lacuna [connor stoll]

XXXVII. Child Devouring Menace

"But that's the best part," Connor began, letting go of her cold body and instead wrapping an arm around her shoulders as they began to walk back up to camp. "That's what makes us work so well. I'm the genius, and you're the practical one."

They walked up the beach. The campers had long left, leaving the area for just the two of them.

"Genius?" Ellie teased, smiling. "That's not the word I would use to describe you."

"Oh yeah?" He murmured, smirking. He spun her around, so he was once again leaning over her. "What word would you use?"

Ellie was about to retort a sarcastic insult, but she choked on her words as she glanced up at his face.

His speckled freckles that she counted when he wasn't looking. His lips, curved in a mischievous grin that she was oh so familiar with. His messy curly brown hair, curls that she twirled in her fingers as she laid beside him as he told her about his day. Now, they framed his face from the tidal wave.

Oh, his eyes. She she swore she could write a book about them for all the time she got lost in them. She could see wind-stirred waves in his pupils. If one were brave enough to enter their depths, all else would blur and they'd fall so deep in love that they'd choose to stay there, no matter what. Of that, she had no doubt.

She grinned, closing the space between them. "Stupid," She whispered. She grinned, and before Connor could open his mouth to argue with her, she kissed him.

When they broke apart, both of them looked flustered and cold. Connor smiled, pointing back to camp. "Could I care to interest m'lady in a cup of hot chocolate?"

"I would very much like so," she replied. They began their trek back to the kitchens, when Connor pulled something out of his back pocket.

"Missing something?" He asked, holding up a bracelet she had swore she had on two seconds ago.

"Connor!" She took the bracelet back, whacking his arm softly. "You suck."

✩✩✩

By nightfall, most of the campers were dizzy, groggy, and heavily congested. Will Solace and Apollo spent the evening caring for the wounded. Connor tried to keep Harley from stealing the infirmary's entire supply of smiley-face stickers, but he easily passed it onto Apollo, which he plastered all over his flamethrower.

Sherman Yang graciously agreed not to kill Nico for tossing him out of his chariot, or Apollo for damaging it.

Chiron provided healing poultices for the most extreme cases of hay fever. This included Chiara Benvenuti, whose good luck had, for once, abandoned her. Strangely enough, Damien White got sick right after he learned that Chiara was sick. The two had cots next to each other in the infirmary, even though they kept sniping at each other whenever they knew they were being watched.

Percy Jackson spent several hours recruiting whales and hippocampi to help him haul away the Colossus. He decided it would be easiest to tow it underwater to Poseidon's palace, where it could be repurposed as garden statuary.

As for the camp itself, the damage might have been much worse. The Colossus's footstep craters could be repurposed as convenient foxholes or koi ponds. The dining pavilion was a total loss, but Nyssa and Harley were confident that Annabeth Chase could redesign the place next time she was here. With luck, it would be rebuilt in time for the summer. The only other major damage was to the Demeter cabin.

What Ellie and Connor were not happy about: The canoe dock was a goner. She hadn't even noticed during all the fighting, but the dock was in splinters when she went to sit to watch the sunset.