A Twist in Time

Marcellus leaned against the sofa's back and felt total bliss as he sat there, head resting against the fabric with his eyes closing breifly in contentment. He had sat on nothing so comfortable or as luxurious in his life. He was used to basic fair of cots and stools but he was hapilly used to them. Whilst her sofa was comfortable, it was also giving him a sense of false security coupled with the affect of the wine he was consuming. A cot or stool offered little to no comfort and reminded one about their duties. Duties he had currently been torn away from. Gods knew how he was going to explain all of this. If they were able to return him to his time, he hoped they could do it to the point he had been taken from. It would be easier then to appear to the Legion and have the clerks scratch out their count of him being missing presumed dead. He opened his eyes with a rueful exhalation of breath, blinking before he looked towards her. She looked more worn than when he had first seen her and his heart went out to her. He had met many a slaver driver in superior officers and had often been used far beyond the requirement of his duties or station.

He smiled as she admitted to having so many questions lying in wait for him. For most others, that would be something to make one nervous and wary but he found himself content for her to do so. He felt a little obliged to since she had let him stay in her home and wear clothes that he was wondering who belonged to previously. They clearly had some sentimental and perhaps painful value to Valerie but he wasn't going to pry about that. Least not yet. It wasn't really his place to or so he felt. "That's... a fair few questions, uh... let's see... Always knew what I wanted to be. Never knew my ma, pa raised me single handedly after I was dumped on his doorstep. He's a veteran too... used to regale me with stories every night to put me to sleep. Never did the job he hoped though... Found them too bloody captivating," he grinned with a chuckle.

"Misenum was a busy place, a good place... used to run around with the other kids though calling them friends might have been a stretch. They had the luxury of having both parents alive in their lives. I was home schooled, Pa had a Greek slave to teach me... I knew some history, poetry... Though don't ask me to recite any of it now, I can't remember. Pavos taught me to read and write... rather stern for a Greek but he was a good teacher. I think my father knew what I wanted just as much as I did and hoped I'd get to a decent rank. He wasn't wrong there!" he smiled with feeling and nodded. "Don't know what movies are... Sounds like theater?" he asked

"Helped Pa with port work when I could though, it was hard work. Especially for a one-arm Vet," he explained with a nod and then took a large sip of the wine.

She spoke again and he listened easily to the cadence of her voice, "Sure, I'd like that... See what's new and all that," he nodded glad that he seemed worthy to be shown such things. It'd certainly beat being holed up in her apartment all day long though he wouldn't mind that either. "Zoo? Uh, of a sort... They were more for the arena. Man versus beast or beast versus beast... Art, I don't know. Was too far interested in soldiering or the prospect of. I was learning how to use a sword even before I came of age," he smiled slightly before he settled further into the couch. "I'd be happy to go see what your art is though"

He looked at her and watched her for a moment in return. She seemed to be recalling something and he wondered where her mind was wandering to, "What do you do to relax? To get away from that place...?" he asked, wondering what people did in their off duty hours.
 
Last edited:
(Sorry about the late reply, went away on a short holiday and realized too late that I wouldn't have signal)

She listen with intense focus, leaning forward slightly as he spoke and cocking her head to the side. It was a habit she had when she was concentrating hard on something, her eyes narrowed slightly with her brows subtly furrowed together. "Must have been almost an expectation for you to want to join a life in the military, considering that you have a parental figure that came from that lifestyle. If you looked up to your pa, then you must have wanted to be just like him." She liked to hear him chuckle, The sound contrasted with his usually stoic demeanor and somewhat stern expression. She supposed it was a look he must have become more comfortably wearing when needing to command troops, but here in a different lifetime away from the cries of battle she found that the light laugh seemed to fit him better than his persona when they had first met.

The thought of a Greek slave being willing to teach the child of the man who owned him confused her, the wine glass she held shifting into her opposite hand before she spoke. "I would love to hear some Greek poetry spoken in it's untainted tongue. but I suppose it would be unfair of me to ask you to search through your memory for such a thing. It would be like me trying to recite the songs I learned from the radio when I was ten. Movies are like....moving pictures. They tell a story, but the people aren't there in front of you. I suppose it does have some similarities with theater. I'll have to take you sometime so that you can see for yourself. We do still have theater, although it is not as common an activity as going to the movies."

She drank some more, peach lips carefully cradling the rim of the glass as the dark cherry-hued liquid was tipped forward. His father sounded like a brave and honorable man, working despite the disability he had. Valerie could easily see how the man before her might have been shaped into the noble, straight-backed man who sat before her with a father-figure like that. At his confusion at the word zoo, she became decided on what their activities for the next day might be. "No, we don't encourage bloody sport anymore. A zoo is just a place were animals are kept. The one we have here is rather humane too, they only keep animals that need help or were rescued from smuggling rings and are unable to return back to where they came from. As for the art, there's a gallery on the other side of town that we can visit...if I remember correctly, there might even be a few Roman statues that have been salvaged and are up for display."

He asked his next question, the girl needing to think for a few seconds before she answered. "I like to draw. Read a book on something other than science. Go to the movies as well, or even just walking through the park I showed you that first day you got here. Then there's the occasional outing to the zoo and art gallery which I am going to take you to tomorrow."
 
(Haha no worries, i figured you either had work or went somewhere nice)

He supposed it was always going to be a likelihood of him joining up with the Legion. His father was everything to him, the one important figure in his life who had ruled with a firm hand but knew when to let loose. Kaeso knew he could rely on his father to be there for him no matter his problem. He smiled with fond affection and nodded, "Something like that. He reached the Centurionate before he got honourably discharged. He showed the value of learning the trade and value of discipline." He grinned, "You know, he kept his uniform... I used to run about the house wearing his helmet when I was about hm... seven? It was so big for my little head back then. Thing wobbled about. Never thought back then I'd be wearing my own years down the line," he chuckled softly at the memory of running around the house with his father in hysterics.

He shrugged, "Sorry, forgotten them... and Pavos never taught me in Greek." He honestly couldn't recall any of it. The ability to read and write had stood him on high footing when it had come to his promotion to Optio and then Centurion two years after but there had never been any need for Greek poetry. So his brain had done what most brains did with unwarranted information and promptly forgot all about it. He threw a puzzled look at her when she mentioned things like movies and other strange sounding names and he was very grateful for the explanation given.

"That's a shame," he nodded, "Used to like going to the theatre when I had the chance to." He decided to leave out the part that most of what he went to was probably not what most would consider appropriate for most audiences. He also supposed the times had changed that much that perhaps what he was used to seeing would not longer be allowed.

He tilted his head at the thought of a lack of arena and sipped his wine enjoying the taste of it. What did they even do for entertainment? He nodded as she carried on with her explanations and he supposed that was at least something. He never went to the arena for the animal fights. He never had seen the same thrill others saw in a man killing a lion or watching a Bear tear the throats of dogs. However, he had enjoyed watching two opponents try to outwit each other in battle.

"You can draw?" he asked, always harbouring a small amount of jealousy for the art. "It is like watching magic... One of the legionaries in one of the centuries I used to be in drew everything time he could... people, animals... " He leaned forwards and nodded before he gave a genuine look of interest, "Can I see your work?"

"Do people still compete?"
 
Valerie laughed quietly at the thought of a small Roman boy stumbling around the house in a too-big helmet, imagining a younger version of Kaeso knocking into furniture or tripping on stairs. "Must have been hard for a man to not be able to speak to other people in the language of his birth. I imagine it would be like me trying to teach Biology to a German child...it would be a frightfully difficult thing to achieve. Pavos must have been very patient to be able to teach someone in another language." She lay her head to the side, resting it against one of the taller cushions.

He marveled at her ability to draw, the female blinking heavy eyes as she lifted her head once more. Her green eyes were vaguely hazy, the wine making the atmosphere cotton candy textured. Her speech was still clear and unhindered, her tongue simply looser and less inhibited. Valerie was used to analyzing every one of her thoughts before she spoke them out loud, the beverage in her hand was just making it so that she spoke what she wanted to say instead of a more sugar-coated and softened version of the original sentence.

"Magic? I do it to unwind, especially when I find that my mind is going in every direction possible. I like to go to the park, the scenery there is always nice and it's also quiet too. Otherwise I like to climb to the roof of my apartment if it's a warm evening during summer or sit by the window in my room with something warm to drink in winter." He asked to see her work, the female hesitating for a moment before getting up and placing her wine glass on the low coffee table before going to her room. She returned with a medium sized drawing pad, placing it next to him before sitting back down on the same couch he sat on on the opposite end. She retrieved her wine glass before placing the book on her lap, opening it up before handing it to him so he could leaf through it.

While he looked through it, starting with the image of a brown hare on the first page, she answered his question. "We do compete, but in things like running, swimming and athletics. There's also team sports like water-polo, cricket, rugby or football. There's at least one sport out there that everyone enjoys watching or playing. Most of it gets televised if the team is international and every four years, countries from all around the world compete in this huge event called the Olympics. If I remember correctly, the idea of the Olympics actually originated in Athens I believe, people still run with a torch at the opening ceremony."

When he flipped the page, he would find various mediums and subjects sketched or painted. Some pages showed images of a terraced building surrounded by flowers, there were more pictures of animals or arbitary items. Somewhere in the middle of the sketchbook though, would be the etched picture of the head and shoulders of a male who held a warm smile. Many of the pages were bent or dirty with charcoal smears or graphite marks, even the odd coffee ring showing up from time to time.
 
He liked the sound of her laughter. It was not a sound he was entirely used to. It sounded so innocent and free. He had not known those two things for a very long time. He had lost his own a long time ago in the skirmishes but it did boost his own morale when he heard it in others. He sank further into the couch and sipped his wine some more. Yes, he decided, it was definitely a sound he wouldn't mind hearing a lot more. He supposed it could happen more frequently if she was allowed to. He gazed at her, a fog to the edges of his vision as the wine settled into his system. He felt happy. Happiest he'd been for a long time.

Kaeso listened and smiled nodded, he could see it was her chance to unwind and catch something for herself in the same much in the way he spent what free time he did have looking up hate sky at night or drinking with the other Centurions. He smiled deeply at that thought and nodded again, "Sounds peaceful," he breathed. He tilted his head as she rose from her seat and he pulled himself up sitting straighter. He leaned over and joined his glass with hers before she returned and he looked at her, waiting for her to get resettled before he took the pad. He rested its base across the stretch of one hand and opened it, a hare staring back up at him with bright keen eyes. He smiled at it as she filled the room with her voice again.

He chuckled and nodded, "Good to know some things may never let their flame go out... " he paused to look at her with a quirky grin before he looked back at her work and paused when he came upon the face of a male. A lot of effort and care had gone into the work, that he could tell. He let the page rest there.

"Valerie... these are... amazing. Definitely magic... this man, he looks like he's smiling right off the page," he looked at her as he lifted the sketchbook closer towards her. "Have you always drawn things you've seen?" he asked forgetting it was her turn for a question almost at once before he remember and smirked slightly. "Guess I owe you two questions now huh?" He gave an impish grin as he gently rested the book back in the space between them before reaching for another sip of wine
 
She eased herself off the couch, sauntering over to the kitchen where she retrieved the other bottle of wine. She opened it with a small *pop* that echoed in the airy but only moderately-sized space, bringing the bottle back to top up his glass as well as her own. The scientist then sank down into the same spot she had left, on the opposite end of the couch he sat on, as he arrived at the picture of the male. The smile that greeted her from the page tilted in her direction gripped her chest and sent ice seeping into her veins, but a sadness too which had not left her but rather been dulled into an ache which could be ignored. It peaked now though, just as it had been doing more and more often since Kaeso had arrived.

In an absent-minded manner, her free hand came up to trace the outline of the face on the page. A small smile which could have been blown away by a whisper of wind tugged at the corner of her mouth as she answered quietly "Yes, I almost always draw what I see. I can never quite exactly capture the brilliance I observe, but I try my best to do it justice." This particular drawing had given her such thoughts, a long sigh that originated deep in her chest slowly releasing from her nostrils.,

She took the drawing pad back, closing it gently and rubbing her hand over the cover tenderly. The item was important to her, that much was obvious. The girl leaned forward to place it on the coffee table, eyes linger on the black leather cover for an extra second before she turned back to the Roman. "I don't mind the extra question, I like talking to someone other than Shane about topics of conversation not centered around his work. This is somewhat refreshing for me...reminds me what having a friend is supposed to be like."

Val stretched, looking vaguely like a cat waking from a nap with the way her arms stretched above her head and her back arched before relaxing back into place. "The day off tomorrow from needing to work on this project seems like a wish come true. Since you came through the machine, he has become infuriatingly irritating rather than barely intolerable. Don't get me wrong, I really want to help get you back to where you belong as soon as possible, but after today...I'm inclined to want some time away, no matter how short it is. My turn next then...hmmm..."

She tapped her finger against her chin, twisting her mouth to the side while she bundled up her legs closer to her chest. "What is the worst battle you have ever been in and my second question is why?" The girl knew she was delving a little deeper than surface information, her slight increase in bravery due to to the red liquid swirling in her glass. There wasn't much of a gradient to her initial questions compared to the sharpness of this one, but her curiosity was getting the better of her. She added in quickly, not wanting to offend him "If the answer is too intimate, then you can pass this question up and I can give you another." Her voice was quiet but caring, a soft caress of syllables speaking honestly.
 
He held his glass out steady as she poured more into the goblet with a smile of gratitude. This was good wine and he was feeling delightfully content from it. IOt was certainly washing away all his current worries and anxieties about his placement in a future time than his own and the worry of how and when he was getting back to his own time. As much as he was enjoying her company and learning about this whole new world of ideas and things, he was so out of depth to it all. He was consciously aware he was from a time where people were a lot less interested in finding out new things and more interested in their political and military standing. That said, he knew he would miss Valerie when the time came. It was so rare he could have a good conversation about trivial things. She had made him realise just how much he had undervalued his Optio and now he was dead, he couldn't change that. He sighed softly with heartfelt regret and sank it into another long sip of wine. Yes, he could get quite happily rat arsed tonight. Least he would sleep like a log later.

Kaeso watched as delicate fingers played with the drawn face smiling back at them, "Well, it's more than I ever could do... My art lies in killing... Not this..." He was envious of her ability. It was something he could never do. Stick people maybe, but he knew he'd never match up to this level of talent that she held. She also seemed far more emotionally invested in this picture if his observation skills were on point. He looked back at the male face smiling up at them and wondered if this was the face of some past lover of hers. Perhaps the one who the clothes he wore belonged to. It would definitely explain the looks and longing touches.

He gently passed it back over and settled further into the couch again secretly loving its comfort. He smirked at her comment, anything was better than having that man come up in conversation. Kaeso didn't care for the man and would happily punch him at her request. He knew he'd have no doubts in that court. He had not liked the way Shane had reacted over the loss of some bloody notebook. Sure, it might have been important and Kaeso was aware it might even have the answer to sending him home but it still did not excuse the man from treating Valerie like shew as some slave or muck beneath his heel. It wasn't right. That was not a response that would produce the incentive to work for him.

She spoke and he looked at her, eyes searching for a long moment before he offered a smile and a shrug, "I'd like to go back, but I'm not about to rush you. Id' rather the job was done with surety than half-arsed. I don't want to end up further in the shit, if you get me. You don't need to worry about me pressuring you, Valerie. I think Shane an idiot for doing what he did, and since when did rushing anything bring the results?" he questioned with an understanding nod. He often had to rush his men but he understood when rushing things was never the answer. A plan had to be considered before it could be acted upon otherwise the number of their dead would rise exponentially.

He glanced at her with a level of surprise, he had not figured she would want to delve into such a background. He smirked when she spoke of its intimacy and shook his head, "Don't be silly. Ask what you like, I'll be honest about it," he replied with a nod, he wasn't sure if he could be dishonest with her. She had done so much in taking him into her home. He took a deep sip of wine as he rummaged about his brain and then nodded, "In all honesty, the one I just came out of. The rest were pretty straightforwards by comparison. I've served on the Rhine and in Syria, a viper's pit that place but our conquest of Britain isn't going as smooth as I'm sure our commanders would have liked. Caratacus is good, seriously good... But General Plautius... he uh, wanted to try and divide them. So we were pretty much a distraction tactic whilst the main force went around them to tackle another side, place pressure there. We were supposed to have been backed up by the Eighth and Ninth a few hours after we initiated combat. They never showed up and they whittled us down to the last man, yours truly. We were outnumbered as least three or four to one of my men but damn me if me men didn't give it their all in their last moments. It's a shame really..." he sighed slightly and sipped more wine as his mind relived the last battle he had taken a part in. "My Optio, Renius, would have made for a damned fine Centurion one day. We must have downed a good hundred of the buggers before they overwhelmed us. We should never have been placed into that situation in the first place... or at least the General should have waited a little longer in order for the main army to catch up with us far more quickly than first anticipated than they did. Gods know if they did ever turn up... I lost a good friend that day..."

The pain was fresh and the anguish of being in a fight that should have been far more considered than it was was on a forefront of his mind but it felt good to talk about it, get it off his chest and share with her. He snorted, "Seems we both have employers who have shit understanding of those beneath them, eh?" he mused with a smile of bemusement. He felt she would understand and at least she showed that capacity to do so.

He sighed softly and then he looked towards her, "That man you drew... the smiling one... You knew him once, didn't you?" he asked softly with a tone of voice that said she could ignore the question if she would rather do so, it didn't demand or order and he was accepting of that decision. He was curious though, there was far too much feeling in the actual work of the piece that he could see for the face to not be known.
 
The female shifted, eyes scanning over his every feature carefully. His face was softened in this light, the yellowy-bulb of the lamp in the far corner of the living room casting half his face in darkness from the angle at which she sat. He had seemed much different when they first met. The hard lines around his eyes and the steely look in his gaze she had mistaken for fear and violence. While both were true, the characteristics he had shown were cast in a different light now within her mind just as his face was now. He had lived a life of violence, that much was true, but it had been a violence borne of loyalty to his country and defending those around him. The hard lines which had made him appear so unapproachable and somewhat scary to the scientist at first she now saw as physical marks of the tough times and decisions he had had to live through. The way he spoke about killing as his art form made her heart heavy, since for some reason she was beginning to see that there must be more to him than just sword-swinging and blood-spattering acts. He seemed to think otherwise though.

"I am sure there is much more to you than one individual in the sea of army faces. I'm very sure you're no ordinary soldier if you got to the position you hold." She made sure not to talk about his army rank as if it was past tense, continuing on in a soothing tone. "You acted out against the wrong shown to me today, instead of staying out of it. That is not the way of a man who was born to do nought but slaughter and cleave men from chin to groin. You kill...but you do it out of necessity and not because you lust for blood. The difference between those drives is rather important to take note of." Memories swam in the peripheries of her mind. The characteristics she described rang true for another man who had sat across from her where Kaeso sat now. She sucked in her lower lip, releasing it with a short sigh. More wine spilled into her mouth, the liquid slipping down her throat with a satisfying silkiness. It was easier to force herself to take a sip than allow her mind to slowly delve into the memories rather than shove them aside. The locked nature of the memories was loosening with her tongue, another side effect of the wine. It was bittersweet, but she refused to dive right into the images flashing across her mind, rather just dipping her toe in before banishing them back to the vault they had been designated in her mind.

She listened intently to the battle he spoke of, getting more of a personal look into what he had been pulled out of rather than the brief, military-like report he had given her when she had asked in previous days where he had come from. Her eyes narrowed sadly as he spoke of the men he had lost and the disappointment at the higher-ups involved in ensuring they had support which never arrived. Her free hand slid instinctively to his arm as he spoke of his dead Optio. The loss he felt was slightly obscured, but the female could still see the sadness in his eyes. "It would appear that much hasn't changed across history. People are still sacrificing those they see as beneath them in order to obtain a victory. The cost of glory outweighs the guilt they feel at letting men die in their name....if they even feel any guilt at all. At least Renuis got to die among his brothers in arms. " Her words came from a hidden place, one barbed with thorns of rose bushes which had had the flowers cut before they even got the chance to bloom. They were tinged with anger and bitterness, Valerie swallowing sharply before casting the shadows that clung to her words aside. It was an old anger, one that had consumed her before. She refused to let it taint her again. The reason behind the anger would soon become apparent to Kaeso with his next question.

His query was soft spoken, but the words might as well have been shouted with how she suddenly felt her insides coil and twist with discomfort. The pain was still there, despite how she tried and failed to dilute it and reduce it. Most days it was an easily ignored buzz in the pit of her stomach, now it was like the meal they had eaten had become acid all at once. The words were there, her lips almost quivering at first. Unlike the other times when people had tried to draw this from her, even with them knowing the story, she always felt the need to retreat and be alone rather than share her anguish. For the first time in a while, the words felt like a heavy weight she needed to move from her chest if she wished to breath properly once more. For this reason, the explanation flowed from her like a quiet stream that had split from a raging river....small and gentle in it's presence, but the knowledge of where it came from could not be discounted.

"I did know him, he used to live in this city with me although in a different building from this one." She had moved telling herself it was to be closer to work, but truth was that the memories were harder to avoid in a place where ever nook and cranny triggered them. "He was a soldier, like you. Went out to a different country to fight a war and....didn't come back...alive or dead. The body wasn't able to be retrieved, he disappeared during one of the missions he was sent on." Valerie's words were whispered and her sentences short and vaguely shaky. Her expression was grim, eyes dropping to peer at the picture of him as if he might jump straight out the page. She smiled, although it lacked the joy of her previous ones. This one instead was sad, lips forming a thin and pale line as she finally looked back up at Kaeso. A small sigh escaped her, the smile trying with her best effort to transform into something more positive. The female shut the pad, pushing away the negative emotions bubbling up inside of her as she built up her more joyful facade once more. She put her her easy-going smile back into place, sipping more wine while getting comfortable again.
 
((Nah, don't be sorry. :p Length can be a good thing, i look for quality more but sometimes length helps that!))

Kaeso was not used to emotional outbursts. As a soldier, he had become used to the trials and ordeals any man in the army had to face and acknowledge. He was always aware that his name would be on some enemy's arrow or sword and he had met that knowledge head, leading a the front. Given his rank, he was more of a target for the enemy. That transverse crest whilst useful in quickly signifying his rank also singled him out as a prime trophy. Especially for the Britons of the island he had been fighting on. Renius however had lived with an optimism that took a hard job suppressing. Kaeso had never understood where the lad stored it all but the man had never been without a smile or something good to say to boost the men's morale. It was one of the reasons why he had chosen the man for his second alongside the fact that Renius could fight hard as much as himself. He would miss him but damn him if he could forget the man. He'd stick it the enemy and make sure Renius' name lived on.

He looked to her and smiled softly glad for her tone, it felt strange but it felt pleasant. The soldier's life was all he had known and being in a woman's company without thought of bedding her was something he found different. Different of a good sort. She was intelligent as she was emphatic and he thanked her for that. He knew things could have gone down a different road. His eyes searched hers as he listened to her and he wondered just how easy he was to read. He dipped his head in gratitude and returned a warm smile, "I don't wish to be a monster. I fight for my brothers in arms, my country... my father. Oh, he knew what I wanted to be... Made sure I understood the difference of killing and honour in men. I owe him more than I realise, it seems," he nodded, more to himself and made a mental note to write home at the first opportunity. Gods knew how or when but he promised he would do so.

Telling her about how the battle he and his men had suffered through had come from his need to understand why support had never come. A Centurion's duty was explicit, to lead from the front and look after their men to the best of their ability. He peered into his wine eyes searching the fruity red liquid as if it held the answers of the cosmos within. Quite understandably, the wine did nothing to answer his need and he sighed softly, sipping it before before her touch cause him to look towards her hand and then rest his eyes upon her face as he listened to her voice. There was something to it that he knew held pain and loss and an anguish he could relate to, "I had hoped... people would have changed. Learned from our mistakes... Me, my men, we're but a number on a strength return... I'm sorry," and he was, truly was and not just for his time but for hers. "Renius lives on... in here, whilst I live and I know I'll see him again," he breathed with a sad smile of acceptance as he tapped his head in gesture of his meaning and reference.

As he watched her he could tell his question had pulled at strings not yet fully healed and he was sorry to have brought the anguish further out on her facial features. He listened without judgement as she spoke of a man. It was unclear if this man was just a close friend or more but he wasn't blind to the correlation between him and the other. He reached out and gently squeezed her hand. He had known men who had received letters of condolence and women too before he had enlisted. The Roman letter was always to the point, often blunt and cold in its affair with no thought to how the information would be received. Whilst he knew there was nothing to be done about that, he knew closure was rarely felt. Therein lay that onion. He knew exactly what happened to Renius but for her friend... "I'm sorry. I know it's all I know besides how I was raised... but I can't lie. War is ugly and cold... If there's one thing I did hate doing... it was letters of condolences. Can't always tell them the manner of their death. Your friend... He sounds like he was a good man. He's alive, in you... Like Renius for me, right?" His eyes continued to rest on her for a moment. "Here if you need me eh?" he offered gently before he let go of her hand.

Silence filled the room and he wished it was solid enough for him to stab at it. He stared at the table for a moment before drinking more of the wine, his head growing all the more fuzzy around the edges. Kaeso soon found himself humming a song, one often sung during when the army march. Songs helped to distract the mind and maintain pace when there was not a need to maintain silence within the ranks. It was of a low baritone but his humming indicated he probably wasn't the worst singer in the world.
 
(I might be slow to reply in the next two weeks. Suddenly been swamped by university work)

He took her hand. The human contact wasn't something she realized she had been craving, but she realized now that it was something that had been gnawing at her as an unchecked need for some time. She didn't know exactly when she had converted from wanting to hide away when the topic of her dead fiance was brought up to wanting to purge it from the dark crevices of her mind, but she found that the contrast was a positive one. She felt lighter for having shared her load rather than rolling it over in her mind alone as she usually did. The female let out a deep, longing sigh. The sound was pained, but the type of pain one gets during recovery rather than damage. Her smile shifted, the genuineness of it solidifying slowly before she lifted her head.

His words only helped her to further release the barbed thoughts of the man on the page. It was relieving really, like being washed clean after months of accumulating dust and cobwebs. Kaeso's hands had a slight warmth to them, the heat they had given her slightly cold fingers remaining a moment after he had let go. Oddly enough, she felt somewhat disappointed at the sudden loss of contact, but didn't allow herself to dwell on this and instead spoke again softly. "Thank you, Kaeso. That means a lot coming from another soldier. You might not have been from the same time, but it is difficult to explain to you just how similar some of your ideologies are.....I mean, were....to his. Military men of different eras, but with the same mind for keeping your fellow soldiers alive and mourning every new loss of a friend as if it were the first."

The Roman's voice was soothing. It was not soft and rose-tinted, but rather rich and full like a cup filled with amber-hued honey. She wished she could hear the words, realizing that she had her own question next. The female used this to her advantage, looking at him with a sly smile as she asked "What are the words to the song you humming?" The tune was difficult to place as sad or jovial without words to emphasis the music they were attached too. Valerie bit down her desire to ask him to sing it for her, realizing in some still clear part of her mind that that request would partially be the wine talking. She swirled the liquid round the glass she held, sliding into the couch and sinking further into the cushions. Despite all her efforts, a faint fatigue was beginning to slink into her mind and body. The female banished it away as best she could, rubbing her eyes quickly and moving some of her hair behind her ear.
 
He looked towards her and tilted his head as she spoke. He smiled and nodded as she spoke, glad to just listen to the sound of her voice. It had a good natural quality to it that he doubted he would grow bored of. Some people had the vocal chords of a monologue. He was glad he was of help to her in some way. It felt like it had paved some way into repaying her kindness in taking him into her home and looking after him. He was aware that he must have unwittingly been something of a painful reminder for her in the loss of her friend and whilst he knew he could have had no helping in that, it still made him a little sad in the knowledge.

"I'm glad," he nodded to her, "Those who joined the army for political gain... They don't always understand or appreciate what fighting is or means... The men under my command, they were more my family in that situation than my father. It's how the army work... least the Roman one. You can't fight divided." Explaining the military life for any soldier was a bit easier than he had reckoned for. But then, if her friend was a soldier, she may have heard it and understood it all before. He drank some more for a moment before he smiled and gestured to the drawing pad once again, "You should put that on a tile... Not sure what equivalent you have in this time," he said, unsure if they had some way to show it off and unknowingly referring to a photo frame, but it was clear that this soldier had meant a great deal to her and Kaeso didn't think it right that his face should be hidden away behind other papers.

He hummed through the song till she broke the air with her question and he flushed a little, sitting straighter and clearing his throat before he spoke. "It's uh... something we sometimes sing whilst on the march amongst others. Um, it's a bit rude, the one I was humming just then," he explained, rubbing behind his ear slightly in embarrassment. Marching songs was something every unit had and were often song whilst on the road when there was no need for silence. They were often either rude as the one he had been humming or proclaiming that unit to be the best and woe betide any unit that disagreed. She still seemed interested in knowing exactly what he was humming and with a little prodding, he finally deigned to launch into the words of his song that her time would not have heard in a very long time.

"Citizens, keep an eye on your wives, we’re bringing back the bald adulterer,
He’s fucked away the gold in Gaul that you loaned him here.
Caesar vanquished the Gauls,
Nicomedes Caesar, Caesar who vanquished the Gauls now triumphs.
Nicomedes does not triumph, who vanquished Caesar.
Caesar leads the Gauls in triumph, likewise into the Senate House.
The Gauls have laid aside their trousers and put on the broad purple stripe."

His voice followed the cadence in which he had been taught the song and it was easy to note how it would match with a standard Roman pace as some parts of it were sung as if slowed and others quickened. He finished the song and drank a deeper mouthful of wine unused to singing to women let alone performing it without his men sharing in the camaraderie of the song. His ears flushed red before he smiled slightly. "It's a bit old... Well, I supposed it's a lot older now, considering," he chuckled slightly, the whole aspect of time was still sometimes trying to sink in. He rested the glass in his hands on his lap breathing quite regularly and he fought off a yawn that threatened to claim him.
 
She tilted her head to the side, eyes gleaming with curiosity as he answered her question. His sight embarrassment brought a sly grin to her face, not because she had intended to make him uncomfortable but rather because she was unused to seeing him this ways. Even with all the new things he had faced, the Roman soldier had remained courageous when facing the unknown and resilient in appearing strong and as unaffected as possible by what he had been dragged into. Yet, here he was, getting red-cheeked over a soldier's tune meant to strengthen camaraderie. The comparison was something she couldn't help but chuckle about, the last ebbs of the grey cloud that had previously come over her vanishing.

It was quite a feat for someone to be able to do this...easily make her toss aside her worries and focus on something more lighthearted. She was prone to over-analysing and over-thinking, breaking apart a concept, thought or memory in her head until she felt like her skull was pounding and her brows were going to become permanently furrowed in the middle of her face. Kaeso however, had managed to make her shift her thoughts to something much more jovial. It was a skill she greatly appreciated.

She waited for him to explain the words behind the humming, understanding how the abrupt and rhythmic cadence of the tune would be useful for keeping a group of men marching in unison. Valerie could also see just how much of a bonding activity among a group of burly soldiers to be singing about such things. While he seemed worried about offending her by explaining the words, they in fact had the opposite effect. Her chuckle strengthened, morphing instead to a shirt-lived but louder laugh that filled the darkened corners of the living room. "I'm sure the wives of your brothers in arms would have been extremely pleased with the songs they kept their minds occupied with. It's amusing, considering that women in this time are thought of as just about equal to men....they're even free to join the military if they wish. Can't imagine soldiers singing such a thing with woman marching along side them in the unit." Her words were teasing, the female flashing a smile in his direction just before she stifled a yawn.

"I'm going to have to ask that I answer your next question tomorrow morning. I fear I might fall asleep right here if I don't get myself into bed soon." She stood, noticeably wavering a bit in her stability as she grabbed the arm of the couch. The wine must have had a slightly greater effect than I thought. She chuckled again to herself, corner of her eyes crinkling as she smiled once more and walked around the back of the couch to retrieve his wine glass. She placed both in the sink before filling another glass with water and gulping most of it down. "Need anything before you retire?"
 
He relaxed further into the couch still marvelling at how comfortable it was. It was pure luxury that he had never really known before. Soft things were not in his usual day of action where he lived in the rough and ready conditions of the army. It was akin to what he felt bliss must feel like. All those used to a wealthy living, this was as close to their living conditions, he mused before he glanced towards her little kitchen. Perhaps not entirely then. He sighed softly in contentment briefly closing his eyes before he open them again. If he wasn't careful, he knew he could very well sleep on this comfortable couch.

He looked towards her to find a pleasant smile to her features, one where worry had left her and peace replaced it. He smiled in return happy to see it. He finished his wine and rested the glass in-between his fingers and palm. She chuckled and he smiled more broadly at her, ears still flushed slightly with his embarrassment of what most would consider a rude song about a former tyrant. He listened to her words before they elicited a deep laugh from a thick neck adding to her own at her teasing.

"I can't imagine seeing women fighting alongside men... It's rare they do so in the arena...," he breathed, it was surprisingly on some levels how different his society was compared with hers despite the similarities. He tilted his head a moment before he smiled. The hour was late and he was feeling it. Bed was sounding pretty good in his head about now.

He watched as she stood and then wobbled. He almost thought that she would fall and his arm moved to go and support her before she stabilised herself. He rose blinking slightly at the different level of height as his body adjusted to the movement. "By all means, Valerie. I enjoyed this... Just talking, relaxing," he nodded as he stood next to her. He watched her move around before she turned to him and and he shook his head. "No... No, I'm fine. Just need to sleep," he nodded. He was more excited about seeing the galleries she had spoken of. Things he would never could have hoped to have seen in his time even if they existed back then.

"I'll see you in the morning, Valerie," he smiled, "Gratitude for the wine." He nodded gently towards her before she moved to her rooms. He soon moved for his own, his own mind light with the aid of drink and only succeeded in really changing into the pants before falling into bed bare chested. He was asleep quickly and soon his rumbles filled the cavern of the darkened room.

(Going to be away for a week on holiday so I wont have a chance to reply for a while)
 
Valerie watched him go, her eyes staying on him until he disappeared into the darkness of his room and the door shut behind him. It was then that she turned her attention to the sink, carefully washing dirty dishes until she was satisfied that there would be significantly less to do in the morning. Her head was swimming, the pads of her feet seeming extra sensitive to the cold wooden floor as she stepped towards the bathroom to brush her teeth. She hummed as she grabbed the nearest wall when she thought she might fall, shaking her head and teasingly chastised herself in her mind. Guess you're not as good at holding your drinks as you used to be.

Her trip to the bathroom was short and soon she was heading towards her own room. The female yawned, eyes closed as she walked into her room, pausing at the doorway so that when she opened her eyes she would have a moment to adjust to the dim light. Her green orbs fluttered open, although the sight that met her there made her heart suddenly jump into her throat.

In the window on the wall opposite her bedroom door, stood the silhouette of a man within the pale slice of moonlight coming through the glass. She blinked twice, panic rising within her as she gasped loudly and scrambled for the light switch. She dared not move her eyes away from the figure, but found with increasing fear that she could not locate the switch. She turned her head for a split second to try and see it, managing to trip and fall over her laundry basket before landing on the floor loudly. She looked up from where she was trying to get her feet back under her, managing to make out the faint shape of the switch against the wall above her. She stretched, flicking it on and immediately turning to look back at the window.

The figure was gone.

Her heart still beat in her chest, banging against her rib cage while her adrenaline pumped through her veins. Had she imagined it? Was she dreaming? Val pinched her arm strongly, wincing until she whispered a silent 'ow' under her breath and could no longer deal with the pain. She rubbed her pinched skin, looking back up to the window as goosebumps rose all over her. I must be losing my mind....or I drank waaaay to much wine.

She swallowed, trying to wet her too-dry throat as she picked up the nearest sharp object - a letter opener (probably not the most convincing of weapons) - and crept towards the window. The scientist held her breath as she listened carefully, then suddenly unlatched the window and thrust it open. When nothing came out, she peeked her head through and looked around in the dark, trying to find anyone who might have been the peeping Tom. Of course, her intense gaze into the thick blanket of midnight-darkness came up with nothing.
 
He didn't really know for how long he had slept for, whether it was one hour or more or whether he had yet to fully enter the deeper part of one's sleep that rendered you useless to outward interruptions. All he knew was that he had been about to get into a worrying dream before he awoke to the darkness of the room he was a guest to. He wasn't really sure why he had woken up. Sleep was something every soldier learned to grab when the opportunity was presented them and veterans usually sank into deep sleep fairly quickly. Sighing, he shifted himself and sat up on the bed, the bed sheet falling easily from a bare chest, rubbing his face for a moment. Perhaps the reality of his situation was truly sinking in with the knowledge that there was a fair chance he could remain in this world for the remainder of his natural life. If so, he had no idea how he was going to survive. All he had right now was Valerie and those she worked for.

"Huh?" A loud thunk made him look towards the door in the dark and he blinked slightly before wondering at the what-ifs of what the sound could mean. In the barracks in which he was usually accustomed, a loud thunk sound could mean anything between a careless dump of armour or men messing around after being too far into their cups. However, he knew that there was none of that in his hostess' rooms. As far as he was aware, it was just him and her occupying what she had called her apartment. That knowledge unsettled him as what-ifs of what the sound could mean continued to swirl about his mind. It was what he was trained for; to see a situation, review and react.

He rose from the bed and reacquainted himself with the layout of the room after hitching up his pants, feeling his way forward in the dark before he found the handle to the door and opened it. The place looked so different without light to show the way. Fingers fumbled as he found a light switch and flicked it on before he ventured further towards where the sound had originated from.

Valerie's door was open, her room lit and he blinked as he watched her stick her head through the window. She had something held fast in her hand but what it was exactly he couldn't tell. What he could tell was that she seemed to be in an awful state of fright or fear.

Kaeso cleared his throat softly, "Valerie...?"

"What's the matter? What happened?"
 
Her mind vaguely registered the sound of footsteps coming towards her room, but the female was too busy trying to convince her vision to pierce the darkness surrounding them. When Kaeso's voice suddenly sounded behind her, she nearly jumped right out of her skin. The female flinched, turning around with the letter opener stretched out like a dagger only to see the bleary-eyed man standing in her doorway, shirtless and confused. She couldn't help herself but breathe a sigh of relief when she recognized the man standing there rather than seeing a stranger. Although she found the sensation odd, there was some sense of safety that she had gained now that the Roman soldier had made an appearance.

Valerie dragged in a breath, trying to get herself to calm down before she spoke while she clambered back off the bed. She touched down on the floor, stretching back to latch the window once more before speaking. "I....I'm not quite sure what actually happened. I came into my room and I thought I saw someone standing here looking inside. I could only see a silhouette, not even whether they were female or male let alone any facial features. When I turned my light back on, it was as if they had disappeared into thin air. I'm either very tired or losing my mind."

She glanced back at the window, face shrouded with a mixture of uncertainty and discomfort. The female sighed heavily, placing the letter opener back on her nightstand before speaking again. "I was probably just imagining things. It's quite late, was most likely just a trick of the light." She looked up at him, placing a feeble smile onto her features as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I appreciate you coming to check on me though, I'm really sorry for waking you." Valerie shuffled awkwardly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she finally calmed down enough to notice the man's state. This was the most...exposed, she had seen him since they had met and she didn't quite know what to think. A light tosy hue graced her cheeks, the girl looking down to her feet to hide the heat until she could convince it to disappear.
 
He blinked as she turned round to face him with a sharp amount of speed that made him blink with concern that she was about to throw it at him. It looked like a small dagger close to the pugio that was in his set of armour and it looked like it could do a little damage if she had done. He was grateful that she hadn't and he breathed a little easier once she realised who he was. He rubbed once side of his face for a moment as he let her collect herself watching her move from her bed to standing on the floor. He blinked a few times, sleep and the need for it pushing at his eyes in an all too familiar fashion. The army didn't always let you have the required amount of sleep depending on the situation. Enemies weren't so charitable as Kaeso would have liked of them to be.

She spoke and he glanced towards the window and then back to her as she continued to fill her room with her voice. He gained the sense that this figure, imagined or not, had really unnerved her. It could just be the wine talking but he didn't like the chances that it wasn't some one playing games. Anything really could be something in the dark. She probably just had imagined it but he was not used to playing things to that line. His mind whirred tired as it was before he blinked back out of his thoughts and nodded slightly, "Anytime, Valerie. I would still suggest you lock the window, just in case."

"It's all right... I woke before I heard a loud thump... " he gave her a smile in return trying to not let his own anxieties get the better of him, reaching to scratch the back of his head slightly. "I'll, uh, let you get to bed... Um, I'll leave my door open, just in case, okay?" he said with a nod of comfort. She seem embarrassed by something but he couldn't tell what. Women were just as strange as the enemy sometimes to a man who knew nothing but the life with the sword. "See you in the morning," he ducked his head in a military form of bow before he turned and padded back towards his own room really hoping it just was some figment of her imagination. He grimaced when he turned a little too early for his door and stubbed his toe. Shaking his head, he returned to his bed leaving the door ajar just as he had promised.
 
Valerie watched him go, remaining exactly where she stood as she listened to the sound of him climbing back into bed. The squeaking of bed springs as he went back to sleep helped settle her, the girl gulping quietly as she dragged in a deep breath. "I really can't be losing my mind just yet. This is insane..." The female dragged her hands through her hair, walking back until she felt her bed edge against the back of her knees. She slid down to sit, resting her head in her hands. "Get a grip and get over it. You were just imagining things."

The girl lifted her head with a steely expression, mouth set into a hard line as she twisted around and crawled onto her knees to the window. Val latched it tight, getting up and switching the light off before pulling back her sheets to climb into bed. She calmed down in the dark, the faint sound of Kaeso's breathing in the nearby room enough to help lull her into sleep.

******************************************************************************************************
A man stood in the dark, approximately twenty meters away from Valerie's apartment building. Gray eyes glanced up to the window he had previously been standing near, teeth grinding together with his impatience. A vibration in his right coat pocket caught his attention, the man answering the call within a few seconds. "Hello? Yes, yes I am outside. No, I couldn't get inside, she stayed up much later than she usually does...she also saw me I think."

The voice on the other end grew slightly louder, the man silencing it with a toxic warning tone in his response. "Do you think me so stupid? Of course I waited as long as I could! No, I couldn't see any of her notes like the ones from Shane. What do you mean am I sure? I've been running observations on her since the time cataclysm occurred, even before the Doctor Who projected proceeded successfully. Okay, fine, you'll be hearing from me." With that he ended the call, sliding the burner phone back into his coat pocket before disappearing into the night.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top