Andromeda walked out of the drop ship and started to make her way back to her tent, but before she got there, Clarke stopped her.
"Andromeda, hey," she began cautiously.
"Clarke." Andromeda said shortly. She never really had a problem with Clarke. She was always a sweet girl in school. At one point in their lives they had actually been quite close but once Andromeda's father was replaced at Commander of the Guard, she was no longer allowed to be the little Princess's playmate.
"I need your help," Clarke stated.
"My help?" Andromeda asked shortly.
"If we're going to get Jasper back we need help. You're a good tracker and since Finn bailed, like a coward, you're all I've got left. So what do you say?"
Andromeda breathed in a heavy sigh before answering, "Fine. You could use the help and Jasper needs it...Who knows, this could be somewhat fun?"
Clarke smiled at her and Andromeda tensely returned it. Clarke then stormed off to find her next victim. As they trudged through the forest she saw Bellamy up ahead and caught up to him keeping a wary eye on Murphy to his left.
"Looks like we were both dragged into this."
He looked over at her, "Don't want to be here, sweetheart."
"I don't exactly think running off blindly into the forest is the smartest thing we can do right now," she explained
"You know some people have a heart," Murphy interrupted, "Some people are here for sheer shits and giggles."
"Shut up, Murphy," Bellamy snapped at him, "You're right. How'd she rope you in?"
"She called in a favor," Andromeda sighed.
"Better question, oh fearless leader," Murphy interrupted again, "Since when are we in the rescuing business?"
Andromeda was interested in the answer as well, "The Ark thinks the Prince is dead. Once they think the Princess is too, they'll never come down. I'm getting that wristband even if I have to cut off her hand to do it."
"I'll hold her down," Andromeda said with no emotion. Nothing was getting in the way of her plans of keeping her father on that Ark. With the plan in mind, they quickly caught up to Clarke and Wells.
"Hey, hold up," Bellamy ordered pulling his gun out, "What's the rush? You don't survive a spear though the heart"
"Put the gun away, Bellamy," Wells ordered back.
Andromeda gently placed her hand on Bellamy's forearm that held the gun and pushed it down. He turned to look at her and she shook her head telling him that it was not the time. He reluctantly put it away.
Before things could get out of hand Clarke intervened, "Jasper screamed when they moved him. If the spear had struck his heart he'd of died instantly. Doesn't mean we have time to waste."
Bellamy reached his hand out and snatched Clarke's wrist with her bracelet still on it. Murphy moved to block Wells from getting to her and Andromeda moved behind Clarke to stop her from running.
"As soon as you take this wristband off, we can go," Bellamy challenged.
Clarke snatched her hand back, "The only way that the Ark is going to think I'm dead, is if I'm dead. Got it?"
"Brave, Princess," Bellamy smirked. Bellamy looked over and met Andromeda's eyes; they were just about to grab her when out of a bush, came Finn.
"Why don't you find your own nickname," Finn called out, "You call this a rescue party? We should split up cover more ground. Clarke, come with me." With that, he and Clarke left the rest of them alone in the forest.
"Spacewalker thinks he's funny," Andromeda growled at the pause in their plan. Bellamy looked over at her and glared with her and the two of them stalked off into the forest with Murphy and Wells behind them.
Somehow, Andromeda will never know, she was stuck with Murphy to look for Jasper.
"So how did you become such a bitch?," he tried to make conversation.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
"Come on now, sweetheart."
"Don't call me that!"
He put his hands up defensively, "Alright, Alright. Just trying to talk about something."
"Oh yea? And what's your story? How did the little asshole John Murphy from school turn into a homicidal dick?"
He paused with a catch in his step but answered her nonetheless, "I got the flu. My father stole medicine that turns out wouldn't have helped anyway. My dad got floated for it and my mother, she started drinking pretty heavily after that and the last words she said to me before I found her in a pool of her own vomit is that I killed my father."
Andromeda didn't know what to say so she opted to show no mercy.
"Well you won't get any pity from me."
"I wasn't looking for any," he spat, "Just trying to pass the time. Plus, at least I'm not a murderer."
After that, they didn't say another word to each other. They continued on looking for signs of Jasper in the underbrush. Andromeda knelt many times to inspect broken branches or look at various footprints. None of which, indicated that Jasper or Grounders had been there. She was about to give up hope when Clarke burst through the trees saying they found something.
The rest of the group gathered around Andromeda and Finn who were tracking the blood through the forest. She had some on her fingertips and looked for more on the ground and in the bushes. They heard a moan echo over the trees. They all looked around to see where it came from. They pushed through the branches and the undergrowth to see shirtless Jasper tied up to a tree like a lamb had been lead to a slaughter.
Clarke ran forward to reach him but before she could make it ten steps, she disappeared from sight. Bellamy rushed forward and caught her around the wrist. For a few tense seconds Clarke dangled there over the edge. Andromeda could have sworn that Bellamy was about to drop her into the pit but something inside of her begged him not to let her go. After that moment's hesitation, he pulled her up.
Once Clarke had caught her breath she said, "We need to get him down from there."
Andromeda pointed at Finn and Murphy, "You two climb up there and cut him down."
They nodded and made their way to the tree and began climbing.
"Why would they string him up like live bait?" Clarke asked.
"Maybe what they're trying to catch likes its dinner breathing," Bellamy added.
"Maybe they were trying to catch us," Andromeda muttered.
Wells and Clarke moved closer to the tree while Bellamy and Andromeda stayed back standing guard. They had not been waiting long before a low growl made its way over to them causing them to jump at the sound.
"What was that?" she asked him quickly.
"Grounders, hopefully?" he offered.
Out from the shadows of a nearby tree, came a large cat that Andromeda recognized to be a panther from old textbooks. Its shoulders were hunched and its legs were ready to pounce. It stalked them, slowly. Then, with a burst of speed it ran at them. Andromeda pulled herself behind Bellamy.
"Bellamy, gun," Clarke shouted.
He reached down to his waistband for his gun but noticed that it wasn't there. "
"We're fucked," Andromeda thought.
Bellamy backed up into her and they both stared at the cat in fear. Before its claws could impale them, gunshots rang out through the air. Wells had taken Bellamy's gun without him noticing and shot the panther twice. The cat disappeared into the brush. They didn't know where it was or where it was coming from. They spun in circles looking for the beast before it leapt out of the tall grass. Bellamy tackled Andromeda before the cat's claws could tear her face off and they rolled away into the grass. Wells shot the panther in the air and killed it.
Bellamy and Andromeda had rolled into some tall grass. After they heard the panther get shot they both froze. Andromeda realized that Bellamy was on top of her and he seemed to realize their position too because he looked down at her.
Andromeda scowled, "Get off of me."
Bellamy huffed and pushed off of her not even helping her up. "I did just save you're life."
"You'll probably regret it," she pointed out.
He shrugged his shoulders, muttered "probably," and turned to Wells, "Now she sees you."
Andromeda walked over to the still shaking cat and nudged it with her boot, "Come on, and let's take this back to camp."
"Why?" Bellamy questioned.
"To make hand baskets," she deadpanned.
He rolled his eyes at her, "Right, help me carry it then."
"Say please."
"No, now come on."
"Close enough."
"Will you two stop flirting and hurry up, we have a dying kid here," Finn called out to them.
Andromeda and Bellamy glared at him before Bellamy moved toward their packs and grabbed a parachute section from Well's bag. Together they dragged the cat's body onto the parachute to drag it back to the drop ship. When they got back to camp, Finn and Wells rushed Jasper into the drop ship to get treated. Andromeda, Bellamy, and Murphy dropped the cat in the middle of the camp.
"Who's hungry?" Bellamy bellowed.
A round of excited cries broke out and Andromeda was almost knocked over by a very excited and relieved Octavia.
"I was worried about you," she quickly rushed out.
Andromeda smiled, "Well I'm all in one piece."
"No thanks to me," Bellamy joked walking over to them away from the crowd.
Andromeda rolled her eyes and pulled Octavia away from her brother before he could embellish the story.
"What happened?" Octavia asked.
"Nothing. We just ran into some trouble," Andromeda answered as they made their way to the other end of the camp.
"Grounders?"
"No, just an animal affected by the radiation. Wells stopped it from killing us."
"Then why did Bellamy carry it in?"
"Because he's Bellamy."
"So full of himself Octavia murmured.
The girls had reached Andromeda's tent by then. She went to pull the flap up and walk inside but saw Octavia looking around shifting her weight from one foot to the next.
"What? Don't have a place to stay?" Andromeda asked.
Octavia sighed, " I mean I can stay with Bell but unless I want to be kicked out when he sleeps with some girl..."
"Well..." Andromeda began. She felt quite awkward because sure she liked Octavia but having her in the tent could cause trouble. Andromeda mentally scolded herself; she could allow herself one lapse in judgment.
"Want to room with me?" Andromeda finished.
Octavia's face lit up. Andromeda doubted that the girl had ever really had a friend other than Bellamy. It felt like asking her to share a tent was the final way of sealing the deal.
"You mean it?"
Andromeda rolled her eyes, "If I didn't mean it, I wouldn't have asked now go get your stuff."
Octavia went to hug her but stopped and thought better of it. Andromeda ducked her head into the tent and flopped down on the mess of blankets. Before she could even begin to get comfortable, Octavia burst through the flap fuming.
Andromeda almost didn't want to ask but she did anyway, "What's gotten into you?"
"My stupid, overprotective brother," Octavia said as she threw her stuff in a corner of the tent before laying down and rolling over to go to sleep.
Not bothering to push her friend for answers, Andromeda drifted off to sleep, though she didn't get much of it. That night, she kept dreaming of the day she got arrested over and over. It was like it was an old movie stuck on replay in her head. Jasper's cries of pain were actually a relief to her when they woke her up from these dreams.
A/N: I love Andromeda's relationship with the Blakes! What do you guys think?