CALM BEFORE THE STORM.

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CARRY YOUR THRONE (book one).
°• CHAPTER THREE •°

" SORRY, BOYS. "

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EARTH IS EVEN BETTER THAN ANYTHING ASPEN COULD'VE COME UP WITH. She finds herself looking at every detail to take it all in hopes she'd never forget it. It was like every dream coming true all at once. She had tugged her hair up into a loose ponytail, wisps of it that had been freed from the tie brushing against her cheek because of the sun that is somehow growing hotter every minute of her wandering. Aspen didn't find herself wanting to complain, even when she was growing uncomfortably sweaty from the heat. The Ark was always dark and she was finally under a light in the sky, she wasn't going to take advantage of that, figuring every moment here counted.

She's pulled out of her deep thoughts that had left her in a daze when Finn brushed by her, his forearm bumping into her wrist. Aspen frowned when she felt the bracelet around her limb start to loosen due to the knot she had made that turned out to outlive its uselessness. At least she hadn't lost it on the ride down here. That had to count for something. Finn noticed his friend's reaction, his gaze falling to where Aspen had lifted her arm to reveal Jax's gift she knew he had helped him make for her that was now beginning to fall apart, all thanks to the guard that had forcefully yanked off of her. "Let me see," he offered.

Finn doesn't give her much of a chance to reply as he's already gently seizing her arm and giving a small tug to the broken bracelet. The knot she made had finally ripped free, leaving the metal charm of Earth dangling from the leather. Aspen heaved a deep sigh of disappointment, though she expected it. "You think you could fix it?" She asked him hopefully, watching as he studied it with a twirl of his fingers, brows pinched together in deep thought.

"Yeah," Finn answered, a grin appearing. "'Course I can. Just some twine and a little love." Aspen laughed. It just sounded so much like something Raven would say. She thanked him as he pocketed it carefully to repair it later when they found time. For now, finding Mount Weather and journeying through a, as Clarke would put it, radiation soaked forest was their mission.

As Finn went a bit ahead, Aspen slowed down, hanging behind where the two boys dragged in to tag along were in the back of the group. She wondered if they were shy. "So, what're your names?" She questioned curiously, lagging to keep up with their step and being friendly by squeezing in the small space between them, throwing her arms over them in the same fashion that Finn had priorly, letting her wrists dangle over their shoulders.

They're both adorable, Aspen thinks. The one with goggles smiled widely, lopsided, as the color pink tinted his cheeks. "I'm Jasper," he introduced. He nodded to the one on Aspen's other side. "And that's Monty."

"How about you?" The other, Monty, asked. It's the first time that Aspen has heard him speak. He has a warm voice that gives away he's a kinder person, seemingly more calm than his friend was. Jasper seemed equally as friendly but more energetic.

"Aspen," she replied. "But my friends, like Finn, call me Pen. Never Ass, although, feel free to if I am being one." Aspen grinned when they laughed and gave both of their shoulders one last squeeze before drawing her arms back. "Let's not fall behind, boys." The rest of their travel buddies were getting pretty far, especially Clarke, who had chosen to take lead and was a good few feet apart with her quick walking. She urged them to keep up with the rest, mostly just her, by giving them a wave of her hand.

Finn had paused to pick a beautiful, purple flower out of a bush and tuck it behind Octavia's ear who smiled bashfully, brushing her chestnut straight hair out of the way in a daze. Aspen had an idea of how Raven would react to witnessing that but Finn had a personality alike to Aspen's, in which they weren't at all shy around girls that they found attractive and loved to see them blush under a spotlight, so she chose not to mention it and make them uncomfortable. Besides, it didn't look like it was going anywhere.

The two best friends seem to admire this as well, as Jasper nudged Monty's shoulder. "Now, that, my friend, is game."

"My game," Aspen countered jokingly, remembering when pulled the same move on Clarke earlier.

"Well, that, my friend, is poison sumac," Monty corrected, plucking one of the flowers himself.

The smile fell from Octavia's face. "What, it is?" She panicked, batting at her hair to brush the plant out in fear. It fluttered to the ground.

"The flowers aren't poisonous," Monty reassured her, amused at her reaction. "They're medicinal, calming, actually," he explained lightly. He casually popped the flower in his mouth, thoughtfully chewing on it.

"Wow," Aspen mused, amazed alone just by Monty's brain. "How did you know that?" They had books and classes about Earth in The Ark and maybe she didn't pay attention much but she didn't remember lessons about foreign or common plants.

"His family grows all the pharmaceuticals on The Ark," Jasper responded for him. Aspen tilted her head in understanding, realizing that Monty must have been born in Farm Station. She hadn't paid the Station many visits on her many travels as they grew their own food and medicine.

A loud sigh heaved from their leader. Clarke spun on her heels, hands clutching the straps of her bag. "Hey, guys, would you try to keep up?" She impatiently asks, the request sounding more like a demand with her pushy tone.

"Bossy, bossy," Aspen quipped but complied anyway, skipping a few times to catch up.

"Come on, Clarke. How do you block all this out?" Finn questioned, raising his arms to gesture at the nature sounds and sights around them.

The annoyed flare Aspen recognized in Clarke's eyes returned. "Well, it's simple," she began. "I wonder, why haven't we seen any animals? Maybe it's because there are none. Maybe we've already been exposed to enough radiation to kill us." And for the first time, a twinge of worry sparked inside of Aspen when seeing Clarke was right. She sent a troublesome scan to the trees circling them, wondering why they didn't at the very least hear any birds or insects chirping. When all of their features fall as they come to these terms, Clarke finished. "Sure is pretty, though." She cocked her head. "Come on."

As fast as the concern for their lives came for Aspen, it faded. Clarke sounded so uptight about this that she wasn't going to let it ruin this for her. Earth has been a dream for all of them, for their families back in The Ark and that most likely included Clarke too. It didn't yet seem likely that they were going to die from radiation now, not that Aspen knew if it was a slow or fast process to go through. Besides, if they were going to die, then why spend their last moments here complaining or thinking so poorly about the planet? Hell, they were having fun for the first time in a while, some of them longer than others.

Scoffing, Octavia leaned over to the rest when Clarke resumed her walk. "Someone should slip her some poison sumac," she deadpanned in a mutter. Jasper snorted.

After a few silent minutes that consisted of them mostly catching up to Clarke, Finn looked over his shoulder to Jasper and Monty. "I got to know what you all did to get busted," he says in wonder.

"Sumac is not the only herb in the garden..." Monty trailed off, hinting, with a grin. "If you know what I mean."

Jasper gave him a pointed look. "Someone forgot to replace what we took," he blamed.

Monty's shoulder slumped, shooting his friend the same stare. "Someone has apologized, like, a thousand times," he retorted.

While they argued about badly hiding their stash, Finn turned back to Aspen. "What about you, my favorite little Klepto? You finally got caught?"

Ah, Aspen thought, a flood of memories flowing through her. Finn was arrested a little before she had been. She did clue him in on her plan with Jax but he and Raven didn't get much of the gist of it. When Finn was taken away, they continued to work and get closer to Unity Day and follow through until Aspen was sold out by a false member spying on them. "No way," she declared, slightly insulted at the low faith Finn currently had in her skills. "Was sold out by that bitch Diana Sydney's kid."

Once Aspen tracks down Nova Sydney for lying to her and Jax and getting her arrested, she was going to unleash almost a full year of raging thoughts that built up day after day on her.

"Sold out?" Monty repeated when his disagreement with Jasper ended, overhearing. "For what?"

The promise that Jax made to Aspen rang in her head again, the same way it had almost every day that she counted down in her cell. She decided not to announce it, the corner of her lip twitching into a smirk as she flashed Monty a wink. "You'll get word of it soon," Aspen vouched, leaving it at that. Hopefully, it'd be done before The Ark made it down.

"How about you, Octavia?" Jasper called to the girl. "What'd they get you for?"

The atmosphere dampened around them immediately when Octavia deeply frowned. "Being born," she grumbled back, storming away.

Aspen quietly whistled under her breath. They've all been locked up for one reason or another, some of them were innocent, most of them were guilty. But Octavia hadn't broken any laws on her own. She was just a second child, she didn't choose for her mother to give birth to her. The Ark had never been fair but Octavia's situation was one of the many reasons Aspen had started planning a rebellion.

"That is so not game," Monty teased Jasper who playfully hit his chest. The two went back and forth for a moment, slapping at one another.

A small but quiet noise from Clarke caught them all off guard. She's crouched in a pile of dry leaves around them with Octavia, waving for them to come over before pressing a finger to her lips, signaling that they had to be quiet. Aspen was drawn in with her wonder, appearing next to Finn and knelt down with him, the other two boys behind them, her denim pants covering her knees crunching the leaves as she caught sit of what they were so amazed with.

There was an animal. An actual, real, living animal a good distance away. It's a deer, its brown fur spotted with a few dots on its back. It's munching on some grass, utterly oblivious to the group of teenagers following them. The deer is so beautiful and unlike anything that Aspen had ever seen before. Pictures could never resemble how much better it is. A smile spread its way onto her lips, beaming in awe. She could hardly believe what she was seeing but it was there, and this wasn't some dream, although it felt so much like one.

"No animals, huh?" Finn whispered to Clarke. He goes to take a step forward to get a closer look, only for his boot to press on a twig, effectively snapping it.

The noise caused the deer to snap its head up in their direction, startled, and Aspen released a gasped, suddenly filled with horror at the view. It's heavily mutilated with two heads, the spot where they merged together bloody and swollen. Finn jerked in surprise, and Aspen's hand flew up to grip his jacket sleeve before they could both topple over. The deer sprinted away, disappearing into the woods.

Maybe on some level, Clarke was right before, Aspen thinks to herself reluctantly. She shared a worried look with the rest. "You think we'll all sprout another head?" She wondered out loud.

Clarke's nose wrinkled up at the idea and she shook her head as if to erase the thought. "Let's hope not." She was the first to rise, already shrugging aside what they were all worried about after seeing their very first animal before suggesting. "Come on. We should keep moving." Almost like nothing was wrong at all.

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Most of their walk is continued in silence. Aspen knew they were all replaying the image of that deer. She had been joking earlier, kind of, but truly didn't want the radiation to affect her or any of them. She wondered if it could. With the scientists up in space, no one could really tell how radiation would treat their systems. Aspen could only tell that it wasn't a good thing to be exposed to. She felt fine, though, she supposed. Only hot, all thanks to the extremely hot sun above them that she wasn't used to yet.

Their shared quietness was broken by Finn. "Hey, you know what I'd like to know?" He announced. They were going down a steep slope and Aspen raised a brow, hopping and steadying herself when her boots landed roughly. "Why send us down today after ninety-seven years? What changed?" He asked.

"Who cares?" Octavia huffed. "I woke up rotting in a cell..." She grabbed a tree's trunk, twirling around it in a circle. "... And now I'm spinning in a forest." What she was doing was clearly meant to get Finn's attention but instead of the reaction she expected, he passes right by her, his hands in his pockets and a blank expression. Octavia's mouth dropped into a frown of disappointment that he pretended not to notice.

"Maybe they found something on a satellite," Monty spoke up in suggestion. "You know, like an old weather satellite, or - "

"It wasn't a satellite. The Ark is dying." Clarke passed them without meeting their eyes, speaking too casually considering the topic she's revealing. "At the current population level, there's roughly three months left of life support. Maybe four now that we're gone." Aspen would have tripped over a tree's root sprouted over her boot if she didn't stop dead in her tracks. She's hated The Ark just about all of her life but that was the last thing she expected. Her heart sunk in her chest.

They all had people they loved there.

Aspen attempted to not let it bother her so much. Clarke said they have three months, right? That was time to find a solution. Besides, Earth was survivable. Once they found that out, they'd be on the first ride home. The thought sends Aspen into a deep sigh, less astonished and more let down. She figured it was selfish but she only wanted her family here, her people, safe. What has the rest of The Ark ever done to deserve more, other than let them suffer?

"So that was the secret they locked you up to keep? Why they kept you in solitary, floated your old man?" Finn pried, invasive.

Despite how pushy Finn was being, Clarke tried not to seem too bothered by it. "My father was the engineer who discovered the flaw. He thought the people had a right to know," she explained. "The Council disagreed." She paused, swallowing. "My mother disagreed. They were afraid it would cause a panic. We were gonna go public, anyway, when Wells..." Clarke suddenly trailed off.

They all were able to catch on. "What, turned in your dad?" Finn finished for her. Aspen could sense the thick tension between Clarke and Wells beforehand and connected the dots easily, guessing that was why.

"Anyway, the guard showed up before we could," Clarke continued like she didn't want to talk about her father anymore, changing the subject. "That's why today. That's why it was worth the risk. Even if we all die, at least they bought themselves more time."

With her short temper, Aspen's lower lip curled. Anger started boiling in the pit of her stomach. "What, because we're all prisoners? That makes our life expendable?" She mocked Chancellor Jaha's speech that was delivered to them on the dropship. She realized a second too late that she was being insensitive to the rest, especially Clarke, who turned her head away to avoid her gaze.

"They're gonna kill more people," Monty said, his eyes sad and features desperate. "Aren't they?"

"Good," Octavia stated coldly. "After what they did to me, I say, float them all!" She skipped ahead, not considering their feelings, social skills clearly poor given that she spent most of her life under the floor. She didn't know anyone else, didn't owe anyone on The Ark anything, not even gratitude. The only person Octavia loved had risked his life following her to Earth and they were both alive.

"You don't mean that!" Jasper called after her, doubting how little Octavia cared for the other citizens of the space station they left behind. He stumbled to catch up with her, Monty and Aspen in his footsteps so that the three of them are chasing after Octavia while Clarke and Finn stayed a few meters behind in their original spot, likely discussing whatever was going to be left of The Ark soon.

Octavia had come to a stop, tugging off the jacket the delinquents were supplied with, head tilted back and eyes shut in amazement at whatever was in the view before her. She's then hunched over, unbuttoning her pants and sliding them down her legs, leaving her only in a maroon-colored tank-top and black underwear. Aspen had easily guessed that Octavia wasn't one to be shy but to strip in front of a few people she didn't know? It seemed a bit far-fetched but her confidence must have been higher than she guessed - not that she was complaining, because, damn, did Aspen like girls.

"Oh, damn," Jasper whistled under his breath. He looked completely shell-shocked. "I love Earth."

When Clarke and Finn finally joined them, Finn's in just as much awe as the three while Clarke gasped in shock. "Octavia, what the hell are you doing?!" She exclaimed anxiously.

Octavia turned to look at her, her hair flowing over her shoulder somehow perfectly, and pursues her lips. She doesn't answer. She only takes off, a bounce in her step before she leaps. Aspen's forehead creased, suddenly puzzled at how Octavia had disappeared, only a splash that followed. She lightly sprinted ahead with the moving group to see they had ended up at the ledge of a cliff. Aspen's confusion faded and was replaced with wonder, beaming at the sight.

They've come across a river. It's sparkling under the sunlight, a swirling mixture of beautiful colors that pictures on The Ark could have never compared to. Aspen is so mesmerized that she almost forgot about Octavia until her gaze landed on the girl. Her head is poking out of the gentle laps of water, nose, mouth, and body underneath. Her hair is slicked back and her green eyes seem brighter as if her smile is being hidden.

"Octavia! We can't swim!" Monty reminded her. One of the downfalls of living in a station that floated in space - they could only dream of pools, oceans, lakes, or rivers like this. Octavia was the first person born in The Ark to take a dip.

She lifted her head to speak. "No, but we can stand." Octavia stood straighter, revealing that she was crouching and the water only brushed close to her chest and burst into a fit of giggles when they relax. Suddenly, the river looks much more inviting than before to Aspen.

"Wait," Clarke mumbled. She doesn't sound as interested as the rest. "There's not supposed to be a river here..." She mused, about to retreat and search for her map.

"Well, there is," Finn stopped her, giving Clarke a playful nudge. "So take off your damn clothes."

Although Finn's demand was directed at Clarke who remained hesitant, Jasper is the first to hurriedly shrug off his clothing, Monty following. Aspen laughed. She quickly yanked off her jacket at the same time she kicked off her boots, carelessly moving them to rest on a nearby boulder. "Sorry, boys," Aspen apologized, reaching down to put her thumbs in her dark denim pants and yank the article of clothing off, less seductive than Octavia had. "Ladies first."

Aspen proudly pranced on, feeling a wave of adrenaline wash over that can't compare to what waves she's about to endure. Her trio was always right to claim she was the adrenaline junkie between them all. Aspen loves the spiking feeling just as she takes the giant leap, her legs kicking out as she soared through the air, feeling like she's flying in the two seconds she fell downwards. When she landed, it's with a splash, and she's surrounded by cold water that freezes her to the core in a way that she doesn't mind one bit.

It takes Aspen a brief moment for her bare feet to find solid ground and find a steady footing to rise. It's an even stranger feeling to be submerged underwater than from when she was in real gravity on Earth for the very first time. It's easier, kind of, and Aspen gets use to it quicker than before. She rose, giving a few coughs courtesy of the water she had accidentally inhaled and swallowed. Octavia, who must have been waiting for her to resurface, is standing above her, grinning. "Nice, huh?"

"Amazing," Aspen breathed out in agreement. She's surprised how easily she had gotten used to the cold. It's comforting and even though she's standing, she feels as if she's floating. In her state of a daze, she hadn't realized Octavia's arm swinging in her direction until it's too late. Aspen is suddenly hit with a blast of cold water from Octavia's splash, spraying her in the face. She makes a choking noise before doing the same, the two lost in their playful banter that the ripple of water behind them goes unnoticed.

Neither had noticed the sudden tension that rose until they hear Jasper's voice. "Octavia! Pen! Get out of the water!" The mood had shifted immediately just by the sheer alarm that came from him shouting to the girls drifting. Aspen glanced up to see he had stopped shedding his clothes and was running down the rocks to reach the muddy bank. "Get out of the water now!"

Slowly, and very confused at the outburst, Aspen turned to peer over her shoulder as Octavia fully swiveled around. A large ripple that definitely wasn't caused by their jumping or splashing around was hurtling towards them. Aspen can't see what it is from her spot, despite the river being almost crystal clear. She doesn't even feel fear, not even when what must be a creature is close enough to touch. It doesn't get a chance to seize Aspen.

All because Octavia had snapped out of her shock and dove to the side, effectively blocking Aspen from being grabbed and ending up dragged underwater instead with one last shriek that disappeared into a bubble. "Octavia!" Aspen found her voice with a desperate shout. She moved to dive as well before remembering - none of them can swim. She can only helplessly scan the water, weakly moving through it to search for her friend that instinctively may have just saved her life.

The only sign of Octavia is the slight movement of water. Whatever has a hold of her must be dragging her to the deeper end. Aspen hears Finn and Monty shouting her name as loud as they can. She's backing up without tearing her firm stare off the ruffle of waves until her back hits a hard rock. Then a pair of hands are on her arms, ripping the limbs up so hard that her shoulders ache. "Wait! Octavia!" Aspen begs, frantically scrambling up as she finally noticed it was only Finn and Monty working together to lift her out of the water before the beast came back for her.

"She'll be fine," Finn promised her gravely, moving to catch up with Clarke and Jasper. The skin of Aspen's wet feet is slippery over the flat of the rocks so she gripped the sleeve of Monty's jacket for balance who guided her across.

All of a sudden, Octavia is popping out, her limbs thrashing and flailing, causing water of the river to splash around her. She lets out constant screeches for help. She's trying to get away from the animal that has a hold of her. At the sight of Octavia, Finn started to yank his jacket off. "What are you gonna do?" Monty panicked.

"Try not to get eaten," Finn responded like it was that simple of a task to follow.

Before he can move to jump, Clarke shot her hand out to stop him. "No, wait! If we distract it, it might let her go." Her gaze moved to scan their area and locate any object that could help them. Fortunately, they were only surrounded by heavy rocks. She darted to one. "Help me!" Finn crouched beside Clarke, the two working together to push a decently sized rock over the edge.

It falls into the river with a big and loud splash. To Aspen's astonishment, it works. Octavia had reached the surface and is gasping through splutters, her legs and arms swinging to discover a swimming technique they were never taught. "It worked," Finn noticed. "It let her go."

"Octavia, get to the shore, now!" Jasper hollered.

Aspen shook her head, her soaking wet hair flying off droplets. "She can't..." None of them can swim and by Octavia's movements, plus she is panicking from the terror, which doesn't make it any easier.

Realizing that Aspen is correct, Jasper doesn't waste any more time. He slid across the mud to jump in, making up some kind of a paddle that brings him close enough to Octavia. "It's coming back!" Finn warned them. Jasper is gritting his teeth, focusing through the struggle to weave his arms around Octavia and drag her back to shore.

When they're close, Clarke and Finn reach down to grab them as Monty led Aspen closer. Her blood runs cold as she catches sight of the animal. She would have missed it if she blinked. It was a long, slithering snake-like creature that sneaks by them before it's gone completely. She hoped and prayed that it can't live outside of water. Aspen forced herself to shake off the chill that had crawled up her spine.

Octavia looked mostly alright. When she leaned on her side to embrace Jasper, choking out breathlessly, "Thank you," genuinely, her upper thigh is exposed. There's a few gashes that slid down her skin. They looked like claw marks - heavily bleeding claw marks. Aspen released Monty so she could collapse next to Clarke. The blonde had already sprung into action, reaching over Octavia to rip a shred off the hem of Jasper's shirt, whispering that she'd be okay.

Aspen knew she misjudged Octavia earlier. Despite how she came off, with a strain in her communication with others, she may come off cold but cared. A lot, for people she had just met not too long ago. Aspen was the water-snakes target originally. She would have been the one attacked, ended up underwater and fighting for her life and to breathe if Octavia hadn't tried to sacrifice herself. She was one to look out for the ones around her.

"Are you okay?" Aspen questioned, full of concern, calming after her heart had finished racing from the incident. Octavia's nod turned into a wince as Clarke wrapped the shirt's material tightly around her injury. "God, Octavia you - you shouldn't have done that. You could have died."

"Don't worry about it," Octavia dismissed. She pushed herself to balance on her elbow and meet Aspen's expression of guilt. "It was my choice, Aspen. We're all in the same boat, after all."

There's a quietness as Aspen smiled, touched before she rested a hand on Octavia's damp shoulder. "Pen," she corrected, officially declaring Octavia Blake as one of her friends. And she takes care of her friends.

Another beat of silence followed with just the two girls sharing a respective smile at each other before Monty broke it. He clapped Jasper on the shoulder with a satisfying wet smack from the drenched clothing. "Note to self. Next time, save the girl," he joked.

The group all share breathless laughs. Aspen swears she can feel the relief, the invisible weight of dread being lifted off her shoulders. She knew they still had a journey to finish, they still had to find Mount Weather and search for food all while exploring the new home that looked more and more dangerous every moment they were here.

And Aspen loved the calm feeling that came after the storm.

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author's note:

any female: *breathes*

aspen: i. am. gay. lesben. lesbian.

me too, aspen.

i wanted to finish the first episode in this chapter but this is nearing 5k words already and i try not to go over 6k and jasper getting skewered is intense.

- koda

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4.8k.
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