Laria

Hello Jarn! It's lovely to meet you, I'm Laria.

She chuckled at how he arched his brow at her comment, the drama of it amused her, especially seeing as at this point neither of them should be suprized by anything the other had said. 

“I would also prefer to do something more meaningful, Domina. I could be tending to the horses. I could be making plans or seek information. I could read something useful and interesting."

She wondered what he ment when he said "making plans or seeking information, " she was no stranger to scheming, though she wondered exactly what it was that he was aiming to do. He mind immediately started whirring as she imagined all sorts of possibilities, perhaps he wanted to learn information on opposing teams? Or there were rumors about the races having fixed winners, maybe he was a part of that? It could be something more personal that she couldn't possible guess. No matter what it was he was after, he needed to watch himself, Rome was a ruthless place and if he wasn't careful he could get himself killed; though she was sure he didn't need reminding, he seemed smart enough to cover his ass and not go looking for trouble. 

"May I ask your name, Domina?”

"Marcella, Marcella Laelia" she answered, knowing full well that he was called Caeso, anyone who frequented the races knew. Though of course it would be rude to not ask, even if it was just a clarification "Ceaso, wasn't it?" 

@Atrice

It was refreshing to know that she was not the only one who found no joy in attending parties like this, it was not often that Marcella came across people who thought like her. She was quite enjoying this conversation, even if all the honestly was unusual. 

“So you settled to entertain yourself with me. I hope I am not boring you yet, domina. I am aware that I am probably not what you expected. Most people tell me that.”

She felt flusted when he accused her of entertaining herself with him while she waited, it was somewhat true but she still genuinely was interested and invested in this conversation. "It's true that you are not what I expected, but you're not boring me in the slightest." She had expected him to act much more extroverted than he appeared to be and that he would have excused himself to mingle with other guests by now, but here he was, still speaking with her. From what she could tell he had intelligence, a simpler slave would surely be indulging himself with food, wine, and attention. But he seemed uninterested in all of that, choosing instead to quietly observe the other partygoers, until she approached him of course. 

“Is there something else you’d rather do, than go to parties? Most noble ladies seem to enjoy them a lot.”

"I would prefer to spend my time doing something more... substantial. I feel like I'm wasting my time whenever I attended events like this," she responded. "Is there something or somewhere you would rather be or be doing right now?" she assumed there was, or perhaps he just disliked parties regardless of what he could be doing instead. 

@Atrice

He seemed suprized when she answered so honestly and then questioned his own willingness to being there. She found his suprize rather amusing, and slightly smiled before he answered her question. 

“Actually I do... No offense to you, of course. But you see all these people… all they want is to gossip and who knows what later. That doesn’t interest me. Yet on the other hand, it would be weird to not come to a party that celebrates my team. So here I am.”

She had not expected such an honest answer, though she did appreciate it, she saw no reason for lying as a means to merely spare feelings, but she saw it happen quite often. What he said made perfect sense and was precisely the reason that she didn't often attend parties such as these, though she did feel a bit disheartened when he said that, as he put it, "who knows what later", did not interest him.  

"So here you are" she echoed, and took a sip of her wine, his explanation certainly proved that he had a valid reason for being there. She did however wonder why his other teammates were not present, perhaps they all shared his attitude on parties and drew straws to see who had to go, but that was extremely unlikely in this city. 

“Why are you here then?”

"I'm a fan of the races, and when I heard there was to be a party after I decided to attend in hopes of meeting a recent acquaintance, but he doesn't seem to be here, or at least not yet." Apon saying this she did a quick scan of the faces in the room, looking to see if he had arrived while she was engaged in conversation.

@Atrice

“Thank you, domina... I’m glad to hear you thought us excellent"

Marcella matched his smile with the same level of enthusiasm that he displayed, or rather a lack of genuine enthusiasm. She couldn't exactly blame him, she reasoned that he must have conversations like this one at nearly if not every party he attended; she didn't just want to be just one more on a list of people he had meaningless chats with though, she had always wanted to be remembered by everyone she willing conversed with. 

"Are you enjoying the party so far, domina?”

"I can't say I am, no, though I can't say I'm the best judge as I'm not much of a party-goer." She looked him over and thought for a moment before asking, "I presume you feel the same?" It was quite the assumption to make, but she had resin to believe it: he seemed utterly disinterested in the provided entertainment, wasn't seeking out conversation, and had chosen to stand apart from the bulk of the guest. 

@Atrice

It had been and excellent day to watch the races, though she hardly found the time to go, Marcella thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Circus Maximus to see them. Watching the teams of horses dart past each other was always a thrilling sight, and today had been no exception. She had been rooting for the white team but she wasn't to upset by their defeat, she had only been hoping for their victory because of a recent aquantince who happened to be on said team; still, she couldn't deny that they had truly been crushed by green this race.

It was because of how eclectic the races had been that she was at this party that she ordinarily would never attend, but there were rumors that one of the winning charioteers might be in attendance. Of course she couldn't miss an opportunity to congratulate on of the men who had won such a victory, even if she was embarrassingly dress in both a white chiton and palla. She waited sipping a glass of wine and watching the entrance as she waited for one of the three victors to arrive, and then he did, she watched as he choose to lean against a pillar rather than immediately begin interacting with the other guests. She studied his face and saw that he looked indifferent, possible even annoyed, to be there. She nearly laughed at the irony, usually she had the same expression, but the one time she was excited to be at a party the reason she was excited looked annoyed. Regardless, she made her way over to him and said "I would like to congratulate you on your victory today, your team was excellent"

 @Atrice

LARIA 
CALLISTA- POST HERE
MARCELLA LAELIA- POST HERE 
SPURIUS GAIUS LUPUS- POST HERE 

Titus didn't seen it be to upset about being thrown up on, at most he seemed a but discussed and irritated. Spurius watched as he used the hem of on of the girls dress' to clean himself up and listened to his orders, glad that he had finally agreed to leave. 

 “Very well, whoever gets left behind, stays behind, myself included.”

Spurius gave a curt nod in response, he honestly didn't know what he would do if something happened to his uncle, he had a complicated relationship with him. 

“Get her up, she is in shock, you are going to have to keep a firm hold on her, keep her eyes away from the body. Do you understand?”

"Yes" he said, he almost had to shout for it to be loud enough for him to hear, just in case he gave another nod. As the five of them rose he put an arm over his mothers shoulder and spoke right next to her ear so she could hear him. "It's going to be okay Gaia, just ignore everything else and look at me, okay? We'll get you out of here" with that Titus waved them forward and Spurius starting leading them through the wreckage. 

 “I think Titus is right. If anything happens, you keep going. You must promise me that.”

His lips tightened at the idea of leaving Gaia behind, he knew that he could never do that but also if he was the one in danger he would want her to save herself. "Let's not even think about that right now" he answered, he hoped that it didn't come to it but he knew that he would be able to bring himself to abandon her.

@Beauty @Joaquin

"I'm alright" Spurius said as Gaia checked him for injuries, he had a couple scrapes from falling rubble but nothing serious. 

 "How are the streets outside, Spurius?Are there crowds? Are the people in panic? Where is the nearest clearing? I will not leave one disaster only to enter another. Should we do as you say, whoever gets left behind, stays behind.” 

He noticed how Titus's had lips thinned when he said they had to leave, it was no suprize to him that even now his uncle didn't want to be challenged. “People are panicking, but that's because a god-damn earthquake is happening! When I was out there the streets weren't overly full but they will be if we don't hurry, I don't know where-" his next words were cut off by a horrible cracking noise and a shriek as a part of the ceiling crushed a girl before their eyes. All he could say was, "we need to go, now." The two companions of the woman who had been killed joined them under the table, one of which was sobbing now, he wanted to help comfort her but now was not the time, right now, they all had to leave. 

“Titus, we should go, we should all go... Please, Titus, come with us.”

He saw Gaia look over at the entrance, and saw the look of horror cross her face, apparently she hadn't seen what had happened. The corps of the now-dead prostitute was partially buried under a portion of the ceiling with a pool of blood leaking out from under her. She turned to Titus and promptly threw up on his lap. As if the earthquake hadn't been terrifying enough, Spurius felt a jolt of fear in his stomach that reflected on his face, and instinctively pulled her twoards him and away from his uncle. 

@Beauty @Joaquin

Spurious had been sitting in a nearby tavern when the earthquake had first started. It began with some light tremors that he ignored but when it became clear that this was going to be more than a light quake he was running out of the tavern and back to the Elysium. When he got there he found the place in chaos, screams and cries could be heard from inside the collapsing building and scantily clad prostitutes were darting out anyway they could. He scanned the people gathered outside, looking for his mother. When he didn't see her, despite his better judgment, he charged into the crumbling brothel in search of her. Inside was even worse than the outside was, walls were falling and the hallways were lined with those who couldn't make it out. "Mother!" he called for her as loud as he could, but if she responded he couldn't hear her over everything that was happening. He passed a collapsed wall with the body of a girl crushed lying under it, not far off there was another one with a dying man beneath it, groaning as the last bits of life left his body. He had the urge to try and free him, even as the ceiling rained down on them, but he re-focused his thoughts on his mother, he had to find her before it was to late. 

"Gaia!" he called for her again, though he doubted she'd be able to hear him over the sounds of breaking objects, screams, and the building falling apart around them. He finally spotted her looking dazed under a table with his uncle. He made his way over to them and crouched under the table with them. After looking over his mother to check for any injuries he directed his words at Titus, nearly shouting so that he could be heard above all the noise, "we need to get out of here, the walls have already started collapsing, the ceiling is bound to be next." He spoke with a sense of urgency, from what he had seen if they didn't leave soon they would surely be crushed by rubble.  

@Beauty @Joaquin

Spurius Gaius Lupus

21 | 2 October 53 CE | Plebian | future inheritor of the Elysium| Asexual (bi-romantic) | Wanted | Milo Ventimiglia

Personality.

On the surface Spurius can appear to be very guarded and prickly, and to an extent he is, but this is a self-defense mechanism he has developed due to his uncle's abuse. He has a huge soft spot for prostitutes, women, and slaves, pretty much all the people his uncle takes advantage of. He and his mother have a very close relationship, as a child he had to watch his mother being mistreated by his uncle, when he grew older this caused him to become very protective of her and others who he sees in bad situations. He's the type of person to get involved when he sees injustice happening no matter the circumstances, with the exception of his uncle, anytime he intervenes with him it only ends up hurting him and his mother also. He takes pitty on the people working at the Elysium, particularly the women, and will try and help them however he can, just so long as it's not undermining his uncle. 

Appearance 

Spurius is a bit taller for his age, and slightly scrawny. He is much stronger than he look because while he is fit, he's not at all muscular. Taking after his mother, he is olive-skinned with wavy brown hair, but both his eyes and hair are darker than his mother, presumably traits that he inherited from his dad. His facial structure also differs from his mom as it is much more defined. He wears his hair a bit longer than most Romans, but not long enough to be considered barbaric. 

Family

Father: unknown 

Mother: Gaia Lupa

Siblings: N/A

Spouse: N/A.

Children: N/A

Extended family:

• Uncle: Titus Aspanius Lupus 

Other:

• N/A

History

Childhood: Spurius grew up never knowing who his father was, and his mother always refused to tell him. Instead of his biological father helping his mother to raise him, his uncle stepped in. Though helping wasn't exactly what he did, he provided financial support but Spurius and his mother were used as his pawns and were constantly manipulated and mistreated by him. Spurius avoided the bulk of it because he was the future inheritor of the Elysium and therefore useful in his uncle's eyes, unlike his mother. He never made any childhood as he tended to be quite skittish.

Teenage years: He began to be trained by his uncle to handle his "business" which in addition learning to the usual bookkeeping and such, also including being introduced to some very shady fellows and being present for some under the table dealings. With this his relationship with his uncle got simultaneously worse and better. Worse because he could now process how poorly his mother (and to some extent him) were being treated, but also better because he learned just what had to happen for his uncle to support them. Age also brought with it bravery, as he got older he learned to stand up for himself and his mom, though the consequences were often disastrous. Instead he used his newfound courage to help the slaves in the Elysium behind his uncle's back, he wasn't able to do anything big, mostly it was just tending to any injury they might have or providing whatever extra food he could. It was during this time that he realized that while he truly hated how the Elysium was run, when he took over he could change it. He didn't like the idea of running a brothel but he didn't have much of a choice and he knew that with everything he learned he could one day turn it into a place to rival even the Venus. 

Adult life: After accepting his fate that he would one day run the Elysium he became more and more eager to learn from his uncle. He never told anyone about his plans for making the brother a much nicer (and kinder) place, instead he just let him that that he had finally come around to seeing the world as he did. As he got older though he also got bolder, even going aw far as selling a girl to a nice donuts outside the city behind his uncles back and convincing him that she had managed to run away. It got easier and easier to defy his uncle, the more he accomplished the less causius her became, making his antics very risky.

Laria | Central Time Zone| PM 

"I'm not sure"

She matched his smile, it somewhat made sense to her, every job that was about making real tangible objects was 

"I'm not sure"

She matched his smile, it somewhat made sense to her, every craftsman made something they were proud of day after day, even if their customers didn't appreciate the work that went into creating it. There was something appealing about being able to see tangible proof of your work. 

Then he asked what she would do, she answered saying she would raise a family.

"You'd make a good mother."

"Thank you" she smiled warmly at him, having children was something she had wanted for quite some time, but even when they were a mere hope of hers she put them first, and having a freedman mother would be much better for them than a slave mother.

@Chevi

"I... think I'd want to do something with my hands... You know... make things? It's... not very impressive."

"Making thinks can be impressive, it all depends on what you make" she countered, "What would you make?"

"What would you do?" 

Well, she would be making things herself, just in a very different way that definitely did not need the use of her hands. "I don't know what I'd do career wise, but I do know that I would want to start a family." She blushed slightly when admitting this, there was nothing wrong with her wanting a family but she hardly admitted it to anyone.

@Chevi

That's really interesting, boy am I glad that the video's not banned in America

He paused before answering just as she did, and she almost laughed at the absurdity. She had hesitated not because she didn't know what she wanted but because she didn't want to say the wrong thing, she suspected for Felix it was the opposite. 

"Maybe?... Yes, I think. It's just... I am not sure what I would do... Sometimes... I feel like I don't really have anything else I would be good at."

She sat and thought for a moment before answering, "well, what do you enjoy?" If he couldn't think of something he was good at surely he could think of something he liked to do, a he would most likely be good at whatever he liked. 

@Chevi

Summer, even though I get burned.

Sneakers or boots?

"Is that what you want? To get your freedom one day?"

She sat there stunned, surprised by his forwardness. After a short by long enough to be awkward pause she answered him, "not like this, but yes." She had grown up free, it wasn't until her teenage years that she became enslaved so naturally she would want her freedom back. "Would you want it one day?" she asked, it made sense for her to want to have her freedom back but Felix had been born enslaved, she didn't know what he would want.

@Chevi

After receiving the news that her that her engagement had fallen through Marcella's first instince was to chase down her now ex-fiance and demand an explanation. He had giving her some bullshit excuse that he was going to Aegypt and didn't want to take any woman that was not already his wife with him. He didn't even have the courtesy to tell her in person, she had to hear it from his mother, no doubt the woman would tell all her friends about it and she would become even more of a laughing stock than she already was, she could hear the gossip now, "the shrewd Marcella finnaly found herself a man, only to chase him off after less than a month."

She eventually calmed herself enough to not follow him all the way to Aegypt in a blind rage, but she couldn't stay in the city. Instead, she left her father in the care of some trusted slaves and traveled to her brother Vitus' home in Naples. He had welcomed her but his wife was put out by her unannounced arrival. That night she had left the domus alone to visit a nearby beach, she had to make her way down a small cliff to reach it put there was a path carved out that made it easy enough to walk up and down, even if it was steep. 

The first thing she did was toss the engagement ring he had left her into the waves, the ring was then followed by a flurry of rocks. She was angry, angry at him, angry at her brother for forcing them together, but most of all angry at herself. What made her think that she had finally found someone who would not only accept but also love the woman she was? She spent the night angrily throwing stones into the ocean until she fell asleep right there on the beach. She woke up to pebbles falling on her face and the ground shifting underneath her. She jolted upright with sand covering the side of her face and half of her hair. Wide eyed, her head whirled around as she tried to understand what was going on when the ground once again trembled. This time she got on her feet and ran to the shore in an effort to get away from the crumbling cliff that would surely kill her if she tried to go up it now. She had two options, stay here and hope that the debre from the cliff wouldn't crush her or further enter Neptune's domain in an effort to find safer place to wait this out. A rock the size of her fist fell inches away from her and her mind was made up, she offered up a quick prayer to Neptune begging for his mercy and apologising for throwing those stones before diving into the ocean and swimming far enough out that the waves wouldn't just push her back onto the shore. As she treaded water she tried to think of where she could possibly go to escape this earthquake. The cliffs could go on for miles but if she could just find a boat to board she would be safe. 

@open

"You're a good girl, my order still stands: neither you nor Felix are to leave the house - you shouldn't need to, anyway. And your mistress with find you something to do to keep you busy and help keep your mind off it all. There will be an end to all this nonsense and everyone will be safe. If anything like this ever happens again, you are to tell your mistress or me as soon as possible."

"Yes Dominus" she was grateful for the extra work and the guarentee that she wouldn't have to leave the house. She had always been able to distract herself just so long as she had something to do and she felt safer at home. She felt relived that he seemed to understand why she had done what she had done; he made it clear to her that if something else like this ever happened she was to inform him immediately and she was likely to do so because of how reasonable he was being with this situation. 

She shifted her weight again and waited to be excused, she didn't think there was anything left to talk about. It seemed to her that this whole situation was out of her hands now, if felt as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

@Sharpie

So should we wrap this up?

"It took a threat directed at the children before you gave him anything"

She nodded and stifled a yawn, after a fitful night of sleep it no longer seem as important to point out that the threats, while directed at the children, were vague rather than direct. 

"That must have been a very difficult position to be in. Now, I need you to be honest. If Felix had not told us that yesterday, would you have told your mistress or me, or would you have kept his demands to yourself?"

Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened in suprize. Had Felix told him? Surely he wouldn't have, but then again he was one of, it not the most loyal slave in the household. Maybe he hadn't told on her, perhaps it was how she acted last night that gave her away. She composed herself and answered honestly, "I don't know, yesterday I was motivated only by fear and that praetorian told me that everything would be much worse if he even suspected that anyone but Felix and I knew what he had done, and I believed him. I think I still would have told you, but not last night." 

@Sharpie

"Sounds good enough"

She smiled, glad that she had picked a good choice on the first try. 

"Shall we pay and move on, or would you like to browse some more?... For domina."

She thought for a moment before answering, she had already picked out a history she had heard good things about but she also didn't want to overlook something better because her and Felix had wasted time selecting something for themselves."I don't think I need to look anymore" what she had selected was educational, entertaining enough, and could never even remotely be considered scandalous. 

@Chevi

"No doubt you know why I sent for you, yesterday was rather emotional for you, and for good reason. I would like to hear what happened, as clearly as you can tell me."

As he spoke she shifted her weight from side to side, she did indeed know why she was here but that didn't make it any less nerve wracking for her to explain what had happened the day before. It did help that he was being gentle with her rather than going about this interrogation style, but it still was not an event she wanted to relive. "I was running errands when I was taken to the Castra. I was threatened with torture by the guards who had apprehended me, then the one who would end up questioning me interviened, he told them to release me into his custody. I think he was trying to make me feel safer with him by saving me from a situation that it is clear to me now he orchestrated. He lead me to his office and asked about Domina's family, it was as if he were trying to disguise his questions as small talk but with every vague answer I gave he grew more and more frustrated." She paused to take a shaky breath, "I don't remember exactly what was said but more guards that had been waiting outside the door burst in and grabbed me, he then said that he believed Domina's family were all traitors and that he wanted me to help him find proof. He offered me freedom and then threatened go have me crucified, after that he threatened the children and I found myself agreeing to his every demand. I couldn't see any other way to leave there alive." She looked down in shame before continuing "I acted selfish and reckless, my behavior was inexcusable and I hope that you can somehow forgive me" 

@Sharpie

⁴On any other day Callista would be panicky if she had been ordered to go see the dominus, today however, she was completely calm. She knew exactly what he wanted to as her about and had expected him to summon her. She understood that she may be under some suspicion due to her agreeing to betray her masters, but under the circumstances it seemed like the only option. 

"Callista. I hope you have recovered from your ordeal yesterday,"

"I have Dominus, thank you." It was true that she was much less emotional than she had been the day before, yesterday she was a mess of fear, anger, confusion, and remorse, but today she just felt numb. She stood before him and waited to be asked to explain what exactly had happened yesterday that had caused this whole mess. 

@Sharpie

"I think he made it so that there was no right choice. People like him do that when they have power in their hands."

She nodded in agreement, it certainly seemed like it to her. She noticed his frown and assumed there was something more he wanted to say but couldn't, she knew the feeling well. 

 "He made a play about offering me freedom for treason. I think he made a mistake there."

"He offered me the same" she said, she didn't add that it didn't seem like a mistake to her. She had been free in her youth, and while she never wanted to betray the family it was smart of him to try and sway her with the promise of freedom. 

@Chevi

so sorry that took as long as it did 

@Sharpie that sounds great, I can't wait, but I wont be able to participate until this Saturday; I've been drowning in school work lately so AeRo and all other rp sites have been pushed to the back burner.