Finding a Use

[Sharpie]

"Well, for starters, I like you," Attis said with a grin. "I'm his body slave - yes, I know he told you that much. It just means I'm the cream of the shit, so to speak." Slaves being pretty much the very lowest form of life in Rome - there were some households where the pets came higher in the rankings than the slaves, or some of the slaves. "Don't go tale-telling, nobody likes that. If you've got a problem with someone and can't sort it out yourself, tell me. Dominus is pretty easy-going, all things considered - don't swear at him, though. He doesn't mind a joke but he won't stand outright insolence." Ask me how I know that, he added mentally.

"Um. Pull your weight - don't try sliding out of chores you're set. Though, if you honestly can't do something, say so. We can work around your injuries, that's not a problem, if we know. If you don't say, we'll assume you can do it and don't want to and that's a whole different jar of garum."

He poured himself a cup of lora and cupped his hands around it, more for something to do with his hands than because he wanted to drink something that was first cousins to vinegar.

"Cassia... She's Dominus' only child. She's, what, ten or eleven now? She's mostly been brought up by Metella - that's her nurse, my, um..." He sighed. "It's complicated, Metella and me. Anyway. Cassia's been brought up by Metella and Livia Vicana - that's the master's mother. Oh! Don't let Ismene rile you - she's body slave to Mistress Livia." And a bitch, he added privately, though he wasn't about to say that to someone so new.

 

@Mobius

Edited August 1, 2022 by Sharpie

[Mobius]

"'The cream of the shit'?" Amatus repeated, a brow raised. There was a slight hint of a chuckle in his voice, wondering if anybody else in the domus would feel the same way. Sure, he technically probably was the top dog, to put it that way, but it was fairly amusing to hear him word it that way. "Good thing gladiators aren't known for being gossiping hens, huh?" He wouldn't be a tale-teller, to use Attis' words. Nothing good came from gossip. It had aided in his father snapping and ruining his life, after all. "They are known for... colorful language, though. A good shout of 'fuck' is much more of a pain reliever than 'darn'," he continued, chuckling before finishing,"But I know better than to curse at the man in charge." Who would even think of doing that unless it was an accident or something?

What Amatus might have a hard time with was asking for help. He was still struggling to adjust to the fact that he just wasn't capable of doing some things that he would have been able to do prior to his injuries. "Right... makes sense," he said through a sigh, stuffing his mouth with a piece of bread to try to hide the frustration at his disability which was starting to show on his face. He didn't feel like talking about it. A drink was needed to get the entire bite down his throat.

"Sounds like you and Metella make it difficult to not tale-tell," Amatus couldn't help himself and neither could his smirk. He nodded to the rest, though. It sounded like several people in the house made it hard to not talk. Ismene sounded like the type to make him want to grumble behind her back. Not that he would. That wasn't his style. "So I guess I'll be helping with Cassia... what's she like?" After a pause, he thought of a question that likely would be just as important,"And how can I make a good first impression on Metella? I don't want to wind up on her bad side." That would make life quite difficult.

@Sharpie

[Sharpie]

Attis didn't have much experience of gladiators but if they were anything like legionaries, they were the worst sort of gossiping hens imaginable. Though he would allow that perhaps Amatus hadn't taken part in the gossip.

"I mean, if there's an actual problem, tell someone. Don't go making things up or spreading gossip just for the sake of it," he said, trying to clarify what he'd meant. "Cassia is... she's a nice girl. She's like the master in some ways - prefers doing things to reading, isn't above playing pranks, though she's not mean about them. To be honest, she's a bit spoiled because Dominus only has her - she has a bit of a temper when she doesn't get her own way or when she loses an argument. She listens to Metella, though."

Amatus' next question made him grin. "It's pretty easy to stay on Metella's good side - she likes people until she doesn't, if they show they're not likeable. Talk to her - she's friendly, you'll find it easy enough to talk to her."

 

@Mobius

Edited August 16, 2022 by Sharpie

[Mobius]

For the past weeks and weeks, Amatus had been away from the hustle and bustle of the Ludus. Recovering in a bed didn't lead to many conversations with actively training gladiators, but even when he was amongst the fully able bodied gladiators he didn't do much in the way of gossiping. Conversations, sure, but rumors and whatnot? They weren't his game. He'd been on the wrong end of rumors before, as had his mother, and he didn't want to damage anybody like that even if the rumors were true. "I won't. That's not my style," he assured, a bite of bread still in his mouth. Manners weren't exactly near the top of his list of concerns at the moments.

"Sounds like she might be a handful," Amatus thought out loud after washing another bite of bread down with the bitter liquid, which made his nose scrunch up a bit. Metella sounded like she would be less of a handful than the younger woman. "I'd like to think that I'm likable," he joked with a chuckle, though he did feel like he wouldn't immediately end up on Metella's bad side. Sighing, he ran his better hand through his hair, eating another piece in silence. "It's going to be a balancing act, isn't it?" he thought out loud. Keeping Cassia happy while keeping his dominus happy, which might wind up making the little domine uphappy, sounded like the definition of a balancing act. Balancing wasn't easy when he had a wobbly leg. At least it would be a figurative balancing act... but still.

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[Sharpie]

"I guess she is," Attis said slowly, with a shrug. "She's not mean-spirited, though." Gods know how - though her grandmother isn't either, really, just a bossy old bat.

He was not about to say that out loud, however, especially not in the kitchen, especially not to a newcomer to the house. He'd learned his lesson after the last time - if the master heard him disparaging his mistress, Attis would bet that even the laid-back Longinus would be willing to flay the skin from his back. Especially as Sulpicius Rufus had been given a posting some thousands of miles away.

"You'll get used to it, it's not hard really. If you want help or advice or anything, you can talk with Metella or me. Or Vitus - he's the master's secretary and probably better at advice than me. He's nice enough, though he's far too staid and dull." He shrugged. "If you're going to upset anyone, you probably want to keep the dominus happy, though you'll find he's pretty hard to upset unless you set out to do so deliberately. And if you do that, I'm just going to stand back and find some olives to chew on while I watch what happens."

He grinned. "It's a pretty laid-back household, really, though. Dominus isn't all that hard to please - and if you're not sure of anything, we'd all prefer you to ask rather than bumble along in the dark and screw up."

 

@Mobius

[Mobius]

Cassia wasn't mean-spirited. That would make things easier on Amatus. There surely would be a period of adjustment for him. It was a completely different life than he'd ever lived before. It would take some time to adjust even without the physical setbacks he had to deal with, let alone with them. Hopefully everyone would be as understanding as Attis was making them out to be. All he would have to do was acknowledge and voice any issues he was having, which would be difficult considering he had a hard time accepting his issues to begin with. Bringing them up to somebody else because he couldn't do something or something would be extremely difficult to do? That would be a challenge. Heck, what wouldn't be a challenge at this point? Apparently not socializing with the other slaves. Everyone had been easy to talk to so far. Granted, he'd only spoken to Longinus and Attis for more than a couple of sentences, but still.

Amatus nodded, continuing to eat as Attis mentioned who he could go to for help. "... I'm just going to stand back and find some olives to chew on while I watch what happens." Raising a brow, he smirked around the bite of bread he was chewing on. "I'm no glutton for punishment so you'll have to find some other entertainment," he assured Attis after he'd swallowed. Downing a not necessarily pleasant gulp to wet his throat, his sighed quietly. "I've got to be honest... admitting when I can't do something or need help doing something because of... my limitations isn't easy for me," he huffed, looking down at his previously dominant hand, which he hadn't been using at all throughout the meal. "I haven't really come to terms with it yet I guess," he added in a mutter, shaking his head at himself. As much as he didn't want to say all that, he figured it might save his behind in the future. Maybe.

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[Sharpie]

"I don't know what you're used to, but the master here doesn't like tale-telling or that kind of thing - though like I said, if you've got any sort of problem with chores or any of the other slaves that you can't sort out, tell me." There were definitely benefits to being  the master's body slave. Attis didn't take it for granted, or throw his weight around needlessly, but he was aware of the privilege of his position and did his best to keep the household running smoothly so that things didn't come to the master's attention that he really didn't need to bother himself with.

"We're not going to pamper you, f you're worried about that, but I think we'd rather you didn't make things worse for yourself by trying to do something you just can't manage. I'd keep away from Ismene - she's the master's mother's body slave - but everyone else is pretty level-headed and helpful."

What else? "Oh! Ah... the master prefers relationships to be kept in the household and not to interfere with work. Though, if it's one of the girls who takes your eye, you're best off asking before anything happens and she gets knocked up. Metella and me... just because we've been able to doesn't mean that others can, it's kind of... unusual, for us."

His relationship with Metella was the closest he'd ever come to lording it over the other slaves in the household, and even he and Metella hadn't dared hope they'd be able to keep the baby until Longinus had actually said they could.

 

@Mobius