A/N - Hey :) So this was kinda built on an idea from two reviews put together from last chapter so thanks for reviewing cause I was far too tired today to come up with content completely unaided haha. Also, shout out to TheChosenSlayer5by5 who did the awesome cover pic for this fic :) Oh and one more quick shout out as well to whoever it was who said that we would have to be wed, again guest account so I couldn't reply but that gave me a good laugh when I read it in class today and ended up coughing berry smoothie all over my laptop as my tutor just stared at me in despair haha because I am incapable of just laughing at something like a normal person without causing a minor accident lol. Please review guys, you have no idea how much it means to me! :) See you in the next chapter x
"Lincoln!" Octavia cried out happily when she caught sight of her boyfriend as they left moved out into the main open space of the camp. She started walking towards him quickly, her walk soon turning to a run as she got close and jumped into his waiting arms, crashing her lips against his.
Indra, Kane and Abby just smiled at the two of them and then headed off to get something to eat after their ride. Ontari and Raven stayed back by a few paces to give them space as they greeted each other. When Lincoln finally released his grip on Octavia's waist Raven grinned and moved closer, Ontari following with a smile of her own.
"I didn't know you didn't have to breath O." Raven teased lightly as Octavia rolled her eyes, arm still linked loosely round Lincoln's waist.
"Wait." Lincoln said quickly, covering Octavia's left hand with both of his, "Shouldn't you take off your..." He trailed off with a meaningful look.
Octavia laughed at him and nodded towards Ontari and Raven who were both smirking, "Ok, firstly that could not have been less subtle. And no I'm not going to take it off Lincoln because it doesn't matter anymore because we're leaving Arcadia!"
"What?" He asked in surprise. "Octavia I can't leave, you know that."
"Actually..." She grinned happily, "Lexa's going to lift the kill order, and I'm being initiated into Trikru at the end of the week so we're going to be living in the capitol."
Lincoln stared at her in silence for a long moment and then pulled her close and hugged her fiercely, placing a tender kiss on the top of her head, "I love you Octavia, please don't ever leave me for that long again." He spoke quietly against her head, and Ontari and Raven just looked at each other with a smile, unable to hear what Lincoln said.
"Never." Octavia promised, pulling back and taking his hand, "Come on, we have orders from Clarke."
"What orders?" Lincoln asked curiously.
Octavia just grinned and led them over to a clear space in the center of the camp that people had to pass through to get anywhere else, then she kissed Lincoln quickly and motioned him back. Then she pulled her sword and looked at Ontari expectantly. The other girl grinned and drew her own, taking up a position opposite Octavia and twirling her blade around a few times before settling into a ready stance.
Neither of them had moved and already half the camp had migrated over to watch what was going on as Octavia copied her and loosened her own wrist up before nodding at Ontari to signal that she was ready.
Then they charged each other with fierce yells, clashing in the middle and holding each other in place with their blades as both strained to force the other back a step.
After a moment Octavia dipped her shoulder and twisted the edge of her sword under the hilt of Ontari's to force her to overbalance to the side. As Ontari felt herself starting to topple, she dropped to one knee and struck out with an elbow in Octavia's stomach to knock her back.
Octavia was doubled over as she tried to catch her breath so Ontari took advantage of the distraction and spun in a tight circle to swing her sword towards Octavia's side. Noticing it in her peripheral just in time, Octavia brought her blade up hastily to block it and then stepped in close to wrap her other hand around the wrist of Ontari's sword hand and drive her knee upwards into the soft underside of the wrist, forcing her to drop the sword.
Hurriedly, Ontari yanked her arm back and stumbled a few paces to the side out of Octavia's reach. The gathered Skaikru observers cheered wildly and heckled the Azgeda warrior unkindly as she clenched her jaw against the pain in her wrist and waited for Octavia's next move.
Octavia wanted to scream and throw things at the people shouting horribly things at Ontari just because of her clan. But she forced herself to focus, glancing down at the sword in her hand thoughtfully as she tossed it to the side, in a move pretty much identical to the one Ontari had pulled in her fight with Lexa.
Then she danced forward and threw a solid punch towards Ontari's face, who blocked it with her forearm. After a hard, calculating look, she slipped her hand down to grasp Octavia's fist and spun into her body so she could drive her elbow firmly into her stomach.
Refusing to let it stop her, Octavia pushed past the pain and brought her other arm up to lock around Ontari's neck, pulling back in a jerky motion to force Ontari to drop her other arm so she could get a firmer grip on the choke hold she had maneuvered the other girl into.
Once again she had underestimated Ontari, who reached up and grasped the back of Octavia's jacket, giving a firm tug as she threw herself down on one knee to gain the momentum to send Octavia flying over her shoulder.
With Octavia sprawled on her back, Ontari pounced like a cat, landing firmly on the girls stomach, who let out a groan as all the air was forced from her lungs.
"Do you give in?" Ontari laughed teasingly, her hair falling like a curtain, blocking her expressions from the spectators.
Weakly, Octavia reached up to attempt a punch at her face again but Ontari caught her wrist and pinned it against the floor, "I win Octavia. Next time maybe." Then she picked herself up and offered an arm to Octavia who took it to let her pull her to her feet.
Getting the message that the spectacle was over, the Skaikru started to disperse, but one particularly stupid teenage boy walked past Ontari and shoulder barged her as he did which caused his friends to start giggling from the other side of the fight area.
Octavia nodded to Lincoln quickly who jumped forward and caught the lad by the scruff of the neck, depositing him in front of her. The crowd immediately pulled in close again as they noticed the quick reaction from the grounder.
"You knocked into my friend here, but I'm sure it was an accident. Say sorry and we're all good." Octavia crossed her arms and glared at him expectantly as he stood and dusted off his pants.
"I'm not apologizing to one of them!" He spat angrily. Like lighting her arm shot out and connected with his face, snapping his head round as he hit the ground again. There was dead silence as everyone held their breath at once.
Angrily he stood up again and shook his head at her, "You're more grounder than arker now, what would your brother say if he were here?"
Ontari sucked in a nervous breath and looked at Octavia worriedly.
"Bellamy is dead." Octavia said softly, but in the silence it was heard by every single person as clearly as if they were stood next to her. "And as of next week I will be one of the Trikru anyway. Why would I want to be one of a clan of mass murderers?!" Her voice had risen angrily and Lincoln quickly moved to pull her aside whilst she calmed down but she held out a hand to him. "Lincoln I love you but I am Clarke's General and I'm ordering you to let me finish what I'm saying."
As one of the Trikru himself, he didn't become offended and instead acknowledged the status change with a respectful inclination of his head and stepped to the side to back her if she needed it.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Clarke and Lexa hidden just out of sight, watching silently as events unfolded.
"You, blame Azgeda for the deaths of all those in Mount Weather." She said, harshly poking him in the chest to drive him a step backwards, "You all blame every single member of the Ice Nation for those losses." Octavia addressed the entire crowd, and was not surprised when she saw them nodding along in defiance of her chastisement.
"Skaikru attacked a peacekeeping force, and a defenseless village, killing far more people than was in Mount Weather I might add, and the peacekeeping force was there to protect us." She reached out and pulled the boy closer to her, holding him firmly, "Who was to blame for those attacks?"
He looked confused but at her harsh glare he stuttered out Pike's name.
"If Pike is to blame for those deaths, then Nia was to blame for the Skaikru loses. I am so tired of all of you thinking that it's one rule for you and one for the rest of the world. Even now it is only the word of a small handful of people, including the Leader of the Ice Nation I might add, that is keeping you all alive. So stop being so bloody childish before you do something you can't take back and you all end up dead anyway."
She went to walk away but changed her mind at the last minute and swung at the lad, who was already sprawled across the floor unconscious as she took Lincoln's hand and headed back towards the main building, closely followed by Ontari and Raven.
As they stepped around the corner they were met by Clarke and Lexa who were both grinning at her in amusement.
"Not quite what I meant O, but you really took the essence of the plan to heart." Clarke laughed, her humorous undertone lifting Octavia's mood as a smile appeared on her own face.
"Well it's all true." She shrugged, "And the sooner they realize it the better. Did you approve Heda?" Octavia asked Lexa who was still chuckling slightly.
Lexa nodded quickly, "I did, your execution was rather wild and I'm not sure knocking out the poor boy was strictly necessary but it was a nice touch. And you were right, we are getting dangerously close to needing to make an example of some of the troublemakers if they persist."
Clarke shuddered slightly and shook her head, "Let's just try and avoid that if we can ok guys?"
They all nodded with grim smiles, knowing that making examples would not be a healthy event for those being made an example of.
Lincoln's eyes widened slightly as he remembered something, "Heda, Octavia said that the kill order is being lifted, is it true?"
Lexa smiled, genuinely pleased for him, "Yes Lincoln, I need Octavia in Polis and she needs you with her. It's time to come home, Lincoln kom Trikru."
"Mochof Heda." He bowed to her, and Clarke could swear that she saw the subtle glint of a tear in his eye as he straightened up.
Dismissing them all quickly, Lexa and Clarke wandered around the edge of Arcadia, sighing when the found themselves back where they had started not much later.
"These walls are suffocating Clarke, how did your people stay sane in the sky, trapped in your tiny little boxes?" Lexa complained as she shifted restlessly, feeling caged in.
Clarke laughed and pulled her round to the side of one of the low down buildings that had been constructed to store things in, motioning for Lexa to wait, she disappeared for a minute and came back with a ladder that she set against the edge. "Come on." She grinned as she climbed quickly, pulling herself onto the roof.
From their vantage point they could see over the walls, out into the forest and Clarke smiled fondly as she watched Lexa's whole body relax at the illusion that they were no longer surrounded and penned in by the walls of Arcadia.
"Let's just stay here all night." She said decisively.
Lexa looked at her, clearly torn between wanting to stay where she was and wanting to make sure Clarke didn't freeze to death during the night.
Clarke chuckled and caught hold of her hand, pulling her down to lie next to her before snuggling into Lexa's side. "I'm tired and you're warm, let's just stay here and fall asleep under the stars."
Lexa wrapped her arm around Clarke protectively, promising herself that at the first shiver she would force Clarke to move indoors, but it never came and she was soon lulled to sleep herself by the soft in and out of Clarke's breathing.