sweater weather // september

[Deleted]

It never got much cold in Southern California, where Camp was located... At least, Matthias couldn't say it was anything at all unlike his home back in Denmark. The Scandinavian nation got rather cold, especially when him and his twin sister Cienne would be visiting family in rural Jutland, where it was more arid and cold. There wasn't much to the map of Denmark, it was mostly flat lands, with a few clusters of urban city. To be honest, Matthias hadn't even been to America outside of the Wolf House and Camp Jupiter, and frankly, he didn't intend on it. Being a Son of Pluto meant he was far more susceptible to the attacks of monsters. Merely shadow travelling away from them would eat away at his energy, even though it was the ability he was the most well versed in. He'd merely not had the time to go elsewhere, perhaps maybe when he'd gotten older and formally left the legion ranks. Then, maybe, he'd be able to attempt the shadow travel back to Denmark. He wasn't an imbecile, there was no way he was getting on a plane with his heritage. He'd missed his country, and the lack of there being much cold weather in Southern California was a bit of homesickness, something he faced even after 9 years of living away from Europe... You could take Matthias out of Denmark, but you could never take the Denmark out of Matthias. 


Matthias had donned a longer coat for the day, it felt more comfortable to the date, and it wasn't much of a bother. The sleeves went all the way down to his arms, neatly cuffed, and the trenchcoat ended above his knees. It was a style he had liked, and the coat was one of his favorites, something he had gotten in New Rome for himself on Christmas last year. Matthias hadn't gotten a Christmas gift since he was 9 from anyone besides himself, anyways. In the Dane's hands, was a cup of coffee, of course not decaf. It was whilst sipping his hot coffee, he was paying more attention to what was in his cup rather than what was in front of him, he had knocked straight into someone else. "Ah", Matthias said with a light amount of surprise, dropping his cup of coffee. "I didn't mean to run into you, I'm sorry", the Son of Pluto said with an innocent expression.

[September Storm]

The son of snow most certainly didn't belong in the sunny state. He suffered through the summers and thanked the gods for the winters. It wasn't as cold as he would've liked it, only hitting the low 50's, but it was certainly better than nothing. The small boy was clad in shorts and a t-shirt as if it was summer, a soft smile on his face. September was heading over to a cafe in New Rome to pick up some pastries for Jean and himself.

Unfortunately, the boy wasn't exactly watching where he was going. He had a tendency to be off in his own little world. It's as if there was always a personal blizzard happening in his head. He snapped out of it due to walking straight into someone. Or did they walk into him? It didn't matter either way, the younger boy stumbling back with a startled squeak. The stranger's coffee splattered to the floor, making an absolute mess.

"Oh gods," September mumbled, burying his face in his hands. "I'm so so sorry!" In his mind it was all his fault. Everything was always his fault. He peered through his pale fingers to survey the older boy and was instantly intimidated. He was definitely older than September and wearing a rather sinister trench coat. The young boy swallowed the lump in his throat, trying not to completely freak out.

[Deleted]

"Ah, are you alright there?", Matthias said, a look of concern present on his face towards the other boy, who was definitely younger and certainly smaller than Matthias himself. The Dane could tell that this boy before him was intimidated, it wasn't hard to decipher from his facial expressions and actions, of course. He hadn't meant to come off as ominous, instead of supporting this, Matthias garnished a small smile on his face to the other boy, presenting himself as a friendly entity to this other boy. However he decided on interpreting this, was not up to Matthias, and frankly not much of his business. "Besides, it was me who ran into you. You don't have to apologize for it", Matthias said, smiling slightly, as he had no ill will towards this other boy. 

The coffee on the ground was a mess, that was for sure... However, Matthias wasn't interested in the endeavor of cleaning it up, no. It didn't bother him much, he could always go back and get another coffee. It wasn't much in the first place, Mathias was very frugal, keeping costs low. "I didn't mean to startle you. I'm Matthias by the way. If it would make you feel better, I could get you coffee?" Matthias wasn't exactly sure how to respond, seeing as he wasn't the best at dealing with fears, especially those of other people. He didn't throw himself into the affairs of others much, he never considered them to be any of his business after all. 

[September Storm]

He nodded quickly, slowly moving his hands away from his face. He was trying to be braver but it was a bit of a work in progress. He had gathered up the courage to not hide behind his hands but actually making full on eye contact would be much harder, staring at the floor. "I'm okay," he mumbled. Gods, why did he have to be so damn clumsy? It seemed he couldn't go a day without ruining something out of pure stupidity. He felt the urge to apologize again but remained quiet as the older boy assured him it was fine.

"I'm September," he said quietly in response, looking up at Matthias for a split second before his eyes returned to the ground. Coffee? Generally Sept avoided coffee... It was hot and bitter, two things he disliked. He supposed it would be rather rude to turn down the offer, and the last thing he wanted to do was offend him right after knocking into him. "Okay... But can I get it iced?" he asked, hoping the request wasn't too odd. Generally one didn't get iced drinks in the middle of winter, but Sept wasn't exactly normal in those respects.

[Deleted]

"Ah, that's good to hear", Mattie said, noticing how the other boy had began to peer from behind his own hands. Mattie was glad at that, mostly because he hadn't mean to come off as threatening or intimidating, especially to the younger boy. Mattie made eye contact with September as he introduced himself, before speaking once again. "Nice to meet you, September!" Mattie wasn't exactly the most upbeat of people, but he did his best to maintain a light and friendly atmosphere around the younger boy. 

"That's fine with me", Mattie said with a small smile. Mattie didn't see anything wrong with an iced coffee request, but that was just him. He'd literally fight anyone who gave September flack about his coffee choices, being as defensive as he was over people that he actually found himself able to like. So far, things were turning out good, there wasn't anything about September that bothered Mattie, which was contrary to how he saw most people, as arrogant and annoying as they typically were. Mattie began to walk off towards the coffee shop, stuffing his hands in his large set of pockets, as he walked down the streets of New Rome, before approaching a quaint coffee shop, which was great, seeing as there weren't many people in it. Mattie held the door open for September, before filing in, glancing up at the menu, which displayed all sorts of seasonal and unique drinks.

[September Storm]

The boy smiled slightly, not entirely used to the kindness Matthias was displaying. September had trust issues to put it lightly. That tends to happen when you're abandoned and abused repeatedly from the moment you're born. He paused momentarily when the older boy began to walk, hesitating slightly as he wasn't entirely sure if he should follow. After a moment of internal arguing he padded after the boy, looking similar to that of a lost puppy.

He followed a few steps behind with a somewhat awkward gait, not wanting to impose at all. Walking next to someone wasn't for people like him. He was meant to follow, to be lesser. He kept staring at the floor as he usually did, nearly bumping into Matthias once again as he stopped. The boy looked up a bit confused before realizing that they had arrived at a small little coffee shop. He let out a small sigh of relief upon seeing it was rather empty. Socializing with a stranger was anxiety inducing enough and he certainly didn't want to do so while trapped in a crowded room.

His face tinged a bit pink as Matthias held the door open, taken aback by the politeness. He managed to mumble a quiet thank you as he shuffled in. He stood behind the older boy as he peered at the menu, standing on his tiptoes out of habit. The small boy was a bit short and struggled on occasion to see properly because of it. He spotted the word 'peppermint' up on the board and let out a small excited squeak, teetering on his toes. "Oh! Peppermint!" he exclaimed with a small giggle. His eyes widened as he fell back onto flat feet, face heating up with embarrassment over his own enthusiasm.

[Deleted]

Mattie was glad to see that September had followed him... After all, he could have used some company. As much as he tended to be alone, it wasn't like having someone to at least talk to was unwelcome. Mattie tended to get uncomfortable with super close relationships, though most of that was coming from a lack of any... Perhaps the only person he ever cared about was his twin sister Lucienne, and that didn't stop her from ending up dead. Standoff-ish? Maybe, but that was just how Mattie was, he was friendly, but not the most welcoming unless there was a person that really mattered for him enough. 

"Ah, you like peppermint?", Mattie asked, with an amused smile. He wasn't much a fan of flavored coffee, as he found the flavors to water down the taste as well as the caffeine which he desperately required for full social functioning. After all, no one wanted to have to be around a decaffeinated Mattie, it was the easiest way to make himself seem friendly and approachable. A couple cups of day washed the aftertaste of absolute idiot away. Mattie ordered the drinks for the two of them, an iced peppermint for September and just plain black coffee for himself, of course. Once he got the drinks from the barista, Mattie handed the iced coffee over to September, taking a sip at his own drink. "Here you go, did I get it right?" He frequented the shop, though he never really talked much with any of the employees.

[September Storm]

He nodded happily as he took the cold drink from the older boy's hands, smiling to himself a bit as he brought the straw to his lips. Nothing made him happier than a cold drink, not to mention the fact that mint was literally the taste of coldness. How was that even possible? Can temperature be a flavor? He sighed in content as the smooth liquid hit his stomach, matching his inside to his outside. The small boy wasn't entirely sure what to do at this point. He kind of wanted to run off while he still had the chance, but he was too far in to back out now.

He decided to scamper towards some small couches in the back of the coffee shop, settling down like a kitten. He took up as little room as possible, curled up in the very corner of the couch. He liked corners. They made him feel safe. He held his cup in both hands as he was a bit afraid to drop it, taking tiny little sips to savor the cold. "So do you come here often?" he asked innocently between sips with a curious tilt of the head. He wasn't in any way meaning to be flirtatious. The boy was just awkward and a bit poor with words. He hadn't even noticed that his question was considered a stereotypical pick up line.

[Deleted]

Mattie’s biggest hope was that he hadn’t made September too uncomfortable, he was well aware of his tendencies to intimidate people, especially being an older camper, older than the majority of the other legionnaires. On his arm, the symbol of his father was enough to give some people a few unfounded suspicions about him. After all, unless he had a reason to be out for you, he wouldn’t be. Mattie was a rather placid individual, mostly seeming sweet, aloof, and innocent.

Mattie took the chair on the other side of September, after all there was quite a lot of room for the two of them in the coffee shop, without any other people hogging up the chairs. “I’m a bona fide caffeine addict, the barista here knows me by name”, Mattie said with a soft chuckle, glancing in his own cup which was steadily depleting the amount of coffee held inside it, seeing as Mattie could suck down a warm cup of coffee rather fast. September certainly had an… interesting choice of words, but Mattie preferred not to comment on it, rather his expression masked with one of innocent placidity.

[September Storm]

A small sigh left his lips as September wondered what'd be like to actually be recognized around New Rome. For the amount of time he'd been there he'd think more people would know his face or name even. Yet the boy was barely noticed. It wasn't that he was invisible really. People saw him, interacted with him, yet quickly forgot him. He just assumed he wasn't important enough to be remembered. Matthias seemed like the kind of person you'd remember though. He was still slightly frightening to the younger boy, but he wasn't as skittish as he had been earlier.

He was actually managing to make eye-contact, however fleeting. "I've never really been here," he mumbled with a small shrug. He had considered lying to have something to relate to, but was a rather bad liar and would've never gotten away with it. "I guess I'm not much of a coffee person," He felt a bit bad about this considering how much his counterpart seemed to be enjoying their coffee. It's not that September didn't like coffee, he just didn't really want to drink it every day. Besides, he didn't have the money for such things.

[Deleted]

Giving Matthias coffee made him rather upbeat, after all, it was most of what got him up and through the morning. For that matter, he had been so used to the diligent and taxing training that the Romans did each day, that he preformed it daily, just passing through the motions as always. Because there was so much exercise involved, Mattie required the caffeine to make up for what was lost, whether through sweating it out or by compensating with drinking a lot of water...or liquor, if that suited his fancy. He wasn't about to pop his flask open around the kids though, and if a centurion or praetor caught him, he was dead. Or getting latrine duty.

"Ah, really?", Mattie said, with a small raise of his eyebrow. "Oh, that's okay. I wasn't sure of that... If you'd like, next time I can pick somewhere you'd like better. That is, if you'd want to do this again?" Mattie didn't mind having September as company, in all honesty. The other boy seemed very gentle, and if anyone were to threaten to break that... Let's just say it would not be a pleasant aftermath.

[September Storm]

He shook his head quickly, hoping he hadn't offended his new friend. "No, it's fine! Really," he assured with a shy smile. He was enjoying himself, however anxious he may have been. Anxiety was just a part of his life. The only time he could breathe normally was when he was curled up with Jean and even then the back of his mind hissed with promises of abandonment. It's hard to trust others when you've been kicked to the curb your entire life.

"I like libraries..." he mumbled as a suggestion, leg bouncing a bit as the caffeine certainly didn't help his ADHD. The boy did love libraries though, as well as used bookstores. Regular bookstores were nice as well he supposed, but there was something wonderful about books that have been read over and over again. There seemed to be emotions seeped into their pages, not to mention the lovely smell of paper and how the binding creaked in his hands. He was smiling wistfully at the thought, in a bit of a trance which wasn't unusual for him.