You, me, and the dead woman

[Sains]

That was it. After he'd heard the final words of the man stepping forward, his soles crunching softly in the compacted earth around the gate, Decimus knew that now would be the moment of truth. All at once he began to feel the fire of it all once again, the overeager drive to kill. It was one he'd never known as a child or even as a young man, but the unrelenting waves of violence he'd been privy to on the island had since changed that. It was at times like these where he truly felt he'd found his calling, however gruesome it may seem should he ever have to explain it. 

Those thoughts flashed by though, and as soon as he saw the pale skin of the man finally crossing the threshold of the gate, he lunged at him like a panther. Everything seemed to move in slow-motion as he thrust the full weight of his body against the man, knocking him hard against the adjacent stone pillar of the gateway. That might well have done him in for the fight, but soon enough Decimus found the uncontrollable urge that had been drilled into him for near 18 years. He thrust and thrust hard. He gritted his teeth at the familiar warmth of blood washing across his hand, and soon enough he withdrew the blade. All that was left on the man's face was a look of terrible horror. He was gasping for air, unable to breathe effectively anymore. It was a sight he'd grown accustomed to, and there was no real hesitation left in his mind once he'd seen the man was done for. All attention turned back to the gate now, where the other man still stood in abject horror. 

He must have looked a sight! Walking back to Rome covered in the blood of a street urchin might raise questions from the wrong sorts of people, especially the officers he knew to still be on duty, but that idea was completely insignificant to him as he began to approach the third and final brute, unsure if he would flee or stay to fight. 

 

"Go then!"

 

@Chevi

[Chevi]

The moment the man stepped through the gate, there was only one way the encounter was going to end.

Well, not technically, but knowing Decimus, Aia would have bet her money on one outcome over any other.

It was quick and brutal, like it had been on the battlefield. Aia had seen killing before - she had done it, even, and the sight of Decimus ending a life was certainly not new to her. And yet, in the dark, in the flickering torchlight, watching from the roof of the mausoleum, it was quite the gruesome scene to behold. Aia held her breath until the man collapsed to the ground. The second one, shocked by the unexpected attack, had hung back, and when Decimus, blood-soaked, turned to him, he took a step back instinctively.

"Run, you bloody fool!" Aia snapped at him from the roof. He did. She doubted her supernatural threats still carried, but Decimus' dagger and build certainly did. She waited until the man disappeared in the shadows, running in the opposite direction from the road. He'd get lost in the countryside for sure.

"Are you alright down there?" she ventured, peering down into the shadows. The torches had gone out. "I need... some help getting down from this fucking roof..."

@Sains

[Sains]

Decimus watched the man run away, half tempted to give chase. He thought better of what would surely be a foolish act, though and at Aia's call he simply waved his arm in the air to signal that he was right as rain. All at once he began to breathe more heavily, finding that he'd largely been holding it in during the stressful attack. Bringing his hands down to rest on his thighs, he began to laugh. It wasn't that anything about the situation was particularly funny... Perhaps it was just that they had both survived the encounter? More likely it was the build-up of all that energy at once and then having nothing to use it on afterward. Helped to laugh... 

Hearing her call, and seeing that the torches had burned away in the night, Decimus made his way towards the mausoleum. He did the best that he could wiping his arms and hands on the bushes that lined the perimeter, though he'd undoubtedly missed some on the way. As soon as he reached the base, he peered up at her dark silhouette, finding that he was only barely able to make out the finer details on the side of the mausoleum now. 

"Moon's hiding from us seems..."

He cursed the thought of walking home in total darkness, finding the idea rather horrific, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. Raising his arms towards her, he only hoped that she might not slip and fall on him. 

"Jump down! I'm here."

 

@Chevi

[Chevi]

Everything was over before they knew it. The man did the smart thing and decided to run away. Now they were once again surrounded by shadows and the silence of the graves, and it dawned on Aia that she was still sitting on the roof of the mausoleum.

Decimus was laughing.

She could understand the sentiment. Surviving an encounter brought on a flood of relief, and sometimes reactions one did not expect. Decimus was fine and they were both alive. Aia chuckled too, feeling the tension ebb away, dangling her legs as he walked over to stand below.

"Jump down! I'm here."

"Sure. But I'm not taking responsibility if you break something..." she sighed, bundling up her palla and tossing it down first. The last thing she wanted for the cumbersome length of fabric to get caught on something on the way down. Once she was left in her dress, she took a deep breath and kicked off. "Alright, here we go!"

@Sains

[Sains]

Decimus watched as the palla fluttered away in the wind for a moment before landing harmlessly on the grass a few feet away. Couldn't be too sure if she'd gotten dirty in the encounter, as her mistress may inquire more about that than his own master would should he come home looking a mess. After all, men got into messy business all the time.

Not wanting to distract himself for too long, he looked back to where she'd been crouching only to find her already kicking off of the structure. Now he didn't fall over, but the resulting impact of her falling into his arms did make him stumble back a bit. A small grunt and a steady grip would see her secured in his arms, and he let her down immediately afterward so that she might pick up her palla. All at once he wondered if this had been a botched night. It had certainly been a bloody one... 

"I uh... I guess this wasn't how this night was supposed to end?"

He offered a smile, though she would likely only see his teeth in the pale moonlight that still let them know where they stood to some minor degree. 

 

@Chevi

[Chevi]

Decimus managed to catch her. He stumbled a little - someone falling into someone's arms, even as small as Aia was, was not not an easy thing to brace for. Aia chuckled as he set her down, finding her footing. She could smell blood on him, and his clothes were definitely sticky.

"Nice catch."

She picked up the palla, dusting it off as much as she could, before wrapping it around herself again.

"I uh... I guess this wasn't how this night was supposed to end?"

She looked up at him, catching the grin in the faint light, and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, I planned it exactly like this. My plan was to get attacked by grave robbers just so that I can fall into your arms."

Women did that all the time, right? Aia reached up to pat Decimus on the cheek, before her attention wandered.

"Is he dead?"

@Sains

[Sains]

Decimus took the affectionate pats within stride, finding her overall reaction to the ordeal comfortably sound. After fighting for so many years in a far off land, it would occur to one that perhaps they truly were unphased completely by any kind of violence. 

He strode alongside her, looking over the man who lay still in the grass. If he weren't dead, he would certainly be dead in a matter of minutes. If he'd done what he'd set out to do, he'd punctured the man's lung and... Well... He'd drowned. 

"Aye... I'll drag him into a bush. Just hope nobody makes a habit of visiting too often, this place'll start to stink." 

He grabbed the man's body by the arms rather unceremoniously and began to drag him through the gateway and into the road. He made note of the trough set just to the side of the path, thinking it to be some sort of old dried up creek. It would make a good spot, and with a few grunts and a bit of elbow grease, the creep was done away with. 

"Any blood on you?"

He began to check himself over as he asked, sighing at the small splatters that now decorated his tunica. Damned shame he'd have to answer for it. 

 

@Chevi

[Chevi]

Decimus was alright. She was alright. That was a surprisingly good result for an evening that had gone fairly wrong. Maybe meeting in a graveyard might not have been the best idea, after all... At least one witness was dead, and the other one too scared out of his wits to identify anyone.

"Aye... I'll drag him into a bush. Just hope nobody makes a habit of visiting too often, this place'll start to stink." 

Aia sighed, then walked back to the bench, picking up the food basket. No reason to leave any traces behind. She also picked up the candle, and followed Decimus, who dragged the body into a ditch. It would have to do. It was not all that rare around Rome for people on the roads to get mugged. Even if someone found him, it would be a dead case to figure out.

"Any blood on you?"

"Only from you" Aia noted, examining herself in the candle light. A few dark spots on her hands, one or two on her dress. All in all, not too bad. "If anyone asks, I'll just say I'm on my period." It was messy, but spots of blood were easier to explain as a woman.

"That... was a close call, though." she admitted with a sigh, running a hand through her short hair. "I was ready to pelt them with roof tiles if they decided to start a brawl. Maybe the mausoleum was not the best idea..."

@Sains

[Sains]

Decimus finally looked her over once she'd mentioned the blood that came from him. It was unavoidable really, but he still didn't feel too good about it. As soon as he'd heard her alibi, however, he smiled and shook his head. It was a good enough excuse for him, and it would surely please the Domina. Women's troubles, after all. 

"I wouldn't say that... A few bad apples can spoil any region. I'd say it was a good on-the-spot pick, but we might want to find somewhere else next time." 

Honestly, he wasn't too awfully bothered about the business. It had been gruesome and he'd been stirred back into the environment of a past life, but no true harm had come to them. She'd joked about throwing roof tiles down upon their aggressors, but he knew as well as any that she was well able to fight with a dagger of her own if she'd had one. He knew she couldn't bring it around as a lady, but the knowledge gave him some peace of mind in thinking that she'd be able to handle herself on the walk home. 

"Where to then? Perhaps an Inn would be better next time. No one will think anything of us if we keep our heads down... And damned if they do! I don't care! What have we done that's wrong?"

 

@Chevi

[Chevi]

All in all, the had gotten off light. Some blood, a dead thug (if he resorted to robbing graves, clearly no one important), and a good scare for the road home. Nothing the two of them could not handle.

"I wouldn't say that... A few bad apples can spoil any region. I'd say it was a good on-the-spot pick, but we might want to find somewhere else next time." 

"A few bad apples?" Aia blinked, paused, and then burst out laughing. Only Decimus could describe a nighttime graveyard as a region that was spoiled by... what, some unexpected graverobbers? Gods, he was adorable, for someone who just mercilessly murdered a man minutes ago. Aia laughed hard enough that her eyes welled up.

"Where to then? Perhaps an Inn would be better next time. No one will think anything of us if we keep our heads down... And damned if they do! I don't care! What have we done that's wrong?"

"You mean, other than that?" Aia giggled, catching her breath, gesturing widely at the ditch and the corpse. "Nothing yet. It's really about reputation, everything in Rome is, if you want to move up anyway." she wiped her tears away and grinned up at him "And you are foolishly noble, Decimus. I know you."

If he wanted to have a chance at the whole career-house-wife plan, he needed to not have the wrong kind of reputation. And she needed the same if she did not want Flavia Juliana to kick her out of the house.

"I might now a tavern in the city, though" she added after a pause "I know the owner and she is friendly..."

@Sains

[Sains]

He nodded at the suggestion, as it seemed quite agreeable to him. He was glad to have her around. There were very few women in Rome would behave as calmly as she did when facing the dangers of the world that were all too common. She was steadfast, this one, and just knowing that she could handle herself made Decimus all the more comfortable when they were together. 

He'd roll his eyes at the word 'Reputation' though.

"Seems nobility is won't be good enough to keep us from speaking in secret. Just doesn't seem right; us being forced to meet in the shadows is all..."

Of course, she was right about it, though it frustrated Decimus to no end that the eyes of others must control them in such a way. It seemed that the more responsibility he was granted, the fewer privileges he was granted. Life would be easier once he retired, there was no doubt to that, but he hardly wanted to wait that long to be able to speak to a common friend in daylight. For now, however, this 'Tavern' would have to do.

With a weary sigh, he nodded and patted her on the shoulder, letting his hand linger there.

"Whatever must be done, I guess... I suppose you'll be fine on your way home?"

A grin came across his face, illuminated by the muted light of the moon.

"Don't need any more men killed?"

 

@Chevi

[Chevi]

"Seems nobility is won't be good enough to keep us from speaking in secret. Just doesn't seem right; us being forced to meet in the shadows is all..."

"Well, get your own house then, so I can visit and we can have feasts." she grinned at him. The opinion was shared, meeting in places like this was not going to do on the long run. Not for him, with his guard duties, and not for her, because every time she went sneaking out was a risk taken that the domina would start suspecting something. 

Of course, getting a home for the praetorian was not going to happen from one moment to the next. So, for now, they would make another attempt, at the popina she'd discovered the other day. Decimus patted her on the shoulder, his hand lingering for a moment. Aia wondered if it was normal to be this comfortable with someone's touch, now that she was a Roman woman. She didn't mind.

"Whatever must be done, I guess... I suppose you'll be fine on your way home? Don't need any more men killed?"

"I'll be fine." she chuckled "Unless you want me to walk you home and protect you on the way."

The walk home was likely to be uneventful. The two thugs had long run away, and it was too late, even for bandits along the roads. They rarely walked this close to the city, anyway. "It's called Bibens Avem Popina. On the Via Lata. Owned by a woman named N'tombi. I'll see you there next time." she wrapped the palla around herself, and flashed him a grin "Take care, Decimus."

@Sains