shopping sprees and expensive things {PRIVATE}

he'd just started getting tired from his shopping spree, arms weighed down with heavy bags full of fancy furs and pretty shoes and ridiculous head wear. taleis really is the most ridiculous roman there is.

he decides to stop off for some coffee, going for a local coffee place rather than a chain like starbucks or something. not that he has anything against frappuccinos, but taleis is organic. he likes to shop local. or whatever it is his aunt's writing her magazine articles about.

the girl taleis held the door for didn't even say thanks, which,
rude, but also, on second thought, she did look really tired. she probably forgot. it looks like a hangover, and taleis can relate. hangovers suck.

he orders a vanilla latte with a triple shot of espresso and an almond croissant, bubbly as ever as he hands over his payment. the girl he held the door for did have a really cute dress, and nothing makes taleis feel better when he's grumpy than random stranger compliments.

after getting his order and properly sweetening his coffee with a tooth rottening amount of sugar, he quickly stops off by her table before going to his own and leaving her alone.

"hi!" he says brightly. "i love your dress. it's really pretty. i like the poofy skirt."

he laughs brightly, too brightly for an overcast day, but he does it nonetheless.

"sugar is the only thing that makes coffee worth drinking! why would i drink bitter bean juice?" he says, wrinkling his nose and making a funny face. "i've got a really heavy sweet tooth." that, and his aunt's always going on and on about the natural sweetness of black coffee, which is just annoying. he half started drinking it with all that sugar just to piss her off.

taleis wrinkles his nose again, but he's still smiling. "cos the bitterness is nasty!" he says, laughing. "plus my aunt's always going off about the 'natural sweetness' of coffee and i like to piss her off. plus, ramen soup has never done me wrong as a hangover cure."

he smiles at her as he sets his bags down and sits in the chair across from her. "i'm taleis heap," he says.
"what's your name?"

"noooooooooooo it's not!" taleis says dramatically, throwing his head back and tossing the back of his hand over his forehead like a fainting damsel in distress. he laughs then, just as brightly as before. "i dunno, i just can't handle bitter food. sugar's just so good."

"that's a pretty name," he says. "mine's kind of stupid. it's really taleisin emmett heap the fourth. like,
who needs a ridiculous name like that?"

he notices her sweater slip off of where she'd been holding it, revealing a painful looking scar. gods, that had to hurt. "uh, your sweater slipped a bit," he says, trying to be helpful but probably just sounding awkward. "i noticed you pulling it tight earlier." he doesn't mention the scar. it seems obvious she's self conscious about it, and taleis doesn't want to make her feel bad. oliver seems nice, and taleis likes nice people. besides, he's got a gazillion scars from ridiculous training stunts gone wrong, and it's always awkward when people point them out and ask "ooooohh, where'd you get that one?"

"well, i think it's a cool name," he says, and he means it.
the mention of parents stings a bit, just reminding him of his deadbeat dad rotting away behind bars and the aunt and uncle back in california who don't want him around. must be nice to have a functional family. taleis sure doesn't know what that's like.

he nods gravely. "they're the worst," he says, and he means it but says it with a hint of humor in his voice,
just in case. it seems like too much to go off of to assume she's a demigod, just a mere mention of battle scars, but taleis remembers that the greek camp was in new york. here's to hoping. "i've got an ugly round scar on my thigh cos i got impaled on a unicorn's horn."

"they are truly a force to be reckoned with," he says gravely, but there's still a joking tone to his voice. unicorns are cool, but serious, those things can be nasty.

"i know what you mean about new york, though," he says. "i don't come over often. i live over in los angele, so it's always a bit difficult adjusting to the city." the thought of the east and bad luck flashes through his mid momentarily, but he pushes it aside quickly. the greeks are their friends now, and they'd all agreed that stuff was bullshit

taleis nods. he knows all about crazy families. "yeah, i hear you," he says. "i love los angeles, but i've got so much family shit going on over there. it sucks."

he takes another sip of his coffee and relaxes back in his seat. "i like your tattoo," he says. "the symbol of bacchus, right?" taleis can respect bacchus. he's a dude who knows how to party.

taleis can feel his cheeks heat up with embarrassment. dionysus. he laughs. "oh, yeah. right."

"yeah, i'm pretty into it!" he says once he gets over his personal moment of shame. maybe she is a demigod, too? "i go to this camp in california about roman mythology. it's...not as nerdy as it sounds. lots of swords."

"well, i think it's a cool tattoo," he says with a smile, trying to tamp down his excitement at the prospect of meeting another demigod outside of camp. completely different mythology, sure, but still. a demigod's a demigod.

"where is it?" he asks her. "i've heard about a camp for greek mythology on long island. camp half something,
i think?"

taleis beams brightly. "yeah! it's camp jupiter!" he says, and he's practically vibrating in his seat with excitement. "i uh, didn't really take part in the whole crazy war thing so i've never been to camp half blood before, either." he grins again. he'd never met a greek demigod before. this is new territory for him.

"me too," taleis says, nodding his head in agreement. "i'm not a fan of violence. and yeah, i am a roman!" he adds on. "it's not that fun when you're stuck in the legion all day, but new rome is awesome. the bars are sick."

despite what oliver said, taleis had trouble imagining camp half blood as really boring. the legion was boring, needing to practice marching and all serious war business. taleis was no good at that. but he'd heard at camp half blood it's much looser, a lot less strict about daily training and guard duty.

"wars are stupid," taleis says, nodding in agreement. "like,
just talk about it, y'know? communication is key!"

he leans back in his chair and takes another sip of his latte. he hasn't been on a huge shopping spree like this in ages, and he's honestly missed the feeling. there's nothing like blowing ridiculous amounts of money on fancy furs and nice hats.