Application: Quintus Lentulus Batiatus (Spartacus : Blood and Sand)

[masteroftitans]

((WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS for Spartacus: Blood and Sand, season 1.))

A middle-aged man of unimpressive stature, dressed in the garments of a successful Roman and drenched in blood, appeared on the floor of the Sorting Room. After a moment, he stood up, looking around. There was supposed to be a river. And a ferryman. And a three-headed dog. But

Comments

[redhead_temp]

"Oi! I didn't want to come here. I've already been here. I need you to take me to the Popcorn room." A curvy redhead was lecturing a house elf, enuciating slowly and likely a bit louder than was necessary considering the elf's rather large ears. The elf shook it's head and pointed firmly at Batiatus' application.

Donna shook her head, already exasperated with the school. She had been trying since her own Sorting to find the Popcorn room and find the Doctor. Of course, she was having no luck and was going to give that skinny spaceman a piece of her mind once she found him.

"Oh honestly! All right, let's have a look at you. Roman, eh? Were you from Pompeii?" she asked, toying with a gold locket the Doctor had given her before the volcano and everything went to hell.

[masteroftitans]

So there were indeed women to be found here- this was good to have confirmed with his own eyes. The red-headed woman was certainly not unattractive, although oddly dressed- Batiatus observed her briefly before examining the hideous, deformed midget she was lecturing. Batiatus had yet to meet a house-elf, and so thought it the creature was some human specimen that probably should have been dealt with at birth, but had instead been kept alive as a slave for someone's amusement. He had no idea why the deformed midget was trying to draw her attention to the stupid list of question he'd had to answer.

When Donna came over, he was somewhat taken aback by her brusque manner, but not offended. He could appreciate a direct approach. He shook his head, noting the golden locket- it seemed a small bauble, not necessarily a sign of any significant wealth. "No, Capua, which is not far distant. I am, or was, dominus of a ludus near the city."

[redhead_temp]

Dominus? Ludus? She shook her head, "Sorry, my Latin's a little rusty and the bloody translation charm seems to keep shorting out. Not that I'm surprised, this is a sodding loony bin."

The house elf shot her a dirty look before vanishing with a pop. "Hmf. And not that they're any help at all."

[masteroftitans]

"Translation charm? Is that why I can understand the speech of those here, despite being from a place- and perhaps time- far distant?" Interesting, that. "A ludus is a school, I trained and traded gladiators, before finding myself here. I am head of both my familia and my ludus. . .or was. I suppose it doesn't fucking exist anymore." He glanced briefly at the house-elf, blinking in disbelief as it vanished. "What the fuck was that? Some sort of midget slave?"

[redhead_temp]

"They're called house elves.. if you find you need anything, you're supposed to call for one and they get it for you. Food, drink, but I wouldn't ask them for proper directions," she said, glaring at where the house-elf had just vanished.

"The translation charm is supposed to keep us all talking to each other, whether we're from different countries or different worlds. It's a bit fantastic."

"I'm sorry about your family," she said genuinely. "You might be able to find some distant relatives. Or I've heard that there are a few different Romans wandering about," she offered. Being separated from family was never easy. She missed Gramps, but knew that he'd understand. She was on the adventure of a lifetime with the Doctor.

If she could ever find him again.

[masteroftitans]

"House-elves? Do they all look like that?" Perhaps they were bred curiosity slaves- a notion which did not bode very well regarding the master of the house. "They barely look human- they are bred that way?"

Being consoled about his family by a pretty red-haired woman caused Batiatus' heart to clench momentarily- Lucretia had been fond of her red wigs, which suited her so very well. "I retain hope that as I have found myself here, that my wife will find herself here as well." The experience of death had managed to dull much of the pain, being as it was something of an undeniable separating factor from his life, and, whatever this was. It certainly felt just like life, only the circumstances were extremely different. "I have had the good fortune to meet another Roman since my arrival, and, with luck I'll meet a few more. And whose acquaintance do I have the luck of making now? I am Quintus Lentulus Batiatus- formerly of Capua, it appears."

[redhead_temp]

"Oh, they're not human. They're some kind of magical creature and they're supposed to help around the school. Although I haven't seen them doing much along the lines of 'helping' at all."

She smiled, "My friend the Doctor made it here, so I'm sure your wife will soon." She didn't mention that the Hat had somehow turned the Doctor into popcorn. It was probably strange enough for a Roman to be this far in the future and not dead. She'd best not make the situation worse by mentioning the possibility of being turned into food. "Oh, I'm so sorry. Donna Noble. I'm from Chiswick, at least I was."

[masteroftitans]

"A magical creature? It is going to take some time to get used to this place, it's damn strange. But, it seems to have its good aspects, a reprieve from death not being the least of these." Despite Donna's strange garments, she seemed quite normal, and even very pleasant. Of course, had she mentioned the potential of being turned into snack food, Batiatus would have been quite disturbed- Hogwarts was weird enough already, and it was better to learn some of the details over time.

"I regret that I haven't heard of Chiswick. Perhaps it is a place that is yet to exist in the world I am familiar with. But, it is still a pleasure to make your introduction, Donna." Batiatus smiled, the expression a quite genuine one, not one inspired by the instincts of business or politics. "Have you been at the school for long?"

[redhead_temp]

"Oh I'm sure Chiswick isn't much compared to a place like Capua. After traveling with the Doctor, Chiswick is home but it seems somehow.. smaller."

Still, Gramps was there, and so was Mum. But it wasn't the same after seeing different planets. She supposed it never would be.

"It'll take awhile to get used to it all. I haven't been here long," she confessed. "But I'm finding my way around. I'm sure you will too."

[masteroftitans]

"Capua wasn't much either, compared to a place like Rome. You've been traveling in the service of a medicus?" The translation spell, although effective, couldn't have possibly conveyed that the Doctor was not actually one of the medical profession.

His smile remained, as Donna's consolations about the situation were quite effective, although more due to their pleasant source than their vague nature. "It appears there are at least consolations for the strangeness, and a sense of civility even in these barbaric lands."

[redhead_temp]

"Well, he's not a medical sort of Doctor. He's a tall skinny.." she caught herself before calling the Doctor 'spaceman', figuring that would only confuse him further. "He's odd."

"I'm sure everyone's answered your basic questions about the school by now, and I've not been here long enough to have learned the tricky stuff. The Great Hall is where you can get some food. You can get a wand.. somewhere. Since this is a magic school, I guess that's important."

[masteroftitans]

It was kind of Donna to skip the 'spaceman' explanation- as it was, Batiatus figured that the 'doctor' was actually just a strange scholar of some sort. Which was much easier for him to digest at the moment than a spaceman- he would require some time to adjust to the modern age before accepting stars as distant suns, some orbited by distant Earths and inhabited. "Many have answered questions, but, those answers have only bred more questions. It's been suggested that I've somehow found myself in the future, and that Rome is no more. I'll figure out the tricky stuff once I've salvaged some sense of orientation from this mess." Batiatus wasn't sure that it was time to worry about the 'magical' details just yet, but nevertheless appreciated Donna's helpful information.