It's a biting kind of cold in pre-dawn Jackson. Ellie adjusts her gloves. Sky looks clear at least, bright gold-orange of impending sunrise. She sees her leaning up against the rail, watching the kids in the playground throw snowballs at each other.
Ellie's stomach twists. She's not sure she's ready for this… but there's no chickening out now. The snow crunches under her feet and the girl turns at the sound.
Maedlyn's just as cute bunched in a fur hat and covered in heavy winter clothes. "Ready to give 'em Hell, sugar?"
Before Ellie can respond, she sees a shadow in the corner of her eye.
"Ellie?" The gravelly voice shakes Ellie. There's a tremor through the ground. The kids are gone.
Joel walks around the jungle gym in the green button up he had in Pittsburgh, looking sheepish. "Uh… So is she, like, your… girlfriend?"
Ellie's breathing is quickening. Maedlyn's still staring, smile unchanged. Ellie sees something in the corner of her eye. A muscular woman a blonde braid and no face advances on Joel from behind with a golf club.
"Joel!" Ellie shrieks. Then the club breaks skull.
When Ellie wakes up, she's not breathing. She lets it rattle out of her. The dream is pressing on her like it wants to smother her.
No… please just let me be…
Joel's face keeps appearing in her mind.
Later, please…
After a couple minutes it subsides. Sometime after that, she opens her eyes.
Everything around her is light and color. There is a ray of golden sunlight on the white, wood panel wall of the room. She lifts her head. There's an embroidered rooster above the stove. She lays back into the pillow. The air is cold, but she's completely warm under a thick comforter. And there's a source of heat in bed with her.
She moves her right hand an inch and encounters Maedlyn's bare hip. She smiles involuntarily, but she's still, not wanting to wake her.
It's late enough that Jackson should be up and at it, but it's quiet in this neighborhood for now. It's even more peaceful than waking up alone to the dawning weald. She wants it to go on forever. On the other hand…
She rolls her head over and is greeted by the explosion of Maedlyn's bright red hair pouring across her pillow. A sliver of pale, freckled shoulder is visible underneath it. The effect is so strong on Ellie that she looks away, smiling so big she starts laughing.
She hears a rustling and Maedlyn turns around and looks at her, lucid eyes suggesting she's been awake for a few moments at least. The lower half of her face is covered by her hair, probably on purpose. Does the act ever end? Ellie smirks. Starting to seem like it's on all the time.
"Something funny?" Maedlyn asks.
"You."
Her eyes widen. "Oh yeah? Well is this funny?" Maedlyn rises up, throws the covers off of both of them and straddles Ellie, giving her a look that just about stops her heart.
Ellie swallows. "No, that right there is dead serious."
Maedlyn smirks. She's blushing too, though. "You know Ellie, I'm not actually that easy…" She looks at her suspiciously. "I'm beginning to think I might be the victim of your wonton charms."
"Bullshit! You freaking ran the show yesterday."
"Did I? Maybe, right up until we were naked."
Ellie starts giggling, then Maedlyn starts giggling, then they giggle harder at themselves.
"We should—" Maedlyn starts, then there's a sharp knock at the door. Not a neighborly knock, either. It sounds authoritative. Maedlyn spins, shoulders hunched like she's about to get in trouble.
"Shoot, let me get that." She looks at Ellie. "You might want to cover up." She gets up and quickly dons a holey robe, to Ellie's great disappointment. Jeez, I guess a better robe can be my next present. There's another knock. "Coming!" Then, to Ellie's surprise, she stops in front of the mirror and expertly ties up her hair again, to her further disappointment. Then she stops to kick the heater back on.
When Maedlyn opens the door, Ellie is nonplussed to see Edna's stony face.
"Maedlyn," Edna addresses her in monotone, immediately looking over her shoulder. "Ellie."
Ellie is just propped up on her elbows, chest barely covered, mouth open. "Are you fucking kidding me?"
"Afraid not. Maria wants to see you." Edna's fully dressed in her typical vest, trousers and brown leather trench.
Maedlyn turns and looks at her, eyes wide, far too amused. "Wow. Real celebrity, huh?"
"Maedlyn," says Edna.
"Can I have five fucking minutes, please?" says Ellie.
"That you can, but if you try and sneak out, I'm liable to be cross." Without further address, Edna turns and crosses her massive arms, weathered coat rustling.
"She'll be right out, Edna." Maedlyn closes the door. She starts closed-mouth laughing at Ellie like they should both find it funny. "What did you do?"
Ellie lets out a breath. "I left." She throws off the blanket and puts her feet on the cold wood floor. "I mean, I would have fucking come to see her today anyway." She pulls her jeans on. "Like this?"
When she looks, Maedlyn is watching her shamelessly. Maedlyn bits her lip mischievously.
"You're enjoying this way too much," says Ellie.
"Oh? Does it make it any better if I admit it?"
"Not really." Ellie binds her belt and pulls her shirts on, one after the other. She looks. Maedlyn is still watching. Ellie finds it exceedingly difficult to be mad at that face. "Thank you," Ellie says. For some reason, that makes Maedlyn's act slip again, smile fading. "For putting me up last night."
"You need all the fingers you got left."
Ellie glances. If there's double meaning there Maedlyn doesn't give it away. She shoulders her pack. "Well. Edna's waiting."
Maedlyn considers her for a moment before sauntering over, ending with her arms pressed against Ellie's chest. She's real close, looking Ellie right in the eye. Ellie feels her heart quickening again. "Now, that's not gonna be a one time thing, is it?"
Ellie's afraid to speak, but she keeps up her confident face and shakes her head.
"That's good, because if it were, I'm liable to be cross…" She closes her eyes and leans in. Ellie can feel her warm, soft breath on her lips, but… nothing happens. She opens her eyes to see Maedlyn smiling and leaning away. She walks back over and starts making her bed.
"Are you…?"
Maedlyn shoots Ellie another maddening smile. "Time to go, sugar."
Lousy as the situation is, Edna is not the type to rub it in. She doesn't even turn when Ellie walks onto the landing, just starts walking down steps. Ellie sighs and follows.
"So why did Maria send you? Thought I might resist?"
"Because I'm prudent."
Ellie waits, but Edna's not one for much elaboration. "Okay."
"For your information, we have standing orders to report immediately if we ever spot you. But to keep it quiet."
Edna's head of the guard, so Ellie knows that's who she means by 'we.' "Maria knows me well."
"That she does."
"You didn't get me last time, though."
There's a rare, bitter twist to Edna's lips. "That we didn't."
"How did you know where to find me?" She doesn't say Dinesh's name, in case he hasn't been implicated.
"Word."
Ellie frowns, looking at the packed dirt they were treading. "Really?"
"Just one night, hm?" Edna gives her a glance.
Ellie is taken aback, then indignant. She is about to defend her privacy when Edna kills the subject.
"You're not in trouble. Not really. But you probably already know that."
Ellie's mouth twists. "Depends on how you define trouble."
"Not in trouble with Maria, maybe I should say."
"How much do you know about my affairs, Edna?"
"Little."
They were crossing Fother Square, to the broad, red bricked Hensley Trading Company, from which Jackson is effectively ruled. The sky is a beautiful cobalt, the sun a burning white disk already climbing up it. It was probably 8:30 already. Ellie hasn't slept in this late in ages. Probably largely on account of Maedlyn's unbelievably comfortable bed. And how late they were up.
Ellie had ditched her ratty hoody in a trash can last night. Now she's catching quite a few looks, but no interruptions. A benefit to being briskly escorted by Edna.
They walk in the open double doors, past the desks of Jackson's adjudicators, now numbering four, apparently. After passing through the small warehouse, where arms and other strategically critical goods are stored, they climb the spiral staircase to Maria's office.
Edna leaves her at the doorstep. She offers a terse farewell, but when Ellie turns she feels her hand on her shoulder. Edna's sky blue eyes could be quite icy. But not right now.
"Good seeing you around here, Ellie. Like to see it a lot more."
Before Ellie can think to respond, Edna starts thumping her way down the stairs. Ellie turns and pushes Maria's door open.
Maria's looking out the wide window over town, wearing grey pants and her favorite off-white coat. Her blonde hair keeps getting whiter. She turns and smiles right away upon seeing Ellie. "Hey there, El."
No matter what kind of trouble she got in, Ellie just about always found a welcoming smile waiting for her on Maria's face.
"Not even gonna act like I'm in the shit?"
Maria walks over and searches Ellie's face. She even brings a hand up to her cheek, studying. "Ellie, I have a feeling you've been punishing yourself plenty."
That touches a little deeper than Ellie wanted, and her eyes drift to Maria's carpet.
"So what's the word, kid?"
"What do you mean?"
"Did you get her?"
"Oh." Ellie didn't expect the question because she knew Maria never cared much about vengeance. It was never personal for her like it was personal for Tommy and Ellie. But she wasn't asking for her own sake. Ellie sucks in a breath. "Maria, do you want me to be honest with you? I'm asking because I don't think I can be honest with Tommy and I know you—"
Maria just shakes her head. "Why don't you just tell me, Ellie."
Another rattling breath makes its way out of Ellie. "I found Abby. Again. It was… ugly. There was a gang down in Santa Barbara. She got picked up. Jailed for months. I wasn't gonna let anything stop me so I went in there to bust her out. There was… a lot of fighting. It was a mess. I went down to the beach. It was foggy. There were these… pillars, they called them. Where they put people they really hated, to die. Arms hanging up here." Ellie's eyes are far away but she shows Maria the position. "I was standing underneath her. We saw each other. I was as surprised as she was.
"She was almost dead. She was probably half the weight she was in Seattle. Her face didn't even look the same. Her eyes…" Horror tinged Ellie's features. "I cut her down. She cut the kid down. We stumbled down to some motorboats. She went to leave, but I…" A sick expression catches Ellie's face. "I made her fight me. I was drowning her. Then I saw…" Her mouth screws up. She can't say that. "Then I saw it wasn't gonna be worth it and I let her go. She watched me the whole time as she boated off into the fog. I wonder what she was thinking."
Finally Ellie comes back to herself. Her cheeks are wet. Shit, what happened? "I'm sorry, Maria, I don't know why I went on like that."
Maria doesn't say anything, she cups Ellie's cheek again, pulls her in and gives her a long kiss on the forehead.
"You told me that because you needed to, Ellie. A person shouldn't hold something like that inside themselves."
Feeling small, Ellie nods eagerly.
"Been thinking about going after her again?"
Ellie recoils. "What? No, God no, Maria. I—"
Maria waves it off. "Just checking. So what's next?"
Ellie hastily wipes her tears away. She knows Maria wants her to say Jackson. "Well… It's nice to be back in town. I ran into Dinesh yesterday… Lot of new faces around too. There are some people I have to go see, you know that. After that… I've got a new mission. A more important one."
"Care to fill me in?" If Maria is disappointed, she doesn't show it. She has her stoic leader face on.
Ellie's not gonna go around telling everyone, but it's the least she could do for Maria. She tells her, even walks her through how she got to where she's at.
Maria listens patiently. "Yeah," she starts, then lets out a kind of bitter burst of air, "pretty hard to argue with that." Walking back around her desk, Maria pulls open a drawer which Ellie happens to know is generally occupied by a bottle. She kicks it shut again. "Alright, Pumpkin, if you plan on launching a mission like that from this settlement, I'm afraid I'm going to have to saddle you with a demand."
She called her Pumpkin? That's what Maria would call her when she first came to Jackson and she wanted to rile her up. She must be mad…
Ellie blinks. "Wait, a demand?"
Maria sits in her high-backed wooden chair and crosses her arms. "You need to take someone with you."
Ellie's initial urge to argue peters out. She frowns, eyes closed, trying to figure how to come back.
"Maria… Here's the thing. Up in Seattle, I had Dina, and after that Jesse. But the work I was doing… that was for me to do alone. I just spent the last ten months out there alone, and I avoided almost all the trouble I came across."
"Meaning?"
"If I go out there," she points, "with someone on my heels, I have a feeling we'll both be less safe than if I'm by myself."
Watching her, Maria nods. "And what happens when you fall down somewhere and break your leg? When someone does sneak up on you and clubs you out? You just die? And it's all over?"
Ellie grimaces. "Maria, I really don't think you understand how careful I am."
"Do you realize how much you sound like Tommy right now?" Maria asks.
Ellie doesn't like that at all. She frowns.
"Listen, Ellie," Maria scoots her chair back and starts walking around the desk toward her. "I really don't think it's a good thing, spending that kind of time, in this kind of world, by yourself. Based on what I've seen… Do you know what I'm afraid of you losing out there? Other than your life?"
Maria's arms are still crossed. Her wrinkled brow feels motherly, not that Ellie would know from experience. Ellie shakes her head.
"Your humanity."
Ellie rocks back on her heels. Pulses start emanating from her chest and her minds starts to spin again. In the space of three seconds her breaths double in speed. She clenches her fist.
"Fuck you." She has never said that to Maria before.
"Please say yes, Ellie."
Ellie looks straight down at the carpet. It's one of those big, eastern ones with all the swirls and patterns. She's feeling dizzy.
"Ellie?" The concern is easy to hear.
Ellie pushes all of it down, looking Maria in the eye. "Maria, who would want to?"
Maria thinks about it, but doesn't say anything. She looks at Ellie and tilts her head.
What the hell does that mean? "Do you have like a list or something?"
"Nope," Maria leans on her desk, "but it's Wednesday, so you can find him down at the mess hall at about noon, making a waffle sandwich."
What? Him? Waffle sandwich?
"I trust you'll consider him thoroughly."
Ellie's not used to conversations with Maria having this kind of weight. She nods. "Oh, I'll consider." She turns to leave.
"And Ellie?"
Their eyes meet again.
"I love you, girl. And I'm not the only one. Don't forget."
Ellie feels small again, all the sudden. How does Maria do that? She knows she's blushing, but she meets the older woman's eyes and nods.
Clint looks his sandwich over. Now, they hadn't had Vern's actual breakfast sausage but they did have ground Elk patties. And Maple syrup, which was the real key. Bacon would have been perfect, but…
Jean was disgusted when he put the pickles on. He thought they all knew by now.
"Jean someday you're gonna open your eyes and see the light."
"More like open my throat and huck it up."
He liked Jean, she was alright. Kind of a dick back in school though.
He took his first bite. Lot of waffle, hunk of patty, corner of a pickle, and that blessed, blessed Maple syrup to bring it together. He'd give it an 8/10. He's about to try again when someone plunks down across from him.
For a second he's taken aback. Half the person sitting across from him is a stranger, and half of her is someone he never thought he'd see again.
"Holy shit, Ellie?"
She looks almost… dissatisfied with him for a second, then she smirks.
"In the flesh."
She has a waffle sandwich in front of her. Looked similar to his, except a little of Olmwood's funky cheddar and no pickles. 7/10 maybe.
"Am I gonna regret this?" she asks him.
The sandwich. He cocks an eyebrow. "Doubtful, but there's no accounting for taste."
She snorts and takes a bite. She thinks for a minute then starts nodding. "Not bad. Someone needs to ask Olmwood what he puts in this cheese, though."
He chuckles. Then drops his sandwich. "Okay Ellie, what the fuck is going on here? How long have you been in town? Why are you talking to me? Do you even know my name? Does Dina know you're in town? Cause I'm not getting in trouble with her—"
Ellie shakes her head. Maybe he shouldn't have gone there. He's totally off guard, he doesn't like it.
"I'm just eating my sandwich dude, be cool."
Okay, so bullshit. Great. Well, if she wants something, she can ask for it. He takes another bite. Pickle's cut too thick, 5/10.
"I've heard you're doing well on Patrols," says Ellie.
He considers her. "Had a good amount of practice."
"I heard you've been taking extra shifts like every week." Ellie chews. He can tell she's really enjoying it. "Got nothing better to do?"
His brow pinches for a second. What, she fucking checking in on him now? "I like my job, and I'm good at it. Make good way around here. I don't need much, alright?"
For some reason Ellie nods subtly at that. "Saving up for anything?"
"Reginald's got a real nice Remington on display I've had my eye on."
Her eyes light up. "Oh, that thing's been there forever! You have been saving up."
The cafeteria's pretty full, between Patrol shifts. Their table's only big enough for the two of them. That's why Clint picked it. He's social on Patrol, but he likes to eat alone. Typical cafeteria chatter, no one should be able to overhear them.
"Ellie, what the hell is this? You've literally spoken to me twice before. And now you come back after over a year? Trying to ruin my sandwich?"
She chuckles and glances at it. "Dude are those pickles?"
"Ellie—"
"Alright, alright." She's got something in her eye… something mischievous. "Just be cool for now, alright, Clint?"
He scoffs. At least she knew his name. "I guess I'll just have to assume that at the end of this, something is in it for me."
Maddeningly she doesn't respond or meet his eyes, taking a swig of milk.
"How long has it been since you ranged outside?" Ellie asks.
"Thirty minutes."
"No, I mean, since you traveled outside Jackson."
He's surprised at the question. "I guess… not since we moved here. Four years ago." He grimaces. "Different times, then."
She looks him up and down briefly. "Yeah, you were different too."
He beams, a little proud. "Sure was. Had to do what I needed to to protect mom. She didn't like me patrolling at first, but they wanted me. Hugh hooked me up with his weight set, too. What do you think?" He pulls up his right sleeve and flexes his shoulder and bicep.
Ellie looks unimpressed. "I've seen better."
He cocks his head to the side. Is this chick for real? He shakes his head. Something's in it for me, he thinks. Something's in it for me. He takes another bite.
"How many infected you think you've killed?"
He snorts, chewing. "I don't fucking know."
She nods. "How many people?"
That's an ugly question, but she wouldn't ask without a reason. "Seven."
She winces subtly at that. Whether it's because the number was too high, or too low, he's not sure.
"Ellie, my patience does have its limits. And so does lunch. I'm supposed to meet Hugh after this."
Ellie's looking at her plate, but she nods. She licks some syrup off her finger. "Better finish that up, then. I'll walk with you."
The sun is bright overhead, and it's actually starting to make Clint warm. He and Ellie walk down Poulton Street, that cobbled one with all the old shops up the side. Mostly one and two room units, now, with Hugh's at the far end.
Ellie hasn't said too much and Clint isn't inclined to keep asking questions just to be blown off. He keeps eyeballing her as she walks a few feet in front of him. He notices a sort of grace, or maybe more of a slink, here and there. Carefully planned and orchestrated movements. It's subtle, but if you pay attention she's almost swaggering down the street. She looks around a lot too. More than she needs to. Like she's expecting a threat.
He decided pretty early that he wasn't going to let this get weird.
He and just about every other guy in Jackson remember when Ellie was the prettiest girl in town for a long time. Shit, he was fourteen when he first laid eyes on her. She was so distant to everyone, though. Plus her old man was quietly forbidding… And then the possibility of that narrative kind of went out the window when she started dating Dina.
Jesse never gave up though. Clint's not sure who else saw it, but he sure saw it. It was pretty sad to watch. Him chasing after his ex-girlfriend and the girl he really wanted, all the way to Seattle. Then never coming back.
Clint's mouth twists and he looks away. He's kind of mad at Ellie. He doesn't know what she did up in Seattle, but it wasn't good. Then she just ditched Dina and her kid. And the girl who sat at the table across from him today… it's not even the Ellie he remembers.
So who is this Ellie and what does she want?
When he looks back at her she's watching him with a serious expression this time. He looks away, embarrassed.
"We're here," he hears Ellie say.
No they weren't, they were a block from Hugh's. Then he sees her walk into the Court.
The Court is a cracked up old basketball court that they had turned into a part-time training area for hand-to-hand fighting, when people weren't using it to play the game. Drew, an older patroller who found he prefers training to the elements, sits on his folding metal chair. He has a green tee pulled over a strong upper body, and one of those metal whistles dangling from his neck. A lot of his trainees call him Coach.
Two puberty aged boys are wrestling in one of the circles as Drew watches. They're both totally clumsy, newcomers to Jackson. A much bigger one has the other in sort of chokehold, but he's not applying enough force and the other one keeps threatening to break free, or bring them both stumbling to the padding they've laid out.
"Come one, Chet," Drew barks, "pin him or shove him off you!"
Chet looks much stronger, but he's sweating and Clint can tell how nervous he is. The other boy finally breaks free and shoves Chet, and suddenly they're circling again.
"How'd you like us to give these kiddos a grown-up lesson?"
It's Ellie, and when Drew sees her he can't believe his eyes for a second. "Well you'd have to grow up first!" He laughs loudly and stands up, pulling Ellie in to a big hug. She smiles back, and for a second it is the old Ellie standing in front of Clint.
They catch up for a minute after Drew tells the younger boys to end the embarrassment of a match. More than a few eyes are on Ellie, curious or otherwise. Clint notices some eyes on him, too. He's wearing his patrol gear, and he probably looks the part. These kids are probably wondering when they get gear like that of their own. He gives them a curt nod, but that's all.
"Well, alright, then," Drew agrees. "Y'all have to keep it clean, though. These are innocent eyes." He sweeps his arms around to indicate all the kids present, then finishes by pointing at his own face.
Ellie shoves him. "Yeah, right." She looks at Clint. "Alright, come on then." She walks into the circle.
Clint's careful about his face but his shoulders go tight. What the hell are you doing, Ellie?
She doesn't wait, she takes her place in the circle and drops into a bouncy fighting stance, confident eyes on Clint, hint of a smile on her lips. She's looking forward to this.
This is starting to feel like recruitment. Or scouting or something. What if Ellie's just the messenger? Is Maria eyeing him for something more dangerous than Patrol?
A spasm touches the left side of his face when he thinks of his mom. Ellie notices. He takes his glasses and gives them to Drew. Nearsighted, not a problem in the ring.
Clint walks into the circle but no sooner had he crossed the line than Ellie advances on him.
Kinda cheap, since getting pushed outside the line is automatic defeat. Ellie feints a jab then throws a straight. He deflects with his left and shoves her hard on the chest. She doesn't lose her balance, just returns to her stance on her side of the circle. Her smile has grown.
"Nah, little dirty, she tried to end it early but Clint's no novice. Here, watch kids," Drew is breaking the fight down as it goes. Clint drowns it out.
Alright, he is mad at Ellie, and it's getting easier by the minute. Honestly, though, the last thing he wants to do is deck her in the face. But he won't need to, if he can get an arm around her neck he can tap her out.
At first sight you'd think it was ridiculous, for him to be intimidated, but Ellie had done a lot of hard travel, young. She was known, even years ago, and she's two years his senior. And this is the toughest he's seen her. Forearms like twined wire.
Before she has another chance to make the first move, he closes in and throws several rapid jabs. Honestly, they're not as fast as hers but she can't let herself get hit by them either.
Until she does, a blow he hadn't even intended to land bouncing off her right cheekbone. She uses the proximity to grab his right collar and almost instantly something slams into his right knee. He buckles and rolls to the ground.
"Holy shit!" someone says.
"What just happened?"
"Alright, kids, take it easy. These are pros at work." Drew's voice has changed a little. He had said not to get too rough.
God damn it, Ellie. Clint feels a little of that rage well up in him. Slick move, but if she had hit his knee just a little wrong, she could have seriously injured him. Is that what she wanted him to know?
He's had luck in the past taking something was just used against him and turning it around on someone. He climbs to his feet, returning to stance but advancing on Ellie. He throws a couple half feints neither of them gives a shit about, then Ellie hits him with a real fast straight he doesn't try to dodge. Her eyes open in surprise, but he's already swinging. He plants his fist on the left side of her lips and cheek. She stumbles back and starts laughing almost immediately. Honestly, it's disturbing. Clint could have swung a lot harder, but he knows that one hurt.
Ellie's smiling at him like it's just the two of them in on a joke. He can see some red on her teeth.
He needs to grab her, but she's giving off some dangerous vibes. He would like to avoid her going for his knee again. So he keeps punching.
Ellie is definitely faster, but his wide arms help to deflect her skinny ones. She gets most of her hits in on his lower abdomen, which hurts but is pretty solid. He hasn't been able to hit her in the face again. He was right earlier, there is a subtle grace to her movements. It's serpentine. She writhes around, and when the moment comes, she strikes like a viper. Even on her gut he struggles to get more than a glancing blow.
Finally, she telegraphs long enough for him to grab her right straight with his left hand. She doesn't miss a beat, kicking at his right knee again with her right leg, but that he also suspected and grabs her lower leg. With two secure grips, he's actually strong enough to lift her off the ground. Her limbs resist him, so he does. He's trying to figure out how to turn that into a win when he sees what's about to happen.
"Ellie!" Drew shouts.
Letting him suspend her, she uses all the available muscles in her body to level a savage kick from her left leg toward Clint's temple. He does the only thing he can think of and lets go.
Her kick loses most of its force and bounces off his upper right arm. She lands on her side on the mat, rolling back into a crouch.
The kids are cheering. They have no idea what almost happened.
Clint is just standing there. Ellie gets up, still smiling, eyes locked on his, with the clear message that the fight isn't over.
"That's enough, Ellie!" Drew steps between them. He hands Clint his glasses and traces his lips with his right hand, clearly uneasy. He spouts off some Coach stuff for the kids. "No pin but kicks to the head are foulable and you two act like you wanna fight all day. Fight goes to Clint. Now get out of my circle."
Ellie's still watching him. That smile never left her lips, but it's not hostile, exactly. It's…
This is what I'm good at, Clint thinks. That's what she's feeling. What, was that just for fun then?
"Alright, kids, talk that match over and you better have some coherent points to make about it when I come back." Drew walks over to us. He's not angry, more concerned. "Ellie, I said a good clean match."
Ellie gestures to Clint. "Looks fine to me."
"Why didn't you tell me you were gonna need mouth guards? I thought you were just gonna show off some holds or something. That's how you lose teeth, woman."
"No mouth guards out there," she retorts, pointing over the wall. "Plus." She pulls back her right cheek to reveal two teeth already missing. It makes Clint's stomach drop for some reason.
Drew shakes his head. He looks over his shoulder at Clint. "Young man you better watch yourself around this one. She's acting like certified trouble."
Ellie giggles like it's just a joke, but Clint can tell Drew means it.
After Drew goes back to the kids, Ellie walks over to Clint. She slugs him in the arm.
"Are we done yet, Ellie?"
"That will conclude today's exercises. Honestly, though, you put up a good fight."
"You were gonna kill me at the end there."
Ellie scratches the left side of her head, where most of her hair seems to like to be. "Nah."
"Well, what's my verdict, then?"
She looks him up and down again. "Still in adjudication but I'll tell you you did good today." She turns as if to leave just like that.
"Hold on!"
She half turns.
"How sure are you that this is something I'm really gonna want?"
Ellie thinks, but not for long. "Pretty sure."
Author's note: Thank you to anyone who has gotten this far. Still working on this, and I suspect I'll want to keep working on it for reasons relevant in my life right now. I have more written.
I wanted to post a brief note for those who are concerned. However, I'm so against spoilers, even more so for my own story, that I'm being very careful about it, posting it at the end of this chapter.
I have every intention of respecting Ellie's apparently exclusive attraction to women. So just know that.