Sara

For a brief moment Ione read something differently in his words and her eyes widened. She did know him differently - she remembered his hands on her, remembered being bent over his desk and riding him. She remembered it vividly, whenever she saw him but...surely he didn't mean that? He had been so ill yesterday...surely he couldn't fathom sex at a time like this but...he didn't. She let out a relieved sigh and a smile as he posed a different question instead. "Yes domine," she nodded hurriedly. "My father was often sick." Mainly because he drank too much of course, but she figured it worked for this as well. "Plain breads and then a light chicken stew - very light - always helped settle the stomach? And the most watered, plainish wine you can stomach. No honey or spices." That always seemed to work. "I can go tell the cook to start it...if you have one, if not I can cook." She glanced up and gave him a soft smile. "And I can get you some clean clothes? They always made me feel better when I was ill. And fresh air," She was rambling now, "So sitting in the garden might help?" TAG: @Atrice

Charis was uncomfortable at the party, but that was to be expected. The other women here seemed...almost alien to her. They were all so tall (!), and elegant with a natural comportment that she didn't have and their clothes and hair and radiance seemed something completely foreign to her. Of course they all smiled politely at her, as did the men - although she wondered whether there was something else behind those smiles - but she could well see that she was an anomaly. And not necessarily a welcome one. Tertius had seemed pleased she'd come though and she wanted to make him happy, if only to make her life easier. But he was presently in a conversation about some law matter which wad drier than a desert to her and so she'd politely made her excuses and promised to be back soon with food for him. Nobody approached her to talk which she was grateful for and instead she sought to distract herself with the food. Even that had changed since her freedom. No more leftovers and plain stews but delicacies from across the Empire, many of which didn't agree with her or she didn't like, but some like the dates were amazing. She reached for one at the same time as another man, her fingers brushing his accidentally. She blinked, and then chuckled. "Very kind of you." She said in her accented Latin, as she took one. He was young...maybe only a few years younger than herself, if not her own age. At odds with some of the ancient Senators that were otherwise here. "I don't believe we've been introduced?" She asked with an arched brow as she nibbled on the date. TAG: @Atrice

Ione smiled softly and nodded, genuinely happy to hear it. "Good...that's good domine, I'm pleased." Because discomfort with him was better than the unknown with another dominus. She watched him carefully as he sat up and then glanced around the room. "Can I get you something, domine? I know you have slaves here but I can be useful, whilst I'm here? Unless you'd rather me go back?" She dropped her eyes down to her bare feet. She'd been a bit bold to look at him. TAG: @Atrice

Ione physically jumped back as her dominus' eyes opened and he blinked up at her, staring. She clutched her chest in panic, more because it was so unexpected and he had seemed sound asleep. "I..." She blinked. She fucked up. She shouldn't have been here, watching over him, touching him as he slept. She blinked, wide eyes even wider and she didn't look away. "I...I was seeing if you had a fever, domine. I didn't wish to wake you but I-I thought if you did I should send for a medicus." she swallowed and dropped her hands back down to her side, clutching at the tunica she wore. "Are....are you feeling better?" TAG: @Atrice

Ione blinked at her domine as she passed him off to the burly male slave and nodded silently. She had been out plenty of times by herself - she fished for business, or used to before the brothel got busier - most days alone but...she supposed never this far from home and the watchful eyes of people that knew who she belonged with. Either way it also meant a night away from work which was a small blessing, even though her concern for her dominus was deep rooted. She worried most of the evening, curled up in a chair in the slave's quarters, drinking cheap lora and saying nothing to the surly slaves who seemed to think she was somehow worse than them because their shared dominus owned them for different purposes. She wasn't comfortable here but didn't have much time to dwell on it. Her thoughts were largely taken up with anxiety for Lucius and what would happen if...Gods above, she tried not to think of it and when one of the slaves returned to say he was sleeping, Ione felt herself relax a touch. She didn't sleep much though - it was early for her after all, she didn't usually sleep until almost dawn and as it cracked she was wide awake and gently padding through the domus. She hadn't intended to spy on him but she wanted to check. To see if he looked better at least. So she moved quietly through the house until she came to the edge of the room. She was silent - or thought she was - as she peered in. He didn't look like he had a fever but...she couldn't tell from here. She bit her lip. She shouldn't...but then she reasoned if she did nothing and he did have a fever and they didn't summon the medicus quickly then...she winced as she quietly stepped into the room and to his bed. Gently she moved her fingers to his forehead to feel his skin, hoping she didn't feel heat. TAG: @Atrice

Titus was tired. Exhausted, actually, as he schlepped his way back from the Castra towards the insulae where he and his brother lived, when he could get away from work that was. It had been a long night of no actual fires but lots of crime. Things always got bad in the summer when tempers flared and people left the city (and their belongings) and criminals swept in to take it off their hands. It always sat uncomfortably with Titus that the Urban Cohorts got the cushy job of just basic riots and sedition, the Praetorian's got their sweet Imperial gig but idiots like Titus had to fight fires and deal with crime. Maybe he should complain to Lucius about it some more in one of their weekly meetings. Titus also hated the fact that he had to walk to the Forum to get back home. It was full of tat and men who thought they were important and giggling maidens and - worst of all - conmen. He had a low tolerance for people that would take money from people that could ill afford to give it and were too stupid to realise it and so often he accidentally kicked dice away from a rigged game, or stumbled over a false cup game to give the poor beggars wasting their time some sense of just how badly they were being duped. He also counted storytellers amongst the conmen's ilk and as he rounded the corner to see the Basilica Iulia and a shaggy haired man lecturing a group of people he groaned. He couldn't help himself. He called out as he walked past; "He's chatting shit, don't pay him." TAG: @Chevi

She sunk into his hug with a murmur of contentment, not noting his upset but instead just enjoying the moment. The double meaning of her words didn't occur to her and when he pressed a kiss to her forehead she smiled at him, nodding. Then she rose her fingers to cup his cheek. "I'll hold you to that." And then she sighed, looking into his dark eyes - so like her own - for a long moment before her smile relaxed into something softer, something more genuine. She stretched up on her toes to kiss him softly, murmuring against his lips. "I love you too, Lucius." and then she pulled back and reality seeped in. "Now...I'm going to go...and you clean up." she chuckled and with that she pulled away, mourning his loss immediately. She did cast him one final glance over her shoulder though before she slipped from the room and the domus. She was smiling all the way to Lucia but deep in her chest there was an ache. A desire for something more. One she'd never get rid of. TAG: @Chevi

Ione helped her dominus in and then stood by awkwardly as he settled himself. She merely nodded at his instruction. She heard the directions he gave but it didn't mean anything to Ione. She didn't know where her dominus lived when he wasn't at the brothel - although she'd come to realise fairly swiftly that he didn't sleep in the bed in his office every night. Fortunately it wasn't a long walk and she happily kept pace with the litter bearers, following along with her head ducked and anxiety gnawing at her chest. What would happen to them if the dominus was really, truly ill? For a few days the brothel might run itself but sooner or later the guards and the girls and boys would go unpaid and there would be trouble. And Gods forbid he didn't recover at all...She shuddered at the thought, the thought of inducting a new dominus, one who might be less keen on some of her better arrangements and the repairs and expense Lucius was putting into the place. Her thoughts distracted her amply as they walked and when the litter jerked to a stop it took her a moment to come to the side, holding out her arm again to help her dominus. The door to the domus swung open and Ione blinked. It might not have been big to Lucius, but was to her and as she helped him inside her lips parted a little, staring around in wonder. It was beautiful, if a bit bare. She didn't have long to look though before two silent slaves appeared and Ione blinked. Presuming she'd hand Lucius off she glanced at him; "Is there anything else I can do before I go domine?" TAG: @Atrice

"Yes." She smirked. "Very demanding. And particular." she grinned, lying as he helped smooth out her hair. She moved her arms from his shoulders to link around his waist, unwilling to let him go. "You're an old man, Lucius." She chuckled. "Good job I'm willing to be your nurse in your frailty." She chuckled and stretched up to kiss him softly. Lingeringly. With a little mewl of pleasure before she withdrew with a sad look in her eyes. She knew she had to go but was utterly unwilling to break the magic of the afternoon. "When can I see you again?" She breathed. TAG: @Chevi

Ovinia chuckled and then tilted her head with a quizzical frown. "I...also don't know how old you are?" She asked. He couldn't have been that much older than her but then he had mentioned he was late starting the cursus, didn't he? So perhaps a handful of years? How...had she never asked him before? As she finished wrapping her palla and set about running her fingers through her tangled hair to try and tame it she smiled as he swiftly ducked down for a kiss. "Mhmm." She moved her arms to loop around his neck. "Good job you don't have a birthday soon then. You're quite difficult to please you know." TAG: @Chevi

"Joy of joys." Titus smirked. Dealing with men that wanted an extra as or two for shit advice about how to use fire sticks correctly was going to the bane of his life but worth it, if it meant he could give a little more to Caius each month. Titus turned around to leave but stilled as Lucius thanked him. He paused and glanced up at him. He sighed, a heavy sigh that left his chest and then rolled his eyes. "I only cared so much because you are decent. Most of the time." He admitted, clearly uncomfortable in admitting it. "And..." He huffed. "I was out of line. Perhaps. With one or two of my comments." He offered. "But I am not calling you sir." TAG: @Chevi

Titus ground down hard on his jaw, watching Lucius closely. All of those options were terrible. And Lucius knew it. He tilted his head to the side. "I'll take options two and three. I'll tell the men myself you are paying me more because you're a fucking moron and I don't want it to be a secret. And you can use some of those contacts of yours to get their pay equalised." He shrugged. He did not tell Lucius that he didn't need a substantial increase, be he reckoned if he gave him one (rich men didn't know the value of money, after all), he'd just split the remainder with the rest of the century. "Are we done?" TAG: @Chevi

Titus glared but some of the heat left his body as Lucius spoke and gave him a pointed glare. "Fine. I'll hold you to that." He said with a shrug of his shoulders and he folded his arms back over his chest. He still couldn't help but shake his head with a small smirk. "Pay me more then. Then I'll help." As Lucius had put it. He shrugged. "I'm not a slave in your domus, Lucius. My advice doesn't come for free." He'd asked his previous centurion for a pay rise plenty of times and had been laughed out of the room. But with few other skills and a genuine desire to help people, he remained with the vigiles. "This is what I mean - about you not understanding. Case in point, actually. You want my help? Fine. But your praise and your good opinion of me doesn't pay to keep a roof over my brothers head, or food in our stores. You've never had to think about it before, I guess?" TAG: @Chevi

The problem was that he wasn't sure what he wanted Lucius to do. But the last comment caused him to tense and he glared at Lucius, muscles in his jaw and neck flaring. "I'd like a centurion who isn't a privileged shit who thinks he's done some great big noble sacrifice whilst rolling in gold, fucking some rich woman and going to parties with Senators." He snapped. He had gone too far, but it was hard to row back from. "Having some self-awareness might be nice." He offered, cooling a touch. "That's what I think you should do; try and understand that six months debasing yourself as a recruit only to then jump up the hierarchy like every other self-serving shit that's come before you, that might be nice." He waved a hand. "But it doesn't matter. You'll be Tribune in a year I'm sure, and me and my shit attitude, which is in no way caused by men like you, won't be your problem anymore." TAG: @Chevi

Titus scoffed and shook his head. "And you're chatting shit, sir." He laughed, rolling his eyes. "You are advancing your career. To Tribune and then Praefect probably. You don't have to be in the fucking Senate to be doing that. Senator or Centurion, you're still stomping on the people that have worked hard to get where we are." He shook his head. "I hope you're better than the last fucking idiot but you'll forgive me if I hold my breath on that one." He tilted his head to the side and then shook it. "It just baffles me that you don't get it." He waited for a beat before continuing. "When you look at these men you see cowards and laziness. Maybe you'd understand why they want a break and won't risk their lives for men and women like your friends, if you had spent your life working in the fields until your hands bled like I did, or somehow surviving the mines like Marius whose cooking you love to mock. Or Gnaeus, having to wait on bended knee for men like you at parties you might well have attended." He shook his head again. "How do you expect it to change when you have no idea what it's like? When you literally don't understand?" TAG: @Chevi

Titus shrugged and sighed, unfolding his arms. He knew he should be careful but Lucius wanted the truth? Fine. He'd get the truth. "Very well. You've taken one of the only positions available for men who have actually worked for it. Sacrificed for it. Been through enough in their lives as slaves and earn nothing. You've never sacrificed anything in your life - you claim you have but you aren't doing this for the money, you have that already and the friends and the domus and the life, but you're taking from people who deserved better. From the people you claim you're trying to help." He shook his head with a deep sigh and shrugged again. "And I know when it comes down to it, you don't care. And you think what you're doing is right so fuck the rest of us. And our opinions. You've been a recruit for what? Six months? You've done the graft and now you're just about advancing your career. It's predictable. And I thought better of you." TAG: @Chevi

He could sense that this was not the reaction Lucius had been anticipating, and he seemed wounded. Titus felt a knot of guilt in his chest but pushed it down. Lucius had changed everything by what had happened, and Titus tried to assure himself that he shouldn't feel guilty for a validly held opinion. That was difficult though, with the way Lucius was looking at him. He shrugged limply, arms still folded. He was never much known for beating around the bush; "I've lost respect for you. Now you've done this. Chosen this, or agreed to it. It's also angered me that you have friends in high places that you claim, as you just did to the rest of the men, you've given up but who will somehow sponsor the previous centurion being removed and you promoted in his place. That is the start of it. Would you have me continue?" TAG: @Chevi

He suppressed a groan as Lucius said his name and drew to a stop with a sigh. He shouldn't have been sarcastic but he couldn't help himself and now he was paying the price...an uncomfortable conversation. Rationally he knew he should be polite and commend their new glorious leader for his work but he couldn't. Titus had never been all that rational anyway. He stepped into the portico with Lucius and folded his arms across his chest, surveying him. The small smile irritated him more than it should have. He arched a brow. "Are you ordering me to give my opinion, sir?" He asked with an inscrutable expression. TAG: @Chevi

The very clear problem that crystallised in Titus' mind as Lucius continued to speak was that whilst his ambitions were all very well and good, it wasn't just that he was the one speaking them. Titus should have been glad that they finally had a centurion who would protect the people of this city rather than the property of the wealthy, but he wasn't an analytical man and his emotions frequently got the better of him as they did in this moment - causing him to seethe rather than be grateful. Practically he knew it changed very little - he was unlikely to follow Lucius' orders if he disagreed with them, just as he hadn't followed the orders of the last idiot who ran the centuria...but somehow this was different. The fact that he knew and had, in his own way, respected the man that now stood in front of him made him uncomfortable. As Lucius dismissed them, Titus stood still for a moment. Others went back to their dice (illegal but tolerated) or back into the barracks to prepare for the night shift. He should have joined them and with a sigh, he followed a group of others back from the courtyard and into the building, offering Lucius a sarcastic; "Yes, sir." As he moved past him, shaking his head a touch as he did. TAG: @Chevi

She snorted in amusement, a very un-Ovinia like sound and then let out a giggle. "Maybe another private show." She offered with a contented sigh as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "But something more upbeat next time, maybe. Or maybe you could sing to me, as your present." She grinned at him as she stepped away to finishing tying the shoulders of her chiton and she bent down to scoop up her belt and her palla. "Would you expect anything less than that though, from me?" She chuckled as she clasped her belt and set about winding her palla around herself, taking her time to draw out the last few moment they had together. She did frown at him though. "When is your birthday?" TAG: @Chevi

Titus was fuming, but he'd long learnt over his years as a slave that anger and annoyance was better served by balling it up and shoving it down deep rather than exploding in anger. The whip marks on his back bore testament to the latter approach and it wasn't something he wished to repeat. So he stood stock still, eyes glazed over in boredom but muscles in his jaw tensing and working as Lucius stepped up and started his bumbling speech. He didn't say anything in return, or offer any sort of indication he approved of the appointment (he didn't), or enjoyed the speech (he didn't). From what he could tell of the men around him there was a mixed reaction. Some men snorted in amusement at the jokes, others were murmuring between them and Titus could have sworn they were taking bets on how long Lucius' would last. He really should get in on that action. Folding his arms over his chest he merely gave Lucius a quirked brow as the man looked to him for...something. He just wanted to get back to work and stop this charade. One of the men piped up from the back; "Are we dismissed yet or is he going to keep droning on?" TAG: @Chevi

Ione grimaced at him. He looked unwell. Very unwell and she'd never seen her dominus as anything but severe and uncompromising and well...strong. It was a different, private side of him that she felt she shouldn't be seeing and clearly he felt similarly as he spoke. She nodded hurriedly, fingers flexing over her knees as she wondered if there was anything else she should be doing. "Of course, domine. I won't." She swallowed and then the sound of heavy footfalls and grunts sounded up the path they were on. She glanced over her shoulder to see the litter and hurriedly stood to flag it down. They drew to a stop just in front of Lucius. It was a tatty old thing with bearers who looked worn and exhausted. But that's what you get for a rental. The urban cohorts cleared their throats. "Payment. Sir." He demanded of Lucius. "And where are you going?" Ione offered her arm for Armenius to lean on if he needed to, when he stood. TAG: @Atrice

She gave him a small, impish smile and nodded. "The big two-zero. On the nones1." She gave him a satisfied sigh and pressed herself in comfort into his chest, fingers stroking over the arms that held her waist. She didn't want to move to finish tying the shoulders of her dress. It was amazing to her how she could draw so much comfort...and so much pleasure from such a simple, intimate touch like this hug. "Very high. Last year, the day after my birthday, I met a very irritating man who made me sing in public so I'm hoping this year will be better." She chuckled and raised one of his hands to kiss his knuckles. How had it already been almost a year since they met? "What are you going to get me?" TAG: @Chevi 1 7th May

She allowed herself to be pulled up and stumbled against him with a soft, genuine laugh. That was promptly wiped from her lips as he ducked down for a kiss which she sunk into. She'd miss this. This afternoon had been intimate in every way - but beyond the pleasure, there had been a quiet comfort in the chaste touches, the soft kisses, the lingering looks that had been utterly unexpected. When he pulled back and let go of her she mourned his absence and pouted a little before she padded away to find her chiton, crumpled on the floor. She grimaced and stepped into it, tying one corner of the shoulders as she listened. "It's an excellent find." She agreed with a little sigh. "Although maybe you could find one with more tasteful wall paintings." She teased, "Consider it a birthday gift for me." She said casually, as if he'd know that she was turning twenty next week. TAG: @Chevi

Charis merely smiled awkwardly, trying her best to be polite. She would have brought Peregrinus if she could - she thought exposure would be the best medicine for Teutus - to make him realise that the little boy really was no threat, as painful as his presence was but alas Tertius had other ideas as usual. She nodded and followed Teutus as he guided them to he table and Charis hesitated before taking a seat. She had only been freed the month prior. It was taking some getting used to that she didn't need to be invited to sit. "We met when your mother came to visit Tertius." She explained quietly and glanced down at the table rather than look at either of them, taking a cup of wine. She had been a slave then - cast out to the corner as Tertius focused on his latest fascination. It had hurt. But she didn't blame the woman, especially not now she had her freedom. "But I've been well," She finally glanced up at Varinia with a small smile. "...Adjusting, I suppose. I suspect it will take some time." To be free and then enslaved and then free again all within the space of three years was a lot to stomach. And this freedom felt very, very different to the last that she had enjoyed. But she was warming up, relaxing a touch at Teutus' compliment and chuckled. "It's so fine I keep worrying that I'll spill something on it." Again, unused to the fact that she could just palm it off to a house slave to fix if she did. She glanced at both of them then. So alike. "And you two? How have you been?" This was good. Polite chit-chat. This was normal...right? TAG: @Sarah @Sharpie