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Late September, 77AD

She was now 19 years old and still without a husband. Her father had certainly looked into the matter several times and although her last fiancé died, it didn't mean he'd paused in doing so. But Sosia was his only daughter and her future husband had to be just perfect for her - and understand what she was like and how to handle her. She'd long since gotten used to Rome, at least more or less. She still missed the countryside sometimes, and her kittens, but Rome was really an interesting place. Like Ovinia told her, something was always happening here and Rome was never boring. She did like it. She only wished her father would find her a husband, decide on one, so she could please her father. And her future husband. She did grow more and more anxious to get married, because there was so much she wanted to do and experience. And since she didn't know if she'd meet Ovinia's brother again and couldn't have Tiberius... she would have to settle for someone else to help her through those experiences. Hopefully someone just right!

Her father got a letter not long ago from one Lucius Cassius Longinus, who wished to meet her. Her father was surprised, but decided it would be good for them to meet. Sosia understood it was a prominent name and that he had plenty of military experience behind him - and he had even been married before and already had a daughter. But he wanted a new wife and Sosia might be the lucky one, if he was to her liking and she to his. And both of them together to her father. There were a lot of ends that had to meet for it to be just right! And to think she'd come so close with Atratinus, but then he was murdered... apparently it was hard finding the right man.

Along with her body slave Gaia she arrived at this Longinus house in Rome, dressed up nicely in a light pink and white chiton, with a matching palla and pink flowers in her hair. Gaia said, while they waited to be invited inside, that she was very pretty, almost like a young goddess or something. Sosia blushed by the sweet words from her slave, and then the door was opened. What a beginning! She was curious to see what Longinus would be like. Hopefully he was at least handsome and kind. That would be a good start. And she would like that very much.

Edited by Atrice
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How Longinus was late to his own meeting was anybody's guess but it spoke to his character that he at least felt guilty about it. He wasn't a man that generally got nervous, so his overexertion at the palaestra that morning with Celsus wasn't to do with that, it was more that the indomitable excess energy he'd had since childhood continued to gnaw at him and he needed to burn it off somehow. He particularly needed to run and throw and wrestle it off before meeting a well-bred Patrician lady, and first-cousin of one of his closest friends wives. He'd exercised until the muscles across his body had rippled with exhaustion and his legs ached with the exertion of walking to the baths closest to his house. He was as quick as he could be but still as he hurried home, avoiding the woman just arriving at his front door and ducking down the alley that led to the slave entrance, his hair was still damp and he was still adjusting the folds of his pallium.

He avoided the smirks of his slaves as he clattered through their entrance, jogging to the atrium where he signalled for one of them to open the door. He exhaled quickly, trying to catch his breath and plastered a wide grin on his face. His mother was...somewhere in the domus, where he couldn't tell and wouldn't pry and he was grateful for her absence as Sosia stepped through. She was...beautiful. Young, and the sweet flowers tucked into her hair didn't help that impression but those big doe eyes and lightly tanned skin were well...beautiful. There were precious few other words for it. His smile became more genuine, even as he grimaced internally at the oddity of his home in the presence of her. His curiosities and trinkets collected from abroad and the market littered the atrium but he tried to brush those thoughts aside as he inclined his head in greeting.

"Horatia Sosia, a pleasure. I hope I didn't keep you waiting..." He winced and glanced behind her, noting the curious absence of a chaperone, beside her slave girl. He blinked and was about to protest when his mother - for once! - was his saviour and called through into the atrium, "Lucius, I have some letters to draft in the red room," The room that overlooked the peristyle garden where she'd have a good view of proceedings but would be unobtrusive...or as unobtrusive as his mother could be. "I know it's still hot as..." balls, he cleared his throat, "But the garden is shaded, if you'd like to drink and enjoy the flowers? I'm afraid they're not as the nice as the ones in your hair." 

 

 

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Horatia Justina had more than risen to Attis' fumbling query if this was the sort of response. He couldn't help rolling his eyes as Longinus bumbled in from the palaestra, where he had naturally disappeared and spent far too long. Attis easily switched places with Celsus as the master hurried through the slave quarters (he was astounded that Longinus could find his way through the narrow corridors but obviously he'd spent far too much time here in his youth. Or something), appearing in the main room of the house as if he'd naturally been attending on his master in his own rooms. Celsus could go and drown himself in a bucket of cold water or something as Attis reached forward to twitch his master's pallium straight before the two men emerged into the atrium.

If this was the quality of the potential candidates for the master's next wife... Attis silently blessed Horatia Justina as he collected the tray that had been set to one side in preparation, coming forward to offer the master and his guest a cool refreshing cup of wine, hoping that the eclectic nature of the house's ornaments would intrigue the young lady rather than make her want to turn tail. He should have thought ahead and quietly reduced the number of peculiar objects on display by at least half, but it was too late for that now.

She looked very pretty in her pink and white, with flowers in her hair, and younger than he'd expected. He hoped that she wasn't too young for Longinus and that she wouldn't think Longinus was too old for her.

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Sosia had always been a polite and well-raised young woman so far - she was kind and sweet and friendly and didn't step out of line. She wasn't up to mischief. Her father thankfully knew that and that may be why he sent her on her way to meet Longinus without any other chaperone but her body slave. Thank the gods he didn't know how she'd kissed Tiberius at that party, or visited the villa alone with him. But this was no time to think about Tiberius. She was meeting a possible future husband. She had to pay attention to him. And please him somehow.

She stood quietly in the atrium, awaiting someone who would greet her and welcome her. There were many odd trinkets and objects on shelves and stands all over, so at least she was not bored. There was plenty to look at. And then he was there... a tall man with dark hair and handsome eyes, taking her in as she did him. She almost forgot to breathe when he smiled at her and greeted her.

"Not for long. You must be him... I mean... Lucius. Longinus." She blushed as she stopped talking, since stumbling over the words and names and all didn't help. Gods he must think her so dumb and inexperienced. She cast her eyes down and some woman called through the house about letters to draft. Right, her father did talk about this Longinus living with his mother. Maybe that's another reason why he sent her off alone. Because there was another mature woman in the house at least. She tried to calm herself, feeling a bit flustered already, and they'd barely met. Longinus then spoke up again, about the heat and a drink in the garden. And then he complimented her.

"You think them nice? I'm glad you're pleased. I don't think I'd mind a drink." She said and a slave appeared with a tray with wine. She took a cup and thanked the slave briefly, he looked friendly too, if maybe a little stiff. Then she looked up at Longinus again, "You're very kind." 

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He chuckled at her stumbled words and inclined his head, "Lucius is fine." His friends called him Longinus, but that felt odd coming from the young woman's lips. It was a name belonging on battlefields and in bars, not in the atrium of his domus. He was vaguely aware of Attis' presence nearby as Sosia thanked him and he took up his own cup, and then put his bodyslave out of his mind. Instead he gestured for Sosia to follow him through into the garden. The autumnal sun was still warm but it had lost a great swathe of its heat since the height of summer, for which he was grateful. 

He gestured at a large curved bench set at the back of the garden, shaded over by a tree which had been growing since he was a child in this domus. "And you're a flatterer." He chuckled at her comment. Was he kind? Probably, but then most of the men and women who called him that hadn't seen him in war. There were things he'd done and seen that made being kind difficult to reconcile. He let her sit first, before he sat down himself a respectable distance away. 

Why were meetings like this always so awkward? In his youth it had been different, he'd been excited for the prospect of a wife and children but now...he was older than the twenty-five year old youth that sat in this very garden with the fiery Antonia Nennia. And he was certainly a lot more jaded. Running a hand through his hair, he offered Sosia a small smile. "Thank you for agreeing to meet me," although he suspected she didn't have much of a choice in the matter, "I imagine you have a legion of men trying to arrange meetings with you." He chuckled as he sipped his wine. She was young, beautiful and her family was exceptionally well connected after all. "I...should have asked, do you prefer Horatia or Sosia?" 

 

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It had been pointed out to Attis, more than once, that he was the senior slave in the household, being body-slave to the paterfamilias, and so he had taken advantage of that seniority to ensure that there would be a tray of refreshments ready to be brought out to wherever Longinus had decided to entertain his guest. It only took a moment for Attis to replace the drinks tray with the refreshments tray, silently setting it down on the table between the two citizens before withdrawing, equally silently, to stand against the wall and watch proceedings from a discreet distance that was still within easy call should Longinus require anything further.

He had done what he could in enlisting Horatia Justina's aid to help his master, he couldn't do anything else now other than watch and hope that the two would get over their initial awkwardness and find something they could each connect with in the other person. He didn't think Longinus would ever forget Sestia, but the sooner he could replace her in his mind as a potential wife, the better - and if he could connect with this girl in a different way from how he had with Sestia, even better.

 

 

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She liked the way he chuckled and said she could call him Lucius. Sosia nodded with rosy cheeks, "Lucius it is then. It's nice to meet you." She added, remembering to be polite when she had the chance. Her father had said she should be polite and she wanted to be. But it was hard when he was so tall and kept being so cheerful, like when he said she was a flatterer for calling him kind, "Am I? So are you." She said with a smile back to him, he was the one who began with complimenting her and the flowers in her hair, after all. They did seem to like those, the men she'd met. Tiberius liked them too. But this was not Tiberius. She scolded herself within for thinking about him when this handsome man right here deserved her full attention. Sosia was quite sure they would never allow Tiberius to marry her. But Lucius here, that was a different matter. And she did want a husband and learn all the secrets wives knew. She did want that. So she had to focus.

Quietly now, she followed him towards the garden, her own cup in hand too and she took a sip when she got the chance. They arrived at a large bench, where a tray with light snacks had been set up for them and the slave pulled away when they came. Gaia, her own body slave, did the same and she sat down when Lucius invited her to do so. She sat and smoothed out her dress with one hand, folding her legs neatly by the ankles. Then she looked up at Lucius, who was running a hand through his soft-looking hair and he began speaking of their meeting and how she must have other men wanted to meet her. 

"Not a legion, I think. That is quite a lot of men, isn't it?" She said with a small smile, "But there are some. And they call me Sosia. There are plenty of Horatia's in our family already." She added with a chuckle and sipped her drink. Now came the hard part with someone you didn't know. Keeping the conversation going... "I heard you know my cousin's husband, Aulus?"

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Longinus chuckled at her question and nodded, ducking his head. "Around six thousand. And you're being modest, I can imagine that many declaring their adoration for you." She certainly had the beauty for it, time would tell whether the personality matched. He nodded, his smile becoming softer. "Sosia then." He knew some of the Horatia's in her family, and some he liked more than others although he had a firm idea that the most discussed - Aulus' wife - wasn't exactly his biggest fan. He could have sworn he'd overheard a conversation before after spending the night hungover at Aulus' along the lines of 'why are you friends with a teenage boy in a man's body? I despair!'. Still, the fact Sosia was here suggested that Horatia hadn't expressed such an opinion to her or her father. 

Nodding his head, he sipped his wine. "I met him when I was legate in Britannia, he served out there briefly as well, after the Civil War, and we've been close friends ever since." He smiled genuinely - both at the fond memories of his time in the desolate, rainy, war-torn country so many loathed but he loved, and at fonder memories of Aulus and Titus - his closest friends and stalwarts in his life, even if the latter was presently a traitor and out serving in the East. "What about you, Sosia? Do you fancy a life of travel, exploring the very farthest corners of the Empire?" His grin was warmer and more genuine now as he leant in to whisper conspiratorially, "Not all of the barbarians paint themselves blue, don't worry." 

 

TAG: @Atrice

Edited by Sara
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He was being so sweet, wasn't he? She had to cast her eyes down at his kind compliments, when he said she was modest because she didn't think a legion of men adored her. But she wasn't, it was true! Her father was very protective and wanted the perfect husband for her, both for the sake of money and alliances and for her sake too. And now she could not help but think that he might adore her, Lucius here that was, "You really are too kind, Lucius." She said with a small grin to him and sipped her drink, because if this was how it began, she would need more wine to keep up with him! How was he so easily charming? And how was she so easily charmed?

She tried to keep the conversation going, wondering more about their connection and he explained easily, how he'd been a legate in Britannia with Horatia's husband and they had been friends ever since. Oh how would that be like, having someone like that? They shared experiences, rough ones too probably, and that brought them together and made them friends forever. She hoped she'd have such friends when she was his age. Not that he was that old. Just older than her. She looked at him, his smile made his face light up in a certain way. Yes, he was definitely handsome. Gods, Sosia! Do you forget Tiberius this easily? She was about to take another sip to steady herself, when he asked if she would like to travel.

"But do they really? Paint themselves blue? I did hear about that." She said, "It does all sounds very exciting! I don't think I'd mind traveling. I didn't grow up in Rome. It's nice here, but... forgive me... sometimes I miss breathing in fresh air. And seeing how far the country stretches." She paused, maybe she spoke too freely, and she looked at him with an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to just blabber like that. Do you like to travel, Lucius?" 

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Longinus chuckled. "Some of their warriors do, in the far north. No idea why, maybe to try and be intimidating?" It obviously didn't work. He considered Sosia as she continued to talk. She seemed...incredibly sheltered, naive almost, which was different to his late wife and then Sestia. But maybe that wasn't a bad thing? He had always gone for women who challenged him, whether good or bad, and both times it had ended in heartbreak long before he had been left alone. As the years wore on, his list of 'requirements' for a wife dwindled, and now he merely wanted somebody who he could come home to at the end of the day, who would support him, and who could ideally, give him an heir. His impression of Sosia thus far was that she would tick all of those boxes, and so as she rambled on, his smile relaxed and genuinely settled across his lips. 

"You're not blabbering." He chuckled, "And I know the feeling." He wrinkled as his nose as he relaxed back against the couch. "If I'm being honest..." He sighed, "I find the city stifling...I like the country, but I like travelling more. I like seeing what else is out there, in our borders. We conquered so much, why shouldn't we get to see it all?" He smiled and sipped some more of  his wine. "Most of the time I've travelled with military service, but I've taken a few short trips, most recently to Greece." With his body slave in tow. It had been restorative for him, after what had happened, although he was not back to his old self entirely. He gave her a curious look. "So you grew up in the countryside? What was it like?" 

 

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Hearing about the barbarians painting themselves blue was exciting. Honestly, she thought she might like to see that. But on the other hand, if they only did it to try and seem intimidating, you’d probably not want to see it. She shook her head, a bit confused at her own thoughts and tried to focus on him instead, as she had a fun idea, “I’ve no idea why either. Did you ever ask them?” She replied with a smile, that was clever, was it not? Instead of fighting, how about talking? But as far as she was concerned, men did like the fighting more than the talking.

 Then suddenly she found herself blabbering about Rome, and travels and fresh air and the countryside. And she stopped herself and apologized, but Lucius was again ever so kind and didn’t seem to mind at all. He admitted then, that he did also find the city stifling and like the country and liked to travel and seeing the world. She nodded, he made very good points there. He must be so experienced. In so many ways. She felt heat in her cheeks by the thought and bit her cheek so she wouldn’t bite her lip instead.

 Lucius said he’d been to Greece recently too and asked about her life then, “I did… it was nice. I know some consider me a bit… sheltered, I think? But I liked it out there. As I said, the fresh air and the vast lands and all. All the green.” She smiled by the thought, “I miss that. But I’ve never left Italia or been to any other country. It must be so exciting, to see all of that. And you brought so many things with you here!” She gestured to their surroundings, she thought she’d never grow bored here, there was so much to look upon! “You have such an interesting home. What’s the best thing you have from abroad?”

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This was good, this was... She was young, but that was to be expected of course. But she was talking to Longinus and curious about where he'd been and what he'd seen and... Longinus wouldn't think that was a bad thing, would he? But she was curious, openly so - she seemed an open sort of person (yes, that went hand-in-hand with being naive which was part of the fact she was young), but Longinus was an open sort of person, or he had been. Having someone so openly curious could only encourage him, surely? He wouldn't want the sort of young lady who'd hide the curiosity and pretend she was above all that - Attis was more than sure that his master didn't like pretence and fakery. Whether he liked this complete absence of those things remained to be seen. She was showing an interest in him, though, and surely, surely, he would respond to that.

Attis could only hope and pray, silently imploring Juno and Venus that this might work out somehow - and if not this match, then some match, and soon. A depressed and morose Longinus meant that there was something horribly wrong with the world.

 

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Lucius Cassius Longinus

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At least she was self-aware enough to know that she'd had a sheltered life. She was different, in that respect, to him, to his previous wife and wife-to-be. Where he had seen scenes and bloodshed no person should endure (and indeed been involved in said bloodshed himself), and Antonia and Sestia had been all fire and passion and lust...Sosia was just sweet. Calming, in a way, like a steady stream on a spring day. It was difficult to adjust to, and not at all what he thought he wanted, but he had to admit he found himself relax more with each passing moment of the conversation. 

And then she asked a question that nobody had asked before - not his late wife who used to kick the assortment of foreign objects with obvious disdain, not his mother who tutted or Attis who hid them - Sosia asked out of genuine curiosity and his brows shot up, a grin forming on his face. "I suspect my body slave has hidden the most interesting," He chuckled at Attis, rolling his eyes and levered himself off of the couch - gesturing his  head for Sosia to follow him as he weaved his way through the rooms that led off from the garden. In one, set on tables of various heights, were an assortment of objects. On the wall were a pair of twin axes, "Those were taken from a Chief in Britannia..." He murmured and then drew her to a small table where fine jewellery was displayed. It was gold and not intricately fashioned like those of Roman women, but instead it was chunky, with odd coloured stones of different sizes set in it. "That's from up near the border lands in Britannia, at the very edge of the Empire." He smiled to himself and then gestured at a smaller plinth. Set on it was a small bronze figurine, no bigger than his forearm. It was intricately carved into the shape of a dog, or a wolf, with wings and horns and a snarl. "They told me it was supposed to be a dragon."1 He tilted his head as he frowned at it. 

"This interests you?" He asked, glancing over at her curiously. 

 

TAG: @Atrice

1 This is in the British Museum's 'Britain and Europe 800BC-43AD room: Bronze Dragon statue

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Seeing him smile like that at her question was so rewarding! She felt so happy to have made him smile and grin like that, simply by asking a question about his travels. He did seem fond of the memories he had, so there must be a favorite thing and maybe it would tell her something about him? He joked about his body slave having hidden it and she glanced at the slave, who just stood there, observing them. Almost too observant, she thought, but shook the thought off quickly again. Because Lucius was standing and asked her to follow him, so she set down her drink and did. They moved through the house and she looked around in awe, it really was so interesting. And she forgot completely to consider they’d be more alone here.

 He showed her a lovely display of various objects and she did gasp, seeing the axes on the wall. From Britannia! Impressive! But he had something he would show her, the best thing he brought from abroad and she followed him. The heavy looking jewelry was at least shiny, but she thought she preferred the lighter necklaces she had here. Think that there were people out there, who wore such things. Even if she wouldn’t like to do it, the thought of those people was kind of exciting. And Lucius had been there!

 Then he gestured to one particular object, a pretty figurine of some animal she’d never seen. A dragon? She tilted her head and crouched down a bit to get a better look, “It does, it is very interesting! We never had such things on display at home. From foreign countries.” Sosia said and stood again, looking up at him, “It’s a funny looking dragon, if that’s what it is. Why this one though? When you have so many things. And yet this is your favorite thing?”

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Lucius Cassius Longinus

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The smile on his face was soft, genuine as he took in his collection and then - without meaning to - let his eyes drift over her as she in turn, looked at the objects. She was crouching, peering intently at the dragon and the look on her face, the earnestness he saw in her expression wrenched his chest. There was none of the pretence he would expect of a woman of her class and beauty, none of the fakery or faux-shyness, she was just...open. Honest. Naive, of course, but that was endearing in a way and he wondered briefly whether the trials of life would bend that out of her or whether she would go forward for the next ten, twenty, thirty years with that smile on her face and flowers in her hair. 

He was only shaken from his thoughts by her popping back up to stand and he cleared his throat, turning his attention back to the statue. He frowned, as if puzzling for an answer. "I suppose I just liked it...I..." he tilted his head to the other side as if in deep contemplation before he glanced sideways at her. She was tall for a woman, but he was taller still for a man so he had a good head and a half on her. He peered down, his lips turning up into a smile as he shrugged. "I suppose I'd never really thought about it much beyond that but...thinking about it now...He sighed but not unhappily, "I remember the day I got it - it had been weeks of freezing rain and mud, Attis I'm sure, will agree-" He gestured at his body salve, "It was some of the most miserable weather we suffered there in the whole tour. It used to sting your skin if you stayed out in it for more than a few minutes, everybody's tents leaked and we were moving between forts so there was no proper cover." He chuckled to himself at the memory, "We had to dig in for a few days to let it pass and one of the men digging a trench found it buried." He smiled fondly at the memory as if uncovering layers of his own history he'd forgotten, "Some Briton had abandoned it with a whole host of other jewels and things they never recovered. We divvied the gold up between the men as spoils but the dragon became our unofficial mascot," He chuckled, "I used to keep it on my desk and the men used to salute it, only after the eagle of course." He patted its head fondly and then shook his head. "I suppose it reminds me of happier times." 

He finally glanced back from the dragon to Sosia and grimaced. "That's probably a deeply boring story to hear, yes?" 

 

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Was she being too childish? But really this was all very exciting and she loved hearing about it all. She grew more and more happy that she decided to ask Lucius about his favorite object, because it seemed to make him happy and how could that not make her happy in return? She felt him watching her as she watched the figurine she showed him, but men did that. They watched women. They liked to look at them, as her father would say. So she let him and didn't mention it, not even as she stood again to ask why the figurine was his favorite. And at first, he didn't seem to know how to answer that, as if he never thought about it. Then, after some consideration, he smiled again and began telling her the story about awful weather in Britannia and how they had found the figurine and it became a mascot. Sosia grew quiet while he talked, just listening, a bit jealous that she was not a man and would never have such experiences to look back upon.

The way he told the story and the way he smiled was almost boyish to her and she thought that maybe she wasn't too childish after all. He was very sweet! Who would have known that a man such as this one, a military one, would be both charming, handsome and sweet at the same time? She chuckled when he said the story must be boring.

"No! No... it wasn't boring at all! I can't imagine what it must have been like, but it must have been so exciting to dig and then suddenly find a treasure there. I wonder what else is hiding underneath the dirt?" She mused, "And it sounds like such a fond memory to you, you're lucky to have it. Hmm..." She glanced around, feeling she wanted more stories, both because it was interesting and because he was so sweet when he told them, "What about this golden jewelry? It is gold, isn't it? It looks so heavy! Did you see them wearing it?"

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Lucius Cassius Longinus

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Longinus laughed, "Under the dirt in Britannia? Probably more wealth than Crassus ever had, the Britons seemed to have buried their valuables, given we'd dig up a horde every time we dug for a fort or a trench." He shook his head in amusement and followed her gaze to the heavy set golden jewellery. He crossed the distance to it in a quick stride and tilted his head. Antonia had laughed at it, called it hideous, and bid him to hide it away in a back room. As with many things in their marriage, Longinus had chosen to be provocative and display it publicly, much to her ire. 

He hummed, trying to find the names in what felt like a distant memory. "It belonged to Huctia, she was the daughter of the King of the Parisii, they allied with the Brigantes in the war we lost Silanus in. She was sold," He sighed, "But I saw her wearing it at the negotiations. I became a legate when I was young...far too young, only a couple of years older than you are now." He shook his head. He had survived it, thrived in the responsibility but it could have ended so poorly for all involved. "It was one of the first spoils I brought home. Here..." He gently picked it up and held it out, "You can try it, if you'd like." His grin was boyish almost, his eyes sparkling with mischief and challenge. 

 

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She was so glad that she was able to make him laugh. Hopefully he'd like that about her. She knew her father wanted them to get along, because he wanted her to find a proper husband and this might be one. So far, she thought she might not mind being married to him. He knew so many things and had seen and experienced so much, but that didn't seem to have made him hard or anything. No, rather the opposite. She smiled as he laughed, mentioning the treasures buried in Britannia. It was kind of a weird thing to bury your valuables, why not sell them or take them with you? Or make it into something else, rather than hide it forever? For example that set of golden jewelry that looked so heavy to wear. And so expensive! Think if they also buried stuff like that. But it made her curious, the gold. She bet he had a story for that too.

And he did. Apparently the daughter of a king in Britannia... did that make the woman a princess? But apparently she must have been enslaved and then sold. Poor woman, she thought to herself. Think to have been a princess and then become a slave. Think to have worn gold like that, and then be turned into nothing. She couldn't help but feel a bit sad for the woman, even though she never met her. But that's how things were. That's how you did things, she knew that. Still she grew up with her slaves around her and in the country, they'd been more friends than someone beneath her, at least that's how she saw it. Rome was different regarding that too. 

But Lucius was talking, said he'd become a legate at a young age and then he brought home this spoil. One of the first. Must be precious to him too then. And now he would have her wear it? She doubted it would look good on her. It was a big and heavy ring. 

"If you promise my neck won't break under it." She said with a grin, but then nodded, "But if you insist." And that was that, she'd try some jewelry that once belonged to a princess from Britannia! She took the heavy neck ring and turned it in her hands, before she looked up at him again, "But I think... you'll have to help me." 

@Sara

Edited by Atrice
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Lucius Cassius Longinus

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He chuckled at her joke and her grin, placing a hand over his heart: “I swear I’ll protect you if you look in danger of your head rolling off.” But she agreed and he blinked in surprise and delight. It had last been worn by Huctia herself - a powerful woman with a big mane of blonde hair if memory served, and a simmering temper. Quite unlike the delicate woman in front of him.

He nodded as she asked for help, and held out his hands for the torc. Then, without thinking, moved to stand behind her and swept his fingers softly over the back of her neck to move her hair out of the way. The intimacy of the gesture was lost on him until he released his fingers were still on her skin and they were unchaperoned. He wouldn’t have put it past his mother to have moved to have an eye line of this room, but he couldn’t be sure so he hurriedly moved to slip the necklace around her throat and then took a hefty stride back so there was a respectable distance between them. He cleared his throat, unsure of whether to apologise for the familiarity or not, and then as he moved to her front so he could see her, he blinked, thoughts forgotten.

It was a gaudy piece, too big and chunky for her frame but the sight of seeing her in something that held not an insignia g sentimental value to him, was odd. It set his thoughts running and he blinked again: “It’s yours, if you want it.” A smile crept back onto his lips as his wits slowly returned: “Although I won’t be offended if you say you hate it and think it ugly.”

 

TAG: @Atrice

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Attis

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As soon as he realised what Longinus was going to do (take Sosia by herself into a room out of view of the master's mother) he'd shifted position so that he could still see them (not that he didn't trust his master, of course he did - but Sosia might appreciate knowing he was there acting as a chaperon even if she didn't know him).

Her questions were genuine and seeing his master smile made him smile in turn - it had been so long since he'd last seen that sort of carefree expression on Longinus' face. He remembered the dog-dragon god thing, whatever it was. The luck of the Ninth, he'd heard it described as, once or twice, whatever the British had called the thing.

His eyes widened as Longinus offered for Sosia to try the torc on - it was hardly the sort of thing a Roman maiden would wear, being entirely barbarian in its origins, but he could see her fascination with it, with trying to picture Britannia where so much of the master's collection had come from. And then Longinus was standing behind her, sliding the heavy twisted golden collar onto her neck. He stepped back hastily, his eyes inadvertently meeting Attis' as he did so, his expression one of... there was such a mix of emotions Attis would be hard-pressed to name any in particular.

But like the good commander he was, Longinus recovered himself, and nobody could see Attis' eyebrows climbing sky-high as he offered the torc to Sosia to keep.

Well, now.

That was something...he'd never offered any of his precious collection to even Sestia before that whole thing went straight to Hades.

The girl was in with a chance - a good chance. Attis could only hope it would all work out this time; he honestly didn't think anyone would be able to bear a third let-down, though better sooner than later. If Sosia wasn't interested in the master as a potential husband, it would be far better for everyone if she said so soon. Like, in the next few days.

 

@Atrice @Sara

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He was so sweet, when he promised he’d protect her if the neck ring was too heavy. She couldn’t help but being amused by the way he spoke, he was so charming and witty! “If you promise, I’m not afraid.” She replied with a smile and held the golden neck ring in her hands, it was quite heavy. She may never have held so much gold in her hands before, not at once. Sosia could not help but being amazed by it; it’s crude beauty, its value… both in coin and in Lucius’ memories.

She carefully asked for his help to put it on then and he nodded. Without a word, he moved in behind her and she felt his fingers on the back of her neck, touching her hair. She'd barely realized what she asked from him, but now that he was there, touching her ever so lightly, she was very much aware of it! She felt a slight shiver by the gesture and exhaled a small breath. Not that she disliked his touch. They were light touches, but her mind and her body craved it and she tried to not give in and to not show it. Then she felt the neck ring and its weight as he suddenly stepped away, his fingers leaving the nearness of her skin.

Silently she touched the gold she now wore, not daring to turn to face him and she didn’t need to. He came to her front and looked at her, then suddenly said she could keep it. She blinked, looking up at him, a hand still on the neck ring.

“I don’t hate it.” She said to him with a small grin, “But… I don’t even know if it suits me, and I don’t think I would ever wear it again. And I couldn’t take it from you. It holds more meaning to you.” Sosia said, looking up at him, “But you really are very kind, Lucius. Very kind.”

Sosia removed her hand from the neck ring, it was heavy and she felt she didn’t need to wear it longer. But it was fun trying it! Yet, to get it off again... she looked at him, now very conscious about what she was going to say and what it would lead to, but to be quite honest, she didn't mind... “It is quite heavy. I need your help again.”

@Sara

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Lucius Cassius Longinus

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She was gentle and soft and he felt an overwhelming sense that she was his opposite. Where he was passion and haste and energy, she was calming and soothing. Most unlike the women he'd fallen for time and time again in his life, but he found himself relax - even at the rejection of the torc. He chuckled and shook his head, "I take no offence, don't worry, Huctia didn't have the best taste." He chuckled and shook of her words. Was he kind? Probably depended on who you asked - to the Britons absolutely not, to his friends probably far too much and to the women in his life...probably somewhere in between. 

And then his brows rose as she asked for his help again. He thought he'd fucked it - this didn't seem like a woman such as Antonia and Sestia who had been confident towing (and crossing) those sacred boundaries of propriety. But the smile on his lips was soft and he nodded, moving a stride closer so he was facing her, a few inches apart and raised his hands. His thumbs brushed the skin over her collarbones as he gently slipped the torc back off of her but he didn't move back, not yet. Instead he studied her face for a moment, his expression soft, considering. "There..." He murmured, "You're too beautiful to wear a Barbarian's gold." And she was.

Acutely aware he should move back, it took another few moments for his brain to win the argument and he stepped away to give her some space, the golden torc held by a couple of his fingers. "So now you've indulged me in my interests which is...collecting a lot of rubbish from across the Empire, you have to humour me with what interests you..." His grin returned, the moment of impropriety passing with a heartbeat. 

 

TAG: @Atrice

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Horatia Sosia

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She liked it when he chuckled and smiled and he did that a lot - he seemed like a cheerful sort of man, and who wouldn't like that? Sosia certainly did. But the neck ring was as heavy as it was foreign and interesting to her, and she had no idea how to get it off on her own. And she hadn't minded his touch just before, no, she yearned for such things, her body craved it more than she knew. So she dared to ask him to help her take it off, and he nodded with a smile and came closer to her. Gods, he was so close to her! She inhaled quiet breaths, biting her cheek. If her father knew this... but he didn't, he was the one who sent her here with nothing but her slavegirl. It was like he wanted stuff like this to happen. And it was like she wanted it too.

She stared into his chest and then looked up at him, when his thumbs brushed over her collarbones. And then it was over, well, almost. He'd taken the neck ring off of her, but he hadn't moved away. Her lips parted slightly in surprise and he was watching her, her face. Was he going to kiss her? No... but then said she was beautiful. She blushed, unable to take her eyes off of him, "Thank you... I mean... you really think so?" That's all that came out and she felt so foolish, those were foolish words to say, why would he say that to her if he didn't mean it? 

It took a few more moments before he moved a step away from her and then wanted to know about her interests, "Oh..." She said with a grin back to him, she loved how cheerful he was, really! "I guess I must seem simple, compared to what you have. But I enjoy reading, and nature. Animals. I have a dog I love and I take her for walks." She said, gods she did sound so young and inexperienced, "I like exploring, I suppose? I've been in Rome a while now and I feel I don't know half of it yet." 

@Sara

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Lucius Cassius Longinus

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"I really think so." He confirmed softly with a small, private smile. She had an air about her - besides those big doe eyes and the glossy dark hair that was...inviting. Warm. Comforting. And that drew him, and he suspected an army of other men, in. 

His grin was natural, comfortable as she spoke and he shot a conspiratorial glance at Attis at the mention of a dog. Well then. "Not simple at all," He shook his head and then arched a brow at Attis - "Can you fetch Rugam?" He turned his attentions back to Sosia, "A good friend of mine who has...a somewhat childish sense of humour bought me a dog...whom I do love dearly, but he neglected to tell me he'd grow into the size of one of Hannibal's elephants. He's a gentle giant though." He grinned and moved back to sit in the garden, still twisting the torc between his fingers. "I like exploring too. What's the best bit of Rome you've seen so far?" 

 

TAG: @Atrice @Sharpie

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