when in rome

Blinking quite rapidly, Ania wasn't quite sure what to make of a tiger as a pet. She supposed it would get a bit messy, if you had to find big animals to feed it all the time. "A tiger? What's his name? I've never heard of anyone having a whole tiger." Ania was very impressed by his pet; she hadn't thought that you could have a tiger. 'Quite a lot' seemed to be a rough estimate, and so Ania's mind settled on a number somewhere in the millions. That was quite a lot, wasn't it? More than enough for a stuffed animals room. That was also rather impressive, and she couldn't help but look at him with newfound wonder. "Yesss, I love stuffed stuffed animals~!" The idea of 'quite a lot' had excited her, but she pushed it down, not wanting to seem too excited about toys. "Ah, they're okay, I mean. Child stuff, nothing important."

Unfortunately, Ania was a terrible liar, and she just couldn't contain herself anymore. "But! They're really cool! Stuffed animals are soft and they can't speak or be rotten and you can give them names and personalities and they're friends." Stuffed animals had always been her friend, ever since she was a child. She loved her little friends, and never forgot a single name. She felt bad for the animals that were lost or destroyed by cruel or thoughtless people. "Oh! What's your favourite colour? Or favourite food. List all of your favourites!"

Altair was a pretty name. It sounded more like the name for a temple or something holy, though. It shocked her, when she discovered that he only had a lion. Well, at least he at least had a special one. Her nose wrinkled up, she wasn't too sure about the sushi. Didn't it stink? Or taste like bad fish? "Sushi? I've never had it. Doesn't it smell funny?" She had always thought it looked a little too limp for her tastes. It didn't even look good. "I'm sure you're a wonderful artist! Perhaps one day you can have a gallery! Or a whole workshop filled with pencils and paints and .. stuff !" A gallery sounded very nice, a great big room full of art supplies.

"How long have you been drawing?" She was envious of those that were artistic, especially if they could paint. She had never really gotten the hang of it, and she turned to baking instead. People didn't ask you to draw masterpieces on their cupcakes, usually. "Teach me how to paint one day." Turning, Ania squeezed Hadrian around his waist, watching him expectantly. "Teach meee. I want to learn your secrets."

Ania didn't think she could stomach the thought of eating sushi. Wasn't that cannibalism for her? She felt bad just watching people eat caviar; she wondered how she would do to see someone eating a little red fish. Making a face, Ania wondered if that was all he ever ate. No wonder he was so thin, he didn't get to eat properly! It pleased her greatly when he agreed to teach her how to paint; that would be interesting, to both learn and watch someone else do it. To be able to paint was a beautiful skill, especially if it was done well. "I'll practice lots! I want to be a good painter, too." Something caught her eye, and she turned curiously, looking at a small purple spot in the dirt.

Hurrying over to the thing, Ania bent to get a closer view of it. It was a dull colour, a mixture of purple and grey. Scooping it up, she polished the dirt off to reveal a brighter set of colours that swirled across it. It was a very pretty prize, and Ania was delighted to find it. "Look! Isn't it pretty? I wonder what kind of stone this is!"

"You don't ... know how to cook..." This sentence absolutely baffled Ania. What type of person didn't know how to cook? Maybe he was that type that burned everything he touched. That wouldn't do at all. "I like to bake, mostly. I cook sometimes but I prefer making sweets." She hadn't practiced making normal food very much, but she supposed she was a fair hand at it. Chicken and rice was the easiest to do, just boil and toss a few spices in there. "It is pretty, isn't it? I wonder what they'll tell us it is." She hadn't ever seen anything like it before, not naturally, anyway.

"Do you have any siblings? What is your family like?" Ania liked learning about families, and how they were supposed to act. She hadn't gotten a very good viewpoint on how families were typically supposed to function, and it was very interesting to hear about different dynamics of different families. "I think it would be neat to have a big family. Lots of love surrounding you."

Ania smiled a bit, uncertain of swapping a lesson for a lesson. She wasn't used to sharing her secrets with others, especially baking secrets. But, if he was kind enough to teach her how to paint, then she could probably teach him a few easy meals to create. "Yes, lesson for a lesson." Looking around for a pocket, Ania rustled around the endless folds of cloth before giving up. It appeared that the Romans hadn't thought women would have things they might want to pocket. Looking uncertain for a moment, Ania stuffed her hand down the front of her stola and tucked it into her bra. It was sure to be safer in there, though she wouldn't tell anyone where it had been when she handed it over for examination. "A nanny?" She had never met anyone with a nanny. Ania had only read old stories that described nursemaids and nannies. Even having a tiger as a replacement parent was less odd than having a nanny.

"Ah... I had a uh, different childhood, I suppose you could say." Wrapping her arms around her torso, Ania frowned, wondering how to word it or if she should just leave it at 'different'. "I never knew my father. My mother didn't like talking about him. We roamed from shelter to shelter until she died." She didn't quite want to scare him off just yet, and held back the rest of the details. Forcing a note of lightheartedness in her tone, Ania smiled uncertainly. "And now I'm here, I suppose."