Third Floor Common Room, Wednesday Afternoon

[bitchprince]

Normally, he'd be out harassing Katchoo at this hour, but Katchoo was otherwise preoccupied and far be it for Arthur to acknowledge in any way, shape or form that he sort of missed her being human-shaped. So, in order to avoid the appearance of sulking by staying in his room with his copy of Salammbo, he trudged down to the common room to do the same.

He spent all of two seconds considering the idea of baking himself an egg, then discarded it. Instead, he scrounged around for some grapes and flopped down in a seat with his book.

Getting his own food. How the mighty had fallen.

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Comments

[notmyownage]

In the grand tradition of teenagerhood, Claudia had slept in. So she was looking a little groggy as she wandered into the common room in search of . . . well, it wouldn't be quite accurate to call it brunch, despite it being more lunch time than breakfast.

Food, either way.

"Hey, y'r highness," she half-mumbled. "Howzit?"

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

Mat didn't have classes today, so he'd gone for a ride on Pips so the horse didn't feel too neglected and was now back in the common room in search of entertainment.

Harassing Arthur definitely fell into that category.

He poked his head into the refrigerator, pretending he had any idea what he was looking for, and emerged triumphant with an apple.

"What's your book?" he asked, flopping onto a sofa.

What? He'd read! At some point.

[bitchprince]

"It is fine," Arthur said, charitably (it was charitable in that it didn't sound bitchy, which he felt was a charity all things considered). "Just enjoying the slow day." And this, Arthur, is where you say-- "And how would you say it is?" Good boy.

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

Mat gave her a lazy wave when he arrived. "My lady Claudia," he said.

[bitchprince]

"Salammbo," he said, leaving a bit of an accent on the end. "It's a French history. About Carthage." In French, yes.

[notmyownage]

Claudia gave a rather unladylike snort. "Iunno." Yes, that was totally a word. "Haven't seen much of it, yet."

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

"Which is where?" Mat asked, biting his apple.

[notmyownage]

Claudia nodded with as much regalness as a sleepy mad scientist could have. "Mat. 'Sup?"

[bitchprince]

"Carthage or France?" Arthur asked, a little amused. "Both are far to the east, across the ocean."

[bitchprince]

"Well, I'm sure that when you find out whatever it is, you'll please it with your presence," he said, pleasantly, biting down on a grape.

[notmyownage]

"I will," Claudia agreed, looking pleased. "I have a wonderful presence." She made her way over the fridge, the cold air waking her up a bit more. "What you suppose the chances are of the stove catching fire if I try to cook?"

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

"I would certainly like to, but alas, I cannot cook," he said, looking at her hopefully.

[bitchprince]

"I find that if you have to ask, it's usually a good idea not to try," Arthur offered, taking a second grape idly from the bowl.

[notmyownage]

"Stoves are fussy, huh? Man, why can't this place have, like, a culinary school or something?" Claudia shook her head. "Cereal it is."

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

"Both," Mat admitted with a slight laugh. "Ask me to sketch out the borders of Manetheren before the Trolloc Wars or the western line of Murandy now or how to get across the Spine of the World and I could, but this land's geography mostly escapes me."

[notmyownage]

Claudia blinked, not quite following. She thought back over her statement.

"Slang," she said. "Wasn't, like, commanding you to eat." She knew that hopeful look. "I kinda suck at organic chemistry, sorry."

[bitchprince]

"I believe there were some courses a while ago," he said, thoughtfully munching on said grape. "Last term? I don't keep track."

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

"There are apples," Mat said, "and cereal. It's what I fall back on when I don't go to the cafeteria."

[bitchprince]

"Between here and my homeland lies a great ocean," Arthur said. Now he wished he had some sand and a stick or something. "Between it and the rest of the land lies another sea. France is there. Carthage is a city much further to the south, past another sea, in the realm of the Moors."

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

Mat's forehead furrowed as he tried to get a mental image, then he walked over to the kitchen and returned with a wooden spoon and a bag of flour. "Show me?"

Oh, the cleaning staff was going to love them.

[bitchprince]

Like Arthur cared about the cleaning staff.

"Sure," he said, waving a hand. At the wooden spoon.

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

Mat resisted the urge to bop him with it as he handed it over. "Your scepter, your highness," he said sarcastically.

[bitchprince]

Arthur took it without any sense of irony at all. It was his way of refusing to dignify that with a response. "Carthage was once its own city, but it was taken by the Romans," he said, thoughtfully. "Pour away, we'll see about drawing you a map."

[bloody-luck.livejournal.com]

Mat cheerfully dumped the entire contents of the bag of flour onto the coffee table, then brushed the dust quickly from his green silk jacket.

"And none of these are related to the Greeks or Persians, right?" he checked.

[bitchprince]

"The Greeks became a part of the Roman empire eventually," he said, "But no."

Arthur was mostly out of blast range, but he'd brushed at his shirt just to make sure. Then he reached across the space, drawing the lines of Albion, then the European continent, then the lines of the Moorish lands just below.

"This is France," he indicated, "Or Gaul, as it was once called. This is Rome," he tapped the map, "And this down here is Carthage." He drew another line. "Once upon a time, this was the size of the Roman Empire."

What? He was descended from Romans.