Sara

Didia Nonia "Titus Didius Nonius get back here!" She screeched at the little boy, her nephew who had been dumped upon their families doorstep shortly after his birth by his good for nothing father (and Didia's brother). Her father chuckled, "Don't mind him, he'll tire himself out soon enough-" Didia cut him off with a glare, "Not before he wastes all of the good salt which we need..." She finally managed to wrestle the pot out of the boy's hands and he giggled, running to find something else to steal and play with. Like father like son. Did huffed, setting down on a top shelf that she had to stretch to reach and glanced at the mess already overflowing in the cramped apartment. Between her parents, herself, her younger brother and two tiny nephews, the place was in perennial disorder. Which she didn't have time to fix before heading out for the day's work. "I'm going to be late..." She muttered as she tied her hair up in a practical bun with a scrap of linen. "Mother, can you please make sure that..." She was cut off again by a sound on the door and huffed, moving to pull it wide and see a praetorian staring back at her. She had to plant a hand on the back of Titus' tunic to keep him from bolting from the door and mercifully her younger brother was there to take him. "Morning..." She grumbled with a wince, "You caught me heading out, Appius and I have deliveries...all alright?" She arched a brow. She knew Decimus of course, but it wasn't exactly a common occurrence to have the man banging on her door. TAG: @Sains @Chevi

Vibia Yes. Well that was certainly more decisive and she kept her smile soft and inclined her head. Ever the consummate professional, Vibia didn't let her amusement or her curiosity show on her face and merely placed the cithara down and accepted his hand, allowing her thumb to sweep over his wrist as she rose. She glanced behind him at the bed and then that soft smile turned more feline and she shook her head. Tiberius wanted to be...educated, and she weathered a guess that he wanted to be led to pleasure rather than simply fumble and attempt it. "This dress if far too fine to crumple..." It was pure Assyrian silk, spun in gold and folded just enough so that it was a little transparent without being garish. Her hand moved to deftly unclasp the jewelled belt around her lithe waist and then to one of the golden clasps at her shoulder, it matched the jewellery she wore, and undid it so the silk fell away to reveal one of her breasts. She moved her hand to the other clasp and arched a brow at him. "It appears stuck..." She watched him with those large blue eyes, "Would you help?" She understood he'd never bedded a woman, but had he touched one before? TAG: @Sarah

Lucius Cassius Longinus She was gentle and soft and he felt an overwhelming sense that she was his opposite. Where he was passion and haste and energy, she was calming and soothing. Most unlike the women he'd fallen for time and time again in his life, but he found himself relax - even at the rejection of the torc. He chuckled and shook his head, "I take no offence, don't worry, Huctia didn't have the best taste." He chuckled and shook of her words. Was he kind? Probably depended on who you asked - to the Britons absolutely not, to his friends probably far too much and to the women in his life...probably somewhere in between. And then his brows rose as she asked for his help again. He thought he'd fucked it - this didn't seem like a woman such as Antonia and Sestia who had been confident towing (and crossing) those sacred boundaries of propriety. But the smile on his lips was soft and he nodded, moving a stride closer so he was facing her, a few inches apart and raised his hands. His thumbs brushed the skin over her collarbones as he gently slipped the torc back off of her but he didn't move back, not yet. Instead he studied her face for a moment, his expression soft, considering. "There..." He murmured, "You're too beautiful to wear a Barbarian's gold." And she was. Acutely aware he should move back, it took another few moments for his brain to win the argument and he stepped away to give her some space, the golden torc held by a couple of his fingers. "So now you've indulged me in my interests which is...collecting a lot of rubbish from across the Empire, you have to humour me with what interests you..." His grin returned, the moment of impropriety passing with a heartbeat. TAG: @Atrice

Tertia Charis Her mind snapped back at Varinia; I have no freedom, but she kept silent, merely sipping her wine and nodding at appropriate moments. She knew she should trust Varinia, trust Teutus and be honest about how she was struggling but how could she? How could she when she and Peregrinus had what should have rightfully belonged to the pair before her? She was grateful for Teutus' interruption about being her friend, as it gave her a moment to collect her thoughts on Varinia's question. What did she want to do? She set down her cup of wine, her fingers flirting with its rim. "I...I don't know." She admitted honestly, swallowing down the lump in her throat. "My friends from...before, it's difficult to see them." She shrugged thin shoulders and then gave a slightly weak smile to both in turn. "I have always liked to be practical...helpful. Tertius said that some women run charities I...I might consider that? I think I'd be better suited to running a business, or working in another but..." She exhaled a little sharply, "I understand that's not my place, or appropriate for a woman like me but...I am not complaining, of course," She added a touch hurriedly, "I spend my days with Peregrinus and...occasionally helping with Tertius' affairs and the house, and directing the gardeners..." it hardly sounded like a fulfilling life. TAG: @Sarah @Sharpie

Tertia Charis Charis almost lost her nerve, convinced Cynane wouldn't come. She promised herself she'd give it a little while longer, her friend wasn't even late yet, but as the minutes ticked past she found her resolve faltering and that cloud of loneliness drawing down on her like a storm. And then as her fingers fiddled with the stem of the wooden wine cup, her eyes searching the gates, she saw Cynane and her heart stuttered. She looked the same - as beautiful, powerful as she always had done. Seeing her after so many months brought the threat of tears to her eyes but she managed to drive them away. That aching hole of loneliness felt more gaping than ever as Cynane drew near silently. "I..." Charis hesitated, awkward, unsure of what to do. She quickly pulled out a little bag and pushed it across the table, switching to their native tongue although after months without using it, it was awkward at first; "Honey cakes...to share." She swallowed, "If you'd like to..." She exhaled deeply. Why was she so fucking awkward? Cynane had been her friend, her only friend really who she felt comfortable with doing or saying anything. But the chasm between them now felt endless. "I missed you..." She choked, "Thank you for coming." TAG: @Atrice

Ovinia Camilla She groaned in protest and curled closer to him, unwilling to move. She exhaled a deep, shivered breath. "No...because as soon...as soon as we leave it all becomes real." She murmured against his skin. "What...I...what we did...what we can't have..." she shook her head, her hand gripping his waist as they lay together tangled in the sheets. She would plan their little excursion to the countryside but even that wasn't enough to stop the ache in her chest that was starting to bloom. "Everything feels different now..." She breathed in a whisper. It all felt more real, and at the same time, more painful. TAG: @Chevi

Tertia Charis Mid June, 77AD Charis didn't know what she was expecting as she sat on one of the wooden benches that littered the street at a bar opposite the gates to the Imperial Palace. It was full of tourists and families, excitedly chattering about the city or their plans and she felt more alone than ever as she nursed her weak, watered wine. One of the house slaves lurked behind her, taking in the shade, and Charis tried to ignore her as she strained to see people coming and going from the slave entrance, hoping to see and dreading seeing the blonde hair of her friend. It had been six months since she'd last seen Cynane in the gardens when she'd told her her news and the loneliness had eaten her up in the interim. She hadn't realised that was what the hollow feeling that perennially sat on her chest was, not until that conversation with her husband in the domus. Of course, when she was a slave, they had seen each other rarely but she had always known her friend would be there if she needed her. She had always been a contast. Now...she had absolutely no idea. She wondered, briefly, if the letter she'd sent to Cynane's domina's secretary had even arrived, or if he'd even asked her. She'd said to meet at this bar - with Claudia's permission if she gave it - at the sun's highest point on the ides. That was now, today. And yet she sat here alone. She felt her mouth run dry again at the thought of being stood up, and she sipped the wine again and wrapped her fine palla around her all the tighter. TAG: @Atrice

Lucius Cassius Longinus He chuckled at her joke and her grin, placing a hand over his heart: “I swear I’ll protect you if you look in danger of your head rolling off.” But she agreed and he blinked in surprise and delight. It had last been worn by Huctia herself - a powerful woman with a big mane of blonde hair if memory served, and a simmering temper. Quite unlike the delicate woman in front of him. He nodded as she asked for help, and held out his hands for the torc. Then, without thinking, moved to stand behind her and swept his fingers softly over the back of her neck to move her hair out of the way. The intimacy of the gesture was lost on him until he released his fingers were still on her skin and they were unchaperoned. He wouldn’t have put it past his mother to have moved to have an eye line of this room, but he couldn’t be sure so he hurriedly moved to slip the necklace around her throat and then took a hefty stride back so there was a respectable distance between them. He cleared his throat, unsure of whether to apologise for the familiarity or not, and then as he moved to her front so he could see her, he blinked, thoughts forgotten. It was a gaudy piece, too big and chunky for her frame but the sight of seeing her in something that held not an insignia g sentimental value to him, was odd. It set his thoughts running and he blinked again: “It’s yours, if you want it.” A smile crept back onto his lips as his wits slowly returned: “Although I won’t be offended if you say you hate it and think it ugly.” TAG: @Atrice

Lucius Cassius Longinus Longinus laughed, "Under the dirt in Britannia? Probably more wealth than Crassus ever had, the Britons seemed to have buried their valuables, given we'd dig up a horde every time we dug for a fort or a trench." He shook his head in amusement and followed her gaze to the heavy set golden jewellery. He crossed the distance to it in a quick stride and tilted his head. Antonia had laughed at it, called it hideous, and bid him to hide it away in a back room. As with many things in their marriage, Longinus had chosen to be provocative and display it publicly, much to her ire. He hummed, trying to find the names in what felt like a distant memory. "It belonged to Huctia, she was the daughter of the King of the Parisii, they allied with the Brigantes in the war we lost Silanus in. She was sold," He sighed, "But I saw her wearing it at the negotiations. I became a legate when I was young...far too young, only a couple of years older than you are now." He shook his head. He had survived it, thrived in the responsibility but it could have ended so poorly for all involved. "It was one of the first spoils I brought home. Here..." He gently picked it up and held it out, "You can try it, if you'd like." His grin was boyish almost, his eyes sparkling with mischief and challenge. TAG: @Atrice

Lucius Cassius Longinus The smile on his face was soft, genuine as he took in his collection and then - without meaning to - let his eyes drift over her as she in turn, looked at the objects. She was crouching, peering intently at the dragon and the look on her face, the earnestness he saw in her expression wrenched his chest. There was none of the pretence he would expect of a woman of her class and beauty, none of the fakery or faux-shyness, she was just...open. Honest. Naive, of course, but that was endearing in a way and he wondered briefly whether the trials of life would bend that out of her or whether she would go forward for the next ten, twenty, thirty years with that smile on her face and flowers in her hair. He was only shaken from his thoughts by her popping back up to stand and he cleared his throat, turning his attention back to the statue. He frowned, as if puzzling for an answer. "I suppose I just liked it...I..." he tilted his head to the other side as if in deep contemplation before he glanced sideways at her. She was tall for a woman, but he was taller still for a man so he had a good head and a half on her. He peered down, his lips turning up into a smile as he shrugged. "I suppose I'd never really thought about it much beyond that but...thinking about it now..." He sighed but not unhappily, "I remember the day I got it - it had been weeks of freezing rain and mud, Attis I'm sure, will agree-" He gestured at his body salve, "It was some of the most miserable weather we suffered there in the whole tour. It used to sting your skin if you stayed out in it for more than a few minutes, everybody's tents leaked and we were moving between forts so there was no proper cover." He chuckled to himself at the memory, "We had to dig in for a few days to let it pass and one of the men digging a trench found it buried." He smiled fondly at the memory as if uncovering layers of his own history he'd forgotten, "Some Briton had abandoned it with a whole host of other jewels and things they never recovered. We divvied the gold up between the men as spoils but the dragon became our unofficial mascot," He chuckled, "I used to keep it on my desk and the men used to salute it, only after the eagle of course." He patted its head fondly and then shook his head. "I suppose it reminds me of happier times." He finally glanced back from the dragon to Sosia and grimaced. "That's probably a deeply boring story to hear, yes?" TAG: @Atrice

Ovinia Camilla She nodded at Teutus' words, letting out another little sigh. We have to work within the constraints society puts on us. She was finding that thought harder and harder to live with. The Ovinia of two years ago would have been unquestioning, would have done whatever her family asked of her whenever they did. Now though? She merely sipped her wine in contemplation, trying not to finish that thought as Teutus continued to speak, interjecting only once. "Concubine..." She wrinkled her nose, "Is unseemly." She knew such arrangements were commonplace enough, particularly amongst the lower classes but...it still sat uncomfortably on her shoulders. Tertius Quinctilius Varus could have been a prime bachelor and candidate for women like her had he not recognised his slave-gotten son and freed this 'Charis'. It surprised her that the woman had been married, had a job and presumably, a...life, before coming here and being cast into the Varus household. She couldn't recall ever asking any of her slaves what they had been before their lives in this house and for a brief moment she felt a lurch of guilt. It prompted her response to Teutus' question - that surely they were better off here. "I wonder if you asked her that question, whether she'd agree. In some ways it's appealing," She shrugged, "A simple life with none of the worries we have here." She shook her head again and chose to disguise her honesty with the vapidity people expected of women like her; "But I suppose you're right. I'd miss the wealth and the parties and my friends. Who could live without that?" I could, she answered in her mind. TAG: @Sharpie

Ovinia Camilla Ovinia let loose a sigh from her lips and nodded, adjusting herself on the couch and tucking strands of dark - almost black - silky hair behind her ear. "Isn't it unfortunate," She mused with a murmur and a wistful look in her eyes, "That what we are born as dictates everything about who we are and what we do." It was the same for men as it was for women - whilst Teutus was constrained by his illegitimacy, she was constrained by her sex and her fathers power. She would do as he bid, because that was what any good Senatorial girl did, but recently it didn't prevent her from wondering what if? The thought was almost painful. She sighed again and shook her head, "I wonder if it is the same for the barbarians in Germania or Britannia and elsewhere...the women get married because their fathers say they have to, and their sons follow the profession of the father." She tilted her head in curiosity and then flicked her eyes back to him. "Your fathers...woman," Her own father forbid her to call the little woman she'd met once or twice his wife - ranting it made a mockery of their class, "She is from Britannia, no? Did she say what life was like there for a free woman?" The question was an absent one, but she was curious. The writers hadn't made it sound particularly appealing, but then again she supposed they wouldn't, would they? TAG: @Sharpie

Ione "Of course." Ione scribbled down the meagre order, and input it into the ancient computer system to alert the kitchen staff. Despite it being quiet tonight, it was likely it would still take an age for him to get his food. She quickly poured the lemonade and pushed it across to him before tabulating the total; "£3.50..." She glanced around the bar as he gathered his wallet. It wasn't busy, but nor was it dead with locals looking curiously at the man now stood across from her. Creepy Old Adam was particularly curious but she tried her level best to ignore his look. "Do you want to sit inside or out?" She asked when she was finished taking his money. There was a hint of pleading in her voice; "We have lights up out there, and patio heaters." It was her favourite place to go for her breaks in the winter months - nobody bothered her, not even the smokers who tended to congregate out the front like vagrants. Speaking of which - the two waitresses she had been serving brushed back in behind the bar, still chattering between themselves - sending puffs of stale smoke breath around them. Ione grimaced. "You're on break Iona. Fifteen minutes." She didn't say anything about the fact they'd been outside for thirty. TAG: @Sarah

Lucius Cassius Longinus At least she was self-aware enough to know that she'd had a sheltered life. She was different, in that respect, to him, to his previous wife and wife-to-be. Where he had seen scenes and bloodshed no person should endure (and indeed been involved in said bloodshed himself), and Antonia and Sestia had been all fire and passion and lust...Sosia was just sweet. Calming, in a way, like a steady stream on a spring day. It was difficult to adjust to, and not at all what he thought he wanted, but he had to admit he found himself relax more with each passing moment of the conversation. And then she asked a question that nobody had asked before - not his late wife who used to kick the assortment of foreign objects with obvious disdain, not his mother who tutted or Attis who hid them - Sosia asked out of genuine curiosity and his brows shot up, a grin forming on his face. "I suspect my body slave has hidden the most interesting," He chuckled at Attis, rolling his eyes and levered himself off of the couch - gesturing his head for Sosia to follow him as he weaved his way through the rooms that led off from the garden. In one, set on tables of various heights, were an assortment of objects. On the wall were a pair of twin axes, "Those were taken from a Chief in Britannia..." He murmured and then drew her to a small table where fine jewellery was displayed. It was gold and not intricately fashioned like those of Roman women, but instead it was chunky, with odd coloured stones of different sizes set in it. "That's from up near the border lands in Britannia, at the very edge of the Empire." He smiled to himself and then gestured at a smaller plinth. Set on it was a small bronze figurine, no bigger than his forearm. It was intricately carved into the shape of a dog, or a wolf, with wings and horns and a snarl. "They told me it was supposed to be a dragon."1 He tilted his head as he frowned at it. "This interests you?" He asked, glancing over at her curiously. TAG: @Atrice 1 This is in the British Museum's 'Britain and Europe 800BC-43AD room: Bronze Dragon statue

Ovinia Camilla "Music in general." She replied with the faintest quirk of her lips to indicate she found the conversation in amusing, which was explained by the next few words; "My father kindly gifted me the hydraulis." She could see her father from the corner of her eye nod his head in pleased affirmation. It was an ostentatious gift, although of course the fact he'd chosen it over the cithara that she'd truly wanted, had very clear meaning; music is for the house and family, ergo your instrument shouldn't be portable. "I spend some of my time practicing, some of my time reading composition theories and creating my own either with the instrument or my voice, but mostly I just enjoy listening; whether that be in the city or at a dinner." she shrugged her slender shoulders slightly. She heard and saw music in most of her day to day life and couldn't imagine the gaping hole it would leave if she had to stop her practice or attraction to it. The conversation rolled on, her father mercifully unaware of what they meant when discussing the races at Cerealia, into his career. She sipped her chilled wine as he spoke, effortlessly disguising her surprise that he'd only recently completed his quaestorship. Her brother Lucius had missed it in his year, the year just gone, and she pegged the man at least a decade older - if not more. He explained the timing away deftly but it was curious. She had thought her father would have perhaps had more ambition - gone for a man already settled into his seat in the Senate, on the rise to a Praetorship perhaps. But then again, she knew Publius Horatius Justinus was well respected and well liked with military glory (and therefore riches) behind him, and in any case, his familial links were utterly impeccable. "I wish you success, Senator." She said with an even voice and Gaius - yet again - chipped in. She could tell even without looking that he'd be shrewdly assessing Publius with the same gaze that made him one of the most powerful men in the city; "As do I. And perhaps we could discuss your plans for securing the votes at a later date." The implication of 'if this is successful', being clear even to her. She set the fine glass down and shook her head lightly, "Not since I was a child. We were in Achaea during the Civil War but I was only five or so, so my memories are mainly of sandy beaches and the heat." She chuckled. She continued, "I used to want to travel but I'm content in the city - I've spent most of my life here, and in any case I'm too busy to leave for any extended period." She watched him carefully, parroting out the sanctioned version of why she was still unwed and what was wrong with her mother by way of explanation - her father had made it clear she was to mention it. After all, twenty was peculiarly late for having these sorts of introductory meetings, even if that was his fault and not hers; "My mother has been unwell for a few years so I manage the household for the most part, and my fathers clients, when she is unable to do so. Running a domus of this size, three brothers and everything that comes with my fathers position leaves me very little time to contemplate travel, I am afraid." Adjusting the shimmering silk of her chiton over her knees she shrugged lightly; "And yourself? Do you see further travel in your future, or are you content in the city?" And the senate, rather than seeking more glory in far-flung provinces, she added in her head. TAG: @Sarah

Ovinia Camilla Her lips twitched into a wry smile and she shrugged. "I suppose. What are Senator's daughters if not vain and demanding?" She certainly had her moments with both, although recently she was starting to see herself with the value she could add outside of just being beautiful and mute when around great men like her father and those who were paraded in front of her as potential husbands. She did have more to offer, although exercising that was the difficult part in a society which gave her such a narrow role to fill. The thought hurt her heart and she took a deeper sip of her wine before setting it down lest she finish the cup in unseemly haste. His question gave her pause and she tilted her head in contemplation. "No, not really. He has a few plebeian and equite clients though, several of whom have unwed daughters. I've met a few of them." Given she covered for her mother when she was abed, she often greeted the women who visited with their fathers. "Can you not aim a little higher than a freedwoman? You are young, handsome and with a profitable business. But - more importantly for their dear Papas - you are the son of a Praetor who is known and respected in the city. They might be willing to overlook the circumstances of your birth should your father be willing to attend courting meetings with you, or at least sing your praises for their dear old fathers." She chuckled, "Although, granted that didn't work on my own father, but I imagine that was because he was aiming a little too high." TAG: @Sharpie

Ovinia Camilla She let out a low whistle, arching a brow. "Britannia...filled with savage men painted blue, and blonde haired women who want to kill you?" she shook her head. She'd wanted to travel, once upon a time - being taken to the farthest flung corners of the Empire with a handsome husband with an important job but now the idea of being away from family, from friends, from...other important people in her life filled her with a sense of dread she couldn't articulate. She wasn't a woman who was often lonely, somebody like her had an assortment of friends, frenemies and acquaintances, but being sent to an outpost like Britannia with its perpetual drizzle and savage locals sent the fear of isolation straight down her spine. As she took down the palla from her hair, he raised his hood - amusingly opposite, and she glanced sideways at him. "I hope you're feeling better." She said, honestly meaning it. Nobody deserved to be in pain, even if they had brought it on themselves. Well...nobody like Marcus, at least, who likely only had the beating for something stupid and not malicious. At his question she sighed and shook her head. "I think the Gods will be sick of me if I see any more. I'll probably go shopping," She shrugged, "Check in on a friend - she recently had her first child." The thought that she was falling behind her girlhood companions who were married and bearing children came to her and she tried to push it away. "Keep well, Marcus. Keep out of trouble." She bid him farewell, her lips quirking in a small smile. TAG: @Atrice

Ione Ione shifted nimbly on to her side, back facing him and waited for the grab on her hips or her thighs, or the sound of him fumbling with his belt but instead a strong arm wound around her waist and pulled her tighter against him, the other arching under her tangled hair. She waited for a breath, unsure of what to do, always so unsure of what to do and then his words hit her and she exhaled a shuddering breath. She shouldn't, she should try and coax a service out of him, try and make him desire her all the more - it was what Armenius expected her to do - but laying her spooning together, the weariness making her boneless, she couldn't find any energy to try and do more. She felt safe, comfortable, at home. She nodded her head, nuzzling closer to his arm, a smile on her lips and tears of gratefulness pooling in the corners of her eyes; "Yes domine." She murmured and fluttered her eyes shut, before adding, "Thank you..." She whispered as her breathing evened and she let darkness tug at the corners of her consciousness. It was almost peculiar how quickly she slipped into a dreamless sleep, curled up in his arms. TAG: @Sarah

Ione She smiled, a beaming smile at his words. That she made this man happy...fulfilled her. Most of the girls she worked with were suitably detached from their clients and for the most part, so was Ione. She did her job and tried not to dwell on the men that touched her, took their fill of her. But every so often she found herself dreaming of a client who had smiled at her kindly or treated her well. Spurius was top of that list. Her breath caught in her throat as he continued to speak and her eyes widened. She nodded furiously. "Yes...yes domine, I will." Even if it was improbable she'd be sold, at least for the next few years whilst she was young and popular and still retained that air of being naive, the fact that Spurius said those words it...gave her hope. Unfounded hope, that one day maybe there would be something better for her. She followed instructions quickly, moving to sit gently on his lap, looping her arms around his neck. Her soft, slender fingers pushed into his hair at the nape of his neck and her eyes searched his face intently. For all she could seem guileless, there was a natural warmth and softness about Ione that came to the fore in intimate moments like this. She tilted her face to look at him, tentatively moving one of her hands to stroke his cheek, cupping it so her thumb swept over the arch of his cheekbone. Usually she waited for direction, she waited to be told where to lie, where to undress, what to do with her body...but with Spurius she felt more confident and so with a little hesitation she leant in unprompted, and brushed a soft kiss against his lips. TAG: @Sarah

Her mind was so scattered it was only after he answered her question that she realised the answer had been obvious and she nodded, feigning ignorance. "I forget how it works, it's been a while since my brothers started theirs and we silly young women don't have anything comparable." She chuckled. No, no work to help the empire for people like her...unless one counted conceiving and bearing the next great generation of leaders. "Where would you like to serve?" She asked, a bland question, to move them - and her own thoughts - on from Barbatius. "My brother served in Hispania, and he enjoyed it." She mused. Lucius seemed suited to it - life in the military, moreso than the civil positions back here. His question prompted her to stand immediately. "Yes." The atmosphere of the temple was beginning to feel oppressive and she confidently strode towards the doors, gasping in relief as she breathed in a full deep breath of air...even if it was sour, city air. She dropped the palla from her rich, dark hair and glanced sideways at Marcus. "What are you going to do now? Back to the Villa?" TAG: @Atrice

She felt his thumb brush across her cheek as they pulled back from the kiss and she met his gaze, as vivid blue as her own. Why had she kissed him? Was it just seeking some sort of comfort? Or in thanks? The thought sad uncomfortably in her as he spoke and she nodded silently. They had to keep their minds on the present and the future, not the past. But what would their future hold? Years of resentment? Could she ever forgive him, and move past what had happened? She didn't know, but either way she felt a weight settle on her chest like lead. In a way, she longed for the simplicity of being a slave, when she didn't have to make these choices. He kissed her again and she sank into it for a moment to show willing, her hand framing his face gently, before he moved away, preparing to get up and she sighed. She had absolutely nothing else to do - Peregrinus was cared for and she had no tasks today. She had no way to really refuse that offer, much as she might have wanted to be left alone with her thoughts. So she nodded and smiled softly. "Yes, please." And she pushed herself up fluidly with nimble grace, dusting her plain chiton off. "I can direct the slaves, what would you like?" TAG: @Atrice

Longinus chuckled. "Some of their warriors do, in the far north. No idea why, maybe to try and be intimidating?" It obviously didn't work. He considered Sosia as she continued to talk. She seemed...incredibly sheltered, naive almost, which was different to his late wife and then Sestia. But maybe that wasn't a bad thing? He had always gone for women who challenged him, whether good or bad, and both times it had ended in heartbreak long before he had been left alone. As the years wore on, his list of 'requirements' for a wife dwindled, and now he merely wanted somebody who he could come home to at the end of the day, who would support him, and who could ideally, give him an heir. His impression of Sosia thus far was that she would tick all of those boxes, and so as she rambled on, his smile relaxed and genuinely settled across his lips. "You're not blabbering." He chuckled, "And I know the feeling." He wrinkled as his nose as he relaxed back against the couch. "If I'm being honest..." He sighed, "I find the city stifling...I like the country, but I like travelling more. I like seeing what else is out there, in our borders. We conquered so much, why shouldn't we get to see it all?" He smiled and sipped some more of his wine. "Most of the time I've travelled with military service, but I've taken a few short trips, most recently to Greece." With his body slave in tow. It had been restorative for him, after what had happened, although he was not back to his old self entirely. He gave her a curious look. "So you grew up in the countryside? What was it like?" TAG: @Atrice

Iona was relieved to sit down, even if it meant she had to suffer talking to one of the worst locals that came in. His name was Adam and he had to be old enough to be her father...in fact, he knew her father, and her boyfriend but the latter certainly didn't seem to bother him as he made several pointed remarks during his drunken ramble to her over the bar, about what he could do for her. Nothing, she thought in her head, he was as poor as the rest of them from the estate, but on he talked. It wasn't like she had much of an excuse to get away - there were two other waitresses on tonight who were taking another smoke break together - and in any case it was dead. A few locals, like the one still talking to her, and a couple of people out for a cheap, quick dinner but...that was it. It meant she could sit on her little stool behind the bar. She just had to suffer idiots like this one to be able to do it. And then the bell chimed and she glanced up to see a familiar face walk in. She smiled - a genuinely delighted, happy smile to see him and hopped off her stool to stand at the end of the bar farthest away from Creepy Old Adam. Moving to swipe glasses from the bar, flashing the bruise again underneath the wrist of her shirt, she beamed at him. "You came! I...didn't think you would." She admitted. People always let her down. The fact didn't sadden her, but she'd learned well enough in her life to never trust a promise that somebody made. Particularly men. "How was the rest of your day?" She asked as she finished stacking the dirty glasses behind the bar, to be washed later. "And what can I get you? Lemonade?" She asked, remembering what he drank. From the corner of her eye she could see Adam watching them both and she tilted her body away so she was facing Spencer. TAG: @Sarah

Longinus chuckled at her question and nodded, ducking his head. "Around six thousand. And you're being modest, I can imagine that many declaring their adoration for you." She certainly had the beauty for it, time would tell whether the personality matched. He nodded, his smile becoming softer. "Sosia then." He knew some of the Horatia's in her family, and some he liked more than others although he had a firm idea that the most discussed - Aulus' wife - wasn't exactly his biggest fan. He could have sworn he'd overheard a conversation before after spending the night hungover at Aulus' along the lines of 'why are you friends with a teenage boy in a man's body? I despair!'. Still, the fact Sosia was here suggested that Horatia hadn't expressed such an opinion to her or her father. Nodding his head, he sipped his wine. "I met him when I was legate in Britannia, he served out there briefly as well, after the Civil War, and we've been close friends ever since." He smiled genuinely - both at the fond memories of his time in the desolate, rainy, war-torn country so many loathed but he loved, and at fonder memories of Aulus and Titus - his closest friends and stalwarts in his life, even if the latter was presently a traitor and out serving in the East. "What about you, Sosia? Do you fancy a life of travel, exploring the very farthest corners of the Empire?" His grin was warmer and more genuine now as he leant in to whisper conspiratorially, "Not all of the barbarians paint themselves blue, don't worry." TAG: @Atrice

What I need from my wife is her. Those words sent her blood cold. She could try her best, be the pliant, trustworthy wife that Tertius expected, asked her to be, but ultimately she would still be living up to a ghost, she would still not be enough. She didn't know why the thought bothered her so much. She didn't love Tertius, how could she love a man that had hurt her so deeply, so many times? But whilst she didn't love him like she had loved her first husband, and like she loved her son, there was still something in her that drew her to the man next to her. Maybe it was their complicated, painful history? Or maybe it was merely the fact that he had given her a son, given her whole world and the older Peregrinus became, the more of his father she saw in him. She let out a soft sigh at his words and turned her face back to face him. "I know you do." She moved her fingers back again to stroke his upper arm, "You gave me my freedom. Twice now..." She smiled with another little sigh, "When you bought me from the slave trader even though I was broken, and when you manumitted me. If you hadn't have bought me that day I...Gods know where I'd be now. I wouldn't have our son." She tilted her face again, watching him and whether it was the loneliness pooling again across her body, or the thought of her son and what he'd gifted her, she didn't know but whatever it was, she leant up on her forearm to brush a soft kiss against his lips. TAG: @Atrice