❛ empire now ❜
★ ₊˚.  ❪ my name is anakin ❫
˗ˏ⋆ ˎ˗⠀┊  1x8⠀┊ ⠀❝ iii ❞
▅▅▅ ▅▅▅ ▅▅▅ ▅▅▅

( tw | blood, mentions of torture )

" HEY ... "

       Octavia speaks as she peaks her head up into the third floor where Lincoln and Anakin are still tied up. No one else is the room, the one guarding them, Miller, had left to go talk to his and Romas family that were still on the ark. He was about to tell them that she was dead, by one of the grounders whom seemed to kill without any second doubt. He'd tell them that be caught their daughters killers, and were holding them captive. He'd boast that their daughter's death is avenged and she didn't die a long death.

She flashes the kindest of smiles, wide doe eyes sparkling that only Lincoln notices, "We don't have a lot of time."

Octavia closes the hatch with a thud, locking it so no one can get in. She lets her gaze travel upwards where it lands on Anakin throbbing hand. Where the long nail is still embedded in his flesh. She grimaced and grabs what she believes is a hopefully clean cloth. "I brought you two some water, and I can clean your wound."

She holds the water to Lincoln mouth first, choosing to deal with one grounder before she deals with the other. He drinks the fresh water, a small trail of liquid going down his chin. Octavia uses the end of her sleeve to wipe the mess, wiping away a small amount of dried blood as she did so. "It's good, right? Sorry I haven't seen you two since everything happened. My brother has been keeping me away. He's a total dick, which you two probably already figured out."

Anakin chuckles at the word dick. He regrets his actions instantly, but it's already happened. In his head, it's funny because no one ever refers to their lower regions like that — no one refers to anything to anyone, their body is something reserved for themselves and those they choose to share their souls with. Lincoln just chuckled at her; for her apology that wasn't needed. It was Bellamy's fault, not hers.

Octavia turns towards Anakin, eyes wide. "You both can understand me? I thought it was just you." When neither of the grounders say anything else, she takes a step towards Anakin. "Can I take it out?" She gestures to the nail that shouldn't be embedded in his hand.

Anakin nods rather than saying anything. He grits his teeth as she tries her best to be gentle when she grips the nail in her hand. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She tries to do it slowly, as if it would help with the pain but it doesn't. Anakin jerks his hand back, the nail sliding out and Octavia stares at the hole with wide eyes. "Ah! I'm sorry!"

Anakin grunts as she presses the cloth to his hand. Lincoln looks towards Anakin, watching as black blood soaks through the cloth. They know about his black blood, but no one had even questioned it, those who had seen it almost just thinking it was a result of the radiation they endured. Lincoln can see that the colour of Anakins blood has sparked her curiosity.

"This is all my fault because I freaked out so bad when you locked me up in that cave. You'd totally understand why if you knew how I grew up." Octavia apologizes, looking down at her feet. She feels bad for how she had acted, how she had been. Who could blame her though, between the way she had been raised — under the constant feeling of being taken away and hiding in the dark, and with the new deadly stranger whom could have killed her without a second thought, well ...

Lincoln looks towards Octavia now, his head tilted the smallest bit as he licks his dry and cracking lips . "My name is Lincoln."

Octavia flashes the smile that Lincoln had once drawn. "Lincoln. I'm Octavia. And your name?"

"My name is Anakin." Anakin's voice is raspy from the screaming he had done only hours ago. A small part of him, the one that's the commanders brother, screams at him for telling her his name. But he knows, that the only way out of this is death, and she can know whose lives are on her conscious.

"Well, is that it? Is that all you two are gonna say?" Octavia steps back, looking between both grounders, the black bloodied cloth held in her hand.

Anakin frowns, the pain in his hand growing by every second. There's a gaping wound that needs to be taken care of. One of his healers would need to use their medicine and wrap it, that was if he would live to escape the dropship he was held captive in.

"It's not safe for us to talk." It isn't safe, Lincoln and Anakin have both said too much. Anakin still believed that he and Lincoln should have left Octavia at the bottom of the hill, then they wouldn't be chained up and in captivity, but what's done is done, and there is no going back.

Octavia tilts her head, eyeing the two grounders with curiosity. "Well, if we shouldn't talk, then why did you both tell me your name?"

"You had asked." Anakin replies, a look flashing across his face. He found his answer amusing, hilarious even. It reminds him of his childhood before he was taken to train as a commander.

Lincoln shares a glance with Anakin. "I want you to remember us after I'm dead."

"You're not gonna die. Don't say that." Octavia shakes her head in denial, her eyes flashing with a scared look before it seems to disappear.

Lincoln frowns; not because of what will happen to him and Anakin, but because he knows what will happen between the sky people and the grounders. A clan will die, and there is no stopping it. "Octavia, this only ends one way."

Octavia tries to think of a way this could end where no one dies. Where her brother let's the grounders go free and they all live in this peaceful, nonexistent world. "Just talk to them. Tell them you two are not the enemy."

Now it's Anakin she looks too. He's covered in dirt, burns, welts and bloodied wounds. He is the enemy — he will always be the enemy in someone's eyes. To Skikru he will always be the one who had helped kidnap Octavia and who would soon lead the war against them. "I am, we are."

Miller climbs onto the third floor, quickly realizing that Octavia is standing within inches of the grounders he was supposed to keep her away from. "Octavia, get the hell out now."

Octavia takes a step away from the grounders, but she doesn't move away any further. She keeps her feet planted and tries to make herself seem intimidating. "Bellamy is not even here."

"Get out, or they gets the beating I've been aching to give 'em." Miller points his finger between the two, smirking as Octavia throws her hands up and steps away.

"Okay, okay. I get it. I'm gone."

" HEY ... "

Octavia crawls onto the their floor, closing the hatch behind her and gathering the clothes that she had dropped against the medal floor. She sets them against the floor, quickly moving to untie all the restraints. She unties Lincoln's first, the grounder is quick to help her untie Anakin.

Anakin tumbles forward when his arms were free. There wasn't a weight pulling him backwards as he stands on his own two feet. Octavia thrusts a shirt and hoodie into his hands, which he is quick to examine. They aren't his own, and they look worn and battered. They're clothes though, and they'll help him disguise himself. So he puts them on and tries not to groan out when he uses his hand.

"We need to go now." Octavia is helping Lincoln get dressed, pulling the fabric over his shoulders.

"Why are you doing this?" Lincoln questions as he looks up at Octavia. He wonders why she would risk everything to help both him and Anakin escape. What was in it for her? What would the two grounders have to do in return?

Octavia ignores the question, pushing the hood upwards so it's over Lincoln's head. Shielding him slightly from the curios views of others that will look the second he steps out of the dropship. "Just get dressed."

"They'll know you helped us." Anakin looks towards the girl, keeping eye contact with her as he picks up his discarded knife from a pile of his and Lincoln's belongings. He twirls it in his uninjured hand, smiling at the way it fits perfectly. "Do you wish to die?" Lincoln sends Anakin a look, but the just prompts him to continue. "Your people will not be happy if they learn that you were the one to let us free, Octavia."

Octavia froze at his words. She didn't want to die, she had so much to live for. The glowing butterflies and the world she hasn't explored yet. "You said it; you stay here, you'll both die. I'm not gonna let that happen."

Anakin steps towards her and he watches as something in her eyes flash, like she realizes that maybe she shouldn't have untied him. "Everything is two sided, Octavia. You save us, and we will have to return the favour. Think about it ..." Without waiting any longer, or for Lincoln, he opened the hatch and climbs down the ladder.

He has lived by the rules of favours, something he and his sister had been doing since they were starting their nightblood training. An eye for an eye, nothing came for free, Anakin had learnt that fairly quickly.

One day he would have to owe Octavia Blake a favour for sparing and saving his life, and as much as it pained him to do so, he knew he would.