AN: Sorry about the delay. I've had writer's block and finally got some stuff done. I'm also going to try to get the next couple of chapters out ASAP because cliffhangers. I'm really sorry, but it can't be avoided.
When Katt woke up the next morning, she was expecting a slightly calmer day. Sadly, the 'luck' that she had been having the last couple of days had run out. Her busy day had left her exhausted and she was going to have to do even more today. She rolled over and pressed her face into her pillow. She couldn't wait to get out of her warm and cozy bed and confront the cold, cruel world. She yawned. She would be ready to get up. In a little bit.
Katt was gently shaken awake by Ronan. She mumbled something incoherent before finally getting up. "She lives!" Ronan cried, joking about Katt's early morning zombie-ness. A few moments later, she was sitting at one of the tables in the dining pavilion, staring straight ahead. Once again, she mumbled something incoherent and fell was only Ronan's speedy intervention that kept her from landing face-first in her eggs. Katt managed to swallow a couple of bites before they all staggered away from the table.
Katt showed up for her daily sword fighting lesson with dark circled underneath her eyes. She normally didn't work this hard every day and was exhausted after yesterday's Ichor fiasco. It didn't help that the grey haired girl had shown up and half the camp had stayed up all night waiting for news. All Katt had heard was that the ambrosia seemed to be helping. Nico watched Katt carefully as she approached, his Stygian iron sword hung at his side. Katt retrieved her weapon. Nico didn't trust her to carry a blade at all times, a decision justified by Katt's inexperience and constant exhaustion.
Nico held up his sword as Katt walked toward him. She lifted her own sword, feeling more alive with the simple act of holding a weapon. For the first time in a long while, she felt like a real demigod. Nico carefully readjusted her grip, which had slackened in the chaos of the past 24 hours. He then gripped his own sword and began to show Katt one of the easier thrusts.
By the end of the lesson, Katt was able to hold her ground against Nico, though she suspected that he was going easy on her. Katt sat down on a bench next to Nico, panting. Nico opened his mouth to speak. "You know." he said, passing Katt a water bottle. "You should try dumping some water on your head. If you're anything like Percy, it'll help." Katt took the water bottle, giving Nico the smallest of smiles. She got up, dumping the water on her head as Nico had suggested. Immediately, she felt a surge of energy. She turned to Nico. "Thanks." Nico gave a half smile. "No problem." Katt turned back around and headed for the canoe launch.
When Katt got to the lake, Percy was already waiting for her. She supposed that this was going to become a theme. Percy threw away the canoe paddles that he had been holding. "I was thinking that maybe today we could see the extent of the powers you got from Poseidon. Maybe we could see if you can breathe underwater? If you can, we could check out whats going on in the forest." Katt stared at Percy for a few moments before slowly nodding. Percy clapped his hands. "Great! After you." He stepped aside to let Katt through to the water. She waded in deeper and deeper until she could no longer be seen, Percy following close behind.
Underneath the water, it was like a whole other world. Katt couldn't help herself. She inhaled, expecting to drown, but to her surprise, she found that she could breathe perfectly. Percy swam next to her. "Cool, huh?" he said, blowing a stream of bubbles into Katt's face. Katt took a deep breath, blowing a large bubble and letting it rise to the surface. She found herself smiling. If she had known that she could do this, she would have gone swimming a lot more often. "Come on." Percy hissed and the two of them took off through the murky water.
Over by the forest, the water had an oily feel to it and Katt was glad that it (probably) wouldn't stick to her clothes. Percy started for the surface with Katt following close behind. They broke the surface using a patch of lillypads as a perfect disguise. Katt and Percy peered out from beneath them. The forest was dark and foreboding, dark shapes moving between the trees. She could see a hole in the side of a small hill a few feet from the lake. The darkness of the forest lit up with a brilliant green light. Katt looked over at Percy who was fingering riptide. He motioned for them to leave and the two of them silently swam away.
Percy and Katt dragged themselves back onshore near the old canoe, stunned by what they had just seen. The woods were supposed to have wards against monsters that had not been summoned by one of the campers, but there definitely seemed to be something in the woods. "We should get back to camp." Percy said. "Chiron will want to know about this."
Katt and Percy ran back to the big house. Chiron was standing in front of the structure, talking to two overly excited Apollo campers. As they approached, they heard snippets of the conversation. "She's waking up." one of the Apollo kids explained. Chiron looked up and saw Percy and Katt. They stood panting for a second. Then Katt took a deep breath and began to speak. "Percy and I." she gasped. "Went out. To the forest. Green light. Probably monsters."
Chiron thought about this news for a moment. "Maybe whatever you saw in the woods is what injured our mystery girl. We should wait until she wakes completely." Percy smiled. "So she's waking up then?" he asked. Chiron nodded. Percy took off toward the big house. Katt sighed and ran after him.
Inside the big house, Angel lay on a table, still in bandages tinged with red blood. Her chest rose and fell with a slow, steady rhythm. Her eyes were open and she was staring around the room. When Percy came around the corner, she focused on him. "Who are you and where am I?"she demanded, slowly pushing herself up into a sitting position. She grimaced in pain as the bandages rubbed against her burns but didn't back down. "My name is Percy Jackson." Percy replied. "You're at Camp Half-Blood. We took care of you after..." His eyes flickered to her burns. Angel nodded. "Maybe one of you should ask the healers if they noticed anything... odd." Percy and Katt exchanged a glance and Katt left the room to go talk to the Apollo kids.
Percy knelt beside Angel. "Listen." he said. "It's OK. I'm not going to hurt you. You can lie back down if you want." Angel relaxed but did not lie down. Percy tried to talk to her in the most soothing voice possible. "All I want to know is what hurt you in the woods." Angel smiled coldly. "One, I'm not a child. Don't talk to me like I am. Two, you want to know what attacked me? It was the daleks."
Katt walked up to the Apollo cabin. None of the campers were outside. She knocked on the door and it was answered by a weary Will. "Wass uh matter." he mumbled. "Your patient in the big house has woken up. She told me to ask you if you had found anything odd." Will woke up with a jolt. "I suppose I should have told you earlier." he sighed. "I don't know what that girl is, but she's definitely not a demigod. We examined her, and Katt, she has two hearts.