((There is plenty of time for interaction...and some players may not be watching... I'll put up a blurb in Table Talk to make sure everyone knows. Go ahead and do the transport, and then more discussion can happen over the next two seasons.))
((hehe. I was fishing for a gender-neutral term since I didn't know if it was pater or mater. It ended up causing some fun though 
))
((Does Latin have gender-neutral nouns? Since neither Spanish, French, nor Romanian do, as best as I can recall, I suspect that Latin doesn't either. So pater may be correct if you either know it's male or don't know if it's male or female, with mater being correct if you know she's female. I may be wrong, though.))
((I think the neutral version would be parens.))
Korvin will arrive to watch what is happening. He will be wearing more formal robes that identify him as House Mercere. Abagail will be in tow.
He nods a greeting to Tranquillina then steps close to her and whispers Can you stay here for the moment? We need to talk afterwards.
Greetings. I am Korvin. I understand you have been contracted by Fiona to do some work.
"Well, we both have been engaged to perform work. Petronius is my amicus from Laurus Argenti. He's transporting a rather large slab of rock for me to work into a sculpture of Pegasus for Fiona. Given the size of the sculpture, I felt it best to make the sculpture here." He extends a hand to Korvin, "I am Praxiteles Jerbitonis."
Praxiteles studies Abigail carefully, and then says something in a language that most people present don't know, but Korvin might recognize as Hebrew. Abigail nods her head demurely and offers a shy smile. "Apologies, Korvin, I merely introduced myself to your apprentice in her native tongue, of a sort. I hope you'll excuse my impertinence."
Not at all. It is my mistake not to introduce her to both of you. If you keep the Hebrew Sabbath I'm sure she would like the company.
May I ask how you do the shaping of the stone? Do you use a Muto and shape it with your hands or perhaps carve with Perdo.
"I'm not Jewish, but I'm familiar with the language. And Abigail's parentage is also well known. Ra'am being the father of two Gifted children was of much interest in the Rhein. Many of House Bonisagus covet her and her sister. Ra'am has established himself to be an astute theoretician of magic, and it was rumored he had passed some of that knowledge to his daughters even before he opened their Arts. I'm not privy to all the debate and gossip, but there are enough magi Bonisagi there to make this matter often discussed, well up until a few years ago, in any event."
((Edit: note he didn't talk about his method, but this is conspicuous.))
aha, that's totally it!
Tranquillina's eyebrows rise: she was expecting to say a few polite words and then go back to the arduous business of deploying her Corpus specimen collection in her lab. "Why, certainly, sodalis," she affirms, wondering what topic the discussion will center on; she tries to get a read on Korvin's mood but finds it a bit of a challenge. ((Per 2 + Folk Ken 3 + stress die 3 = 8.))
Tranquillina tries, probably unsuccessfully, to hide how very interested she is in this discussion of Abigail (and, to some extent, Ra'am). ((Guile roll: Prs 2 + Guile 3 + stress die 2 = 7.)) "Pardon me, sir: you say, up until a few years ago?"
Having seen Korvin putter about in his lab robes and everyday clothes, she has noticed that he tends to put on more formal robes/clothes when he has his Precept hat on.
Korvin will not push. He is just making shop talk.
Ra'am taught her well in Latin and Magic Theory. She is still a bit of an imp and somewhat reckless, like many apprentices. Korvin smiles at Abagail. I heard there were visitors so I decided to take a break for our studies. Abagail is getting a lesson in Philosophiae from our resident scholar, Otto. I'm afraid he is a bit boring.
Tranquillina chuckles at this last characterization. "I spent three days a week with Otto, my first year here, desparately trying to gain proficiency in the local language ... I know well his dry style. - Mais, quelquefois, eum, d'avoir un peu de ennui, c'est meilleur pour une, eum, commenceuse? Pour quelqu'un qui commence de apprendre un subjet." She smiles at Abigail. "Don't worry: more excitement in your studies will surely come soon."
((Totally apocryphal, but I can't help it, it's my favorite line from Shakespeare.))
Praxiteles waxes eloquent for a moment, while looking at Abigail, "There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your Philosophiae." Korvin can recognize the look well, as he's given it a time or two himself. ((Folk ken+perception roll of 9, no Gift penalties for others to recognize what's going on between Abigail and Praxiteles, Fiona's ease factor drops to 6, given her prior experience with him.))
Turning to Tranquillina, and walking everyone well away from Petronius's earshot so as not to disturb him while he does his work, "Many Bonisagus had hoped that they could snatch up an apprentice, if he gave one of his children to another master outside of House Bonisagus. However, many of my Bonisagus sodales thought better of it when a Merceris magus claimed one of Ra'am's children. It would be unseemly to take an apprentice from a Mercere magus, since they work so hard to ensure that there is a familial relationship to Mercere. No, he displayed a political acumen that suggests that more of Tria rubbed off on him than anyone had thought."
1d10+2=3
if it is a stress roll ( I'm not sure)
[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3772091/]1d10+2=3[/url]
1d10+2=6 x4 = 24
Oh, it's a stress roll.
Praxiteles intends to have Abigail. And she appears to be more than willing to be taken by him.
((Man, even though she's like 20 here, I feel dirty writing that.))
As soon as possible without ruining his preparations, Petronius takes a pause to meet them.
"Korvin filius Alessandro, it is a pleasure to meet you. I have heard many good things about you from many of your cousins. I am Petronius scholae Bonisagi Mercurii. The greeting is a bit formal, but warm nonetheless. Korvin may be a bit surprised that Petronius knows the name of his father, but you realize from his name that Petronius is also of a Mercurian lineage, so perhaps it is not so surprising. (OOC: You may want to make a OoH Lore roll to see if you know more about Petronius.)
Turning to Abigail, he adds with a smile, "Young lady, you are lucky to be apprenticed to such a good master. Although," Petronius sends a glance at the Mercere magus, "some are a bit angry at him right now for a reason that escapes me, his family is quite proud of him." (OOC: I am making a distant reference to the fallout for the destruction of the portal a few years ago. Whether this is interpreted as Petronius knowing more about the incident is up to you. This may or may not be the case.)
((Also equally plausible is what Praxiteles outlined above. They may blame Korvin, because they don't want to blame Ra'am, or because it's just easier to blame Korvin.))
((So, she doesn't get upset...yet. She'll probably have an opportunity to get upset later, depending on how possessive she wants to get.))
((Folk Ken 3 + Per 0 + die roll 6 = 9, barely made it. Although Petronius also has previous knowledge of Praxiteles, the ease factor was probably 6 also.))
Petronius simply rolls his eyes to the sky.