XX

[PREVIOUSLY: Octavia, Clarke, Finn, Monty, Dustin and Bryce are forced to leave a screaming Jasper behind as they rush back to warn the others at the drop-ship: they are not alone. A battle of egos issues between Bellamy and Clarke who both have differing views about the wristbands everyone is wearing. In the meanwhile, Finn invites Octavia to go back and help him search for Jasper with Dustin and Bryce].

The soft notes from a sorrowful melody leave my lips in a hum as I step out of the drop-ship door and plop myself down on the sweet hillside grass. I lean back against the cooling metal of the contraption and sigh.

Already, people were starting to work and live together. The drop-ship had been looked over, stabilised, and was now being occupied as storage for our food and weapons. Campfires had been set up nearby and long bamboo poles and old canvas coverings were being used to construct tents and temporary shelters.

At any other time I would be in such ecstasy to be on Earth, alive and well, that I'd probably spend all day laughing, singing and dancing. But finding out that there were others besides us here didn't bode very well. Who knew how many of them were out there? A couple hundred? A couple thousand? Either way, I had to disagree with my brother on one thing: we didn't have a chance again them.

"You're looking a little down, Princess," Finn sang out as he leaped from the drop-ship door and settled himself down beside me.

"Jasper's in trouble, we're being watched by grounders and my brother and Clarke are wasting time over a silly feud," I snapped back, rolling my eyes. "Now is no time to joke around, Finn."

"Wow, you must be upset," Finn murmured. "You haven't called me by my actual name until now."

I shifted around to face him. "What do you think?" I asked him scornfully. "Jasper was my friend!"

"You knew him for about three hours, Octavia," Finn pointed out.

"So what? You have a point?" I demanded. Turning away from him, I heaved a deep breath and muttered, "Sorry."

"Sorry?"

"Yeah. I - I'm just worried about him, Finn, that's all."

"Hey," Finn placed a comforting hand on my shoulder as he tried to reassure me. "It's okay to be scared, Princess. I'm scared. Bellamy's scared. We all are. Some of us just hide it better than others, that's all."

I guffawed. "I find that hard to believe."

"Oi, you two ready?"

Both Finn and I lifted our heads to see Dustin and Bryce approaching us.

"Yeah," I nodded as I scrambled to my feet and snatched up the pack that was lying near me. "C'mon, Spacewalker, we haven't got all day."

Finn smirked as he, too, shouldered his pack. "Okay, let's go before someone tries to stop us."

"Tries to stop you why?"

At the sound of the all-too-familar voice, everyone froze.

"B-Bell ...?" I stuttered. I whirled around on my heel and stared in shock at my brother, who was casually leaning against the side of the drop-ship. "W-what? How did you ...?"

"Relax, O," Bellamy held out a hand to silence me. "I was invited."

"I-Invited?" I glanced over at Finn, Dustin and Bryce.

They all shook their heads and shared confused looks with each other and me.

"Uh ... so ... where's Clarke?" Bellamy inquired as he pushed himself off of the drop-ship wall and advanced towards us.

"Clarke? She - she's ..."

"Right here!" Clarke emerged from around the other side of the drop-ship, a map in her hands and a back-pack over her shoulders. Monty and Wells were right behind her, both armed with an array of knives.

"W-what the hell ...?" Dustin took the words right out of my mouth.

"If you thought we were going to let you leave here alone than you're mistaken," Clarke raised her eyebrows as she glanced pointedly at me and Finn.

"She's right, you know," Wells spoke up. "We have no reason to trust you, not after you all sided with Bellamy."

I shook my head in annoyance. "What? You think you're in charge around here? You and your little princess?" I spat out sardonically. "Bellamy's my brother, of course I'm going to take his side! But as for you two, stop strutting around acting like you own the place, because you don't!"

Clarke's face had gone pale with rage. Her hands shook by her sides. She gave me a long death stare before turning on Wells, "I don't need you to defend me."

Wells sputtered in protest but Clarke brushed him off as she started walking away.

"Why did you ask Bellamy to come?" Finn called out after her.

She paused before turning around with a shrug. "He wants to be a leader? Then he can prove it by risking his life and coming with us. Besides, I heard he has a gun. We'll need it against whoever's out there."

Finn and I exchanged confused looks. With a shake of his head, Finn started after Clarke and after huffing loudly and letting everyone else know that I wasn't very impressed, I did too.

Suddenly, Clarke stopped mid-stride, causing everyone else too as well. She spun around, her eyes wandering across each of us in turn. "There's too many of us," she stated. "We'll attract more than one grounder for sure and we can't afford to have any more setbacks."

"What are you saying, Clarke?" Bellamy raised his voice impatiently.

"Some of you aren't coming with us. Monty, you can stay," Clarke began.

"Like hell I'm not!" Monty cut her off. "Jasper's my best friend."

"You're too important!" Clarke countered. "You were raised on a farm station and you were recruited by engineering."

"So?"

"So, food and communication," Clarke told him as she stepped forward and pointed to his forehead. "What's up here is going to save us all. You figure out how to talk to the Ark and I'll bring Jasper back."

Monty swallowed and nodded in reluctance.

"Dustin, Bryce, you're staying too," Clarke commanded as she glanced up at them. Seeing that they were about to protest, she held up a hand and shook her head, "Uh uh uh. You help Monty as best as you can but you're younger than the rest of us. You'll slow us down. Besides, you shouldn't be endangering your lives, not out there, not yet ..."

"Clarke!" I cried. "Aw c'mon, seriously ...?"

"She's got a point, O," Bellamy spoke up. "They should stay out of the way and help Monty while we're gone. I've already put Murphy in charge, just to keep an eye on things. They'll be fine."

"Murphy?" I scoffed. "Bellamy, c'mon. He's incompatible, inefficient, lazy and selfish! I can't believe you'd leave him in charge."

Bellamy shot me a knowing look as he adjusted the pistol that was hanging in his belt. "You can stay behind too if you question me again."

I stared at him in astonishment. "Bell ... ?"

"Not now, Octavia," he ordered sharply as he began trudging down the hill to join Clarke and Wells. "I've got enough on my plate without you adding your crap to the mix. Get yourself together or stay behind."

Then Bellamy turned his back on me as he scampered away.

"T-that was weird," Finn commented after a brief moment of silence had issued. "What's his problem?"

"He's trying to prove himself to Clarke," I rolled my eyes and groaned as I adjusted the pack's leather strap that encircled my shoulder. "This is going to be fun."

Gif: Octavia as she listens to Clarke handing out orders.

XX

.