Ellie awoke in the medic's bay twenty minutes later with a headache and a mothering Felicity at her side. A groan left her lips as she tried to sit up and failed, leaving Felicity to lend her a helping hand. She supposed that this was what she got for underestimating the enemy.
"I'm sorry!" Felicity cried, cringing and hoping the blonde wouldn't lose her head. She hadn't intended to hit her as hard as she did. She just wanted to win the match. No one wanted scrubbing duty.
"It's okay," Ellie said, lightly lifting a hand to her head. This headache was bigger than Texas. What did Felicity hit her with? A crow bar? "I'll live. I should have given you more credit. You were great out there."
"You're not mad?" Felicity asked cautiously, wetting her lips.
Ellie shook her head and regretted it. "No, you were just completing the task. I guess that means I'm on scrubbing duty."
Felicity nodded, trying to bite back a smile. "Don't worry though. You're not alone. Zeke and Emerald will be with you. Guillermo said he would come around later to show you all where you'll be working."
"How thoughtful of him," Ellie grimaced, scrunching her face up in distaste. She was going to have to put in some extra workout time if she was going to succeed here apparently. She would not find herself scrubbing toilets anymore if she could help it.
Felicity nodded, pulling a lip between her teeth before a realization crossed her features. "Lady Mirabelle said you could leave when you woke up."
"Who's Lady Mirabelle?" Ellie asked, slowly moving her legs over the side of the bed.
"The medic," Felicity answered, standing from her seat beside of the bed and straightening her uniform. "Healer Weston would have been here to completely heal you, but she had a situation to deal with. She'll be by as soon as she can to check you out."
Ellie groaned and walked to the door, a frown pulling at her lips. "She's going to be utterly disappointed in me."
"You know her personally?" Felicity asked as they took to the hallway.
"Yeah, she's practically my grandma," Ellie said, a smile working its way to her lips. "That feisty, old woman has helped me through more than anyone will ever know. She always keeps me on my toes, and you know, makes sure I don't die before my time."
"She sounds fun," Felicity chuckled, bumping into the blonde's shoulder. "So... want to hit up the cafeteria? I'm starving."
Ellie's stomach grumbled, causing both of the girls to laugh. "Lunch sounds like a great plan."
The trip to the cafeteria was filled with laughter that Ellie desperately needed. Felicity was becoming a great friend. She was fierce and kind, and she was exactly what Ellie needed in her life. She made it easier to forget that she had been abandoned once again.
"How do you think the next lesson will go?" Felicity asked, pulling a hamburger to her tray where a mountain of French fries were already waiting.
Ellie shrugged and grabbed a piece of pizza from the line. "Who knows. There's a lot to cover. It could be anything from weaponry or strategy to our using our gifts or the supernatural in general."
"True," Felicity agreed, grabbing a water and exiting the line. She paused and looked around the cafeteria. There were many emissaries enjoying their lunch, talking and laughing. She was just unsure as to where to sit. She supposed the two of them could sit at one of the empty tables, but the thought of that guy Ellie knew continued to interfere with those thoughts.
"Do you want to sit with him?" Ellie asked, coming to a stand still beside of her friend. She wasn't completely fond of the idea of spending time with Garrison, but if Felicity wanted to she would. She supposed she should make some friends while here. It was better to have allies than enemies after all.
"Not if you don't want to," Felicity shook her head, wetting her lips. She didn't want to pressure her new friends into anything. She seemed like the type to keep to herself.
Ellie nodded and began walking, "Okay."
Felicity followed the girl, unsure of whether she would sit with the older emissary or not. When the duo came up to a table full of people she didn't know, she received her answer.
Ellie sat her tray on the table and took a seat at one of the three empty chairs across from Garrison who held a lopsided grin on his face. Felicity quickly sat by her and hoped for the best.
"I didn't think you'd actually join us," he said, toying with the lid on his water bottle.
"I didn't either," she said, pulling her pizza to her lips and savoring the cheesiness.
"I'm glad you did, and you brought Felicity," he said, eyeing the girl in front of him. "It's nice to meet you."
"Likewise," the brunette said, smiling widely at him.
"How are you two enjoying your first day?" he asked, his smile turning into a smirk. "I heard that you didn't last very long in combat training. I can't say I'm surprised though. You're not everything they make you out to be."
Ellie frowned, unsure of whether she was liking this conversation or not. Was that meant to be an insult?
Felicity, noticing her friend's change in countenance, answered for her. "To be fair, she couldn't exactly see me or hear my thoughts. It's not the easiest feat."
"Or she went easy on you," Garrison suggested, taking a sip of his water. "With a number that high above her head, the only way you're alive is because she took it easy on you."
Felicity furrowed her eyebrows and looked to her friend who refused to meet anyone's eyes. Had Ellie taken it easy on her? Had she thrown the match? If she had, why would she do that?
"I didn't throw the match, Felicity," Ellie said, wishing Garrison would just shut up. "I couldn't see you, and my senses are off..."
"Oh," she said, nibbling on a fry. She wasn't quite sure if Ellie was being honest, but she would give her new friend the benefit of the doubt. She needed friends if she was going to make it through these three months. "Okay. Well, I hope you're feeling better for next time. I want a fair fight."
Ellie tried to bite back a grin, but nodded. She would give Felicity a fair fight if it killed her. "You're on Evergreen."
"That's the spirit of competition I like to see when we bring in the newbies," a voice to the left of Ellie said before sitting in the seat beside of her.
Ellie looked to her left, seeing Dawson Knight had taken the seat beside of her. He offered her a bright smile as he said, "Hello, Eleanor."
"Hi," she said softly, her heart quickening a beat before she turned back to her tray. She released a long huff of air, not understanding why she couldn't breathe properly. Maybe it was his close proximity, or maybe it was the fact he looked so much like Jesse. Whatever it was, it wasn't normal for her.
Garrison wiggled his eyebrows at Felicity after seeing the short interaction between the two, but Felicity's attention was elsewhere causing Garrison to scoff. Of course, she would find the only outcast in the facility. It didn't matter if the lonely boy across the cafeteria held the name of one of the most powerful emissaries to ever exist, he was nothing but a troublemaker who's first pack died under his watch. "There's nothing to see over there, Felicity."
His statement caught the attention of not only Felicity, but of Ellie and Dawson.
Ellie pulled her eyes to the boy sitting by himself on the other side of the cafeteria. He had short, disheveled, curly, sandy hair similar to hers before Allison showed her a few tricks to keeping it tamed. His blue eyes were stormy and full of what Ellie could only deem anger, and she felt that even though she didn't know this person that she could relate to him. "Who is he?"
"That's Harmon Cartwright," Dawson said, watching the blonde beside of him furrow her eyebrows. He could almost see the wheels turning as she tried to place the identity of the lone emissary. "He's been here his whole life, with the exception of a few years in the field."
"You said Cartwright?" she asked, casting her gaze to the dark haired emissary on her left.
"Yeah," he said, well aware she was catching on. Honestly, he was surprised it took as long as it did, but she was still just a teenager. They didn't always use the full extent of their brains. "I did. Do you recognize it?"
Ellie nodded, her eyes focusing back on Harmon who was now looking back at her with amusement in his eyes and a smirk on his lips. "It's very familiar."
Dawson nodded, a small smile tugging his lips. Everything was going to plan. They wouldn't have long to wait now that she had noticed Harmon. She just needed a shove in the right direction, and he knew just the person to do it.