"I still do. She is likeable, you know, in many, sometimes peculiar ways." There was a thoughtful chew of the lip, which the hazel eyes noticed immediately. "She is quite singular, that child. She has the most unique habits and attitudes, like the way she often sat at my feet, or near them as I worked, to keep me company..."
She trailed off as something crossed her face like a lightning streak. She had become painfully conscious again and all too suddenly of the physical absence: the luxuriance of dark hair against her leg, the soft sweep of lashes by her knee.
"Forgive me, but we all know that is a near-impossibility," the chuckling tribune explained to the gawping senators. "I am an elected tribune of the plebs and my body is thus inviolate due to this office. Did you try to arrest me, I might claim that you were obstructing me in the rightful exercise of my duties and thus have you arrested. Would that not be funny?"
"Not if you don't spew a reason as the consul's just directed, bratling!" roared the brassy voice of Armitage, who was finally provoked into speech. "It's you who's being obstructing!"
Urumi turned her head to look the other senator in the eye. As Haruka was to her left, it was her brown eye which Haruka could see.
"Obstructive," said Urumi. "You mean 'obstructive'."
Up came Haruka, down toppled her seat, and away went a servant to get it.
"Lictors, arrest this tribune!" the enraged senator screamed, foaming at the mouth. "She's being obstructiiive!"
"Oh, don't let her goad you!" cried Sergay Wang, who was on the next stool.
"I said arrest her, lictors!"
At which point the normally languid senior consul stood, yelled for the confused lictors to remain where they were, and stared down the members of the farce with cold fury. Taking advantage of the pause after her shout, she reminded the thoroughly fascinated House of the real subject they were discussing, and adjured everyone to dispense with the theatrics. It was noted that the admonition included even her cousin.
"Enough inanities and on with the issue, if issue there should be," she said fatally, once able to speak without raising her voice to a shout. "Any further intermissions had best be germane to the topic, else they be considered a true obstruction and reason to remove their speakers from this gathering."
She then nodded courteously to the fidgeting junior consul, and asked the woman to resume the meeting.
The junior consul took over again.