The next morning, Kane, Raven, and those following me to Azgeda territory gathered at the bottom of the Commander's Tower where Queen Nia's party was waiting for us. I did my best to put on my best face while on the inside, I was scared of leaving Raven's side. I would be gone for several months if everything went to plan, but a lot could, and would, happen between now and then.
I tucked a few loose strands of her hair behind her ear as I made my goodbyes. "I'll kick your butt if I find out you've been playing in the 'Shadows'," I warned before I kissed her and hugged her. As we parted, I whispered in her ear, "If anyone brings you a message from me with a raven, you know how to tell if it's real and what it means if they prove it to you; otherwise, only trust Lexa."
Raven gave me a smile, but I could tell she was holding back her tears.
"Major Byrne, you are to treat Octavia's orders as mine. Your only duty is to make sure that she can return to us," Kane ordered while I had my moment with Raven.
"Understood, sir," she agreed.
"Remember what I've told you. Your actions reflect on all of us," Kane said to me.
"Of course. Take care of her for me," I replied.
He gave me a nod, and I walked away with Byrne, Bellamy, Clarke, and Finn. Lexa had provided horses for our group, so we mounted up with the Azgeda people and followed Nia out of Polis. Since I knew that I could not look back, I put my headphones in while I focused on the charm around Raven's neck, making it twitch for as long as I could, but slowly, I could not reach it with my power and then I could no longer sense it.
Even on horseback, it would take several days to reach Troit, so we pushed on as far as we could then stopped and camped for the night. The Ice Nation used their own tents, but for our group, I made a simple stone structure so that all five of us could sleep within. Byrne and I were discussing the watch rotation for tonight as well as every night in the future when Echo walked over to us with a bow in her hand and a quiver on her back.
"You work for Azgeda now, so if you want your people to eat, you need help hunt," she said, looking at me.
"Alright. Byrne, stay here and watch over the rest. I'll be back shortly," I replied.
"Yes ma'am," she replied, pulling out her handgun and holding it out for me to take.
I chuckled, "That gun is better in your hands, Major. I have my own methods for hunting."
"It's standard procedure to... I guess you have a point," she sighed, holstering the weapon.
"Don't worry. You've got your own troubles..." I chuckled quietly, "my overprotective brother and the young couple. Have fun!"
I escaped, following Echo, as Byrne realized that she had been put on baby-sitting duty for a year. My snickering at the Major's expression drew Echo's ire, but I could care less as I put in one of my earbuds and smiled back at her.
"Is there something else you would like to tell me?" I asked, grinning.
"That you are an idiot," she replied as she led me into the forest.
"I prefer, 'Stubborn Fool' if you don't mind."
"If you kill nothing, your people eat nothing," she spat, moving ahead of me.
"I hope your people like birds if you are the one supplying their dinner," I retorted spreading out my Earth Domain which could now stretch out to nearly fifty feet around me.
It was a little overwhelming to take in so much information at once, but I adjusted quickly as I filtered out what was not moving. There were a few small things that seemed to be sleeping in a barrow, so I left them alone since it would barely be enough for the five of us and, honestly, I was planning on showing off. Everything that I said and did would be relayed back to Nia, I was sure of it, so I needed to keep up appearances like Lexa liked to say. Being cocky and arrogant were not enough; I had to be good too.
Echo crept through the woods, checking the ground occasionally for tracks, while I followed behind her with my headphones in, hands in my pockets, and my eyes closed. It looked like I could care less about the world around me, but the truth was that I was focusing on pushing out my Domain even further as I searched for something big. Annoyed by my actions and disregard, Echo kept trying to increase her pace, yet I moved behind her at a leisurely rate, manipulating the ground under my feet to let me skim across it. Ground Wave was another spell that I had in my arsenal of ideas, but this was my first time using it, so I was wasting a lot of mana which would likely require me to spend the night meditating.
Clearly, she had found fresh tracks and took off in a silent sprint as she tried to circle around a rocky cliff. Unfortunately for her, I could already sense the pigs and I beat her in closing the range to take the shot. I made a quick stone wall, circling them up, while shot up four stone knives under the bellies of two of the boars. They let out a loud screech of pain while the third managed to jump the small fence and escape. My headache jumped up from a mild ache to a brain-pounding headache at the rapid use of spells, so I stopped goofing around my powers while I made my way around the outcropping.
Echo was kneeling outside the short stone wall, twisting an arrow between her fingers, and she accused, "You blocked my arrow."
"I was just trying to make sure that they didn't run off to die. Even if they are easy to track after being injured, it's easier to just trap them at the start," I replied in a bored tone.
"The third escaped."
"The two boars are large enough to feed twenty people for tonight and in the morning with some left over. Why kill more than we need?" I asked as I passed her. I hopped over the stone wall then asked with in a teasing tone, "Do you need help carrying the second one?"
The two boars were nearly two hundred pounds, so I was looking forward to seeing if Echo would be stubborn enough to try and carry one back to camp. She gave a snort and walked away without another word.
"I guess I'll provide the food for Ice Nation tonight," I laughed as used my powers to lock stone rings around to limbs of the boars and lift them up behind me.
My head might feel like it was splitting, but I did my best to put on a care-free smile as I carried the boars behind me and followed after Echo. Thankfully, it was not a long walk back to camp and I dropped off the boars with Azgeda to clean and cook.
"An impressive and fast hunt, Natfaya," Queen Nia remarked.
"It was thanks to Echo for being such an excellent tracker. I merely provided the muscle to bring in the kill," I replied with a smile and slight bow.
"Hmm," she mused before walking away.
I headed over to my little group and ducked into the stone shelter. Almost immediately, I dropped into the corner and let out a huff of pain as I slouched against the wall.
"O, are you okay?" Bellamy asked with concern.
"I just pushed myself a little too far showing off," I replied.
"Then why do it?" he asked.
"We're on thin ice out here, Bell. I can't afford to look weak."
"Is there anything that we can do to help?" Clarke asked.
"Take over my watch? I need to meditate, so it won't be easy to wake me up without shaking me," I replied.
"Yeah, of course," she agreed.
"Thanks," I said gratefully as I tucked my legs under me.
I switched my music to a 'Meditation' playlist which was mostly tracks of rain fall and wooden windchimes then closed my eyes, resting my hands on my knees. Slowly, I emptied my mind and cut off my connection to the outside world around. All that was in my mind was a shimmering mass of energy that looked like storm clouds swirling around something deep within and had the occasional ripple of yellow light. Under my watchful gaze, tiny motes of energy drifted into the swirling clouds slowly building it to a powerful storm that was waiting to be released.
"Octavia," Bellamy called, shaking my arm.
I opened my eyes and found him in front of me. I smiled back at him and asked, "Morning already?"
"Afraid so. We're heating up breakfast now and will be heading out soon. I thought you would like something to eat since you skipped dinner."
"That sounds wonderful," I chuckled as he helped me to my feet.
We walked out of the little stone hut together and Clarke, Finn, and Byrne were sitting around a small fire, roasting some meat over the flames.
"Anything left inside?" I asked, motioning to the hut behind me.
"No, our gear is already pack," Finn replied.
"Alright," I said and placed a hand on a wall, channeling my energy into it.
I made the structure crumble into a large pile of stones, none larger than palm size. I sent the rocks flying off in the distance deep within the forest. When I turned back around, I noticed that many people on the Ice Nation side were watching me, but I ignored it and sat down between Clarke and Bellamy.
We ate our breakfast and then started getting our horses ready. I was having to teach everyone how to take care of their horses and properly fix their saddles, which I was only able to do due to my past life. Thankfully, I had grown up visiting my aunt's farm often throughout my childhood and the Grounders used similar equipment that looked like a cross between an English and Western saddle. I was sliding the bridle onto my horse's head when Ontari walked up behind me.
"The queen would like for you to ride with her at the front, Natfaya," she relayed.
"Alright, I'll be there shortly," I agreed.
She gave me a nod and walked away as I finished buckling the bridle in place.
"Major, I'm going to be riding at the head of the caravan today. Just keep the same formation as yesterday," I explained while I tossed the reins back and mounted my horse.
"Understood," Byrne acknowledged.
Bellamy and Clarke gave me a look of concern, but I just smiled and then directed my horse to the front. Nia, Echo, and Ontaria were already gathered and on horseback while the rest of the large group were mounting up as well. Once everyone was ready, Nia took the lead and everyone else followed behind her.
"Natfaya, join me," Nia called out after a few minutes.
I urged my horse ahead while I noticed that Echo and Ontari slowed down their own, slowly making a buffer between us and the rest of the caravan.
"Have you fully recovered from your training accident?" Nia asked.
"Training accident," I scoffed with a like chuckle. "Yes, my body has fully recovered. I'm not easy to kill which allowed Heda to go a little extreme when we sparred."
"Heda was able to injure you so badly that you took days to heal while you healed Echo in just minutes?"
"My healing is better at handling illnesses and toxins than shattered bones, I'm afraid. It can still be done, but it uses more energy."
"She shattered a bone?"
"Our healer, Clarke, told me that Heda shattered my sternum and all of my ribs. If my healing was not so strong, I likely would have died quickly from the injury," I replied honestly.
"How could Lexa be that strong?"
"Although her powers are different, Heda is like me and has been training far longer than the two or so months that I have been."
Nia practically stopped her horse and looked at me with utter shock. "You can't be serious! She's never revealed anything like that."
"Has she ever faced a situation that she truly needed to reveal it before I appeared in her lands? From what I observed during our spar, she can increase her speed to incredible levels with the energy that is inside our bodies. She left afterimages and completely closed the distance of fifteen feet between us faster than I could blink which was the blow that injured me so badly."
"Is that all of her powers? Speed?"
I shrugged, "All that I have seen, but even I haven't revealed all of mine."
Nia's expression darkened for a while, and she did not say anything as she was no doubt processing everything that I had told her. I simply rode next to her in silence, waiting for her to recover. Part of me was almost hoping that she would just try to kill me because I would be too hard to control, but she had not lived and ruled her people as long as she had by making stupid decisions.
"Your other powers are?" she asked.
I smiled, "I have not revealed them all to Heda; why do I need to do so for you? Even the closest of allies do not know each other's secrets, and while I bare no ill-will towards you, that does not mean I will tell you things that I have not even told my lover."
"I can order the death of your friends with a snap of my fingers," she threatened.
"You could, but unless you are sure that you can kill me as well, you will have made a very dangerous enemy. There is an Old-World expression that warns of touching a dragon's reverse-scale which will turn it into a beast of frenzy, doing anything in its power to destroy what touched its bottom line. Natfaya, as your people call me, comes from the black flames that I used to burn the man who killed Lincoln, but they aren't something that I can easily create. They are fueled by hatred and anger and are something that I cannot control once I have been pushed to such a point. If Raven had not been among those following me, I likely would have destroyed the entire Mountain before I could have calmed down on my own."
"You dare threaten me?"
"It is not a threat, your majesty, merely a fact. I don't want to hurt you, your people, or anyone, honestly. I'm looked at like a monster enough, and I truly wish for a simple, quiet life after the things that I have seen and done. Unfortunately, I can't because my people need me, so I will do my duty, but that doesn't mean I will just roll over like Lexa did if Raven's head ends up in my bed. If you don't touch my bottom line, I will do nothing to approach yours."
Nia smirked, "At least you have the courage and loyalty that Lexa does not."
I suppressed my anger at her statement. The only thing Costia had done to warrant her death was love Lexa, so hearing her dismiss Lexa's pain, yet foresight made me upset. I had respected Lexa's character throughout the show, and now that Katye had her memories, I could not help but take it as a stab at one of my friends.
"Personally, I'd take it as the warning of a crazed woman should my last piece of sanity be threatened. My truest loyalty lies with those that came down with me first and then my people solely because they are their people. Hurt my friends and it doesn't matter if you slaughter every other member of Skaikru I won't stop until your kingdom burns which is the same 'promise' that I made to Lexa."
"And you left your lover with her?" Nia asked.
"Like the 'training accident', I am willing to take insult and injury for a chance at peace. It's only when you touch my reverse-scale that awakens the monster within me. Lexa knows this, and if she makes the mistake, her people will pay the price since it is what she holds dear," I replied coldly.
She chuckled, "You've certainly changed my opinion of Skaikru, Natfaya."
"I'm not sure if I've made the best impression with my honesty," I smirked.
"You have... Octavia. You are strong."
"I thank the Queen then for your compliment."