Sharpie

"I guess that's a better reason to be called red than just because someone can't be bothered to think up a better name than Ginger," Rufus said. He'd been Rufus all his life, he rarely bothered to remember the connotations of the name. "Anyway, can you imagine a redhead named Flavius or Corvus?" Ginger was far more apt than Blondie, and his hair was about as far from the colour of a raven's wing as it was possible to get. "So, Didia Rubina, I don't suppose you followed your father's footsteps to become a charioteer with the Reds too? I'm sure I'd have heard about you if you had." He knew there were female gladiators - his master's niece had a bodyguard who'd been a gladiatrix, after all. But he'd never heard of a female charioteer. @Chevi

"Show me your teeth." Slavery was a fact of life, the world would never function without them. It didn't stop things being uncomfortable for those who happened to be slaves. Being sold was a fact of life for slaves, and this was far from the first time Davus had been inspected by a dealer or a buyer. That didn't mean that he liked being treated like an animal. He closed his eyes, opened his mouth and tipped his head back so the other could get a proper look, not resisting should the dealer need to move his head. It was a moment before the dealer asked him the next question, apparently satisfied. "What duties did you perform for your dominus?" "I was a house-slave, sir," he said, resuming his original position and eye-line. "Um. General household chores, shopping and other errands, sweeping, tidying, serving at dinner." The usual kind of thing - a lot of the time he'd been the one following the Dacian woman, Zia, doing the things she'd been supposed to do and had merely half-assed. "No, sir. I could learn, though. And I can speak Greek and some Egyptian." Half the empire could speak Greek, and he hadn't spoken Egyptian with any frequency since he was ten, though he tried to hold conversations with himself in it, quietly, while he was working. He didn't want to lose it completely - it was the only thing he had to remind him of his mother. @Sarah

"You... you did?" He blinked at her. "So you did." He felt as if she'd taken the wind out of his sails - he'd been asking her, off and on, for so long that he hadn't actually worked out what to do after she said yes, because she never seemed as if she would ever say yes. "I'll be a horrible father," he told her. "I barely even remember mine, what am I supposed to do?" He had no idea where to put his hands, or anything else. Keeping the one on her bump and putting the other onto the cold stone of the rock they were sitting on seemed to be a good idea. "But you'll be a wonderful mother, so I guess I can figure it out." He wasn't conscious of moving his hands until he was pressing his mouth to hers with his hands tangled in her hair. @Chevi

"If you can put the fire out, they'll be happier to go back in their enclosures," Jason replied, and chirped softly at the sparrow which flew off back to its nest. "Animals hate fire the same way anyone does, they'll be panicking and trying to get away. Eating you is the last thing they're going to be thinking about." He glanced at Camilla. "So... if I'm sorting the animals out, and Lucius is stopping the fire, what are you going to be doing?" Jason was perfectly happy not to go on missions of any description, ever, especially if it meant ending up caught between the academy's newest bad boy recruit and the posh girl from Queen's, or wherever she was from. It sounded like a really bad sort of rom-com to him. He much preferred the animals in the trees and bushes outside his window - they were nice uncomplicated creatures. Humans were complicated and he didn't understand them in the least. @Sara @Chevi

"Anything you want," Attis said and had to swallow. He hated feeling emotional about anything but was aware enough that joking here and now would probably end up with him getting murdered. A grave in the sand below the high tide line didn't sound at all appealing. "Of course you get to choose. And I'm not going anywhere - well. Not unless Dominus says, that is. But otherwise I'm sticking with you like a limpet on a rock. Or like the fish smell round garum." He leaned back a little to see her face properly. "Will you marry me, then? Or be contubernales, anyway? If you won't do the other thing." @Chevi

"Metella - cock, I hate being serious. Don't - don't turn down the chance of being free just because of me, will you?" Attis wouldn't know what to do with freedom, but Metella had been born free. She could do anything, probably - Longinus wouldn't stop her. If nothing else, he'd probably set her up in that farm he'd promised to give Attis along with his own freedom, in his will. "If you'd take it otherwise, you should. Dominus won't turn you out with nowhere to go, I know that much." Longinus was a remarkably relaxed and beneficent master. Some might almost call him indulgent - the worst he'd ever done to any of his slaves was to send Attis to his friend's house for a few months that one time. Anyone else would have flayed the skin from his back. @Chevi

Rufus couldn't help laughing. "It's the hair. I don't mind if you call me Rufus - I was named for the hair, after all." He looked at her, as much as he could see of her because they were walking so close together. She wasn't wearing a slave-tag, although that didn't necessarily mean anything. "My name really is Rufus, but I'm not going to be so lucky in trying to guess your name." She had darker skin that indicated a heritage from somewhere across the wide Mare Nostrum, probably in Africa or Cyrene or Libya or somewhere. "It's honestly only just as fancy as serving in the house of a senator," he added. Octavius Flavius Alexander merely lived on the Palatine because he just happened by chance to be related the Emperor. He'd live on the Quirinal or the Esquiline or in the Piscina Publica otherwise. "Although serving in a senator's house is probably pretty fancy if you don't have to do it yourself." She reminded him a lot of his friend Didia, and the comparison made him smile. @Chevi

It was unusual to see Felix nonplussed, but Aulus couldn't revel in it - not with people looking on. Anyway, he didn't enjoy others' discomfiture the way some people he knew did. "You have served me very well and loyally, for more than fifteen years. We are here to celebrate your manumission," he said, speaking quietly and gently, as if Felix was the only other person present. "So, please join us." He indicated the empty space again before picking up the slim scroll that lay by his elbow, and held it out. "The invitation is the informal manumission, this is the formal one. I want you to have all the rights possible, which this confers." It had the requisite signatures of seven full citizens - the ink of Tiberius' signature was barely dry, his being the last one added. @Chevi @Sara @Sarah

"Kitchen, bedroll, Metella, Cassia it is," Attis said, taking the implied dismissal. "Let's go find you something to eat before you end up fainting, we don't want to make the place look untidy, do we?" Longinus could manage that all on his own and didn't need help, after all, as Attis knew all too well from experience. The kitchen was back past the slave dormitories and towards the back of the house, tucked away out of sight of the family areas. Attis grinned at Marta, who was busy chopping herbs. "This is Marta, our cook. She'll make sure you don't go hungry and if you treat her right there might be a treat or two." He gestured at the limping ex-gladiator. "This is Amatus, who's been sent here to look after Cassia for his sins." He found a loaf of bread, tore a chunk or two off and poured a cup of watered-down lora. "That'll keep you going for a bit, at least until cena." He pused plate and cup across the table to the newcomer and dropped onto the bench next to him. "If you've got any questions, now's a good time for them," he added. @Mobius

Azarion and the Red (he thought the Red's name was Paullus but he would have to make certain of it) were perfectly suited to be the next big rivalry. That they belonged to rival teams was merely the honey on the globuli - the main rivalries were between the Greens and Blues, and the Reds and Whites. Azarion's face rivalled a thundercloud as they came off the track with the Red having won by half a length. The stablehands were on the chariot immediately, unhitching the two horses and hitching in four for the next race. Flavius would replace Azarion for the quadrigae race, and Marcus stepped forward to meet Azarion as he descended, furious and frustrated. "You did very well," he said bracingly. "You bested them in the equirria, and a Red beat you in the chariot race. You're equally matched, and you didn't have a shipwreck. You've given them a lot to think about now." Azarion would have a lot to think about as well, and once he'd got over this disappointment, Marcus wouldn't be surprised to see him throwing himself ever more fervently into training and working with the horses he'd chosen. @Chevi @Insignia

June 77 It had been a long time coming. Too long, perhaps, but it was better to correct an oversight than to ignore it in favour of the status quo. Rather than a more formal dinner party with entertainment, it was a small private gathering of Aulus, his wife, his eldest son and daughter and one or two close friends and family members who took their places in the summer triclinium which overlooked the garden. The smaller number could recline on the dining couches which were arranged in the usual fashion around the table in the centre, allowing for quiet conversation over good food. There was a single space left once everyone had taken their places, which might look (in a more slapdash sort of house) as though the host had miscounted or couldn't be bothered to try to get the right number of people to come. "I beg you will indulge me for a moment before we begin our meal," he said to his gathered guests. "We have one further guest, though I think it may come as a bit of a surprise to him." He turned to one of the waiting slaves. "Tell Felix to come here." "Yes, Domine." The slave turned and departed on his errand. It was only a moment or two before Felix appeared, as quick and attentive as ever. Aulus indicated the spare place. "Felix, I would like you to join us, if you will." @Chevi @Sara @Sarah

"Only because - well, you'd make an honest man out of me. Maybe." He couldn't help nuzzling her hair a bit more. "I don't know how that would work," he said slowly. "What if the baby grows up thinking he's - she's - a slave when he's not? We wouldn't be able to discipline him - her - I don't know." He came to find a seat beside her on the rick; it was perfectly big enough. "But... I think, I really think, honestly, that Dominus would free you. If his friend, or his friend's wife, asked him to." Which would put Metella forever out of his reach because Longinus wouldn't be at all likely to extend the same to Attis, which was fine by him at least on a personal level - what would he do as a free man, after all?! He would be happy for Metella if she was freed, but it would change the nature of their relationship in ways he couldn't begin to imagine right now. "You're making me be serious, it can't be healthy," he said, playing up the petulance somewhat. @Chevi

"It's not much different from the work you do as a Praetor, when it comes to arranging things and dealing with people, although the end result is visible because I'm dealing with actual goods," Teutus said, though he didn't think Tertius would really appreciate the comparison. "I've got a good agent to act for me in sourcing things - and I know how to get good prices for them, thanks to listening to you in the courts." That was true enough; Teutus had accompanied his father in his role as secretary and paid attention to what was going on, even though nobody paid attention to the slave with the writing tablet and stylus. "I'm fairly sure people do think they're cheating me, but if they aren't asking for the prices they could, that isn't my problem, and there's a profit to be made anyway." He considered for a moment, before indicating some bolts of cloth stacked on shelves to one side. "Have you ever come across merino wool, from Hispania?" @Atrice

"I would be astounded if you didn't marry someone with a domus large enough to display such priceless objects," Teutus said, before summoning his slave again to fetch a sample of the silk. "Make sure that whoever you task with the job is a good workman, then - you don't need the shelf collapsing and spilling it onto the floor to end up in valueless shards of not much," he added with a smile as the slave returned with some of the silk,which was already woven into cloth. "Again, I can have this dyed for you, if you like - I'm guessing you would like this in green or blue, too?" Either colour would suit her, with her colouring and brown hair, he thought. "And what do I do when I'm not at work? Well, I'm currently teaching my house slave to read and write - I've been a tutor and secretary for a number of years and like teaching, although only the basics and in a private setting. What about you, when you're not practising on your hydraulis?" @Sara

"So, are you really from the Palatine?" Perfect timing - he had already taken the strawberry into his mouth as she asked her question. It was delicious, too, just the right mix of tart and sweet. He chewed, savouring the flavour before he had to swallow. "Strangely enough, yes," he told her. "Though I don't have anything to do with where the kitchen slaves get their produce." Which wasn't entirely the truth, although he had very little influence over it - he had a friend who ran a vegetable stall and would be remiss if he didn't promote her interests. "I don't have anything to do with Caesar, though," he added. "I serve in the house of one of his uncles." Which was perfectly true, if not quite the entire truth - but there was no need to spill everything to someone he didn't know. @Chevi

"What do I like?" Marcus mused, over the edge of his winecup. "Fine wine, sunsets, the night sky - watching a promising charioteer on the sands of the Circus. Or do you mean, with regard to the services you offer?" She was a beautiful woman - the Venus offered only the very best, after all - and evidently a skilled courtesan. He set the cup down and crossed to her. "You are a talented woman... why don't you show me what you prefer to do?" he said, lifting a hand to her shoulder and stroking her soft skin with a finger as his hand trailed down to her breast. "And I don't mean with your cithara," he added, more quietly, going in for a kiss. @Sara

Cinnia's bland statement made Jason smile - slaves weren't supposed to make things difficult for their owners, though there were plenty who did, in subtle ways nobody could quite complain about. "There's a courtyard close by, we'll hear if they call," he said, though Cinnia knew the layout of the Palatine complex as well as he did - all the villas, temples, libraries, offices, service quarters, stables... Well, perhaps not the stables; he wasn't sure if the princess rode or not, especially since that particular day. The courtyard was the place where they had had their first proper conversation, and shed blood to bind them to one another as brother and sister. Jason indicated the bench, letting Cinnia sit before settling down himself. "Tiberius is... I knew he was unusual, but didn't realise just how unusual... He's asked me to teach him to ride, in the Sarmatian fashion." There was that slow smile again. "Well, as much as possible - I don't think anyone can learn to ride properly if they haven't done it since they were small." @Atrice

"Even with the fact my brother has done what he's done in throwing his status away?" There was nothing wrong with being an equite, of course - they were perfectly respectable members of society, with certain roles only being open to members of that class (the prefecture of Egypt, for example. Or the prefecture of the vigiles...) "Some people might think I was foolish to let him do it," he added, wondering what Pinaria's opinion might be. If he hadn't let Lucius do what he'd done, he had no idea what his brother might find to do instead, and he had enough grey hairs as it was without his brother adding to them. Let someone else have the responsibility for him, for once. "I daresay some people think I'm soft," he added, smiling down at Pinaria. It was an accusation he could live with, so long as they realised it was only true where his family was concerned - when it came to anything else, he was as Roman as any other senator. @Atrice

"I have the impression that Caesar will listen - he hasn't been dismissive of his concilium, after all. Any match should be for the advantage of both families concerned, and I think he would prefer her to be happy with her future husband. He is as aware as anyone that divorce is possible if neither party is particularly happy, after all." Aulus wanted his sister to be happy in her marriage. Even if there were no children forthcoming due to her age as a retired Vestal, he saw no reason that Calpurnia could not have a husband as well suited to her as Aulus and Horatia were suited for one another. "I think Father would like a say in it, too, although Caesar has superseded him as Calpurnia's paterfamilias because of his role as Pontifex Maximus," he said, and was interrupted by Quintus scrunching up his face to wail for his mother, or his nurse, or dinner, or something. "I would be surprised if Calpurnia doesn't have some ideas about her own future - I will have to ask her about them. I don't think Caesar will want to make any sort of plans without having some idea as to what she would like herself." He might even ask her without needing Aulus to convey said ideas to him. @Sara

"As feisty as you, you mean," Attis said, voicing his thought of a mere moment ago, and pressed his cheek to her hair. "I'm not stubborn, am I?" He didn't think he was, not particularly - sarcastic, yes. Probably far too much of a smart alec for his own good, even, but he wouldn't have listed stubborn anywhere among his qualities, whether positive or negative. "You've at least got an excuse for it, which is more than I can say about me," he added - he had been born a slave, Metella had not, although he had never known her to yearn for the freedom she'd lost. "Have you thought any more about what you'd like the consul's wife to do for you?" he asked, curious - Metella had the favour of the wife of one of the most powerful men in the Empire, and he couldn't help being curious what she might like the lady to do for her. @Chevi

"She?" He pressed his hand gently to where Metella had placed it. "How do you know it's not a boy?" He couldn't help hoping it was a boy, simply for the reason that their child was going to be born a slave and male children had a marginally better time of it. Marginally. But this would be a child born in Lucius Cassius Longinus' household, where even a slave child had the potential for a half-decent sort of childhood. "I'd flatter you anyway - I thought you knew that?" he said. "Oh..." That was definitely a kick - their child was going to be just as feisty as Metella, whether they had a boy or a girl! @Chevi

"There's a bit of a breeze down here, at least, and the sea," he said. "You're not whale-sized. Maybe a dolphin?" He'd seen those, on the crossing over to Achaea after Sestia had up and left them all high and dry - and she would have made a good mistress, and a good mother to Cassia as well as being probably the best thing that had ever happened to their master. "You're beautiful, you know," he told her quietly. @Chevi

Attis had watched his - they still didn't have a name for what they were together, not really. His better half... It had been seven months or so since Metella had told him she was pregnant, and he had watched her over those months, with a sense of nervousness, protectiveness and incredulity all wrapped up together. She was now very definitely pregnant, the bump obvious to even the least observant person in the city, and it was with some relief that the master had brought her to Formiae with the rest of the party that came down here every summer. She had left Cassia with the ex-gladiator Amatus for a bit and wandered down to the beach, where Attis had followed. He bent to put his arms round her from behind, resting his hands lightly on her stomach, wondering if he would feel the child kick. "How are you doing?" @Chevi

Azarion's race was over. Jason didn't know whether his master had purposefully waited until the riders had crossed the finish line or not before sending Jason to chase up the slaves who had been supposed to be bringing the wine up to the Imperial Box, but either way, he'd seen his cousin beat the Red who'd beaten him in the chariot race that Jason had missed, the Equirria races. The tunic he was wearing was a decent rust colour, with two strips of violet cloth sewn to it, obtained by overdyeing red cloth with blue dye (or blue cloth with red dye), a mimicry or mockery of the pristine white tunics with the bright purple stripes worn by the Senators, of whom Tiberius was one. It was enough to mark him out as an Imperial slave, though, which was something because it meant that he reached his destination without too much hassle. If only the slaves with the amphora were there... They were not. "How typical!" @Faustus