Sara

She felt him shiver under her fingertips and frowned, thinking it was because she was being too firm. She lightened her touch and moved her ministrations to his shoulder, where an angry red streak was flowering over the muscle. "Most praefect's aren't in the thick of it though, I imagine." She eyed his body as she worked - swallowing the lump that had formed to block her throat. "Not to this extent." His words softened her look of determination almost immediately and she sighed, moving her hand slowly to grip his. It was far too familiar a touch, but she didn't really care all that much in that moment. "You did more than anybody else could have possibly done." She meant it, sincerely and squeezed his hand to emphasise his point. Before she realised that said hand was burned. "Shit," she hated that she'd picked up cursing as a habit, "I'm sorry." a nervous bubble of laughter left her lips and she winced, dabbing more paste on his hand and tracing up his forearm. "I see it now, why you're so happy. I...didn't quite get it before." TAG: @Chevi

The party had been a dud. She could have guessed that it would be from the guests the second she had stepped through the doors and seen them; smug married couples and a few singletons milling about - already declined as potential future spouses and so merely looking around for entertainment elsewhere. It had dragged on, and on and on. The recital of some ancient poetry hadn't helped much, nor had the awful food. She'd left in a sour mood - stalking away through the streets with her slave - a brawny German who she barely knew but was one of her fathers new hires. He didn't speak much and that suited her fine, she wasn't in the mood for conversation. She just wanted to get home, and walking at this point, would be quicker than calling for her litter. It happened so quickly that she didn't know what to do. Thrasus was ahead of her by a fair few years, evidently miserable and wanting to be in the domus himself. He turned to glance back at her with evident impatience which she met with a smug, irritated smile. He was her property, he had to wait for her. But after a moment his eyes drifted to something behind her and she frowned at him. He started to back up and away, his whole body tensing. "What are you doing?" She snapped, irritated and tired and grouchy. But he was turning on his heel and jogging down the street away from her before she got an answer. Instead, all she got was an arm snaked around her waist to hold her steady. She let out an ear piercing scream of shock and flung her arms back in an attempt to get herself free. TAG: @Atrice

Ovinia shifted on the couch and gritted her jaw, looking determined not to enjoy this. "Yes." She muttered, "They're idiots." And prone to pushing themselves too hard in their exercise now they were aware the years were catching up with them. She dipped her fingers into the jar and grimaced at the sensation; not dissimilar to the feeling of those awful grapes between her toes. That felt like years ago now. Tentatively, she raised her hand and hovered her hand just over his chest. There were burns that needed attention and she needed to help. He might well have got one or two of these in the course of her dithering at her home. She swallowed, guilt mixing with the other maelstrom of feelings in her chest. She placed soft fingers on his chest, gently smudging the paste across his skin. "You were amazing." Her voice was quiet, almost awed and embarrassed because of it. She didn't look at his face and instead kept her eyes on her task and his chest, "I...I mean your work. You seemed so in your element, so confident, even in all of that chaos." As people like her floundered and panicked. TAG: @Chevi

Ovinia sat stock still on the couch, running through an internal debate that she couldn't shake or decide on. She'd always been indecisive, which is why in her youth she was so easily goaded - particularly by the man whose house she now sat in. She wanted to stay with him; she wanted to stay in his house and never leave. The darker, more ridiculous part of her, wanted to play dead - let Spurius move on, but then the image of her daughter filtered into her mind and she pushed back and away the selfish, awful thought. But her other choices were far baser, and far more difficult to dismiss. She sighed, frustrated at herself. "Do you still wan to do this?" His voice filtered through the silent room and she snapped her eyes up. The sight that greeted her was absolutely not what she expected, in more ways than one. She let out an involuntary and entirely embarrassing noise of shock. He was covered in injuries, but she would be lying if she said that was what caught her attention first given he stood in front of her in nothing but a towel. She felt a lurch low in her belly and a tightening in her chest which she pushed down. "Yes." She sighed, trying to ignore the way she was feeling, "You're not the first injured or shirtless man I've seen. I have four brothers, remember?" She arched a brow, trying to land a joke but the look in her eyes and way she bit her lip said she was feeling anything but confident. "Sit down before you fall down." TAG: @Chevi

She considered the question. Yes. She would. Especially now; she had no family left, or at least she was sure she only had a few scattered across the breadth of the Empire. If she had the chance to meet her kin, she would jump at it. She glanced sideways at him to see him watching her. "I would." She admitted with a little shrug, hoping he'd appreciate the honesty rather than the answer. "But I'd be honest about my reasons, and I wouldn't do it just to meet them. If I travelled all that way, I'd want something from them; money, or housing, or support." She sighed. "I cannot believe he came here just for a conversation." It made no sense and she frowned to herself; "Could his...mother have sent him?" Wulfric hadn't spoken much of her, beyond that her husband was dead. What sort of woman was she, Charis wondered. TAG: @Atrice

"I want to." She offered a tight smile, feeling a flutter of nerves in her chest. When was the last time she felt like this? The villa. But before that? It had been years. That feeling was only inflamed when he said he needed to wash. She blinked at him, utterly dumb for a minute before nodding mutely. She really should bathe herself; but despite just how flagrant she was being, she was not so ridiculous to suggest she do so now. Besides, she was more than positive that this sort of bachelor living meant there would be no clean clothes for her to don after. Instead, she stood on wobbly legs and smiled down on him. "I'll be in your triclinium. I'm taking this." She held up the pot, "So you don't attempt it yourself." How ridiculous she felt now, mourning his closeness even though she was stood just a few feet away. TAG: @Chevi

She swallowed and let him tend to her. She winced, wrinkling her nose and screwing up her face in pain, inhaling sharply. She mumbled a swear in Greek under her breath and then cracked open her eyes as the cool sensation began to settle across her skin and the heat started, slowly to dissipate. She glanced down to see it slathered over her skin and then she frowned deeply, seeing his hands. "You're not fine." She chose to ignore the insinuation in his words, and the feeling it gave her running up her spine. She didn't care. She deftly took the pot from his other hand and dipped her fingers in. "What do I do?" She peered up at him, swallowing again as she met his eyes. TAG: @Chevi

She did roll her eyes at him, as predicted. Of course he didn't have slaves; even if they were useful and better than freemen for the tasks allotted to them. How very Luicus. Case in point; had he had slaves, they'd already be here to tend to their master and his guest. "No." She said with a light shrug. What did propriety matter now? She'd already held him tighter and closer than anybody but her daughter, and suffered through a sleepless night worrying for his welfare. She swallowed and moved her fingers to close over his with the pot. "I don't want to see anybody else." She shook her head, laughing hoarsely. "I wish I could just close my eyes and not go back to real life, here I don't have to." TAG: @Chevi

She shouldn't stay; she should go to her brothers domus - safely on the edge of the city, hopefully saved from the flames. But she didn't want to. The small home was comforting and inviting and she wanted to stay. She'd deal with the issues that already pervaded her mind later, much, much later. She followed him dutifully, blinking around. Since she'd arrived in the middle of the night she'd not examined his domus properly. It was nice. Nicer than she expected but looked un-lived in. She made a mental note to send flowers, when all of this was done, when she found her money and her slaves to do it, to brighten up the place. She laughed to herself - sounding a little mad. How was she thinking of flowers at a time like this? She sat on the bench and her eyes skirted around. "It's honestly fine." The skin was beginning to blister at the edges and she winced. She had always been horribly vain. Sods law it would scar. "You said you needed bandages." She narrowed her eyes, sniffing the last few tears away, "Are you sure you don't want a slave to do this? Play nurse to both of us?" TAG: @Chevi

"I won't bother you." She swallowed, and when satisfied that his head wasn't falling off, dropped her fingers back to his shoulders. She didn't want to let him go, didn't want to in case he ran back out. "I'll be gone when it gets properly light, I-I have no idea where the slaves are." Or her husband. But he was presently very, very, very low down on her list of concerns. She frowned and then followed his eyes down to her arm. She pulled it back, finally releasing her grip on him to examine the burn. It wasn't big, but curled around her forearm. "My palla caught," She swallowed, her chest beginning to tighten at the petrifying and fresh memory of being caught in the inferno. She swallowed the lump in her throat again, trying to keep the anxiety at bay. "Your man Gaius pulled it off, doused it in water, it's fine." Though she didn't dare touch it. TAG: @Chevi

Ovinia was grateful for the gentle rouge she'd applied that morning, for it masked the genuine blush of embarrassment at the thought of singing in public. If Lucius Vipsanius Roscius was stood before her now, she'd wring his bloody neck. "Mhmm." She commented lightly with a slight nod. She had only a limited interest in old or outlandish or foreign things. It was fun to look at for a time; like a good gladiatorial fight, but not something she exactly wanted to live with. An awkward silence settled between them and she bit down on her lower lip, trying to draw another conversation strand together. She usually went through a solid routine with potential spouses, but Gaius was already more engaging and they had rattled through most of her conversation starters. She swallowed, thinking for something. What did she want to know about a potential life partner? "I suppose I shouldn't ask this," She chuckled as they moved around, "And you'll have to forgive my forthrightness, but I suppose it would be good to know what you see as important in a wife?" They knew exactly why they were here, and beating around the bush was a fools game. "Minding the home and children, and nothing more?" That had certainly been the answer she'd received from one man, long since kicked to the kerb. TAG: @Sharpie

As he placed a finger under her chin, she snapped her eyes up but didn't flinch from the touch, instead following his guiding hand. What a difference two years makes. She felt her heart lurch when he promised her. She was a slave; she was owed nothing, certainly not a promise from her dominus on something as important and critical as this. She only offered a shadow of a smile and nodded. She was genuinely grateful. The Charis that had railed against him, would have been disgusted had she seen her now. "I agree domine." Because she did. Peregrinus had to be protected; he was her son, she would give her life over him every single time should that choice be offered. She wanted to believe Wulfric; she wanted to believe that he was good and honest and genuinely just naive enough to want to meet his family. But she couldn't; life and experience had jaded her, but even before her capture she had always been a cautious, plotting-sort. Life had only amplified that. Nodding as he gestured to the space he created next to her, she pushed herself up nimbly, dusting off detritus from her shins as she moved to seat herself next to him. Her eyes dropped back down to his chest and his hands. "Thank you." She swallowed and let out a little sigh. "He seems so genuine," She swallows, "If he is, if he wants nothing...he seems like a good man, domine." She owed Wulfric some kind words. "I suppose in that case, he just wishes to get to know you." TAG: @Atrice

She sunk into the embrace with fervour that she didn't know the cause of. She clung to his arms, even after he groaned in protest. She didn't let go, even as he pulled back and gave her a once over. She was fine. Well...she wasn't, but she was. She was better that he was here, standing on two legs, looking like death warmed up of course, but alive and safe. He'd saved her life, and he was fine. Everything would be fine. "I'm fine." She swallowed, fingers still stretched up and clutching at the shoulders of his uniform. She had lost all pretence and tears formed in her eyes, spilling over her cheeks. "I'm so sorry." She managed to croak out, "You could have been killed pulling me out of that fucking house." She'd been stupid...granted she'd been in shock, but now all she felt was an overwhelming sense of guilt. Lack of pretence continuing, she reached her hands up to his throat and his chin, tilting it from left to right as she sniffed back tears, "Are you sure you're alright?" TAG: @Chevi

By the time Lucius would return to the Aventine, Ovinia had calmed down. A little. Not a lot, but enough that she was able to pace about and breathe in a fashion that didn't make her chest hurt. Gaius had been good, he'd evidently been trained well, but there was only so much that one man could do with the prospect of a rapidly closing path - the flames jumping overhead from insula to insula, with a terrified woman in tow. Mercifully he'd had that small waterskin, she was sure her arm would feel a thousand times worse had he not had the forethought to dump it on her. She had been dressed with no care for the situation and wearing a flimsy, gauzy palla that fluttered in the breeze when walking through sparks and burning ash had gone as well as predicted. She had only been relieved that they'd been able to get it off before the whole thing had caught alight. As it was, she'd only suffered a burn on her forearm that stung but was survivable. The chaos in the ampihteatre had meant it hadn't been tended to by a medicus, there had been far more pressing injuries to deal with. Her stomach still lurched, hours later, at the sights and the smells she'd seen. She'd been grateful, beyond grateful actually, when she'd been shepherded through the streets up to the Aventine - thus far unaffected by the fire that was ravaging the city. But as the minutes turned to hours and she sat in Lucius' triclinium, dread pooled in and filled her chest. He wasn't back yet and it was nearly dawn. She had seen how bad the fire was; she'd felt its heat, had born its scars on her arm. How would they ever manage to put it out? How would the vigiles who were trying, ever survive it? She was dazed in dread, pacing around the atrium when the door creaked open. She couldn't help herself, she didn't even give him chance to see her before she was running the few paces to where he stood and throwing her arms around his shoulders in a bone crushing hug. "Are you alright?" She choked. Stupid question. TAG: @Chevi

Platonic was a good word for Wulfric. She felt a wave of guilt creep up her throat; she had liked him, he’d been sweet and kind and interested in her and Peregrinus but if living in the Empire had taught her anything, it was that she had to look out for herself first. That meant pulling on the threads of suspicion when they arose. “I can ask Teutus, if you would like, domine. Or some other friends I have, Slaves I mean.” She corrected course quickly, “They see and know everything, and some work at the markets or visit it often.” She eyed his hands - not meeting his face - as he held the little wooden horse. Who’d have thought she’d be siding with her dominus, in a team with him? The Charis of eight or so months ago wouldn’t. “I…fear he’s trying to take Peregrinus’ place.” She said quietly. TAG: @Atrice

Charis arched a brow. Not the worst idea? She'd take that as a compliment. She wondered, and then concluded that Tertius was just as sceptical of his prodigal son as she was. Probably for a different reason, granted, but sceptical nonetheless. Charis feared he was here to usurp her son's position - Wulfric was freeborn, a foreigner and therefore not a citizen, but born to a free mother. Peregrinus was ostensibly free but would always carry the fact his mother was a slave around his neck. When push came to shove, she didn't know how secure her son would be. Tertius was likely suspicious - at least in her mind - of his motivations. She couldn't blame him. A son turning up all these years later, apparently asking for nothing? It was peculiar. "I can do that domine." She'd start with Teutus and ask him. Not that he seemed particularly overjoyed by Wulfric's arrival at dinner, but he might have more of an idea than Tertius about where he could be found. "And of course." She nodded. She had no intentions of stealing her son away, primarily because she saw what happened to runaway slaves without a charge of kidnap as well. But her son was so small and so delicate, a guard would not be a bad idea. "I..." She sighed and shifted on her knees again, "I do not trust him, domine." If he wanted honesty, she'd give it to him. "He seems sweet and well meaning, but people are not all they seem." She counted herself amongst that number. "But I can find out his intentions."

Ovinia felt like a child again as she was all but ushered out of the house. Her slaves were long gone, evidently having listened to the advice of the vigiles whilst she'd been struck dumb like an idiot. The enormity of what was happening didn't hit her until she was outside. The streets were thick with smoke that choked her as she stood, the sky was burning an amber-orange and heat made sweat trickle down her neck. The fire could have only been a street away at most. She blinked up at him, nodding dumbly at his instructions. "I can get there." She didn't know if she could, she doubted she'd be able to find her way to the gardens of the Palatine or the Amphithheater in the daylight in a daze like this, let alone in the crowds and chaos of this night. She swallowed as somebody called for him. She snapped her eyes to his and then reached up a hand to squeeze his shoulder. She didn't want to let go. "I'll be fine," She tried to sound breezy, lighthearted even, but terror run under every word. "Go. And be safe. They need you more than me." She wasn't sure that was true. TAG: @Chevi

Ovinia blinked, eyes wide and startled as hands found her shoulders. She stared at him as if he was speaking a foreign language. He seemed so serious, and she broke eye contact to gaze up at the sky above her. It was glowing, faintly. The ash was burning her eyes. ”Will I die if I stay here?” It was a stupid question - if the house caught fire of course she’d not escape, but she needed to hear it. When she did, she nodded dumbly. She felt like she was walking through mud as she pulled away from Lucius and hoarsely ordered a slave to leave and tell the others to as well. She moved slowly to her bedroom. Everything was packed for their journey tomorrow. She wasn’t ready for this. She wasn’t even wearing shoes. One of the slave girls helped her into sandals unprompted and wound a palla around her waist. She was just wearing a tunica, not a stola. She hadn’t planned on leaving the house. She numbly accepted a bag of some of her more precious jewels, her mother’s. All she had left of her. She moved back through the house to see Lucius. ”I-“ She blinked. “I don’t know where the money is kept.” She swallowed, shock and numbness turning slowly to fury. How could he have left her here? “I don’t know where he keeps his fucking money.” She was given an allowance but that was it. The slaves were streaming out of the house now, Spurius’ secretary among them. Nobody else would know. She choked. “Where am I supposed to go, Lucius?” TAG: @Chevi

She didn’t believe him. Well, the rational part of her did, but the irritation part that was frozen in shock and fear was winning out and refused to comprehend what he was saying. She swallowed and shook her head, moving deeper into the house and into the garden. The ash was falling like snow. ”The villa.” She said distractedly, casting her eyes around the domus. Everything she owned was in here. Everything. “With her half-brothers. Spurius and I are going tomorrow. He went out to see friends this afternoon, he’ll come back.” She was frowning to herself, the ash collecting on her hair, on her eyelashes. He’d come back. TAG: @Chevi

Ovinia jumped at the booming voice that called her name and snapped her head round. It was not a voice she expected to hear, but she’d recognise it anywhere, raspy as it was. She should have expected this really, Prefects she was sure didn’t usually go house to house or get into the thick of it, but then Lucius wasn’t the usual sort of Prefect she supposed. She quickly moved through the domus until she saw him standing in her atrium. He looked like an actor covered in stage makeup with all the soot on his face and ash in his hair, not like the Lucius she knew. “T-The house is safe.” She swallowed, “And Spurius isn’t home yet.” She snapped her eyes to the slaves hurrying around her, ferrying their meagre belongings out of the house. “We’re not going anywhere!” She didn’t want to see the flames, didn’t want to believe it was real that she was in danger and her husband had left her here to burn. Everything was fine, she tried to convince herself, Lucius was just overreacting. TAG: @Chevi

“Do not open that door!” She glared at the slave who’d come to tell her the vigiles were outside. She couldn’t leave. Everything she owned was here and Spurius wasn’t. He would be home any minute, she was sure of it. “Domina, the fire is spreading, they are evacuating the houses.” Ovinia scoffed and shook her head, paralysed by fear but not knowing it. “Don’t be ridiculous, the fire won’t have jumped to this region. They’re just being overcautious.” She said with a mild cough and watery eyes from the smoke. She felt her anxiety rising, as it was for the slaves as they did the thing a slave should never do and disobeyed their mistress. One of them swung open the door to Lucius, fear in his eyes. “The domina is refusing to leave, sir.”

Tertius came straight out with it and Charis felt herself wince. Maybe she'd lost her touch at manipulation (for which she blamed the nights of broken sleep), or maybe Tertius had just become more observant. Either way, he evidently didn't believe her and judging by his tone and far-fetched requests, she was better off coming straight out with it. She sighed and dropped her fingers from her braid to her thighs. Well, shit. "I do want to take Peregrinus out domine." She did. She wanted to take him to the gardens in the city and sit with Cynane and Aia and Rufus and enjoy the sun on her skin and seeing her son amongst her people, rather than his fathers. But that wasn't all she wanted and Tertius knew that. "But I was also hoping he could socialise more with his family. I know Teutus doesn't care for him, but since the dinner, I have been thinking of Wulfric." She wasn't phrasing this right and winced, "I want to get the measure of him, but I didn't wish to offend you by asking of him directly." He wanted honesty? Fine, there it was. TAG: @Atrice

"I'm sure he'll like it." she said, not realising Tertius had already seen through her attempts to distract him. In truth, she was sure from seeing her friends kids that Peregrinus wouldn't be able to play properly for a good while yet. At six months he'd grown more than she'd ever imagined when she'd held the tiny newborn in her arms, but imagining him being capable of playing with a little wooden horse was unfathomable to her. Shifting on her legs from where she knelt, she moved her fingers to fiddle with the end of her braid. She rarely wore her hair loose anymore, instead confirming with Roman fashions. She felt stuck. She had thought mentioning Teutus might get her dominus to start discussing him, which could provide her a segue to start asking about Wulfric. The man had been so sweet, and whilst she was inherently suspicious, she needed to know what dominus' plans were...and his own. She needed to see him again, but she'd barely been out of the house for the past few weeks and even if she had the opportunity to leave, she had no idea where she'd find Peregrinus' half-brother. She needed to know if Tertius knew. She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried a new track; "I was wondering if I could take Peregrinus out, domine? To see Teutus?" She knew full well he would probably rather stick pins in his eyes than see her son, but still. "He didn't get a chance to see him at the dinner." TAG: @Atrice

"Thank you, domine." She glanced up mischievously and flashed him a smile. She followed him through from the peristyle into the winter sun of the garden. It wasn't warm, but it was refreshing and for somebody that had weathered the winter storms of the north of Britannia, it was relatively mild. As Tertius moved to the bench, Charis took to the floor. The path had been swept and was clean, and she knew - reluctantly - it wasn't her place to sit next to him. Besides, it' due odd to stand whilst he sat. Her eyes flitted back to the toy in his hand and her smile was softer as she peered at it from the ground. "May I ask what that is, domine?" She knew exactly what it was, but she wanted to keep him sweet, "And who made it? It's so well crafted." Maybe her compliment was a bit obvious, but she wouldn't necessary think that Tertius would see through it. Pushing her braid over her shoulder she cleared her throat; "I wondered if it had something to do with Teutus' new business." Baby stops...she'd talk of Peregrinus and Teutus first, the sons he liked, before broaching the more...problematic one. TAG: @Atrice

"Yes thank you domine." She nodded. She'd had a morning of boredom, but she'd take that over something worse. Still she kept the smile on her face, knowing she had to get him in a sweet mood. "He is, he wasn't the most...restful, last night, so his nap is a little longer today." She knew Tertius liked to see his son, and despite their shared history, she was usually happy to oblige him. He'd done more for Peregrinus than she'd ever thought he would, even if he hadn't done the same for her. She owed him quality time with his son because of it, at least when he was awake. Charis wouldn't disturb her son's nap for any man, dominus or not. "Can I fetch anything for you?" Her eyes, lowered as they were caught the small wooden horse in his hands and she frowned quizzically, although didn't say anything. it was like one she had when she was a girl, carved by her own father. The thought made something lodge in her throat, but she stayed silent, hands demurely folded, head bowed. She needed to broach this slowly, like when approaching a skittish horse. TAG: @Atrice