Sharpie Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 "Pregnant," Rufus said, guessing that Nymphias did not know the word. Why should she, after all? Erea had not looked pregnant when Rufus had met her, either time, nor had she said anything about a child. It was quite possible that she had lost it during the journey from Britannia - Rufus had no idea how long that journey was, precisely, but knew that it was not short, and involved a sea voyage. "She seemed... sad. Nervous, about the future, and sad that she lost her family." The normal sort of emotions someone in the slave market would have, in Rufus' opinion - not mention in his experience! "I think she will be happy to know you are all right, though." Happier if she could actually meet her sister, of course, though who knew how that could happen! And that prompted Rufus to ask, "What is your master's name, so I can tell Erea? Charis, I mean." @Beauty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beauty Posted January 15, 2020 Author Share Posted January 15, 2020 Nervous didn’t sound like Erea but Nymphias always looked up to her family so it was hard to think of them as anything but strong and condifent. Sad, Nymphias had seen her family like that, even if they trudged on with life, trying to preserve the family and survive. But Nymphias had been a lot younger too when tragedy hit their family. She was older now, even more experienced, and might’ve seen things differently as a result. “Titus Sculpi…ius Rufus,” said Nymphias. It was strange, a part of Rufus’ name was in her master’s. Romans truly liked to recycle names, there was one too many Lucius’ for Nymphias’ liking. The name of Charis felt very foreign to her ears, especially when referring to her sister who would always be Erea to her. Even if “Ardra” was now Nymphias. “She will be happy.” Of that, Nymphias was certain. “She won’t think you joking?” said Nymphias. But why would she? Rufus seemed very honest. Almost too honest to be a joker. “Do you ever joke? Are you very serious person? People who count coins are always very serious people. Always with face like this.” Nymphias tried to make her face as expressionless as possible. “Maybe that’s why people listen because they look like they always thinking.” @Sharpie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpie Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 "She'll think I'm joking? I hope not," Rufus said, and shrugged. "I wouldn't joke about something like that - I know what it's like to be separated from someone you love." He didn't feel the need to go into detailed explanations about his old master and mistress, and his separation from Bretta, but hoped that even the brief explanation would soothe Nymphias' fears. "I hope she'll be happy - I hope you'll be able to meet her. Your master is Titus Sulpius Rufus?" He ran a hand through his hair. "Rufus means... someone with red hair, like me," he told her, noticing her expression as she said the name, though just because a citizen had the name Rufus somewhere in his tria nomina did not mean that he was a redhead himself. It more than likely meant that someone in his ancestry had been, and might even have been a slave once upon a time. "I can joke, in the right circumstances. I don't think I'm a very serious person - more serious than some people, maybe." He continued, unable to keep from laughing at the expression the girl pulled. "Yes, some people are very serious - probably very boring. They have nothing else to do with their time except count coins. Very dull indeed." And that had brought the topic back round, neatly, to why she had stopped him in the first place. "Do you need help to count your coins, to know how much money you have to spend for your master?" @Beauty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beauty Posted January 18, 2020 Author Share Posted January 18, 2020 Rufus being separated from someone made Nymphias curious, wondering about it but given that she was quite young, she had the attention of a squirell and so when he continued, asking her her master’s name, her attention went there. She nodded, her nodding very deep and quick, appearing eager. After all, the faster she met her sister, the happier she’d be. However, when she remembered again about his words, his separated family, whenever they met again, or in the next moments, she would ask. “Maybe if I count coins more, I would not be stupid with coins,” she said, trying to explain how lost she’d been with the Roman money before Rufus had shown up. She moved her coin purse again, opening it so that he could see what was inside. Their conversation had taken quite the detour but it was now much appreciated, considering she now knew that her sister was in Rome also. “Yes, please, help me. There is too many coins to count. Too many.” @Sharpie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpie Posted January 31, 2020 Share Posted January 31, 2020 "All right, let's find somewhere out of the way where I can teach you how to count money," Rufus said, and spotted a corner where they could be out of the way and not get sneaked up on - the only way to do this was by actually having the coins out and that would be a temptation for a good many people. The corner was between the steps of a temple and a wall, and would be perfect. "Here, you'll need to show me what you have, though don't show everyone," Rufus said, squatting down. The position would make it easier to sort things out - better than holding the coins, after all, and it would be harder for him to make off with her money. Not that he planned on doing that, but he needed her trust. "Let's see - what do you know already?" She probably didn't have more than a few sestertii in the purse her master had given for her shopping trip, but that would be fine. She was unlikely to ever deal in anything costing as much as a denarius, after all. @Beauty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beauty Posted February 3, 2020 Author Share Posted February 3, 2020 Rufus squatting down made him look like on of the frogs Nymphias tried catching when she was a lot younger. Being as young as she was, she tried not to laugh at the thought. She told herself to be serious and to pay attention. The faster she learned, the better it would be for her in the long run. She squatted down next to Rufus, enjoying the temporary shade that the wall provided. She opened up her purse slowly and showed him what was in there. “What do I know already?” she said. “Nothing.” She had to be honest. If she wasn’t, she would never learn. She recognised the coins, some of the names but placing the names and how they looked together was not a simple task for her. Money bored her. She much preferred sewing and making things, that required a certain amount of attention and discipline but also creativity, which was more her strong suit. “This one is…asses?” she said pointing to one of the coins, she’d heard him say it earlier. “It sound like funny word.” @Sharpie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpie Posted February 3, 2020 Share Posted February 3, 2020 Nothing? Oh, Juno Moneta! "Let's start from the very smalles - the one that's worth the least," Rufus said. "May I?" He fished through her purse until he found a bronze coin. "This is the very smallest amount of money you can have - it's called a quadrans," he said, holding it up so that she could see the front of it. "All coins have Caesar's head on them, on the front, but this has the prow of a galley on the back, see?" He turned it so that she could see the reverse. "Four of these are the same as one as," he continued. "I mean, four quadrantes is the same amount of money as one as." @Beauty 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beauty Posted February 7, 2020 Author Share Posted February 7, 2020 “May I?” the man said and Nymphias nodded her head, crouching down felt rather uncomfortable, feeling every bit like a toad. The moment he showed her the bronze coin, her mind went swimming elsewhere, even if she fought to pay attention. “Quadruplets,” said quietly Nymphias with a nod of her head. She didn’t know what a “prow of a galley” was but took his word for it so she nodded again. And then the rest of what he said made little sense to her, she phased out. Numbers and coins were not her forté, sewing, dancing, and pretty things were. If one looked at Nymphias, she would have been noticeably bored out of her mind but trying to pay attention for her own sake. It was important to know Roman coins and handling money in general. “Four quadruplets are same one asses,” said Nymphias with a nod of her head a third time. But then her mind wandered elsewhere and blurted out: “Are you in love with my sister? Do you have woman you love?” Was it improper to ask such things? But love was such a fun topic to her, not coins and surely they were finished talking about coins? @Sharpie 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharpie Posted February 7, 2020 Share Posted February 7, 2020 "Four quadrantes," Rufus said, pronouncing the word as clearly as he could. "Four quadrantes are the same as one as. Four asses are the same as one sestertius." He found a single sestertius and held it up. "You should learn this, is isn't hard, and there might not be anyone to help you the next time you're sent to market," he added, and blinked. "No, I... No. Your sister is very nice but I don't think about her like that." He'd only met her twice, after all, and though he didn't doubt he could fall in love with her, right now he saw her as a sister, someone he had helped when she had needed it. "And no, no woman, not yet. Nymphias, you need to learn this - you can't go home and say that you couldn't buy any bread because it cost a sestertius and you didn't have one, only four asses." Maybe this was why she didn't know anything about money; she just hadn't paid any attention when she'd been taught. @Beauty 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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