❝ 𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱,
𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱,
𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗼𝗼.
𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗵𝗼𝘄,
𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲,
𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗼𝘀,
𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 ❞
- 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘂𝘀

𝗔𝘃𝗮'𝘀 𝗣𝗢𝗩

My eyes flutter open and I'm met with a sleeping Bellamy. His light snores fill my ears and he hugs me to his chest tightly. I look down at the freckle faced man and sweep his curly hair off his forehead, placing a light kiss on his cheek.

He stirs but doesn't awaken as I slip out of his grip and pull on my clothes. I peek out the tent and see that the sun is beginning to rise and no one is awake yet so I sneak through camp, straight out the wall without being seen.

Eventually I reach the waterfall and I find Nova there, waiting for me.

"Good morning, Nova" I greet the dark haired grounder.

She nods at me and I shrug, taking what I can get.

"So, where do we start?" I ask curiously.

"We'll start with basic hand to hand combat and then i'll see how you are with weapons" She explains and I grin excitedly.

Without giving me a warning she throws a punch that me hits me in the mouth. My head whips to the side and I groan, spitting out blood.

"A heads up would have been nice" I grumble, wiping my mouth on the back of my hand.

"Do you think your opponent is going to give you a heads up, Ava? Well, they're not. They will stab you in the throat before you can even get a punch in" Nova declares sternly.

She throws another punch at me but this time I catch her fist and she smiles with an impressed nod.

"See? You're getting the hang of it" She praises me.

I grin cockily and before I can open my mouth to say anything my legs are swiped from under me and i'm on my ass.

"Seriously, Nova?" I huff and she smirks.

I pull myself up onto my feet and get ready for whatever she hits me with next.

I'm so sure that i'm ready for what she's about to do but she fakes a punch and lifts her leg, roundhouse kicking me in the face. I'm sent tumbling to the ground and I lay there groaning.

I hear a deep laugh and lift my head to see Lincoln watching in amusement.

"Don't just stand there and watch me get my ass kicked. Help me" I whine and he steps forward, offering me his hand.

I take it and he pulls me to my feet with a chuckle.

"Listen carefully, Ava. You're thinking about it too much. From what Nova has told me, you fight better when you're not thinking about it. Empty your thoughts and focus on something else. A person, a place, a memory, even a song" He tells me and I nod in understanding.

I turn back to Nova who takes a step forward and I take in a deep breath, exhaling loudly and closing my eyes. Thoughts whiz through my head and I try my hardest to focus on one of them. One image in particular stands out and it makes me smile. I picture Bellamy with a happy smile on his face. His dark brown curls are messy and his brown eyes shine with joy.

"You ready?" I hear Nova ask and I open my eyes.

"As i'll ever be" I answer and she smiles mischievously.

I focus on the image of Bellamy, not on what might happen as I keep my eyes trained on Nova. She throws a punch and I dodge it, grabbing her arm.

"There we go!" Lincoln cheers as Nova and I grin at each other happily.

Nova moves her leg to swipe my feet but I catch it and pull it up, swiping the other one so she lands on her ass. Lincoln laughs and I giggle down at the pout on her face.

"You're good, but you've still got a lot of work to do" Lincoln comments.

"Thanks, i'll have to thank Finn and Raven for the seventeen years of fighting with them" I joke and he shoots me an amused smile.

"So, I get to play with swords now?" I chirp impatiently.

"Actually, I had something else in mind first" Nova answers and her brother looks at her in confusion.

She walks over to a large boulder and kicks away some weeds revealing what looks to be a bow. She picks up the bow and quiver full of arrows.

"You want me to be Robin Hood?" I ask and she looks at me in confusion, not understanding my reference.

"Never mind" I mumble and she walks towards me, handing me the items.

I sling the quiver over my head and fix it so it's on my back and easy to reach. Nova gives me an impressed nod and I look down at the bow in my hand.

"I've never used a bow and arrow before" I admit sheepishly and she smiles at me like a mother would to her child.

"It's not that hard. Here, I'll show you" She suggests and takes the bow out my hand.

She shows me how to hold it then takes an arrow from me and nocks it into the bow. She draws back the bowstring and releases it, letting the arrow soar through the air.

It hits a tree and she walks over pulling it out and handing both objects back to me.

"Your turn" She encourages me.

I take them from her and turn to properly face the tree she aimed at. I get into a better stance before holding up the bow like Nova taught me and nocking the arrow into it.

Aiming at the tree, I release the arrow and watch as it flies past the tree, completely missing the target. I frown in disappointment and Nova goes to find the arrow.

"You've got to relax. It will be a lot easier if you do" Lincoln advises and I nod, taking another deep breath.

Nova returns with the arrow and I give her a grateful smile as she hands me it. I hold up the bow again, nocking in the arrow and aiming for the tree.

Closing my eyes I picture Bellamy like I had before, the man smiling at me and then I exhale before opening my eyes. I release the arrow and it hits the tree making me jump up in surprise.

"I did it!" I squeal and both siblings chuckle at my excitement.

We continue to practice a little more shooting and hand to hand fighting before having one last fight for today.

"Okay, bring it" I say with a smirk, handing my quiver and bow to Lincoln.

Nova smirks back at me widely before pouncing at me with no warning. She tackles me to the floor and we wrestle around in the dirt.

I get the upper hand and straddle her waist, throwing a punch at her face. It hits her cheek but she doesn't even flinch before firing her fist towards my face.

I grunt as I'm sent sprawling to the ground, holding my jaw and glaring playfully at the dark skinned girl.

She tries to attack me again but I jump to my feet and kick her harshly, sending her flying backwards. She does a backwards roll and hops up onto her feet.

I run at her, kicking her leg so she crumbles onto her knees and then pulling out my knife, I hold it to her throat. She grins up at me proudly and I hear Lincoln slow clap behind me.

I put away my knife, helping Nova to her feet and we walk towards him. He picks up my things that he had placed on the ground and hands them to me.

I shrug on my jacket which I took off a while ago and then turn to Nova, handing her the bow and quiver.

"No, you keep it. It's yours now" She assures me.

"Really?" I grin softly.

"Really" She confirms and I beam at her happily.

I slip the quiver over my head and place my bow inside it with the arrows.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Ava" Nova tells me with a warm smile.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow" I reply.