Leo was having a mental breakdown. He wanted to rebuild Festus, the bronze dragon, which he had been building with a few modifications. He wanted to make him able to keep people on him without them cutting themselves on his metal back. He was adding a special surprise for his girlfriend. She loved weapons and armor. He is trying to make a set of armor that will allow her to become invisible while still being able to use her magic.
"Agh. How can I make this work?!" He shouted angrily at nobody in particular. Little did he know that Elm was following him, soaring from treetop to treetop. She looked down on him, easily blending into the shadows as she tends to do.
"What is he trying to do?" She muttered faintly. She watched him work, dumbfounded as he pounds the metal into her measurements, enchanting it to fit her body shape. A figure moves in the shadows, so she ducks farther into the weaving branches of the tree.
"You called me, boy? What business do you have with me? I already don't approve of you with my daughter. You're lucky that you aren't dead." The feminine yet deadly voice snapped at him. The boy cowered, but then straightened his back.
"Ma'am I'm making a gift for your daughter, but I need your help." He tempted. Elm gasped. She knew exactly who she was eavesdropping on and was praying that her mother didn't sense her presence, even though it is strong
"You reek of her essence, boy. When did you last see her". She demanded.
Leo gulped. "I...I just saw h... her a few minutes ago.... "He stuttered. She looked at him with just a touch of sympathy, but otherwise the same cold, hard stare her daughter must have inherited from her.
"Is that so? She assessed his answer to the fullest. Is that why you called me? To gain my help and make a pass at making me like you?" Leo cringes as the goddess gets louder and louder with each accusation.
"Milady, I don't intend on getting on your bad side, I just wish your approval. All I ask is..." the boy trails off, getting quieter and quieter with every detail.
Elm, scared and confused, backs away from the scene of her boyfriend with her mother, trying to process everything that she witnessed. What does she mean, she doesn't approve of us? She said that she was ok with it, and she didn't care anymore. One of the many thoughts flying through her head.
As she approaches the edge of the forest, the branch she lands on breaks, and she starts to fall. The wind rushing through her hair, and she gains speed. She lands on her arm and groans. She gets up and assess her wounds. Her arm is slightly broken, nothing Will can't fix if she dragged him to her. Before she could go any farther, a stranger approaches her.
They make a quick motion making her flinch. She expected to be struck, but they offer her their hand. She takes it, forgetting that her arm is broken .She winces in pain. "Why couldn't I have landed on one of my prosthetics..." she groans as she stands. She looks up to see who helped her up and realized that they were not a stranger at all.
"That's for the fates to decide, Elm. What were you doing in the forest?" A very curious Piper asks
"Don't worry about it." Elm sharply responded. What was she doing here? I don't remember her going to Central or living anywhere around here... She wonders, but not bothering to answer her own questions."
Riiiiiiiight....... And I'm just gonna act like I believe that. Since when were you in town?" Piper asks. She has her dagger in its sheath on her belt, next to the magical horn that spouts fresh fruits that she won on the quest to save the world.
"I've been here for a while now. I picked a school not too far from here. I decided to take up the cheapest apartment. It's not too bad, really." Elm replies, trying to hide the fact that her arm is broken.
"What happened to your arm?" Piper interrogates. She stares directly into her eyes, which will make most demigods back down, but not Elm.
"Nothing" she lies, "I'm fine." She begins to pace, and mumble some things about what she had just witnessed in the forest between her boyfriend and her mother. "I gotta go. I have some people I need to talk to." Before there was any chance for response, she shadow-traveled into a place she never thought she would visit again. The camp of The Hunters of Artemis.
