Slipped Away (into a moment in time)

[Eris]

MAY 76AD

Coin purse tucked carefully away along with a cloth tote, Rutiliana had snuck out of the palace, escaping her hawk of a governess for the day. She lacked all the finery she was use to wearing, choosing something that would blend her in with the rest of the folk that would surely be roaming the streets. Her feet took her along paths that had become familiar from all of the other times she had done this, heading towards the emporium. A busy place where she could spend coin on silly things that she surely could have ordered from the kitchens or have brought to her, but there was just something about being among the people and doing as they did. 

Merging into the crowd, she moved from stall to stall, quickly leaving the stalls that held no interest to her but lingered at others. She had found a pretty length of peacock blue silk, sheer and fine, that she thought would be pretty as a head veil for Claudia at one. A set of thin gold bangles for her stepmother. Cleverly carved and painted soldiers to add to Drusus' collection. But finally the lure of the food stalls overcame her and she allowed her nose to lead her to those destinations, stopping only one to pick out a peach for after whatever fried and savory delights she would buy. 

Meat pies; pork, onion and garlic heavy in scent made her stomach growl in anticipation. Deep fried sweet breads with fig and honey paste stuffed in the middle. Her nose and eyes were a little big for her stomach, but alas her arms was loaded with food as she made her way over to a sitting area not far from the stalls. She realized her folly only then as she laid the food out. She had ordered too much, as much as she normally would have if she had had someone with her that day. And bringing it home would only soil the silk in her bag and get her into more trouble than she would be already. 

Glancing around, her eyes landed on someone sitting near her within earshot and an idea came to her head. Reaching over she tapped them on the shoulder lightly, "Would you care to share with me? I'm afraid I ordered to much!" She said before they even turned around, her expression expectant of the person to agree to her whim. 

[Atrice]

Marcus was 18 years old now… 18! Which meant he really had to start on being more of a grown-up now. He would begin his journey on the Honos Curum by starting with the Viginitiviri as soon as everything had been set in the right order and motion. Until then, Marcus did as he pleased, as he always did. His brother hadn’t been around for a while, but he had his home with Juliana and he had his close friendship with Caecina. Maybe a little closer than they ought to, but technically they were not real siblings, so there really shouldn’t be an issue there. But there was, apparently, so they kept it secret. Good thing Juliana hadn’t found out anything yet, although he knew Caecina’s annoying bodyguard was watching them. Which meant it was often good to slip out of the house to escape his eyes.

 He arrived at the large marketplace today, possibly here to buy something to drink. It was a warm and nice day and he figured he could find something to do. Near the food stalls he sat down with a skin with wine and watched people move about. That’s when he saw someone familiar from the palace. He really had been spending too much time at Juliana’s house and with his sweet cousin lately – it would seem that he had not spent enough time with his old friends and acquaintances from the Imperial Palace. He used to come there a lot because his mother was closely related with the Imperials.

 Flavia Caesaris was growing into a beautiful young woman and with the recent events, she was closer to Caesar than ever before. If he could befriend her again and she’d like him, there was a good chance he could rise even higher - and that would be good, given the recent history of his family and especially what his brother did with burning down the house! It was an interesting thought. He had to move on, on his own. He was in his own thoughts and took a drink from the wine from time to time, when she suddenly came over to him and asked if she could share all the food she bought, with him.

 Marcus flashed her a charming, boyish grin, “Hey… Flavia Caesaris, right? Sure I’d love to share with you, it’s been a while. Why did you buy so much?” He glanced around, was she here alone?

@Eris

Edited March 23, 2021 by Atrice