Not So Fast

[Deleted]

The slaughter at the villa had been ugly. Nasir had trained hard for years, however, and now found himself fighting alongside gladiators with ease, especially after discovering his aptitude with a spear. He stood among Spartacus' most trusted and respected men, and when the raid was done, he embraced his lover briefly before going to help round up the newly freed slaves. As usual, there was no small amount of chaos. Many slaves were frightened, which he understood, while others were confused or in shock. He attempted to remain calm with them, knowing what he looked like. Blood splattered across his face and clothes would be dealt with later, as would the gash that split his lower lip and left his mouth trickling blood. Some required a firmer command, however, to gather and listen as Spartacus spoke... and one... seemed to be trying to leave.

A frown creased his brow, and he left the group of slaves he was with and went toward the other man. He was smaller, long hair, probably a body slave, judging by that, and Nasir knew too intimately what that could do to someone, and how badly they could react to sudden freedom. "You there, halt," he said, and was suddenly struck with a bizarre realization as he finally looked more closely at the slave. He was almost as a mirror reflection to Nasir, in every way, and for a moment, Nasir knew his expression went a bit strange. But after a moment, he clamped it down and frowned at the other man, "Why do you make attempt to flee?" He held his bloodied, dripping spear out in front of the other man, blocking him. It wasn't a threat. Not yet. "If your intent is to go warn Roman shits of our presence here, I cannot let you leave, and if intent is otherwise, you now stand fucking fugitivus and will be killed if discovered, so either course of action is not wise" he said. "Did you stand body slave?" he asked, because the other man was pretty as Nasir knew many considered him, and this behavior might make sense if Nasir's suspicions were correct.

Tag: Mahdi _

[Mahdi]

WORDS: 000 | TAG: @nasir | NOTES:

When the attack came, Mahdi was not sure, at first, what was happening. His Dominus had unlocked his door and urged him to get his knives and defend. Used to obedience for most of his life, he had gone to retrieve his items without much thought. However he had barely turned when he saw men appear in the bedroom.

"Domitus!"

The sharply barked order pulled him forward to do as he had always been trained to do but his path to Dominus was blocked. He could have acted in a more swift fashion, he admitted, but the sword split his Dominus' chest before he brought coated weapon from vest. When Dominus was dead, the attackers began gathering the slaves of the villa up. Mahdi was originally gathered amongst them until he managed to make his way to the back of the crowd and then of the room. If he could get to the back door and then out of the villa, he could blend into the shadows. He would seat himself on the roof and wait until all were gone. Once alone he could decide what to do and where he could go.

He hadn't counted on the sharp eyes of one of the warriors who was splattered with Roman blood. He was surprised that he spoke to him as very few people did unless they wanted something from him that his Dominus was willing to sell.

"I have about as much care for Romans as you do about what really happens to me," he said in a calm voice. "It matters not to me what happens to me, now, so kill me if you wish to or let me go."

To be honest, Mahdi didn't know where he would go after the Villa was cleared or what he would do. He supposed he could rely on his skills to get him through until he knew much of anything.

When the warrior asked him if he was body slave, Mahdi's reaction was probably unexpected. The tension went out of his body and his posture slumped only slightly. He had years to learn preferred stance after all.

"Do you stand as new Dominus, then?"

I remember years ago someone

told me I should take Caution. And now when all is done there is nothing to say.

credit to nat of adoxography.

[Deleted]

Nasir's frown deepened as the man answered him. He understood the feeling, though the memory felt like that of a different man entirely. His own reaction had been just as free from concern for his own life, though it had been much wilder than the man that stood before him. He didn't bother to hide the disgust from his face when he asked if he stood as new dominus, though. He'd accused Spartacus of the same, of being merely a replacement master. How wrong he'd been. "No," he said through his teeth. "My cock is satisfied without need to force it upon the unwilling." The man may not have answered his question exactly, but the way he'd deflated and his question in return said enough.

Nasir moved to stand in front of him, lowering his spear to rest the blunt end on the floor. "I stand as one who once stood in your place." His expression softened, but did not warm. They were the same height. There was something that felt very off. "What is your name?" he asked, his tone losing it's edge, genuine. He did care what happened to the man, but he wouldn't bother trying to convince him.

Tag: Mahdi
OOC: He's going to be so embarrassed he talked about his cock being satisfied when he realizes who he's talking to. lol

[Mahdi]

WORDS: 000 | TAG: @nasir | NOTES: Cue the hilarity!!

"I did not intend to strike offense," Mahdi said in a carefully modulated voice "I was merely trying to inquire about who you were and why it matters if I die by your hand or by that of Romans?"

Mahdi frowned, looking over the man in front of him and the way he handled the spear. They were of a height, but there was little else that told him that this man ever stood as anything but a warrior -- much less a body slave.

"I am called Domitus," Mahdi said, still being oh so very careful with his words and his tone. Answering questions about himself was was an ordered routine that he had learned to follow long ago. "It means one who is tamed. Dominus thought it was a great joke."

He looked at Nasir, but carefully did not meet his eyes. "Respect, but with way you fight and handle spear there is little about you that bears truth that you have stood in same situation as I."

The more he looked at the warrior in front of him the more he felt a strange sense of knowing blended with rising anxiety and dread.

I remember years ago someone

told me I should take Caution. And now when all is done there is nothing to say.

credit to nat of adoxography.

[Deleted]

Nasir was trying not to frown again at the way the slave spoke. He could tell how careful he was being, talking Nasir as though he stood Roman. He fucking hated it, but he didn't respond until Domitus revealed his name, and the reason behind it. He huffed a bitter laugh and looked away for a moment, shaking his head. "Roman fuck," he spat angrily, though anger was not directed at Domitus. "You stand as dark as I; you are no fucking Roman, and you do not have to answer to Roman name any longer, should you choose." He would not pressure the other man to reveal true name. It was possible he did not even remember his given name.

"It took many years to stand before you as I do now," he said. "I stood as you, holding no value to my life and who would take it from me. I wanted them to kill me." He tried to catch the man's gaze as he spoke. He normally did not speak so frankly to those he didn't know well, but sometimes, when there was a newly freed slave he thought he could help, he would speak truths usually held inside, close to heart. Sometimes, he saw himself in others. This time, it was almost unsettling, but he pressed on. There was a strange hope in his chest he was trying to ignore, because... it couldn't be, could it? His brother was dead; he would not be tamed. "But when I chose to fight with rebellion instead of against, I chose to live. It is a choice you now have too. You do not have to stand alone."

Tag: Mahdi

[Mahdi]

WORDS: 000 | TAG: @nasir | NOTES: And now Mahdi PANICS

"You mistake intent, warrior," Mahdi said calmly. "I care not whether I die and yet I care not whether I live. I have learned far too well the lessons of this life. Breaking rules led to me losing everything I had to call mine in this world. There is little to entice me to set foot to any path. Domitus is who I am."

That, unfortunately, was true in his mind. He remembered nothing of who Mahdi was beyond his name -- the same which he held close to himself and never revealed and never forgot. Through all of the lessons, the pain and the sorrow, it was all he had that reminded him that at one point he had been someone that was not like this creature he had been formed into.

Listening to the other man's words, Mahdi could tell he was sincere in them and that he believed everything he was saying. It was not as if he was trying to trick or entrap him into anything.

"I know two things in this world, warrior. I know how to fuck and how to kill. There is no place in the great army of Spartacus for one such as I."

He might have found more words to break if one of the rebels hadn't looked over at them and called out to the warrior in front of him.

"Nasir!"

The sound of that name and the way the warrior reacted to it with a calm nod slammed into Mahdi with the force of a spear to the chest.

Nasir. Nasir. Nasir.

He jerked back, a small sound of anxiety coming from his throat even as he tried to scramble back and away, his eyes widening with horror and no small bit of fear. He had to get away... he had to get out. He could not be here... if this was... he could not find out.

I remember years ago someone

told me i should take Caution. And now when all is done there is nothing to say.

credit to nat of adoxography.

[Deleted]

Nasir felt himself even further unsettled as 'Domitus' explained breaking rules lost him everything he'd ever known. No, he told himself. It wasn't possible. There were many who lost so much because they did not follow Roman orders. Just because 'Domitus' looked a lot like him, and was of the right age, Nasir thought, did not mean he referred to their separation as children. But 'Domitus' continued that he only knew how to fuck and kill, and had no place in the rebellion. Kill? Nasir frowned. "You hold more skill than I did newly freed." He was about to continue that he could not have killed anything when he'd been freed, but was distracted by someone calling his name... and then again almost immediately by the reaction in the former body slave.

'Domitus' was scrambling backwards, looking terrified suddenly, and Nasir found himself automatically following him with equal speed, his own eyes wide. "No," he almost gasped, then did something he normally would never do to one he did not know, especially one he knew had been forced to endure unwanted touch. He grabbed 'Domitus'' wrist and gripped it tight. He could not let him run. He had to know what caused such reaction, and why... if Mahdi stood before him now, he would run from fucking brother. "Why do you recoil at sound of my name?" he demanded, heart hammering in his chest suddenly. He was well known among the rebels, but his name was not well known by Romans, who spoke of Spartacus and Crixus. His eyes darted back and forth between 'Domitus'' own, seeking answers to yet unasked questions.

Tag: Mahdi
ooc: Aw, poor Mahdi! Nasir will be very sorry to have grabbed him, but it was stupid impulse.

[Mahdi]

WORDS: 000 | TAG: @nasir | NOTES:

Mahdi had known he had no chance of getting away even if there had been a place to flee to. He had seen this warrior fight and kill and the fact that he shared name with one lost long ago unsettled him. He hadn't made it very far back before his back was to the wall and the warrior... Nasir ... had clamped his hand around his wrist.

At the feel of hand wrapped around wrist, Mahdi froze. He could not help it as such things were too deeply ingrained within him to ignore. So while the hand on his wrist held him rooted to the spot, it didn't stop the trembling that was running through him as he tried to reconcile everything within his already confused brain.

"Apologies, apologies," he whispered quietly. "I meant not to cause offense." He tried to look away, but Nasir was in front of him and he was making demands that Mahdi was so very not wanting to speak answer to. He sought to lower his eyes again, but again he found he could not look away from Nasir's searching gaze.

"Many years ago, I knew of one called Nasir. I stopped thinking of him a long time ago and would hope he has forgotten me. I would not have him see me as this."

He knew, he knew even as he said the words that this was not a a simple matter of a name being the same. No, he now saw the similarity in the eyes that looked back at him and the face that while it was stronger and matured, was still a face his own soul recognized. This... this was not a reunion he would have wished for as there was too much within him that was so wrong.

I remember years ago someone

told me i should take Caution. And now when all is done there is nothing to say.

credit to nat of adoxography.

[Deleted]

Nasir was so swept up in the moment, he didn't immediately register the way 'Domitus' froze, and the way 'Domitus' was looking at him now held his interest several moments too long before the whispered apology hit him. And he felt the trembling where his hand held onto the other man before he saw it. He jerked his hand back, stepping back as well, but only just enough his stance was less of a threat. He still could not tear his gaze from the other man, though his breathing had gone a little ragged. He saw it now. He could see it staring back at him. "You would not have him see you a free man?" He knew this was not about a name, though. He not only could see it, but he felt it now, too.

His eyes prickled and went glassy, but his searching gaze did not falter from looking at 'Domitus'. "Apologies, I did not mean to lay hand upon you," he said, his voice now a harsh whisper. Then he shook his head. "He did not forget you. Such a thing could have never happened." He didn't want to force the other man into anything. He couldn't. But there was a hint of pleading in his expression now, willing 'Domitus' to give true name, to tell him.

Tag: Mahdi

[Mahdi]

WORDS: 000 | TAG: @nasir | NOTES:

"I would not have him shamed by how I have stood and I would not have him tainted by proximity to me." Mahdi said instantly, his throat hurting from the struggle to keep back both tears and words.

He barely registered that Nasir had released his wrist. How could he when it was no longer physical touch that held him frozen in place. No, now what kept him from trying to flee again was the recognition that he now saw reflecting back from Nasir's eyes. The miserable gods of the Romans must be laughing at him right now as he stood before cherished and lost brother with no honor left to him.

"Perhaps you should have," he murmured, knowing that there was not a point in pretending any longer. They both now knew who the other was and he would not be able to erase that knowledge from his brother's eyes and mind. "Much less pain and shame within you now if Nasir had forgotten troublesome Mahdi."

I remember years ago someone

told me i should take Caution. And now when all is done there is nothing to say.

credit to nat of adoxography.

[Deleted]

Nasir could only shake his head when the other man stated that he would not have him shamed by him, but he couldn't find any words, and what was said next only continued to leave him speechless. Mahdi. How could it be possible? And yet, here he was. Nasir's vision swam for a moment, and when he blinked, tears slid down his cheeks. He didn't bother to hide them. He was not afraid of showing his emotions any longer, as he once had been. "No," he finally said, emphatic. He would not be better off if he'd forgotten.

Without thinking, suddenly filled with need to hold his little brother once more, he stepped forward raising his arms... but then caught himself first, hands hovering near Mahdi's shoulders without touching. "May I embrace you?" he asked, fresh tears dampening eyes as his voice cracked with emotion. He only barely saw Mahdi nod before throwing his arms around his brother and holding him tight. "I could never hold shame in my heart for you, brother," he said, barely managing a whisper through his emotion. His hand moved to cup the back of Mahdi's head. "I have sought to honor your memory every day." Gods, he did not want to let go.

Tag: Mahdi

[Mahdi]

WORDS: 000 | TAG: @nasir | NOTES:

There were far too many emotions going through Mahdi's mind for him to grasp onto any of them. He had once been trapped in a cart that had run down a road after the horses had been spooked into fleeing. That feeling of imminent crash was a pretty good approximation of how he was feeling right now. His beloved lost older brother was standing in front of him and he was having a hard time reconciling firm relity with hazy dreams. Both had the same fear tainting them, but at least reality had Nasir alive and breathing... and asking if he could embrace him. He would never again deny his brother anything and he would definitely not deny him this.

Maybe he would not deny himself this, either.

For far too long he had wondered where his brother was and if he was doing well, and it looked like he was doing very well. For that, Mahdi was glad. With all of the worry and pain he had caused his brother when they were children, Nasir deserved goodness. He deserved to be among men who clearly respected him and held him in regard.

When Nasir pulled him close and fit his hand to the back of his head, Mahdi felt his own mask crack as tears filled his eyes and made their way down his cheeks. He buried his face in Nasir's necks as he had once done often when they were children. When he spoke of honoring his memory every day, Mahdi shook his head.

"You do not know, brother," he whispered, allowing himself to hold on for as long as he would be permitted before he had to face reality again. "You do not know. There is nothing left to honor here."

I remember years ago someone

told me i should take Caution. And now when all is done there is nothing to say.

credit to nat of adoxography.

[Deleted]

Nasir had never felt anything like this in his life. Such relief and happiness filled his chest he would swear it could burst. He could feel the wetness of Mahdi's tears against his skin when he lowered his face to his neck, but said nothing of them. Instead, his hand stroked his brothers hair in soothing gesture. Newly freed, a touch as this would have sent Nasir reeling back away from someone, but the embrace felt so familiar and good, he barely registered himself responding to Mahdi as he always had when they were boys and Mahdi was upset.

"What I know is that nothing that has happened since I let them pull you from my side could change how much you mean to me. I have only dreamed of this day, but never did I think it would come." He still didn't want to let go. He stroked Mahdi's hair a moment longer, turning his face to press his cheek to it before he finally pulled back, but just barely. Hands moved to cup Mahdi's face as a slow, almost disbelieving smile formed on his lips as he stared for a moment, then blurted, "You've gotten so big." It was a ridiculous thing to say, and he found himself laughing at his own words, a sort of stunned, breathless delight.

Tag: Mahdi

[Mahdi]

WORDS: 000 | TAG: @nasir | NOTES:

Mahdi was not able to stop himself from clinging to Nasir just a little bit. How often when he was younger had he dreamed and wished that Nasir would come and rescue him from the hell he was living? How often had he thought that he could hold on just one more day if his brother would show up and pull him out of his constant darkness? Even years later when he could not bear the thought of his beloved older brother knowing what he had become, it had been comforting to believe that his brother had found freedom and a life far from the slavery they had been sold into as children too young to fight back -- even though all of the gods knew he had tried to fight.

His fighting was what led to their separation, after all.

When Nasir pulled away slightly, Mahdi did not protest, even though part of him wished for this moment not to end too fast. "You could not have stopped them so I do not see it as you having let them do anything, Nasir." His voice was still soft, still carefully modulated. "You were every bit of a child as I was. You could not have changed the tide of what they did any more than I could fight my fate."

And oh had he tried. He had the scars to prove it. There were few on the outside as his former dominus had not wanted to damage him too much where others could see them. However, there were many that he held within him that had been hard-learned lessons.

Mahdi quirked a smile, shaking his head as he took in Nasir's words and his laughter. "Such a thing happens when one grows and gets older, brother. I am of a height with you."

I remember years ago someone

told me i should take Caution. And now when all is done there is nothing to say.

credit to nat of adoxography.