Rainbow sat over her desk, scribbling the last items on a small list. When she was satisfied with what was on it, she stepped away for a minute to let the ink dry. She fetched out a small leather money purse, counting out and placing the amount of Pryhan Script that would be needed to get everything on the list. She pulled the cord shut, then grabbed the list and went down from the loft.

Down in her main room, Depressi was playing with a ball, bouncing it off the wall and catching it. A pretty normal activity, except he was doing it while doing laps around the room, tossing the ball at one end of the loop and catching it after he did the loop. Castus was over at the kitchen, cleaning up the remains of lunch. She said, "Hey, Castus. I need you to head down to the market. Pick some stuff up for me."

"What do you need? We out of something?," he asked, setting down the towel he was using.

She handed him the list, saying, "No, not that I know of. I'm just expecting guests tonight, and I want to make sure I have enough stuff. 'Kay?"

"Sounds good," he said, looking over the list. He frowned as he scanned the ingredients, which then became a look of curious confusion. "Dash, why do you need this? I mean, the bread, olives, figs, pears, and whatnot make sense for a nice dinner. But, what purpose could you have of-"

"Just shut up and get 'um, cocks-for-brains," she said.

He looked back down at the list, then back up at her, then closer at her face. She was trying to keep an air of professionalism but was barely holding back a wide, somewhat sadistic grin. "Alright then. I don't know what you're up to, and what you are planning, and I somewhat don't want to. But, I'll get the damn ingredients.

He trotted out, only stopping when Rainbow tossed him the purse. When he left, she said, "Hey, Sport! Come down here; I need to talk to you for a second."

"What is it, mom?," he said, hovering up in the air with the ball in his hooves.

"Listen, I'm gonna be having some guests over later. Not until about dinner time, but just so you're aware. Be sure to be on your best behavior for them. If you do, I might be tempted to let you fly with me out in the cityyyy."

Enticed with the offer, he said, "Got it! Who's coming? Mr. Didius? Mrs. Sutura?"

"Nope. My new position ensured me some men under me. My Praefect, Vexillum, arranged a meet and greet with my new subordinates."

That night, Rainbow stood back up in her loft, finishing tying off her braid. She wasn't one for primping, but even she had to say she looked good. She wore a royal blue subarmailis, the pteryges decorated with small metal tabs, along with a few medals on her chest. Her goggle hung around her neck, with both them and her forelegs gleaming in the lamplight from the fresh polish. Her coat was brushed, her mane done up in her usual style, and she had even spent a few painful hours rubbing soap over her scars. All this combined with her wolf-skin cloak gave her a feeling of being both way too hard to move, while also being just plain awesome.

"Is all this necessary, mom?," her son asked, tugging at his own highly ornamented, tightly secured belt. His own mane had been combed back, and coat brushed. The tunic he wore was an off-white with goldish trim, contrasting against his tawny coat. He was, in her humble opinion, quite the handsome little colt.

"Yeah, Sport. Don't worry, the belts only for tonight," she said, adjusting it.

"Rainbow," Castus yelled up from downstairs. "They're here!"

"Ok! We'll be down in a minute," she yelled down. Turning back to her son, she said, "Come on, Sport Let's go."

She led her son down the stairs, and sure enough, was greeted by several people. The mix of Demigryphs, Caragors, Terrans, and Bighorn all wore similar Subarmailii, medals, and royal blue cloaks. In total, there were thirteen of them; almost all of them looking incredibly nervous.

"Good evening, Duces. I'm glad you came!," she called out.

Her reaction didn't assuage the looks of concern among the officers, but they more or less seemed to accept the fate they were in. One of them, a Demigryph female, said to her, "I-it's an honor to meet you in the flesh, Praetor. Your reputation precedes you."

Rainbow smiled at her. "My pleasure. And you are? I was told names, but learning thirteen in a few days in a right pain," she said, holding out her talon.

She reluctantly shook it, saying, "Domitia, Praetor. I'm the Tribune of the third maniple."

"Well, glad to meet ya!" She turned to the rest of the assembled officers. "So, you guys hunger? Castus is preparing dinner. In the meantime, let's just sit down and have some wine. Sound good?"

She trotted over to the laid out couches, the rest of them right behind her. A small tray had already been laid out, stacked with over a dozen cups of wine and a cup of milk for her son. "Have a seat, have a seat," she said to the officers, who did so somewhat reluctantly. While they did so, she picked up her cup, and then passed the cup of milk to her son. "Here you go, Sport."

As he took it and look uncomfortably at the strangers, another one of the officers cleared his throat. He was another Demigryph, but he wore a slightly different cloak; forest green with gold trim as opposed to the typical royal blue with red trim. She recognized that color pattern as belonging to the artillery corps, just as he said, "So, *cough*, Praetor. H-how eh, how have you been?"

"Fine, fine. Can't complain." An awkward silence fell upon those present, only broken by the sounds of sizzling meat and a knife on a cutting board in the kitchen.

Another one, a caragor with the typical blue cloak, asked, "I didn't know you had a son. How old is he?"

"I'm three!," Depressi said.

"Cool, cool." Once again, an awkward silence fell over the room.

She then looked out over the group of them, taking note of their posture. Most hadn't really touched the wine, and those that had were mostly just staring down at them. "Alright, spill. What's up? You all act like I'm gonna summon a hell portal out of my mouth and suck out your souls."

They all shifted uncomfortably, even Vexillum. Finally, one she remembered was named Salvator said, "Well, er. Like Tribune Domitia said, your reputation does proceed you. That of, no offense, a daemon."

Rainbow leaned back on the couch, taking a quick sip from the watered-down wine. "Let me guess? Drusilla' doing, as a means of propaganda?" When that response all earned a nod from most of the officers, she sighed and said, "Listen. I know about all that. Hell, I had a part in making that reputation. But, trust me. I'm not that bad of a person."

"Yeah," Depressi said. "Mom's awesome! She's the best mom ever! You bet she's great!"

"That's my boy," she said, nuzzling her little ball of energy. Even with all the eyes on her, it didn't embarrass her. Looking back up at all of them, she said, "The point I'm trying to say is, I'm not some Shadow Daemon right out of the old legends. I'm just a mare who ended up making the best of a horrible situation. But, I digress. I hope to work well with all of you in the future." Lifting up her cup, she gave a toast: "To Caesar Diocletian, and to the Empire!"

Looking at one another, their hesitation somewhat faded. They raised their own cups, echoing the toast and taking a sip of the wine...

….Only for them to spew it back out in an instant. While then all recoiled, wiped at their tongues, or otherwise made actions bourn of alarm, Rainbow burst out laughing.

"What did you do!?," another one, Caius, cried out before resuming wiping his tongue with his cloak.

Rainbow just kept laughing, yet still thought back to what she wrote down on the list she gave to Castus.

Shopping list for tonight's meeting--

-Extra sardines
-Pears
-Asparagus tips
-Extra olives
-Assorted spices
-(VERY IMPORTANT) Several extra cups of salt

Next Chapter: 63~War Games Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 25 Minutes