McTavish didn't react, gazing at her with... with what? His rough, unfamiliar features made it hard for the girl to identify whether it was curiosity, indifference or something else entirely. Ellie was confused at his silence and passiveness but only for a moment. What was it he had said? [i]'Wait for your orders.'[/i]
It seemed that he wouldn't move a muscle until Duela demanded it and allowed them to go on their scouting run.

It was Cassandra who spoke up, defending Lux's reasoning, even if not her bold action, and before Ellie knew it, Cassandra stood next to her, a hand on her shoulder. Ellie couldn't remember ever looking seeing her up close like this. Even in what little visibility the night offered, she could make out her features, a scar at her lower lip and her clean, white hair that seemed to have an ethereal glow in the pale light. But despite her friendly tone, her words felt like she had swallowed needles, angrily tugging at her insides.
[i]Why wouldn't I go with them? If Aaron didn't think I was up for this, he would have told me to stay back, like in town.[/i]

Cassandra's offer to take her along on a patrol instead would have sounded much more appealing if it didn't feel like she was uncertain of her skills and Ellie was tempted to give in to her stubbornness and decline, her headache adding fuel to that particular fire.
But she knew better than to start a fight over something stupid like this. Three people were quite a portion of the group, all things considered, both Aaron and Lux know more about scouting and sneaking than her and now wasn't the time to be irrational and angry. She liked Cassandra and she had been hoping to get to know her a little better on this mission. Maybe going on a patrol with her wasn't so bad after all.

She nodded, but just then, John seemed to have another idea about who would scout and stay and Duela seemed to be pondering still. But at least Ellie had made up her mind:
"I'll go with you", she told Cassandra.