Senate Adjourned [Zidane]

[val]

Another Senate meeting. Over the same old issues that it always was. The thread to camp, the uncertainty of what was going on, and uncertainty of what to do about it. It was all getting to be so routine. Even though she’d only been a centurion for a little over a month, she was already used to this part of it. Which probably wasn’t normal, but at least it did speak for both the predictability of this all and also, more positively, how serious the threat was taken. After all, immortal visits were not to be taken lightly. So she found herself representing the second cohort yet again in yet another meeting. The only difference being that this time Zidane Quinn was not by her side in it. In fact, he was up front leading the meeting.

Valerie still hadn’t quite gotten used to the idea that Zidane was a praetor now. It was odd not seeing him around the second cohort barracks anymore, but he had his own private living quarters now. And the poor guy had to deal with Remus. Due to that fact alone, she wasn’t sure if it was an honor or a punishment that he got the spot. She liked to think it was an honor. After all, it was only the most prestigious position in the whole camp. And he deserved it too. He could be a total goof sometimes, but he had a good heart and worked hard when he needed to. And that was what mattered. It was also what had drawn her to him in the first place. Well, ignoring the fact that it had actually been him to approach her.

She sat back in her seat in the Senate house, pleased that she could be here to help decide Rome’s fate. In her mind, it was likely a huge honor and possibly a little fitting as her mother was Bellona, the goddess of war and a very important deity to the pride of Rome itself. Okay, so she could be a tiny bit egotistical at times with that one, but she at least tried to keep that strictly inside her head. So she folded her hands on her lap and watched each person as they spoke, rarely chiming in, but speaking up nonetheless when she felt something needed to be said. All in all, the meeting passed in the same blur that most of them did, no matter how involved or attentive she was. And before she knew it, she was outside the Senate House to the full sights and sounds of New Rome and the relative warmth of the sunlight. Which was a welcome change because it was a little chilly out today and their toga praetexta uniform, pulled on over a long sleeve shirt though it was, was not the warmest thing in the world. She stepped to the side of the group of centurions coming out of the Senate House to wait for Zidane. It may not be proper for her to invade the important space of one of the praetors, as some around New Rome might likely view it, but at this point she didn’t care a whole lot. Since he’d become a praetor, they’d kept him so busy that she rarely had a chance to see Zidane as much as she used to. And, well, she wasn’t really one to allow that to happen without doing something about it.

ATTIRE senate-standard toga praetexta over jeans and a blue turtleneck CREDIT sam ! of Confronting the Faceless. Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS young – hollywood undead NOTES love these two ^^ WORD COUNT 574

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[zidane]

Adjusting the shoulder of his toga and wearily running his hands through his sunny hair, Zidane Quinn was still trying to adjust to his new promotion. Praetorship was the biggest honor that the legion could bestow on him, but it was also the farthest thing from his previously held norms that seemed to define his life. If anything, perhaps this was the biggest plot twist by far in terms of the story he’d previously lived as his life. Coming from a life of crime, secrecy, deception, and flirtation, being the Praetor was the furthest thing from the top of the list of expectations of life.

It could certainly be said as well that Zidane had also been a little bit shocked when he was elected as Centurion for the Second Cohort, though he was also aware in an only slight sense of self-satisfaction that he’d been as honorable as the best out during the war on Mt. Orthys, bravery he’d paid for with the reminder of the scar that ran down the left side of his abdomen. But his bravery and sense of leadership had always stemmed more from the desire to do good by people he counted as friends and innocent people than as a search for leadership and honor. Even with that being said, his parentage almost never lent itself to leadership positions. Mercury children were usually amiable and fun as friends and always had a cunning edge, and were usually very quick. They were also all varying shades of Kleptos. But they were rarely considered anything much when compared to the children of the war gods. Training in the ancient gladiatorial art of Dimachaeri was the only indication even Lupa had really given that he had some rare quality about him (though he liked to think he was a gem).

But here Zidane was. And he wasn’t sure how he ought to feel about it. Up at the front of the Senate meeting, he was looked upon by the rest of the centurions. A group of so few people wasn’t all that intimidating, especially because he’d forged friendships with many of them during his time at camp, especially as a Centurion of the Second Cohort, but it was when he was expected to lead the legion to a solution that had been presented by none other than the Titan Prometheus. Not to mention the fact that being a Praetor also included constantly being in the eyes of public scrutiny, which the thief in him shied away from. He’d never tell anyone, but it wore on him pretty heavily at times.

But, there were two people who had been more than enough to support him through the trials and tribulations Praetorship came with (not the least of which was dealing with the taciturn Remus or the meddlesome August), and they were his father, who had personally come to congratulate Zidane on his promotion which had shocked him beyond belief; and Val, his one and only. During the meeting, his eyes frequently sought her lovely form out from the small gathering, and now that the meeting was adjourned (thank the Gods), he had set out immediately to find her, half-distractedly answering remaining questions from the centurions that could not be directed to Remus. When they had all filed out, he followed as well into the bright daytime outside and stopped short when he saw the object of his search waiting for him like a blessing just outside the Senate House.

Immediately he veered straight for her, his eyes bright with happiness at seeing her there. There hadn’t been nearly enough time for the two of them together since he’d been officially appointed, and once again it struck him hard how much he wished he could have spent leading the second cohort with her instead. But such was life. A roguish grin came over his features as he neared Val, eyes darkening just a touch. “Hello, beautiful. Have you been waiting long? I can’t believe how much these people can talk. It’s so much harder to tune out when you have to be in charge, you know? I don’t think I’ll ever quite get used to this.”

Word Count: 697
Notes: Sorry about all the intro stuff; really got into how Zidane was taking his promotion
Tag: The lovely Valerie

[val]

Valerie would be lying if she said she wasn’t scanning the crowd with the utmost attention, looking for that familiar face and that slightly messed up blonde hair over the general crowd. And, despite her attention, that didn’t change the fact that she was certainly ADHD, just like pretty much everyone here. Soon her mind had half wandered off to the last month. The time that Zidane had packed his bags from Cohort Two. She’d barely been a centurion herself for just shy of a month on that day. And they’d only just started dating. Even though he was only going to the praetor’s quarters to stay, which wasn’t that far away, it felt terrible watching him leave. She’d tried not to let it show, instead acting as supportive and happy for him as she could. The week or so immediately after that had been hard, though. He was usually so busy with getting to know the ropes and settling into his new job that she rarely got to see him. And the barracks of cohort two seemed so much more barren without him there. No more fun nights watching movies or going for walks. Sure, they got to hang out sometimes, but it always seemed a bit… different. He was a big name now. And she had a feeling it was quite a lot to get used to. At least, she imagined it would be for her.

And she was starting to learn the truth behind the saying about absence sometimes having the opposite affect than expected. While he was gone doing his new duties, she tended to think about him more than she even had before, wondering what he was doing and how things were going. Whenever she went to Temple Hill to give an offering to her mother, she’d throw in an extra plead for her to have favor on him and guide him. She had no idea if her prayers were being answered, but she liked to think that she was at least doing something to try to help.

And getting better at being a centurion began to fall to watching the others rather than before, getting tips from Zidane. However, he had fit in a good deal of information in the month they worked together, that without which she would up the Tiber without a paddle. She just hoped that Remus was being of some help to getting Zidane used to things.

Which brought her here, outside the Senate, where she’d just before been sitting on her own because they’d yet to elect a new centurion to take Zidane’s place in the second cohort. Which was well enough because she wasn’t up to getting pulled into a long conversation about politics or something like that and being liable to talking to another person. She had much more important plans. And speaking of plans, there he was. She broke into a smile the moment she saw him. She could have hugged him for the way his face lit up as he headed straight her way. But that might be a little odd with all the centurions still hanging around and talking. So she took his hand instead, her other hand holding a small cloth bag. “Not long at all, don’t worry.” She laughed as he made a very Zidane-like but not what one normally expected from a praetor comment about blabbermouth people. “Yeah, they can. But you did wonderfully.” Ah, forget formalities and properness. She leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Well, how about a break then? Maybe lunch here in New Rome? Oh, and I brought you present.” She held up the cloth bag for him. Inside was a funny little smiley stress ball with a Roman plumed squishy helmet on, and an attempt she’d made and making a little caduceus charm on a thin cord as a necklace, though she wasn’t sure if that one was such a great idea. Would Zidane even like a necklace? But she had trouble thinking of something else. And the charm admittedly was not professional quality work but it had cost her three burns on her fingers that she hoped gave it some redeeming quality.

ATTIRE senate-standard toga praetexta over jeans and a blue turtleneck CREDIT sam ! of Confronting the Faceless. Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS young – hollywood undead WORD COUNT 697

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[zidane]

During the proceedings of the meeting, which went on for gods knew how long and barely amounted to much in the end again Zidane consistently had a hard time staying present during the talking and arguing. It was just another thing he had discovered he really wasn’t fond of, and it was hard to keep himself from escaping into daydreaming memories of him and Val going on their private walks around the camp and sometimes into New Rome. It was something they’d loved doing instead of having meetings for the Cohort they’d both managed together and it was the time spent together during these walks that had really cemented their feelings for eachother. At least he thought so, anyway. He missed them and he wanted more of them, and Gods be darned if he wasn’t going to find better ways to get them than hiding out from being a Praetor for hours at a time every few days.

He supposed that his irresponsibility was something that would never completely go away. Sure he was much better about it, but he knew Remus and August both would have a field day with him if either of them ever had the ability to read his mind and know all the crap he got up to. But it at least made him feel like he wasn’t so far from himself that he wasn’t still the same ol’ Zidane Quinn. He sort of grinned to himself at his train of thought which had carried with him after the meeting ended and he’d set off in search of Val. Gods knew he really needed his fix of time with her, and soon. No longer did he survive on shameless flirting with every girl he laid his eyes on, even if deep down he knew he didn’t really think more than “Nice ass” about some of them. But Val had really changed him for the better.

Which was why his grin got so big when he’d seen her waiting outside for him. “Ah, good. I would have hated to have left you waiting.” He ducked his head and his cheeks reddened just a little at her compliment, but he felt a little pride at being told he was doing well. He’d been so worried for the time he’d considered the nomination to having accepted it that he wouldn’t do a good job. But here Val was, always supportive and saying just what he needed. “Thanks, Val. I needed that. And I have to say, you’re looking more and more poised being a centurion every day.” His blush deepened as her lips met his cheek but he found himself grinning like an idiot. In return he really just wanted to give her a real one, but here wasn’t the place. So he took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her fingers for now instead. “I would love a break, and you know I can’t turn down lunch with you.” He smiled again, but it turned a little confused when she told him she’d brought him a present. “Aww, Val, you shouldn’t have. I… I’m afraid I didn’t bring anything for you..” He looked sheepish and embarrassed, but the gesture meant a lot. And he had every intention of repaying it.

For the time being, he reluctantly let her hand go to receive the cloth bag and he tentatively opened it, rummaging before he brought out the silly stress ball and a big grin broke over his face. “Awww, yeah! This is boss! And maybe it’ll keep me from getting too fidgety during meetings.” He thought this was the contents of the bag, but when he tightened his hand around it, he felt something hard left in it. He turned it over and the caduceus necklace fell out, cool in his palm. It had a bit of roughness about it, but to him it screamed affection and his expression became delighted as he slipped the cord over his neck immediately, letting the cool metal settle over his chest. “Val… I love it. I absolutely do! When did you find the time to do this?” Impatiently, he took her hand again, wanting to be away from the air of officially and started walking. “C’mon, I think we have a lunch date,” He said with a huge grin.

Word Count:721
Notes: They need their lovey- love fix!!
Tag: Val!

[val]

There was one thing that could be said for certain. Senate meetings had a new air now that Zidane was sitting at the front instead of in one of the Cohort Two centurion seats. Nothing against Jason. He’d taken to leadership like he was born for it. Much quicker than she had, that was for sure. Just as Zidane seemed to be taking to his new role really well. She just hoped that she was still doing the centurion position justice. Though she hoped if she wasn’t that people would have the wherewithal to say something to her about it. Some people here – such as the other praetor – had a way with not taking constructive criticism too well. And while Valerie had to admit that she liked to be right, she didn’t think she was horrible at taking advice and critiquing.

Though that didn’t stop her from endlessly critiquing herself as she stood outside the Senate House. Somewhere behind the musings over her own leadership performance, she noticed the surroundings. The sunshine was warm and seemed to make the grand structure of the Senate House dazzling and powerful. A symbol of Rome. The pride of the SPQR spirit. It was an honor to get to serve here. Though she supposed her mother might consider it an expectation, considering she was the goddess that represented the power of Rome itself.

She was pulled from her thoughts when she saw Zidane. Speaking of the power and honor of Rome, Zidane now had that on his shoulders. And he still had that stroll like he had not a care in the world, the same as the day he’d approached her on the side of the field of mars and the rest was history. Which brought them to where they were right now. Two months since they started officially dating. Most people might think her crazy, but she thought of it as an accomplishment. Valerie wasn’t really one to have ever been in a relationship, and considering this was Zidane and to say she was crushing on him would be putting it lightly, every day was something to thank the gods for. So a random present didn’t seem so bad, right? But first things first!

“Oh, I’ve hardly been waiting long at all, don’t worry.” And there was that blush; she had to smile. “Any time. And you know I mean every word.” Though at his compliment she wouldn’t be surprised if she’d gone a little pink as well. Hadn’t she just been wondering about her own job? And here he was complimenting her on it. There were times she wondered if he could read minds. Or at least hers. “Thanks, Zidane. That means a lot.” And there he went, being adorable and gentlemanly once more. “Well then, I suppose it’s time for a break.”

But first, she wasn’t about to wait any longer to give him his gifts. And besides, she was getting more nervous by the minute that they would be awful, or at least the necklace. So she didn’t waste any more time in giving it to him before she lost her nerve to do so period. “Oh, don’t worry. You don’t have to get me anything at all. Really. I just… saw it and thought you could put it to good use. And… yeah.” She couldn’t exactly say that she’d sat at a bench in the way overly hot forge fussing over that charm for hours on end. A) that gave away the present, and b) he didn’t need to know the number of Latin swear words that had gone into making it. She watched him dig in and pull out the stress ball first and couldn’t help but laugh at his grin. Yep, that was a winner. “Figured that might help a little.” She was debating with herself to tell him there was something else as he clenched his hand around the bag, when he seemed to notice and she bit the inside of her cheek, hoping it was an okay gift. Would he even wear a necklace? Or was that a totally stupid idea? But once again that smile came back. “Just on breaks. I’m glad you like it.” Even though that didn’t even begin to cover her relief. She gladly took his hand and set out walking by his side. “So what are you in the mood for, Praetor Zidane Quinn the Great?” she said with a hint of teasing, though her tone still hinted that she was proud that he had that title. “There are a handful of good places around here. Traditional Italian? Subs? Gyros? You pick. Mostly because I can’t decide and you just mastered that Senate meeting like it was a piece of cake,” she added with a laugh.

Tag: Mr Zidane Quinn the Amazing
Word Count: 797
Notes: Squee. That is all.

[zidane]

Sitting at the front of the Senate meeting still struck him as a surreal experience, Zidane thought as he stood next to the girl he had pretty much deemed the love of his life. Val’s admiration for his air of natural leadership was something Zidane hadn’t really given that much thought to before he really got involved with her because, while he did have tendencies to be flashy and behave ostentatiously at times, he hadn’t really been into the whole leadership thing. He’d been about survival before anything else when he’d been forced out of Reno into camp, but he had always felt a nagging sensation from his time in the wolfhouse with Lupa as she had hinted at his potential. He hadn’t really noticed it then, either; he’d really just done what he was told and done his best to skate through. With a rare and flashy fighting style and a pat on the back, but still.

He hadn’t expected that to carry him as far as it did. But maybe it wasn’t just that either. Maybe the campers were tired of someone who was all bite and no camaraderie. Zidane also knew that his gregarious nature had earned him a number of friends and at times a number of enemies, but once again, it was something he hadn’t expected. He always just acted on his gut and thought about the outcomes later. Maybe people wanted an impulsive leader with a hint of cunning. Hell, Zidane knew one had to be a strategist to be a thief and figured that turning that power into something to be put to, ah, better moral usage, he actually looked like a pretty formidable Roman. Whatever it was about him that he wasn’t quite sure he understood in himself, here he was as not only the leader of a cohort, but one of the leaders of the entire camp. Yeah, he still didn’t believe this was happening to him.

But he bore it because he not only wanted to make his father proud, he treasured the praise he got from Valerie Smyth. Of all the people Zidane cared about, she was certainly at the top of his list, as much as he hated to admit how little he liked some of his own siblings (who knew the children of Mercury all inherited a sense of the ridiculous?); not that he was trying to be hypocritical or anything, but sometimes they just didn’t respect lines in the sand, or act in ways that didn’t make his entire family look insane. Ah well. A grin lit up his face as Val began to speak again. “I’m glad I didn’t make you wait long. You know every minute we have is precious and hard won. Especially lately, with everything that’s been going on.”

He examined his gifts once again and couldn’t help the Cheshire cat smile that broke across his face, along with the pink that still lingered at his embarrassment for the attention and the care the gifts had been made with. He swore to himself that he would find something just as wonderful to bestow on Val. “Man, I can definitely use this stress ball. Maybe it’ll help with my ADHD… It’s so hard to pay attention to frantic Romans all the time for hours, you know?” He rubbed the back of his head and smiled, gazing down at the pendent that had taken up residency around his neck, knowing it would become a permanent part of his attire much like Garnet and Andros, when he wasn’t in a place that banned him from carrying them. “I can’t believe you took out the time to do this. Thank you so much, Val. You know what this means, though, right? I'm getting you back when you least expect it.” His smile turned predatory, but still steeped in humor.

As they began to mosey away from the prying eyes of other officials, Zidane stole a quick kiss and took Val’s hand, the Cheshire grin remaining as he did so, considering her question about food. “You know, I think I could use some meat after that. Protein to pick the ol’ energy back up, you know? Maybe a Lamb Gyro, unless you know somewhere around here that has a good burger. And stop, you’re making me blush!” He really was, just a little bit, but he was teasing her just as lightly as she was him, though he knew she meant what she was saying, and he loved her for it.

Tag: Val!
Word Count:729
Notes: ...yeah, you're welcome to murder me. But not if you want more cutes. o.o

[val]

Valerie took to her recent job like a fish did water. Or at least, so she thought most of the time. She tagged that one on her mom, being the patron goddess of Rome and all. She looked up to her mom a lot, even though she’d never met the goddess. From what she understood, that was normal for a demigod to go their whole life without meeting their immortal parent. The gods had bigger responsibilities, and besides, she was fairly certain she’d heard somewhere something about a rule against too much contact with demigod or legacy children. Then again, there had been a lot of immortal activity around lately. It had started with that Prometheus guy, who she still wasn’t sure how far she trusted. Then it had just escalated from there. She’d heard word that some big names were around camp. Mars, Venus, Mercury, Mors, the list went on.

Speaking of Mercury, her favorite son of Mercury (or favorite camper period) was finally off duty. It was both exciting and a little sad that he was a praetor now. First of all, he wasn’t her co-centurion anymore, which meant she couldn’t use working on tactics as a reason to hang out with him. Second, he was usually so tied up with running the camp that there was hardly any time to see him unless she was doing something on official camp business. In which case she had the unfortunate luck of usually running into the less friendly of the two praetors. So this was a happy change of pace. Here was to hoping he didn’t have another meeting to go to or something, but judging by the look on his face, he didn’t. She sent a silent thanks to the gods for that one.

“Well, of course. I’m sorry you’ve been under such stress though. You know if there’s anything at all I can do to help, I will. No matter how tedious. I’m in.” And she meant it too. Anything to help take a little pressure off of Zidane’s shoulders was fine in her book. He needed down time. And she wasn’t just saying that because she wanted more time with him, but because no one should be that busy. She smiled to herself as she watched him opening the presents, hoping he would like them. Judging from the look on his face, he did. “You can throttle that whenever you feel the need to do the same to a real person then. Because you can’t tell me that doesn’t happen sometimes. That kid I had to send to you last week… I sincerely apologize for him.” That kid had been mildly insane. She’d been ready to punch his face in when he talked back to her and Jason during training. But sadly that method of punishment was usually frowned upon. Besides, she was putting some effort into being professional about this whole centurion thing.

She crossed her arms in mock anger when he said that he was going to get her back. “Zidane, no. You have enough on your plate. Besides, just getting the privilege of being your girlfriend is plenty for me.” She couldn’t help adding a smile to that last part. “I just wanted to give you something.” Though looking at the smile of his, she knew he likely wasn’t going to drop his plotting that easily. She still wasn’t entirely certain how they had transitioned from complete strangers to dating, but she was happy it had happened. She let her arms drop though, all pretense of fake anger gone. It was hard to hold it up with him after all. She couldn’t think of a single situation where she could bring herself to be angry with Zidane Quinn. He was just too wonderful.

She was more than happy to join him for a walk, giving his hand a little squeeze when he took hers. This was what she missed the most. Just relaxing and being with Zidane. No work to do, no people to babysit, nothing but the two of them. She liked to think that she and him would be like this for a long time still to come. She really did love him. Even though a lot of people might argue how could she even know that so soon into the relationship, but she really did feel like it was meant to be or something. Like one of those sappy poems or movies she used to hate but now tended to see a bit more value in now that she was in a relationship herself. “Gyros sound great! And also, I hope you don’t think that’s a way to make me stop, because you’re really cute when you blush, so…. Then again, not that you’re not always cute. Well, handsome is a better word for it.”

Tag: Zidane
Word Count: 805
Notes: that is the longest post I’ve done in a while! lol