Sharpie

"Well, why not a girl of plebeian descent, then? There are enough plebeian senators, aren't there? Or if that would scandalise your ancestors too much, what about an equite?" There must surely be someone of the right sort of family and age in Rome. If not, Longinus had better start looking among the rich people elsewhere in the empire. Not Britannia, though. Nothing came out of those gods-forsaken islands except mists and barbarians. Attis smirked over his master's head at the thought of Longinus taking a barbarian bride to the altar. Perhaps not, though. She'd be as likely to eat the flammeum as wear it. @Sara

Rufus absently smacked Theo's hand away. "You can wait for my masterpiece, surely?" he said. "And no. I mean, I could have gone back to his house, but I've spent so many Saturnaliae there, and my old master's house, and I preferred to spend this one somewhere else. Like with my friends. And surely the resale value would be affected by the hugs patch of wall that suddenly didn't have plaster on it, rather than what was under the plaster strewn across the floor?" He looked up at Theo with a grin. "You may have some fig, I think I may have done too much. And I hope you put your tinctures and everything away safe this time. Drunk gladiators..." He gave a theatrical shudder. "I mean, they're crazy at the best of times, I can't imagine what they'd be like drunk." @Sara @Chevi

Usually, the chariots would start behind a gate. At the beginning of the race, all the gates would open simultaneously, allowing the horses out to run the track. That was not going to happen today, for obvious reasons, and nor was the race going to be the usual seven circuits of the track, each circuit marked by one of the gleaming golden dolphins above the spina. Marcus made sure that both drivers could see him, and dropped a cloth, the more traditional method of starting a race - and the method used in the smaller circuses which would be where Azarion would make his debut as a charioteer if all went according to plan. @Echo @Chevi

"Um. If a woman isn't married by the time she's twenty, isn't she considered unmarriageable, domine?" Attis enquired. Not that he knew anything about it, of course. There surely weren't that few suitable women in Rome tat his master couldn't find someone! Sestia (or whatever her name was!) would have been ideal, but that had run into a stone wall and stopped dead. "I don't see why Claudia Caesaris would be out of your reach, though - you're a patrician and all." Though perhaps his career path wouldn't help with that. What did Attis know! Vitus would surely be better at talking through the various merits of the eligible daughters of the Senatorial class. Attis was just good for playing the fool. And massages. Can't forget the massages! @Sara

"I didn't mean the Dacians." Attis rather thought his master would like to keep his manhood intact and he wouldn't bet on Longinus managing that if he put it anywhere near the ice queen Sulpicius Rufus had among his house slaves. He was also positive his master's long-dead ancestors would have rather more to say if the line died out completely than if Longinus did what he could to ensure he had a son. "I don't suppose you remember who was on this list, domine," he added, moving down his master's back. Massaging was so much easier in the baths, when his master wasn't dressed and when Attis had oil to hand. @Sara

Spurius' player seems to have left but... Marcus and Spurius

I hope I'm less jaded than Teutus.

"Acid tongued?" Attis couldn't help it if his eyebrows tried to meet his hairline, and at least his master wasn't looking at him at the moment. "I might be gifted in sarcasm, but I wouldn't dare try anything more than that, and I'd hope any son of mine had the same good sense. And if not Metella, then you could try one of your friends' slavegirls, or even a pleb - you don't have to marry someone of your own class, do you? If the girl's a citizen." Half the Senate were plebeians, Attis was sure of it. There weren't enough of the old patrician families left in Rome to fill a soldier's tent. He wasn't about to say as much, but he could see the humour in his situation with Metella. Most girls would be the ones trying to persuade the man into marriage, and here he was with the complete opposite issue. The gods must surely be laughing at him for it. @Sara

"I'm drunk," Teutus pointed out, with the simple statement of the inebriated. "Not as drunk as I'd like to be, though." He shrugged. "I'm sure you'd rather not drag a drunk stranger all over Rome, and back to your place." He was nice enough to look at, and seemed a nice enough person. If Teutus were less drunk he wouldn't mind going back to Alexius' place with him. Hades, he wouldn't mind going back if he was more drunk, and that would be easy enough to sort out. There were other popinae in Rome and they surely had enough wine to solve that problem. He wasn't sure at all that would appreciate carting a dead drunk Teutus back to his room. He'd probably wake up in a gutter somewhere. Hopefully he'd still be alive to do the waking up part of that. It wasn't like he really cared either way, right now, though. @Atrice

"What in..." Marcus looked up from the discussion he was having. He could not remember ever having someone burst into his office in such a way. He took in the boy's appearance - of course it was the mute boy (Azarion?) which meant that of course his natural question would go unanswered. His state did not go unnoticed; Marcus was a man who prided himself that he noticed details, and the kid seemed covered in blood. Or, not completely covered, but his tunic and hands were smeared in blood. "I beg you will excuse me, it appears that there is something urgent that requires my attention," he said to his visitor. "I shall call on you tomorrow to continue this conversation, if that will be acceptable to you?" "Of course," the visitor said, rising smoothly. He'd probably lost the man's sponsorship, but that couldn't be helped. A waiting slave came to show him out and Marcus turned to give Azarion's agitated signs his full attention. "Come with you? This had better be important!" @Chevi

"I'll let you deal with the slaves," Aulus said, and nuzzled a little into his wife's neck. He liked the scent she used. "How much do I love you? All the way to Britannia and back - I shall proclaim it in the Forum, in the Curia, oh most beautiful of women." He smiled into her hair. "Just don't let everyone know I'm so soft-hearted, I'm sure my reputation won't stand for it. As far as anyone else knows, I rule my household with a rod of iron, much as I ran my legion or the province I had governorship of." @Sara

"You're not related to one," Teutus pointed out. "More trouble than it's worth. They never keep their promises, so don't believe them when they promise you the moon, not till they give it to you." It had been the very height of irony for Tertius to extract a promise from his son, when he'd been so free with making promises of his own and never keeping them. The only reason Teutus would ever keep the one he'd made was because of Antonia. She would never understand it if he disappeared from her life - she would be heart-broken, probably. He probably had far too high an opinion of himself. She was Roman, and freeborn, and she would get over it - she was young, kids were resilient. "I wouldn't want to be any bother," he said, perfectly willing to stay here and buy himself another jug of wine if it meant not being a bother. He was used to staying out of the way. He was good at it, even, had always been good at it before, running errands, teaching Antonia, taking notes for his father... he'd spent his entire life not being a bother, in fact, so why should he start being one now? Curiosity got the better of him, though. "What's more amusing than watching someone crawl into a wine jug?" @Atrice

"It's better with company," Rufus admitted, accepting the cup of wine he was offered. "I hope I'm not disturbing you, or interrupting or anything? I don't mind taking my chances with the plaster if you'd rather spend time alone. Together. Um." They made a very cute couple, anyone could see that. Didia had done well for herself, and he would admit that he was a little jealous of Theo for being the one who'd got her. Admittedly, he'd started off better placed than Rufus, but even slaves could dream - and some dreams could come true, as evidenced by the fact that Rufus was now Octavius Flavius Rufus and a freedman (upon whom the names 'Octavius Flavius' did not sit well! He'd always be just plain Rufus to himself and his close friends, and he hoped he would always count Didia, at least, as one of those.) "Is there anything I can help with, at all?" he asked. "I wouldn't want to inconvenience you or anything." He was bound to be enough of a burden as it was; they weren't exactly rich (although Didia could be, if things remained as they had been replaced...) @Sara @Chevi

"I am sick to death of Roman nobles," Teutus said. One in particular, of course, who seemed to want now what he had never really been interested in before. Too bad; he'd forfeited his chance and Teutus was quite content to live his own life without seeing any member of that entire household ever again, except perhaps for Antonia. Teutus would be quite happy to take his sister and go and set up home somewhere,just the two of them, but he couldn't take her away from her father and her future as a member of Rome's elite. She might eventually stop asking about him and forget him, if he moved out and broke contact now. And damn the promise he'd made his father, too. Perhaps a convenient storm could come up and news of his death at sea could be taken to Tertius while Teutus himself went to Hispania and started all over again with a different name? He finished his current cup of wine, rather more tempted by the thought than he wanted Alexius to know. Morose. That's what he was feeling. And the sort of pain that he could imagine feeling if someone stabbed him through the heart with a dagger and kept twisting the blade. "Don't really plan on talking to any of them, ever again, if I can help,"he added, lifting the jug again. It was surprisingly light and only produced half a cup this time. Story of Teutus' life! @Atrice

"I've been well, thank you. My master keeps me busy but I can't complain. But what about you?" The last time he'd seen her - the first time they'd met, in fact - she had just been pickpocketed, and then he'd been accosted later by her master over it. The memory of that made him look her over more carefully, searching for any sign she might have been physically punished for the loss. Though gods know why a Senator was so concerned over losing a few small coins, and he would be well within his rights to have punished the girl for the loss. @Echo

He had been trying to offer her a compliment and it had fallen flat. Oh well, never mind. "But she lets you attend services for your own god, though. A lot of mistresses wouldn't." He thought she was behaving as though she had permission to be out, anyway, but maybe she had just been sent to market for something and had taken the opportunity presented to her. "I'm sure you're a good teacher, too. Though I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to be." @Echo

"If you're that desperate, you could do that if Metella gets pregnant?" he suggested lightly. "Otherwise, we're back to thinking who has a suitable daughter of marriageable age - or who will be of marriageable age soon. And it couldn't hurt to think of someone you could adopt. Just in case you need some sort of backup plan." But they didn't have to think of things like that right now. "Suppose none of the gods round here are worth bothering, to ask for their help?" he added, shifting his attention to his master's other side. @Sara

"You know more history than I do, domine," Attis said, finding a particularly tight spot in his master's neck. "It'd be a surer way of doing than finding a woman and hoping she'll have a son who'll survive to grow up." But what did he know? He had no intention of fathering any children yet, on Metella or anyone else - the only women he had any chance of actually sleeping with were slaves and that meant their children would be slaves too. He didn't particularly want that. "Maybe you've been away too long if you can't think of anyone who'd give a younger son a chance to be adopted into the Cassii-Longini. Or can't come up with the name of any women you might want to marry, who's not going to do some moonlight flit." He worked at the knot. "I thought you'd come here to have a break from thinking about all that, though?" @Sara

"Hello, Theo," Rufus replied, belatedly stepping aside as Didia squeezed past him. "I can keep out of the way," he added. "You won't even know I'm here. And what's the matter with them?" He looked down at what had been the focus of Theo's attention just a moment ago. @Sara @Chevi

Attis got up and went to stand behind his master to give his shoulders and neck a massage - or as much of one as he could. "I know I don't know everything about it all," he said after a moment. "But you could adopt, and pass it on that way, couldn't you? It's been done before." He thought it had, anyway, there were all sorts of stories and things about people adopting, or being adopted, into other families and for all sorts of reasons. It would mean he wouldn't have to think about marrying again, too. Attis didn't think his master could deal with that subject with any equanimity right now, not after the mess with Sestia. Or whatever her name was. @Sara

"Io Saturnalia," Rufus said, pausing in the doorway. He had Didia right behind him but still felt a little odd at intruding on the two of them. It wasn't his fault if his own place had developed rather alarming cracks in one wall - he'd merely mentioned to Didia in passing that he'd be looking for a new place after the Saturnalia was over, and she'd been her typical friendly self. It helped that he got on with Theodorus, too. He couldn't help the smile that came to his face as he noticed the flour streak the other was wearing. @Sara @Chevi

"I don't see why not," Attis replied. "What is it about being a legate that you like so much, anyway? I mean, Britannia is just cold, grey and wet so it can't be that." He thought his master could be good at being a Praetor, but if he didn't want to, that was different. "Would you really be happy at being only a legate for years, domine?" He thought his master was perfectly clever enough to do whatever he wanted, and thought that if he went on as he seemed to be going to, he'd get to a point in the future where he might wish he'd sought a Praetorship now. @Sara

Attis scuffed the dirt in front of him with the toe of his sandal. "You don't have to get stuck at legate though, do you? I mean..." His master was good at the legate thing, and soldiering made him happy, but if he wanted more than that, surely he could get it? He had friends who could put in a good word for him with the Emperor, and surely the Emperor himself wanted good people to be praetors and consuls and aediles and everything else. This second sort of sadness seemed somehow more profound than before, and Attis was at a loss as to what he could do to help. Being only a slave and all, probably nothing of any substance. @Sara

Attis blinked at the sudden change of topic. "Judea? No." Judea was at least warmer than Britannia, and its inhabitants just as irritated at Roman presence there. "Is it true they only have one god? Poor things." Longinus would doubtless enlighten him as to what sort of trouble was going on out there, and whether the Emperor would or would not send him out to help quell it. "Um. Don't you need to have been a Praetor to get a governorship somewhere, though, domine?" Attis was not entirely clear on the whole cursus honorum and what it entailed, and what positions elsewhere depended on political posts in Rome and everything else that went along with it, but he thought there was some sort of limitation or something. Although if the Emperor liked you, perhaps it didn't matter so much. Whether Quintus Caesar liked Lucius Cassius Longinus enough to offer him that sort of post remained to be seen. @Sara