oh, you waste it all (aka running away from camp for cheap thrills)

"don't listen to a word i say"

taleis hates mondays. more than mondays, he hates peleus feeding duty. more than peleus feeding duty, he hates mondays on which he has peleus feeding duty. dragons are cool, but handling raw meat is not. handling raw meat on a monday of all days is far less fun.

"hey, peleus," he says to the dragon, (and, seriously, he's talking to a dragon, when did this become his life) who simply regards him with a bored look in his eyes, not even a bit of steam through the nose, rude. "if i sneak into the kitchen to get some more meat, would you let me get away with borrowing the fleece? just for a little bit?"

that catches peleus' attention, enough for some steam, which is apparently too important for taleis. "fine," taleis mumbles, tossing some of the raw meat to peleus and thanking whoever it was that thought of rubber gloves, "no fleece-borrowing adventures. party pooper. would you blow some fire? burn down a tree or two?"

apparently, now that there is no more fleece-talk, peleus is sick of taleis. he lets out a growling noise after snapping up the meat, looking at taleis like he's some fly that he would smash, if only taleis weren't so insignificant, which, again, rude. dragons are super cool, but just cause peleus is a dragon doesn't make him better than taleis.

'stupid dragons and their superiority complexes,' taleis thinks, nearly positive that if he utters it out loud that peleus would blow fire on him, which would so not be cool. taleis has plans.

he tosses some more meat into the air, all of which peleus snaps up. he's seeming much more friendly by the time the two thirds of the contents of the bucket have been emptied, so taleis braves trying to make a deal with him.

"say, peleus, that's some pretty good grub, right? and i gave you that grub. so, do you think you could keep it a secret that i'm gonna sneak out later?"

peleus makes a noise that sounds somewhat like a purr and blows a bit more steam through his nose. taleis takes this as a good sign.

If there was one thing that Benjamin hated, it was being bored. He would go to any lengths to keep from it, rule breaking included. In these cases, he couldn’t give a dime about such trivial things like ‘rules.’ This applied to life outside and inside Camp Half Blood as well. He had the nauseating feeling that Dionysus approved of this, because it provided for some sort of entertainment for the god. Benjamin had exploded part of the Athena cabin at least twice (or was it thrice?) so far in his stay at the camp, and each time, the god had appeared strangely gleeful. Despite his apparent joy at Benjamin’s not-so-intentional trouble making (it was honestly in the name of science), Dionysus was still required to discipline Benjamin. He had been sent to “border patrol,” a truly terrifyingly tedious thing.
Stomping up to Thalia’s tree (what a stupid name, Thalia wasn’t even there anymore), he noticed there was someone else up there too, and he mentally groaned. His time guarding the camp would be even more torturous. He briefly considered ditching, but then Dionysus would probably make him do it again—it was more beneficial to Benjamin if he just got it over with right now. He eventually reached the pine tree, and stabbed the end of his spear into the soft ground. The other boy was talking at the dragon curled around the tree. He was, apparently, attempting to get the dragon to do something. With a quick glance at the boy’s face, Benjamin was able to deduce quite a lot about him. For one, the vaguely manic gleam in the boy’s eyes was enough to tell Benjamin that it thrilled the boy, the prospect of danger. Well, he wasn’t going to get anywhere. The dragon ate peacefully, puffs of smoke escaping its nostrils. The boy seemed not to have noticed Benjamin yet, so he left his spear resting on the tree while he strolled along the border. If he reached out and trailed his hand along the magical barrier just so, he could feel a slight heat at his fingertips, not painful but very much there. Suddenly, he caught a glance of something red, in a bush that was otherwise the dark green that plants tended to be. Frowning, Benjamin dropped his hand from the barrier and went over to the bush. Crouching and pushing the leaves and braches aside, Benjamin found a backpack. A rather heavy backpack, in fact, seemingly full. He wondered why anyone would want to have a backpack hidden up here. Unless… Benjamin’s fingers found the zipper, but before he could pull the bag open, there was a shout from behind him.

"don't listen to a word i say"

he's just finished up feeding peleus when he notices a boy holding the backpack he's hidden, and, crap, that's not supposed to happen.

"hey, that's mine!" he shouts, dropping the food bucket and reaching out, despite the fact that he isn't even close enough to the boy to grab his backpack from him. he realizes he must look ridiculous, in his skintight jeans and loose-fitted t-shirt and the damn rubber gloves, but there is no way he would touch that raw meat with his bare hands. not even if you payed him.

(well, okay, maybe if you payed him, depending on how much. or what you were paying with. both are very important.)

Benjamin was standing straight up in a matter of seconds, pulling a knife out from under his sleeve. He held the bag out of the other boy's reach, eyebrows raised. Ah. So this was the boy's bag, and apparently rather important to him too.
"What's this?" He smirked, glancing at the bag held an arms length away from him, before quickly looking back at the boy. His hair is curly and unruly enough to match Benjamin's own. He looks rather ridiculous, really, what with the tight pants and bright yellow rubber gloves.

"don't listen to a word i say"

taleis laughs nervously, tugging his stupid rubber gloves off and dropping them into the bucket. he's not going to risk looking like an idiot for the whole of the conversation, and the dude pulled a knife out on him. he doesn't look like an ares kid, but taleis sure as hell isn't ruling that out.

"um, it's a backpack? pretty sure you'd know what one of those are, man. they're pretty common." he runs a hand through his hair (thank the gods he took of those gloves) and tries to give a non-threatening smile. he really wouldn't like to be shanked the day he was supposed to be leaving. he wouldn't really like to be shanked any day, actually. especially not on a monday when he had peleus feeding duty and he was supposed to finally be getting out of this stupid camp.

"Obviously," Benjamin drawls, rolling his eyes. He puts away the knife--it had been a reflex, albeit, admittedly, an unnecessary one. The boy doesn't present much of a threat. He slings the backpack over his shoulder smoothly, and smiles entirely falsely.
"Let's see," he hums thoughtfully, "what would a camper be doing with a fully packed bag, when he has basically everything he needs in the relative safety of the camp?" The smile slides off his face, becoming serious.
"Running away, are we?"

"don't listen to a word i say"

taleis huffs out an aggravated breath, crosses his arms, and scowls. "yeah, alright, maybe i am," he says, keeping his voice level. "what's it matter to you? and for the love of the gods, can you just give me my damn backpack?"

taleis hasn't got any issues with the people at camp. they're typically nice people, don't bother you too much and just let you live your life. but then sometimes you've got people like this dude, who is stealing his backpack, which really isn't nice at all. and is somewhat obnoxious, as that is taleis' and doesn't he have any clue how many of that hermes' kids chores he had to do in order to get him to buy taleis the supplies? it's horribly inconsiderate. taleis spent a lot of time bribing him into buying those things for him.

"Sure," Benjamin nods graciously, a small, genuine smile playing on his lips this time. He makes his decision in a split second.
"But only if I can come, too." The smile turns into a full blown smirk, like the cat that caught the canary. He's been so bored for the longest time--the only thing that provides the slightest bit of entertainment are his experiments, and all of his equipment has been confiscated after the third time he blew up his bunk. There had only been one girl who had sort of appreciated his genius, but she had been on the opposite side of camp when the explosion happened, so she hadn't been affected by the fumes, and therefore did not understand the full effect.
There were also the capture-the-flag games, with the giant scorpions and occasional hellhound, but there wasn't much strategy involved, and anyway the other kids are stupid and use only brute force. Benjamin had given up on those quickly.
He has no idea where this boy is going, he doesn't even know his name, but he couldn't care less. If this plan works (and he's fairly certain it will), then Benjamin will be free from the sheer boredom the dull camp presents.

"don't listen to a word i say"

the boy's response shocks taleis, isn't at all what he was expecting. everyone else at camp seems to love it there and would never want to leave. somebody else wanting to leave is practically unheard of, and taleis can't really help the shocked expression on his face.

"you want to leave camp," he says, once he;s regained control of his facial expressions. his voice comes out flat, and this boy is a stranger. what if taleis is actually a psycho killer? what is he is a psycho killer? what if there's a gang of psycho killers waiting at the bottom of the hill? there are just too many possibilities.

"didn't your parents teach you not to talk to strangers?" he asks. "you know, like, nothing about me. i could be a murderer. you could be asking a murdered to take you out of camp. i could be like one of those horror movie obsessed guys from scream and i could try to kill you but you're asking me to take you out of camp."

taleis decides that there must be something very, very wrong with the rest of the world, or at least the sheltered bubble that is camp half blood. it's supposed to be preparing them for going out into the real world and facing monsters, not making them so innocent that they'll trust any random stranger.

The expressions flitting across the other boy’s face are entertaining, although unnecessary. He waits with saintly patience (well, saintly for him, which means pretty impatiently for anyone else) until the boy finishes his display of emotions. Benjamin rolls his eyes dramatically yet again. The boy’s being so terribly dull. “Yes, of course I want to leave.” He scoffs at the boy’s questions, and proceeds to answer.
“Please,” he says dryly, “if you were a murderer, then at least you’d be interesting. Besides, you don’t think I can hold my own against you?” He then looks pointedly at the knife he had pulled out earlier. “And no, I’m not going to try to kill you either—unfortunately, I need you in order to get out of here.” After all, strength in numbers and all that. It wasn’t something Benjamin usually cared about, but in this case, it’s best to have someone to, ah, ‘have his back’ in case he needs it. He draws his attention back to the boy, and meets his gaze dead-on.
“You’re wrong. I know plenty about you. You’re a ‘popular’ boy, used to having many people hanging on your every word, adoring fans and whatnot, but you’re not particularly concerned about appearances, which means your popularity is… unintended, for lack of a better word. You’re an adrenaline junkie, you crave adventure, and yet you have trust issues. Rather strange for someone who will do almost anything for cheap thrills.” Benjamin’s arms, previously folded across his chest, drop to his sides, and he tenses. He’s getting ready for the punch sure to come from the boy. It’s what they all do after Benjamin deduces them.
“That’s... enough to be going on with, don’t you think?”

I'm not whole.

Benjamin relaxes ever so slightly when the boy calls him an a**. When people call him names, that usually means that their fit of violence has ended, at least for a while. He returns the boy's smile, albeit more careless, loose.
"Benjamin Holmes, son of Athena." He shakes the boy's hand (thank gods he at least had the sense to remove the rubber gloves), winks at him, and whirls around. The backpack is still on his shoulder even as he strolls back down the hill, towards the camp. "I'll go collect my things. Wait here, if you wish."

ooc; u wanna time skip so that ben comes back right after ur post?

I'm not whole.

Benjamin more or less flies back up the hill once he's got all of his things. They're all in his pocket--a son of Hecate had given Benjamin a magically shrinking bag, which fits in his black Belstaff coat pocket. Among the items in the bag are extra clothes, a large bottle of nectar, and a plastic baggy stuffed full of ambrosia squares. In his other pocket is a pouch full of drachmas. The weight is reassuring; should they need to bribe someone, they've got more than enough to do so. Slung low across his hips is his long, slightly curved sword.
He marches towards the boy. "Well. What's the first part of your plan?"

I'm not whole.

Benjamin frowns disapprovingly. "The physical appearance of the please has nothing to do with it." He sniffs haughtily, but in a small sign of trust, he hands the bag back to the boy. Not that he trusts the boy--definitely not. "Besides, I don't like cherries anyway." Benjamin stuffs his hands into his pockets, looking down at the boy. Even after all his deductions, the one thing Benjamin can't deduce is his name.
"I don't believe I caught your name?"

I'm not whole.

“Yes, alright, a simple first name will suffice.” Benjamin waves his hand dismissively. He notices that Taleis was holding something back, but Benjamin doesn’t care. “What is ‘gru?’” Benjamin asks irritably as he starts down the hill. The word sounds familiar, but he can’t place the connection. He probably deleted it.
Whatever, he thinks, and continues on his way. He thinks about calling the chariot of damnation, but decides against it. The last time he had been in the chariot, he threw up upon exiting. The three old hags had cackled at him and nearly ran him over as they left. He shudders slightly at the memory once he reaches the foot of the hill. Turning to the side, Benjamin looks at Taleis. The shorter boy looks both wary and murderous. It’s a look Benjamin’s used to.
Benjamin flashes him a wide, toothy smile. “Have you got a destination in mind?” He asks, having already forgotten his earlier question.

I'm not whole.

"Los Angeles." Benjamin echoes, letting the word roll across his tongue. He says it exactly the way Taleis had, analysing the tones. "Home." Benjamin hums. Before the shorter boy could accuse him of being a stalker again, Benjamin explains.

"You said it fondly, comfortably. You've been anticipating this for a while now, haven't you? There's someone or someones waiting for you there--you had to leave them behind. Hm. Sentiment." He says the last word with a long-suffering sigh.

"How dull. Nevertheless, bungee jumping on the Grand Canyon sounds intriguing. What's bungee jumping?" Benjamin asks curiously, glancing at at Taleis again as they walked down the wide dirt path that led to modern civilisation.

I'm not whole.

"Consulting detective," Benjamin corrects, though a small degree of surprise colours his voice. "The only one in the world." He hesitates before allowing, "It's... an easy mistake to make."

He blinks at Taleis in confusion when he starts talking about something to do with the word despicable, but he connects the dots quickly enough. "So that's where it's from. Hm. I must have deleted it." Even though Taleis had told him not to explain, Benjamin knows that lesser minds (ooc; iS TAL GONNA TAKE THAT YO) would not understand.

"I have to delete information from my mind, or it becomes cluttered and disorganised. I might have learned about bungee jumping once, but it wasn't useful to me, so I deleted it. Now, will you explain?" He asked, allowing his impatience to show in his voice.

I'm not whole.

Benjamin jerks away from Taleis's touch, frowning strongly as he pats his hair back down. Maybe he should just go back and delete the annoying boy from his memory and pretend none of this ever happened. He honestly debates it for several seconds before remembering how utterly boring the camp is. Besides, if it gets to a certain point, he'll just murder the boy (smothering? poisoning? He'll have to observe Taleis's behaviour and then decide). He sniffs disdainfully, pulling his blue scarf from his pocket.

"It's not my fault that I deleted it. It wasn't important before." He says as he knots the scarf around his neck. Rolling his shoulders back, he walks slightly faster, long legs providing longer strides. "Also, please never use the term..." he wrinkles his nose and says the next word as if it physically pains him, "safey-wafey ever again. It'll be less humiliating for everyone." He leans in close to Taleis and stage whispers, "By everyone, I mean just you."

He leans away again and continues walking, already planning on how to get across the country.

I'm not whole.