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Claudius woke to loud rattling and banging all around him and sat bolt upright in bed. His heart was pounding, his initial thought being that their hideout had been discovered and either the XIIth or Frumentarium had come to take them away to heavens know where. Instead, he saw that the cabin was empty, save for himself and Aulus who was still asleep next to him. They'd trekked for days to get across the Ala Mhigan border back to Ilsabard and Aulus was exhausted by the time they'd found the abandoned cabin where they could finally settle down for the night to rest. He found himself angry at the weather for suddenly turning when Aulus desperately needed sleep.
He noticed him stir. He knew it would only have been a matter of time before he woke from the noise.
"Claudius...? What's going on?" Aulus looked up at him, squinting in the dim light.
"A storm. We're safe, I just need to make sure all the doors and windows are secure."
"Right..." He moved to sit up and looked around. The view outside every window was almost an opaque white — a blizzard. They'd likely be snowed in by the time it was over. He hoped the previous residents had had the foresight to keep a shovel. As Claudius got up from the bed he watched him inspect all the doors and windows, paying particular attention to those that were rattling the most.
"Do we have a screwdriver somewhere?"
"Yes, there's one in the toolbox over there," he said and pointed to the other side of the room. When they'd first found the cabin its magitek heater was non-functional. Thankfully there were enough tools that he had been able to repair it and get the cabin warm again. If he hadn't, they would've had to move on and find somewhere else. Lucky that he had, as the storm might have prevented them from going much further.
Once he'd found the screwdriver, Claudius then went back to the window to adjust some of the shutters that were rattling.
"Do you have to do that right now?" Aulus called over to him. "I'm already awake. The noise isn't going to make much difference."
"It's... something to do," Claudius replied. In truth he was just glad of something to take his mind off their current situation. He had no idea what might happen when they returned to Garlemald. He was a nobody. A non-person. Frumentarium had created him in a lab to exacting specifications with only their own goals in mind. It was doubtful anyone would recognise him at all in the capital, aside from his obvious and intentional resemblance to Zenos yae Galvus. Aulus was a different matter. The chief magitek engineer of the XIIth legion was bound to attract some attention. Especially now that he was sure his death in the siege of Ala Mhigo had been reported, along with the decimation of the rest of the XIIth legion and the loss of its legatus. Any survivors returning to Garlemald would likely be branded cowards and swiftly court martialled for desertion.
What were they supposed to do? Use a disguise? Assume false names and hope against hope no one would ever find out their true identities? Just thinking of every way things could go wrong had his head whirling like the blizzard outside.
Aulus watched him and sighed. "We won't be staying here much longer. Once the weather clears we can be on the move again."
"To where? The capital?"
"I thought that was the plan."
"It's too dangerous! What if someone sees you!? You'll be arrested!"
"Did you not forget that I died?"
"They might not know that!"
"Claudius, please." Aulus tried to sound reassuring. "Come back to bed. We can't do anything until the weather clears."
Claudius stared at him in indecision, gripping the screwdriver tightly in one hand, his knuckles turning white. He knew Aulus was right. There was nothing they could do right now. But they could plan what they were going to do. That was what was eating away at him. He had to think of something. He doubted Emet-Selch had had any sort of plan when he had made that portal to take them out of Ala Mhigo but he found himself wishing he were still with them just so he had another person to ask what they should do next.
"Would sex take your mind off things?"
Claudius managed a small laugh. "It might. But I don't know if I can right now."
Aulus gave him a look and beckoned to him with a hand. "You don't have to think. I can take care of you."
He paused a moment, then set down the screwdriver and joined Aulus on the bed. "What did you have in mind?"
Aulus shuffled closer and wrapped his arms around his front, resting his chin on his shoulder. "Do you enjoy submission?"
"Of course I do."
Aulus hummed softly against his neck. "When I submit completely my mind goes blank and I can think of nothing else. All my cares just wash away." Claudius blinked as he realised what Aulus was getting at. "Wouldn't you like that right now?"
"Perhaps..."
"I want you to do whatever I tell you. Don't think about it, just do it. All right?" He squeezed Claudius' shoulders gently.
"All right."
"Address me properly, Claudius."
"Y-yes, lord Aulus, sir."
That earned him a soft chuckle. "See? You remember exactly what to do. Now go and sit on the floor over there," he ordered before getting up from the bed and going to the other side of the room to look for something. He glanced back at Claudius who hadn't yet moved. "I gave you an order, jen Cato. Get on the floor." He jumped, then finally moved off the bed and onto the dusty floorboards below.
Aulus had remembered seeing something in the cabin earlier that would be perfect for just this situation. Now where was it? Beside the entrance...? He went to the front door and the coat hooks next to it and found what he was looking for — a dog collar and leash. With any luck it would fit Claudius just as well as the creature it was originally intended for.
He came back over to him where he was sat, his legs neatly folded beneath him and fastened the collar around his neck. To his surprise, Claudius didn't even flinch, even tilting his head out of the way so he could do up the belt buckle on it. He clipped the leash to the front and gave it a little tug. Claudius looked up at him expectantly.
"What a good boy you are. Bark for me." There was a moment of confusion on Claudius' face, perhaps a little embarrassment, before he complied and made a rather feeble impression of a dog. "A little louder. I can't hear you." A pause, then another bark, a little louder, more confident. "Good boy." Aulus leaned over and ruffled Claudius' hair. His eyes closed as he leaned into the touch and Aulus smiled softly. He hadn't been completely sure Claudius would play along but now it seemed his plan was working. His little pet looked up at him, opened his mouth and let his tongue loll out, imitating a panting dog. "Oh, how adorable."
It hadn't taken Claudius long to slip into the role Aulus had assigned him. It felt natural, like putting on shoes. And he found that it was helping calm his mind, just like Aulus said it would. A dog had no interest in war or political affairs, it only cared about the people it was loyal to. For him, that was Aulus. Right now Aulus was the only thing that mattered in his world. And he was sure Aulus felt the same about him.
Aulus took a moment to admire Claudius — the way he looked at him, so adoring, just like a little puppy. It was that look that had endeared Aulus to him so much back in Ala Mhigo. Despite Claudius' mission, despite all of Aulus' doubts, he knew that look alone was genuine. Every time he saw it, it reassured him he'd made the right choice. Maybe everything would work out fine in the end after all.
"Such a good boy. Let's play."