After the back and forth insults of Bellamy, which Cass secretly noted before mentally agreeing yet disagreeing with, Finn managed to agree with the oldest Blake. His words made sense, but she refused to believe them. She refused to believe that he could not be saved.
Currently, she was patting down Jasper's sweaty and burning hot forehead with a wet washcloth when deciding that Octavia needed a small break. Cass wanted to help out, take her mind off of Bellamy. But, eventually, she was needed for the hunting party. She knew the area like the back of her hand, at least the one they were in. Staying back with her knife, Cass was preparing herself for any surprise attacks, only to jump as Bellamy threw the hammer at a nearby tree, rather than at the hog. The rest of the party chased it, while Cass stayed behind to look after the traumatized girl. "Who the hell are you," Bellamy asks the young girl, who was standing by the tree
That wasn't the way to start a conversation. Cass mentally thinks, her eyes glaring daggers at her friend. "Charlotte." The girl answers, her body rigid as if she was afraid of him hurting her.
"I almost killed you," Bellamy scolded as he yanked his hammer from the tree, "why aren't you back at camp?"
The girl remained silent for a long period of time before Cass decided to push herself forward, kneeling in front of the young girl. "Charlotte, my name's Cass," she introduced, "it's not safe out right now, and we just want to know why you're out here."
She began stuttering over her words, her eyes averting to look anywhere but towards Bellamy and Adam, who had recently joined the duo. "W-W-With that guy who was dying...I just...I couldn't listen anymore." She admitted, Cass nodding her head slowly st the words.
"There's Grounders out here," Adam scolds her, "it's too dangerous for a little girl."
"I'm not little." Charlotte argues, almost making Cass laugh.
A small and uncomfortable silence fell among the four, Bellamy and Charlotte having what almost seems like a stare off before Bellamy nods his head slowly in agreement. "Okay then," he stated, "but you can't hunt without a weapon."
From his boot, Bellamy pulled out a knife and handed it to Charlotte. Cass was in a state of shock, what was this side of Bellamy? It was almost looked like a proud-father feeling had settled over him. Looking back at Charlotte, Cass watched her look at the knife, rubbing her thumb over the base of it gently before looking back up at Bellamy. "Be careful with that." Cass mumbles softly to Charlotte, giving the girl a small smile.
Hopefully not hearing her words, Cass looks over at Bellamy, who looks between the two. "Ever killed something before?" He asks her.
Charlotte then replies with a timid shake of her head, but Cass admired that. She didn't have any blood on her hands, it was good. "Who knows? Maybe you're good at it." Bellamy replies with a smirk. He began walking with Adam towards the rest of the party, Cass gently putting her hand on Charlotte's back to keep the girl close to her.
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She didn't know where this fog came from, how it even got so close in the first place, but it was catching up fast. "Come on!" Bellamy cried over the horrifying sounds that the fog was making. "There caves this way!"
"Caves aren't going to help, Bellamy!" Cass snaps, being careful not to trip over any trees or stones as she ran. "We'll need a sealed entrance and exit, and caves only have on large opening!"
Managing to find a cave, Bellamy first grabbed Charlotte and pulled her into the cave, but Cass stopped as soon as she saw Adam fall. "Adam!" She screamed, rushing forward. If she was going to die now, it might as well be to save him.
Before she could move, she felt two arms wrap tightly around her waist and drag her into the cave. She began to thrash violently, pushing and trying to release herself from his arms.
But it was too late. Adam was a goner by now, and deep down, Cass knew that.
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Sleep hasn't invited Cass like a friend, more like it was banishing a traitor. The thought of Adam suffering out there twisted her guts inside out, she wanted to throw up. But where was there to empty any contents in her stomach? She's have to hold it in.
Charlotte was asleep, Bellamy followed soon after her, but Cass was wide awake, sharpening her knife. She couldn't stay mad at Bellamy, and deep down she had forgiven him, but she would never admit it out loud...yet, at least. Whatever he didn't want to tell her, Cass needed to accept that and move on.
While examining how sharp her knife had gotten, the brunette jumped at the sound of Charlotte's screams. At first, she thought Charlotte was getting murdered or something, but only to see that she was simply having a nightmare. Cass would've gone over to comfort her, but Bellamy had already taken care of that job. "Charlotte, wake up!" He called out, managing to get young girl to jump awake.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, her small knees curling into her chest.
Cass moved herself over to Charlotte's other side, minding Bellamy's legs as she carefully took a spot. "Does it happen often?" He asks, his voice strained. Most likely from being woken up.
She seemed to hesitate, her head shaking slightly as she looked towards her side, but Cass took that as a yes, and it seemed that Bellamy did, too. "What are you scared of?" He asks.
Turning her head, the Arsen girl looked over at Bellamy with her eyebrows furrowed. Why would he ask that? Sure, there is some logic, but she just woke up from a nightmare. Why would she want to discuss her fears? But, Charlotte stayed silent.
"You know what," Bellamy shakes his head a little, his lips pursed together tightly, "doesn't matter," exactly, "the only thing that matters is what you do about it."
The concept seemed to confused Charlotte, as Cass noticed her look up at Bellamy with a confused gleam in her eyes. "B-But I'm asleep." She points out.
"Fears are fears," he replies, "slay your demons when you're awake, then they won't be there when you sleep."
"Yeah," Charlotte replies, looking down at her folded hands. "But, how?"
Bellamy looks down at the rocky floor, before averting his eyes back at the little girl. "You can't afford to be weak down here," he says, "weakness means death, fear is death," oh, how comforting.
A silence falls among them, and Cass purses her lips together while looking at her feet to wait as the silence passes over. "Let me see that knife I gave you." Bellamy says suddenly.
Charlotte takes the knife from her coat, slowly handing it to Bellamy. He takes the knife, twirling it between his hands a little. "Now, when you feel afraid," he begins, the knife pointed to Charlotte, "you hold tight to that knife and say, 'screw you, I'm not afraid'."
He then extends the knife back to Charlotte, letting her small hands grasp the butt of the blade. "Screw you," she says, her eyes staring down at the knife as she speaks with a serious tone. "I'm not afraid."
She looks back up at Bellamy, Cass doing the same. She saw the look on his face, it read "you can do better". So, she watched Charlotte grip the handle of the knife slightly tighter, listening to her next words. "Screw you, I'm not afraid." She repeats, her voice more forceful this time.
Bellamy nodded, patting her leg before beginning to lay back down. "Slay your demons, kid. Then, you'll be able to sleep."
Taking initiative, Cass took a seat beside Charlotte as she began to sit down next to her. "You know, my older brother used to hum me this tone that always put me to sleep," she suggests, "it also helped keep bad dreams away."
"Really?" Cass nodded as she looked down at Charlotte's hopeful eyes, "can you hum it?"
Nodding, Cass looked down as the girl got comfortable against her side. "I'll try, though I warn you, I have been known to make people's ears bleed from my bad talent." She jokes, earning a light laugh from the girl.
After humming the tune on repeat several times, she finally felt Charlotte's breath even out, allowing her to carefully slip her from the brunette's arms and back on to her own makeshift bed. Cass didn't want to sleep, not yet. Not until she knew she could sleep without being haunted by Adam's dying body.
"Can't sleep, huh?" Jumping a bit, she looked over to see Bellamy taking a spot next to her, but she averted her eyes to her boots against the cave's surface.
An awkward silence fell over the two, and Cass curled her knees close to her. "I'm not mad at you," she eventually said in a soft tone, "I guess...secrets don't settle with me, and I should've accepted the fact that you didn't want to talk about whatever the hell you did."
She looked up and finally allowed her dark eyes to meet Bellamy's own ones. It's felt forever since she met his own, allowing her eyes to examine the thousands of constellations in his own. "You don't need to apologize." He reassured her.
Her hand took his, a heavy sigh leaving her lips. "I do."
Feeling sleep finally deciding to envelop her, Cass felt her head fall against his shoulder, her eyes fluttering closed as she finally lived out a dream, the nightmares not daring to step any closer.
Screw you, I'm not afraid.