The Ones On The Ground (sequel to The One Who's Fallen)

Chapter 23

Raven's POV

"I am so sorry, Raven." Luna murmurs, resting her head on my shoulder.

I close my eyes and focus on my girlfriends giving me comfort. "Thanks. And you guys know what happened next. Jaha, my leg, coming down here, meeting you two. All that."

It's now that Lilly awakens and plods over into my lap, flopping down and letting out a big puppy yawn. She flicks out her tongue to lazily lick my finger, like she can sense my distress at my memories and is trying to comfort me while she fights to stay awake. I blink away some tears in my eyes and scratch her head.

I take a deep breath and let it out shakily. "Okay, let's move on to more fun stuff." I try to think of a topic. "Oh! When do you think Clexa will get hitched?"

"Clexa?" Anya mutters.

"Get hitched?" Luna questions.

"You're both so cute when you're confused." I say, looking between my girlfriends. "Clexa is Clarke and Lexa. Like their names are squished together. Cl - Lexa. Clexa!"

"It is just Lexa with a 'c' in front." Anya points out.

I put my hand towards her face, not looking where it's going. I think I end up half covering her nose instead of her mouth. "Shush. Don't be a party pooper."

I take my hand back and peek over at her, fighting the urge to giggle. Anya looks so baffled by my words and my actions.

"And what does getting hitched mean?" Luna asks.

"Getting married." I explain. "But what I meant was, when do you think they'll finally get engaged?"

"Oh. Soon." Luna answers.

I perk up and look over at her. "You sound so sure. Why do you think that?"

"Beneath her cold exterior, Lexa is a romantic at heart. She was thinking of asking Costia to marry her before... before Nia crushed that dream. And she loves Clarke more than she loved Costia. Honestly, I am surprised she has not proposed already." Luna admits.

"They did one better, they have fur babies." After seeing Anya and Luna's confused (and slightly horrified) expressions, I explain. "Lupita and Dalul. You know, pets. They're like having kids, kinda. I wouldn't know. Hey, we have a fur baby!" Lilly snores in agreement.

"Raven, do not call her a fur baby." Anya says. "A baby covered in fur is a disturbing mental image. Like one of those legends of who wolves."

I squint. "Who wo... Oh, you mean werewolves! Yeah, like a baby werewolf. Except it can't turn into a human." I look down at a still sleeping Lilly. "Or can you?"

"I do not think so." Anya says, sounding amused. "And I think that Clarke and Lexa will get engaged after we come back."

Luna shakes her head. "No. While we're gone."

"Want to bet?" Anya asks, smirking.

"Yes, I would. The loser..." Luna leans over and whispers in Anya's ear.

I can hear what she's saying and mentally do a little happy dance because I don't want to dislodge Lilly. This is going to be great for me either way.

"Shall we head back to the tent?" Anya asks in a low voice that I recognize from the bedroom. Float me. They're going to need to bet more often if this is the result.

"We should." Luna murmurs back.

"Hey, um." I say, raising my hand so they break eye contact. "I hate to rain on our parade, but we should eat first. Whatever you guys have in mind, we'll probably need our strength for."