Taming Chaos // J.M // The 100

Chapter 4

Their return to the dropship is easy, making up for those few hours of immense panic, the brightness of day swiftly shifting into night. The darkness keeps them on their toes and moving faster, though slowed with the dead panther they brought with them.

Clarke rushes to get Jasper inside to care for his wounds but Bellamy sticks outside. He and Murphy unravel the panther until it drops onto the dirt, glassy eyes staring into nothing.

The pride they're showcasing is unfairly placed. Wells had been the one to kill it, not them.

Ethan's stomach rumbles when he sees the shaved bits of meat hanging over the fire. He bounces on the balls of his feet, excited for something other than the berries Monty found a few patches of land away.

Thank christ for those berries, though, because Bellamy puts a price on the meat.

Either trade in their wristbands, or miss out on good food. Their choice.

Ethan scoffs, sitting back down on the hill he'd claimed, to watch everyone else hungrily accept the offer. He can't blame them. But they'll probably find themselves regretting it later.

He sees Clarke leaving the dropship to stand by Finn, only just noticing Bellamy's harsh bargain with the meat.

She shakes her head and looks at Finn, seemingly in the same boat. They talk, faces firm, glaring at Bellamy.

Then Finn's eyes land on Ethan, dart to his wrist. He says something else that has Clarke looking as well, sending him a pursed smile.

Ethan lifts a brow, cocks his head.

Noise surrounds him at all sides, but he doesn't need to hear Finn for him to understand when the brunette nods pointedly at the fire.

Ethan slides down the hill and follows him. "You good?"

"I will be." Finn grins. Bravely, he reaches out, smothers his smile in turn for a neutral expression and snatches a stick from its place in the dirt.

Murphy whirls around, eyes snapping to Finn's metal clasped wrist. "Woah, woah. You think you play by different rules?"

Ethan's starting to see this as whatever Bellamy wants, not what the people do.

If it truly was "whatever they wanted", then they'd take the food without law, and Bellamy wouldn't stop them.

"I thought there were no rules?" Finn deadpans, retreating with the food.

Ethan barks a laugh at the stumped look on Murphy's face and swipes a stick of meat from its place, "Mmh, thank you."

He steps backwards, arms out haughtily to the side. "Whatever the hell we want, right?" Bellamy's watching now, from the opposite side of the fire, face set in a deep frown.

He and Murphy make eye contact.

Bellamy shakes his head, and Murphy settles back. But there's something else there, a promise between gazes, and Ethan doesn't stay long enough to find out.

He bows, "Thank you." And takes off.

The destruction Finn's decision has left behind only makes Ethan smile, hearing a sudden roar of protests. They die off at a particularly loud thud and he doesn't want to know why.

He's just happy to finally try some real meat.

Ethan would've followed Finn and Clarke, but they were gone by the time he'd taken his meal, so he whistles a pleased note and chows down.

He makes his way through burnt trees, having met their fate upon the dropship's landing until he finds a small clearing.

It was just going to be a small walk to burn off the rest of his energy, but Ethan sees the sky, no longer barricaded behind branches, and he finds himself glued in place.