What (and i can't stress this enough) The Fuck?!

[Anna]

30.6.75 | open

It was early morn, one of the few hours of the day that the Venus was closed to customers. Allowing its inhabitants to rest and clean up after their long evening of debauchery. Titinia was hoping to catch a few hours of sleep before the sun was high in the sky, alerting everyone it was time to rise and ready the brothel for the evening to come. For her to spend a few hours being a mother to her young children. But that didn't seem to be fated for her that night. Her life was never simple; being a mother of five, a gang leader's wife and a brothel madam.  She had children to raise, a husband to keep after and clients to please. Because heaven forbid they go to the stink hole that called themselves a brothel down the way. 

So instead of sleeping, she was in her office. Looking over the books one last time to make sure all was in order before finally being ready to go to bed, it was too late for her to venture home. Falco was sleeping and her husband had too many enemies for her go alone. That's when the tremors started. The world shaking beneath their very feet and she watched as her candle began to vibrate towards the end of the desk. She snatched it up before it reached it and she stood from her desk, keeping calm as she made her way into the hallways. She wasn't the only one alerted, groggy whores and sleepy house slaves a like were stumbling from their pallets. "Get down stairs. Into the open area, go on with all of you!" She's barked at them as she joined the crowd of moving bodies.

There were some screams to be heard as plaster fell from the ceiling behind her, naked or barely clothed figures screaming in terror as they moved to get downstairs. Where the fuck where her bouncers? And Gods, please tell her that none of her clients were there, spending nights with their favorites. That would be a disaster she wasn't ready to face. Ever. 

[Sara]

Vibia had fallen asleep a little after midnight; satisfied after an evening with one of her favourites, and pleasantly stupefied by the obscene amounts of the middling wine she had consumed. She was so deep into her drink and sleep that as the earthquake rumbled around her, she barely woke. Groaning, she flipped her pillow to try and resume her sleep until the trembling intensified and some of her perfume cases tumbled to the floor in a rattle and the voices of other women and men filled her ears. "Wh...what the fuck?" She mumbled to the empty room. A loud, guttural groaning as the building shifted snapped her attention awake and she finally realised what was happening. Oh fuck. 

She stumbled from her bed and pulled on a tunica, trying to pin the shoulders as she stumbled from the room into the mass of naked or near-naked women and men that crowded the hallways. It was a rush of people and she found herself jostled and pinned up against the side as the whores stormed out to the street. She glanced their madame, flustered and barking orders. She managed to pin one of the sides of her tunica, the other flapping aimlessly as she finally made it out into the street - doubled over and breathing heavily from the exertion. 

She glanced up at the building with a deep wince and glanced across to the others, speaking to nobody in particular. "D'you think it'll hold? The building?" She should have swiped more wine for the wait until they could go back in. Her head was already pounding from her hangover.

 

TAG: @Anna

[Atrice]

Helios had had a fine night with one of his patrons – not several this night, just the one and the wealthy man had been pleased and had even pleased Helios, although mostly with his knowledge of recent gossip from all over Rome. Apparently a certain Aulus wanted to be Caesar, or so they said, and Helios thought this could be something he’d look more into. Because what would the current man on the post say to that? One could rise high if one could expose such secrets… but eventually, both Helios and his client had rested together and the man had left to go home, not all that long ago. Helios was finally closing his eyes, hoping to catch a few hours of sleep or maybe sleep all the way until noon…

But apparently, that’s not how it was supposed to go. He had just laid on his side, closing his eyes, when the bed rattled and his visitor had gone! In fact the whole room was rattling and the empty wine jar on the floor crashed as it was knocked over by the rumbling. What? Helios sat up, seeing all of his things rattle and fall and there was dust and plaster from the ceiling. People were yelling and screaming outside his room. Was this the earthquake people had talked about might come?

He tossed a random tunica over his head, quickly gathered a few of his most valuable possessions in a bag and threw it over his head and shoulder. He ran out then, following the crowd that sought to escape the building. Hopefully it wouldn’t come crashing down – he’d heard cities could be laid in ruins by earthquakes!

Outside, he saw his mistress and many of the other slaves and whores, unsure of where to go and what to say and some were screaming or crying. He spotted Vibia, one of the few who didn’t seem entirely shattered by the earthquake and she wondered if the building would hold, “I hope so!” Helios replied to her. Vibia and he never truly got along well, but he knew her, of course - he knew everyone here, he'd lived here more than ten years after all. He knew about her affair with Falco, which was probably one of the reasons why he didn’t care to talk much to her. He’d always had a thing for Falco, and Falco never returned it.  Now however, they were all in the same situation… and hopefully not without a home, once this was over.

@Sara @Anna