A smile graced Raven's lips when she woke the following morning. At some point during the night, the blonde had hooked an arm around Raven's slender waist and pulled her in close. Raven had played the little spoon all night and was pleased to find her big spoon still wrapped around her come morning. The brunette snuggled closer into the warm embrace; she thought she felt Anya's face nuzzle into the back of her neck.
When she turned to investigate, the blonde remained fast asleep; she looked so peaceful, gold locks framed a perfectly sculpted face, falling in messy tumbles across the pillow. Raven wanted to kiss her so badly, but for now, would settle for waking up beside her every morning and watch her sleep in the least creepy way possible. Anya's lids fluttered, reacting to whatever dream she was having. Raven noted how beautiful she was in the morning; it was the only time her face was free of the black war paint. At dinner, Anya had explained warriors wore it during times of war. Apparently, the 100 posed such a threat.
Bravely, Raven reached out and placed a hand on the sleeping girl's waist beneath the covers. She hoped the action wasn't an unwelcome one. Anya's lids slowly fluttered open, green swirls with flecks of honey landed on Raven. She didn't seem to mind. In fact, the other woman looked aroused if the full blown pupils were anything to go by. In one quick movement, Raven was pressed to her back with the blonde straddling her. Her hands instantly flew to Anya's smooth bare hips.
Raven began to choke a little, as her breathing labored and she squeezed her eyes shut tight while clenching her jaw tight.
"Reivon?"
"Gah, not that I'm not enjoying this but my leg!"
Anya immediately clambered off. "I am sorry, Reivon."
"It's okay. I'm fine, now." She said as she rubbed at her painful limb.
Raven lifted a hand to Anya's cheek, but before she could say anything she heard a "Heda!" come from outside.
Anya quickly rose from the bed, dressed, and rushed out of the tent.
Raven carefully swung her legs over the bed and awkwardly shimmied into her jeans. By the time she dressed (which was several minutes longer than a normal human being), Anya returned. She looked furious.
"What's wrong?"
She said nothing. Instead, she scooped Raven up and lowered her near that damn tent pole again, clasping the chain in place over Raven's quickly bruising wrist.
"I have to leave. A guard will bring you meals. You will stay here."
"Literally," Raven added sarcastically.
Anya grasped Raven roughly by the chin; she looked like she wanted to say something but then released her grip and stormed out of the tent without looking back. What the hell was going on? Was Anya going after the delinquents? She couldn't take that chance; she needed to get to them, but how? She still couldn't put any kind of weight on her leg. If she was going to do this, she would have to crawl. Raven glanced down at the thick metal cuff encasing her wrist and clenched her teeth together as she jerked her bones back and forth, she cracked and popped them until she could slip her hand through. The bones immediately snapped back into place.
Raven scanned her surroundings; undoubtedly there was a guard outside the entrance. Raven looked to the table behind her and spotted the hilt of a dagger. That gave her an idea. Quickly she shuffled backward and grabbed it before crawling toward the back of the tent. She used the blade to cut a hole just large enough for her to crawl through. The blade carved through the tent fabric like a knife through foil. Raven couldn't believe her luck when she peeked her head outside. Immediately behind Anya's tent was the fence that surrounded the compound. She noticed the dirt at its base was loose. All she had to do was dig and slip under.
Raven dug ferociously at the earth, adrenaline burning through her as she made her escape. She slipped through without too much trouble. She banged her leg a couple of times painfully but kept going. She crawled as quickly as she could through the forest, her dead limb dragging behind.
What felt like hours later, Raven collapsed exhausted against a tree trunk. The sun was beginning to set; she was dehydrated, hungry and weak. She had no idea if she was even headed in the right direction. What have I done? Did I just crawl may way through this damn forest only to die?
Raven stiffened when she heard a noise. It sounded like a woman's laughter. Forcing herself to move again, Raven crawled toward the voice, no, voices. There were two now. Both feminine. Raven crawled to the edge of a small hill and peered down at what looked like a wrestling match. A woman with blonde hair seemed to be wrestling with a brunette. They both wore ark clothes. Well, mostly wore clothes. They seemed to be shedding them at an alarming rate. Although she hated to interrupt them, Raven couldn't wait any longer. As the blonde's top came off and she was hovering over the brunette in just a bra, Raven chose that moment to say, "Uhm, hello?"
The women pulled apart and reached for their clothes in haste. "Who said that?" called the blonde. Raven squinted her eyes. She couldn't believe it. It was her best friend on the ark.
"Clarke!?" The blonde's eyes widened as they landed on Raven.
"Raven!?" but her name didn't come from Clarke; it came from the brunette. As the other girl drew closer Raven's heart sank a little. Okay, this was awkward. It seemed Clarke was about to get it on with Raven's ex-girlfriend, Octavia Blake.
Both girls rushed up the hill to meet Raven.
"What the hell happened to you?" asked Clarke as she checked Raven over.
"It's a long story. Can we go back to your camp? I've been crawling through this god-awful place all day."
"Yeah. Let's go—," Clarke narrowed her eyes, "Rae, is your leg broken?"
"Yeah I think so; can you help me get back."
"Of course, we'll help you." Octavia offered.
Each girl wrapped one of Raven's arms around their shoulders, and together, made their way back toward the dropship.
When they got back, and copious amounts of water was gulped, and after introductions had been made, Raven told the others how Clarke's mom had approached her to fix the pod. She explained Abby didn't make it in time to launch. Then told them of her encounter with Anya and her people who the 100 were calling, Grounders.
"Rae, I'm not sure I can fix this," Clarke said after making Raven comfortable in a tent and taking a closer look at her leg.
"It's fine, Clarke. Right now I just want to pass out. I'll figure out something else tomorrow."
Octavia popped her head in the tent just then, followed by Monty. "Hey, I had an idea, and Monty thinks he can help. Tell them, Monty."
The black haired boy stepped into the tent; eyes focused on Raven's leg. "Now, I can't make any promises, but, I think, I can make you a leg brace."
"So I'd be able to walk again?"
"Again, not making any promises."
"I'll help you," Clarke added quickly.
"Great." Monty and Clarke left the tent.
Raven closed her eyes and inwardly groaned as she noticed Octavia linger behind. It wasn't that she disliked the girl, it was just that she knew Octavia wanted her back. Raven had enjoyed their relationship while it lasted. Octavia was an illegal child on the ark. Raven and Octavia had met in one of the ships Jefferies tubes while the mechanic was making a repair. The girl had been bored and decided to climb through the ship. Octavia had been terrified at the time but Raven promised to keep her secret, and a relationship quickly turned into something more. In the end, they just weren't a good fit.
"I should probably let you know—"
"That your dating my best friend? Yeah, I figured when I saw Clarke's shirt fly off."
Octavia blushed. Raven sighed, "It's fine, really, I'm not mad. You really are a great catch, Tay. And so is Clarke. If you make each other happy, then I'm happy."
Octavia pulled Raven into a crushing hug in that moment. The mechanic awkwardly patted her on the shoulder. "I'm going to go see if there's anything I can do to help with your brace. Everything's going to be okay, Raven."
After Octavia left, Raven was sure she passed out before her head hit the pillow.
OoOoO
Raven slept soundly through the night and through the majority of the next day. She had been woken a few times by Clarke to drink water. Raven was so exhausted; her muscles ached beyond measure. She just wanted to sleep and never wake at one point.
Eventually, she did wake. Octavia had come to help her leave the tent. She wrapped Raven's arm around her shoulders and held the mechanic perhaps a little too close for what was acceptable for just friends. Her hand rested directly beneath Raven's breast, casually gracing it with each step. Raven decided to ignore it.
She ate the meat of an animal she had never seen before for dinner that night. Bellamy, Octavia's brother, and his hunting party had caught the beast. It wasn't as good as the food she had back at Anya's camp but was still damn delicious.
"Hey, Raven!" Clarke called, "We have a surprise for you!"
Raven's eyes nearly bulged out her head. Behind Clarke followed Monty, Raven's salvation rested in his hands. She couldn't believe they made a makeshift leg brace for her, and in less than a day!
"Alright, let's try this on, shall we?"
With a huge grin, Raven nodded wildly as Monty and Clarke began to attach the device to Raven. It was metallic, made from parts of the drop ship with intricately weaved wires at many parts. Raven grimaced as the device squeezed and knicked the limb painfully, once it was securely attached, the pain eased, and it wasn't so bad. Several hands helped Raven to her feet. Carefully, she distributed her weight to the frame of the device, bracing her from the ground. It was awkward at first, but then she took a step forward. She had to go slow as she swung the dead limb forward. She held onto Clarke's arm as she went. After a few tries, Raven got the hang of it and started moving on her own. Awkward, but independent. Tears gathered in her eyes as she hugged each of her friends tightly and thanked them.
OoOoO
Raven had spent the next day mainly repairing a radio for Clarke and then splicing ammo for Bellamy. They said the Grounders were attacking them, and they had to be ready. Raven wished she could talk to Anya; there had to be a way to end this. She allowed her mind to wander; she wondered how the fierce warrior reacted to Raven's disappearance. And what was she doing at that moment. Raven smiled when she remembered Anya cuddling her through the night, holding her close and the look in her eye when Raven reached out and touched her in the morning. She wondered what might have happened when Anya straddled her if her leg hadn't acted up.
She rubbed at her leg again as it began to ache. When she looked outside again, it was night. The mechanic reached two hands above her head and stretched out. Deciding she could use some air, she stood up and proceeded through the camp with that new unique walk of hers. She didn't care if she looked silly, she was walking without help.
Raven passed the kids of the camp and decided to explore outside the camp's wall. She felt like being alone for a few minutes. Just her and the stars. Not too far from camp, Raven came upon a small dark pond illuminated by hundreds of glowing blue fireflies. The scene was gorgeous. Raven's mouth fell open in awe, she noticed a nearby log and awkwardly plopped down onto it. The entire pond was lit with exquisite neon colors; the forest had come to life.
"Beautiful isn't it?"
Raven jumped and nearly fell over, but rough hands quickly caught her by the shoulders.
"Anya?"
The blonde stepped in front of Raven and sat beside her on the log, elbows touching. Raven looked around frantically, expecting other Grounders.
"I came alone, Reivon. I promise."
Raven glanced at Anya before casting her eyes downward. "Are you here to take me back?"
"Do you want to come back?"
Raven shook her head. "No, I like you Anya, but I don't want to be your slave. Plus, your people are kinda terrifying."
Anya laughed. "I understand, Reivon. I just wanted to make sure you're safe."
Raven smiled and faced the blonde with a knowing look.
"What?" Anya asked with cringed eyebrows.
"Just admit you missed me."
Anya rolled her eyes and smiled, then wrapped an arm around Raven's shoulders. The mechanic snuggled close. She took a deep breath of Anya's scent, slowly she raised her face toward Anya's, first nuzzling into the blonde's neck and taking another long breath. When she pulled back, Anya had that same look of desire she had that morning they woke up together.
Not yet, Raven reminded herself. She couldn't give in yet. She had to talk to Anya, but their lips were so close; they were practically sharing air.
"Anya, please don't attack these people. There has to be another way to end this. We just want peace."
The blonde's mouth opened a moment, hanging there as she considered Raven's words. "Okay," she uttered.
Raven was shocked. What did she just say!?
"Did you just say okay?"
Anya swallowed before answering, "Yes. Bring your leader to the bridge tomorrow when the sun is highest in the sky. I will hear them out and consider negotiating a truce."
"Thank you," Raven whispered before finally bringing their lips together in a passionate kiss. Anya kissed back hard, as if she had wanted to do this her whole life. Raven immediately granted her entrance when her tongue sought it. Their slick tongues wrestled and danced and took turns sucking on the other. They only parted when air was an absolute necessity before going back for more. Anya's hands cradled Raven's face while smooth caramel fingers grasped the back of the warrior's neck.
A groan escaped Raven as the blonde slipped deft fingers beneath the hem of the mechanic's tank top and began twisting and pinching a nipple. Together, they lifted Raven's shirt higher until Anya could pull aside her bra and suck the taut nub into her hot, wet mouth. It felt so fucking good. So goo—
"Raven? Are you out here?" came Octavia's voice.
The blonde pulled back, Raven quickly fixed her shirt. Damn, she hated Octavia at that moment. She gripped Anya's neck one last time and kissed her hard quickly before saying, "Go, I'll see you tomorrow."
Raven let out an aching breath as she watched Anya disappear into the shadows.
