5. Ripples
When she dipped her toes in the water it made ripples. Growing bigger, bigger, bigger until they faded out to be a calm, serene surface once again.
It was funny, Reyna reflected later, how something so small could make such a big impact.
Like Leo, she thought with a fond smile. It wasn't until the actual battle with Gaea and her giants in Greece that Reyna really took an interest in him.
It had been awful, scary as Hades. Reyna had smelt blood, had practically tasted it, and everywhere she had looked there were bodies covered in gold power, yells and screams and…
…it had been pure chaos. Terror in its simplest form. Bloody and messy the battle had not been a quick and clean one. It had been worse than storming the Titan's palace of power last August.
So much worse.
Reyna had been distracted, fighting several hellhounds at once, when she had felt it. Or rather, heard it.
A thump, right behind her. When she had slashed the final hellhound and turned around she found herself staring at the golden remains of a monster- a dracanae, she learned later, and it's shield right behind her which had fallen and made the thump.
Standing there, in front of her, covered in dirt, sweat, blood and monster dust had been Leo. Eyes wide, breathing hard, an absolutely feral look in his eyes.
Reyna had stared at him wide eyed. She had barely spoken a word to the son of Hephaestus and now he had just saved her life.
She had stood and stared at him; he had stared right back.
And then, without a word, he had left, moving on to fight some other monster without so much as a 'you're welcome.'
After the battle Reyna had looked across the field and, as if sensing her gaze, Leo had turned abruptly and met her eyes.
He had smiled at her.
Ever since then she had been trying to find the right time to actually thank him. So far it hadn't worked out. Every time she saw him he was surrounded by people- worshipped, as a hero. He was a part of the Seven, a celebrity now.
Here, at Camp Half-Blood, sitting on the dock dipping her toes into the canoe lake, Reyna was calm.
Until now.
"-Que sepa coser,
Que sepa planchar
Que sepa abrir la puerta
Para ir a jugar- Oh." Leo's voice trailed off from it's quiet singing when Reyna turned her head and met his eyes.
He was blushing, she saw.
"I didn't think anybody would be here." Leo said hesitatingly. "There's a feast going on you know."
Reyna nodded. "I know."
He took her in, how she was sitting alone on the dock, and as if expecting her to say no he offered, "want some company?"
She watched him before nodding.
He sat.
"What were you singing?" She asked him after a few seconds silence. They were both staring out to the water, not meeting each other's eyes.
He blushed darker. "A… lullaby. My mom used to sing it to me when I was little. It's called Rice Pudding."
Reyna looked over to him, eyebrow raised. "Rice Pudding?"
"Yeah," he looked sheepish. "It was my favourite."
"Huh," Reyna thought that over. "Where is your mom?"
"She died," Leo said. "When I was little."
"My dad did too," Reyna said.
Leo looked over at her. "It sucks right?"
She nodded. "Yeah," she replied quietly.
They didn't say anything else. Until.
"Thank you," she said. "For… what you did."
When he nodded beside her she knew he understood.
oooOOOooo
"-Que sepa coser,
Que sepa planchar
Que sepa abrir la puerta
Para ir a jugar"
Translates as:
Who knows how to sew,
Who knows how to iron,
Who knows how to open the door
To go out to play.