Sticking Around [Critical]

Eros just laughed sheepishly when Lelei offered to treat him to a drink. "That's not really necessary, ahaha..."

He was able to ease up more around Lelei as they walked. Although not entirely comfortable just yet, at least he's stopped habitually trying to fix glasses on his nose.

He followed up the stairs. When they got there, he had to stop and look around and absorb the designs and atmosphere, before following the shark man to the comfy chairs. The place was wonderful, peaceful, it gave a comforting feeling to him. There weren't as many pairs of eyes here as well, and he wasn't really attracting attention. He sat down with a sigh, content, leaning back as he looked towards the park. He smiled and nodded, seeing clearly why Lelei loved this spot.

"The cafe's great, the view is great, I like it, Mr. Lelei," he answered, grinning a little. He gave the place another look before turning his eyes to the shark man. "I'm a little shocked that not many people come here. I think it's a good thing for me though," he chuckled, and lightly scratched his cheek with a finger. " Uhm... how did you find out about the cafe?"

Eros didn't particularly mind the brief show. He was slightly bothered mostly because it somehow reminded him of his trauma, of girls and guys trying to flirt with him and worse, but he seemed indifferent on the outside. He ordered a cup of latte just before the server left.

He smiled at Lelei, shaking his head a little. "It's okay." He listened to Lelei's short story, nodding his head to let the guy know he was listening, even as his eyes found themselves back on the park. He only looked away from it when this Sammi person came back with their drinks.

His nervous habit came back for a moment, and as usual he flinched when he realized his glasses weren't there. Feeling awkward all of a sudden, he tried to hide his face by taking a sip.

He only realized he shouldn't be drinking coffee when he realized how good the drink was.

"Uh..." he brought down the cup to the small table. How was Manta Carlos for him? He hummed in thought. "Not really sure yet. My experiences here haven't been so different from where I came from, 'cause people always act the same... I'm just looking forward to learning how to control my... 'ability'... and hopefully meeting more people immune to me. So far there's two, one's an ass detective and the other one's you I guess." He began smiling at the mention of the detective. Not the affectionate type of smile, it was more like a grin when someone's trying not to laugh.

"How long have you lived here, Mr. Lelei? How's the island for you?"

Two hazel eyes were fixed on the shark man then, not judgingly, not curiously, they were just on him because Eros didn't find any reason to look away, whether or not he was being rude, whether or not Lelei thinks his way of drinking was strange. Eros had already figured it would be something like that, seeing that Lelei's teeth were bare.

He sipped from his own cup. His movement was on the opposite pole, being like an elegant being from the ancient times. It's mostly just his nature though. There were things about himself that he never really bothered with or trained, they just came to him on their own. His mother had explained to him that his father was to blame.

"Ah," he nodded in agreement about the students. It wasn't so hard to imagine that most people that came here were similar to him, having experienced difficulties living a normal life while trying to blend in with normal people.

He caught himself moving his eyes to Lelei's head fin. Was the pink shade gone? That was when he decided to look away as he brought down his cup to his lap.

He smiled sheepishly. Though his eyes were on the park, his ears were at the moment all for Lelei, and he gladly listened to his short story. He was curious why the shark man was on land in the first place, but he didn't want to pry.

He looked down at his cup and frowned a bit. He could feel the caffeine kicking in, he could feel his heartbeat getting stronger and faster, even though he was only halfway through his drink. "This latte's really good. I should visit again some time, just wishing I weren't so weak against caffeine. I get nervous easily," he chuckled.

Speaking of nervous, Eros was then reminded about his glasses. He put his cup down to the table and took them out from his pocket, showing how they're broken to Lelei. "Mr. Lelei, do you know where I can have this fixed? Including the enchantment on it, if possible."

The latte did taste a bit stronger than Eros expected. Hearing that from Lelei, the young man let out a chuckle and gave the drink another go. It was making his heart race but never mind that, it was delicious.

Lelei flexed his muscles to make a point and Eros found himself grinning. "Touché, I suppose looking for magicians and spell casters would help." He gave his glasses a good look, taking note of its damage. Maybe he could just buy a new one and have it enchanted by a spell caster, he just hoped someone knew what enchantment to use because he certainly didn't.

He laughed when Lelei asked about his sight. Shook his head, and then put the glasses back in his pocket. "It's not like that. They're supposed to suppress my ability, while I still can't do it by myself," he answered. His brows furrowed for a moment, confusion surfacing for the time being. "It was useless today though. I wonder if that guy's immune to enchantments... Probably."

He shrugged and took a little sip from his cup.

It was obvious that this wasn't the first incident. Eros was almost too indifferent about it, despite his momentary panic during the very moment he was assaulted in the alley, despite his jitters every now and then.

He shook his head once. "It's not the first time, Mr. Lelei. Been almost a daily routine for me before I got my glasses when I was thirteen." He took a few last sips from his cup, finishing the drink. He set the empty cup down the table, before putting his hands together over his stomach and leaning back more into the chair.

"Of course my mom knows. And my friend that gave me the glasses knows. As for others... I guess they do notice that the incidents happen too often but... no way they're gonna believe why."

There was no way they were going to believe that the Greek God Eros was his great grandfather or something like that. There was no way they were going to believe that he constantly seduces people unwillingly. At least in a place like Manta Carlos, such a thing wasn't too hard to believe. More people can help him here.

"I'm pretty sure I'll work something out after a few more days in the Academy."
@"Critical"