Marcus couldn't be sure that Esca was avoiding him, but it certainly felt like it. It was a little hard to tell, since they never spent very much time together anyway, but Marcus hadn't seen the slave all day, not even during breakfast or lunch. As dinner approached, Marcus' uncle commented on the slave's absence, prodding Marcus to go check on him.
"He's not well," Marcus said quickly. It was the first excuse to pop into his mind to explain away Esca's lack of presence, and Marcus hoped his uncle would not continue to insist he go see the slave. Marcus wasn't feeling particularly eager to see Esca, and he couldn't blame the slave for avoiding him as well.
"Why didn't you bring this to my attention earlier?" Marcus' uncle asked, his brow furrowed. "Does he require medicine? A doctor?"
Marcus put his hands up. "He's fine, uncle; just feeling under the weather. If he is still unwell by tomorrow then you can have the doctor take a look at him."
"Alright," Marcus' uncle ceded. "Why don't you check on him once more? Has he even eaten today?"
To be honest, Marcus wasn't sure. The roman let out a sigh of annoyance and turned on his heel, towards Esca's room.
"Esca?" Marcus rapped his knuckles against the slave's door. There was no answer. "I know I'm the last person you want to see right now," Marcus continued, "But my uncle is-"
Esca's door opened a bit, and the slave peered at Marcus through the narrow opening. "I'm not feeling well," he said simply.
Marcus blinked. "… You're not?" Perhaps the slave hadn't been avoiding him at all, then.
The slave nodded. "Would you do me a favor?"
"What is it?" Marcus asked.
"I'd like for you to come see me tonight. We need to talk," Esca explained carefully.
"We're talking now," Marcus pointed out.
Esca scowled. "Are you going to come or not?"
"Fine," Marcus agreed, exasperated. "I'll see you tonight."
Marcus left his room quietly, feeling overly mindful of the sound his cane made as it hit the ground. After Esca had pointed it out to him the night before, the noise the cane produced seemed deafening in the otherwise calm halls. Marcus had even considered leaving without it, but the thought of falling or injuring himself yet again convinced the roman that it would be best to merely focus on being as silent as possible, even with the cane.
As Marcus neared Esca's door, a flood of barely muffled noises greeted his ears. A short gasp here, a light moan there- Marcus grimaced. Why was this happening now? Had Esca forgotten he was coming tonight?
Marcus could hear Esca's breath getting faster, and he blushed, wondering what he should do. It was getting embarrassingly difficult to think. Marcus raised a hand to his head, massaging his temples. He was torn between returning to his room and waiting things out. He was curious what the slave had wanted to tell him in the first place. After a moment more of thought, Marcus raised his hand and knocked on the door. "Esca?"
The noises coming from the slave's room halted. "Come in," Esca called.
Marcus hesitated. "Are you sure?"
"Come in," Esca repeated, his voice taking a harsher edge. Marcus took it to mean annoyance and opened the door to the slave's room, his eyes widening at what he saw.