I am writing this now because not so long ago, I had a near-death experience and with the activities that I am involved with, it really hit me that I won’t be here forever, and there are a few things I’d like to pass on.
Firstly, I would like to pass on my dog, Arrow, to my sister, Maia Cruz. He’s house trained now and I truly feel that she will be able to look after him and that he’ll be there for her when I can not.
My gladius, which is similar to cupids arrow in the sense that it can make whoever is injured by it, feel the emotion that it has been infused with, is to be given to Kolina Valla, the only other person who can match me when it comes to love magic.
I leave my countless suits to Scheherazade Goldsbourne. They might not fit and would need some tailoring, but at least he can look smart forever.
I leave my dagger to Cat Karavadra, one of the people I would truly trust with my life. I know she has countless weapons, but perhaps she could keep this one for sentimental values.
To Sebastian Dominique, I leave my arrow tips that are infused with love potion. I hope that he uses them wisely.
And lastly, I hand over my business to Elara Bloom. She knows about the business and can find the bank account details and documents required to change the owner of the account can be found in this envelope. I hope that she keeps it running and uses the money wisely for those in need.
In this envelope, you will also find a recommendation letter for Tayla Knight. In the events that she is still not allowed in the legion, I highly request that she is pardoned and allowed back in. The letter holds the reasons as to why I think she makes an outstanding legionnaire. The letter also discusses why she would make a good Centurion.
I ask that the Senate please ensures that the people mentioned in this letter will receive what I have left for them. Anything else can be sold and merged into Maia Cruz’s account.
I’m not sure if we will ever see each other again and I fear that this is perhaps the only time I will be able to send my regards to you. It is not much as I am desperate to pack and leave before things take a turn for the worst. I am no longer welcome here in New Rome, but I hope not to leave without remaining welcome in your thoughts.
In the haste of my accusations to you, I pointed fingers without explaining why and for that, as well as the cruelty of my actions, I am terribly sorry. I know that apologies are never quite enough.
I didn’t want it to be you. I couldn’t bear to think that the man whom I am sure now that I love would act in such betrayal so I came to you to absolve you. I never wanted you to feel like a monster and even more, I should have never put such a heavy strain on a ship that was already on rocky waters.
With that said, I urge you to exercise caution there. Something is not right in New Rome and I’m not sure what it is, but the intentions of this faceless evil may not rest with just the destruction of the Greeks. Trust sparingly.
Should you ever need to reach me, dream.
- Forever yours,
Scheherazade Goldsbourne
Callum approached his Cohort room in a rush, he had to quickly gear up and meet his Cohort before something went down and he wasn’t there to help them. As he opened his door, he saw the letter at his feet. It was in a pristine envelope and had his name scrawled on the top. It didn’t seem like an official letter. He sighed as he picked it up and placed it on his dresser. He’d have to read it when he got back from the Armoury.
Kolina get’s arrested. Callum tries to save her .Cat finds out.
It was the right decision to take a stand against the Senate finally, it was the right decision to take the fall for it. Adriana was someone with sway, a family name and a reputation, the fourth needed a centurion like that. It had made the decision easy for Lina. Refusing to send the fourth to their position had been both the Centurions’ resolution, yet Lina had always had a back up plan for when it would go wrong, because it would. Everyone would notice that the fourth wasn’t there and they would send someone to see what the issue was. And they did, they sent Cat. Lina had seen Cat first, the other woman walking with purpose, and when Adriana had began to say they would be arrested together, Lina couldn’t have that. Their cohort needed to have a centurion with a good head, they needed to have someone leading them, and if Adriana wasn’t going to make the hard decision, Lina would do it for her. So she had sent a sleeping spell in her best friend’s direction. Adriana had gone tumbling down, body suddenly too relaxed to hold her up. It was simplest to say that Lina was arrested for her treason and attack. She had betrayed the Senate and seemingly betrayed Adriana. She hoped people would understand why she did what she did eventually, she hoped they wouldn’t judge her too harshly.
Callum had been aiding his cohort and any other person he found on the streets. Medical attention first and then determine whether they were Greek or not. He was just about to leave the infirmary when he heard two demigods from the fourth whispering. Cat had arrested Lina for not sending out the cohort. Callum couldn’t bare to stand the words that he was hearing. Kolina Valla, Centurion of the Fourth Cohort, arrested. “That’s ridiculous.” It seemed as if the words were directed to the kids, but it was more to himself than anyone else. He had made up his mind before the kids could assure him that it has happened. He headed towards Camp Jupiter HQ, where the holding cells where for criminals. Callum, being a Centurion himself had no issue getting in and having access to the cells. Well, that’s what he thought. The first set of guards let him through without any issues, but the second set stopped him. “Excuse me. Centurion Hayes. Let me through.” Instead, the guards demanded more proof than words. Callum had dropped his helmet somewhere in the field and had used his Centurion cape to wrap up a wound. His eyes flashed pink and the guards opened up on demand. Finally, he found his way to Lina’s cell, a sense of relief spreading inside him to see that she was okay. “Lina! What are you doing here?! I heard rumors and I had to see if they were true or not!”
Lina elbows were on her knees, her hands holding up her face as she stared crossly at the wall of the cell. She hadn’t imagined she’d end up in jail for treason. She knew that her eccentric ways often made people uncomfortable and had assumed that she would potentially get arrested for something random when she was an old woman. This wasn’t what she had in mind. She looked up, startled, when Callum spoke. Shifting on her bed to look over at him, she looked confused,“I guess people found out then.” She shrugged at him,“They’re true. I committed treason and I cast a spell on Adriana. Cat arrested me a while ago.” She glanced at the television that the guard was watching, the news blaring on about the war in New Rome against the Greeks. “How is it outside? Have you seen any of the fourth, are they okay?” Lina couldn’t help but feel like with a war going on they had more than enough reason to kill Lina. She wondered if they Senate would go that far, it would make a huge statement. It would teach those thinking about doing something as she did to do the opposite.
Callum shook his head. It wasn’t right. Arresting Lina at this time. They needed everyone they had. “You saved lives. The armory was blown up. Multiple people were killed. Who knows how many from the fourth would have been hurt if you’d sent them out.” The pain and suffering from the injured had already settled over him, he couldn’t imagine the dreams he’d have for the next year. “Elara and I helped most to safety, It’s… well, it’s a battlefield out there.” He held onto the bars that not only kept Lina in jail, but kept her safe. For now. “This is bullshit. If we start arresting Romans now, there’s no way we’re going to win the war.” He looked over at the TV, and then to the guard, summing up how hard it would be to take him out without causing a scene. It was probably best just to compel him. Compel him. The memory of Kolina and himself having the competition back during the festival appeared in his head now. Things were so much simpler then. “Are you ready to get out of here?” He whispered to her.
Lina’s eyes closed at the mention of the armory, fingers going to the bridge of her nose and pinching slightly. She didn’t want to think of the dead. How many people did she know were now gone? “I didn’t want them to be force to help with this, not when I know they have Greek friends. I wanted to give them an out, a reason to stay back.” She had seen the faces of her legionnaires when they realized they had to help. They were terrified. She had to do something, so she did. She perked up slightly at the sound of her sister’s name,“Elara is safe then?” Lina held her tongue, she wasn’t going to comment on the war. Not when she wasn’t even sure where she stood with it. There were deaths on both sides, no side was innocent. Her brows furrowed,“What do you mean?” She didn’t imagine that Callum was about to help her get out of this, that path would be a long and bumpy one.
“Elara is hurt, but she will be fine.” Callum said, recalling her injuries. He shook his head. “You did something noble. You had the guts that most of us didn’t.” He paused, choosing his words wisely. “I used to hate Greeks. Fuck, I even broke things off with Z just because he was Greek. The hatred sent me into a state that I did not like. I felt like I didn’t know who I was. I was trying to protect the people I love, instead, I was just hurting them instead. I went to see Annabeth about it, and I worked with Maia to forgive the Greeks.” He paused again, “I don’t think they are innocent and I still think that they don’t belong, but they can be trained. I also don’t think that they’re behind this fully. There’s more going on here than both you and I can imagine.” He shook his head, recalling his suspicions about the cult being behind most of this. “So. I’m going to get you out of here. I’ll sneak you into a tunnel and I’ll get you to a safe room.” He had planned to take her to one of his moonshine cellars until he found a better place to help her. “Maybe we can get you to the Greeks, where you belong, but you can’t ask questions until we’re safe.” The guard seemed to becoming irritated by his presence, suspicious of their whisperings. “There’s not much time. I’m doing this. Just agree to trust me.”
Lina’s face saddened at the news that Elara had been hurt, but she couldn’t discount that as a good thing. At least her sister wasn’t dead. “I just had to do what I felt was right, even if it seemed wrong to the Senate. I don’t know if that’s noble.” At his words, Lina felt like she understood him a bit better. He was trying and that mattered, not a lot of people were willing to try. “I have to agree with you on that, I don’t think they are behind all of this. I don’t think they’d risk it all just for vengeance.” She wanted to ask so many questions, she wanted to make sure that he knew what he was doing. Alas, he was right. They didn’t have time, not with a war going on. “I trust you.”
With those three words leaving her mouth, Callum straightened himself up, drawing confidence into his stature. “As the current acting Centurion of the Third Cohort, I order you to unlock this cell now.” He addressed the guard, hoping that he’d follow his orders instead of Callum needing to use his abilities. Instead, the guard just laughed at him, getting to his feet from where he sat and watched tv. This time Callum’s eyes glowed pink, charm speak dancing on the words he spoke next. “Open this cell and hand me the keys. Then act normal until we have left.” The air between Callum and the guard turned electric, and with that, a sort of trance took over the guard, you could see it in his eyes. The man walked over and unlocked the cell that separated Lina from the outside world. As the key turned and the sound of the lock ticked, Callum felt a strange pull on his heart, like heartburn but something much more malevolent. Callum was not only performing an act of treason, he was breaking his oath to Cat Karavadra. An oath he had made of the river Styx. He let out a yelp, more out of shock than pain. “I suggest we hurry.” He said now taking the keys from the guard before turning around and beginning to unlock her cuffs that stopped her from using her powers.
Cat sighed to herself as she watched Callum charm speak the guard into giving him the keys and opening Lina’s cell. Clicking her fingers, she summoned her personal guard of her most trusted and loyal legionnaires, grabbing her guns, she set off down the hall and into the room that held Lina’s cell. There had been no sound, but the images had been enough to tell Cat what Callum was doing. Of all the people to betray her, she’d never expected it to be him. He was bound by an oath after all. Making a sign to stop, Cat looked at her guard and left them outside of the cell before stepping in with both guns drawn, one trained on Kolina and one on Callum. “Enough,” she said finally, “both of you are under arrest, Lina again and Callum for the first time. Don’t move or I will shoot you where you stand.” She sighed gently as her fingers flicked the safety off and she kept both her guns trained on the pair of them. Fear and nerves reared their head in her stomach, but she ignored them, relying on her training.
Lina felt like her heart stopped when she saw Cat. They had been caught and they hadn’t even really started. “Callum, put your hands up, her guns are out,” Her voice was soft and obviously scared. With one hand out of the disabler cuffs, she gently pushed his hands aside, put her hands clearly into the air. The cuffs dangled off her left wrist, but with one of she could feel her magic coming back to her a bit. Having a gun pointed at her was terrifying. Having the person behind the gun be Cat made it even worse. She had seen the other woman’s accuracy, she didn’t need to think about going against what Cat told her, she didn’t want to be at the receiving end of a bullet. “I’m not going to fight or anything.” She told Cat, her eyes wide.
Callum occupied himself with unlocking her disabler cuffs but as the commanding sound of Cat’s voice fill the room, his heart sank. Cat had found out, how? As he stood up, hands in the air, he saw it. There was a security camera in the corner of the room. How could he have been so naive? Callum began to reason with her, “Cat. It’s not how it seems. If we start arresting fellow Roman’s now, there’s no way we’d have a chance! You have too under–” Callum couldn’t finish his sentence before the cell echoed a familiar noise he had heard not to long ago. The noise was that of a bullet being fired from Cat’s gun. He had heard the sound before, when he had used the gun to save Cat’s life down in the pit whilst trying to find out who had poisoned Jax. At first Callum thought Cat had missed. Again, more naivety. Cat never missed. A pool of warmth started to spread across his stomach, his hands moved slowly to the area, scared at what he would find. When his fingers met the warm substance, his head dipped, glancing down at his now crimson stained shirt. There was disbelieve in his eyes when he looked back at Cat. How could she? He dropped to his knees, he felt the energy physically leaving his body. Everything was happening in slow motion, or was that just Callum’s mind trying to savor every moment he had left. “Run!” He screamed at Lina, his eyes pure with energy, “Run to safety!” His whole life force was put into his words, what was left of it anyway, an electric atmosphere buzzing around him. His eyes flickered back to meet Cat’s. He had no words, surely Cat wouldn’t let him bleed to death. Surely. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself rather than telling the truth. Callum Hayes, son of love, fallen to the hands of hate.
Sighing sadly, Cat felt hot tears rush to her eyes as she tugged on the trigger of her revolver. Callum had left her no other choice than to fire on him. Swallowing away the lump that was starting to form in her throat. She had missed. Not completely. But she’d been aiming for Callum’s head. She didn’t know why she tugged her gun down at the last moment, but she regretted it. Killing Callum had been hard enough, but she either had to finish the job off or watch her friend bleed out. “You really shouldn’t of done that Callum,” she said, “I told you not to move, but why did you have to break your word, I told you that I would kill you if you betrayed me. But we could’ve been great, you and I could’ve really brought change.” She felt the tear trickle down her face. “Stay still Lina,” she said, “I don’t want to shoot you too.” Her other gun still leveled at the Centurion of the Fourth. Finger twitching gently on the trigger.
The noise of the gun going off made Lina jump slightly, though she didn’t truly understand what had happened until she saw Callum fall to his knees and looked down to see some of his blood on her front. She started to shake. Callum’s words took over her body, even though he brain screamed at her to not move. With her face melted into a look of pure terror, Lina started to run. “I can’t stop, I don’t know why,” She said, running as fast as she could out of the cell. She was going to die. Cat was going to shoot her. Who was going to tell her dad that she died? She’d never been so scared. Cat was going to shoot her. Lina was going to die. She’d shot Callum and they’d been friends. Lina couldn’t imagine that Cat would hesitate with her, not when they’d been rocky at best. She heard the shot before she felt the impact. Searing pain suddenly met her shoulder, as the bullet impacted her body. She didn’t know that bullet wounds burned until now. It was an indescribable pain. She had never felt a wound like this. She wanted to stop running, she wanted to curl up in a ball and surrender. Her body kept running, though her eyes clouded up with tears.
Tears came to Callum’s eyes as his mind truly caught up with what was happening. “Cat, I’m sorry.” He began, softly, but his tone then surged with anger. “I’m sorry that your views have become so fucked up that you’d kill the guy that saved your life.” He spat. There was no way he was going to die, pleading for his life. He was going to die an honorable death. He’d made terrible mistakes in his life, freeing Lina was not one of them. Terror flooded his system as he heard the gunshot go off, worried that Lina didn’t make it out, but here footsteps echoing down the hall confirmed that she was not dead. Not yet. He stood up off his knees now, coughing blood. He drew his gladius and aimed it at Cat. “Let her go. You’re as bad as your father.”
Sighing gently, Cat rolled her eyes at the self righteous speech that she received from Callum. “Please, you swore an oath to Rome and to me. An oath that you broke. I warned you of the consequences. I’m a woman of honour, a woman of my word.” Shaking her head sadly she took a step forward. “You betrayed me and you’ve betrayed your city by aiding the escape of an arrested centurion.” The irony was that Callum had probably only made the situation worse. Raising her gun, she took a deep breath to steady her aim, and fired, the barrel of her gun aimed at Callum’s head. The gun exploding wildly and the bullet firing towards his head.
There were a few moments of quiet as Lina ran, the pounding of her feet and heart the only things she heard. Blood flowed down her arm, but she couldn’t think of it then. She could think of anything but the image of Callum getting shot. Cat hadn’t hesitated. The only solace Lina had was that it was a shot to his stomach, perhaps that meant he would be able to get help. Cat wouldn’t let him die, right? Her question was answered swiftly when the sound of another gunshot rang off. She felt sick. She wanted to throw up. That had to mean Callum was gone. Why would Cat shoot him twice, if not to kill him? Tears poured down Lina’s face. For the first time in sixteen years, she cried. He had been trying to help her. He had been trying to make up for the wrong he had done. She ran through the sobs that were going through her body. His last command pushing her further than she thought she could make. How could Callum be dead? None of this seemed real anymore. He had just been there. He had been trying to help her and he had saved her. It wasn’t right. Lina wasn’t going to let anyone forget what he had done for her, what he was trying to correct.
Callum watched, teeth clenched as Cat raised the gun to his head. Cat’s words meant nothing to him anymore. The only people he betrayed were –
“I’ve seen three so far, two boys and a girl. I didn’t recognize them though.” Elara almost felt worse about that. That three people were dead and she couldn’t identify them. But among the guilt, she couldn’t stop her heart from also being somewhat relieved in not knowing who had died. She wasn’t sure she could take looking down and finding someone she knew, someone she cared about, laying there.
As far as she could remember Wally was pretty decent with fire magic, and she couldn’t help but think he would have been the ideal one to have around right about now. But she had studied and practiced it as well, and she was fairly confident in her ability to control it. “I can do it. I don’t know if I’ll be able to entirely put them out, but I can make it safe enough for us to be in there.” Nodding, she looked toward the armoury and took a deep breath to steady herself and gather her energy. For all she knew they were about to walk into a death trap, but he was right. If it was going to be anyone it should be them. “I’m ready when you are.”
Callum steadied himself. He still had nightmares about the last time, and here he was, about to run back in. With Elara controlling the flames, he’d have to do all the heavy lifting. Removing his Centurion cape and handing it to someone to use as bandages, he nodded at her as he jogged towards the entrance of the building.
Once inside, the heat was so intense that he could swear he felt his eyebrows singeing off, but he trusted Elara to keep the flames at bay whilst they searched the building. It took him a while, eyes straining through the smoke, the same smoke making it extremely hard to breathe. He was about to turn around when he barely heard the shouts above the flames. He made hand movements to Elara, indicating that there was someone there. He immediately started lifted wood and rumble off of them, heat burning his hands. But he did, with the help of Elara controlling the flames around them. He then put himself under the other's shoulder and began to drag them out of the burning building.
Others had started showing up shortly after the explosion, probably drawn there by the noise and smoke, and Elara immediately set them to work giving an order to help everyone get to the infirmary. It almost felt like the ground was still being rocked by the explosion, or maybe that was just her knees shaking struggling to hold her up. But she pushed on, pulling strength from the knowledge that she couldn’t give up while those around her still needed help.
She crouched to help a legionnaire to their feet, preparing herself for the sting of pain from her back. However when the girl seemed to be much easier to pull up, she looked up and sighed in relief at the sight of Callum. At least now she wouldn’t be trying to organize everyone alone. “The armoury exploded. I’ve been keeping everyone away from it in case of another one, but we need to check for survivors soon.”
Callum instinctively looked back over to the armory that was ablaze, smoke billowing from its windows. Legionnaires had begun to put the flames out, but unlike the Senate fire, the legion was spread thinly across the city. “Any known casualties yet?” He asked, scared to hear the names that she’d mention. He helped pass the injured girl to someone else, runners who were fetching and taking people to the infirmary and hospital.
“How are you at controlling flames?” He asked, referring to her magic. Unfortunately, he could not charm or seduce flames, so handling fires were not his strong point. Memories swam to the surface of his mind, recalling not being able to save the kid in the flames without Percy’s help. “We should go in. If anyone is to die to save our legion, it’s us.” Although he doubted a second explosion was to come.
Callum felt the ground shake beneath him. He hadn’t been with Elara, in fact, he was on his way from sorting out a personal problem. His helmet was under his arms, but it fell to the ground promptly as he heard the explosion. Sprinting as fast as he could, he arrived at the burning armory. The air rippled with emotions and his eyes glowed pink as he forced himself to not feel them and stay focused. He helped a kid up from the third and passed them onto someone else, “Take them to the infirmary now. Tell anyone you see to get their asses here now, Centurion Haye’s orders.” In the next moment, he was at Elara’s side.
“What happened?” He asked as he helped her help someone to their feet. He noticed her injuries but decided to attend to them later. She was standing, others could not.
Shaking her head gently, Cat sighed exasperated by the entire situation. “They’d better not be,” she warned, in times like this she wouldn’t falter, she would defend the interests of herself, her family and her city. “The Greeks are no longer even New Roman citizens and they’re leaving peacefully. Let them return to their camp. They’re not our responsibility.”
“Good, remember, oaths on the styx are often fatal if broken.” She smirked brightly and shrugged. “I hope this goes our way Callum, we stand at a crossroads, on one side ruin, on the other glory. The choice is ours.”
“I know.” He replied to her. He valued his life so he didn’t intend on breaking the oath anytime soon. With that, he turned and opened the office door and leaving it open. He walked down the hall and passed his own office, making sure Elara wasn’t there. He then left the building, mentally preparing himself for what came ahead.
“I know Z, and whatever the cult made him do, they did it with a good reason, there might be more going on here than we realise, but right now acting rashly isn’t going to make a difference, swift, decisive action is what is needed.” She paused for a moment and sighed. “I’m sorry that Z had to go through that, but it isn’t our responsibility to protect Greeks.”
“You’ll do no such thing Callum, remember the oath that you swore me. I’ll take us through this, but I won’t be able to do that if you’re going to do something idiotic.”
Callum’s eyes narrowed as Cat mentioned the oath. “I promise my actions will be thought through. They won’t be idiotic.” He pursed his lips, a bad taste in his mouth. “Someone once told me that it’s our responsibility to protect New Rome, that includes all its citizens. That includes the Greeks until Midnight on the 25th.”
“Now, unless there is other business to discuss, I have a Cohort to prepare and to fortify the wall. I guess our political views are no longer equal, but I made an oath and still respect you so I will remain loyal to you.” His words were almost sarcastic, but he meant what he said.
Shaking her head, Cat bit her lip. “What sort of move would you suggest?” she sighed gently. “I’ve been checking on the security of anyone I could make a move on, if they weren’t fortified before they will be now. They’ll be expecting this. Now isn’t the time to act. Now is the time to bide our time and do something sensible.”
She sighed and looked at Callum. “The core principle of the cult is for those of pure Roman blood and by those of pure Roman blood. The Greeks are an inconsequential factor now. We can’t change this ‘exodus’.”
Callum shook his head back at his superior. “It’s more than an Exodus Cat. There’s more going on here.” He paused, biting his teeth down hard. “They made Z, that Greek that ran the kissing booth, do something terrible. I felt it. If the poisoning was the cult, but not Z, what did Z do?”
He looked Cat straight in the eyes, trying to feel what she was feeling, which was always difficult when it came to the Karavadra family. “I’ll sit still and look pretty for now, but forgive me if I don’t bide my time and do something sensible when this goes south.”
“Yes, I’ve heard about it Callum,” Cat snapped, still concerned by the news that Leo was planning on leaving with Bobbi. Swallowing gently she shook her head. “Of course this is cult business Callum,” she replied with a shake of her head, “this has always been cult business, the cult hate Greeks and they want them out.” She shook her head and sighed. “With everything that has happened I’ve not found out yet, I’ve been too busy.”
Shaking her head, she looked at Callum concerned. “What move? There is no move to make, we’ve gotten rid of the Greek problem, the Greeks are leaving and we can focus on rebuilding the glory of Rome.” She sighed and frowned concerned at Callum.
Callum watched the other, who seemed extremely concerned about everything. “A move against the current cult.” The words almost stuck in his throat, as if he was scared that they were listening. “If we make a move now, you can gain some power and sway in the cult, then, with the right leaders such as yourself in place, we can truly rebuild the glory of Rome.”
He paused to think about the words that left her mouth. “With everything I’ve learned in the past week, I’m beginning to think that the Greeks weren’t really the problem.” He stood up straight now, no longer taking the conversation casually.
Callum had just heard the news and already started making plans in his head for his Cohort. He had received word about where they would be positioned but that was likely to come later. Instead of heading back and discussing with Elara he headed towards Cat and Jax’s office.He barely knocked before entering and closed the door behind him, leaning on the wall next to the door.
“Have you heard about all this shit? I feel like it’s way too coincidental for a Senator to die from poisoning, and then we find out a Greek is responsible. This smells like cult business to me.” He wasn’t sure what his point was, he guessed he just wanted confirmation. “Did you find out who asked you to poison Jax? Perhaps the cult has a huge play in this. If we want to climb the ranks perhaps it’s best to make a move now while the cult thinks they are winning?” He paused, “Assuming that the cult is behind this. I have some information I could share that supports my stance.”
“Aw, Arrow! I like that name a lot.” She said with a grin, continuing to pet the dog. “Oh yeah. Training them when they’re a puppy is the easiest and best way to do it. The older they get the harder it gets.” She explained, looking up at him. “No, I wish I had a dog. Back home in Eugene, Oregon I took care of a lot of strays though. I would feed them, give them some love, play with them, and try and get them into a loving home. My dad didn’t want all of them in the house. We set up a little shelter for them to sleep in in the backyard though!”
Callum looked up at Blossom. ‘Back home in Eugene.’. He was suddenly somewhat jealous of Blossom. A life before the legion, something he had but forced himself to forget about. “That’s kind of you that you used to look after them. I’ve never had a dog before, so it’s a learning curve.” He watched the dog soak up the affection from the girl. “He really loves you, I guess he thinks you’re a great person.”
Callum ran across the field of Mars. He had a rendezvous with Elara in one of the ditches close to the enemy fort. As arrows flew past him, he lifted up his shield to protect himself before dropping and sliding smoothly into the ditch for safety and to meet Elara. He swore in French before looking around for his Co-Centurion. She should be here soon, they had just parted ways from the rest of their group. He had left Sebastian in charge. They were loosing against the first and second, the thirds and fourth being on the same team. The fifth was on their side too but Callum didn’t really count on their help that much. He had devised a plan with Elara that morning in case their original plan failed, which it had. He was about to go out and look for her when he heard footsteps approaching and turned to see her.
