Ebony woke in the infirmary, it was the middle of the day. Campers were outside running around, satyrs were coming and going and the sun was shining. She looked around the infirmary, there was a curtain up on either side of her and Gael was pacing nervously in front of her. "G-Gael?" Her head hurt and she couldn't remember a whole lot. Only bits and pieces of what she assumed was last night.

He looked over at her, and sighed in relief, "Thank the gods. We were starting to think...but you're up now."

Gael smiled brightly, and moved over to kiss her forehead. There were a few scratches on his cheeks and arms, but he mostly looked alright, "How do you feel?"

"My head hurts...Wait, what were you starting to think?"

"Babe, you've been out for two days. I-I..." He swallowed nervously, "I couldn't get into your dreams or anything..."

"Two days?! What...? What happened?"

Suddenly, it was like time froze. Her gaze fixated on one corner of the room as she was sucked into the memory. It was moments before the battle, the monsters were approaching and there was a knot in the pit of her stomach. She glanced at Gael as he smiled reassuringly at her.

Together the small, but capable, group charged into the group of monsters. Ebony slashed at several monsters turning them into dust. But as soon as the dust fell they reformed. Someone, she assumed was Jason called out from her left side, "Scatter the ashes so they can't reform!"

But, as soon as she was sucked into the memory she was pulled back to the present. She blinked and looked around the infirmary. Gael and Chiron were standing over her bed nervously watching her.

"There was a battle...? I remember charging...and the monsters kept reforming..."

Gael leaned over, looking into her eyes curiously, "Don't push to remember."

Ebony looked back at him, "I have to remember, Gael! Unless you'd like to tell me what happened and how I ended up here." Her mood fluctuated rapidly, taking her from the calm when she woke up to suddenly angry.

He sighed, "Just don't push. Let them come naturally."

She leaned her head back in the pillow and covered her eyes with her hands, frustrated. She remembered taking Jason's advice. Every time she cut down a monster she scattered the ashes as best she could before another monster attacked her. She looked to her right and saw Gael running through a telekhine with his blades. An empusa ran up to her screaming bloody murder. Quite literally. Ebony raised her sword and attacked. The empusa slashed at her leg, Ebony felt blood start to seep through her jeans. Suddenly angry she slashed, blocked, and parried the empusa's attack. The empusa turned to ashes.

Not even a second later Ebony was blindsided by a cyclops. The force caused her to fall onto her side, explaining the sore hip and bruises on the left side of her body. Her sword flew from her hand, her head hit the ground with such power that she passed out seconds after it happened.

She remembered the cyclops going in for the kill. There was a blur of skin and clothing, she couldn't remember the face. Then the cyclops turned to dust. Someone, she thought it was Leo, called out, "Help! Ace is down!" Suddenly everything went black.

Ebony was pulled out of the memory and back into the infirmary, "Who saved me?"

Gael knew she wouldn't like the answer, and looked away as he muttered, "Ace was closest. He ran up, and stabbed the cyclops right in her eye, then moved you away from the fighting so you wouldn't get hurt anymore."

Ebony couldn't believe it. After all the shit she put him through, all the arguing and he still saved her, "Really? Where is he?"

Again, Gael wouldn't meet her eyes, "He got banged up pretty bad, and refused nectar and ambrosia..."

Ebony kicked off the blanket and tried to sit up. The motion caused blood to rush to her head and her vision blurred and darkened. "I-" She rubbed her eyes, "I have to talk to him."

"What you need is to rest." Gael insisted, moving her gently back into a laying position.

The door to the infirmary opened, and the boy in question's voice echoed through the room, "Hey, Chiron?"

"At Ebony's bed." Their mentor answered.

The blonde appeared there in seconds, like he'd been there several times in the past two days. His camp shirt had blood covering the chest and there was some on his hands, but otherwise he looked fine. When he saw Ebony awake, he seemed to forget he was covered in blood since he moved over to her bedside, "You're up! How are you feeling? Is everything okay?"

Ebony smiled at him, "Yeah. I'm fine. What about you? You're bleeding...And you also saved me..."

Ace looked down, remembering the blood, "Oh yeah...the stitches broke again." He blushed, "And yeah...I guess I did."

"Thanks, I owe ya one. And, you should really get those stitches fixed..."

Chiron already had the supplies, and had pulled one of the curtains open so Ace could sit on the bed next to her, and they could still talk. Ace pulled his shirt off slowly, wincing slightly, before sitting on the bed and lifting his left arm. That entire side was bloody with a large, deep gash running along it as the hub. It almost looked like his spine had been moved to his left side then ripped out from the top of his chest to right above his jeans.

Ace acted like it as nothing. As Chiron started cleaning up the blood, the blonde looked at Ebony, "You don't owe me anything. Soldiers fight to protect each other just as much as their lands."

Eb smiled, "Thanks, Ace." She was so grateful to Ace for saving her life, yet why was she somewhat disappointed? Because it wasn't Gael who saved her, thats why.

He looked down at his wound before muttering, "We could...I don't know...be friends or something..." The idea embarrassed him, and he blushed, "I-I mean...the only people who really talk to me here are Jason, Clarisse, and Leo...my blood brother, my aunt, and my boyfriend..."

She smiled at the embarrassment on his face, "Of course we're friends. Ace, I know I came off as a bitch and made it seem like I hated you...But...I don't know, deep down you were starting to grow on me...And now...Well, looks like we're stuck with eachother." She smiled again and laughed slightly.

Gael was staring at the two of them like they were crazy, "You tried to kill each other."

"Did we ask you?" Ace sassed him, but was smiling at Ebony.

She smiled back brightly, happy to have made a new friend. Then fake pouted at Gael, "What's the matter Gael? Jealous that I have a new friend who happens to be a guy. Well, I have a secret for you...He's gay. There's no need to worry." She laughed. This was obviously the pain killers and the concussion talking.

Ace laughed brightly, but quickly turned into a pained wince. Chiron looked up at him, "It wouldn't hurt so much if you'd stop breaking them. You're suppose to be on bedrest anyway."

"I have been in bed." Ace told him honestly, "Leo has been fussing over me, probably from guilt. He wanted to come in here, but I convinced him to stay out in the hallway."

Ebony looked at him concerned, "Wait, what?! Why is Leo feeling guilty?!" She winced as the volume of her voice gave her a headache.

"I got hurt because of him." Ace shrugged, wincing, "He snuck off to help us on offense, and the cyclops who went after you was coming up behind him. I tried to jump in, and do what I did to her when she went after you but...well, she did this." He nodded at the gash Chiron was now stitching up, "Leo's fine, but he's been beating himself up about it."

Eb nodded, "Oh." The action of moving her head up and down increased her headache.

Gael moved in, "You should rest up some more. That was a bad blow to the head."

The blonde nodded, "Yeah, rest up. Maybe after we're both better we could train or go find a monster to kill in the woods or...whatever friends here do."

Ebony smiled, "Sounds like a plan." The last word came out as yawn as she put her head back against the pillow again.