lacuna [connor stoll]

XII. The Campfire

CHAPTER TWELVE: THE CAMPFIRE

It proved to be moderately difficult to train with a bulky cast on her arm.

Everyone asked her about it, but she couldn't find it in her to admit what happened. So, the rumors began. Some said that Drew broke it, others said Travis and Connor jumped her. She would have laughed if she wasn't so exhausted.

She knew she'd have to talk to Richard eventually, but she didn't want to think about that yet.

She found herself training, something that always proved to take her mind off things. Usually it wold be with Clarisse, but she would accidentally break her other arm with her disadvantage. So, she was left training by herself. She had set up a dummy, in a tiny secluded arena where she hoped no one would find her.

She sliced and dodged an imaginary hit from the dummy, rolling onto her left side so her arm didn't have any pressure to it.

It was weird, not being able to be automatically healed. She had taken it for granted, now that Will had told her it needed to stay on for weeks. Could you believe him?

She jabbed an uppercut with her sword, one good enough to make Percy Jackson impressed.

Ellie watched as the war council adjourned as she worked on technique with her sword.

She gazed as Percy walked back to the Poseidon cabin, the others following behind him.

"Looking for someone?" A voice called. She glanced over to see Connor, leaning against a pillar behind her. She blushed, a scowl coating her face.

"You wish, Stoll."

He gave her his signature mischievous grin. The sky was growing dark behind him.

"Come back to the Hermes cabin, get some sleep," he told her, giving her a beckoning signal to follow him. She shook her head, pointing to the dummy she had been beating up for the past hour or so.

"Can't. Gotta practice." She wiped a bead of sweat off of her forehead. Connor cocked an eyebrow.

"We can't have a tired fighter before the battle even begins," he said.

"Go away," She said more sternly, turning back to the dummy, hacking it's shoulder blade again.

She heard a huff, and when she glanced back, he was gone.

"Looking for someone?" Someone called. Ellie flipped around, and with her instinct, she had her sword leveled at the person's throat.

It was not the person she was looking for.

"Don't sneak up on me when I'm training," She grumbled, moving the blade away from Richard's throat. But she straightened up, trying for a smile. It came out more like a grimace, but Richard didn't seem to notice.