CHAPTER THREE
☁︎ ⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ✧ logical ✧ ☽ ﾟ｡⋆ ☁︎

𝗞𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗔 𝗪𝗔𝗦 𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗧. In all fairness, it was technically her fault for denying Chris' wishes to bring her to find Luke. But, that was besides the point. Luckily, after walking aimlessly for over fifteen minutes she had finally arrived at the arena.

It was filled with dummies being destroyed by kids in full body armour with swords, spears and bows. She looked over and some were even fighting with each other - some with weapons and some without.

When Katia was younger, her father had enrolled her in karate classes. Though she had since grown out of it, the muscle memory remained-a fact that seemed like it might come in handy now.

"Hey!" Someone called out. Startled, Katia spun towards the voice. "Move out of the way!" It dawned on her then that she was standing right in the middle of the arena, directly in the path of a girl with a bow and her target.

"Oh, sorry." Katia hurriedly sidestepped, cheeks burning as she heard someone chuckle nearby. Glancing over, she saw a tall boy standing next to her, a bronze sword strapped to his hip.

The first thing she noticed was his height. He wasn't much taller than her, but his presence made him seem larger somehow. He wore the camp's orange shirt and had dark, curly hair. It was safe to admit that Katia found him extremely attractive.

"You know, if you want to survive here, it's probably best not to stand in the middle of target practice," he said casually.

Katia chuckled nervously. "Yeah, you're probably right." She looked around, trying to play it cool, but it was clear she was curious about something.

"Looking for someone?" he asked, noting her scanning the area.

She nodded. "Yeah, this guy named Luke. Supposed to teach me all this stuff."

"Yeah, I know Luke," he replied, his gaze fixed on the other campers. His arms were crossed casually over his chest.

Katia shifted on her feet awkwardly. It seemed that was all she was going to get from him. Just as she was about to turn away, he spoke again.

"I saw you come in earlier. You okay?"

Katia shrugged, kicking a pebble underfoot. "Well, as okay as anyone could be after being chased by a monster-I swear, I've seen it in my nightmares."

The guy nodded knowingly. "Where are you from?" They started walking away from the bustling crowd, heading towards a quieter corner of the arena.

"California," Katia replied, feeling a bit more at ease. "Moved here a few years ago."

"Really?" He raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in his voice. "You picked New York over California?"

Katia shrugged again. "Didn't have much of a choice. It's not so bad."

"You ever handled a sword before?" His tone shifted, It seemed he was done asking questions about her personal life, which Katia was grateful for as she had only just met the strange boy and didn't want to explain her whole life's story.

"Do I look like I've handled a sword before?" Katia asked, suddenly self-conscious under his scrutiny.

He glanced at her thoughtfully. "Good point." Leading her to a nearby table stacked with weapons-swords, daggers, bows-he gestured towards them. "Take your pick."

Katia hesitated. "Shouldn't I wait for Luke? I mean, it seems a bit rude to make him wait while I go on a tour with some random guy."

He looked at her. Was she serious?

She was. And the innocent look on her face proved it.

He gave her a tight smile, "Yeah, I think he'll be fine. He's a pretty chill guy."

"I'm Katia Aguilar. But everyone calls me Kat." She chuckled nervously over her sudden words, "That's a lie. No one's ever called me Kat. I'm not sure why I said that - hey, that rhymed!" Katia mentally faced palmed as she groaned.

She didn't usually get nervous, but it wasn't pretty when she did. She'd start talking and never know when to stop.

He gave her an odd look, "Okay, then." He turned his back to her, as Katia internally groaned.

Why did she open her mouth?

"First things first," he spoke, motioning once again to the weapons in front of them.

Katia looked around, eyes scanning the weapons laid out before her. Swords, daggers, bows-all of them seemed equally intimidating. The boy watched her, his expression a mix of amusement and patience.

"Don't overthink it," he said.

Katia hesitated, her hand hovering over a finely crafted dagger before moving to a sleek bronze sword. As soon as her fingers brushed the hilt of the sword, she felt a strange sense of familiarity and confidence wash over her.

She picked it up, testing its weight. It felt surprisingly natural in her hand. The blade shimmered with a faint greenish hue, and intricate vine patterns were etched along its length.

He raised an eyebrow. "A sword, huh? Classic choice."

Katia's eyes widened, had she picked the wrong one? Was this someone else's? Did she look stupid holding it.

Luke's eyebrows furrowed, "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." She gulped nervously, "Are you sure this is good?"

Luke smiled, now understanding why she looked like someone had just killed her cat. "Yes. It's fine. Now follow me."

He led her to a section of the arena set up for sword practice. Dummies and targets of various kinds were positioned around the area. Luke took his own sword and began demonstrating some basic stances and strikes.

"Alright, Kat," he joked, which caused Katie to turn a dark shade of red, adjusting his grip on the bronze hilt. "Let's start with the basics. Watch closely."

With a focused expression, he moved gracefully, demonstrating fluid strikes and precise footwork. He lunged forward, slashing at an imaginary opponent before smoothly pivoting to parry an imaginary blow.

"Now you try," he encouraged, stepping back and gesturing for Katia to take the lead.

Katia took a deep breath, gripping her sword tightly. She mirrored the boy's movements as best she could, trying to mimic his stance and timing. Her first attempts were awkward, the sword feeling heavy and unfamiliar in her hands. "Shit." She mumbled.

"You need to focus on your balance," he advised, stepping closer to adjust her posture. "And keep your movements controlled."

Katia nodded, trying to follow his instructions, but her movements remained clumsy and uncertain despite the boy's patient corrections and demonstrations.

Noticing Katia's frustration, he reassured her, "Hey, it's your first day. You literally just woke up a few hours ago. It'd be weird if you were already a pro at this."

Katia managed a small smile, reluctantly accepting his point, though she hated feeling like the slowest learner. She was already the slowest at school, surely she couldn't be the slowest here either. Each time she glanced at the other campers, they seemed like naturals, effortlessly handling their weapons.

Suddenly, a voice called urgently, "Luke!" Katia furrowed her brows. Was Luke here? The caller came into view-it was Chris. "Luke, you gotta help me, man. Travis is stuck in the hole again."

"Oh Gods, not again," the boy beside her muttered, turning to Katia. "We'll finish this tomorrow. It's nearly dinner time anyway." He began to jog off.

"You're Luke?!" she blurted out. He turned around, a smirk playing on his lips. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

He shrugged nonchalantly, "You didn't ask." With that, he left her, his laugh fading as he jogged off.

Katia cursed inwardly, then muttered aloud, "Puta."

INEZ SPEAKS
well she met luke! just not in the way she thought 🤭

this and the next chap were supposed to be one but i didn't feel like writing anymore...

really sorry how long it's been. honestly i lost a lot of my motivation but i'm back. although i'm going on vacation soon so you might only get one chapter... 😐

edit: you did.