthian border back here to Rome and there may well be prisoners I do not yet know about." He dropped the demonstration model onto the table between them, where it sat, a new straw standing upright. "The preferred answer is nearly always the diplomatic one," he said with a narrow smile. "Which is why my advice to Titus Caesar will be to send envoys to the Parthian king to see if we can come to some resolution before something happens that both our nations will regret. But politics is time-consuming and rarely produces an instant answer that suits all parties, so in the meantime we must protect our citizens as best we can without allowing serious reprisals that could destabilise everything." His smile grew wider as he looked at the young man seated across from him. "This is the sort of thing that politicians have to contend with - one reason why our politicians also have to have military training." Aulus, and the other members of Titus Augustus' consilium, would advise the young emperor to the best of their ability, bringing to bear all their considerable years of experience, but in the end, the decisions rested on Titus' shoulders. It was a weighty matter indeed, and Aulus felt very keenly for Titus and his adoptive brother - Tiberius did not have the same weight of responsibility, but Aulus could see him adopting a role similar to that which Jullus and Octavius had played for Quintus. They would grow into the responsibility, Aulus was sure of it. @Sarah
  20. Sharpie
    Things you've written, or that others have written, that deserve to be spotlit. From @Sarah in Boys at the Baths
  21. Sharpie
    Aulus was growing uncomfortable kneeling on the mosaic floor and reluctantly stood, relocating another chair to sit beside his wife, close enough that his knee was nearly touching hers, and took her hand again. "I think he will be as nervous as any young man on the day, though. It's more than a little nerve-wracking to take those first steps into manhood, even with the support of friends and family." He would have to find some time to talk with Calpurnia, to reassure her, he thought. Girls - young women - so often played second fiddle to their brothers; their whole society was set up that way. It did not mean that he thought any less of her, though he wasn't sure she really realised that. "There's no rush to find her a husband just yet," he said. "I mentioned the new Emperor's brother a moment ago, Tiberius Claudius Sabucius - I think he would make a good husband for her." He couldn't help the slightly amused smile that came to his face. "I have said that I will take him as my Tribune should I be sent anywhere as Proconsul - and that would give them time to get to know one another. There's no rush." @Sara
  22. Sharpie
    Was it good, to be free? What a silly question - except that the man asking it had obviously never not been free to know it was a silly question. Teutus nodded. It was good, to no longer be constrained by the whims of another (even if that other was his father), to not have to respond instantly to hearing his name. "Yes," he said simply, unable to put his thoughts into words. "It is good, that I can do what I want, what seems good to me to do, without having to ask for permission to do it. All this is mine, and it is good to know that." There were slaves who did similar things to Teutus in trading goods, but they did it for their masters and had no share in the profits. Teutus did it for himself and had built (and was still building) something he owned and was proud of. He poured them both another cup of wine. "So, you are from Germania. It's a long way to come. What did you hope to find, here in Rome?" @Atrice
  23. Sharpie
    He met her eyes as she looked up at him - which was all wrong. The last time he had seen her, she had been taller than him and now here she was, her head at somewhere about his shoulder height, looking up at him with an anxious expression and a somewhat nervous look in her eyes. In fact, she had a much more anxious air about her overall than he could remember seeing in her before. That would change, over time, but they had to start somewhere - and right now, they needed to catch up on everything that had happened in the last fifteen or so years. The last fifteen or so months had seen huge changes in Teutus' life and standing. "Yes, I am free," he said in answer to her first question. "It happened not last Saturnalia but the one before. And... sort of, but not really - it's complicated." Like everything to do with Tertius Quinctilius Varus' family was complicated. "He has a slave-girl, a British girl. I think she might remind him of you, actually. And she has had a baby boy, that he has declared free - as his father didn't do for me. So, he has his heir, as I can't be as a freedman. But he has given me money to start my business - I'll show you that, probably the day after tomorrow. I think he wants to try to put things right but..." Teutus shrugged. "He doesn't quite know how to. And he's... I think he's afraid of not being in control. I don't think he likes that I decided to move out of his house." @Sarah
  24. Sharpie
    He had made her laugh, achieving his goal. "If that was how I wanted my wife to be, I married the wrong woman - and I promise that I don't intend to seek a divorce. You are perfect just the way you are." Over a decade of marriage was testament enough to that, after all. For a couple of their status to only marry once was to be envied - even Augustus' wife Livia, that paragon of womanly virtue, had been married to someone else before divorcing him to marry the Emperor. He gave her hand another squeeze. "We shall tell them, together. And I will - I think it rather fitting that our son should come of age while I'm Consul, but don't you think Calpurnia will feel... slighted?" He would try to do something for his daughter, too, but wasn't sure what he could do that would help her feel included. The teenage years were tricky for everyone and as a man he did sometimes feel a disconnect with his only daughter. @Sara
  25. Sharpie
    He should speak to her father? Did she mean... His brain caught up with her words a moment later; she meant, about his political career not about marrying her (although she hadn't completely rejected the idea of marrying him, which was encouraging). "I should be very glad to get to know your father better," he said. "And did I? I'm sorry; I don't have much experience with this sort of thing." There; he had said it, for better or worse. Though how the confession could make her think much worse of him, he didn't know. "I don't suppose I also asked what sort of husband you'd like to have?" After all, why he be the only one to have an idea of the marital partner he'd like - a marriage had two people in it, who both had thoughts and ideas. @Sara
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