Hey, Octie,
What 'xactly, d'ya think you're doin', wandrin' off an' leavin' your men without a leader, an my men with no one t' fight for an entire night? D'ya have somethin' wrong with ya?
Yeah, ya probably do, don'cha?
You know what I think it is?
Stupid.
A big, bad ol' case of goddamned stupid.
So get your fruity Roman ass back here so I can kick it real good, for your men, my men, and myself. You deserve it, Toga-Boy.
'Cause I'll be darned if I didn't look pretty damned stupid waitin' over in yer diorama stand all blasted day, sure as hell you were gonna show up.
-Jed
-0o0-
'Ey! Octavius!
Are ya even gettin' these letters? Im'a skin yer men if I find out they've jus' been tellin' me they'll hand 'em to ya!
Seriously, what in tarnation are ya doin? I ain't jokin' with ya, Octavius, I'm gonna beat th' "gods" right outta your skirt-wearin' ass. You'll be just as God-fearin' as my men when I'm done with ya! How 'bout that, huh? Would ya really want that?
This marks 'nother day when ya didn't show up. Your men dunno where ya are, an' they wont tell me which blasted direction ya keep goin so early in th' night. Gigantor's been awful quiet 'bout the whole thing, too.
What in hell are ya thinkin', Partner?
An' what th' hell are ya doin, leavin' my men with nothin' to do?
Are ya avoidin' us?
Or...me? Are ya avoidin' me?
Do ya-I mean, I know good 'n well folks 'round here don't take too kindly to it, but I really coulda sworn...
...Nah, never mind. Goddammit, Octavius, come on back.
-Jededaiah
-0o0-
Octavius, Octie, Octagon, c'mon, Partner, please,
Three nights in a row, not a single word from li'l ol' you. An' then there's li'l ol' me, worryi-sittin, I mean-sittin' round with nothin' t' do, while ya parade around somewhere else in the museum, namby-pamby in yer skirt an' without a care in the world; like ya own it or sumthin'.
But, ya know, Octie, I ain't mad no more. Serious. No jokin', partner, really. I'm fine with th' fact that ya were gone fer'a few days; hell, it's a-okay with me. I like gettin' breaks from you an yer skirt-wearin' army. Ya know?
So long as ya come home tomorrow.
An' ya stay home.
At least let me know yer...well, alive! C'mon, partner...
Really, Octie, I mean...Golly, lookit here: Gigantor knows sumthin, yer men know sumthin, an' hell, I'll bet my men know somethin' 'bout yer bein' gone.
You're either...gone-which you're not! I know, they'd tell me if ya'd...stayed out past our curfew. I know it. That, or...
Look, if it's 'bout...I mean...
Nah, it ain't, right?
Ya...wouldla talked with me if ya knew. Ya wouldna ran away like a pansy. You're a Roman General, by God! That, an'...well...yer my best pal...
...Right?
-Jed
-0o0-
Octavius,
I saw ya leavin' this evenin'. Ya know it, too. Started runnin' like I was Lucifer-or Pluto, I guess you'd call 'im-'imself, soon as ya caught wind o' me.
An', hey, ya know what? I'm glad I did.
Now, I know yer alright.
Now I kin stop worryin' an' losin' sleep over ya! Really, it's a blasted load offa my shoulders, that's fer damn sure!
Ya know what else I know, Octavius?
I know we weren't the friends ya made me think we were. If nothin' else, ya made that crystal clear t' me, bud. What was that, anyway? It couldna been 'bout that. Goddammit, I know it wasn't 'bout that. You're a man. You're a General. Ya lead an army 'round in skirts, an' you'd...jus'...give up on someone fer that? Fer a little crush on another man? That's cowardly, Octavius.
But, what else would it be?
Ya just...disappointed me. I feel like ya lied t' me in th' worst kinda way.
An' I'm glad ya did. Don'cha ever git me wrong there. I'd rather know m' enemies than treat 'em like friends, ya hear?
A coward ain't the man I thought I liked. Thanks fer clearin' that up.
An'...
Ya didn't look me in th' eyes before you left. Ya just ran like some fuckin' kid, scared shitless o' gettin' whipped. Ya know that? Ya probably didn't care enough t' notice, but I did. An' it was probably th' damn worst feelin' ya'd ever given me. Even worse than every insult, flamin' arrow; worse'n every dag-blasted second I didn't know ya were okay.
An' if it makes ya happy, I'll accept that.
I might hate ya for it till the day I die, Octavius.
But, m'sure you can accept that, too.
-Jededaiah