[for Octavia]

[poison_pearl]

It is a peculiar and liberating thing, to have discovered that even with certain fundamental truths of my person known, I am not cast out as pariah; I have, in fact, more indepth companionship than I had before these aspects of character where mercilessly brought to light

Comments

[octavia_minor]

Octavia, for her part, was spending her day as she often did, sprawled out on her litter almost as if she were back in Rome being carried by slaves. Being forced, as it were, to tell her mother of her encounter with Maud had been jarring at the time, but avoiding Atia had proven to be her best option, as if often was. She'd spent much of her time on the island, but never quite happy; the past few weeks, however, had been looking to change that.

A smile crossed her face when she caught sight of Maud on the path, as was typically the case, and she'd swung her legs over the edge even before she'd ordered the litter to halt. "Maud," she said warmly, then glanced down to the bottle. "Is that for the both of us, I hope?"

[poison_pearl]

"I'm hardly going to make you sit and watch as I imbibe the entirety in front of you, on my own," I say, with a smile, seemingly called to my face by hers. Like calls to like, it seems, in more ways than one.

[octavia_minor]

"Well, in that case," Octavia replied, and as if to finish her sentence, she moved her legs aside, leaving enough room in the litter for a second person. "Climb on, if you'd like." There was, as far as she was concerned, nothing better she could be doing at the moment.

[poison_pearl]

"Do you ever worry that it will simply-drop?" I ask, as I gather my skirts and clamber in beside her; I've not the knack of getting in to such a contraption, and the sheer fact of it still strikes me as offputting.

I believe it may be a simple matter of taking my mind off the litter and on to more satisfactory topics, such as persons therein.