Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.

Consul of the Underworld: End of Disc 1

Chapter Twenty-Two: Cloak and Dagger in New Rome - Lupercalia Riot

Beta: ShadowofAxios

On the morning of the 15th of February, the date of the Lupercalia festival that she and her wife had been invited to attend in New Rome, Pyrrha found herself at the home of the babysitter they had found to look after their daughters in their absence. A babysitter that had been surprisingly difficult to secure. With it being autumn, Durmstrang was still in session and thus their usual babysitter, Baba Yaga, who served as a Professor at the Wizarding school, was unavailable. Similarly, their usual backup, Alecto, was too busy helping her father-in-law in their war effort against the Titan Army to help them. They had thus eventually had to resort to sending the girls to visit with Mum in Wales.

Thank the gods for Mum working from home. Pyrrha thought as she, Alkaid and Mum stood in the hall outside their girls' rooms at her mother's house and waited for their daughters to finish settling in so they could wish them goodbye. That said, I'm still not a hundred percent about leaving the girls here just so we can go enjoy a festival in New Rome.

"It's fine, Py." Alkaid reassured her, clearly having deduced the direction her thoughts had taken. "The girls should spend more time with their Grandma anyway."

"Yes, they should." Mum said emphatically while shooting Pyrrha a look that said she'd be quite upset with her if she thought otherwise.

"It's not that." Pyrrha hastily assured her mother. "It's that I don't think it's fair to just leave them with a babysitter, whoever it is, just to go enjoy a festival."

"It's totally fine, Mama!" Mina assured as she teleported over, seemingly done settling in. "You and Mum have been so busy lately that you deserve some time to enjoy yourselves. It's like they say, 'all work and no play makes Jill a dull girl'."

"I think you meant 'Jack', Mina." Alkaid corrected with a bemused shake of her head.

"But you and Mama are girls, Mum." Mina said with a confused tilt of her head. "So it's more correct to change it up a little, right?"

"I suppose so." Alkaid allowed indulgently. "So long as you know the correct wording of the proverb."

Mina smiled and nodded. She looked so adorable doing so that Pyrrha couldn't help but pull her little goddess of serial killers into an affectionate hug. One that her attention craving daughter happily returned, snuggling deep into her arms.

Even as she smiled at their display of mother-daughter affection, Alkaid teased Mina. "You're only encouraging us to go because the Lupercalia is a fertility festival and you're still hung up on the idea of me and Mama giving you more siblings."

"Guilty~!" Mina shot back unrepentantly. "But I also want you and Mama to go 'cos it's gonna be fun. Like I said, you two deserve to have more fun! And it's not just me who thinks that, Kura does too!"

"Rea-" Alkaid began only for Kura to teleport in slightly above her and bomb tackle the daughter of Hades, forcing her to cut herself off in favor of catching their youngest. "Kura! Don't do that!"

"Sorry, Mum. Okay, I won't." The Zashiki-warashi said cheekily as she happily cuddled into 'Kaidy's arms.

If anyone believes her, I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell to them. Pyrrha thought as she exchanged a bemused look with Mum.

"But!" Kura continued once she finished squirming and got comfortable. "What's important is that I agree with Mina! Mum, Mama, go have fun at the festival. We'll be fine here with Gracie and Grandma."

As if summoned by her name, Gracie stepped out of her room with a frown. "Kura! Why do you make it sound like I'm supposed to act as your babysitter too?"

Kura and Mina both shot their eldest sister a look. ""'Cos you're our big sister?""

Gracie pouted at that, but Pyrrha just joined the adults in exchanging bemused smiles.

"I'm afraid your sisters are right there, Gracie." Mum said as she walked over to Pyrrha's eldest and pulled her into her own hug. "You are the big sister and that comes with responsibilities."

Gracie's pout got even more pronounced for a second but with a literal shake of her head, she quickly shook off her upset and changed the topic. "Mum, Mama, I heard what Mina and Kura said and yeah, just go enjoy yourself at the Lupercalia. We'll be fine."

"They'll be more than fine." Mum assured them. "I'll make sure they keep up with their studies-" Mina and Kura groaned at this but Mum just ignored them and continued. "-but also have fun."

Looks like I'm majorly outvoted. Pyrrha thought with a chuckle, particularly at the sight of her two youngest perking up at Mum's mention of having fun. Seriously! Mina and Kura were too adorably spoiled for their own good!

Looking just as amused, Alkaid posed a question to Pyrrha. "So, Py, do you want to disappoint your Mum and our girls?"

"No, I suppose not." Pyrrha said with a smile and a shake of her head. "Let's go party."

Alkaid giggled and nodded. "Yes, let's go join the Lupercalia."

Thanks to the eight hour time difference between Mum's place in Wales and New Rome, when the Potter pair arrived in the city after seeing their daughters off and a quick pitstop back home to get changed into clothing fit for the occasion, it was still before sunrise. Even then they were immediately assailed by the scents, sights and sounds of the festival. The smell of many foods wafted through the air even as loud, but pleasant music filled the city's streets. At the same time, throngs of chattering people dressed in traditional Roman garb filled the streets.

This? This was what a festival was all about.

The joyous energy of it was infectious and Alkaid couldn't help but pull Pyrrha close and wrap her arms tightly around one of her wife's more muscular limbs. "This is going to be amazing~"

"Didn't know you were that eager for a kid." Py teased her, a grin on her face.

Alkaid playfully bumped her hip against her wife's. "Patience, my little Pyrrha. You'll be my baby-mama sooner or later."

Seeing the adorable blush that spread across Pyrrha's face just made her want to tease the redhead even more!

"Guess, it was the right call to dress up for the occasion." Pyrrha said as she gestured to the crowd around them, clearly trying to shift things to a safer topic. "Everyone's dressed like we're in Ancient Rome."

Alkaid nodded. Unlike normal, where the New Romans just dressed like any other American with perhaps the occasional accoutrement to connect them to their ancient heritage like a toga or other traditional article of clothing over modern attire, there was nary a piece of contemporary clothing in sight. For the Lupercalia, all of New Rome had dressed in the garb of their ancestors.

And though they themselves were not Roman, to fit in with the festivities, Alkaid and Pyrrha had chosen to do the same. To that effect, forgoing any other undergarments, they had bound their breasts with linen, over which they wore silk tunics with a closed shoulder seam with shaped sleeves that were decorated with identical golden embroidery along the borders that consisted of the paired symbols of the Houses of Pluto and Mars to signify their marriage. This tunic was controlled by a cord belt tied under the bust and the outfit was matched by gilded leather sandals decorated with various precious and semi-precious jewels. The same mix of precious and semi-precious stones characterized the tasteful jewelry they had used to complement their look. And completing their get up for the occasion, they both wore a palla, a mantle worn by women of high status like them. They were the Diplomats of Olympus after all. Said mantle was almost eleven and a half feet of rectangular fabric, and was thus a cumbersome garment that required both their arms to manage even with the help of some brooches. Though it did make them look wonderfully elegant if managed well, something that they most certainly achieved as with the palla draped over their heads like a hood, they continued their way to the Lupercalia's opening rites alongside the rest of the crowds.

Crowds which opened up a path for them as they noticed them in recognition of their status. All whilst they muttered approvingly of Alkaid and Pyrrha's appearance. It seemed that despite their Greek origins, they were passing quite well for Romans.

It seems our efforts have paid off. Alkaid thought with satisfaction.

And quite an effort it had been. For, in honor of the festival, even their makeup for the day was limited to traditional types of products and consisted of face cream to make them paler. Something that only Pyrrha really needed since Alkaid's heritage as a daughter of Hades already made her unnaturally pale. They had both foregone coloring their eyelids though, it being a little too much of a departure from the norm for them, particularly Pyrrha who rarely used makeup at all. They did however use a little eyeliner to outline their eyes in black in the traditional style. They had also put on some of their favorite perfume. Thankfully, whilst they had limited themselves in regards to what products they used, they had not resorted to using the actual Ancient Roman products with their potentially dangerous ingredients like lead and had instead opted to use modern equivalents. Alkaid and her wife might want to respect tradition but they drew the line at poisoning themselves.

Besides, it seems we didn't need to in order to pass muster. Alkaid thought with a smile even as she caught snippets from the crowd surrounding them complimenting her and Pyrrha, particularly their choice of hairstyles. Compliments that had her smile growing, if possible, even broader.

Why? Because styling their hair might have been the most difficult part of getting ready for the Lupercalia. So much so that Alkaid had resorted to summoning the spirits of actual Romans skilled in the art of styling hair from the Underworld to help them achieve the looks they desired. In Alkaid's case, she had gone with a tutulus, a hairstyle worn primarily by the materfamilias, the mother of the family, or more accurately, the female head of the family, which Pyrrha was more than happy to admit was the truth. A style which required Alkaid's hair to be divided and piled high and shaped into a bun, after which it was tied with purple filets of wool. By the end of which, the hair had taken on a conical shape.

Pyrrha on the other hand had gone with the nodus style that had been popularized by Livia and Octavia, the wife and sister of Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. It saw her hair parted in three, with the hair from the sides of the head tied in a bun at the back while the middle section looped back on itself, creating an effect not unlike the modern Pompadour style.

"Looks like we pulled off the noble Roman lady look we were going for." Pyrrha observed with a pleased smirk as the both of them continued making their way to the open-air, public meeting area on Temple Hill known as the Comitium where the ritual that would start the festivities for the Lupercalia would be held.

Alkaid just nodded and they continued on their journey in companionable silence that she only broke some time later as they began ascending Temple Hill.

"Ah~ Why oh why do these outfits have to lack pockets? Best I can manage is only a small purse to carry by hand." The daughter of 'Pluto' lamented as she lightly shook the aforementioned clutch and turned to her wife with faux jealousy. "At least we're lucky that Miló (Speak) and Akoúo̱ (Listen) count as jewelry. I can't even carry the bookmark form of my Grimoire."

Pyrrha just shot her an unimpressed look. "You have no pockets because you refused to wear a carrying pouch. Like you know, average Roman women would."

Alkaid shook her head. "Not ladies of our status."

"Only because they had slaves to carry their stuff and follow them around." Pyrrha pointed out. "If you're that miffed about the lack of pockets why don't you summon some skeletons to do it, Miss Daughter of Pluto."

Alkaid pouted at her wife's teasing. Pyrrha was merciless however and just kept going.

"Besides, it's not like you need your weapon. With how powerful your magic is, you're the weapon. Miss Walking Nuke."

"Calling me a nuke? My love, are you flirting with me?" Alkaid pouted, poking her beloved warrioress.

"I dunno. Is it working?" Pyrrha shot back with a grin.

"Not particularly." Alkaid admitted before leaning in and continuing in a seductive whisper. "But if you want, I'll lie down and let you ravish me right here, right now. All you need to do is ask."

Pyrrha's breath hitched at that provocative comeback. She did not however fall for the bait. Instead, she changed the topic.

"So, what do you think of our outfits? We were so busy getting ready earlier I didn't get a chance to ask."

Alkaid breathed a minor sigh of relief. She might have been the one to teasingly suggest it, but she wasn't actually comfortable with public sex. That said, if Pyrrha had wanted it, crowd be damned, she'd strip there and then and spread her legs. But she was nevertheless thankful that her darling wasn't about to ask that of her.

If Pyrrha had, her maidenly heart might not be able to handle it~

Unaware of her thoughts, Pyrrha continued. "To be honest, I'm not sold on them myself. It's a little uncomfortable going commando like this, even if it's traditionally Roman."

Alkaid shrugged. "Like you said, it's part of traditional Roman garb and dressing this way is part of the New Roman Lupercalia festival."

"So you're okay with it?" Pyrrha asked curiously.

Alkaid hummed thoughtfully as she considered the matter before finally giving her opinion. "Not entirely. Though my complaint is more about the breast binding. To get the same support as a bra or corset, it has to be worn unreasonably tight."

"Yeah, I agree with you completely." Pyrrha said with a nod. "I can totally see why people switched to a corset, though that has its own problems. Give me a modern bra any day!"

"You do know that there were many steps in between breast bindings and a corset, right, Dear?" Alkaid asked with a chuckle.

"So?"

Ignoring her wife's almost petulant reply, Alkaid just giggled and continued. "And the only reason you have such a dislike for corsets is that whenever you wear one you lace it up too tightly. You should let me help you next time. I'll show you how to do it more comfortably."

"Sure." Pyrrha said with a shrug. "And can you blame me for not knowing how to wear them properly? It's not like I wear them all too often anyways. The only times I do are when I wear an outfit that needs it."

Alkaid shot her wife her best sultry smile, her eyes half-lidded in an alluring manner. "You do look very sexy when you do though, Py. It makes my pulse quicken."

They really did. Pyrrha might not have the most beautiful bosom that Alkaid had seen. She herself objectively - or at least in the opinion of the few people who had dared give an opinion on the matter - had a better bust than her wife, and the less comparisons made with those of the goddesses they'd met the better. But her daughter of Ares' boobs were nevertheless top tier and a corset just emphasized them in all the right ways. Just like they did Pyrrha's trim waist! Honestly, just thinking about it was enough to get Alkaid a little hot and bothered!

Pyrrha, in typical Pyrrha fashion, blushed adorably. "I-I'll be sure to dress like that more often."

Leaning in, the black haired woman pecked her wife's cheek as a reward. "If you promise to, I'll be sure to offer you something special tonight."

"I promise then." The redhead said with a blindingly bright grin. "And I'll be looking forward to your reward."

Drat! Now I'm going to have to think of something to do for Pyrrha tonight. Alkaid thought to herself with amusement. Whatever am I to do?

"Please do." Alkaid replied, still sporting her sultry grin. "And how about this? Every time you wear a sexy outfit with a corset I'll reward you? Emphasis on the sexy part though."

"Deal." Pyrrha returned eagerly.

By this point they had reached the Comitium and were met by a Centurion of the Twelfth Legion dressed in her full regalia as part of her role as one of the guards on duty for the occasion and ushered the couple to an area reserved for the various VIPs in attendance.

"You are right on time, my ladies." Jason greeted them as they moved to join him and the small group of New Roman Senators. "The ritual is about to begin."

Alkaid eyed the son of Jupiter's fully armored form and the more casually dressed Reyna that stood beside him. "You're serving as the duty Praetor?"

"Yes," Jason said with a nod. "As I am new to my position, Reyna and I decided it was only right for me to use this opportunity to gain some experience."

"A wise decision." Alkaid offered kindly.

Both Praetors nodded back. Whilst Reyna seemed to just be polite, Jason looked like he was genuinely pleased by the praise.

"We are pleased that you agree." Reyna cut in, her tone full of diplomatic politeness. "But perhaps we could save conversation for later? The sun is rising, the ritual is about to begin."

Alkaid nodded her acceptance and together with Pyrrha turned her attention towards the center of the Comitium where the New Rome version of the Lupercali was about to begin. Said version was slightly different from its Ancient Rome predecessor. Like in the original festival, the day started as the sun rose with a ritual sacrifice at the Comitium of a male goat and a dog by the Luperci, the priests charged with carrying out the festival but what followed was slightly different. In the original festival, this was followed by two naked Luperci smearing their foreheads with the animals' blood using the bloody, sacrificial knife which was then removed with a piece of milk-soaked wool as the Luperci laughed. However, in New Rome, this rite had evolved into one which involved all unmarried non-Legionnaire Human citizens of New Rome, male and female, between eighteen and thirty instead. A change that necessarily required more animal sacrifices to provide the needed blood. Thus, Alkaid and the crowd - which Alkaid idly noted included a fair few of the translucent specters that were New Rome's Lares guardian spirits - watched as dozens of goats and dogs were ritually sacrificed by the Luperci and their blood applied to the foreheads of the hundred or so naked men and women who stood in the center of the square.

Considering the numbers involved, this would have been expected to take some time but with the kind of disciplined methodicalness that had made the Romans both famous and, for a time, masters of the Classical World, the ritual was complete in mere minutes and strips, called februa, which had been cut from the hide of the newly-sacrificed goats by the Luperci were given to those that had been marked by the sacrificial blood. And once all the marked youths had received their februa, the lead Luperci addressed everyone.

"Populus Novae Romae! Lupa Signatus! (People of New Rome! Marked of Lupa!)" The priest, dressed like his fellows in naught by a wolf skin pelt he wore as a cloak, said in Latin. "Benedíctio Matris Lupi sit super nos hódie. Cursus luporum incipiant! Incipiat Lupercalia! (May the Mother Wolf's blessing be upon us this day. Let the running of the wolves begin! Let the Lupercalia begin!)"

As he completed his invocation, the naked youths, the Marked of Lupa as the Luperci had called them, let out one loud wolf howl before suddenly running in all directions even as the crowd around them dispersed. The former whipping any adult within striking distance with their februa as they ran hither and yon. Most targeted by the Marked welcomed the lashes, some even baring their skin to receive them, in what Alkaid knew to be the belief that receiving a lash from the goat hide whip would foster fertility.

"Let's get out of here." Reyna urged the various occupants of the VIP section which thankfully was far enough away that they were not immediately swarmed by the no less than a dozen Marked of Lupa headed towards them. "The Marked always target the VIPs, so unless you want to get a lash, I advise everyone to make themselves scarce."

Alkaid exchanged a look with Pyrrha. "Breakfast?"

"Breakfast." Pyrrha agreed.

Reyna and Jason, who were both standing near enough to hear their exchange, shot both of them with quizzical looks but the couple ignored the Praetors. They would understand soon enough anyways.

Smiling, Alkaid reached out a hand to Pyrrha and allowed her wife to Side Along Apparate her away to a cafe they'd liked during their last trip to New Rome to enjoy breakfast. Between dropping their kids off with Jane and getting ready for the day, they had yet to have their morning meal and were eager to rectify that. That doing so got them away from the februa of the Marked of Lupa was very much a secondary consideration. Really.

Not that using Apparition to escape the Comitum had entirely spared the Potters from the feel of the goat hide februa. Between the time the Luperci had let the Marked loose and they made their way back to the Comitum for the next ritual of the Lupercalia at noon, they had been 'caught' by the naked runners at least a dozen times - Pyrrha had stopped bothering to count by that point - and had received the corresponding number of lashes. It seemed that Reyna's assertion that the Marked targeted VIPs was true. As a result of that, Pyrrha and her wife's arms, shoulders and necks were all a little red from the lashings thanks to the fact that due to neither of them going out of their way to bare their skin for them, the Marked, in a bid to maximize the blessing they believed the lashings imparted, had targeted what parts of their skin was left uncovered by their clothes instead. This combined with the sheer quantity of the light lashes they received, had left much of the exposed skin of both the Diplomats of Olympus a bright red.

"Are you sure we can't just take some ambrosia to heal these bruises, 'Kaidy?" Pyrrha asked her wife worriedly as they once more stood with the other VIPs in their little sectioned off part of the Comitum waiting for the clock to strike noon and the last of the Marked to return so that the next ritual of the Lupercalia could begin. She wasn't worried for herself though. She was a daughter of Ares and they were built strong. A few light lashes weren't gonna inconvenience her. Her wife though? The daughter of Hades didn't have the same physical strength and endurance she did and the lashes had definitely taken a toll on her.

Despite that, Alkaid shot Pyrrha a reassuring smile. "Not until the Lupercalia officially comes to an end. Besides, you worry too much, Py. I'm not made of glass, this is nothing."

Pyrrha frowned but nodded. If her wife wanted to tough it out in the name of respecting the spirit of the Lupercalia then she would just have to accept it. The other woman was too stubborn to be convinced otherwise anyway. Besides, she did trust Alkaid and if she said she could manage then she would believe her. That didn't mean she couldn't worry and wince sympathetically every time Alkaid's bruises caused her visible pain.

She was doing just that as the sorceress hissed after one of her bruises rubbed against some part of her outfit or other when the clock that had been set up in the Comitum for the upcoming ritual suddenly began chiming. Twelve crystal clear tolls of a bell later, the chief Luperci once more stepped forward to address the Marked of Lupa who had once more gathered in the square and the watching crowd of New Romans, both Human and Lares.

"Populus Novae Romae! Lupa Signatus! (People of New Rome! Marked of Lupa! )" The leader of the men and women clad in wolf pelt cloaks and nothing else said in Latin.

Damned lucky that I brushed up on my Latin before we came to New Rome, I wouldn't understand half the things going on if I didn't.

Whilst New Rome spoke mainly English like Camp did. Unlike Camp where the Campers spoke their native Ancient Greek rarely, New Romans used Latin almost every day. Not all the time mind but often enough. And for official things, it was all in the ancient language of the Romans. As such Pyrrha could only thank the gods she'd learned Latin, at least the basics of it, as part of her Hogwarts studies. It had been a requirement of said studies due to Wizarding spells being vocalized in the language. She was thus able to at least mostly make out what was being said when the Romans used Latin.

"Lupus Curre completus est! (The Wolf Run is complete!)" The chief Luperci continued. "Benedictio Matris Lupi inter suos divulgata est. Nunc tempus est ut cum ea notata communicetur. Tempus est, in Rut! (The Mother Wolf's blessing has been spread among her people. Now it is time for it to be shared among her Marked. It is time for the Rut!)"

As he finished speaking, the chief Luperci produced a coin that he walked around the edge of the crowd and showed to the masses. It was an Imperial Gold cold with the face of Mars stamped on one side and that of Venus on the other.

If I remember what 'Kaidy told me about this ritual is correct then he's gonna flip it. Pyrrha thought as she watched the chief Luperci continue to present the coin to the crowd. If it lands on Father's face then the male participants will have to randomly choose a name from a jar filled with all the names of the female participants, whilst if the coin lands on Venus then the women have the honor instead. And then the Marked all paired up, or form up into threes if they have an odd number of participants, based on the name or names they've drawn.

All this played out before Pyrrha and she felt a growing sense of disquiet as the Marked paired up in front of her and things steadily moved towards the highlight of the festival: where in front of the gathered populace of New Rome and the legionaries of The Twelfth Legion, the Marked were expected to publicly make love with their assigned partner or partners even as everyone watched and feasted. They were, in fact, by law obliged to keep having sex, as aided by Nectar, until either sunrise the next day when the festival ended or they passed out.

And as Pyrrha realized what she was about to witness, she could only look on with a horrified expression. It had left her uneasy enough when hearing about it, but to actually see it…

"It is not as bad as it looks. This is basically state-sponsored matchmaking." Alkaid tried to soften the blow of the festival to her wife as the Marked continued pairing up in front of them.

"And if someone doesn't want to be involved?" Pyrrha hissed.

"Don't be in New Rome on the fifteenth of February." Alkaid said simply. "Or ensure you're married before then, even if it's just a sham marriage that you'll dissolve on the 16th. The law in New Rome has special provisions for it. And the Senate makes sure to publicize these options weeks in advance of Lupercalia so everyone knows to make use of them if they so choose. There are many ways to get around being involved."

"And the public sex?" Pyrrha insisted even as the Marked finished pairing up and the chief Luperci once more addressed everyone.

"Incipiat Rut! (Let the Rut begin!)" The priest said, prompting the Marked to begin publicly having sex with their assigned partner or partners.

A sight that Pyrrha couldn't help but look away from. Something that Alkaid helped with by taking hold of her head and moving it so that Pyrrha found herself looking into her wife's concerned emerald eyes.

"Is something the participants consent to by participating in the festival." Alkaid said calmly, clearly trying to use her voice to share that feeling with her as well. "Besides, the social mores of New Rome aren't the same as the modern world. We can't judge them too badly. I mean, it's not like they're engaging in human sacrifice or anything truly reprehensible, just some free love."

"Yeah, but how did Lupercalia become this perverted in New Rome?! I read up on the Ancient Roman version and it wasn't this bad!" Pyrrha argued.

"New Rome had to keep up with its population somehow." Alkaid shrugged. "If they just relied on demigods and their descendants? I doubt they'd have even a tenth of the number of citizens it has now. Plus, they believe strongly in family lineage, so they'd prefer that the majority of their population come from children whose lineage they can trace being born to their society rather than additions from outside of it. Not that they exclude the latter entirely either."

Pyrrha frowned at that but ignoring her discomfort, Alkaid continued, "It isn't just the Lupercalia. A lot of old festivals from old Rome have taken on a more sexualized bent in New Rome. All to encourage more children to be born."

"Eh, I don't really like it. Hearing you tell it made it seem less bad than it was. If I knew it would be like this, I wouldn't have let Mum and the girls talk us into attending."

The daughter of the Rich One shrugged. "Do remember that you were the one to cave into their demands. I knew this would happen. It's why I wanted to refuse. I know your temperament for such things, Love."

Pyrrha's frown only became more pronounced as she nodded. "Sorry. Though if you knew, you caved way too easily. At least, you could have explained things to me better and then I would have backed your refusal."

Alkaid felt a blush creep along her super pale cheeks as she looked away. "I do admit a part of me wanted to attend. I wanted to see what it was like. Father never let me come to see it when I was younger."

The fiery redhead rolled her eyes. "'Kaidy, is there anything lewd about feasting in the city itself?"

"You have my utmost confidence that there shouldn't be."

"Whelp, then we can go and enjoy that at least. C'mon." She wrapped her arm around her wife and turned them towards the city proper.

Alkaid cast one last look over her shoulder and nodded. "Lead the way, Dear."

With her wife's permission, Pyrrha just nodded and Apparated the both of them back into New Rome, leaving Temple Hill and the copulating couples of the Lupercalia behind.

Strolling amongst the special stalls set up in New Rome's forum in celebration of Lupercalia, the Potters munched on mutton skewers of mixed meats that they had bought from one of the stalls whilst they browsed the wares with interested eyes. They would have come here in the morning but with the Marked prowling the area in particular, they had decided to stay away until that part of the Lupercalia had ended.

"Hmm… This is a pretty good collection of enchanted items." Alkaid heard Pyrrha muse as they stood in front of a stall selling a wide variety of such goods and examined its wares, causing the stall's owner to look at them expectantly. She was honest too. There was enchanted jewelry, various household items and even some potions and other magical consumables.

"I guess. The variety at Tomoeda's magical marketplace is better though." Alkaid replied critically, causing the stall's owner's enthusiasm to falter.

"Yeah. But it still beats all, but the most well stocked Wizarding shops." Pyrrha countered, causing the stall holder to nod his head in agreement.

"Of that I can assure you, Ladies Potter." The stall owner, a middle aged man in reasonably fine clothes that indicated he was probably a modestly successful merchant said.

"I suppose." Alkaid admitted with visible reluctance. "Though, I am surprised, good sir, that you would be familiar with the Wizarding world."

The merchant shrugged. "We might not have many of them in New Rome but we do count a number of Wizards among our citizens. There are even a handful of families who specialize in Wizarding magic. Thanks to that we have some trade with the Wizarding world and thus I am familiar with their businesses."

Alkaid nodded in understanding.

"Oh, Alkaid, Pyrrha! You're visiting the forum too?" Alkaid heard the familiar voice of Helena call out to them from nearby, causing her and Alkaid to turn towards the other woman.

"Helena, Michael, yup. You too?" Pyrrha replied with a wave as she and her wife spotted the Bertinellis waving at them as the other couple made their way towards them

"Yeah." Michael said with a nod. "Festivals like the Lupercalia mean festive prices and I'm always in search of a good deal."

"What deals are you on the lookout for?" Alkaid asked their Black Team teammates.

"Well, some of those potions you were looking at for one." Michael said pointing at a large selection of the potions on sale by the stall they were standing in front of. "I use a number of them in my weapons crafting."

Alkaid glanced at the stall's potions and hummed consideringly. "Yes, I can see how that would work. How much do you need? I'll pay for your purchase."

It was only right. Much of his recent work was for the benefit of Black Team after all. However, that didn't mean she would let herself be exploited. A genuine concern when she saw the merchant and Michael's eyes take on a gleam that Alkaid could not call anything else but greedy. She would need to be careful with this purchase. She thus warily began, with Michael's help, arguing with the marchant over price.

"We'd take those five durability enhancing potions." Michael said, pointing at what they wanted all whilst Pyrrha and Helena stood back watching them with amusement.

"Ten denarii." The merchant offered.

"Eight." Alkaid counter offered. "It is Lupercalia, surely you can give us a discount?"

"I suppose." The merchant said with faux thoughtfulness. "But eight is too low. I wouldn't be able to make a profit at that price. How about nine?"

"That's a fair price." Alkaid agreed before turning towards Michael. "Do you agree?"

"Yeah," the tinkerer said with a nod.

The merchant smiled at that and offered Alkaid a hand. "Deal?"

Alkaid nodded and began stretching a hand out to shake the merchant's hand but before they could do so to seal the deal, there was a sudden sound of a commotion from the far side of the forum. Something had clearly happened. Something serious enough that it had sent the entire crowd of New Romans in that part of the square fleeing in every direction.

"What's going on?" Alkaid asked with a frown as she pulled her hands back and shifted into a fighting stance, arcane energy hummed to life around her body ready to be unleashed.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Alkaid. But I doubt it's anything good." Michael said as he too tensed beside her.

"Good sir, I think you should take your wares and seek shelter for now." Alkaid said distractedly as Pyrrha and Helena moved over to join them. "We will find you later to complete our transaction."

The merchant seemed hesitant but after taking a glance at the chaos that was rapidly spreading towards their position, he gave a disappointed sigh and began hastily collecting his wares in preparation to flee as Alkaid had suggested.

"Really wish we weren't within the Pomerian Line right now." Pyrrha said with a frown as she drew her wand from Akoúo̱'s hammerspace. "What I wouldn't do for my labrys right now."

"Just be glad that Lord Terminus ruled wands are tools." Alkaid told her as the four of them moved into a diamond formation, Pyrrha at the head whilst her and Helena, armed with Long Memory and her Bladed Heels, made up the middle rank, and Michael with Kinetic Gavel in hand took up the role as rearguard. Eying the latter two, the sorceress continued even as they began pushing through the panicking crowds of the forum. "Helena, Michael, I take it that it is to exploit that same loophole that you built your weapons the way they are?"

"Exactly." Michael said with a smirk before he pointed towards the scene before them as they finished pushing through the crowds and made it to the site of the commotion. "But we can discuss that later. Right now I think we need to focus on the problem at hand."

Said problem was a large group of Fauns engaging in a large-scale riot. Using clubs made from what looked like broken poles, broken pottery, and other improvised weapons they were going round attacking anything and everything within their reach, leaving New Romans, young and old, covered in bruises as they fled from them; and destructively raiding the forum's stalls.

"Run!"

"Call the Legionnaires!"

"Damn Fauns!"

These and other cries distractingly filled the air but Alkaid ignored them. They had much bigger problems. No, not the Fauns. If they had been alone, their little riot would likely have already been crushed. Almost every New Roman, save the children, were veterans of the Twelfth Legion after all and could easily suppress a mob of Fauns especially since they vastly outnumbered the renegade goatmen. What had sent the New Romans running were the Fauns' allies, the…

"Morbi!" One of the fleeing civilians shouted as he ran past Alkaid and her group and pointed fearfully back at a group of vaguely humanoid apparitions made of glimmering smoke that was circling around the mob of Fauns. Creatures that caused anyone they touched to collapse as they were overcome with the sudden, inhumanly rapid onset of disease. "Run!"

Pit! This will be a difficult fight. Alkaid thought with a frown as she hurriedly warned Pyrrha and the Bertinellis on what to expect. I know the renegade Fauns enchanted their weapons with the Morbis' power, but to have them actually summon them!? How the hell did they manage that!?

"Leave the Morbi to me. Take care of the Fauns. The Morbi are invulnerable to weaponry, even ones made from Imperial Gold. Any sort of attack will simply pass through them."

"Do you have some way to deal with the Morbi, Alkaid?" Helena asked as she and Michael paired up and looked towards the daughter of Hades questioningly.

Alkaid just nodded and seeing a trio of Morbi charging towards them, decided that actions speak louder than words.

"Astral Break!" Alkaid cast, causing explosions of blue light to detonate around the charging Morbi that consumed the spirits of illness, plague, and disease. The spiritual energies of the Astral Magic spell proving effective in killing the Morbi where blessed metals like Imperial Gold and Celestial Bronze would have been proven unable to so much as harm them.

"Helena, Michael! Go!" Pyrrha urged. "Alkaid will cover you from the Morbi, I'll keep her safe."

"Ssssheee cannn huuurt ussss!" One of the Morbi shouted in an inhuman wail as the rioters finally took note of what Alkaid had done. "Kiiillll herrrr!"

At that call, every single one of the Morbi abandoned whatever they were doing and turned to rush at Alkaid and Pyrrha.

"Got it!" Helena shouted back as she ran towards the rioting Fauns, Michael following a step behind his wife. "Alkaid, could you clear a path?"

"Leave it to me!" Alkaid shouted back as she raised a hand in the direction of the charging Morbi horde directly in front of the Bertinellis. "Balm Blazer!"

At her invocation, a sky-blue beam of astral energy shot forth from her raised hand and blasted a hole into the spirits' ranks, allowing the Bertinellis to run through that gap which the spell created. They promptly got right in the middle of the rioting Fauns where they proceeded to violently beat some sense into them. An effort Alkaid aided by having the shadows below their Faun foes skewer the goatmen that were closest to them, and had reacted most quickly to their approach, to give them some extra breathing room.

"Repellere Spiritum (Repel Spirit)!" Pyrrha cast, sweeping her wand and with it, the blue-white beam of the anti-spirit Wizarding spell across the vanguard of the charging Morbi and forcing them back. "'Kaidy, don't be distracted. Focus on the bloody Morbi!"

"Right!" Alkaid said apologetically and gathered her magic. Deciding that the best way to apologize was to just end this, she proceeded to go for broke. "Raza Clover!"

At her incantation, thousands of flickering motes of blue light materialized around her and Pyrrha and hung in the air for an expectant moment. Perhaps recognizing the threat that her spell was to them, the Morbi recoiled a little at the sight of the specks of spiritual energy. Particles that as the moment ended shot towards the disease spirits and proceeded to tear them to pieces.

"'Kaidy, you still wanna dispute you're a nuke?" Pyrrha said, shaking her head with bemusement. "'Cos what you just did pretty much proves my point."

Alkaid just pouted as she absently sent a Fireball at the still rioting renegade Fauns.

"Don't even start. Let's just go put down this stupid riot, alright?"

"Alright~!" Pyrrha returned with a giggle as she casually sent a mix of Stunning and Incarcerous spells at the renegade goatmen, knocking out any of them she hit with the former and binding them in thick, conjured ropes with the latter.

Frowning at her inability to get her wife to stop using the tired joke, Alkaid just turned her attention to the idiot Fauns making a nuisance of themselves in front of her. She needed an outlet for her frustrations and they had just helpfully volunteered themselves to serve that role.

Flicking her fingers, she sent Stunning and other noxious, and humiliating, spells to immobilize them and reduce them to a non-threat. Slug-vomiting Charms incapacitated the Fauns unfortunate enough to be her targets as it forced them to violently vomit slugs whilst the Dancing Feet Spell caused its targets' legs to spasm wildly out of control, leaving them open to be bound by the luminous cords conjured by Fulgari spells. But that was only the beginning. By the time she was done with them what followed as a result of this would forever be remembered by the Fauns of New Rome as the Lupercalia Massacre, such was the horrors that Alkaid would unleash upon them.

"Well?" Pyrrha asked Jason Grace as he stepped out of the hall of New Rome's Senate House and walked up to her and Alkaid who were waiting outside. "Did the Senate pass 'Kaidy's suggestions?"

In the wake of what the New Romans were already calling the Lupercalian Riot, a special session of the city's senate had been called to discuss the matter. Being key to events, Alkaid and Pyrrha had attended and offered their testimony. An opportunity that the daughter of war's ever politically minded wife had used to try to offer some suggestions to the Romans on how to avoid a repeat of the day's events.

She had urged New Rome to tackle the issue at the root and address the disenchantment of its Faun population by offering them meaningful roles. She had argued that unless this problem was addressed it would linger as a festering wound in New Roman society that would inevitably serve as motivation for rogue Fauns to galvanize their brethren into further rebellions. To that end, she had suggested that the Romans set up some kind of labor service or militia for willing Fauns to give those who sought a chance to better themselves an opportunity to move beyond being the parasites on society that the majority of their ilk seemed determined to remain to be.

Despite what, in Pyrrha's opinion, was the obvious logic in her wife's arguments, the Roman senators had been resistant to her ideas arguing that to do as she asked would be rewarding the Fauns for their betrayal. In their minds, the goatmen should be punished for their crimes instead.

A fierce debate had been about to erupt as 'Kaidy prepared to rebut the senators', in Pyrrha's opinion, foolish arguments. However, before that could happen, the Praetors had stepped in and asked both Alkaid and Pyrrha to step outside the hall whilst the senate deliberated on the daughter of Hades' suggestion. Which is what had led to them standing outside the room waiting for the outcome of said discussions.

The Praetor shifted uneasily at the daughter of war's question and that in her opinion was answer enough, but Alkaid was, of course, unsatisfied, and pressed for more details. Though, she did so with an amount of diplomatic charm that Pyrrha herself would not have been able to manage at the moment.

"It's okay, Jason. Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault. Just tell us what the Senate decided."

This seemed to comfort the boy and he breathed a small sigh of relief before answering the lingering question. "The Senate decided that they will set up a committee to discuss the feasibility of your suggestion, Alkaid."

"A committee?" Pyrrha scoffed. "And how long is that going to take to come to a conclusion? And how long after that before anything practical gets done? A year? Two? You might very well be facing another Faun revolt by then!"

"I know." Jason said with a frustrated sigh. "Reyna and I told the Senate as much. That even if they wanted to be thorough about things and examine the matter in detail through a committee before committing to anything, they should at least introduce some interim measures to ameliorate the situation first. But-"

"Let me guess, they were unwilling?" Alkaid asked with an air of resignation. "Perhaps because they let their desire to punish the Fauns for their rebellion get the better of their judgment? Or plain political opportunism as they seek to use the surely popular stand of 'punishing the Fauns' as a means to improve their own standing?"

"True on all counts." Jason said with a tired sigh.

Pyrrha pitied the kid. A teenager shouldn't sound as world weary as he did.

"Then I ask you, Jason Grace, Praetor of the Twelfth Legion." 'Kaidy said, looking the son of Jupiter firmly in the eyes. "What will you do about this situation? How will you protect New Rome from this danger?"

Pyrrha wanted to wince or better yet tell her wife to stop. She knew what the other woman was doing. If the New Roman Senate wouldn't do what needed to be done then she was putting the Praetor of the Twelfth Legion on the spot to manipulate him into doing it instead. It wasn't something the daughter of Ares liked doing but she was pragmatic enough to see that it was a good idea.

"Whatever that needs to be done." Jason replied without hesitation, meeting Alkaid's eyes with determined ones of his own. "My and Reyna's power as Praetors are limited but we will do what we can to give the Fauns better opportunities."

Alkaid nodded in acceptance. "Then let us hope that is enough. Or else-"

Pyrrha knew a cue when she heard one and without missing a beat, she continued where her wife left off. "-if the gods send us back to deal with another Faun uprising, we'll be very upset."

"As, I imagine, will the gods. Something that I am sure nobody in New Rome wants to be the case."

Jason gulped at the warning but otherwise kept his cool. "I understand, my ladies. We will do everything in our power to make sure that will not happen."

"You better." Alkaid warned one last time before spinning on her heel, the shadows already heeding her call and forming into a portal. "Now, I believe it is time for me and my wife to take our leave. We have work for the gods to carry out. Goodbye, Jason Grace."

The Praetor offered them a formal Roman salute, one that Pyrrha took the time to return before following her wife into the dark portal that allowed them to use Shadow Travel and return home. She might not have quite enjoyed her time in New Rome, what with the unnerving nature of the Lupercalia and the riot, but she could respect a good warrior and burgeoning leader even if her wife did not.

Done and done! Thanks to Nameless and Axios as always!

And so it seems our lovely couple is off enjoying themselves at a festival! Something Rome was greatly known for. It's a shame we didn't get more of that from the Greek side of things on the topic, but I believe most of it was cult based and centered around specific gods. Overall I seriously enjoyed doing this chapter, but not as much as Nameless for doing such a fantastical job on all the research needed. Seriously, the guy pulls out all the stops! As for the naughty nature of the chapter, whelp, I think it's pretty clear why such a festival would make sense in canon and why it is needed for the population of New Rome. I'll let Nameless roll with it. Nameless, go go go!

Nameless: In regards to our rather naughty take on Lupercalia in New Rome, let me explain. As explained by Alkaid in the chapter, this and the hinted naughty nature of other New Roman festivals is part of broader pronatalist policies of the city. Because frankly, I think this is the only realistic way to justify New Rome being a middling sized city whilst Camp Half-Blood seemingly only has a population of about one hundred. Canon chalks this down to just being due to how New Rome allows families of ex-legionaries to settle there but by my reckoning that's not enough. Especially if you take into account that a lot of legionnaires die before becoming citizens and that many Roman demigods/legacies never even make it into the 12th legion in the first place because they fail Lupa's trail. That means fresh blood is always only a trickle, probably more so than Camp Half-Blood. Plus, not everyone chooses to stay in New Rome permanently. Add that not everyone reproduces... Yeah, common sense tells me that for New Rome to exist some very pronatalist laws and customs must exist.

To what extent? Well, let's use perhaps the most controversial/extreme benchmark: abortion. Considering the existence of goddesses of motherhood and children and how the gods are so much more active in New Rome than at Camp Half-Blood, abortion (including the morning after pill) is probably illegal. And yes, I know it is said that Ancient Romans used the now extinct silphium as a contraceptive, potentially even as an abortifacient but the Ancient Romans weren't as actively influenced by their gods as the New Romans are. Contraceptives would probably be fine I imagine, but that's where they'll draw the line. How then would New Roman women deal with unwanted pregnancies? Well, magic is a thing. I imagine any woman in such a situation would make use of it to transfer unwanted babies into magical artificial wombs (which we know are a thing in Hellenistic myth) or surrogate mothers. Though, doing so probably will carry a heavy stigma in such a pronatalist society.

Why did we decide to make New Rome "so different" (we honestly don't think it's that big a departure) from canon where they're basically just contemporary Americans with the odd (often inaccurate) Roman trapping here or there? Simple. Unlike Camp Half-Blood where most of the Campers still for the most part live in mundane society since it's a summer camp, New Rome is a society unto itself. It should be different from contemporary American society. More so than in canon at least. The changes (it's more worldbuilding imho) that we've introduced is to make these differences from mainstream America more stark and make New Rome more its own thing. Though, of course, we did so in a way that we found the most interesting. ;)

E4E: And that is your history and AU lesson of the chapter. Hope some will read this, because it's actually super interesting.

You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!