XX

[PREVIOUSLY: Bellamy and Clarke head a devised plan that they hope will trick the grounders into making peace with Skikru. Clarke writes a list of the treaty's conditions and Finn, Jasper and Bellamy trek down to the river to find the answer to their all-important question: Will the grounders be willing to meet with them]?

SWISH. SWISH.

My silver blade sliced neatly through the air, the colour of the surrounding green-wood reflecting off it's sharp, jagged edge. I gripped the sturdy handle with both hands, trying to balance the weight of the metal as I made another forward vicious attack.

SWISH. SWISH.

I was small, but I was fast. I might not be a pro at handling this sort of weapon, but I could surprise my enemy and gain the upper hand if I had the chance.

SWISH. SWISH. THUMP.

"Urgh," I yelped out in annoyance as the sword slipped through my fingers and spun out across the ground. I doubled over and placed my hands on my knees as I heaved for breath. The sword felt more at home in my hand than a gun did, that was for sure, but becoming an expert at wielding it was proving no easy task.

"Snap," I muttered, rolling my eyes and shaking my head as I bent down to retrieve my weapon.

"Oi, Samurai, come and take a look at this!" Raven's sing-song voice echoed from across the camp.

I had to bite my lip to stop a chuckle from escaping. Samurai? That nickname was new.

Slowly, I sheathed my sword, prideful satisfaction swelling up within me. I had failed today. But I would try again tomorrow.

I trotted briskly over towards where I had heard Raven; discovering, moments later, that she was in the tent that we'd set up for the radio.

As I pushed the loose flap of canvas covering the tent opening aside, I widened my eyes at the sight before me. Raven was on her hands and knees, a large pile of bullets in front of her. In one hand she was pinching a single bullet between two fingers and in the other she sported a wrench.

"W-what are you doing?" I questioned laughingly.

Raven glanced up at me and smirked. "Before you say anything about Murphy, I got Harper to take over for me a bit earlier so I could do this."

"Yeah, well what is this, exactly?" I raised my eyebrows quizzically.

"I'm checking the gunpowder in these rounds so if the grounders try to kill us all, maybe we can get a few shots off beforehand," she shrugged.

My brow darkened and my fists clenched. I opened my mouth to speak but before I could voice what I was thinking, someone spoke up from behind me, "Hmm. That's intense. Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

I turned to see Bryce standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest and his signature grin on his face.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Raven snapped, annoyed.

BAM.

Both Bryce and I jumped backwards in surprise. I furrowed my brow as I realised what had happened.

As Raven had been prying open the bullet she was holding, a sudden burst of gunpowder and a flash of fire had exploded from within it.

"Damn!" Raven shrieked out in pain, dropping both the bullet and the wrench onto the floor. Sitting back on her heels, she mumbled a series of "ow's" and nursed her wrist, which had been signed by the explosion.

"Y-you need a hand ... since you almost blew one off?" Bryce snickered as he watched.

Raven sent him a withering stare as she leaned forward to pick up the wrench again. "I've got this."

"Hey, no one's a better mechanic than you, alright?" Bryce reassured her, holding out his hands. "But ... this stuff requires a chemist. How did you do in chemistry class?"

Raven paused as she glanced up at him.

"Ahh," Bryce chuckled as he waved his finger at her. "The fates are smiling upon you, my friend." Bryce lowered his voice to a near whisper as he leaned forward, "I was great in chemistry."

Raven couldn't contain her amusement any longer. A smile spread across her lips as she reached over and tossed Bryce one of the bullets that she'd already pried open.

Bryce leaned down and sniffed at the gunpowder inside of it before instantly recoiling. "Oh. Nope. It's gassed off. I'm pretty sure that this - er - acidic smell means that the gunpowder's degraded."

Raven sighed and rolled her eyes. "Better start a dud pile."

"Are you serious? The Ark couldn't even give us usable gunpowder?" I scoffed, leaning over Bryce's shoulder to peer down at the open bullet in his hand. "How much of this stuff do we have left?"

Raven wiped her grimy hands on her jeans and shook her head as she glanced around. "Not a lot."

"When my parents get here, they can mix us up some new gunpowder," Bryce cracked a half-smile. "My dad'll flip for all this scrap metal. 'My kingdom for a soda can' is what he always used to say."

"What about you, Raven?" I piped up after a moment's silence; my eyebrows quirked in curiosity. "You got any family back on the Ark?"

Raven gritted her teeth together as she grunted, "Nope. Just Finn."

I swallowed hard, trying to rid my mind of the self-pitiful thoughts that lurked within it.

It was obvious: Raven needed Finn more than I did. I had Bellamy. She had no one else left that was close to her.

A wave of remorse and sadness washed over me when I remembered how angry and upset I had been with Raven when she first arrived on Earth. It wasn't her fault that Finn never told me about her. It wasn't her fault that Finn had lied to me, betrayed me and cheated on me. It wasn't her fault that Finn pretended to be someone that he wasn't.

I guess first impressions always tell the truth: Finn would never be more than a self-absorbed ass.

"Hey," Bryce clicked his fingers in front of my face. "Earth to Octavia."

I blinked rapidly a couple of times as I was hurtled straight back to the present.

"You zoned out," Raven offered sardonically.

"Oh," I nodded. "Yeah ..."

Just then, my ears picked up on a couple of excited yells that were bouncing throughout the camp. I frowned. What's going on now?

"Hey guys," Monty poked his head inside the tent. "Bellamy, Finn and Jasper are back ... and trust me, you're gonna wanna see this!"

Raven, Bryce and I all exchanged surprised glances before dropping what we were doing and scurrying outside into the glaring noon sun.

As I stumbled out into the open, my eyes swept the entire camp in just one glance.

I froze.

Bellamy, Finn and Jasper, with confident shouts of triumph, were striding in through the front gate. Jasper was wildly waving a rudely craved sign over his head. At first, I couldn't make out the words that had been scrawled across it, but, as the three boys drew nearer, I drew a deep breath and smiled. It had worked. The grounders had responded to our message:

"We Will Arrange a Meeting."

But then, the warning words of Heda filled my mind, "Did you think, for one moment, that I'd even think about giving Skikru an alliance?" The smile faded from my face.

What if this was a trap?

Gif: Octavia and Raven as they work on the bullets.

XX