Perhaps one of the most difficult duties of being an escort was that of never leading.  Antonious had instructed him that such transactions require the hired to always be either behind or side by side with their client.  Aulus with his military background grew accustom to two forms of speed; marching and running.  Even with Liliana’s sandals her walking pace was roughly half the speed of Aulus’ pace which forced him to change it immediately or risk displeasing or even insult the client.  To do this it required of him to slow his breathing to the point where instead of small constant breaths it became more large inhales of air.  This allowed his chest cavity to contract tracing a small but visible outline of his body tone from the confines of his garments.  But the adjustment of pace was only one of many issues.<br/><br/>Keeping close to Liliana having her arm around him had left him quite nervous.  Her skin, much like at the time in the outer courtyard felt like the finest of silks.  Clearly noblewoman, unlike soldiers knew well how to take care of their bodies.  It must had cost her a fortune to have such traits about her; beautiful eyes, skin like silk, full rich hair like the finest of mares.  It certainly gave him more reason to backup his comment to her regarding Venus.  While Liliana looked to have enjoyed every second with him written all over her face, Aulus’ nervousness was clearly written over his.  The redness in his cheeks seemed to have never stopped the moment she had taken ahold of him, and even when Nakia had massed seeing another beautiful women will entwined with another left him even more embarrassed, trying to use small talk with Liliana to mask his worries.<br/><br/>Aulus kept professional and allowed her to lead them to a bench for them to rest and converse whilst they gaze upon the beauty of the inner courtyard.  Liliana’s hand gently patting at the side of the bench next to her, “Come, my Rabbit. I promise to not molest you beyond your endurance, brave soldier.”<em> Rabbit?  Such an interesting yet strange name to be called by…..</em>Aulus never thought himself similar to a rabbit, but if one were to know his past, you could say that a rabbit make actually suit him well, what with his speed/agility and ability hide well in slums especially.  Aulus decided that it would be best to let himself be called Rabbit, after all if it helped him raise money for his trip to Capua and his parents funeral then he would see to it to the end.  Of course with Liliana at least from Aulus’ prospective you can never know what to expect.  Which only made her next move all the more……..risque if not completely bold after Aulus had simply just sat next to her at her request.<br/><br/>The very woman whom had passed by earlier had apparently stilled remained here in the inner courtyard, most likely entangled in her duties,<em>wasn’t that what a slave did?</em>That is until Liliana had called to her requesting her assistance with a matter.  “Nakia, I find my valiant companion has need of your nimble fingers to assist him with a task he has found...hard.”  He watched how her serpentine hands slithered against Nakia’s chin, speaking with no need of secrecy.  Aulus eyes widened not in terror, but perhaps shock.  A strange mind Nobles had, one he perhaps never hopes to understand.  He was a man of the lower class system, which he cherished since it was more simple then more political positions.  Now this woman whom she had requested him to escort had now asked another woman to fix his attire, which he didn’t even notice was disfigured from improper buttoning and tying of the laces.  Perhaps even more bold was how she motivated Nakia to position herself in between his legs while he remained sat next to Liliana on the bench.  As Nakia moved closer to him, his chest caved upward as if Aulus had been holding his breath.  Every centimeter she got closer he would try to slide back another centimeter nervous about having yet another woman examine him so closely and even strip him of his upper garments.<br/><br/>Unfortunately, his shyness would cost him, leaving behind a small residual pain at the back of his head.  When Nakia came almost to the point of the touching the front of the bench Aulus would have move back to much.  Her presence had marked a distraction to him, leaving him completely oblivious as to how wide the bench was.  With his buttocks slipping from the bench his body fell completely backwards.  His hands flailed upwards making sure not to hit neither Liliana nor Nakia.  The back of his head would then meet the ground leaving him with a small whip lash of vibration.  His hand now free from danger pressed lightly on the back of his head as he tried to regain his equilibrium and return to the seat of the bench.  Nakia hadn’t move so when he turned to find her once again in front of him, and close for that matter, his face once again flared to a bright red, most likely a combination of his embarrassing fall and the close proximity of not one but two women, both extravagant  beyond measure.<br/><br/>When Nakia finally made a move in unbuttoning the upper front of his tunic, Aulus had taken the liberty to turn his head to the side staring upward, his shyness clearly written all over him.  Even his eyes tried everymeans to escape the demi-goddess’ eyes, two pairs of gems casting an alluring gaze upon him, which only made his blood warmer, giving away large rhythmic pulses from his hearts,  and perhaps pulses that even Nakia could sense possibly as she undressed him.  It wouldn’t be a surprise though if Nakia had pondered why this man even despite his position did not exhibit an attitude of confidence.  Roman men especially from the eyes of the slaves were like brutes whom took what they wanted when they wanted.  Aulus remained the complete opposite, a man who rather than take becomes of the attention of others.  Every button that came unfastened was only one step closer to revealing what had already been viewed (by one set of eyes), and now it was Nakia’s turn.<br/><br/>The tunic split apart the cocoon of a caterpillar.  His body did not carry the reward of over-developed muscles much like the bulls of this Ludus, but rather focus on body growth, Aulus focused on conditioning his body to the brink where little to no fat could be traced on him, only leave a body that seemed like a carved marble (or in this case light bronze) statue detailing every outline of his body shape with strength that seemed to fit his body size almost perfectly, like a performer of the finest qualities.  Even with the tan hide of his however, the body was a visual book of his veteran status in the Legion.  Scars of shapes and sizes riddled all over his body.  Some wounds were of slash marks, puncture, and even burns, perhaps each scar carrying a unique story with it.  Of course in addition there was also his tattoo, and like Liliana, Nakia had also traced the outlines of the tattoo, as if investigating into its meaning.  With Aulus’ neck turned, the collar of his tunic parted wider allowing more visible of his tattoo to the female slave.<br/><br/>The tattoo was the standard mark of recruitment into the Legion.  Normally it was imprinted on a soldiers arm or hand after 5-6 months of training, but Aulus had volunteered to have it imprinted on his neck.  It bore the standard eagle atop of a wreath carrying the letters “SPQR”.  Perhaps the most visible way of identifying him.  Her fascination however would only be brief till she returned immediately to the task at hand which was fastening his attire. When she had finished she was kind to have bowed to him.  Aulus stumbled as she tried to find the right words to thank her, while at the same time not embarrass Liliana.  “Please excuse my incompetence from having to distract you from your duties.”  His voice was completely sincere as he returned the favor to her by bowing his head modestly in return.  He then turned to Liliana as he made sure not to let Nakia rob him of her time, which hence led to his question, and to Liliana’s answer.<br/><br/>“Ah, Rabbit...I have little familiarity - where do you suggest we start?”<br/><br/>Aulus had to remember that when discussing his experiences that it was vital to not expose any of the more secretive traditions of the Legion.  Each soldier is sworn to protect these practices and traditions so no one may take advantage of one the greatest military brotherhoods in the entire world.  At the same time though he was also uncomfortable with recounting his experiences in the east.  The transition of his personality was forged through those years and it had left behind some of his more vicious scars, and they were not the physically inflicted ones.  However, having also experience for 2 weeks at sea battling pirates allowed him an alternative course of dialogue that seemed more calming to him since it was just recent.  He first began where he had originated from, “……I was born in Capua…..”  Following that he described his parents; his father a former soldier who coincidentally served with Pompey against the Kingdom of Pontus who retired to being a quarry worker, and his mother who was very charismatic and worked in the markets at a food kiosk.<br/><br/>When his childhood was finally covered, he jumped ahead to the day he was recruited, “….a rock fell on my father’s leg, and when Pompey came for him, I stepped forward.  I couldn’t let my father serve under the conditions.”  Then came his transition of the legion making sure to hide all secrets of the brotherhood, “……it was very difficult training there, but I thank the gods, especially Mars for having come this far.”  He made a minor note that his father liked to refer to himself as “a son of Mars,” which Aulus had adopted from him, showing more favoritism towards Mars of all the gods.   His words and descriptions were like listening to a journal of a fallen soldier; full of passion in each word he pronounced, trapping the emotion behind each entry.  No doubt he was audible enough to catch Liliana’s ears, but for Naikia he did not know.<br/><br/>Because of his poetic dialogue, it allowed him to skip past his more brutal experiences and brought on the topic of his days fighting pirates, “…..even at sea, the Cicillian Pirates proved to be a difficult opponent since they are master sailors….”  He then noted a battle he had taken a part of where he was instructed to capture one of the top lieutenants of the pirates.  Removing his duel blades from his sheaths he presented the custom designed blades to Liliana.  He followed that with an explanation that he obtained these from that very lieutenant, “…..he had a very unique fighting technique that allowed 360 degree motion of attack.  After I captured him I was able to adapt his style into my own training.”  He ended that with most favorite if not common saying, “Quel che non ammazza, ingrassa.”  His hands shifted the blades so that he had grasped the steel itself while allowing Liliana to view the hilt in clear sight.  The hilt had been customized with small strips of metal, two pieces on the sides (one each) which were curved like “o” rings, while the bottom of the hilt had a long strip of metal  as wide as the hilt itself in the shape of a curved “w” with the middle vector forged on the hilt.<br/><br/>He concluded his journal adding to his account to be here.  After 2 weeks of fighting pirates, he described how he had been summoned by Pompey to receive news of great tragedy, “…..my parents, they were consumed in a fire….”   The legion always told you never to shed tears, which was not his greatest strong point considering the news was still fairly recent.  A lone tear escaped from his left eye, but he refused for the right to submit to weakness as well.  Wiping the tear away with his thumb he looked to Liliana.  If one were to describe a animal behind those eyes, it would be like that a black wolf in a nest of greys.  Reality was that he was different from the more common Romans, yet confident enough to proclaim himself a “son of Mars”.  His look to her was able to show strength, mixed with a dose of humanity; a fine specimen for a noblewoman’s attention, or even perhaps slaves, providing he is able to converse with one long enough.  “Thus I must gather money to pay for a funeral to see my family properly to the afterlife.”<br/>