XX

[PREVIOUSLY: Bellamy and Clarke go to spy out a grounder village. In the meanwhile, Octavia takes it upon herself to warn Hazel Eyes and Burly of the impending danger and agrees to let them go, on one condition: they take her with them to see their leader].

The setting rays of the evening sun warmed my face. A soft whistling breeze tickled the loose strands of hair around my neck and forehead. My eyes were closed and my muscles completely relaxed. I sat, with my back to the drop-ship, in the balmy dusk of the night. My knees were drawn up and my sheathed sword was balanced on top of them. My fingers were picking at fresh green clumps of grass scattered across the earth and my head was tilted back, soaking up the last of the sun's warmth.

This was my favourite time of the day.

"O?"

Startled, I opened my eyes and lifted my head. Bellamy, Clarke in the rear, was striding across the camp towards me. A rifle was slung across his shoulder and a half-filled pack was strapped onto his back. He had his jacket tied around his waist and an empty water canteen was in his hand.

"Oh. Hi Bell," I smiled as I leaned back against the drop-ship again.

Bellamy stopped right in front of me, his eyebrows quirked in confusion. "W-where is everyone?"

I shrugged, faking an innocent air. "Urgh. I dunno. Enjoying the last of the day's sun, I'm presuming."

Bellamy rolled his eyes as he knelt down next to me. "Hey, you feeling okay?"

"Uh huh," I nodded, scooting away from him. "I - I'm good."

"Hhheeyyyy, B-Belllammmyyy'ss baackk!"

Bellamy and Clarke whirled around to see Jasper staggering towards us, a stupid grin on his face.

"Are - are you drunk?" Clarke gasped.

"How is that even possible?" Bellamy demanded. "We - we don't have any alcohol here."

Jasper shrugged and let out a loud, slurred laugh. "Huh huh well ask Octavia ... she gave us the berrriieeess! Hahaha!"

"The berries?" Clarke turned to me.

"What?" I countered, annoyed. "I - I found some berries in the woods. I just handed them around. It's not my fault if I didn't know they were going to make everyone go walkabout."

"T-they're probably poisonous Octavia!" Clarke huffed, frowning angrily down at me. "They could make everyone sick!"

I struggled to contain a chuckle as I replied nonchalantly, "Oops."

"Octavia," Bellamy reproved.

"Great. Just great," Clarke threw her hands up into the air. "Now I have to make the rounds to check that everyone's okay. Thanks a lot, Octavia! You coming with?" she nodded at Bellamy.

Bellamy hesitated.

"Oh, go on you two lovebirds," I chortled, giving Bellamy a playful shove in the shoulder.

Bellamy flinched and quickly stood up. "Are you sure you haven't eaten any of those berries?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure. Now go."

As Bellamy and Clarke walked off, the smile faded from my face. I hastily glanced over towards the haze of pink and red in the far horizon.

It was time.

I scrambled to my feet, strapping the sword around my waist as I did so. On silent feet, I walked towards the drop-ship door. Giving one last glance over my shoulder, I stepped inside and froze.

Raven, who had discarded her jacket and outer shirt, was straddling Finn and raking her fingers through his hair as she trailed a line of wet, passionate kisses down his neck. A shirtless Finn, his muscles rippling beneath his tanned skin, was gripping Raven tightly around the waist and leaning into her soothing touch.

Awkwardly, I scraped my boot against the floor and cleared my throat. "Hello?"

Raven pulled away from Finn and cast a surprised glance over her shoulder. "Octavia!" she exclaimed, her face beaming with delight. "Finn ... he - he's awake!"

"I can see that," I scoffed. "Whatever. I'll leave you too it." Rolling my eyes, I stalked across the room towards the ladder leading to the upper level of the drop-ship.

As I began climbing up the hard, metal rungs, I could hear Raven and Finn continuing to kiss. I screwed up my face in disgust.

Maybe Raven had fed Finn some of those berries too.

I rapped at the trap-door and it was clumsily opened by a sleepy Nate who complained about having a headache. I told him to get some rest and made a big show of making him comfortable in a far corner of the room. Nate nodded off to sleep almost straight away and I used the opportunity to make a beeline straight for Hazel Eyes and Burly.

"It's time," I whispered. "But you're gonna have to be quiet if you wanna get outta here alive. There's not a doubt in my mind that Bellamy will use his gun if he catches us."

Retrieving a short dagger from my belt, I began severing the ropes holding the two grounders together. As the last of their bonds fell away, a rough, gnarly voice cut through the air, "Why are you helping us?"

I jumped backwards in surprise, almost tripping over my own two feet. I stared up at Burly in shock. "You - you speak English?" I stuttered.

Burly smirked. "Who do you think we are? Savages?"

I opened my mouth to respond but no words would come out. My eyes trailed down his muscular body and for the first time, I saw the intricate tattoos covering his beefy arms and chest. Of one thing I was certain, he was not only very toned, but very good looking.

"You done checking me out?" Burly growled.

My eyes widened when I realised that I'd practically been gaping at him! I felt the blood rush to my cheeks and I bit my lip as I quickly ducked my head. "I - I ..."

"Forget it," he interrupted me. "We need to move ... now."

I nodded and swallowed hard as I straightened up and cast a curious look over at Hazel Eyes. "Are - are you good?" I queried nervously as I tucked the dagger back into my belt.

He paused as he glanced over at me and once again, I was taken aback by the pure beauty of his deep hazel eyes.

"Yes," was all he said.

My breath hitched in my throat the moment I heard his voice. It was masculine, for sure, but it was so beautiful and unmistakable in its uniqueness. I had never before heard a voice like his. If only he would say more ... I might have been able to satisfy the hunch that told me he had an accent.

"Okay, can we go already?" Burly demanded.

I gritted my teeth and rolled my eyes as I pointed to a bundle of items nearby. "That's your stuff. Now remember, I'm coming with you so do not play dirty."

"And why, pray tell, would we do that?" Burly raised his eyebrows as he brushed past me. Hurriedly, he gathered up his bags and chucked one at Hazel Eyes.

As the two of them examined the inside contents to make sure that everything was still intact, I scampered over to the open trap-door and peered down to make sure the coast was clear.

"Alright, we're good, let's go," I hissed as I lowered my legs through the opening.

In no time at all, Burly, Hazel Eyes and I had clambered down the ladder. As we made our way outside, I watched, out of the corner of my eye, as both grounders stared in disgust at the two forms of Raven and Finn.

"Ignore them," I grumbled as I poked my head out of the drop-ship door. "The back gate's unguarded. We can slip through it before Bellamy and Clarke get back."

On silent feet, the three of us stepped out of the drop-ship and made a break for the targeted gate. The latch that was used to open it was too high for me to reach, however, so Burly lifted his muscular arms and did it for me. Hazel Eyes pushed open the barrier and held it open so Burly and I could pass through.

The first star had just appeared in the night-time sky when Hazel Eyes, Burly and I sprinted away from camp and deep into the shadows of the nearby woods. As we ducked down behind some spruce bushes to get some bearing of our surroundings, I glanced sideways at the two grounders.

"I'm Octavia," I ventured. "And you are ...?"

Burly turned suspicious eyes to me. "We already know that."

I rolled my eyes. "C'mon. How are we going to get along if I don't even know your names?"

"Who said anything about getting along?" Burly scoffed.

My eyes flashed with anger as I glared at him. "I saved your life. This is the least that you owe me."

Burly stared at me for a moment before conceding, "Lincoln. The name's Lincoln."

I nodded as I turned to Hazel Eyes. "And you?"

For a moment, he didn't respond. Then he piped up, softly and almost inaudibly, "Aidan."

I sat back on my heels and smiled. "Those names suit you two. Well, it's nice to meet you both."

Aidan and Lincoln didn't reply, however, so I pulled my knees up to my chin and rocked back and forth, embarrassment washing over me.

"We'll wait until it's dark," Lincoln finally broke the silence. "And then ... then we go to TonDC."

"TonDC?" I questioned.

"Yes," he snapped, boring holes into me with his eyes. "You wanted to see our leader? Then our leader you shall see."

Gif: Octavia as she, Lincoln and Aidan escape from the drop-ship.

XX