*I probably won't be updating for the next day or two. Sorry for the inconvenience.

They walked. And for the first time, just talked. They talked and smiled and even laughed a bit. Kayden didn't even have to think. It felt natural. It felt right.

"So, Raven tells me you're fitting in nicely. Getting the hang of things." Kayden smiled.

"What else does Raven tell you?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow in his direction.

"Ah, don't be too hard on her. She's been through a lot." He looked down for a moment, as if he was remembering something. Then he looked back at her and it was gone. "But she likes you. She just gives me updates. Makes sure I can look out for you."

"I guess I should thank her then," Kayden nodded. "And thank you too. For everything." She turned to him, smiling.

When he made eye contact, Kayden was surprised. There was that tender look again. They came to a stop, staring at each other. Neither one spoke but she felt something shift. It wasn't uncomfortable silence, it was just silence. Kayden found herself staring into his eyes. Those warm, dark eyes that she had once wanted to get lost in.

The moment was broken however by a guard who came running down the path. He yelled Bellamy's name.

Kayden and Bellamy broke eye contact, suddenly brutally aware of their proximity. They both looked away and shifted uncomfortably. She crossed her arms defensively.

"Bellamy…" the guard said, out of breath from running. He rested his hands on his knees.

"What is it?" Bellamy asked seriously. "Is something wrong?"

"No," the guard answered, looking up. He smiled. "Octavia's back." Kayden watched Bellamy's eyes brighten excitedly. She'd never seen the look in them before.

"Her hunting party?" Bellamy asked.

"They're all fine. They just brought back a big haul."

Bellamy turned to run and then seemed to remember Kayden. He looked back at her.

He didn't need to say anything. Kayden could tell it was important to him. She nodded and offered a smile. He smiled in return and thanked Kayden with his eyes. Then he jogged down the path towards the main gate.

"Who's Octavia?" she asked the guard. He gave her an odd look and Kayden wondered if it had been a mistake to ask him. Then his eyes softened.

"His sister," he answered.

It didn't take her long to catch up to him. When she cleared the dining pavilion, she came up on the main area. Looking around, she realized she hadn't been this close to the entrance since the day she had arrived.

She spotted Bellamy. He was talking to a girl a couple feet shorter than him. Kayden was still far but she could see that the girl had the same dark hair as Bellamy.

She thought about turning back but that was when Bellamy saw her. He gestured for her to join them. Kayden swallowed. It's just his sister, she thought, trying to calm her nerves. If she's anything like him, she shouldn't be that bad.

Kayden sighed anxiously and started walking towards them.

"Who's she?" Octavia asked, jerking her head in Kayden's direction. She looked to Bellamy inquisitively. He swallowed.

"Okay, O," he started. "Just… don't freak out." Octavia rolled her eyes and put a hand on her hip. She gave him her classic "seriously?" look. Bellamy sighed but couldn't help a half-smile.

"She's…" he looked down anxiously. "My wife." His eyes darted back up at Octavia to see her reaction. At first nothing happened but as she processed the information her eyes widened.

"What?" she said. "I'm sorry, what?"

He chuckled a bit and shrugged his shoulders awkwardly. When he turned to see Kayden approaching, he put on an arm on his sister's shoulder.

"You better pick your jaw up off the floor O," he said quietly. "She's coming this way."

When Kayden got closer, she saw the surprise in Octavia's eyes. She doesn't know, Kayden realized with disbelief. As she approached them, Octavia turned to her and Kayden watched her blink the shock from her eyes. She shook her head, clearing her face. Then she smiled, and Kayden relaxed as she saw the same warmth from Bellamy's eyes reflected in Octavia's.

"Hi," Octavia said first, breaking the silence. She offered Kayden her hand.

"Hi," Kayden said back, reaching out to the other girl. They shook hands.

"I'm Octavia."

"Kayden," she smiled, trying to be polite. Octavia was still shaking Kayden's hand absentmindedly when she spoke.

"Wow, you're really pretty," she said, a bit mystified.

"O!" Bellamy warned his sister disapprovingly.

"Well, sorry," Octavia said offering her brother a shrug of her shoulders. "She is." She let go of Kayden's hand.

"So, my brother here tells me you're a bad-ass mutant." Octavia said to Kayden. The tone of surprise was gone from her voice.

"Oh, I just uh-"

"Can you fight?" Octavia asked, cutting her off. Kayden was a bit confused but decided to answer anyways.

"Yes," she responded simply, curious to hear what Octavia would say next. The other girl nodded.

"Then you're fine by me," she said. She clapped Kayden on the shoulder in a friendly manner and turned to leave, but looked back at her after a few steps.

"Hit him for me if he does anything stupid, will you?" she said. Then she spun on her heel and left them. When she was a safe distance away, Bellamy spoke.

"Sorry about that," he said apologetically. "She's a little…"

"No," Kayden answered, smiling in Octavia's direction. She made a decision. "I like her," she said.

"Yeah, well… she's too smart for her own good." Bellamy looked at her. "You two have that in common."

The next few days passed uneventfully, but smoothly. Since the hunting party's return - Kayden had learned that they sent volunteers out once a month - new jobs had been added to everyone's schedules to help cure and store the animal meats they'd brought back with them.

Kayden continued to enjoy her rotations. As she got closer with all the people Raven had originally introduced her to, she started learning all sorts of new things. Stuff about the camp, useful skills. In the Apothecary, Monty showed her how to make lotions, teas, and various other herbal mixtures. Miller had also grown warmer since the first time they'd met. Their schedules overlapped a lot so they would walk together in between jobs and he would share all sorts of funny stories with her.

Octavia's arrival also brought a new joy to the camp. She now sat with the group at meals and joined them on their breaks. She was even on some of Kayden's shifts, so her and Octavia became friendly relatively quickly. Kayden remembered what the other girl had said to her the second time they'd met.

"So, I guess this means were sisters now, huh?" Octavia had said, sliding gracefully into the seat next to Kayden and taking a generous bite of bread.

Kayden had looked at Octavia, a bit surprised, but then sighed and popped a grape in her mouth. "Always wanted a sister," she'd responded. Then she'd broken into a smile. Octavia had returned it and that had been the beginning of their friendship.

Octavia turned to her now as they brushed the horse's soft coat. They were on stables duty. "Douche alert," she said to Kayden quietly. Then coughed and jerked her head in the direction of a guy with a shaved head. Kayden turned to look. She'd seen him around before but had never talked to him. He approached them. Something about the way he was looking at Kayden made her uncomfortable.

"Hey, I'm Joey," he introduced himself, smiling. She was sure it was meant to be charming, but it just gave her the creeps. When Octavia and Kayden didn't respond, he continued.

"You guys need any help over here?" he asked, coming closer to Kayden than was appropriate. She immediately tensed. It took everything in her power not to punch his lights out.

"No, we're all good here," she said coldly, not looking at him.

"You sure?" he said, this time putting his arm on the wall and leaning in next to Kayden. She could smell his foul breath. This timed she turned her murderous eyes on him.

"Why don't you go help out with pooper-scooper duty. Looks like they could use you there." Her eyes dared him to say something back. She saw something flare in his eyes for a second. Then it was gone and he sneered at her before turning to leave.

When he had gone Octavia slapped her playfully on the arm.

"Woah, what the hell was that?" she asked incredulously.

"What?" Kayden responded, shrugging. The corner of Octavia's mouth turned up in a half-smile.

"Remind me never to piss you off," she said to Kayden. They both laughed and continued grooming.

About an hour later a guard ran into the stables to get Octavia. She told him she'd be right there.

"You gonna be OK?" she said, her eyes darting to Joey who was had settled for horse grooming a couple stalls down from them. Kayden nodded and smiled to show she meant it.

"Aw, who am I kidding," Octavia smiled back. "Of course you'll be fine. But kick his ass for me if he pulls anything like that again." Then she turned to follow the guard and they left together. Kayden finished cleaning the stall in silence.

When it was time for dinner, everyone finished up their work and began filing out of the stables. Kayden was just about to follow when one of the people in charge announced that someone would have to stay to quickly feed the horses. Kayden volunteered. She immediately regretted it though when Joey also raised his hand to stay behind.

Everyone left the barn, leaving her and Joey alone. Kayden wanted to get it over quickly. Being alone with Joey sent a chill up her spine. He reminded her of a snake.

She avoided eye contact and simply told him that they would get the job done faster if they just divided the horses between them. She planned to complete the work before him and leave but he ended up finishing first. He watched her feed her last horse and leaned against a wall. She felt his slippery eyes on her and Kayden couldn't help but shift uncomfortably beneath his gaze.

She reached to untie her hair and let it fall to cover her face. She'd taken to putting it up ever since Bellamy gave her the hair tie, but she let it down now as extra cover from Joey's wandering eyes. She wanted to give him a piece of her mind and beat him bloody for looking at her like that, but she forced herself to swallow her anger.

He's just a creep, she told herself. A creep and a huge jerk, but still harmless.

When she finished, she exited the stables without saying anything to him and set out at a furious pace. He followed her out and fell into step beside her, his hands in his pockets.

"So," he started after a few minutes of silence. "How have you been liking it here so far?"

She didn't want to answer but the way he was looking at her was even worse. She decided to keep the conversation to a minimum.

"I've seen better," was all she answered.

"Do you miss your camp?" The invasiveness of the question made her even more uncomfortable and irritated.

"I miss not having to answer intrusive questions."

"Woah, Princess. I was just asking."

"Don't call me that," she growled. She couldn't help it. This time she flashed a vicious look at him.

He smiled cunningly at her as if she'd given him exactly what he wanted. She immediately regretted losing her temper. The way he got off on it was worse than anything he'd said or done so far. He opened his mouth as if to start talking but was interrupted.

"Kayden," a familiar voice shouted. She looked up and thanked her lucky stars.

Bellamy, she thought, relieved. He was standing on the path with a guard who he appeared to have been in conversation with. He'd stopped though to get her attention. He looked at Kayden and she could see concern in his eyes. Then he turned to Joey and for the first time, Kayden saw anger on his face like she'd never seen. The woman he was talking to seemed to understand the situation and walked away.

"Why don't you head down to dinner, Joey," Bellamy said stiffly. With the way he spoke though, it sounded more like an order. "Wouldn't want the food your friends are saving for you to get cold," he added.

Joey sneered at him. Then he turned to Kayden and looked at her once more with his disturbing gaze.

"See you around," he said, smirking. Kayden's arms were crossed defensively. She didn't look at him. He seemed to get the message and walked down to dinner.

"Bellamy," Joey said as he passed by him, nodding in Bellamy's direction. Bellamy watched him go until he disappeared into the dining area. Then he quickly approached Kayden. She was looking down at her feet. She felt violated.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned. She looked up at him and his warm gaze made her feel better. She nodded slowly.

"That guy's a total creep," he said to her. "Did he say anything to you? You looked pretty uncomfortable."

She shook her head. The truth was, it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. She opted for a subject change.

"How'd you know I was uncomfortable anyways? I thought I was hiding it pretty well," she joked. He looked at her, and she saw the affection in his eyes again. He reached up to rub his neck. Kayden had by now come to associate the action with him being nervous.

"You… put your hair down when you're uncomfortable," he said awkwardly.

Kayden was surprised to say the least. She'd picked up on some of his quirks over the time they'd spent together. But she never thought in a million years that he could have picked up on some of hers. When he saw the look she was giving him, he shrugged sheepishly.

"What?" he said, looking at her. "I notice things." He smiled and she returned it warmly.

"Anyways," he said, breaking their eye contact. "I have to get cleaned up. I'm on patrol tonight."

"You're not eating dinner?" she asked.

"They usually bring our meals to our posts," he explained.

"Okay," she said, nodding. He was about to turn when she remembered something. "Hold on a minute," she exclaimed, stopping him. She reached into her bag and pulled out a glass container. She fiddled with it.

"I… uh… got you this. Well, made it. Monty showed me how. It's uh… it's supposed to be toothpaste." She laughed nervously, offering him the vial. "Anyways, I'm not very good at it," she added. He took it from her gingerly.

He smiled. "I told you that you didn't need to get me anything."

"I know," she said nodding slowly, looking at her hands. "But I made it so… technically it doesn't count." She looked up at him and when she saw he was still smiling, she relaxed and smiled too.

"Thanks," he said. He slipped it into his pocket and turned to leave.

"Bellamy, wait," she said suddenly. He turned back. It was quiet, and they were alone. She walked over to him quickly, staring at her feet timidly. She stopped when she was close enough.

Without looking at him, she extended her neck and kissed him lightly on the cheek. When she pulled away a bit, she saw his eyes wide in surprise. When he turned them on her though, they were soft. She stared into them.

"I like it when you notice things," she said simply. Then she spun on her heal and left him alone in the dark.