Creating a Puppet Part I

Marcellus sat in a villa within the city of Lugdunum with his nephew by his side. Together they had butchered the deer which the young boy had slain during their hunting trip. Currently, the meat was roasting over a fire, while Marcellus prepared other portions into jerky, and sausages. 

Theodosius had a stern expression on his youthful face, while watching the meat cook. At first, he was rather soft about his first kill. However, now seeing its flesh being cooked over the fire, he felt nothing but pride. 

Pride that he had taken up arms and provided food for his household. Make no mistake ,the boy had done this. What remained of the beast would be smoked, salted, and preserved so that it could make the trip back to Rome, where his sisters would be able to taste the fruits of his labor. 

When Marcellus saw the haughty smirk on the young boy's face, he could not help but question what had made him so prideful.

"What are you smiling about?"