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Octavius tapped his pencil idly on the table as the Senate spoke, he really didn't know why he needed to be here, he may be the Emperor but an Emperor for an empire that doesn't exist now. “So if we do this the Mayans should back away for at least a-”
“Why don't we just make a peace offering? Truce? Treaty?” Octavius asked, members of the Senate looked confused, some wondered if he had gone insane “I'm sorry?” The general leaned back, gesturing while he talked
“the only reason we have a problem with them is because of our business with the West, but that has long faded, we have not tried giving them an explanation, we do know what we and the nations that we associated with did to people like the Mayans, we owe them an explanation and apology”
The Senate stood, stunned, until it broke out into chaos, yelling obscenities of war and that Octavius had lost it. Only a few defending, saying he was correct. This hasn't happened since Octavius called that anyone “owned” should be free and that there should be no remorse or punishment for loving someone else, no matter their background or gender, almost 40 years ago at this point.
He sighed, ‘ my reign would have been over by now and yet here I am 90 year emperor in total ’ he thought, almost bitterly the yelling went on for a while longer before he stood up, slamming his hands onto the table “we shall take a vote on the 4th hour tomorrow night, we shall either forge a truce pact and give the Mayans a peace offering like I suggested or-” Octavius gestured to the Senate member
“-we shall do the barbaric act of scaring the Mayans off property they have the right of using, no matter how much they have hurt us” the general glared at the end of his sentence before sighing “everyone in agreement?” Murmurs of confirmation arose Octavius smiled “great, now if that is all, this meeting is adjourned”
Stepping out of that conference room held a weight to it, they always do. Octavius has nothing else to do this evening, no plans, no drills, nothing, he decided to go to his domus to rest. Passing the halls to his room felt empty, the walls bare where there should have been intricate designs. His room opened up to the same off-white color, frowning in disappointment Octavius took his armor onto its stand, letting his curly hair free from his helmet fluffing it slightly.
Octavius looked in the mirror, wearing only a red tunic with a few golden accents. ‘ this shall not do, not anymore ” he walked out of his room, spotting his most trusted centurion, Camilla, “Centurion Camilla!” He called, striding over she turned and bowed “General Octavius” he shook his head, smiling “no need for the formalities, I have a favor to ask you”
“What is it?” Camilla inquired “gather any and all artists, I have a request” after a while Rome was buzzing with anticipation, Emperor Octavius? Commissioning the arts? This hasn't happened since his era! He still had to fill a few gaps, smooth over a few details but it seemed that everything was in place, in order.
Walking through the gardens he was delighted to see florists bustling around with flowers of all kinds but still their size. “General Octavius!” One of the florists called, rushing over with the brightest smile “thank you so much! I've always wanted to tend to the gardens, it's so barren without the flora, do you think you could plant these by the bushes near the fountain?”
She handed Octavius a bouquet of forget-me-nots and baby's breath, he took it delicately into his hands “I would be honored to! Honestly I should be the one thanking you Rome isn't the same without it's artists” Octavius took over to the bushes, kneeling down to plant the flowers gently into the ground
Although the dirt and grass might be made of plastic in the day, like them it turns to what it's supposed to be during the night, moving after scooping it out of the way like you would out of the museum. He took care in making sure the roots were supported, the small patches of forget-me-nots sizing to what roses would range to in bushes instead of the small flowers normal-sized humans know.
The excitement of Rome spread to the west, apparently, more and more cowfolk seeing what they are doing, what's going on. One cowboy, Jedediah, followed suit, wondering what's up when walking through the familiar roads of Rome. He spotted one of the soldiers he knew by name and walked over, asking where the general is, so he could ask him directly.
“General Octavius is in the main garden, behind the foyer, remember?” Jedediah nodded, heading towards it. It was a shock to see Octavius, on the ground, planting flowers with a bright smile he's only seen a select amount of times. Pushing down nerves he strolled over to him “howdy there Octy, whatcha up to?”
Octavius jumped slightly at the sudden voice but smiled warmly shortly after “helping the florists” he said, almost giddy, Jedediah felt his face heat up, his heart pounding at how cute the roman was, but shook it off before he could notice. “Well ain't that somethin', I didn't take ya' for the gardening type” the cowboy said, sitting down next to the general.
“I guess not, most people only remember me as a general or emperor” Octavius shrugged, picking up another flower “but I think Ive done enough ruling, not that I'm not going to, I still am, until my people decide if I'm unworthy, but I think I should focus attention on my people, rather than my government” he explained, planting the flower into the ground below.
“Oh, gotcha” Jedediah looked at the flowers, on instinct he picked a flower off the stem carefully while the general wasn't looking. He then placed it behind Octavius’s ear, the petals brushing softly against his temple. Octavius looked at the cowboy with wide eyes before chuckling nervously, a flustered smile on his face “I think I like this, y'know? Yer a good emperor but I think yer a better poet”