KING, the hundred

forty-five: raven and avery's lab

"and i've never felt more alone
it feels so scary getting old"

ribs by lorde

"You kicked ass out there last night, King."

Avery was greeted with a smiling Raven for the first time in recent memory the following morning. She couldn't help but smile back, entering the workshop slowly. The lab was the only space the delinquents had claimed for themselves. Considering there were only four of them left, Raven was surprised they even got a full room to themselves.

"Thanks, Reyes." Avery rubbed her tired eyes and ran a stressed hand through her hair.

"You good?" Raven asked from across the room as she fiddled with a broken guard baton.

"Yeah, I'm good." Avery replied. "It just feels like everyone's against us."

"Well," Raven snorted. "They probably are."

As Avery shook her head, Octavia entered the room. She walked in less politely than Avery had, more swords and knives than normal adorning her body. But the most notable difference was the thick grounder war paint around her eyes.

"Hey." She greeted, short and cold as ever.

"Hey, hot stuff." Raven greeted with a smile, continuing to move her hands as she glanced up at the women in her lab.

"King," Octavia said, turning to Avery with a grimace. "I just came in here to tell you that Kane asked me to spy on the grounders for him and Indra asked me to be her second." Avery raised her eyebrows.

"Well, I hope you said yes to both." Avery said. Octavia squinted her eyes, trying to decipher if the King was serious or not.

"Seriously?"

"No, I'm fucking with you." Avery cracked a smile as Octavia rolled her eyes. "I mean, I hope you did say yes." She elaborated after a moment. "Indra asked me about it, and I said yes."

"Really?" Octavia and Raven both asked.

"Yes." Avery said, stepping closer to Octavia. "O, there is nothing more that Bellamy or Miller or I can teach you about fighting. You're better than us now, and you'll be even better than we could ever hope to be when you learn from Indra."

"My loyalties are with you." Octavia said firmly. "My loyalties are with the hundred."

"I have never doubted that." Avery replied.

Octavia left the room with a smile and a nod, the weight of being Indra's second settled onto her shoulders.

"Damn," Raven whistled lowly. "When Bellamy told me how well-suited you were for this, I confess, I didn't believe him. But now," Raven fluttered her hands in front of her face as if she was flustered. "Damn."

Avery picked up a random grease-covered rag and chucked it at Raven's cackling body.

"Shut the fuck up." She said, through laughter.

If they could laugh through this, Avery thought, trying to ignore the ache in her chest at Bellamy's name. They could laugh through anything.

***

Two mornings later, Octavia radioed in.

Avery and Raven had been working diligently, setting it up so that only a select few people had their frequency. Avery picked up the radio quickly. Clarke was coming back to Camp Jaha, and she and Raven both mentally crossed their fingers, hoping that there were no actual obstacles.